Thief Eagle. New York!
While the situation on Hong Kong Island was turbulent and on the verge of exploding, Li Yi’s life in New York was relaxed and pleasant.
With the implementation of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike policy, international gold prices had begun to fall just as Li Yi had predicted, and the magnitude of the decline was somewhat astonishing.
By the close of trading on the afternoon of November 10, the price of gold on the New York futures market had dropped to $565 per ounce—a full $35 per ounce lower than just two days prior.
At this point, Li Yi’s paper profit had reached $500 million.
To be honest, even Li Yi was somewhat surprised by the magnitude of this drop.
As far as he knew, during the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut in his previous life, the international gold price had fallen by only 5% over the course of a week.
It wasn’t until the second rate hike that international gold prices began to fall sharply, but even then, they had only dropped by 20% over a two-week period.
It wasn’t until the third rate hike that investor confidence was finally shattered, forcing them to dump large quantities of their gold futures contracts and triggering a collapse in gold prices.
Ultimately, in January 1982, the international gold price fell below $300 per ounce.
From that point on, gold prices never surpassed $500 per ounce for the next two decades.
Unexpectedly, less than three days after the Fed’s rate hike this time, the international gold price plummeted from a high of $620 to $565—a drop of 9%.
Of course, the reason this happened was likely closely tied to the appearance of dxmbang.
Had it not been for this “butterfly”—which should never have appeared—suddenly flapping its wings in the New York gold futures market, William and his team would not have intervened to counter them.
There wouldn’t have been the subsequent massive sell-off of futures contracts, and gold prices wouldn’t have plummeted so sharply.
Perhaps this is what is known as the butterfly effect!
However, overall, this development worked in Li Yi’s favor.
According to Li Yi’s estimates, if gold prices continue to fall at this rate, they might reach their target in less than three months and return to Hong Kong ahead of schedule.
In addition, Li Yi’s investments on the NASDAQ were also going exceptionally well.
Although his initial capital was only $10 million, this was 1981—even in a global metropolis like New York, that was a massive sum.
Furthermore, since financial leverage is commonly used in stock trading here, his 10 million could effectively be treated as 50 million.
Consequently, Li Yi had been making frequent moves on the NASDAQ stock exchange in recent days, trading shares of companies like Apple and Intel.
Although the paper profits weren’t substantial—not even a drop in the bucket compared to the gold futures market—
However, through his trading over the past couple of days, Li Yi has gained a solid understanding of the rules governing the U.S. stock market.
Unlike the domestic stock market, which is subject to so many restrictions, the U.S. stock market is far more liberalized, with minimal government oversight.
Take the daily price fluctuation limits—a common and major concern for investors—as an example: China has a system of daily price limits, but the U.S. does not.
In his previous life, a two- or threefold increase in a month was considered impressive in the domestic market—which required hitting the daily limit up for dozens of consecutive days.
Here, however, that’s not necessary; if someone were to manipulate the market, a fifty-fold increase could be achieved in just three days.
Wall Street recently reported an amusing incident: a retail investor shorted a speculative stock. Before going to bed, his account showed a profit of over a million dollars, but when he woke up, he found not only had his position been liquidated, but he was also in debt by five or six million dollars—because the stock he shorted had surged sevenfold in a single day.
So, there are more volatile stocks here—it’s just that people are already used to it!
After thoroughly understanding the rules of this stock market, Li Yi decided not to just dip his toes in anymore—he was getting serious!
………
Manhattan. Green Manor!
In the second-floor office, Li Yi was studying the stock market when a sudden, urgent knock sounded at the door.
“Come in!”
As the door swung open, Li Yi saw Li Yunbao and Zhou Xinghua walk in together.
The two closed the door behind them as soon as they entered.
Before Li Yi could say a word, Li Yunbao immediately spoke up: “Brother Yi, I’ve got news from my old man. There’s been a major shakeup at the Green Dragon Society. Sha Kun, the third-in-command, was taken out by Old Huang, along with over a dozen international mercenaries!”
“Oh? What exactly happened? How did mercenaries get involved?” Li Yi sat up straight and asked.
Li Yunbao’s eyes lit up as he said, “Brother Yi, you really know those foreigners. You understood that when cornered, they’d be desperate enough to take action…”
“Cut the crap. When did you turn into such a brown-noser? Just spit it out—what exactly happened over at the Green Dragon Society?” Li Yi said.
“Actually, it’s not that complicated. After Old Huang received your warning, Brother Yi, he deliberately set a trap to lure those foreigners out of their hiding place…”
Before Li Yunbao could finish, Zhou Yang asked again, “How exactly did he lure them out?”
“On the surface, Old Huang was rallying his men to clash with the Black Tiger Gang, but behind the scenes, he’d set a trap, waiting for those restless elements within the organization to reveal themselves.”
Li Yunbao continued, “As it turned out, those guys actually fell for it. Led by Sha Kun, they tried to take advantage of the Blue Dragon Society’s main force attacking the Black Tiger Gang to take out Old Huang in one fell swoop and seize power. But they never expected Old Huang to round them all up in one fell swoop, resulting in countless casualties.”
Li Yi immediately asked again, “Then what about those mercenaries you mentioned earlier?”
“According to my old man, last night when Old Huang and his men were hunting down Sha Kun’s men, they discovered that among them were quite a few short guys with strong combat skills and extensive battle experience. If Old Huang and his men hadn’t set up an ambush in advance, they really wouldn’t have been able to handle them.”
Li Yunbao continued, “After interrogating them, we found out that these skilled fighters around Sha Kun weren’t his henchmen at all, but mercenaries specially hired from the Kingdom of Nanhou. Many of them were veterans of the Sino-Vietnamese War, sent to help Sha Kun take on Old Huang.”
“Was it those bastards from the British-funded conglomerate?” Li Yi asked coldly.
“Right, it had to be those bastards. According to Old Huang, he met with a representative from that group of foreigners before Sha Kun made his move. If it wasn’t them, then who else could it be?” Li Yunbao said.
“So Old Huang has already purged all the troublemakers within the Green Dragon Society?” Li Yi asked in a low voice.
“Right, they’ve been purged. Now Old Huang is the sole decision-maker in the Green Dragon Society!”
Li Yi thought for a moment, then asked again, “What was the reaction from those foreigners?”
“My old man didn’t mention that!”
“Hmm. Send a telegram to your old man right away. Tell him to warn Old Huang—those foreigners have taken such a heavy hit; they certainly won’t let this go. Have the Green Dragon Society step up their security!”
Li Yi then added, “At the same time, tell them to keep a low profile for now. If those foreigners’ underhanded tactics don’t work, they might just resort to using the power of the British Hong Kong government.”
“Got it!”
“Also, have your old man ramp up the media campaign. Tell everyone that international gold prices have crashed—and under no circumstances should anyone buy gold until the price drops below $300 an ounce!”
“Whoa!”
“Brother Yi, can the gold price really drop below $300?” Li Yunbao asked, looking astonished.
“Probably. After all, the Fed has only just raised rates for the first time; there are still two more rounds to go. Based on past experience, every time the Fed hikes rates, gold prices tend to drop. Just how low they’ll go after these three hikes is anyone’s guess!”
Li Yi continued, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say $300, but the chances of gold stabilizing above $400 are really slim.”
“Alright, then I’ll send a telegram to my old man right now…”
“Wait a minute!”
“Brother Yi, is there something else?” Li Yunbao asked.
“Go book a few plane tickets back to Hong Kong Island right now!” Li Yi said, his words coming as a shock.
Li Yunbao immediately asked, “Brother Yi, are you going back to Hong Kong?”
“Yeah, it’s only proper to return the favor. Those bastards actually dared to use mercenaries against Old Huang. We have to pay them back, or those scumbags will think Li Yi is a pushover,” Zhou Yang said.
“Alright, I’ll take care of it right away!”
“Hmm…”
…………
PS: When bad luck strikes, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth. I’ve been swamped these past few days with the Writers’ Association’s leadership transition meeting. To keep up with updates, I’ve been squeezing in writing time whenever I could, but then—of all things—my computer’s motherboard fried first thing this morning. I’m speechless.
What’s even more frustrating is that a computer that cost 6,000 three years ago now sells for 4,400, and a new motherboard alone is 3,700. I’ve got no choice but to grit my teeth and buy a brand-new one!