Chapter 829: I’ll Give You a Chance!

Monday, June 21!

With the arrival of summer, London entered the hottest season of the year.

Even early in the morning, temperatures could reach the high twenties, which Li Yi found quite uncomfortable.

But knowing that the futures battle here was drawing to a close—and that the success of the short squeeze hinged on today’s decisive move—he felt both elated and a bit excited.

Upon arriving at the exchange, the place was already teeming with people.

Following the British Empire’s recapture of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands yesterday, and the acceptance of the local Argentine forces’ surrender, the 74-day Falklands War had officially come to a ceasefire.

With the war officially over, the stock and futures markets—which had been fluctuating for three months—were now entering their final phase of competition.

Today, it wasn’t just Li Yi and his group who had arrived; Dolsen and the London-based heads of major European financial conglomerates were all present as well, to the point where even the VIP lounge was too small to accommodate everyone.

Fortunately, Li Yi and his team had prepared in advance and secured exclusive use of a VIP lounge, so they didn’t have to share a room with others, let alone crowd into the main hall with retail investors.

“Ring, ring, ring…”

At exactly 9:00 a.m., as the opening bell rang, a new day of fierce competition in the futures market began!

As soon as trading began, Li Yi didn’t hesitate for a moment; he immediately had his team submit an application for spot delivery to the exchange.

As Zhang Qiu set off to submit the application, Zhou Xinghua suddenly asked with a touch of anxiety, “Mr. Li, we only have a little over 10 million tons of maturing contracts left. Will the squeeze succeed?”

Li Yi replied calmly, “Whether it succeeds or not doesn’t matter. Our goal is to drain Sheffield Steel of every last drop of blood. As long as we achieve that, they won’t be far from bankruptcy!”

That said, Li Yi estimated that, given current spot steel prices and market inventory levels, the likelihood of Sheffield Steel being able to raise 10 million tons of steel was extremely slim.

Moreover, they simply didn’t have that much capital—unless the Sassoon family continued to bail them out.

But that was unlikely. After all, the Sassoon family had already poured 2 billion pounds into the company; continuing to bail them out would require tens of billions more—far exceeding Sheffield Steel’s actual value.

When a pawn loses its value, it is time to be discarded—it is merely a matter of how the opponent chooses to dispose of it.

“Mr. Li, how should we dispose of the over 20 million tons of steel we currently have on hand? It’s all stored in various warehouses right now, and the daily storage costs are substantial,” Zhou Xinghua asked in a subdued tone.

“It depends on the situation. If we succeed in forcing the market, then we won’t need to sell this batch of steel. If we fail, we’ll have to sell it as soon as possible!” Li Yi replied.

“Why wouldn’t we need to sell it if the squeeze is successful…”

Before he could finish, Zhang Qiusheng pushed open the door and walked in. He approached Li Yi and said, “Mr. Li, Dolsen is here. He says he has something important to discuss with you. Would you like to…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi’s lips curled slightly upward as he said, “The God of Wealth has arrived—how could I not see him? Please show him in!”

“Yes!”

Zhang Qiusheng then strode out and returned shortly with several Westerners wearing grave expressions. Leading the group was none other than the old acquaintance, Dolsen…

Enemies meeting should naturally spark intense hostility, but the atmosphere here didn’t seem tense at all.

Although Dolsen and his companions looked grim, they still greeted Li Yi and his group politely upon seeing them.

Li Yi, who was determined to teach them a lesson, didn’t make things awkward for them either. After a brief greeting, he cut straight to the point: “Mr. Dolsen, there’s no need for us to beat around the bush. If you have any advice, please speak your mind!”

Dawson stared at Li Yi for a full thirty seconds before saying, “Mr. Li Yi, I hear your company has once again submitted an application for spot delivery to the exchange. I wonder if there’s any possibility of negotiation this time?”

Mentioning this matter filled Dolsen with a sense of frustration.

Just moments ago, as he was leading his investment team in final preparations to close the deal, he received an urgent call from his family informing him that someone was once again forcing a short squeeze on Sheffield Steel.

The family instructed him to immediately drop everything and investigate which company was behind this squeeze, to see if the matter could be resolved through negotiation.

At the same time, the family also indicated that this was Sheffield Steel’s final batch of short positions; as long as these futures contracts were settled, Sheffield Steel would be completely in the clear.

And so, once again, Dolsen found himself thrust into the role of firefighter!

When he discovered that the short-squeeze was once again the work of Li Yi, Dolsen felt utterly hopeless—how was it that this bastard was everywhere?

What made him feel even more frustrated was that every time he met this scumbag, he was the one left looking like a fool.

“No way!”

Seeing the look of anger and helplessness on Dolsen’s face, Li Yi said again, “Dolsen, I still hold 10 million tons of short positions in Sheffield Steel. I expect to see the corresponding amount of physical steel within three days. Otherwise, you’d better prepare for bankruptcy!”

“Mr. Li Yi, there’s an old saying in your country: ‘Where there’s room to spare, spare.’ We’ve already reached a settlement. Isn’t there any wiggle room on this matter?” Dolsen said in a low voice.

“Hah, Dolsen, we both know that this so-called reconciliation is just for show. Deep down, you’d love to see me vanish right here and now. Do you really think there’s any point in saying all this?” Li Yi said coldly.

“You…”

Just as Dolsen was about to explode, Li Yi suddenly changed the subject and said again, “Of course, if you can guarantee that you won’t cause trouble for our Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the future, I can give you a chance to walk away safely!”

“What exactly do you mean by a ‘safe way out’?”

“Sell me all the shares your family holds!” Li Yi said calmly.

“You… you want Sheffield Steel?” Dolsen said, looking utterly shocked.

“That’s the idea. After all, we’ve made so much money this time—we’ve got to spend it somehow!” Li Yi said in a flat tone.

Dawson instantly felt as if he’d been hit with a thousand-pound blow, while the few people around him wore equally stunned and bewildered expressions!

“How do you plan to acquire Sheffield Steel? Are you just buying the shares we hold, or are you planning to buy out everyone else’s as well?” Dolsen asked in a deep voice.

“It would be best to buy it all. But I don’t think you have the authority to decide this. The exchange’s approval is due in two days, and I hope you can give me an answer before then!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

With that, Dolsen didn’t hesitate; he turned and walked out.

The moment the VIP room door closed, the gazes of Li Yunbao, Zhou Xinghua, Zhang Qiusheng, Pang Feiyan, and the others all turned to Li Yi. Everyone’s expressions were identical: astonishment, shock, and disbelief.

After a long moment, Li Yunbao finally spoke up: “Brother Yi, are you really going to acquire Sheffield Steel?”

“What’s the matter? You seem quite surprised,” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Of course I’m surprised. I always thought you just wanted to drive the company into bankruptcy. I never expected your goal was actually to acquire them. But Sheffield Steel’s current situation doesn’t look good—wouldn’t buying it now be…”

Before Li Yunbao could finish, Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t worry. The last thing I like to do is make a losing deal!”

This is the largest steel company in the British Empire, after all. As long as we weather this slump, we’ll be able to ride the wave of the steel industry’s boom—which is expected to last over a decade. It’ll be hard not to make a profit!

Zhou Xinghua also chimed in, “But will they agree to sell their shares to us?”

Li Yi’s lips curled slightly upward as he replied confidently, “They will, because they have no other choice!”

If they refuse, Sheffield Steel will face bankruptcy. Once the company goes under, their shares won’t be worthless, but their value will certainly plummet.

As businesspeople, is there any need to even consider which choice to make?

After saying that, Li Yi immediately ordered, “Yunbao, contact The Times and the Oxford Gazette right away. Release the news that we’re forcing Sheffield Company into a short squeeze, and at the same time, expose their financial reports and steel inventory status!”

“Alright, I’ll go right away…”

……….