Chapter 364: The Eastern Dragon's Reverse Scale

At first, everyone thought Fang Huan was the mastermind.
But as time went on, people gradually began to realize something was amiss.
Behind Fang Huan, there seemed to be an even more terrifying force.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain his series of reckless and domineeringly crazy actions!
However, what was most chilling was that the true mastermind lurking beneath the abyss remained elusive, without even a glimpse of its outline.
“That level of questioning is not for us to investigate,” Bell interrupted the discussion, lowering his voice to warn,
“I want to stay in this position for a few more years. Keep your mouths shut, understand what I mean?”
“Yes, Mr. Bell.”
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly became tense.
No one knew just how far Fang Huan's investments extended, or where their ears were planted.
They might even have spies planted within this company, or even in this conference room!
No one wanted to disappear without a trace because they couldn't keep their mouths shut.
“However… Mr. Bell, I do have some new information to report regarding Fang Huan.”
“Speak.”
“As Fang Huan’s broker, we can roughly see their trading movements…”
Fang Huan is, after all, an overseas company. To invest in the US market, they must go through a broker.
Unless they build their own new platform that can directly trade in the global market.
“And then?”
“Just yesterday, a stock called ‘Game Station’ surged by 15%.”
“Game Station? That junk stock with a short position exceeding 140%?”
“Yes. This started with a post on an online community stirring things up, and it suddenly became popular. But the problem is…
Before the stock price surged, the first institution to invest was Fang Huan!”
“…What?”
Game Station.
To put it bluntly, it’s a junk stock, a toy for short-selling institutions to play with.
What is the scale of Fang Huan Investment?
Logically, why would it stoop to mess with such insignificant small fry?
But it did anyway!
“How much did they invest?”
“Over a million… US dollars.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes. And today, they added another million US dollars.”
“…?”
Bell was completely dumbfounded.
This amount didn’t seem like it was for profit.
A million US dollars, for Fang Huan now, was probably less than a penny.
“While you could say that their initial million-dollar investment stirred up the emotions of the community’s individual investors…
But this amount, if they wanted to make a profit, wouldn’t even be enough to fill a gap in Fang Huan’s teeth.”
“Yes, given Fang Huan’s style, if he were to set up a scheme, he would never do it on such a small scale.”
But they just kept pouring money in, like squeezing toothpaste.
"Holy crap, these lunatics... what are they up to this time?"
***
In the US, a stock trading app called "Robinhood" is sweeping through the youth market.
With its revolutionary slogan of "no transaction fees," it has attracted a massive user base and is enjoying unparalleled popularity.
On the surface, it seems like they're losing money to gain publicity, but in reality, free transaction fees are a global trend.
It doesn't charge users, but instead collects order flow fees from market makers, resulting in higher profits.
Furthermore, it earns interest on customers' idle funds, offers paid premium research reports and analysis services, and charges substantial fees for cryptocurrency transactions…
Robin's business model is remarkably robust. The more users they have, the more they earn.
They've even begun to expand into the cryptocurrency market, boasting of challenging the industry's leader—Fanghuan Exchange!
“…What? How much did it go up?!”
“Today! Ninety percent!”
“!?!”
However, a sudden disaster erupted where no one expected it.
“This…how is this possible?! A ninety percent increase in one day?! And it's that kind of junk stock!!”
Robin's founder and CEO, Tynes, felt his head was about to explode.
Just a month ago, GameStation's stock price was hovering around $18.
But now, its stock price has soared to a staggering $200!
This isn't a miracle, it's a divine intervention!
The most outrageous thing is that GameStop itself didn't have a single positive piece of news!
"It started circulating only in online communities, but what ignited it all was...that 'Musk'!
He suddenly posted a strange tweet on social media..."
Musk.
The man on this planet most adept at using social media to stir up trouble, a madman called the "greatest fraudster of the century" by countless people.
That mentally ill person who constantly talks about going to Mars, this morning, without warning, mentioned GameStop on social media, instantly igniting global public opinion.
And then, everything exploded!
"Not just in the US, retail investors all over the world know about 'GameStop,' and now all the hot money in the world is frantically pouring in!"
"So...so you mean, tomorrow...it will rise again?"
"Yes! It rose 90% today, and tomorrow...it might rise even more insanely!"
Tains felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
"The most critical issue right now is the margin!" The CFO's face was deathly pale.
"If the stock price continues to rise like this, the margin we have to pay to the clearinghouse will increase exponentially! We simply can't handle it!"
The funds shorting "GameStation" facing liquidation are their own problem.
But for "RobinHero," the brokerage firm itself, the enormous margin payments it needs to make to the clearinghouse are the most fatal crisis at hand.
To prevent brokerage firms from being unable to settle client transactions, the clearinghouse collects margin from them in advance.
GameStation's near 100% surge in a single day directly led the clearinghouse to impose exorbitant margin demands on all relevant brokerage firms.
Large, well-funded brokerage firms might be able to weather the storm.
But "RobinHero," as a zero-commission brokerage firm, relies primarily on order flow payments for profit, and its cash reserves are simply insufficient.
“What if tomorrow…it really does increase by another 90%?”
“Then we’re finished,” the CFO said desperately. “We’ve already borrowed all the emergency loans we could.”
Tains’ vision went black.
What on earth is going on?
How could such an absurd thing happen?
“Mr. Tynes… there are rumors circulating,” the CFO began with difficulty,
“behind this ‘GameStation’ incident… is Fanghuan Investment.”
“What?! What kind of nonsense is this?”
“It’s true… before the stock price skyrocketed, the first institution to invest was Fanghuan Investment.
And isn’t Musk a strategic partner of Fanghuan?
He’s frantically promoting GameStation through social media!”
That’s right, social media has long been firmly under their control!
In an instant, all the clues connected like lightning, and Tynes’ back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
"So...so you mean...Fang Huan orchestrated this damn short squeeze to get rid of us?!
But why would they do that?!"
"We were recently making a big fuss about vying for the top spot in the cryptocurrency market...
Perhaps that's what provoked them..."
In that instant, Tynes finally understood where this sudden, illogical disaster came from.
To nip their biggest competitor in the bud!
Fang Huan Investment had meticulously planned this financial strangulation that would impact the entire Wall Street and go down in history!
Thinking this, Tynes felt a chill run down his spine, and sweat poured down his back.
Damn it, he really...had a death wish!
He actually touched the sore spot of this Eastern dragon!