Chapter 312: Super Short Position

"The positions? Are they all set up?"
In the conference room, Wu Jianlin asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over every core member of the "Pangu" project team.
"All set up, Secretary Wu. Right on time, we barely met the three-month deadline."
A trader wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his voice hoarse.
For the past three months, the entire "Pangu" project team had been like a wound-up top, spinning frantically without stopping.
They strictly followed the script provided by Fang Huan Investment, frantically clearing out 30% of the positions held by the China Strategic Investment Fund.
Then, they staked that astronomical sum of money in all global markets on the same direction: shorting!
That was a super short position of three trillion RMB!
Like a colossal beast looming in the sky, its cold eyes surveyed the world's financial markets, waiting only for the order to open its bloodthirsty maw and devour everything.
Even with the global market as its hunting ground, absorbing such a terrifying volume within just three months is no easy feat.
After all, short selling requires counterparties; someone has to be foolish enough to rush in and take the hit.
If market liquidity dries up, this behemoth simply cannot be born.
"But this time, strangely enough, there's almost zero resistance in that regard."
A trader's tone carried a hint of lingering fear and bewilderment.
"In the current market, everyone's rushing in like they're on steroids.
Liquidity? Ha, liquidity is overflowing, that's not what we're worried about at all..."
Yes, what they're worried about is something else entirely.
At this moment, the global financial markets are experiencing an unprecedented frenzy.
The project team is desperately selling off assets to build short positions, while global stock markets are soaring like rockets. This makes everyone on the project team feel like they're being roasted on a fire, almost smoking.
"This momentum is too strong, it's simply bizarre!
At this rate, the US stock market is about to break through its all-time high!"
"And it's not just the US! Europe is also surging upwards like it's on steroids!
There's no bear market at all; everywhere you look, it's red, a chillingly red!"
The "Pangu" project team had just dumped their short positions when, as if by prior arrangement, capital from all over the world began violently driving up stock prices.
The scene was so uniformly coordinated it was terrifying.
"I don't understand, I really don't understand!" A young man cried out in despair, grabbing his hair.
"Even our own Jiangcheng is under lockdown!
The Xia Country A-shares market is also plummeting, how come the outside markets are acting like nothing happened?"
The sudden storm in Jiangcheng was far more severe than the outside world imagined.
A megacity with a population of over ten million was locked down with lightning speed; this scale spoke volumes.
Moreover, the virus's reach had already extended to all parts of the world, with infections springing up like mushrooms after rain.
The WHO's declaration of a "state of emergency" was no exaggeration.
Wu Jianlin once thought this was the prelude to the cataclysmic financial crisis Su Hao had described.
But what happened?
Instead of plummeting, stock prices in other countries soared to the moon!
"Secretary Wu! We can't wait any longer! We must stop now!"
In the conference room, the core team was on the verge of collapse.
"If it keeps rising like this, the prime broker will force us to provide margin calls!
But all our money has been poured into the global market; where do we find the spare cash to cover their margin calls?"
Three trillion yuan couldn't possibly be used entirely for short positions; margin was essential.
Faced with such a steep and unreasonable upward curve, the major partner financial institutions were practically bombarding them with calls demanding margin payments.
If they refused to pay, there would only be one consequence.
"Then… forced liquidation."
"…If we liquidate our positions now, how much will we lose?" Wu Jianlin's voice was extremely hoarse.
"Reporting to Secretary Wu, we will suffer losses of at least 7% to 10%."
"That means a loss of 300 billion?"
"Yes... Secretary Wu. Moreover, if we miss this opportunity and the global market continues its irrational rise, the losses...
will spiral completely out of control, becoming an astronomical figure that none of us can bear!"
300 billion!
This is not a cold, hard number.
This is the military budget to build several aircraft carriers, the hope to send millions of impoverished children back to school, the most solid ballast stone for the nation in future turbulent times!
And now, it is about to vanish in the blink of an eye.
A violent dizziness suddenly enveloped Wu Jianlin; the whole world twisted and spun before his eyes, finally plunging into darkness.
He painfully closed his eyes, gripping the table tightly to keep from collapsing.
'It's over…'
'Everything is over…'
He seemed to see his final judgment in history books:
Wu Jianlin, the sinner of the China Strategic Investment Fund, a stubborn and headstrong gambler!
For a gamble with no hope of survival, he personally evaporated hundreds of billions of yuan of the nation's strategic funds, prematurely closing the golden window of opportunity for China's rise by years or even decades!
'It was me…'
He gasped in agony, his heart gripped tightly by an invisible hand, each beat accompanied by excruciating pain.
'It was I who personally pushed the nation's future into the abyss…'
Endless self-reproach and regret washed over him like icy seawater.
The conference room was deathly silent; everyone held their breath, awaiting Wu Jianlin's final decision.
Just when everyone thought this iron-fisted leader was finally about to bow his head in submission, Wu Jianlin's shoulders stopped trembling slightly.
He slowly, inch by inch, raised his head.
There was no expected collapse, no resigned despair.
In those bloodshot eyes, a spark reignited!
A spark, struggling to emerge from the ashes of despair, a spark tinged with madness!
“Just…just a little more holding on.”
“Secretary Wu…Secretary Wu!!” the crowd exclaimed, unable to believe their ears.
“No! Secretary Wu! If we liquidate now! We can do everything in our power and are confident we can keep the losses below 6%!”
“6%? What fundamental difference does a loss of 300 billion or a loss of 200 billion make to us, to the country?”
Silence fell.
"There's no difference! Losing three hundred billion or losing two hundred billion,"
Wu Jianlin's voice suddenly rose. He braced himself on the table, swaying as he stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"Both are unforgivable failures!"
He took a deep breath, his eyes piercing through the crowd, as if he saw himself again, the one who had sworn a solemn oath to his superiors.
"Everyone should understand, right?" A near-mad resolve flashed in Wu Jianlin's eyes.
"From the moment we launched the 'Pangu' project, from the moment we established this unprecedented short position, there was no turning back!
Either we become eternal sinners who ruin the nation's destiny, forever infamous!
Or, we will forge a new future for Xia Kingdom on this ruin!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone in the conference room stunned.
Though his words were bold, only Wu Jianlin himself knew that his hands, gripping the table, were trembling uncontrollably.
His lips were already cracked and peeling; for days, he had been sleepless and had no appetite, clinging to life only with a sliver of hope.
'Su Hao… will the future you promised me really come?'
Just as he was questioning his soul for the ten thousand and first time, driven to the brink of madness by regret and self-reproach…
"Ding—"
A crisp notification sound, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper.
The US stock market across the ocean officially broke its all-time high!
Setting an unprecedented record!
At the same instant, the death knell of international financial institutions, acting as prime brokers, rained down like snowflakes.
A series of harshly worded emails, a string of cold, ruthless phone calls, all with one core message:
Immediately, right now, add margin!
And explicitly stated that if the funds were not quickly available, they would initiate forced liquidation procedures!
"…"
The conference room fell into a deathly silence.
The crowd stopped trying to persuade them; they all understood it was too late.
The final window for liquidating their positions and leaving the market had closed.
All they could do seemed to be sit there dumbfounded, watching helplessly as the astronomical sums of their positions were mercilessly liquidated by the system.
Watching trillions of dollars of national wealth vanish into thin air on the screen.
Like condemned prisoners kneeling before the guillotine, awaiting the moment the blade would fall.
Just as this atmosphere of despair became so thick it was impossible to dissipate!
"It's crashing!!" Suddenly, a deafening roar rang out!