Chapter 369: Brokerage Firm Run

At this moment, not only the United States, but the entire world's attention is focused on "Robin Hood" because of the sensational "Game Station" incident.
Countless defrauded investors are seething with anger, just waiting for a leader to rally them and demand justice!
Zhao Xuan continued;
"At this time, our 'Fanghuan Investment' will emerge out of nowhere, raising its banner and wielding the '100 billion US dollar compensation' dragon-slaying sword!
Just imagine what that would be like!"
Immediately someone replied:
"Although everyone knows that amount is ridiculous, but... it will definitely pin the spotlight on us!"
"That's right! At the same time, our 'Fanghuan Exchange' will launch a thunderous marketing offensive!
I'm telling you, Chairman Su has already had a new version of the app ready, fully supporting US stock trading!"
"Holy crap! They're going to wipe out all of Robin Hood's users!"
"That's right! That's our mission!
Make this the hottest topic possible, create the biggest buzz ever!
Use the most sensational, explosive headlines to tell the world—
Fanghuan Investment is going to avenge retail investors!
'The first billion-dollar lawsuit in US history, initiated by us!'"
Just hearing these words sent chills down the spines of the legal elites in the conference room!
Adrenaline surged, a thrilling rush from their tailbone to the top of their heads!
Globally, you can hardly find a lawsuit comparable to a billion dollars!
Moreover, they chose to launch such a large-scale lawsuit on the global hot topic of "Robin Hood"!
The mastermind behind this was their "idle, overworked" legal department?!
This...this was practically the pinnacle of everyone's career!
"But, remember this!"
Zhao Xuan's face hardened, and he said sternly:
"Although this number is meant to attract attention, we must approach this lawsuit with the attitude and spirit of 'we must get this 100 billion!'
For the company, this might be a marketing campaign;
But for our legal department, this is our battle to establish our reputation!
Do you all understand?"
"Understood!!" the crowd roared in unison, their morale soaring.
"Good! Everyone get moving, prepare the materials immediately, and call a meeting right away!"
After dismissing his overly enthusiastic subordinates, Zhao Xuan also felt a long-lost surge of excitement.
But for some reason, Su Hao's nonchalant face when he uttered "100 billion US dollars" resurfaced in his mind.
What kind of smile was that...full of confidence and composure, as if everything was under control.
It wasn't just about getting a hundred billion dollars.
Zhao Xuan vaguely felt it was more like the smug look on the face of a apex predator eyeing its prey before the hunt!
***
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of "Robin Hood".
"What did you say? How...how much?!"
"A hundred billion...dollars. Mr. Tynes, although they haven't officially filed a lawsuit yet, they've already launched a massive advertising campaign across all media channels."
They claimed that all investors who suffered losses due to the "GameStation" incident could file a class-action lawsuit for free by simply filling out a form.
Their total claim was a hundred billion US dollars!
"Bastards! These utter lunatics! This is simply a fantasy!"
Robin's CEO, Tynes, was so angry he almost overturned the table.
When he removed the buy button, he anticipated a loss of users.
He also thought that Fanghuan Investment and Musk would naturally stop after achieving their goal.
In fact, Musk didn't make any further statements afterward.
But the problem was, Fanghuan Investment, that cunning old fox, didn't play by the rules at all!
"Mr. Tynes, Fanghuan Investment... I'm afraid they came for this from the very beginning!" An executive, his face pale, said...
“They acted so fast, it was as if they had anticipated we'd remove the 'buy' button!
They've already partnered with top US law firms; the litigation materials are probably piling up!”
“The truly fatal thing is the user loss!” another executive added, his face pale.
“Fanghuan Investment is offering free legal representation, but with one condition—
You must register for their ‘Fanghuan Exchange,’ and they require users to submit their applications directly through the app!
Even more ruthless, they're copying us, waiving all US stock trading fees…!”
At first, they all thought Fanghuan Investment was just trying to give the overly aggressive “Robin Hood” a warning, weakening their influence.
Now they realize, they weren't just trying to give them a warning; they wanted to uproot them completely!
They'd swallowed all the users they had painstakingly built up in one gulp!
"Is the situation... dangerous?" Tynes' voice was hoarse.
"Yes, Mr. Tynes. It's not just dangerous, it's deadly!" The executive's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Users are fleeing on a massive scale!
What's worse, Fang Huan is frantically promoting their platform's stability and strong financial resources on all social media!
Conversely, they're turning all the negative news about us into jokes and spreading them everywhere!"
In the past, television and newspaper advertising were king.
But in this era, social media is the true nuclear weapon of public opinion.
And Fang Huan has clearly mastered this powerful weapon.
"If this momentum continues... we... we will face... a 'brokerage run'!"
"!?
Everyone in the conference room gasped.
A brokerage run.
This disaster occurs when users of one brokerage transfer their assets to another brokerage in a large-scale, panicked manner within a short period.
Just like a bank suddenly facing a run on depositors, a brokerage can collapse instantly.
But who could have imagined that such an extreme situation, straight out of a textbook, would actually happen to "Robin Hood," the company with the most users in the US!
"Then...what do we do now?"
"What do we do? You're asking me what to do?!" Tynes roared hysterically.
"Stop it, of course! Are we just going to watch all the money get transferred out and the company go bankrupt?!"
"But...but, how can we stop customers from transferring their money?"
"Then find me an excuse! Make up a reason! Say the server is down! System maintenance!
If that doesn't work, just like you removed the 'buy' button, remove the 'withdraw' button too!
Wasn't it all because of the lousy ideas of you bunch of idiots that we've ended up like this?!"
Watching the CEO completely lose his composure and frantically shift blame, the executives in the conference room fell silent.
But the same thought simultaneously popped into their minds:
It's over, this ship...is sinking.
If we don't find a lifeboat and escape now, it'll be too late!