Chapter 980: All-Out Counterattack!

VIP Room No. 3!

With just over ten minutes left until the midday trading halt, Sang Chai and the others were closely monitoring the unfolding situation.

However, compared to the tension felt by Li Futiao, He Dongying, and others, the atmosphere in VIP Room No. 3 was noticeably more relaxed.

Sang Chai, Monroe, Michiko, and the others were sipping coffee and chatting as if they were at a tea party, showing no sign that they were in the midst of a battle worth hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

They certainly had reason to be smug; after all, the market was unfolding exactly as they had anticipated.

Just moments ago, their aggressive moves had shattered the psychological defenses of many investors, prompting them to dump their shares en masse.

For a time, the market was flooded with shares of Wharf Holdings, Hang Seng Bank, Hongniao Real Estate, Longheng Bank, and Cheung Kong Holdings, as if these companies’ stocks had turned into unwanted junk shares.

“Mr. Sangchai, with Wharf Holdings’ share price now hovering just shy of a 50% drop, should we initiate the buyback plan?” Michiko asked.

Sangchai gently stirred the spoon in his coffee cup, then said nonchalantly, “Let’s wait a little longer.”

“Wait… wait for what?” Michiko asked, puzzled.

“For the stocks of other companies to bottom out!”

Sangchai went on to explain, “If we launch the buyback program now, we could indeed repay the shares borrowed from institutions in the shortest possible time, make a huge profit, and even surpass the Bao family to become Wharf’s largest shareholder.”

“But it would expose our intentions to those retail investors and institutions out there. Then they’d stop selling off other companies’ stocks—they might even hold onto their positions with all their might. At that point, we’d be at a disadvantage.”

After hearing Sangchai’s explanation, everyone immediately understood.

According to their plan, they needed to drive the share prices of each company down by at least half before launching the buyback program, so they could reap the market’s rewards while seizing control of each company.

But currently, the rates of decline varied across companies. Wharf Holdings, which was falling the fastest, was already nearing a 50% drop, while Hang Seng Bank, which was falling the slowest, had only dropped by about 20%.

If they moved to buy back shares at this point, it would inevitably disrupt their subsequent operations.

Just then, Dolsen, who had been as quiet as a ghost, suddenly spoke up: “Mr. Sangchai, with stock prices this low, what if the people at Starry Company take advantage of the situation to buy at the bottom? What should we do?”

“Bottom-fishing… Do they even have the firepower for that?”

Sangchai continued, “Ever since we started dumping shares, that Li Yi has been pouring money into propping up the stock. But his moves have been all talk and no action—he hasn’t dared to go all-in. Otherwise, the stock price wouldn’t have fallen this far.”

“So, I believe Star Company’s so-called market support is just a smokescreen—a ploy to appease his allies. In reality, he never intended to go head-to-head with us.”

At this point, a hint of admiration flashed in Sangchai’s eyes.

In his view, Li Yi’s choice was undoubtedly wise.

Knowing full well that their alliance was well-funded and fully prepared, a head-on clash would only hasten Starry Sky’s demise.

By using a small amount of capital to feign a market stabilization effort now, he both reassured his allies and demonstrated his resolve—killing two birds with one stone.

Even if the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were ultimately crushed, Star Company’s losses wouldn’t be too severe—it wouldn’t cripple the company.

It could be said that, under the current circumstances, Li Yi’s approach was the most prudent and optimal choice.

Monroe chimed in, saying, “I agree with Mr. Sangchai’s assessment. Besides, in my view, Wharf Holdings’ stock price still has room to fall, so there’s absolutely no rush to launch a buyback program.”

Achino, the representative of the Felida Consortium and the heir apparent, added, “Judging by the current trend, Wharf’s stock price could easily fall below HK$20. There’s certainly no rush to close the deal!”

“Right, we can definitely wait a little longer…”

Watching the self-assured expressions on the faces of the people before him, Dolsen couldn’t help but let a cold smile flicker across his face.

He truly had no idea where these fools before him got their confidence from—how dare they question Li Yi’s capabilities.

That monster had, in less than two years, successively plundered the Hong Kong stock market, the New York futures market, and the London futures market. Legends like the Sassoon family and “Thief Eagle” William had all suffered massive losses at the hands of this guy.

Even if Li Yi hadn’t known about their plans, Dolsen didn’t believe Sang Chai and his crew had the ability to defeat him—let alone now that Li Yi was fully aware of their entire scheme.

Therefore, these fools were bound to fail.

With that thought, Dolsen felt the time was right; he needed to cut his losses while he was ahead.

Suddenly, his hand trembled, and the coffee cup in his hand fell straight to the floor.

“Crash!”

The coffee cup made intimate contact with the marble floor, shattering instantly into a thousand pieces.

Seeing this, Dolsen quickly said with an apologetic expression, “Sorry, the coffee was a bit hot!”

Naturally, Sangchai and the others didn’t think much of such a minor incident; they simply had someone come in to clean up the mess and, while they were at it, brought Dolsen a fresh cup of coffee.

What the group failed to notice, however, was that just as the coffee cup shattered, an unassuming middle-aged man standing in the corner quietly slipped out of the VIP lounge.

Just as that middle-aged man left, Sanchez, who was in charge of directing operations in the trading hall, hurried in.

Seeing Sanchez enter, Sang Chai and the others in the room all stopped talking, and everyone’s eyes turned to him.

Ignoring their stares, Sanchez approached Sang Chai and said quickly, “People from Starry Sky are heavily investing in Wharf Holdings stock—it’s clearly a bottom-fishing move!”

At those words, the crowd in the room immediately grew uneasy.

After all, Michiko was a woman, and she was the first to lose her composure, asking, “Mr. Sangchai, what should we do now? Should we also…”

“No!”

Sangchai then turned to Sanchez and asked, “How many shares of Wharf Holdings do we still have?”

“Less than ten million shares!”

“Sell them all!” Sangchai said in a deep voice.

Sanchez immediately replied, “Star Company has ample funds. If they want to buy Wharf Holdings at the bottom, dumping these ten million shares won’t make much of a difference!”

Sangchai replied coldly, “Even if they manage to buy low in Wharf Holdings, so what? We’re not just shorting Wharf Holdings.”

“Sanchez, dump all our shares in the other companies. I’d like to see if that upstart dares to take us on in a showdown while protecting all his companies at the same time!”

“Yes!”

After speaking, Sanchez immediately hurried out the door.

However, less than five minutes later, he rushed back in.

And this time, his expression was beyond anxious—it was downright grim.

“A large number of accounts have suddenly appeared on the market, frantically buying up shares in various companies. Based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, it appears the major shareholders behind those companies have stepped in—they’re helping Starry Sky’s people prop up the market!”

Sanchez continued, “Right now, they’re rapidly absorbing all the shares on the market, and stock prices are soaring. The shares we dumped haven’t had any effect at all—they’ve launched a full-scale counterattack…”

The atmosphere in the VIP lounge froze instantly, and the relaxed expressions on everyone’s faces vanished.

To suppress the stock prices of various companies—with the aim of buying them up at rock-bottom prices and gaining control—they had borrowed massive quantities of shares from various institutions.

Now, share prices had indeed plummeted significantly, just as they had anticipated. If they were to enter the market and snap up these shares at this moment, they would undoubtedly reap substantial gains.

However, doing so would prevent them from achieving their strategic objectives.

But if they let things slide, once the stock prices were driven back up, or if the free-floating shares were completely snapped up by Star Company and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, they would suffer losses—potentially massive ones…

In an instant, everyone’s attention turned once again to Sangchai…

………..