Chapter 984: The Showdown Continues, and Their Reputations Are Ruined!

Hong Kong Island. Far East Stock Exchange!

As Star Investment and the overseas consortium made their moves one after another, trading volume surged for the shares of various companies that had previously been ignored by the market.

Seeing major investors bottom-fishing these stocks, retail investors and hot money—who had previously worried about being stuck with them—rushed to adjust their prices.

After all, once competition arises, the value of anything becomes apparent.

This is especially true for stocks: when no one wants them, they’re not even worth the paper they’re printed on.

But once people start scrambling for them, their value can multiply several times over in a single day.

These retail and speculative investors are masters at shifting their positions with the wind. Although few now dare to compete with the big players for a piece of the pie after being thoroughly beaten twice,

However, that doesn’t stop them from raising the asking prices on their holdings—or simply withdrawing their sell orders to wait for a better price.

After all, no one wants to work for free, do they?

Under these circumstances, the stock prices of these companies soared again at a visible pace.

In less than an hour, share prices that had previously been cut in half had largely recovered.

Although they were still slightly lower than the normal prices of the previous few days, the difference was negligible.

Most importantly, this upward trend continued, and with great momentum.

With no retail investors or speculative capital to disrupt the market, the main battle was now between Starry Sky and the overseas consortium; even the well-capitalized brokerage firms dared not get involved in this major conflict.

There was nothing to be done; both sides of this market manipulation were backed by bigwigs, and neither was particularly inclined to play by the rules.

It doesn’t rise when it should, and it surges wildly when it should fall.

Amid yesterday’s wild swings, a large number of previously confident retail investors, speculative capital, and brokerage firms were wiped out, leaving countless bankrupt.

Those who managed to avoid bankruptcy still suffered losses to varying degrees.

In short, retail investors, hot money, and brokerage firms have all been thoroughly cowed and can only watch quietly as the two sides battle it out fiercely.

This time, the overseas consortium is determined to seize controlling stakes in these companies. After all, their goal isn’t to make money, but to assist the British Hong Kong government in neutralizing the threat posed by the Chinese Merchants’ Association.

The most direct and effective method is to seize controlling stakes in these companies and then force the original major shareholders to withdraw from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, if they can make a fortune in the process, so much the better.

It didn’t matter if they didn’t make a profit—or even if they lost money—since Downing Street would compensate them for any losses, provided the British Empire’s finances could bear the cost.

Precisely because someone was covering their backs, Sangchai and his associates acted decisively and without hesitation, raising their bids far more quickly and aggressively than Star Company.

By the market close that day, Wharf Holdings’ share price had soared to HK$65 per share, while Hang Seng Bank’s stock had risen to HK$47 per share… Compared to their normal prices before this battle began, the increases were all over 50%.

Ho Group, which saw the largest increase, had seen its share price skyrocket from HK$44 before the battle to HK$82—nearly doubling in value.

But this was only the beginning. It was foreseeable that the battle between the two sides for BB Xi TR would continue in the days ahead, and share prices would keep skyrocketing.

In addition to the shares in free float, the non-tradable shares of these companies are also targets for those overseas financial consortia.

The most distinctive feature of these Hong Kong companies is their dispersed shareholding structure; a single company may have dozens or even hundreds of shareholders, and in many cases, major shareholders do not hold a large number of shares.

This provides outside forces with the opportunity to manipulate these companies’ stock prices and even launch hostile takeovers.

This is also the source of confidence for Sang Chai and his associates in defeating Li Yi; after all, at this stage, the key to victory lies in who has more money.

In this regard, they believe their capital is far more substantial than Li Yi’s.

However, they have no idea that Li Yi’s goal has never been to compete with them for control of these companies, but rather to keep them all…

………

As the battle for equity began, clashes on other fronts continued.

Yesterday, the Governor’s Residence and the police headquarters managed to stabilize the situation by betraying Yamada, Meng Lin, and others, causing the crowd of protesters demanding justice to disperse.

However, the Governor’s Office—which had previously remained in the background—was thrust into the spotlight and could no longer play the role of the innocent, delicate white lotus.

Early this morning, as news of the destruction of the Tiger Gang, the Yamaguchi-gumi, the Southern Monkey Gang, and other triads spread, internal discussions about the matter began within each organization.

That said, the versions circulating within the various gangs differed.

Some believed those gangs had tried to go head-to-head with Mr. Li of Starry Sky Corporation, only to be wiped out, with the Governor’s Office and the police merely picking up the pieces.

Others claimed that those gangs had originally been collaborating with the Governor’s Office and the police to crack down on Starry Sky Corporation, only to be turned on and killed in the process. Afterward, instead of offering assistance, the police kicked them while they were down.

Some even believe the whole affair was a setup orchestrated by Star Company and the Police Department, aimed at wiping out these foreign-based syndicates in one fell swoop. To ensure success, they were even willing to sacrifice the Tiger Hall—a group they had personally nurtured—as a sacrificial pawn.

Just look at the five triads that were wiped out: aside from the Tiger Hall—the Police Department’s own protégé—the rest were all foreign infiltrators.

At the same time, everyone in the underworld knows that Meng Lin of the Tiger Hall is Lin Luolan’s lackey. If it weren’t to lure in the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Southern Monkey Gang, how could Lin Luolan possibly take down the Tiger Hall? Wouldn’t that be a complete contradiction?

Although accounts vary, everyone believes one thing: the Governor’s Office and the Police Department played a highly disgraceful role in this incident.

Overnight, several triad groups that had previously been close to the Governor’s Office and the Police Department instinctively began to distance themselves.

These triads on Hong Kong Island have some degree of connection with the authorities; those without such ties were eliminated long ago.

When necessary, they would handle matters the authorities found too delicate to tackle themselves, in exchange for the authorities turning a blind eye—or even both eyes—to certain activities.

But this is just ridiculous, Governor’s Office. I’m charging into battle for you up front, and you’re standing behind me, ready to stab me in the back at any moment.

Who in their right mind would continue to cooperate with you?

In just a single day, the reputation of the Governor’s Office and the Police Department has been completely ruined in the eyes of the triads.

On top of that, the media and magazines were ramping up their efforts, continuing to expose the triads’ crimes.

After the people from Shield Security took control of those five syndicates, a massive amount of evidence of their criminal activities was unearthed. In addition to the standard practices everyone despises—such as preying on men and women and forcing innocent people into prostitution—they also uncovered a large number of heinous crimes, including kidnapping for ransom, robbery and murder, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.

Subsequently, under the direction of Yang Wenguang and others, these crimes and the related evidence were extensively reported by various media outlets.

While reporting on the cases, they also launched a scathing critique of the police department’s inaction regarding these matters and offered reasonable speculation about the role the police had played in them.

As these crimes and evidence continued to be exposed and spread rapidly, the prestige the police department and the Governor’s Office had just gained by “betraying” Yamada, Meng Lin, and others was quickly eroded.

Their reputation among the public was rapidly deteriorating at a visible pace…

It could be said that by this point, the Governor’s Office and the police department had suffered a crushing defeat, while triad groups like the Tiger Gang and the Southern Monkey Gang had lost everything.

In contrast, Huang Lixing’s Blue Dragon Society and Shield Security not only reaped tangible benefits but also gained the recognition of several top-tier triad organizations, skyrocketing their reputation and emerging as the biggest winners.

However, the main battlefield of this war has never been underground, but rather in the stock market.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering was merely a sideshow; it didn’t determine the outcome in the open. So the battle between Li Yi and the overseas financial conglomerates continues…

……….