Chapter 132: exploded!

"Mr. Su, all orders are placed!" a trader shouted.
However, the speed at which the trades were completed far exceeded Su Hao's expectations.
His sell orders, placed to short the market, were almost instantly devoured by a pack of hungry wolves of buy orders, leaving not a ripple.
"Looks like the rumors outside are true... those 'short squeeze suicide squads' are sharpening their knives, just waiting to devour people!..."
"What do we do, Mr. Su? It's probably too late to back out now, isn't it?"
A gloomy atmosphere filled the office.
Those overseas "short squeeze funds," like heavily armored cavalry charging in from the Middle Ages, kicked up clouds of dust and stormed into the domestic stock market.
Their goal was singular—to crush their heavily shorted "prey" into dust!
Previously, whenever a large short position was exposed, this "death legion" would swarm in like vultures smelling carrion.
But now, they've targeted every sell order on Jiangjin Group's stock chart!
The storm descended, its iron hooves thundering, the overwhelming buy orders crashing down with devastating force!
"..."
Even someone as seasoned as Su Hao couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He'd only ever heard of the dangers of a "short squeeze" in legends; he never imagined he'd become the hunted himself!
Perhaps... from the moment he decided to establish such a massive short position, he should have been prepared for this backlash.
"Mr. Su..."
In the trading room, everyone's eyes were fixed on Su Hao, their gazes filled with anxiety and unease.
They all knew that in their current passive, defensive position, if the stock price continued to rise like this, they would soon be forced to liquidate due to insufficient margin.
At that time, all their funds would vanish, and everyone would lose everything!
Could it be… that they had really messed up this time?
Has President Su misjudged?
Su Hao silently placed his hand gently on the stock chart of Jiangjin Group. He extended his finger and lightly tapped the air.
“…”
His fingertip, or rather his intuition, still felt nothing unusual.
This meant—his judgment was correct!
“Wait.”
He uttered a single word, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable firmness and determination,
“Grit your teeth and hold on to the bitter end!”
***
Meanwhile, across the ocean, and around the world.
Russia, Malaysia, the Netherlands… and other countries.
The Note 7's popularity was nothing short of phenomenal, triggering a buying frenzy worldwide and even causing a severe supply shortage at one point.
This was evident in the continuously soaring stock price of Jiangjin Group.
Of course, this was also partly due to domestic and international short squeeze funds maliciously inflating the stock price to force short sellers to their deaths.
'It's about time... those guys' "death warrant" arrived, isn't it?' Su Hao stroked his chin, silently calculating in his mind.
According to the script, their short positions were on the verge of collapse due to insufficient margin.
Without a dramatic reversal, even a slight increase in the stock price would force them into liquidation!
However, this reversal turned out to be a shocking piece of news that even they hadn't anticipated!
"Breaking news! A Note 7 phone exploded on a plane!!!"
In the trading room, a trader who closely followed international developments exclaimed in shock, his voice trembling with excitement!
"Fortunately, it exploded and caught fire before takeoff, and so far, there are no reports of injuries!"
Cases of Note 7 phones catching fire or even exploding due to their built-in batteries were springing up like mushrooms after rain, erupting one after another around the world!
Initially, Jiangjin Group thought it was malicious smear campaigns by competitors, isolated incidents "manufactured" with ulterior motives, and remained stubbornly silent.
But as similar incidents increased, Jiangjin Group initially launched a "free replacement" campaign, attempting to quell the situation.
Even so, it couldn't stop the situation from deteriorating further.
Finally, a major event, enough to shake the world, inevitably erupted!
"Is the news true? The US and Europe have already completely banned Note 7 phones on all flights?"
"Absolutely true! And the problem isn't just limited to airports!
The US Department of Transportation just issued an emergency notice, preparing to completely ban the use of Note 7 phones in all public places..."
***
"Bang—!"
At the Jiangjin Group headquarters, Chairman Qin Han slammed his hand heavily on the conference table, the hard, expensive mahogany surface emitting a dull thud under its weight.
The room full of executives fell silent, heads bowed, not daring to breathe, the entire space eerily quiet.
Qin Han breathed heavily, his chest heaving like a broken bellows. It took him a long time to barely suppress the raging fire within him, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper had been scraped across his skin:
"Has the problem... been thoroughly investigated?!
Last time, when the first explosion occurred, didn't you confidently say that it was a minor issue, just a low-probability event?!"
His voice was almost forced out through clenched teeth, each word carrying a chilling edge.
"At the time... it was indeed difficult to pinpoint the root cause immediately..."
The CEO of WoVi Manufacturing, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, explained haltingly, his voice trembling.
"After repeated testing... we discovered that some batches of battery cells had missing insulating tape.
Furthermore, the separator was damaged, the electrodes were bent, resulting in insufficient safety clearance between components... ultimately leading to thermal runaway."
"Can this be resolved through after-sales repair?" Qin Han's gaze was like a knife slicing across his face.
The manufacturer's CEO swallowed hard, sweat soaking the back of his shirt, his face more grim than if he were crying:
"I'm afraid...it won't work. This batch of batteries...is flawed from the very beginning of its design. We can only...we have to reproduce them all."
The air in the conference room instantly plummeted to freezing point, a bone-chilling cold spreading through the room.
Normally, with Qin Han's fiery temper, he would have slammed his fist on the table, cursed, and overturned the conference table!
But now, he didn't even have the energy to get angry. He felt as if all his energy had been drained, only experiencing waves of dizziness.
“…”
A deathly silence lasted for an unknown length of time.
“All…recall.”
Qin Han finally spoke, his voice eerily calm.
“Huh? Recall? Chairman, you mean…
a massive global recall of all Note 7 phones already sold?”
An executive exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yes, recall them all. Not a single one will be spared.”
Qin Han gave the order with absolute certainty!
(My darlings, one more chapter, will be released before noon!)