Chapter 8: How did he find out in advance?

At the department's routine meeting, Zhou Yi stood at the front, expressionless, summarizing today's situation and tomorrow's strategy.
"...Although the overall market performance was poor today, and our department also suffered losses, compared to other departments, our risk control was relatively effective. We'll make up for today's losses tomorrow. Also, besides routine operations, is there anything particularly noteworthy today?"
A trader replied, "Ah, yes, manager. The market was generally trending downwards today. We mainly followed the plan, performing some hedging operations on key sectors to manage risk exposure. There were no other special actions."
"Hmm, it seems this downward trend may continue for a while. Stay vigilant and strictly control risk in the coming days."
"Yes."
"Thank you all for your hard work. Today... you can leave early."
Wow! Even leaving get off work early!
Great!
Su Hao was thrilled and rushed home to play a game!
The guild leader even sent a text message reminding him to be online on time today!
***
There's a saying that goes:
Many of the world's most interesting and significant events often happen while you're sound asleep.
The reason is simply because the Earth is round.
While you're snoring loudly in the Eastern Hemisphere, something earth-shattering might be happening in the Western Hemisphere.
When you wake up groggily the next day, check your phone, and lo and behold, in a different time zone on the other side of the world, a dramatic shift is unfolding that could reshape the global landscape.
This time was no exception.
The next day, early morning.
Before dawn, the trading department was already brightly lit!
The traders who had rushed to the office at the first sign of trouble, abandoning their sleep, were gathered inside, their faces grim.
Some were even sweating profusely; the entire space was filled with an atmosphere of restlessness, like a swarm of bees that had been disturbed.
"Manager! Manager!! Did you see that news? It's explosive news!!"
A young trader practically burst through Zhou Yi's office door, his face filled with shock and disbelief.
"Yes, I saw it." Zhou Yi's voice was unusually calm, almost unnaturally so.
However, no one noticed that his fist, clenched tightly on his knee, had knuckles white from the force.
"Those Indonesian bureaucrats! Have they lost their minds?! Such a huge operation, without even a warning, without a hint?! Just like that… a surprise attack?! What the hell are they trying to do?!"
Another trader couldn't help but curse, his voice filled with disbelief and anger.
Yes.
Just last night, while most people in China were still asleep, news that could shake up related global supply chains exploded like a thunderclap.
No, perhaps "thunderclap" isn't even accurate enough.
For the financial markets, especially for traders on the front lines, this was nothing short of a sudden, magnitude 8 or higher earthquake!
[The Indonesian government issued a sudden announcement late at night: effective immediately, it will cut the country's nickel ore supply by 30%! And officially implement related export control measures!]
Indonesia! It's the world's largest nickel ore producer!
Its position in the global nickel market is pivotal!
However, recently, due to various factors including the global economic situation, there has been a temporary oversupply of nickel ore, causing international nickel prices to plummet, and Indonesia is no exception.
The market had anticipated that the Indonesian government might introduce some "symbolic" measures, such as a slight production cut or some rhetoric, to stabilize market sentiment.
Who could have imagined… they wouldn't play by the rules at all!
When they did act, they completely overturned the table!
“If it were just a 5% cut, everyone could understand, it would be reasonable. But… this is a whopping 30%?! A whole 30%! Are they crazy?! Do they know how much of an impact this will have on the market?!”
“Exactly!” another trader chimed in, his voice filled with resentment:
“They could at least have given us a heads-up, given the market some time to react! They played dead for a while, acting like nothing would happen, and now… this is a surprise attack?! What kind of nonsense is this?!”
A 30% reduction in exports from the world's largest supplier!
This figure is more than just a “shock”!
It's like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake!
It's enough to create a violent, even disruptive, shockwave across the global nickel-related industry chain, and even the broader energy and materials sectors!
And this also confirms one thing:
The Indonesian government has reached its limit with the current “dismal situation” in the nickel market and is determined to use the most extreme and drastic methods to turn things around!
The consequences would be almost immediate.
A massive global nickel supply shortage would occur!
Industries heavily reliant on nickel ore, especially the battery industry which was shrouded in gloom and widely viewed negatively by the market just yesterday, could very well be transformed by this sudden supply disruption crisis!
“But not all battery companies can benefit and take off,” Zhou Yi’s calm voice interrupted the murmurs.
“The logic is simple: those companies without sufficient nickel ore reserves, or with insufficient raw material inventory, can only watch helplessly as costs skyrocket, ultimately being ruthlessly eliminated by the market, leaving them with nowhere to turn.”
His gaze swept over the tense faces as he continued, “Conversely, those companies that had planned ahead, or simply stumbled upon the perfect opportunity with warehouses overflowing with ‘surplus’ nickel ore, will go from being unwanted to highly sought-after overnight, reaping huge profits!”
However… the truly fatal problem, the one that filled the entire trading department with an atmosphere of panic, was not simply a matter of “who wins and who loses”…
The truly fatal problem was that a significant portion, perhaps even the vast majority, of the trading teams were convinced that battery-related stocks would continue to fall due to the previous negative news!
In pursuit of profit, they had already established large… short positions yesterday, or even earlier!
This! This is the root cause of why these usually calm and composed elite traders are so disoriented, so panicked, and in such chaos!
If, after the market opens today, battery stocks do indeed reverse course and surge wildly because of this news, then those holding large short positions… their losses will avalanche, expanding exponentially!
That would be absolutely catastrophic!
Enough to wipe some traders out of the game!
“Has the research department compiled a list of companies with nickel ore reserves?”
Zhou Yi asked in a deep voice. He needed to figure out which companies would be potential beneficiaries immediately.
“Not… not so soon, Manager,” a subordinate in charge of communications hurriedly replied.
“The research department probably just received the news and is frantically scrambling to sift through the data! But… but I just heard a rumor that… currently, the battery-related company with the largest known nickel ore reserves in our country seems… seems to be only one!”
Only one?! The instant the word "only one" entered his ears!
Like a blinding bolt of lightning, without warning, it cleaved Zhou Yi's chaotic mind!
A company name he had scoffed at and dismissed just yesterday now burned fiercely into the depths of his consciousness like a red-hot iron!
His heart clenched!
"Could it be..." he asked almost instinctively, in a dry voice he himself couldn't believe, "...it's GEM?"
The subordinate paused, then his eyes lit up:
"Huh? That's right! Manager, you're brilliant! It's that! It's GEM! You know too? That's what I heard too! They said that today, GEM's stock price... will probably open at the daily limit, and it wouldn't be surprising if it even hits the daily limit for several days in a row!"
"..."
Zhou Yi didn't say anything more.
He stood there, frozen, his gaze unfocused, staring blankly at the empty air before him, completely immobile as if under a spell.
The voices of the others in the office, the murmurs, the tense breathing… all seemed to fade away in that instant.
“Manager?” A subordinate called out, puzzled by his lack of response.
No reply.
Zhou Yi's mind was filled with only one name, and the figure he had yesterday dismissed as a “fool,” a “reckless fool,” a “nepotism hire.”
Su Hao.
That young master.
Yesterday… it was that kid… who, in an almost foolish way, went all in with all the virtual trading funds given to him…
GEM!!!
Zhou Yi felt his blood freeze.
He… that new guy…
He knew all along?
He knew this would happen?
"No wonder..."
A thought exploded in his mind like a thunderbolt!
"No wonder that kid was so excited yesterday afternoon when he was told he could leave early, grinning like a weasel that'd stolen a chicken!"
At the time, he'd found that smile strange, even a little annoying.
Now he understood!
That wasn't some silly grin about leaving get off work early!
That was... the smile of a victor!!!
The Indonesian government's sudden, outrageous counterattack was something no ordinary trader, let alone any top-tier analysis firm or intelligence agency in the world could have predicted!
There wasn't a single related rumor circulating in the market!
"But..."
Zhou Yi was incredulous. A huge question mark crashed down on his mind like a mountain.
"That connected person..."
"That guy who couldn't even be bothered to diversify his investments yesterday..."
"How the hell did he know beforehand?"
Zhou Yi felt a chill run down his spine, a cold shiver shooting straight to the top of his head!