Chapter 83: "These sons of bitches!"

Huang Fengwen's mind raced, trying to keep up with Su Hao's unconventional thought process:
"That's right, if seven billion yuan is suddenly thrown in, those bastards in the German financial regulators will definitely be furious.
Didn't Zhongda's stock price hit an all-time high?
This kid wants to ride the wave, but he's afraid of making too much noise, so he pulled this stunt:
Adding a little water to one side, a little mud to another, stirring up the water before fishing?"
"No, Chairman Huang."
"Not yet?" Huang Fengwen was stunned.
"Wait a minute! You mean... all this money is being used for short selling?!"
"Chairman Huang is brilliant! He's put all his eggs in one basket—'shorting Zhongda'," Liu Zhuo said with a wry smile.
"He just put a fake label on every single egg, and divided them into countless small baskets, as if afraid anyone would know these were eggs laid by Su Hao!"
Huang Fengwen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets:
"Short selling? Isn't Zhongda the hottest German automaker right now?
Aren't the analysts all touting its stock price will reach 300 euros next week, like it's on a rocket? Has this kid gone mad?"
"Right now, there hasn't been any negative news.
On the contrary, there's a ton of positive news. The analysts are swearing it'll definitely reach 300 euros next week, or they'll eat their keyboards while doing a handstand on live stream!"
But Su Hao, precisely at this moment of universal optimism, went all in on the short sellers with a massive doubling down.
"And he completely erased the name 'Fanghuan Investment' from top to bottom, as if afraid of being associated with it in any way."
Liu Zhuo added.
“That’s right. If Su Hao really pulls off this, the competitor won’t even know who’s fleeced them, because the money’s pouring in from all directions under different guise.”
Conversely, if it fails…
The thought was too horrible for Huang Fengwen and Liu Zhuo to even contemplate.
Seven billion yuan—that’s no small amount!
“To pull off such a shocking short-selling attack on the hottest auto stock right now…”
Huang Fengwen clicked his tongue, feeling a slight pain in his teeth.
“The key is, even if things come to light later, Fang Huan Investment will absolutely not be implicated. This ‘golden cicada shedding its shell’ move is truly masterful.”
Liu Zhuo was utterly impressed.
If it were anyone else, daring to use seven billion yuan to short-short a leading stock that everyone in the market is bullish on, Huang Fengwen would kick their office door down on the spot, throw them out onto the street!
But this person is Su Hao—the financial genius who can always sniff out money at the most inexplicable moments.
He caught the Swiss franc black swan event, making a fortune by predicting the Swiss National Bank would remove the euro-Swiss franc floor;
He also profited from the domestic stock market crash; and he didn't miss out on the Greek debt crisis…
This guy's nose is sharper than a police dog's, always heading into crises and always managing to come out with gold.
“Chairman Huang, to be frank,” Liu Zhuo lowered his voice, his tone tinged with a hint of awe,
“Now, whenever Director Su mentions investing, my heart trembles. I always feel that when this kid makes a move, the financial markets will shake to the core, and I wonder what big event is about to explode!”
"Hahaha, who says otherwise? This Su Hao really does have eyes that can scare people to death."
Huang Fengwen grinned, but it was more of a bitter laugh than a genuine smile.
"I just don't know what kind of intuition he's relying on this time to place such a huge bet."
Based solely on data and fundamental analysis, Zhongda Company, even if its stock price doesn't skyrocket, is definitely a steadily rising blue-chip stock; it doesn't look like it's about to collapse at all.
"But since it's Su Hao's judgment..."
Huang Fengwen and Liu Zhuo exchanged a glance, and a meaningful silence fell over the office.
Reason told them that Su Hao's judgment this time was utterly absurd, ridiculously wrong!
But emotionally, or rather, based on their countless painful experiences of being "slapped in the face" by Su Hao in the face, a strange, inexplicable trust had inexplicably arisen within them!
"Oh, right, Lao Liu," Huang Fengwen suddenly remembered something and smiled mischievously,
"Your precious ride, isn't it a Volkswagen?"
Liu Zhuo's face darkened: "I just got it recently..."
Huang Fengwen gloated:
"Then hurry up and put it on the used car market before it becomes dirt cheap? Otherwise, it'll just be stuck with you, and looking at it every day will be a real pain."
Liu Zhuo: "I..."
He decided to go look at new cars tomorrow; this piece of junk is better off gone!
***
The automotive industry is always fiercely competitive.
Other sectors might be more cooperative, but the automotive market is a bloodbath.
While Toyota, the sales king, firmly holds the top spot, it's always wary of Volkswagen catching up.
Where does technological progress come from?
Many times, it's hidden in the four words "reverse engineering."
Buy the latest model from your competitors, disassemble it completely, from the engine to the transmission, from the body structure to the electronic systems.
Then, sophisticated instruments were put to the test, and engineers worked day and night, trying to understand and "borrow" these technologies.
"Wait a minute, Tianfeng's exhaust emission technology is clearly much better than theirs, isn't it? How come..."
Tianfeng's engineers scratched their heads, staring at a pile of data.
One of the selling points that Zhongda has been touting recently is its "exceptionally clean" exhaust emissions, projecting an image of environmental pioneers.
This is strange.
Aren't these Germans usually not very environmentally conscious, focusing instead on luxurious interiors and aggressive marketing?
When did they switch to environmentalism?
"But didn't they pass all their tests smoothly?" someone questioned.
"Yes, everything was fine during the tests, all met the standards. But when it's actually running, the exhaust feels off!"
After countless trials and tribulations, day and night disassembly, analysis, and retesting, Tianfeng's engineers finally uncovered the truth.
"Holy crap! They're different! The emissions data from the test mode and real-world driving are completely different!"
A scruffy-bearded engineer pointed to two drastically different test reports, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Several rounds of repeated tests all pointed to the same conclusion: emissions from real-world driving and emissions from laboratory testing are fundamentally different!
This undeniable fact points to a chilling possibility—
"Those bastards at ZDNet...did they tamper with the software?!"
They created a special "cheating software" to bypass testing; it works one way during the test, but completely differently once it's on the road!
"Those sons of bitches!" The engineers were so angry they slapped their thighs.