Chapter 434: Poison Delivered to My Doorstep, I Take It as a Supplement

The email's subject line consisted of just four simple characters.

【Cooperation Invitation】

The sender was the Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer Office.

The cheers in the apartment abruptly stopped, and everyone's gaze, as if magnetized, fixed itself firmly on the computer screen in front of Ye Ning.

David Cohen was the first to let out a startled shout; he lunged forward to the screen in a single stride, exaggeratedly rubbing his eyes to confirm he hadn't misread.

"They've surrendered! They really surrendered!"

He waved his fists excitedly, leaping around the room like a monkey that had just won the heavyweight championship belt.

"Look! Look what this is! It's a peace‑seeking letter from the Wall Street Emperor! Boss, you did it! You really broke them! They're now offering up their kingdom with both hands!"

Compared with David's wild joy, Li Junjie and Zhang Qianru appeared far more composed; when they met each other's eyes, they both saw caution in the other's expression.

"David, don't get ahead of yourself," Li Junjie frowned, "John Mc is not Richard Ford; he's an old shark that has been fighting in the Wall Street shark pack for decades, and he won't concede easily. This email is probably not that simple."

"Exactly," Zhang Qianru agreed, "A surrender in the marketplace often marks the start of another war. This letter feels more like a declaration of war than a capitulation."

Lu Qingshan ignored their debate, calmly staring at the screen as if it were not an email from a top Wall Street investment bank but a discount flyer from a neighborhood supermarket.

"Ye Ning, open it."

"Yes."

Ye Ning's fingers lightly tapped the keyboard, and the email body popped up.

The content was brief, but the wording was extremely refined.

First, John Mc, in a personal capacity, expressed "sincere admiration" for Lu Qingshan and Xinghan Group's "far‑seeing insight" displayed during this financial storm.

Then, he formally invited Lu Qingshan, at a convenient time, to hold a "friendly and constructive" meeting to jointly discuss a plan for "maintaining global financial market stability."

Finally, and most crucially, the email concluded with an additional clause presenting a concrete "Cooperation Invitation":

Morgan Stanley is willing to transfer its Asia-Pacific Division non‑performing asset management business to Xinghan Group for a symbolic price of "one US Dollar" in total.

"One US Dollar."

Seeing that figure, Li Junjie and Zhang Qianru, who had just sensed something off, couldn't help but be stunned.

And David Cohen erupted into another bout of hysterical laughter.

"Hahaha! One US Dollar! They only dare ask for one US Dollar! How is that any different from a freebie? John Mc is scared after being beaten, trying to buy peace with money!"

However, Lu Qingshan let out a light chuckle.

That laugh carried a playful insight into all the tricks of his prey.

"Freebie?" he shook his head, "David, do you think there's a free lunch in this world?"

He pointed at the words "non‑performing asset management business" on the screen.

"John Mc isn't giving a gift; he's dumping trash. And it's the kind of trash that's highly toxic and radioactive nuclear waste."

Li Junjie instantly caught on, his expression turning grave.

"Boss, I get it! The so‑called non‑performing asset management business is actually those sub‑prime mortgage‑backed securities they previously packaged and sold to Place investors! Now those things are worthless paper, nobody wants them! They're trying to dump this rotten mess, along with the endless legal lawsuits and debts behind it, onto us in one go!"

Zhang Qianru's complexion also turned sour; from a legal standpoint she added, "This is worse than a simple rotten mess. If we take it over, it means we inherit all of Morgan Stanley's legal liabilities for this business. Those Place investors who bought these toxic assets will target us as the new collection parties. We'll instantly be mired in hundreds of cross‑border lawsuits! This is essentially a meticulously crafted trap!"

The atmosphere in the apartment instantly fell from the peak of euphoria to a frigid abyss.

David Cohen's laughter froze on his face as he stared at the email on the screen, feeling it was no longer a peace letter but a death notice laced with lethal poison.

"That old fox! So insidious!" he cursed bitterly, "He's trying to use this swamp of laws and debts to wear us out to death!"

Everyone looked at Lu Qingshan, awaiting his decision.

In their view, the only fate for this email was to be deleted into the trash bin, followed by a reply full of sarcasm and contempt.

However, Lu Qingshan's next words caused everyone's brain to crash again.

"No, this is not a trap."

Lu Qingshan stood up, walked to the bar, and poured himself a glass of clear water.

"This is a... grand gift."

He turned around, looking at the team members' faces, each filled with confusion and astonishment.

"What does John Mc think I am? A barbarian from the East who only knows how to smash things with brute force?"

"He thinks I can't see through his little tricks? He packaged a heap of junk metal into a 'gift' and tossed it at me, hoping I'd fumble with the trash while he slips away through the back door with the real gold and silver."

Lu Qingshan took a sip of water, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Unfortunately, he miscalculated one thing."

"I'm not interested in his junk metal at all."

"What I want is the... warehouse that holds that junk metal."

"Warehouse?" Lu Qingjun heard, bewildered.

"Exactly, a warehouse!" In Li Junjie's mind, a flash of electricity seemed to spark; he jerked his head up, his face alight with sudden revelation, "I get it! Boss! What you want isn't those non‑performing assets; you want the entire Morgan Stanley Asia‑Pacific Division business network! Their offices, their trading systems, their client lists, and... their whole team!"

Those words, like a bolt of lightning, cleaved the fog in everyone's mind.

David Cohen opened his mouth wide, unable to utter a single word.

He finally understood Lu Qingshan's terrifying true intention.

This isn't a business negotiation; it's looting a fire! No, this is a hundred times more sophisticated than simply looting a fire!

This is a Trojan horse!

Lu Qingshan intends, under the pretense of receiving "trash," to seize Morgan Stanley's decades‑long Asian Financial Empire in the post‑war era without a single shot, uprooting it and swallowing it whole!

With one US Dollar, he will purchase a top‑tier investment‑bank network spanning the entire Asia‑Pacific region!

"My God..." David Cohen slumped in his chair, murmuring, "You're not negotiating with them; you're... you're building your own kingdom on top of their corpses."

"Now, does everyone understand?" Lu Qingshan set his cup down, regaining his commanding posture.

"Understood!" This time, everyone's reply came from the heart.

Zhang Qianru.

Here, Mr. Lu.

Draft a reverse takeover agreement immediately with the legal team. The clause is only one: we may acquire their business, provided that Morgan Stanley divests all existing debts and legal disputes related to that business. They must give us a "clean" shell.

Additionally, the agreement must include a clause that all employment contracts of the current staff in that business unit will be unconditionally assumed by our Xinghan Group.

"Understood!" Zhang Qianru's eyes glittered with excitement; this is the top‑tier deal she has always dreamed of!

Ye Ning.

Boss.

Reply to John Mc, tell him I accept his invitation. Let him set the time and place.

Yes.

The orders were issued, but Lu Qingshan did not have anyone act immediately.

He looked at David and Li Junjie, delivering the final command, which surprised the two the most.

"Both of you, stop what you're doing first."

"Go through all the accounts for our Short Selling Lehman Brothers this time. I need a final, precise… profit figure."

Although puzzled, the two immediately got to work.

Nearly a thousand accounts, spanning three continents, involving hundreds of financial derivatives.

It's a project as vast as a sea of stars.

But at this moment in the Saint Remo Apartment, the war‑machine core named "Xinghan Capital" is operating with an efficiency beyond imagination.

Ten minutes later.

Li Junjie looked up, his voice trembling slightly with excitement; he stared at the astronomical figure on the screen that was almost too large to count, and took a deep breath.

"Boss, after deducting all transaction costs, capital costs, commissions and taxes… our first phase of the Titanic Plan net profit is…"

He paused, then recited word for word the figure that could drive the whole world crazy.

"1,137 hundred million, 6,480 ten thousand US Dollars."

"Including all our principal, the usable funds already exceed three thousand hundred million US Dollars."

The whole apartment was silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Lu Qingjun felt his heart skip a beat.

Over a hundred billion… US Dollars… profit!

Three hundred billion… US Dollars… principal!

These two figures already exceed his imagination.

Yet after hearing the numbers, Lu Qingshan's face showed no ripple.

He simply nodded calmly, as if it were a trivial pocket money.

He stood up and walked to the team, now completely petrified.

"Very good."

"Ammunition is already sufficient."

He extended a finger and lightly tapped the email from Morgan Stanley on the screen.

"Now, let's discuss how to completely bring this bank's Asia‑Pacific team under our control."