Chapter 825: Surprised? Unexpected?

On the highway leading from central London to the suburbs, two cars were speeding along.

In the car behind, Dolsen stared blankly out the window with a grave expression.

He was in a terrible mood. His investments in the futures market had been going very smoothly; according to his projections, the 1.5 billion pounds he’d brought with him would double in no more than two months.

Once he returned to Hong Kong, he would be the hero of the Alliance!

Even if he had lost control of Hang Seng Bank, no one would dare say a word against him.

Moreover, if he could achieve success on Hong Kong Island, he might even surpass those two—Kubam and Alishin—and become the family heir.

That’s why Dolsen had been making frequent moves these past few days, gradually finding his stride.

However, just then, the family contacted him with some very bad news.

According to the family, Sheffield Steel, the family’s most important industrial holding, was under intense short-squeeze pressure from the bulls. The situation was extremely critical, and one misstep could lead to bankruptcy.

Upon hearing this news, Dolsen was taken aback.

He knew full well that Sheffield United Steel Company, with a market value of 8 billion pounds, was one of the family’s few remaining industrial holdings, generating approximately 500 million pounds in annual revenue for the family.

If something were to happen to Sheffield United Steel, it would undoubtedly have a massive impact on the family’s future.

Subsequently, the family instructed him to put his current tasks on hold and find a way to contact the largest long position holder to discuss whether a negotiated settlement could be reached regarding the excessive short selling of the company’s shares.

Upon receiving the family’s instructions, Dolsen wasted no time. He immediately had Tina contact executives at the exchange to obtain information on the long positions.

When Dolsen learned that the largest holder was an investment firm named “Fox Hunt,” he immediately contacted them and expressed his willingness to negotiate.

To Dolsen’s delight, the other party did not reject his request but even provided their address, inviting him to come there that morning to discuss the matter.

Since they were willing to meet him, it meant there was still hope for a negotiated resolution; it was simply a matter of finding a balance between the two sides.

According to the family’s wishes, the best outcome would be to persuade the other party to postpone delivery.

According to intelligence received by the family, the frontline troops had already crushed the Argentine navy and air force and were preparing to launch a final assault on the island’s garrison.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this war would come to an end in a week or two at most.

At that point, prices for all metals and futures—including steel—will plummet, and the situation will reverse.

If all else fails, we’ll simply buy back the futures contracts from the other party at market price.

After all, if physical delivery were to occur, they would have to scramble to procure steel. Given current spot steel prices in the British Isles, the cost would be significantly higher than the futures price.

If they were to source steel from Europe or elsewhere, not only would shipping it to the British Isles incur substantial transportation costs, but once the steel arrived, it would be classified as imported goods, subject to hefty duties. All that hassle would end up costing them a pretty penny!

Just as Dolsen was deep in thought, the driver up front suddenly said, “Sir, we’ve arrived!”

Hearing the voice, Dolsen snapped out of his thoughts and looked out the window.

The car had pulled up in front of a large estate. Tina, who had been in the car ahead, had already gotten out and was speaking with the security guards at the gate.

Soon, the estate gates swung open, and their car was allowed to enter!

The car drove along the estate’s internal roads for a few minutes before coming to a stop in front of an ancient castle.

At the bottom of the steps, a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and blue eyes was standing there waiting for them.

Once Dolsen, Tina, and the other two representatives of the Sassoon family had gotten out of the car, the middle-aged woman approached to greet them. She introduced herself as Casey, the castle’s housekeeper, and mentioned that the owner was waiting for them in the living room.

Dawson and the others then followed Casey into the castle’s grand hall!

However, the moment Dolsen stepped into the hall and saw the person sitting on the sofa, he was completely dumbfounded!

Staring at Li Yi’s smug, almost-smiling face—as if asking, “Surprised? Unexpected?”—Dawson’s mind went completely blank for a split second.

It took him quite a while to snap out of it before he managed to say, “You… how did you end up here?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Of course I’m here waiting for you. Wasn’t it you, Mr. Dolsen, who asked to meet me?”

“You… you’re from Foxhunt?”

As he spoke, Dolsen’s voice trembled slightly—whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

“No… you’ve got that wrong. It should be: Foxhunt is mine!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this worst-case scenario, Dolsen felt as if the world were spinning.

If it had been anyone else, he might have been able to appeal to their interests, appeal to their emotions, and negotiate a resolution to the matter.

But with this guy standing before him, there was absolutely no hope!

“So you’re the one behind this short squeeze?”

“Didn’t you see it yourself? What else is there to question?” Li Yi said calmly.

After a long moment, Dowson looked at Li Yi and asked, “Mr. Li Yi, could you tell me when you first entered the market?”

Li Yi didn’t hide anything and replied calmly, “I don’t mind telling you—we started laying the groundwork here back in March!”

“March?”

Hearing this answer, Dolsen couldn’t help but gasp inwardly. That was when the war was just beginning to show signs of breaking out.

How did he know a war was coming? Even his own family hadn’t learned of it until just days before the conflict erupted. How had this man from the East managed to make such a deduction?

Was it intuition? If so, then this man’s market insight was truly terrifying.

Suddenly, Dolsen realized something else. He fixed his gaze on Li Yi and asked, “So, when you were competing with us for Huifeng’s shares in Hong Kong, most of your funds had already been transferred here?”

“Correct, but no prize for that!” Li Yi said with a smile.

Dawson nearly choked on his anger. He should have realized this long ago: during the fierce battle for Huifeng’s shares, although the competition was intense, Starry Sky had not invested an exceptionally large amount of capital.

Moreover, toward the end, they had clearly run out of steam, relying entirely on brokerage firms, hot money, and retail investors to push the price forward.

He’d sensed something was off back then, but had assumed they might have viewed Huifeng’s stock price as overinflated and didn’t want to commit too much capital. He never imagined that most of their funds had already left Hong Kong Island—they simply didn’t have much money left.

In other words, he and everyone in the British-owned group… no, he should say that every brokerage firm and investor on Hong Kong Island had been played by the man standing before him.

If he hadn’t let himself be intimidated back then, and hadn’t gotten entangled with this guy over the stocks of Huifeng and Hang Seng, but had instead concentrated his funds on attacking the Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s other listed companies, it would surely have been Li Yi who was in a world of trouble.

Thinking about how he’d not only let the other side swallow over 5 billion Hong Kong dollars, but also sold Hang Seng Bank to him at a bargain price and signed that agreement prohibiting attacks for three months, Dowson felt he’d been utterly foolish.

Watching Dolsen, whose eyes seemed ready to shoot fire and who was visibly trembling with rage, Li Yi felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction!

After plotting for so long, he could finally humiliate his opponent in broad daylight—nothing could be more satisfying.

“Mr. Dolsen, staring at someone like that is very rude. Don’t forget why you’re here today!” Li Yi said, looking at him with a half-smile.

Hearing this, Dolsen immediately recalled the family’s mission.

Although he knew the chances of getting Li Yi to force a market collapse were slim, considering the importance of Sheffield Company to his family, he still wanted to give it a shot.

With that in mind, Dolsen immediately composed himself and said, “Mr. Li Yi, your purpose in coming here is to make money. Would you be willing to transfer all your short positions to the Sassoon family? We are willing to purchase them at a price 10% above market value!”

Li Yi glanced at him, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly, and he spoke in a light, casual tone: “It’s true that I came to London to make money, but I have another purpose as well. I wonder if you’d like to know what it is, Dolsen!”

“What purpose?”

“To teach certain people a lesson—to let them know not everyone is someone they can afford to provoke!”

As he spoke, Li Yi’s tone grew unusually icy, his aura surging as he fixed his gaze on Dolsen.

Upon hearing this, Dorson said nothing; he simply turned and walked away from the castle estate…

……….