Wangcai asked, "We went long in August and have already raised the Hang Seng Index by nearly 2,000 points. When we roll over our positions at the end of the month, we can smoothly continue our current gains."

"If we rashly enter the market now and switch to shorting, wouldn't that be giving hedge funds a boost?"

"Cheering them on?" Chen Dong smiled, pursing his lips. "What have they done to deserve this?"

"International speculators have already taken the lion's share, and the Hang Seng Index has been pushed up to around 9,000 points. Even if international hedge funds led by Soros still have the idea of ​​making a comeback, they no longer have the chance."

Ma Guoliang didn't think so. He had heard from friends in the financial industry that Soros had done a lot of shady things in Southeast Asia.

"I'm worried that Soros is someone who never plays by the rules. The end of the month is approaching, and if they cause any trouble at this time, our reserves will be tied up in shorting in September..."

Ma Guoliang's style of doing things tends to be conservative; he still likes to leave himself a way out before doing anything.

Chen Dong hired him as his trader because he valued his abilities and steady approach. "Manager Ma is right. We should set aside $10 billion as reserves for the August settlement, and transfer the rest to a unified account to prepare for our actions in September."

He then looked at the group of traders and analyzed, "After the previous rounds of blows, many international speculators could no longer bear the huge losses and the extremely high interbank lending rates. They closed their positions and left before the end of the month. Now, those who are still holding on to the short position are nothing more than Soros's few lackeys."

"If I were Soros, I would have cut my losses immediately after realizing the tide had turned, or made a fortune in the stock market and then left." Wangcai thought about his previous dealings with international hedge funds and their operations, and felt that international hedge funds would not leave easily.

After listening to his analysis, Chen Dong agreed and said, "I think the latter is more likely. Their next move will either be aimed at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority or at us."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire trading hall was plunged into darkness.

Everyone fell silent instantly. After a few seconds of silence, Chen Dong heard several traders around him mutter in low voices, "The power's out?!"

"What's going on!" Lin Zhiyuan shouted. "Quickly call the property management to come and take a look."

After saying that, the traders closest to the entrance went together to the building management office to ask the property staff for repairs.

"It's possible the electricity meter is burnt out," Lin Zhiyuan sighed.

Wangcai pulled out a few candles from somewhere, and the faint candlelight flickered on Chen Dong's face.

Chen Dong was very alert. After the candlelight was lit, he quickly found the telephone by the dim light. He tried to make a call, but found that the telephone signal had been cut off.

"It's not that simple." Chen Dong waved the phone in his hand and said, "The phone line is connected to the base station. It's one thing for the power to go out, but the signal is also cut off."

"Someone did this on purpose to prevent us from contacting the outside world."

Lin Zhiyuan and the other two immediately tensed up. "You mean... international hedge funds are going to target us?"

"I don't quite understand, what's the connection between these two?"

Upon hearing this, Annie frowned and scolded him, "Are you stupid? After cutting off our power and communications, they will definitely take advantage of the time difference to sell off a large number of stocks, causing a stir in the Hong Kong stock market and creating the illusion that the Hang Seng Index is declining."

"In other words, he is now using physical means to restrain our hands and feet."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyuan couldn't help but show a disdainful expression. "They really dare to do that?"

As Lin Zhiyuan said this, his respect for Chen Dong grew even stronger. Chen Dong had just said that Soros would be making a big move soon, and he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"Everyone!" Chen Dong raised his voice, addressing the few figures flickering in the candlelight, "The international hedge funds are about to make their move. They've cut off our power and communications; they're trying to stop our operations."

"After receiving the call, we must buy immediately, regardless of cost, and we must support the stock index!"

During the few minutes of the power outage, Chen Dong stared at the dark computer screen, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"What the hell!" Du Xingzhi, the president of the Financial Regulatory Bureau, cursed through gritted teeth when he saw the suddenly changed K-line chart. "What on earth happened?"

Within just three or four minutes, the stock market was awash in red, with large sell orders appearing in HSBC Holdings, commercial banks, securities companies, and other institutions.

After rising for more than a week, the Hang Seng Index experienced its first straight-line collapse, plummeting from around 9,000 points as if on a countdown.

"Hong Kong is finished!"

"Black Monday is nothing special."

"What exactly happened? Didn't the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Financial Secretary intervene to rescue the market? Why did the stock index still collapse?"

When the investors saw this bizarre scene, they almost wondered if they were still dreaming.

Among the bulls, quick-reacting speculators swiftly closed their positions to avoid being dragged down, while some who reacted slowly were instantly swallowed up, losing everything.

Within minutes, the Hang Seng Index dropped by more than 300 points, and the stock market was in turmoil.

"Boss, we've figured it out. It was caused by two exposed wires connecting to the power switch downstairs, resulting in a short circuit," Ma Guoliang ran up and explained to Chen Dong.

The Hang Seng Index had already plummeted 300 points before the building where Chen Dong was located finally had its power restored and the lights were back on.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!