Chapter 428: Will I Split the Money with You, or Split You Up?

New York, the top floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, a private reception room not open to the public.

Beyond the massive bullet‑proof glass, the verdant expanse of Central Park stretches without obstruction, forming a stark contrast with the towering steel skyscrapers in the distance.

Lu Qingshan sits in the head seat, with only a glass of plain water placed before him.

Ye Ning stands behind him like an emotionless statue, holding a thin black folder in his hand.

The door is gently pushed open.

Pan Liu Xinyu, chairman of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, nearing his seventies, walks in accompanied by his equally elderly secretary, Shi Yi.

Pan Liu Xinyu is not tall, even somewhat slender, but he wears a well‑tailored dark suit, his hair meticulously combed, and his eyes behind gold‑rimmed glasses reveal a seasoned sharpness and caution.

"Mr. Lu, a pleasure to meet you," Pan Liu Xinyu bows slightly, using the most standard Japanese business etiquette.

"Mr. Pan Liu, please sit," Lu Qingshan does not stand, merely making a gesture inviting him to sit.

This almost impolite posture makes the nearby secretary Shi Yi's eyebrows twitch imperceptibly, but Pan Liu Xinyu pays no heed and calmly sits on the sofa opposite Lu Qingshan.

He knows clearly that the other party, daring to hang up his phone that way and to confront him with such an attitude, must be holding a trump card that could overturn the whole table.

"I don't know why Mr. Lu specifically arranged this meeting," Pan Liu Xinyu says bluntly; he has no time for roundabout talk.

"For your ninety billion dollars," Lu Qingshan replies, equally direct.

Pan Liu Xinyu's eye corner twitches.

"I don't understand what you mean, Mr. Lu."

"You don't understand?" Lu Qingshan smiles, his smile devoid of any warmth, "Do you really think Morgan Stanley, this ship, is merely leaking a little water, and that your ninety billion dollars could patch it up?"

He gives Ye Ning a glance from behind.

Ye Ning steps forward, pulls a sheet of paper from the folder, and gently places it on the coffee table before Pan Liu Xinyu.

It's just an A4 sheet.

It contains no lengthy analysis, only a few lines of simple numbers and codes.

"RMBS-HE-1982-A"

"CDOSquared‑SVI‑1982‑1"

"..."

A string of asset‑securitization product codes that ordinary people cannot comprehend at all.

But the moment he sees these codes, Pan Liu Xinyu's pupils contract sharply to the size of a needle tip.

His due‑diligence team spent a full week, working sleeplessly, analyzing Morgan Stanley's financial statements, and in the end only arrived at a vague assessment of these "toxic assets."

Because these items are layered and mixed among countless Quality Assets, like droplets of poison dissolved in a massive barrel of clean water, they cannot be precisely separated.

But now, the young man before them casually throws out a list.

This list is more precise and more lethal than the report his team spent tens of millions of dollars producing.

"These… how do you know them?" Pan Liu Xinyu's voice trembles faintly for the first time.

"How I know them is irrelevant," Lu Qingshan lifts his cup, takes a sip, "What matters is that the total face value of these items is three hundred twenty billion dollars, while their actual worth is zero."

"And you intend to use ninety billion dollars of hard cash to acquire twenty percent of Morgan Stanley's preferred shares. You think you're buying assets, but in reality you're buying debt—nuclear waste that even the Federal Reserve dares not touch."

With each sentence Lu Qingshan utters, the color in Pan Liu Xinyu's face fades a little.

When Lu Qingshan finishes the last line, his complexion is as pale as that A4 sheet.

Cold sweat seeps from the corners of his forehead, sliding down his aged wrinkles.

His accompanying secretary Shi Yi is also so shocked he can hardly speak.

If this news gets out, let alone any capital injection, Morgan Stanley's stock would crash within a minute!

"Mr. Lu…" Pan Liu Xinyu struggles to speak, his hoarse voice sounding like sandpaper rubbing, "What… what exactly are you trying to say?"

Fear has completely seized the heart of this Japanese financial titan.

He feels like a naked child standing before a prehistoric beast that sees everything.

"I want to give you a better option," Lu Qingshan puts down his cup.

"One that can actually make you profit."

He looks at Ye Ning again.

Ye Ning takes a second document from the folder and places it on the table.

This document is much thicker than the previous sheet.

On its cover, three English words are written.

— "Titanic Plan".

Pan Liu Xinyu watches the three words, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

He has a strong premonition that the folder contains a devilish contract capable of turning Wall Street upside down.

"Open it and take a look," Lu Qingshan's voice carries a seductive tone.

Pan Liu Xinyu extends his hand, his hand trembling slightly.

He flips open the folder.

Inside are not dull texts but clear charts and data models.

Cash‑flow diagrams, options‑portfolio strategies, public‑opinion ignition timetables…

And, on the final page of the plan, a shocking profit‑forecast figure.

Pan Liu Xinyu's breathing halts completely the instant he sees that number.

He slams the folder shut abruptly, as if he had been scalded, and looks up at Lu Qingshan; his expression is a blend of shock, fear, greed, and incredulity.

"You… you're insane! You intend to short the entire Wall Street?"

"It's not me," Lu Qingshan corrects, "It's us."

He stands up, walks to the massive floor‑to‑ceiling window, and turns his back to Pan Liu Xinyu.

"Lehman Brothers is just the first domino piece to fall. Next are Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, AIG… even Morgan Stanley, which you now wish to save."

"This is not an ordinary financial crisis; it is a once‑in‑a‑century great reshuffling of wealth. Some will fall from heaven into hell, and others will tread on their corpses to build a new temple."

Lu Qingshan turned around, calmly gazing at the already stunned Pan Liu Xinyu.

"Mr. Pan Liu, now you have two choices."

"First, continue your plan, throw ninety billion dollars into the fire pit, and be burned to ashes together with your beloved Morgan Stanley."

"Second, join my plan. I don't need your ninety billion; I only need you to wield Mitsubishi's influence in the global financial markets and give me a push at the most critical moment."

"When it succeeds, Mitsubishi will become Xinghan Group's global partner. Moreover, I will give you ten percent of the profit‑forecast figure."

Pan Liu Xinyu's lips trembled; he wanted to speak, but not a single word could come out.

Ten percent!

That is a figure that would drive even the Japanese Emperor mad!

"I…"

"You don't need to answer me now," Lu Qingshan interrupted him.

He walked to Pan Liu Xinyu's side and pushed the Titanic Plan onto his hand.

"You may take this plan with you. You have twenty‑four hours to consider it."

"However, I need to remind you of one thing."

Lu Qingshan leaned down, close to Pan Liu Xinyu's ear, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, whispered a single sentence.

"As far as I know, your biggest internal rival within Mitsubishi Group is Vice Chairman Tengyuan Jing Er, right? He seems to have consistently opposed this capital‑injection plan."

"You say, if you fail this time, who would be the biggest beneficiary?"

Having said that, Lu Qingshan straightened up, returned to his seat, and lifted the glass of plain water.

Pan Liu Xinyu's body trembled violently; his gaze at Lu Qingshan was no longer fear, but a near‑divine…awe.

This man not only predicted the market and human hearts, but also knew his company's internal power struggles like the back of his hand!

He is not a devil.

He is an all‑knowing, all‑powerful god.

Pan Liu Xinyu rose shakily, and faced Lu Qingshan, bowing deeply at a ninety‑degree angle.

"Mr. Lu, no need to wait the twenty‑four hours."

He took the Titanic Plan, clutching it tightly to his chest as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

"May I ask, when do we start?"