Chapter 336: 2800 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate

"Chairman Su, Fanghuan Shipping is asking if we should accept this 'free' crude oil now?"
In fact, it's not just free; they're giving you oil while simultaneously paying you a bonus.
Ten dollars a barrel!
Su Hao didn't answer immediately but looked at his team: "What do you think?"
"With prices plummeting like this, even the most stubborn Saudi Arabia and Russia should sit down and restart production cut negotiations by now, right?
If this continues, their national finances will collapse."
"I think so too. There are reports that the two countries are pushing for a new round of negotiations."
"So, -$10 should be the historical bottom?"
"I think so. Even if it falls further, it can't go much lower; it should eventually stop falling and rebound around this level.
After all, no country can stand by and watch oil prices stay in negative territory."
"Yes, now is the golden opportunity to buy at the bottom! Buy blindly, and you'll make a fortune!"
Everyone's opinion was remarkably consistent.
Su Hao listened to his team's analysis and nodded.
Logically, that was indeed the case.
However, this was merely mortal logic.
He reached out and gently touched the cold screen displaying the candlestick chart.
“…!”
In an instant, everything changed!
The world before him was no longer data and charts, but a surging river of time!
The candlestick representing oil prices seemed to be grabbed by an invisible hand, violently pulled downwards, piercing directly through the so-called "ironclad bottom."
Like a runaway drill, it plunged wildly downwards, piercing the earth's crust, piercing the mantle, as if it were about to crash all the way to the earth's core!
What did this mean?
It meant that Saudi Arabia and Russia, these two stubborn mules, would continue to fight to the death for their pitiful pride!
For that laughable face, they would continue to hold on, and oil prices would face an even more devastating collapse!
"...Pass the word," Su Hao withdrew his hand, his voice completely calm, "Don't buy yet, wait a bit longer."
"Huh? Chairman Su, you think...the price will continue to fall?" His subordinates looked bewildered.
"Yes," Su Hao offered a logical explanation,
"Saudi Arabia, Russia, aren't they both hot-tempered?
Both sides are the type to rather break than surrender.
Money is important, of course, but for people like them, sometimes face is more important than money.
This charade will continue until one side backs down."
Su Hao sneered inwardly.
Just wait, when oil prices really plummet to the point of bursting through the Earth's mantle, all that bullshit pride, all that great power dignity, will have to be thrown away obediently.
Then, what Fang Huan will do is, at the very bottom of that abyss, swallow as much of the world's oil as possible in one go!
“Oh, by the way, Chairman Su,” Li Huilin continued her report,
“It was just confirmed that the Levant has won the operating rights for the Port of Beirut.
They added a little bit to our offer.”
“Oh, really?” Su Hao’s reaction remained indifferent, as if listening to a trivial matter.
“Yes. Although the Levant has been taken advantage of this time, they are backed by petrodollars. As long as they gain a foothold, recovery is only a matter of time.”
"Our Fanghuan Shipping team, in order to counter Levant's future expansion, is accelerating acquisition negotiations with other shipping companies."
Currently, many struggling shipping companies are holding back, waiting to see who will offer the higher price—Fanghuan or Levant—so they can get a better deal.
Fanghuan's original plan was to circle like a vulture, waiting for those dying companies to slowly bleed to their last drop of blood before devouring them at the lowest possible price.
But Levant's appearance has completely disrupted their plans.
"..."
Su Hao fell silent.
Beirut...was giving up there really the right thing to do?
A flicker of doubt crossed Su Hao's mind, and almost unconsciously, he reopened the investigation report on the Port of Beirut.
However, the moment he turned to the first page—
Just like last time, an indescribable sense of terror instantly enveloped him!
A deafening roar seemed to echo in his ears, a terrifying, world-destroying aura seemingly transcending time and space, bursting forth from the pages!
Su Hao gasped for breath, forcibly suppressing the tremor that gripped his very soul, and immediately closed the report.
“Immediately notify Fang Huan Shipping: don't accelerate the acquisition. Maintain the current pace. Don't be reckless!”
“Ah…yes! Chairman Su!”
Su Hao waved for everyone to continue working, but he knew that the terror of being engulfed by the massive shockwave of the explosion still lingered in every cell of his body.
‘What will happen at Beirut Port…?’
***
Meanwhile, at Levant headquarters.
Khalid's deputy reported the successful takeover of Beirut.
“Congratulations, Mr. President.”
"Congratulations my ass!" Khalid took a sip of coffee, the bitter taste still lingering in his mouth.
"We spent a whopping 30 billion US dollars!"
"But from today onwards, we at Levant will reign supreme over the world's oceans, with the Middle East at our center!"
His deputy exclaimed excitedly.
Khalid's feelings were indeed complex.
Beirut was a must-have for Levant's grand ambitions.
But the price was far beyond his expectations.
"They got off easy with those Lebanese bastards!"
"No choice, Mr. President. That mad dog Fang Huan was biting so hard."
"So, they were just bluffing, just to annoy us?"
"I suspect so. They successfully fooled us and then made a clean getaway.
But it's alright, we'll pay for this tenfold in the future!
When Levant grows strong, the first thing we'll crush is Fang Huan Shipping!"
Khalid nodded.
That's right, exactly!
Even their scriptures say: 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; every wound must be repaid.'
Of course, the scriptures also say that forgiveness is nobler than revenge.
"But I think that even Allah will understand our revenge against a devil like Fang Huan!"
Moreover, although they lost over 30 billion US dollars today, this port can earn him 300 billion, or even more, in the future!
"By the way, how's the situation at the port?"
"With some simple repairs and upgrades, it can be put into use. The overall condition is good."
However… there’s something tricky.”
“What is it?”
“In a warehouse in the port of Beirut, there are about 2,800 tons of ammonium nitrate.”