Chapter 624: Targeting Li Yi!

Suburbs. Castle Manor!

Same place as before, same group of foreigners!

Only this time, there were more of them—a full dozen or so.

And just like at their last gathering, everyone’s faces were grim, and the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.

Li Yi’s market-crashing operation was beginning to bear fruit, and the pressure was now squarely on those holding large amounts of gold and gold-backed financial products.

And across the entire Hong Kong Island, the British-owned conglomerate held the largest amount of gold!

To bring the Lai family to its knees, they had invested over 10 billion Hong Kong dollars. Coupled with Li Yi’s deliberate trap, the majority of the gold financial products dumped by Starry Sky had ended up in their hands.

On top of that, there were nearly ten tons of physical gold.

Apart from a small portion that had already been sold by the Lin family, the rest was entirely in their hands.

Now that gold prices have experienced violent fluctuations, they are the ones most concerned.

Faced with this situation, they have only two options.

The first is to follow the retail investors in fleeing the market and cutting their losses.

The second step was to inject funds to prop up the market, keeping the price of gold at a relatively stable level.

Consequently, the senior members of the British-backed consortium gathered once again to discuss a strategy!

Among them, two individuals stood out as the most prominent: Sir Sassoon and Smith.

One served as the British-backed group’s spokesperson and leader on Hong Kong Island, while the other acted as its chief administrator and chief of staff.

Whenever the British-backed consortium took action, it was usually Smith who proposed strategies, formulated plans, and oversaw implementation, while the Sir was responsible for making the final decisions.

Over the years, thanks to their seamless collaboration, the British-backed Group has dominated Hong Kong Island and the entire Southeast Asian region; whether local conglomerates or regional governments, they were all at the mercy of the Group.

It was also under their leadership that the British-owned conglomerate on Hong Kong Island gained immense influence throughout the East Asian financial sphere, directly and indirectly controlling hundreds of major companies and enterprises.

But what they never could have imagined was that they would suffer a setback right here on their home turf in Hong Kong. How could they possibly tolerate this?

“Sir, the current situation is extremely unfavorable for us. You must make a decision, or our partners will start to complain!” Smith said in a grave tone.

To crush the Lai family, the British-owned conglomerate had invested a total of over 13 billion Hong Kong dollars in the gold project.

However, not all of this money was their own; a significant portion was collectively raised by members of the British Capital Group’s inner circle—a tactic they frequently employed when undertaking large-scale investments.

Whenever a large and sound project arose, the key decision-makers of the British Capital Group would take the lead, raising funds internally, and upon success, would share in the profits according to their investment ratios.

Over the past few decades, they have used this method to utterly crush Chinese-owned enterprises and capital on Hong Kong Island, emerging victorious in nearly every endeavor.

Precisely because of this, many Chinese families and business owners—even though they knew full well that partnering with these people would make them look down upon—were still willing to act as their lackeys, because following them truly meant there was meat on the table.

Even if what they consider “meat” is nothing more than the soup left over from others’ meals, they don’t care—after all, the money they receive is real and tangible.

This time was no exception. Of the more than 13 billion Hong Kong dollars, 8 billion had been raised by families and companies affiliated with British-owned conglomerates. With gold prices now fluctuating wildly, some were growing restless.

The爵士 seated at the head of the table also had a furrowed brow, but his demeanor remained calm and composed.

He gently swirled the red wine in his glass and said, “Don’t worry, the sky isn’t falling!”

“Sir, we’ve invested over 10 billion in this project after all. If we really suffer massive losses, we won’t be able to explain ourselves to our people!” Smith said.

“Hmph, why should we have to explain ourselves to them? They volunteered to participate in this investment. Not only is the likelihood of a gold price drop negligible, but even if we do suffer losses, that’s simply a normal risk!”

The Jazz then added, “If anyone has objections, let them pull out. We don’t need such waverers!”

At that moment, another elderly white man sitting nearby chimed in, “The Jazz is right. Investment always involves risk—there’s no such thing as a surefire deal. To get so worked up over a little fluctuation is simply outrageous!”

“Exactly, it’s outrageous. It’s just normal market fluctuations—what’s there to be afraid of?”

“Exactly. Gold prices don’t just drop that easily…”

……..

Listening to these people chiming in one after another to support the Duke, Smith’s mood grew even heavier.

Coming from a financial background, he sensed something was amiss. Given the current situation, this was likely a trap set by that young man from Starry Sky Corporation.

Knowing that young man as he did, he was a hungry wolf—he might not make a move at all, but once he did, he would definitely make his opponent bleed.

With that in mind, he said directly, “Sir, based on the information we have, this matter is very likely connected to Li from Starry Sky Corporation!”

“Oh? Tell me more,” the Duke said.

“A few days ago, Star Company took advantage of the sharp rise in gold prices to quietly offload their gold financial products. Our analysts estimate they’ve already sold at least 60% of their holdings—they may even have liquidated their entire position.”

Smith continued, “Add to that the sudden nature of this incident, and the fact that the Li family’s representative made an unusually public statement expressing pessimism about gold’s future. I believe this is a trap they’ve set—luring us in with massive investments before they start dumping the market!”

Hearing this, every single foreigner present broke out in a cold sweat.

If Smith’s speculation was correct, a plunge in gold prices would have a negligible impact on Starry Sky Company—the only ones to suffer losses would likely be us.

From this perspective, that young man certainly had a reason to dump the market.

However, just then, the Jazz spoke calmly: “You needn’t doubt it—this is indeed their plan!”

At these words, everyone in the room froze, staring at the Duke with puzzled expressions.

At that moment, the Duke continued, unflappable: “Not only do I know this is a trap, but I also know that young man is planning to short gold!”

“Short gold? What should we do then? Shouldn’t we inject funds to prop up the market?”

“Don’t worry. That young man’s battlefield isn’t on Hong Kong Island!” the Jazz said again.

“Not in Hong Kong?”

“That’s right. They went to New York a couple of days ago and appeared on the New York International Gold Futures Market. On that very day, there was a massive sell-off of gold futures contracts in New York. Our investigation revealed that it was that young man shorting gold!” the Jazz explained.

Smith’s eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp gleam, and he said in a low voice, “Jazz, shorting gold usually involves financial leverage. Can we team up with our allies over at Thief Eagle to take down that young man?”

A cold smile touched the Jazz’s lips, and he replied in a low voice, “I’ve already contacted Old William. He’s willing to cooperate with us and do everything in his power to take down that young man.”

“Although Sharp Corporation refuses to disclose client information, so we currently can’t determine exactly how much capital they’ve invested or what leverage ratio they’re using, we can make a rough estimate based on yesterday’s gold trading volume in New York. So next, William and his team will gradually drive up the price of gold until the other side gets liquidated!”

Smith immediately exclaimed with delight, “If Old William steps in, that young man is in for a major fall!”

Compared to a seasoned veteran like the legendary William, that young man is no match for Old William, whether in terms of experience or capital.

Not to mention that this battle is taking place on Old William’s home turf—no one can save that young man now!

“Sir, what should we do now? Should we offer Old William some support?”

“Yes. I plan to raise 1 billion US dollars for Old William to manage. Combined with the funds they already control, that’s enough to drive the price of gold up by 80 US dollars. As long as the other side doesn’t invest more than 2 billion US dollars, that’ll be enough to wipe them out!”

The Jazz continued, “Additionally, we’ll need to set aside some funds to maintain our foothold here on Hong Kong Island. We can’t let them completely destroy our market position!”

No sooner had the Jazz finished speaking than someone eagerly chimed in: “I agree with Mr. Jazz’s proposal. We at HSBC are willing to contribute 100 million US dollars!”

“We at Jardine Matheson agree as well. We’re willing to contribute $100 million!”

“We’re also willing to…”

However, just as these parties were raising funds and preparing to prop up the market, Starry Sky Corporation made a new move…

……….