Chapter 241 Cutting Off the Fire from Underground
At 9:30 a.m. sharp, the opening bell of the Hong Kong Island Stock Exchange rang.
In the bustling trading hall, the sounds of ringing phones and shouting mingled together. No one could have predicted that an unprecedented financial storm was about to sweep in from the very first minute of trading.
"Sell five million shares of the Huo Group!"
"Keep selling! Sell as much as you can!"
"Place another 10 million sell orders!"
The moment the market opened, Wang Kun's traders, following instructions, simultaneously pressed the sell button.
As if by prior arrangement, a massive amount of Huo Group stock was dumped onto the market without warning. On the electronic screen, Huo Group's stock price instantly turned from red to green and then plummeted at a terrifying angle.
The hall was initially deathly silent, then erupted into a huge uproar.
"What happened? What's wrong with the Huo family?"
"Are you crazy?! Who's dumping shares?!"
Panic spread like wildfire throughout the trading hall in just a few dozen seconds. Then, more negative news about the Huo family began circulating wildly in the market through various channels, some true and some false.
"Have you heard? The Huo family's mining business in South America has run into a cash flow crisis!"
"My uncle's cousin works at the bank. He said the Huo family's loan won't be approved and they're going to withdraw it!"
"We're doomed! Run! The Huo family is going to fall!"
When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Retail investors began to sell indiscriminately, regardless of cost, in an attempt to escape before the market completely collapses.
Within just ten minutes of the market opening, the Huo Group's stock price plummeted by 20%. Hundreds of millions of dollars in market value evaporated into thin air.
The top floor of the Huo Group headquarters, the president's office.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
A fragment of a Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase lay scattered on the ground. Huo Qishan, his eyes bloodshot, roared into the phone. The three phones in his office hadn't stopped ringing since the market opened.
"Stay calm! I told you to stabilize the stock price! I'll give you whatever money you want!"
"Investigate! Investigate! Find out which bastard is behind this!"
He was in a state of utter panic, fully aware that the stock price collapse was merely a symptom; behind it all lay a long-planned financial attack. The other side was aggressive and their moves were deadly, clearly aiming to destroy the Huo family.
Just then, the secretary rushed in, her face pale: "Boss, something terrible has happened! Downstairs...downstairs..."
"Has the sky fallen?" Huo Qishan slammed the phone on the table.
"Bai Shu... Miss Bai's convoy is downstairs!" The secretary's voice trembled. "And... and a large number of reporters!"
Huo Qishan was suddenly stunned.
Atractylodes macrocephala? What's she doing here? Protesting?
He rushed to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked down. A convoy of cars, led by Rolls-Royces, pulled up impressively in front of the company building. Then, the woman he hated so much stepped gracefully out of the car, surrounded by a group of bodyguards in black.
What made his pupils shrink even more was that his younger brother, Huo Jingran, was the first to rush forward with a beaming smile, opening the door for Bai Shu in an almost fawning manner.
Downstairs, a flurry of flashes erupted.
"Miss Bai! Are you here at the Huo Group today to discuss cooperation on behalf of the Dong family?"
"Young Master Huo! Your personal welcome of Miss Bai, does it mean that the previous friction between our two families has been resolved?"
Like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, Huo Jingran extended his hand and warmly shook Bai Shu's hand in front of the media cameras:
"Welcome, welcome! It is an honor for the Huo family to have Miss Bai here! All the friction is just a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding! My elder brother has long admired Miss Bai, and the doors of the Huo family will always be open to Miss Bai!"
He was so immersed in his performance that even Bai Shu felt a little nauseous.
Bai Shu simply nodded indifferently, letting him perform, and then walked into the gate of the Huo Group surrounded by a group of reporters.
This scene, captured by reporters' lenses, was immediately broadcast throughout Hong Kong's financial circles.
An hour later, in the conference room on the top floor of the Huo Group.
Bai Shu sat leisurely in the main seat, with a row of lawyers standing behind her. A freshly brewed cup of Longjing tea sat in front of her, but she didn't even glance at it.
At the other end of the conference table were senior executives from the Huo family's legal department and Huo Qishan, whose face was so gloomy it could drip water.
"Miss Bai, you've been looking at this technology transfer letter of intent for an hour now." The Huo family's chief lawyer pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone tinged with suppressed impatience.
"Is that so?" Bai Shu raised her eyelids, pushed the document forward, and pointed her slender fingers at one of the pages.
"Article 4, regarding the scope of technology licensing, is too vague. What does 'related derivative technology' mean? Who defines 'related'? How is it defined? What if you use my technology to make a rice cooker in the future? Would that be considered my derivative technology?"
The lead lawyer's temple throbbed: "Ms. Bai, this is just a vague clause in industry practice..."
“There are no conventions in my dictionary,” Bai Shu interrupted him.
“Every word must be clear and unambiguous, leaving no room for ambiguity. Otherwise, how can I sign this contract?”
She remained calm and patient, meticulously examining each word with the Huo family's legal team.
Kenneth Fok sat beside him, feeling like he had a nail in his seat. His secretary came in every five minutes to whisper the latest stock prices in his ear.
"Boss, it's fallen below the issue price..."
"Boss, three securities firms have been hammered and have applied for trading suspension..."
"Boss, the bank called to urge us..."
Huo Qishan's heart was bleeding, but he couldn't show it. He stared intently at the composed woman and finally understood.
Technology transfer, submission—this woman was just playing him from beginning to end! She used this method to firmly pin him and all the high-ranking officials in charge to this conference room.
Luring the tiger away from the mountain.
Meanwhile, dozens of nautical miles away, near Nightingale Island.
Dozens of cargo ships, fishing boats, and yachts of varying sizes arrived like ghosts from all directions, slowly occupying all the key waterways and forming a huge encirclement.
A marine police patrol boat, siren blaring, sped towards them.
“Boat ahead! This is a no-navigation zone! Please leave immediately! Repeat, please leave immediately!”
The police officers on the patrol boat repeatedly warned the others with loudspeakers, but none of the boats in that convoy showed any intention of giving way.
Just then, on a luxury yacht, Dong Cunshan, leaning on a cane and surrounded by a group of business tycoons, walked onto the deck.
He smiled and held up a file bag in his hand in the direction of the marine police patrol boat: "Sir, I'm sorry. Our Hong Kong Island Shipping Association is conducting a joint exercise here and also exploring new waterways. All the procedures are in place, and we've already reported it."
The squad leader on the patrol boat broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the faces he had only ever seen in newspapers.
With such a large entourage, even if it were their department head, let alone a small squad leader, he would have to politely offer him a cigarette.
"This...is..."
"There's no 'buts'." Another fat shipping magnate waved his hand impatiently. "This is a legal business activity. You marine police just need to maintain order on the perimeter and not interfere with our business."
The squad leader was rebuffed and had no choice but to order the patrol boat to retreat and maintain perimeter security.
......
As dusk fell, the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon.
The sky darkened rapidly, and a thick fog rose without warning from the sea. Visibility was less than five meters.
Inside the safe house, Lu Jingyan glanced at the military watch on his wrist; the hands pointed precisely to the scheduled time of the operation.
He picked up the communicator on the table, brought it to his lips, and spoke succinctly and coldly.
"Operation begins."
Under the cover of night and thick fog, a specially modified, jet-black speedboat silently broke away from the encircling fleet.
It turned off all lights and engines, and driven only by a small amount of electricity, like a black snake slipping into water, without making a sound, it headed toward the defense blind spot marked on the map.
Seven dark figures stood silently on the speedboat.
Lu Jingyan, who was in the lead, had his face heavily painted with greasepaint, revealing only a pair of eyes that shone frighteningly in the darkness. Behind him, Qin Zheng and the other five team members stood like silent statues, each exuding a suffocating aura of bloodshed.
In the cold night wind, only a faint metallic clang could be heard.
Lu Jingyan pulled back the bolt, chambering a bullet. The weapon in his hand was already fitted with a long silencer.
The six people behind him did the same thing.
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