Chapter 991: A Dog with a Broken Spine!

While Sangchai and his group were in a panic in VIP Room No. 3, a completely different scene was unfolding in VIP Room No. 9 diagonally across from them.

With the exception of a few members who had played along with Sangchai and his crew, the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce was present. At that moment, every member was cheering loudly, as joyful as if it were New Year’s.

Just moments ago, following Li Yi’s public apology in the trading hall, the stock prices of the over ninety listed companies affiliated with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce had plummeted at a staggering rate.

“Brother Li Yi, the stock prices have fallen—we’ve won!”

“Mr. Li, we’ve won. Congratulations!”

“Mr. Li, thank you for saving the Guo family. Thank you…”

“Mr. Li…”

Listening to the endless stream of thanks and congratulations, Li Yi was deeply moved.

After planning for so long, he had finally closed the net.

Although those bastards across the way hadn’t yet fallen to their knees begging for mercy, their defeat was a foregone conclusion—not even a god could save them now.

The current stock price drop is just the beginning. If things go as expected, in the coming days, these companies’ stock prices will plummet in a spectacular “three-thousand-foot cascade.”

As for the hundreds of billions those bastards have poured in, they’d be lucky to salvage even a third of it.

You must understand that for any publicly listed company, corporate interests are deeply intertwined with those of the founder or the powerful family behind them.

Often, even the slightest stir involving the founder or their family can have a massive impact on the company’s stock price.

Take, for example, the sudden scandal involving the CEO of a certain e-commerce giant. As a result, the company’s stock price plummeted, dropping from $43 to $19 in a very short period, causing $7 billion in market value to vanish overnight.

Another example is when the CEO and his wife of a certain real estate company divorced; the company’s stock price plummeted that very day and has never recovered to its previous level since.

And when the CEO of a certain tech company sold off shares of his own company, cashing out a few hundred million dollars, the stock price plummeted by tens of dollars that very day, causing the market cap to evaporate by $160 billion in an instant.

This clearly shows just how significant the influence of a company’s founder is on its stock price…

And these are just minor scandals. In comparison, the current situation facing these Chinese companies is far more serious—we’re talking about founders directly walking away from their companies, saying, “I’m done with this!”

Anyone with a brain knows these companies are about to face a prolonged adjustment period. At that point, forget about profits—it’s even uncertain whether they’ll survive.

On top of that, the current stock prices of these companies are far above their actual value.

If you don’t bail out now, when will you? If you wait too long, you might not be able to escape at all.

Consequently, a stock price crash, a shrinking market cap, and investor losses are inevitable.

“Ding-ding-ding!!!”

Once the crowd’s excitement had subsided a bit, Li Yi raised both hands in a gesture of calm and said, “Everyone, please quiet down…”

Hearing Li Yi’s voice, the crowd in the VIP lounge gradually quieted down, and everyone’s gaze fixed on him.

“Everyone, although the prey has been caught, we haven’t yet skinned and gutted it, so don’t let your guard down. It’s not time to celebrate just yet!” Li Yi declared loudly.

“Brother Li Yi is right. We must press our advantage and pursue the enemy to the end; we must not seek empty glory like the tyrant. We can’t be like those fools across the table!” Li Fu Tiao chimed in.

“Mr. Li once said that our goal isn’t just to trap them, but to keep their money while ensuring they lose everything they own. So this isn’t over yet!” said Bao Chuanwang.

“Mr. Li, what should we do next?”

“That’s right, Mr. Li, give the order. We’ll all follow your lead…”

Li Yi motioned for everyone to quiet down again, then cleared his throat and said, “I’ve already drawn up the follow-up plan. Starting tomorrow, we’ll mobilize all our resources to drive down the stock prices of every company—using methods including, but not limited to, public relations campaigns and cutting off business partnerships—and we’ll see this market crash through to the end!”

“At the same time, no matter who approaches you to take over the original company’s shares, and no matter how low their offer, you must not accept it!”

Upon hearing this, Bao Chuanwang couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t we driving down the stock prices precisely to buy at rock-bottom prices and regain control of the company? Why can’t we accept the offer?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Because the other side hasn’t been cornered yet. The price we’re being offered now is certainly not the lowest possible, so we absolutely cannot accept it.”

“Furthermore, in a situation like this, we must act in unison. If anyone deals with them privately, it could very well disrupt my overall plan.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Futiao immediately shouted, “Brother Li Yi is right. We must act in unison on matters like this. Only if we stand united and refuse to be the fall guys will they be forced to keep lowering their price.”

“Exactly! Only by cornering them can we make them lose their shirts!” He Dongying shouted.

“We’ll all follow Mr. Li’s lead. Anyone who dares to contact those people privately will no longer be a member of our Chinese Chamber of Commerce…”

Listening to everyone voicing their support one after another, Li Yi felt both delighted and grateful.

While his strategic planning had certainly played a role in inflicting such a crushing defeat on those foreign conglomerates, the support of the people standing before him was even more crucial.

Had even half of them not backed him, this battle would never have been such a resounding victory.

In fact, Sang Chai and the others didn’t lose unfairly. After all, no one could have imagined that these Chinese merchants would go so far as to make such a desperate decision for Li Yi’s sake—selling their life’s work and even their ancestral estates to him.

While Li Yi’s astonishing promise to cover all losses and the backing of the great red power behind him certainly played a role, one cannot overlook the trust these people placed in him.

With these people throwing their full support behind him, it was nothing short of a pipe dream for those with ulterior motives to try to bring them down.

Now that the main capital of these overseas conglomerates was trapped, and the gangs doing their dirty work had been rounded up by Shield Security, the Governor’s Office and the police department had suffered a severe blow to their prestige, their reputations now in tatters. The politicians in London had, in a word, lost everything.

However, Li Yi was not the type to take a beating without fighting back. Now that these people had lost their ability to strike, it was his turn to strike back.

“Ring-ring-ring…”

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, a piercing electric bell suddenly rang out from outside.

Seeing this, Li Yi said, “Everyone, the net has been cast. Now we’ll see just how big the catch is. That’s all for today—see you tomorrow!”

With that, Li Yi strode out of the VIP lounge under the protection of Zhang Ziqiang and the others.

Coincidentally, just as Li Yi and his group passed by VIP Room No. 3, the tightly closed door suddenly swung open.

Li Yi then saw Sangchai and the others emerge from inside.

But unlike their confident demeanor from earlier that morning, everyone—including Sangchai—now looked pale and had furrowed brows, resembling frightened stray dogs living in constant fear.

Sang Chai and the others also spotted Li Yi, but this time they didn’t approach him to provoke him. They didn’t even dare to meet his gaze, fearing he might come forward to mock them.

Li Yi, of course, had no desire to engage with them. In his eyes, these people were nothing more than cowards—not even worth a second glance.

Besides, he had more important matters to attend to.

Therefore, he merely cast a casual glance at Sang Chai and the others, then strode purposefully toward the exit of the exchange…

………..