Chapter 157: Two Company No. 5s!

As things stood right now.

Company No. 8 was the strongest. Not only had they been the first to harvest a wave of newbies, but they also held an eight percent share in Company No. 6.

Following closely was Company No. 5. They held a four percent share in Company No. 8, and had also acquired a five percent stake in Company No. 6.

At present.

Each company had three hundred employees.

Individual wage: 200 dollars per minute.

This meant that for every batch of products manufactured, each company had to pay...

300,000 dollars in wages!

Equipment maintenance cost the exact same amount. Therefore, to produce a single batch of products:

If they could not expand their production, the ever-increasing costs of labor and equipment maintenance would drag their companies into bankruptcy.

Because of this, the nine players had no choice but to play the stock market next, otherwise they would easily meet their demise.

Company No. 8 had about 6 million in available funds. They seemed to be short by only about 2 million, but factoring in the purchase of raw materials, wages, and equipment maintenance, they were actually short by roughly 4.5 million.

...

Time was money. If no one made a move, the wage expenses alone would drag them to their deaths.

All nine players stared intently at their computer screens.

Currently, the stock price for all nine companies sat at 15 dollars per share. This was the maximum cap before any production expansion, and it could not exceed 15 dollars.

However, right at this moment.

Company No. 5 made its move!

[Stock Market]: Company No. 5 sells 290,000 shares. Due to the massive sell-off, Company No. 5's stock price begins to fall.

14 dollars per share.

13 dollars per share.

12 dollars per share.

'Now is the time!'

A price of 12 dollars was already an acceptable entry point for many players, prompting them to buy in without hesitation.

490,000 shares were snatched up in an instant. (The 290,000 dumped shares plus 200,000 available tradeable shares.)

As long as production expanded, Company No. 5's stock price would return to normal. When that happened, the shares they had snatched up would yield a handsome profit.

If they held on steadily and sold later, waiting for Company No. 5 to hire more personnel and drive the stock higher, they stood to make a massive fortune.

Moreover, this round of expansion required purchasing equipment—unlike before, when they only needed to hire staff. Therefore, the stock buyers universally believed that this production expansion could trigger a skyrocketing surge in Company No. 5's share price.

But it wasn't over.

Selling 490,000 shares infused Company No. 5 with nearly 6 million in capital. Combined with Company No. 5's originally accumulated wealth...

It was more than enough to cover the expansion.

...

Chen Ran's index finger hovered in mid-air, but he never actually clicked the computer mouse.

He hadn't bought a single share of Company No. 5 just now.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he shakily lit a cigarette and began to think.

'Company No. 5 played those first two hands beautifully. Not only did they grab a four percent stake in my company, but they also secured a five percent share in Company No. 6.'

'This means that just by relying on the dividends from Companies No. 6 and No. 8, Company No. 5 can offset some of the pressure from their labor costs.'

'But this time...'

'It's obvious that whoever sells their stock first is an absolute idiot. This is a massive production scale upgrade. Although there was no system prompt, it's a certainty that the stock price will violently surge, perhaps even double.'

'If they don't have the cash on their books to buy back the shares they previously dumped, it will lead to a huge disaster.'

'And that isn't even the most critical issue. The real fear is what happens after they expand their production scale this time...'

'Issuing additional shares!'

'For instance, if your company originally had 1 million shares in total, and after this production expansion, an additional 1 million shares are issued...'

'That would mean your company now has 2 million shares. Previously, you held 100 percent of the equity, but after issuing those 1 million extra shares, your stake gets diluted down to...'

'50 percent equity!'

'The legal representative of Company No. 5 still held a 51 percent stake after this round of dumping. If their equity gets diluted by additional shares, it will plummet to 25.5 percent!'

'Having just expanded their production scale, they would have no money left on their books to purchase the newly issued shares. That means the board of shareholders would gain the right to dictate the company's development direction, and it would be child's play for the shareholders to team up and crush you.'

'Company No. 5 wouldn't be this stupid, so there has to be a trap here!'

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, until the burning cigarette butt seared his fingers, jarring Chen Ran awake with a sharp sting of pain.

'So that's how it is!'

He hurriedly operated the interface.

Just as he was about to dump his stocks...

He suddenly froze.

'If I sell off my shares right now, aside from Company No. 5, will the other seven companies be able to swallow up all the stocks I'm dumping?'

'Let's cast a line and test the waters first.'

[Stock Market]: Company No. 8 sells 50,000 shares. Due to the minor sell-off, Company No. 8's stock price experiences a slight drop.

Originally 15 dollars per share.

Dropped to 14 dollars per share.

He waited for two and a half minutes, but nobody showed any interest in Company No. 8's shares. Seeing this...

[Stock Market]: Company No. 8 sells 100,000 shares. Due to the minor sell-off, Company No. 8's stock price experiences a slight drop.

The stock price fell to 13 dollars per share.

[Stock Market]: Company No. 8 sells 100,000 shares. Due to the minor sell-off, Company No. 8's stock price experiences a slight drop.

The stock price fell to 12 dollars per share.

Right at this moment, several companies that had been starving for an opportunity finally made their move.

Company No. 5 purchased 250,000 shares.

Company No. 6 purchased 100,000 shares.

Company No. 7 purchased 50,000 shares.

Company No. 3 purchased 50,000 shares.

[Company No. 8 Equity Distribution]

Legal Representative: 51%

No. 5: 29%

No. 6: 10%

No. 7: 5%

No. 3: 5%

The capital on Chen Ran's books had already reached 12.38 million. It was more than enough to buy a new batch of equipment and expand production.

But he did not do so.

However, when he saw that Company No. 5 had seized a 29% stake, his eyelid couldn't help but twitch.

Soon, another round of production concluded.

Labor costs rose to: 210 dollars per minute.

Maintenance costs rose to: 315,000 dollars.

For every batch of products produced, their revenue was 900,000 dollars. After deducting 630,000 for labor and maintenance, they only made a net profit of 270,000 dollars.

If they dragged this out any longer, they would just break even, and shortly after, they would start losing money.

In front of his computer.

Zhou Chen was completely drenched in sweat, his palms clammy. He suddenly realized that neither Company No. 5 nor Company No. 8 had any intention of expanding their production.

'These two companies converted their stocks into cash on their books with one word in mind: stall!'

'I bought shares in both companies, thinking they would expand production and I could ride the wave for a profit.'

'But, if these two companies keep dragging their feet and refuse to buy equipment, as time passes, their corporate expenses will exceed their revenues...'

'When that happens, Company No. 5 and Company No. 8 will have plenty of disposable capital to weather the losses of producing goods at a deficit, but...'

'Because I spent all my money buying other companies' stocks, once the situation arises where expenses outpace revenues and I start hemorrhaging cash...'

'I won't have a single cent left on my books to cover those losses!!!!'

'They're trying to bleed me dry!'

'If I try to dump these two companies' stocks and nobody takes over...'

'Wouldn't I be completely doomed?'

...

No. 7 also realized this point, frowning deeply as he stared at his computer screen.

'Shameless!'

'However, looking at the shareholder compositions of No. 5 and No. 8, No. 6 bought the most.'

'No. 6 will die first.'

'I can still cling to life for a bit longer. But why did No. 5 buy so many of No. 8's shares?'

'Oh, right. As long as No. 5 ensures they won't bleed out from their own losses, they can easily use their spare cash to buy stocks that are guaranteed to rise.'

...

While the legal representatives of Company No. 6 and Company No. 7 were merely panicking out of fear of being scammed to death...

Company No. 5 was gripped by pure terror.

This was solely because...

From the very beginning, Company No. 5 had never purchased stocks from any other company.

Furthermore, the funds on their books hadn't changed at all. They only reflected the standard revenues and expenses of normal production, with nothing else involved.

'So...'

'Just who in the world is the Company No. 5 that has been relentlessly playing the stock market?'