Chapter 989: The Great Escape!

Tuesday, October 26—an auspicious day for all undertakings!

At 8:30 a.m., accompanied by Zhang Ziqiang and the others, Li Yi arrived at the stock exchange.

Whether by design or not, the moment Li Yi and his group stepped through the exchange’s doors, they saw Sang Chai emerge from VIP Room No. 3 with a group of men and women, blocking Li Yi’s path.

Seeing this, Zhang Ziqiang and the others immediately shielded Li Yi behind them, their hands instinctively reaching for their waists.

The bodyguards surrounding Sangchai were startled and reacted immediately.

Instantly, the atmosphere in the hall grew tense.

The investors around them, who had originally been there to gawk at the spectacle, all stepped back in unison upon witnessing this scene.

It’s fine to watch the spectacle, but you certainly don’t want to risk your life—otherwise, you’d be losing out big time.

Sang Chai’s expression darkened, and he hurriedly said, “Li, don’t get the wrong idea. We just want to have a few words with you; we mean no harm.”

A cold smile flashed across Li Yi’s face. He took a step forward, weaving his way between Zhang Ziqiang and Zhou Wen, and stood directly in front of Sang Chai.

“What do you want to say?”

“Li, the situation is now quite clear. If you’re willing to concede defeat and dissolve the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, we’ll consider halting our attack and sparing your Star Company,” Sang Chai said with an air of arrogance.

Michiko, standing nearby, immediately chimed in, “Mr. Li, there’s an old saying in China: ‘Those who recognize the times are the true heroes…’”

But before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off, his tone icy: “You must have crawled out of that dead man’s grave—how come you’ve got so much bullshit spewing out of you?”

“Bastard, Mr. Li, you’re being so disrespectful…”

“Are you sewer-dwelling vermin even human?” Li Yi said with contempt.

“Mr. Li…”

“Shut up. Say another word, and I’ll slap you across the face.”

After that, Li Yi ignored this Korean green tea bitch and fixed his gaze on Sangchai across from him, saying coldly, “I admit you currently have the upper hand, but what China lacks least is the spirit to shatter like jade rather than be shattered like tiles. Besides, the battle isn’t over yet—we might still have a chance to turn the tables!”

“Turn the tide… Hah!”

Sang Chai continued, “Li, you’re being too naive. Setting aside whether you even have the ability to turn the tables, even if you did, I wouldn’t give you the chance—unless a miracle happens.”

Li Yi gave a cold laugh. “A miracle, you say? I forgot to mention—I’m a master at creating miracles!”

“And let me tell you one more thing: I’m not afraid of anyone’s challenge. What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger!”

After dropping that line, Li Yi turned on his heel with a flourish and strode toward VIP Room No. 9 directly ahead, leaving Sang Chai and the others standing there in stunned disbelief.

This scene was clearly witnessed by the onlookers and captured by numerous reporters…

……..

“Ring, ring, ring…”

As the opening bell rang, another day of fierce competition began.

Thanks to the massive financial backing they’d received, Sang Chai and his team had ample ammunition. As soon as the market opened, they raised their stock acquisition price once again, delivering a sharp warning to Starry Sky Company.

However, Star Company didn’t back down. By sacrificing some positions to protect their core holdings, they managed to recoup a significant amount of capital and quickly raised their bid price in response.

Meanwhile, the speculative retail investors and brokerage firms who had been sitting on the sidelines saw how fiercely the two sides were competing. Realizing the stock price wouldn’t drop anytime soon, they rushed in to snap up shares, hoping to get a piece of the action.

After building the atmosphere to a fever pitch, Li Yi immediately ordered the shareholders of several companies to execute the “Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell” plan, systematically selling off their holdings in each company.

To avoid arousing the suspicion of Sangchai and his associates, the volume of each sale was kept small. Furthermore, whenever a sell order appeared, Star Company’s traders would engage in fierce bidding wars with others.

Their energetic performance certainly paid off. Coupled with the large number of retail investors and speculative capital entering the market to create chaos, it confused Sangchai and his associates, leaving them completely unaware that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was rushing to exit the market.

Meanwhile, in order to secure controlling stakes in the final seven companies as quickly as possible, Sangchai’s team soon approached the other shareholders of several major companies.

After all, the number of shares in free float on the market was limited; for most companies, it accounted for only about 30% of the total shares, and even at the high end, it did not exceed 50%.

If Sangchai and his team wanted to secure controlling stakes in these companies, they ultimately had to find a way off the market, and those small shareholders became their targets.

They had previously sent people to approach these minority shareholders, but the results were not promising.

Although these minority shareholders hadn’t explicitly rejected them, they hadn’t relinquished their shares either, clearly choosing to wait and see.

But now that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was suffering a series of defeats and looked on the verge of being completely crushed, coupled with the fact that Sangchai and his associates now had ample funds to offer higher prices, they were determined to secure these minority shareholders at all costs.

And things unfolded exactly as Sangchai and his associates had anticipated: when their representatives approached those small shareholders, the latter’s stance softened considerably.

When they offered a purchase price far above market value, those minority shareholders decisively surrendered.

In less than a day, they successfully secured more than twenty small shareholders across seven companies, instantly becoming the major shareholders of these firms.

However, under Li Yi’s deliberate manipulation, although they had become major shareholders, they still fell short of the controlling stake.

Over the next two days, Li Yi once again drove up the stock prices of these companies.

He believed that Sang Chai and his group were on the verge of success; with “victory” within reach, they would certainly continue to follow suit.

Sure enough, upon seeing Starry Sky raise the stock prices of these companies once more, Sangchai and his group did not hesitate for a moment and immediately followed suit.

Moreover, in an effort to outmaneuver Starry Sky, they drove the stock prices even higher, hoping to seize controlling stakes in these companies in one fell swoop.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Yi decisively issued the order to make the final exit!

Following Li Yi’s order, the shares held by Starry Company were rapidly sold off.

By the time Sang Chai and his associates realized something was amiss, Star Company had already cashed out all its holdings in these companies.

VIP Room No. 3!

When Sang Chai and the others learned of the situation, they were all taken aback.

The people from Star Company had actually given up the fight and proactively cashed out to exit the market.

This left Sang Chai and his team, who had been waiting to seize control of the company, somewhat dumbfounded; at a time when they should have been celebrating, they found themselves unable to feel any joy.

After all, Star Corporation had previously demonstrated an unwavering resolve to fight to the end; they didn’t seem like the type to give up easily, and Sang Chai and his group didn’t believe Li Yi would surrender without a fight.

After all, if they gave up the fight, these companies would all fall into their hands. At that point, the Chinese business community on Hong Kong Island would be forced to side with them, and there would be no further obstacles to dissolving the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Compared to the economic losses, the significance of this matter was far greater. It seemed Li Yi would not—and could not—give up; the Red Empire behind him would not allow him to do so.

Yet, it was precisely this seemingly impossible scenario that actually unfolded.

In short, Starry Sky’s sudden exit caught Sang Chai and his associates completely off guard.

But considering Starry Sky’s current predicament—besieged on all sides—even if they fought to the bitter end, their fate wouldn’t be much better. It was better to cash out while the stock price was still high; at the very least, they could walk away with a hefty profit.

This… seemed to be their only—and best—option!

And someone as smart as Li Yi naturally understood all this and knew exactly what to do.

With that realization, Sangchai and the others felt a sense of relief and immediately began cheering in the VIP lounge.

However, their good mood didn’t last more than a few minutes before they received an unexpected piece of news. Upon hearing it, Sang Chai and the others in VIP Room No. 3 were left completely dumbfounded…

………