Chapter 44: You've really screwed me over, leaving me with nothing but my underwear!

In stark and devastating contrast to the celebratory atmosphere of "We're rich!" permeating the offices of Trading Department Seven, the options departments of various private equity firms were collectively suffocating under the weight of a devastating blow.
Among them, those unfortunate souls who had previously sold large quantities of put options were trembling the most, their teeth chattering like those of someone with late-stage Parkinson's.
"Today... there shouldn't be any sell orders coming in today, right?"
Someone asked in a barely audible whisper, their voice filled with desperate pleading.
"Are you crazy? Sell now? Did he get his brain slammed in a door or kicked by a donkey?"
A colleague retorted irritably:
"Look at these option prices! They're just sitting there, rising like a rocket every day! That bastard who holds our lifeline in his hands, he'd have to be insane to sell now!"
"Seriously... who the hell is it? Who's holding so many damn put options?"
Someone growled hysterically, their eyes bloodshot.
Blood? It's long since dried up. Now it's just yellow bile and black heart's blood.
In their eyes, the mysterious tycoon holding a massive amount of put options was simply playing cat and mouse.
He reveled in their pitiful wail on the ruins of the stock market, enjoying the thrill of controlling others' lives.
The longer it drags on, the more the stock market crashes, the more valuable his options become—even a three-year-old understands that!
Did he have any reason to stop now? No!
Despair, like thick black ink, silently spread throughout the department.
Everyone was desperate, ready to line up for the rooftop.
"Sigh, there's nothing we can do, just wait to die. I'm going to have a smoke to keep going..."
A trader who looked utterly hopeless stood up, preparing to go to the stairwell for a nicotine smoke to numb his nerves.
Just then—
"It's...it's out!" A trader who had been staring intently at the screen suddenly screamed, his voice distorted.
"What? What are you yelling about?!"
"Sell orders! Sell orders have appeared! That mysterious person, he's unloading! Grab them! Grab them all, no matter the cost! Quick!!"
The traders who were just moments before slumped over their desks, leaning back in their chairs, or cursing the world in the corner, instantly revived upon hearing this!
One by one, as if electrocuted, they sprang from their seats and lunged at their keyboards and mice!
Eyes widened like saucers, fingers moved like phantoms, frantically tapping the buy button, sparks flying from the mouse clicks—they were using every ounce of strength they had!
The seller was cunning too, not foolishly dumping all the stock at once.
Instead, he controlled the pace, releasing the stock little by little, like squeezing toothpaste, keeping the price high and slow.
This made the buyers even more nervous; their hearts were pounding in their throats, and they dared not breathe.
They were terrified that if their hands slowed down, their keyboards froze, or their network malfunctioned, their life-saving chips would be snatched away by other institutions also frantically buying!
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
After a frenzied, world war-like buying frenzy, the smoke finally cleared temporarily.
"How's it going? Have all the positions been closed? How many?" the department head asked, his voice trembling.
"Most...most of them have been closed, thank goodness..."
A trader in charge of operations slumped in his chair, panting heavily, his face pale and his forehead covered in cold sweat:
"Although the price was ridiculously high, at least...at least the positions were closed..."
A group of people, as if they had just escaped death, slumped at their workstations, gasping for breath, the air thick with sweat and the exhaustion of despair.
Although buying back these put options at such a high price meant they had lost everything.
The department's bonuses for this year, next year's budget, and even some people's jobs might be gone.
But!
At least they avoided a far more devastating outcome:
For example, a complete margin call, triggering a chain reaction, and everyone being forced to leave, with the next day's headlines being "XX Financial Institution Bankruptcy and Liquidation."
It felt like the final second before execution, the executioner's blade raised high, when suddenly an imperial edict ordering, "Spare their lives!"
The mysterious figure who had tormented them to the point of near death, keeping them awake at night, inexplicably took pity at the last moment and loosened the noose around their necks.
"Why...why is he selling now?"
As the tension subsided, a huge, gleaming question mark slowly rose above everyone's foreheads.
"Yeah, it's so strange! Holding on would have made even more money! Look now, even though his selling caused a slight price drop, the overall trend is still upward!"
This was clearly a time to lie back and count money, to pick up money until your hands cramped!
He kicked away the pie falling from the sky, a pie that was constantly getting bigger?
This action was utterly illogical, inhumane, and contrary to common sense!
Has he lost his mind?
"Who knows? Maybe they urgently need money over there? Like, to buy an aircraft carrier, planes, or some small islands?" someone speculated.
"Could it be... some inside information we don't know about?"
Another person offered a more plausible, yet more chilling, possibility:
"Just like before the crash, he was able to precisely buy in advance, this time... did he know something beforehand again?"
"What kind of information could he have? The regulators haven't made a move at all! The stock market still just free-falled, didn't it?"
"Whatever! Damn it! I'm too lazy to think about it! I couldn't figure it out even if I racked my brains!"
"Thank goodness it ended like this! If they had let it hold on for a few more days, we'd really be lining up on the rooftop! These past few days, watching those few measly sell orders, my eyes are practically popping out of their sockets! I've used several bottles of eye drops!"
Yeah, that's it. Let's not delve too deeply. Be content with what we have; at least we're still alive.
If it had fallen any further, who knows what things worse than hell might have happened.
"Alright, alright, you've all worked hard." The department head forced a smile and clapped his hands:
"Thank goodness, we've escaped with our lives. Come on, let's really go have a smoke this time to calm our nerves..."
However, fate didn't seem to intend to give them even a moment's rest.
The unfortunate manager hadn't even finished speaking, and was just about to take a puff of his cigarette to relax his tense nerves…
“Wait, wait! Manager! Look!!”
A trader who had been staring at the news terminal suddenly let out a scream even more terrified than when he'd discovered the sell order.
The manager, who was about to have a post-incident cigarette, was interrupted. Extremely impatient, he turned around, his face radiating animosity that screamed, “Is this ever going to end?”
“What the hell is going on now? What kind of trouble is this? Is the regulators up to something again?”
“Yes!!!” the trader shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Huh?”
The manager's eyes widened instantly. He dashed to the nearest monitor, and everyone else swarmed around him.
On the financial news channel, a serious-looking female anchor was rapidly reporting the breaking news with a "witnessing history" tone:
[The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has just announced:
To maintain market stability, effective immediately, shareholders holding more than 5% of listed companies' shares are prohibited from reducing their holdings through the secondary market!
All related major shareholder sales will be suspended!
Furthermore, it has been reported that a national-level investment fund has confirmed its entry into the market to stabilize it!
Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China announced an interest rate cut…]
"A ban on major shareholders selling? Holy crap! These lunatics! What are they up to now?!" the manager exclaimed in shock.
This extremely drastic and forceful administrative intervention—a ban on major shareholder sales, akin to "pulling the plug"—combined with an interest rate cut and the entry of the national team…
The intention behind this thunderous combination of measures is crystal clear!
After a continuous market crash and teetering on the brink of collapse, the regulators have finally stopped "playing dead" and are stepping in to "correct the situation" and forcibly rescue the market!
This would inevitably trigger a powerful, even retaliatory, rebound in the teetering, free-falling stock market!
Then the question arises… about those put options they just bought at such a high price…
“So… did we just buy them at… precisely at the summit of Mount Everest?”
The manager’s voice trembled, almost breaking.
“…I’m afraid so.” The trader nodded with difficulty, his face more grim than if he were crying.
Less than ten minutes after the news broke, the price of those put options they had just bought at any cost had plummeted like a kite with a broken string, halved in value, then halved again!!
And judging by the momentum, it was going to continue falling!
How low? Who knows!
It might even become a pile of worthless paper!
“Just… just a few minutes…” someone muttered to himself, his eyes vacant.
If, if that mysterious person had waited just a few more minutes, until the news broke before making their move…
Then they could have bought back these hot potatoes for a much cheaper price, almost a bargain price!
Maybe…
They wouldn't have needed to buy them at all!
Because by then, these options would be worthless!
“…”
A deathly silence enveloped the entire office.
Everyone was stunned, frozen in place, as if petrified.
After a long while…
“…Who is it?”
The manager asked in a voice filled with a deep-seated fear and bewilderment.
At this point, this question was no longer just a matter of curiosity.
“Damn it!! Which son of a bitch is it?!”
He slammed his fist on the table, roaring hysterically:
“You've ripped me off so badly I'm left with nothing!!! Who the hell is it!!!”