Chapter 633: Trapped!

November 9, light rain!

Early in the morning, as Hong Kong residents braved the light rain on their way to work, everyone following the stock market and gold prices heard shocking news—gold prices had plummeted!

Just the night before, everyone had been discussing this very topic before going to bed, as newspapers and television had been reporting on it all day.

Moreover, the matter involved major forces such as Hong Kong’s four major families, prominent companies, and the Governor’s Office, so even citizens unconcerned with the investment market were inevitably affected.

With the Governor stepping in to lend his support, coupled with massive capital injections from British-owned conglomerates that successfully stabilized the market, most people were inclined to back the British-owned groups, believing that gold prices would not fall in the short term.

Of course, this is partly because the Governor, to a certain extent, represents the government, and news coming from official channels naturally carries more authority.

On the other hand, there is a general trust in the stability of gold prices—after all, it is gold. Under normal circumstances, gold prices do not experience drastic fluctuations unless there is large-scale global turmoil.

However, as things stood, the global situation remained relatively stable, so a sharp drop in the gold price was simply out of the question.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, upon waking up the next morning, international gold prices had actually fallen, catching many completely off guard.

At this moment, the uglier side of human nature reared its head!

Investors who had successfully cashed out were naturally overjoyed, looking on with schadenfreude at those still stuck with their positions.

Meanwhile, those who ignored advice and held onto their positions were beating their chests in regret.

Instead of reflecting on their own mistakes, they immediately blamed the British-owned conglomerates and the Governor, insisting that they had been misled.

For a time, curses against the Governor and the British-owned conglomerate could be heard everywhere—on buses, in small restaurants, and even in public restrooms.

Amid the curses, the public finally came to their senses and rushed to cut their losses and exit the market; this time, they dared not sit on the sidelines any longer.

No one is stupid—with gold prices plummeting in the mainland, how could Hong Kong, a tiny speck of land, possibly escape unscathed?

Whenever such events occurred, Hong Kong Island always suffered even worse losses. If they didn’t cut their losses and exit the market now, they’d better be mentally prepared to be stuck with their investments for the long haul!

Consequently, the situation in Hong Kong’s gold market reversed instantly. People were everywhere selling off physical gold and financial products, with asking prices dropping lower and lower.

The public’s reaction directly derailed Smith and his associates’ plans. Just as they were preparing to accept their losses and sell their gold at rock-bottom prices, they discovered that everyone else was also offloading their holdings—or even liquidating their entire positions—at rock-bottom prices, while there was simply no one left in the market to buy.

Smith and his associates were completely dumbfounded; they knew they were stuck!

Their only hope now was that the price of gold wouldn’t drop too sharply.

If that were the case, their losses wouldn’t be too catastrophic.

They also hoped the gold price would rebound quickly; otherwise, some of them might not be able to hold on much longer.

After all, the funds they used to snap up gold and prop up the market came from members of the British-owned group; each of them had invested an average of over 200 million Hong Kong dollars in this operation.

For many, the money came from bank loans—if they suffered losses, it would be a devastating blow!

As Smith had indeed anticipated, upon learning of the Fed’s rate hike and the subsequent drop in gold prices, many of the British-backed group’s affiliated members grew restless and began calling him one after another to inquire about the situation.

Faced with inquiries from members of the group, Smith initially didn’t want to reveal the truth, but the way the situation unfolded caught him off guard.

Yesterday, the price of gold on Hong Kong Island had managed to hold steady at $608 per ounce, but this morning it plummeted all the way to $577—a staggering drop of $31 per ounce.

Such a massive drop could no longer be described as a mere decline; it was nothing short of a crash.

Faced with this situation, Smith was completely helpless and had no choice but to tell them the truth.

Upon learning that in less than two days, they had lost a full $1 billion with Thief Eagle, and that Hong Kong Island had suffered equally devastating losses, those who had hoped to scrape by by tagging along with the British-owned conglomerates lost their composure.

It was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but ending up losing a grain of rice—a total loss on all fronts!

For a time, the British-owned conglomerate was in utter chaos…

However, everyone still clung to a sliver of hope: after all, gold is a safe-haven asset, and even if prices fell, they surely wouldn’t plummet like junk stocks in the stock market, becoming worthless overnight.

What they didn’t realize, however, was that this drop in international gold prices was only the beginning.

For a long time to come, the price of gold would undergo a series of sharp plunges, with no rebound in sight!

This time, they were truly trapped. It would take at least ten years—or even longer—for prices to recover to their current high levels.

More importantly, following the failed attempt to take down Li Yi, long-buried issues within the British-backed consortium have gradually come to light, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the future of Asia’s largest and most powerful business alliance.

While it won’t immediately fall apart, it will never again enjoy the same level of influence and glory as before!

The British-funded group was, in essence, a loose alliance with tenuous ties. Within this business coalition, British capital held an absolute advantage and controlled the narrative.

The dozens or even hundreds of local Hong Kong families could only serve as vassals; they would step forward to handle day-to-day matters and contribute funds for major business initiatives.

Of course, they could also reap certain benefits from this alliance, but these were merely the scraps left over after the British tycoons had finished their feast.

In short, the vassals step forward when there’s a problem, take the blame when things go wrong, and let the bigwigs feast on the spoils!

Over time, most Chinese capitalists actually felt quite stifled, but they had no choice but to bow their heads under the same roof.

But after the Li family incident, the atmosphere within the British-funded group had already become somewhat eerie.

Many wavering members became even more unsettled, and some vassals who had previously been steadfast in serving them like dogs couldn’t help but feel a chill down their spines upon seeing what happened to the Li family, causing them to be extra cautious in their dealings.

Take Lin Zhengrong, for example—the man the British-owned group had thrust into the spotlight to target the Li family’s jewelry store. Although he had always worked tirelessly for the group, he dared not put all his chips on the table.

However, since the British Capital Group’s power remained intact and it still held sway on Hong Kong Island, even those who had grown disloyal dared not show it too openly.

However, this gold war with Li Yi directly led to massive losses for the British-funded Group, and many issues that had previously been covered up were gradually becoming impossible to conceal.

Just as gold prices on Hong Kong Island plummeted, the fence-sitters within the British-owned Group began calling Li Fuzhao one after another. On the surface, it was a gesture of goodwill, but everyone knew full well that these individuals were simply securing their own escape routes.

Some were more subtle, while others were quite direct.

In an effort to gain the trust of Li Fuzhao, a major figure in the Chinese-owned business community, many of them secretly shared inside information about the British-owned conglomerate with him.

Upon learning that the British-owned conglomerate had suffered a one-time loss of nearly 10 billion Hong Kong dollars, Li Fuzhao was deeply shocked. He had watched with his own eyes as these foreigners had walked step by step into the trap meticulously set by Li Yi.

It could be said that Li Yi single-handedly brought down the British-owned conglomerate!

Stunned, Li Futao immediately sent word of the situation to New York…

……….