Chapter 628: Picasso's Abstract Paintings

Honestly, the thought of Fang Huan, the mastermind behind this apocalyptic catastrophe...
and now, feigning sainthood, made Smark feel more disgusted than if he'd swallowed a hundred flies.
But so what?
Circumstances dictate his actions; he had to back down.
Fang Huan was in charge now. He'd be more than willing to fawn over him; he'd call him "daddy" if it meant pulling the stock price back up, he'd do it like a father to his own son!
Even if Fang Huan's ultimate goal was to wipe out all the global corporations, Smark didn't care.
He only wanted one thing—to bring his Stella back to life!
For this, he desperately needed Fang Huan's power, even if it meant signing a contract of servitude with the devil.
"What did those bastards at the banks say?"
"They read Su Hao's statement and said they're willing to hold things back for now, giving you some time."
"How long?"
"They said they can't give you too much time. Either you quickly cling to Fang Huan's coattails and pull the stock price back up;
or you come up with an astronomical amount of margin to fill the hole."
It seems those bloodsucking banks also smelled a glimmer of hope amidst the bloodshed in Su Hao's "market rescue declaration."
According to the rules, they should have cut their losses long ago, but in the current market, cutting their losses would mean losing everything.
Since a sucker is willing to step in and save the market, why not? They'll wait and see, letting Fang Huan's investment, this lifeline, float for a while.
"Have you contacted Fang Huan yet?"
"Not yet. The phone's practically worn out." The secretary looked helpless.
"I heard that as soon as the press conference ended, Fang Huan cut off all external communication."
"Is it because the SOS calls were inundated?"
"Exactly! Right now, there are at least eight or ten thousand companies like ours whose stock prices have plummeted and are hanging on ventilators in the ICU.
I bet every CEO in the world is like a baby bird crying for food, craning their necks and screaming, 'Daddy, save me!'"
So, Fang Huan simply physically cut off the internet. You can cry all you want, I can't hear you.
The meaning is clear:
Shut up, all of you. Who I save first, and how I save them, is entirely up to my whim.
“Then we’ll just wait and see.” Smark let out a long sigh of relief, his tense nerves finally relaxing a little.
“Fanghuan Investment isn’t stupid. If they really wanted to bail out the market, they’d definitely save large companies like ours first.
Besides, Su Hao and I are partners in the Starlink project, we can’t just renege on that bond, can we?”
He seemed to see that distant red planet again, that fading dream of a Martian empire, as if it were beckoning him once more.
***
As soon as the live stream ended, Su Hao felt like he’d done something incredibly stupid.
“Damn! I’ve gone too far.”
His mind was filled with those four words, scrolling back and forth like a carousel.
“…”
To say he didn’t regret it at all would be pure boasting.
In front of the whole world, a mere private enterprise dared to boast about providing a “financial rescue” to the global market!
In the eyes of governments around the world, this is probably more ridiculous than a monkey wearing a suit.
In some people's eyes, he was a perfect target for "attention-seeking and utterly arrogant."
"Great! Chairman Su! The reaction from the outside world is phenomenal!"
However, the people of this world seemed far more genuine than he had imagined.
"The internet is going crazy! They're calling you the 'Messiah of the 21st century'! 'The walking hand of God'!
Right now, online communities and social media are filled with praise and admiration for you!
Our company's official website is almost overwhelmed by enthusiastic netizens!"
A seemingly arrogant act that he expected to attract countless cold stares and ridicule unexpectedly garnered a tidal wave of praise.
"Really? That's great." Su Hao rubbed his temples. "I was thinking of cutting off my internet for a few days to avoid the storm."
"Your sincerity has moved the whole world!
Look at Li Huilin, she was crying so hard during your live stream, her makeup was all ruined, she looked like an abstract Picasso painting!"
"That, that's because... she got sand in her eyes...!"
Li Huilin, whose name was mentioned, blushed like a tomato and stammered.
Su Hao glanced at her sideways; good heavens, her eyes were swollen as if she'd been punched twice. She was clearly deeply moved.
"So, overall, the public opinion is positive, right?"
"More than positive, it's a huge boon!
Because of your declaration, various institutions have already taken action!
The banks have taken the lead in halting all margin calls for forced liquidation."
"What about the government?"
"Although the official stance hasn't been formal, the internal calls for this action are incredibly strong.
Everyone knows that if things continue to collapse like this, we'll all be back in the Stone Age playing in the mud.
The group says the official approval has been issued."
"What does the approval say...?"
"Until the end of this financial crisis, Fanghuan Investment is granted... unlimited firing rights!
We can buy shares of any company on the market without restriction!
In short, they've given us an officially certified cheat code!"
That's right, even if Su Hao boasts to the skies, without the green light from various governments, it's all empty talk.
They can stop Fanghuan's every buying operation at any time on the grounds of "disrupting market order."
Fortunately, so far, no government has said "no" to Fang Huan's bailout plan.
Everyone instinctively knows that someone must step forward, take up the mantle, and break this deadly spiral.
And since Fang Huan is willing to be the first to do so, they are happy to go along with it and tacitly approve of it all.
"Then, the most crucial step is selecting the list of companies to be bailed out."
"Yes, Chairman Su. We have compiled a list of all the candidate companies.
The analysis team has also worked through the night to prepare several plans, striving to ensure that every penny is spent wisely."
The most critical moment has arrived.
Having just put on a show for the world, if this bailout plan flops, what awaits him will not be flowers and applause, but spittle and rage enough to tear Fang Huan to shreds.
"But... Chairman Su, this list is simply too large."
"Although we've focused on the largest companies by weight in the M-share market, we can't completely ignore the European and Asian markets..."
The subtext is:
"Chairman Su, you're faced with a list of companies thicker than a dictionary and longer than pi. You're working hard today."
"Hurry up, we must act quickly.
Every second we delay could mean countless people on the other side of the world going bankrupt and jumping off rooftops."
He must precisely identify the key companies from this vast list that can have a "leveraging effect," cutting the money like a scalpel to the most critical arteries.
This isn't just about choosing companies; it's about precisely calculating the proportion and timing of capital injections—the complexity far exceeds expectations.