Chapter 631: Super Versailles!

Just as William and his crew were in a frenzy, Li Yi and his group next door also heard the news of the Fed’s rate hike.

When a member of Billy’s team rushed in to share the good news, the dozen or so people in the spacious VIP room were stunned.

After a brief silence, once they confirmed the news was true, the room erupted in deafening cheers.

“God, our luck is just too good. How did we happen to run into a Fed rate hike? It’s incredible!”

“Boss, with the Fed’s rate hike, we’re guaranteed to win this time. Even the legendary William would have to admit defeat in a situation like this!”

“That’s right. The Fed has really outdone themselves this time. Their secrecy was flawless—not even we got wind of it beforehand!”

“The Fed has been messing things up for so many years, but they’ve finally done something right…”

As elites in the financial world, they naturally understood the impact of a Fed rate hike on shorting gold.

Originally, facing the Legendary William team’s attacks, they had absolutely no confidence.

Now, the Fed has suddenly and quietly announced a rate hike, and has explicitly stated that there will be three rounds of hikes this year, with further decisions to be made after the New Year.

If high inflation persists, further rate hikes cannot be ruled out.

This is nothing short of pouring a bucket of cold water on gold prices that have been skyrocketing—no, it’s more like using a fire extinguisher!

Forget about whether gold prices will continue to rise—it would be a victory just to hold onto today’s pre-market levels.

After all, no one is fooled: as soon as the Fed hikes rates, massive amounts of capital will shift into the U.S. dollar, and with fewer investors in gold, prices will naturally fall.

Now it all comes down to how steep the drop will be!

Billy calmly glanced at the composed Li Yi, then couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, you’re so confident that William’s team won’t achieve their target. Did you know all along that the Fed was going to raise rates?”

At those words, the previously noisy room fell instantly silent, and everyone turned to look at Li Yi.

In truth, Billy wasn’t the only one curious about the answer—everyone else was wondering the same thing.

It wasn’t just because the timing of the Fed’s rate hike was too convenient—they had just shorted gold yesterday, and now the Fed was raising rates today. It was simply too much of a coincidence.

Secondly, Li Yi had remained remarkably calm throughout. At Zaiying, no one had ever heard of anyone staying so composed upon learning that the legendary William intended to target them.

After all, this was a madman who dared to short even the British government. There were at least eighty, if not a hundred, billionaires who had suffered massive losses at his hands. In the entire US and UK stock and futures markets, Legendary William was an absolute god-like figure—just hearing his name would make anyone’s knees tremble.

But Li Yi, “banbanhaobang,” didn’t seem to care at all. Upon learning that William’s team was targeting him, not only did he not panic, but he actually invited them all to watch the show. All of this was simply too out of the ordinary.

So, in everyone’s eyes, Li Yi must have been privy to some inside information; otherwise, there was no way to explain all this.

Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Li Yi’s lips curled into a faint smile. He then turned to Billy and said, “That’s right—I do know the Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates!”

They had assumed Li Yi wouldn’t admit to it—after all, if this information were leaked, it could cause them immense trouble, and might even trigger an FBI investigation.

In fact, they had even prepared a denial for Li Yi to use.

But they never expected him to admit it. Billy, George, and the others were momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long pause, Billy asked again, “Boss, this is such a confidential matter—even our company’s top brass doesn’t know about it. How did you find out? Of course, if you’re not comfortable sharing, we’ll…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut in: “What’s there to be uncomfortable about? Isn’t the Fed’s rate hike a conclusion anyone could reach with a little analysis? Is there really any need to make such a fuss over it?”

Billy: …%￥#

George: #￥%……&

Lan Xinyi: &……%￥

Everyone else: &……%￥#@#￥%……&

Li Yi’s incredibly arrogant remark once again left the group of elites in the room completely dumbfounded.

Billy quickly caught on and looked at Li Yi in shock, asking, “Are you saying that the Fed’s rate hike wasn’t leaked to you by someone else, but that you figured it out on your own?”

“Of course I figured it out myself. How could anyone tell a foreigner like me about something so confidential in advance? That’s ridiculous,” Li Yi said.

“How could you be so certain the Fed was going to raise rates?” Billy asked again.

“For something like this, you just need to look at the situation in your country and familiarize yourself with the Fed’s usual practices. I’m sure you’re well aware of the biggest problem your domestic economy is facing right now!” Li Yi said.

“Are you referring to high inflation?”

“Exactly!”

Li Yi continued, “Actually, looking at your country as a whole, your economic policies have always been rather rigid—and so have the people!”

“Stubborn?”

“It means stubborn and inflexible!”

Li Yi continued, “I don’t mean that as a criticism. Let’s stick to the facts. Take the hyperinflation your country is currently facing, for example. If this were happening in our country, the government might take all sorts of measures to address it—like sending thousands of young people to the countryside to ease the burden on the cities!”

“But your approach has always been simplistic and heavy-handed: when there’s inflation, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates; when there’s stagflation, it cuts rates and loosens monetary policy—and it never fails. Think about it—isn’t that exactly how it works?”

Billy, George, and the others were eager to argue back, but upon closer reflection, they realized Li Yi was right. Every time the national economy faced inflation, the Federal Reserve would spare no effort in raising interest rates.

At their peak, they’d even raise rates for over a dozen consecutive rounds, only stopping once the excess liquidity affecting the dollar’s value had flowed back into their hands and the dollar had regained its strength in the market.

At this thought, both men simply opened their mouths but ultimately said nothing!

“The current double-digit inflation is unprecedented in the two hundred years since your country’s founding. The people are already suffering terribly. Isn’t it only natural for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates? If I didn’t know all this, how could I dare to travel all this way just to short gold?” Li Yi said again.

“But you only started shorting gold yesterday, and today the Fed raised rates. Is that really a coincidence?” Billy frowned.

“It’s not a coincidence—it’s luck!” Li Yi said,

“Luck?”

Billy was once again stunned by Li Yi’s words. Who could possibly have such unbelievable luck? Did he think he was the son of Lady Luck?

Clearly, he didn’t believe a word of what Li Yi was saying.

Besides, if this were really that easy to analyze, would Legendary William and his crew be targeting them right now? Did he really think these Wall Street elites were complete idiots?

Li Yi was right—the Fed’s overall response was sound, but timing was the key.

After all, high inflation hasn’t been a problem for just a year or two, yet the Fed had remained inactive all this time. Why did they choose to raise rates today of all days?

But he also knew that Li Yi had already shown them a great deal of courtesy by sharing this much; given his status, he could have easily kept all of this to himself.

With that in mind, he didn’t dwell on the issue any further and asked again, “Boss, what should we do now?”

“Nothing at all. Barring any surprises, the group trying to ambush us will retreat soon enough. We just need to sit back and watch how things play out!” Li Yi said.

To him, William and the others’ ambush was merely a minor hiccup in the entire project—it wouldn’t affect the bigger picture.

Now that the Federal Reserve had begun raising interest rates, the market would inevitably experience some turbulence as a result, and the price of gold would inevitably fall.

But this alone wouldn’t cause gold to plummet dramatically, let alone halve in value.

They must wait—wait for the next piece of positive news. That will be the optimal moment to truly reap the rewards from those Wall Street speculators, and that moment is coming very soon!

PS: There will be another chapter before midnight!

William’s reaction startled everyone in the room, and all eyes turned to him!

“William, what’s going on?” the slightly portly elderly man asked immediately.

This man was named Volcker; he was one of William’s partners and a renowned Wall Street tycoon whose influence carried immense weight throughout the financial world.

This time, in order to crush Li Yi and his group in one fell swoop, William had invited Volcker along as well.

William paused briefly, then said with a grim expression, “The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates!”

At those words, the expressions of everyone in the room changed.

“Is the information accurate?”

William nodded and said, “Just moments ago, the Federal Reserve held a press conference. Paul (the Fed Chair) personally announced the rate hike plan. They’ve decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.5%–0.75%, and…”

“And what?”

“And Paul also said there will be at least three more rate hikes by the end of the year!”

“Three rounds?”

Now everyone was on edge; a Fed rate hike was certainly not good news for them.

For those long on gold, the biggest fear is a Fed rate hike. The reason is simple: a Fed rate hike causes gold prices to fall, and sustained rate hikes are nothing short of a disaster for them.

Many people don’t understand the logic behind this and can’t figure out how Fed rate hikes relate to fluctuations in the price of gold. In fact, this is directly related to gold’s financial attributes.

Now that gold has lost its role as currency, many invest in it purely as a hedge against risk—meaning, in the eyes of many, gold is a vital safe-haven asset.

Put simply, when a currency rapidly depreciates or political instability arises, many people invest heavily in and hold gold, causing its price to rise.

However, if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, it typically leads to a stronger U.S. dollar, as higher interest rates attract more investors to buy the dollar, thereby driving up its exchange rate.

Consequently, gold typically exhibits a negative correlation with the U.S. dollar; thus, when the dollar strengthens, the price of gold often falls.

This is one of the reasons why gold prices often decline before the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

“William, didn’t you say the White House had no intention of adjusting the federal funds rate?” Volcker said, his face darkening.

“Volcker, you know the White House has no control over the Fed!” William said with a touch of resignation.

Before taking action, they had indeed spoken by phone with the White House’s economic advisor, who had clearly stated that the White House had no intention of adjusting policy for the time being, only mentioning that a series of anti-inflation measures might be introduced after the New Year.

At the time, William had reasoned that their operation would take only a week to achieve its objectives, and any policy adjustments by the White House after the New Year would have no impact on them—which is why they had felt confident enough to move against Li Yi.

But they never expected that while the White House did indeed take no action, the Federal Reserve stepped in, catching them completely off guard.

After a brief silence, Volcker said in a low voice, “So what do we do now? Do we keep going long on the dollar, or do we cut our losses and get out?”

“Pull out!”

“But if we terminate the plan now, we’ll lose at least hundreds of millions of dollars!” Volcker said, his face darkening.

To push the price of gold to its current level of $620, they had already invested $5 billion and used 20x leverage to manipulate the market.

Although they had only utilized one-third of their available funds, they had already purchased over 650,000 gold futures contracts, with an average purchase price of $61,500 per contract—equivalent to $615 per ounce.

Based on their current gold holdings, if the price of gold drops by just $1 per ounce, their losses would amount to $65 million.

If they tried to cut their losses and exit the market now, the losses would be unimaginable.

“We have to get out now. Once the market reacts, it will likely be too late to exit!”

William continued, “But even though we’ll incur losses, they won’t be too significant!”

“Why?”

“Don’t forget why we’re taking on that guy from Hong Kong in the first place. We’re just doing a friend a favor—there’s no reason for us to be the ones footing the bill, right?”

Volcker’s eyes lit up as he thought of the $1 billion that had been transferred over. He immediately said, “Right, we’re just doing this as a favor. No matter the outcome, our friends in Hong Kong will have to cover it!”

Whether it’s “better the friend die than the monk,” these Westerners still know where their loyalties lie.

The people at the British-owned conglomerate back in Hong Kong had no idea they’d already been sold out.

Once it was settled who would bear the losses, William immediately said in a stern voice, “Kum, sell off all our futures contracts right now. List the price at $600 per ounce!” William ordered sternly.

“Yes!”

Hearing William’s order, everyone present felt their hearts bleed.

They had worked so hard to push the price of gold up to $620 per ounce, yet now they had to voluntarily slash prices to save themselves, effectively reverting the price to its pre-opening level.

Even if they managed to sell all their gold futures contracts, they would still lose over $15 per ounce, resulting in a total loss exceeding $1 billion.

That’s a billion dollars!

Not to mention, the news of the Fed’s rate hike had already been made public; by now, the vast majority of people in the industry had likely heard the news.

I doubt there’s a single gold futures trader who doesn’t understand the impact of a Fed rate hike.

As expected, speculators who bought futures contracts at high prices are all waiting to cut their losses and exit the market!

Even though they’ve slashed the price by $20 per ounce, given the current situation, it’s far from certain they’ll be able to exit smoothly.

After all, they hold far too many gold futures contracts—so many that it’s difficult to find buyers willing to take them off their hands.

Sure enough, events unfolded exactly as William had predicted.

As soon as the news of the Fed’s rate hike was announced, the entire gold futures market was thrown into chaos.

Before William and the others could even react, a number of speculators began dumping gold futures contracts at a significant discount.

However, now that everyone is aware of the Fed’s rate hike, even those who haven’t chosen to cut their losses and exit the market dare not easily increase their positions; everyone is watching to see what stance William, this major client, will take.

After all, as long as he didn’t let go, there was still a chance for a turnaround.

However, when William’s team also began dumping their futures contracts, the speculators who had followed their lead went long were left in despair.

Initially, when these speculators saw others going long on gold, they assumed—based on past patterns—that the price would be driven up to a certain level in the short term.

So they decided to jump on the bandwagon and cash in—figuring that as long as they dumped their futures contracts before the market makers dumped their positions and exited, they could make a small profit.

But they never expected that just a few hours into this gold battle, they would face the devastating blow of a Fed rate hike.

Now the market makers have pulled out, and everyone is panicking, rushing to sell their futures contracts at rock-bottom prices.

With so many people dumping contracts—and desperate to liquidate their positions as quickly as possible—prices kept plummeting!

Soon, the price of gold futures on the New York market plummeted below $600 per ounce.

Looking at the broader market, this price formed a perfect parabolic curve compared to the opening level that morning.

However, while the price had a peak during its rise, its decline now seems to have no bottom.

Keep in mind that this was only the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike; a second and third are sure to follow, and gold prices will plummet with each successive hike…

……….

Upon learning that the gold price had surged to $610 per ounce in less than half an hour, Billy, George, and the others all turned pale.

In other words, excluding other expenses, Li Yi had already lost nearly $200 million on this investment.

That’s two hundred million dollars!

Although the money lost belonged to Li Yi, it was by no means good news for Billy, George, and the others.

This wasn’t just about the amount of their commissions and bonuses; more importantly, it touched on the professional reputation of every member of their two teams.

After all, every investment advisor has a performance record: the more investors earn, the more impressive the advisor’s track record becomes—and vice versa.

It can be said that, to a certain extent, these people share a common interest with Li Yi!

When one prospers, they all prosper; when one suffers, they all suffer!

“Boss, what should we do now? Should we retaliate against their move?” Billy asked, his expression stern.

However, Li Yi’s reaction left Billy somewhat baffled. He glanced at his watch and said, “No rush. Let them run around for a while first!”

“Huh?”

“Boss, I know Old William. He’s like a hungry wolf—once he decides to act, he won’t stop until he achieves his goal. We have to be prepared!” Billy said.

“Billy, their objective is clear—they want to wipe us out. Since we know what they’re after, what’s there to worry about?” Li Yi said calmly.

“But…”

“There’s nothing to ‘but’ about. The sky isn’t falling!”

Then Li Yi added, “Do you remember what I told you this morning before we came here? What we were here to do today?”

“To watch a play?”

“It’s a big show. Of course, your interpretation isn’t wrong—after all, you don’t have any big shows around here!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Boss, I don’t quite understand your thinking. Business is like a battlefield—we can’t be so careless!”

Billy was undoubtedly an excellent investment advisor. He was deeply concerned about the current situation and tried to reason with Li Yi in his own way.

Li Yi, however, remained completely unmoved. With a calm expression, he said, “Keep monitoring the market changes. Unless the gold price rises to $630 per ounce, there’s no need to report the situation to me for now!”

“Alright then!”

With that, Billy turned and left the VIP lounge, heading toward the trading floor!

Watching Billy’s retreating figure, a strange expression flashed across Li Yi’s face.

It wasn’t that he was underestimating his opponent or being careless; rather, it was because he had absolute confidence!

After all, if the other side wanted to force them into a margin call, they would have to push the gold price above $720.

Given the current situation, driving the gold price up by $120 wasn’t something that could be achieved with just tens or hundreds of billions of dollars.

Yesterday, they had injected $10 billion worth of futures contracts into the market, yet in the end, they had only managed to drive the price of gold down by a mere $3.

Even if the other side could mobilize $10 billion in capital and use 10x leverage, the market capacity they could leverage would amount to no more than $100 billion.

Yet the gold futures market in New York—and indeed across the entire United States—is worth far more than $100 billion.

It’s not that Li Yi underestimates the reinforcements brought in by the British-funded group; they simply don’t have the clout to push the international gold price up to $720—unless the Red Alliance actually takes military action against Europe, which is completely out of the question.

And setting aside whether that legendary William has the capability—even if, for the sake of argument, he did—the U.S. government would likely never give him the chance.

The reason is simple: the U.S. is currently experiencing unprecedented high inflation.

Double-digit inflation has left ordinary people suffering terribly; both the middle class and the working class are full of complaints, and the new president promised before the election to find ways to bring down the high inflation.

They’ve already made all the necessary preparations and are about to take action. All Li Yi has to do now is sit back and wait.

So, he really isn’t worried!

……….

While Li Yi sat calmly waiting for the show to begin, in a VIP room diagonally across from him, several white men were also watching the unfolding situation.

At that moment, a gray-haired middle-aged white man, surrounded by a crowd, asked with a stern expression, “Kum, what’s the situation out there?”

“It’s already at $618 and is surging toward $620!”

“Not enough. Keep pouring in funds. Push the price up to $630 before 12 o’clock!”

“Yes, sir!”

Just then, a portly, elderly white man standing next to the middle-aged man suddenly asked, “William, what price do you think they can hold out at?”

“Although Sharp’s team has maintained strict confidentiality, we currently don’t know how much capital they’ve invested or what leverage they’re using. However, reports from our contacts in Hong Kong indicate that their investment should be between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars!”

William continued, “And yesterday’s trading volume for gold futures here in New York reached a staggering $12.2 billion, whereas the daily volume here is usually only around $6 billion. That means at least $6 billion worth of futures contracts were suddenly added yesterday. From this, we can infer that the other side’s capital is likely around $1 billion, and they’re probably using 5 to 6 times leverage!”

“Based on that calculation, assuming they don’t add more margin, they can withstand a price increase of up to $60 at most!”

The old man nodded and said, “So when do you think we can close the net?”

“Under normal circumstances, it won’t take more than three days!” William said confidently.

“Hahaha, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease!” the old man said with a laugh.

“Kum, what’s the reaction from those Hong Kong guys?” William asked again.

“No action so far. They haven’t moved any funds, nor are they rushing to buy back contracts. Everything is calm!”

“Calm?” William asked, furrowing his brow.

“Right. I just saw Billy head back to the front lobby. Although he didn’t look too happy, he didn’t seem particularly panicked either!”

Hearing this, William couldn’t help but frown!

He had expected that upon seeing the gold price skyrocket, the other side might rush to raise funds to increase their margin or immediately pour money into buying up contracts.

He had even prepared a contingency plan: if they increased their margin, he would continue driving up the gold price until he crushed them.

If the other party was prepared to cut their losses and exit the market, he would still drive the gold price higher and, taking advantage of the situation, sell the futures contracts he had already snapped up at a high price to the other party, squeezing as much profit as possible out of those Hong Kongers.

But he never expected the other party’s composure to be so unwavering—which gave him a sense of foreboding!

The calmer the opponent appeared, the greater their confidence in shorting gold.

At the same time, it meant that the risks of their long positions in gold were growing.

He reviewed the operation once more. The factors influencing gold price fluctuations boiled down to three: the US dollar’s trajectory, policy expectations, and the global political and economic landscape.

Before launching the operation, he and his team had conducted a comprehensive analysis of these three factors. The US dollar was currently weakening, the international situation remained volatile—particularly with the Bear Alliance’s ongoing threat to Europe—and under such circumstances, the price of gold could only rise, not crash.

They had even specifically consulted with economic advisors at the White House to confirm that the government would not take any action in the short term. Only after thoroughly considering all aspects did they decide to take down those people on Hong Kong Island.

But now it seemed there was something they hadn’t accounted for!

Just as William was racking his brain, trying to identify any remaining uncertainties in his plan, a blonde, blue-eyed female secretary hurried into the room.

She approached William and spoke a few quick words. After hearing her report, William’s previously confident expression changed instantly, and he jumped straight up from his seat…

………

New York. Gold Futures Market!

In the VIP lounge, Li Yi sipped his coffee while listening to the intelligence gathered by Billy, George, and the others.

Trading hours in New York are fixed, typically starting at 9 a.m.

Since there was still more than half an hour before trading began, Li Yi asked Billy, George, and the others to check for any changes in gold prices across major markets.

“Yesterday’s closing price in Chicago was $599 per ounce, roughly unchanged from the day before. In London, the closing price was £570.48 per ounce, which converts to $599.50…”

“Based on the information we’ve gathered, aside from a slight decline in the New York market yesterday, the international gold market hasn’t been significantly affected by our short positions!”

No sooner had George finished speaking than Li Yi asked calmly, “So, in your opinion, how do you think the gold price will move today—up or down?”

Billy furrowed his brow and said, “Sir, based on my over twenty years of experience in this field, the situation doesn’t seem to be in your favor!”

“Are you saying the price of gold will go up?”

“That’s our analysis,” Billy said.

“George, what are your thoughts?”

“It will go up, but the increase shouldn’t be significant. At most, it’ll rebound to $599 per ounce—it’s unlikely to exceed $600!”

Li Yi smiled but said nothing. Instead, he turned to Lan Xinyi, who was sitting beside him, and asked, “What about you?”

Lan Xinyi furrowed her brow and said, “Judging by the current trend, the signs of an upturn are very clear. If I were to make my own assessment, I would also expect gold prices to rise slightly.”

Then Lan Xinyi changed the subject and added, “But compared to my own judgment, I trust your analysis more, Boss. The long-term trend is definitely downward!”

Although this might have sounded like flattery, it was Lan Xinyi’s genuine opinion.

There was a time when she, too, had been extremely confident in her own insight and judgment.

But in the end, she realized that all she could see were short-term fluctuations, while her boss could accurately analyze the ups and downs of a specific phase.

He could accurately predict the overall market trend, and his short-term analysis was equally spot-on!

From that moment on, Lan Xinyi realized that the gap between her and her boss was as vast as that between a firefly and the sun.

Li Yi looked around the room and said, “So what should we do if the gold price goes up?”

Billy replied immediately, “If it rises slightly, there’s no need to panic for now. But if the increase exceeds $10, we’ll have to consider whether to continue. After all, for every dollar the gold price rises, you’ll lose $17 million!”

George chimed in, “I agree with Billy. Once the gold price rises by more than $10, there’s no point in continuing this game!”

“Haha, can’t you hold out for just $10?”

Then Li Yi made another startling remark: “If things go as expected, the gold price will be driven above $620 before 11 a.m.!”

“That… that’s impossible. A jump that big would require exceptionally positive news!” Billy said, looking stunned.

The recent surge in gold prices had its reasons, and in less than two months, the price had already skyrocketed by 1.5 times—it was almost at its limit.

It would be incredibly difficult for the price to rise another $20 per ounce. Unless…

At that thought, Billy fixed his gaze on Li Yi and asked, “Boss, have you heard something? Is there a capital group preparing to short us?”

Li Yi didn’t explain. Instead, he glanced at his watch and said, “It’s almost nine o’clock. You guys go outside and keep an eye on things—the show is about to begin!”

Billy: …%￥#￥%

George: #￥%……

Lan Xinyi: &……%￥#

……….

At exactly 9:00 a.m., as a piercing electric bell rang out across the market, the frenzied trading on the New York Gold Futures Market began!

As soon as trading began, someone placed a large order for gold futures contracts at $599 per ounce.

Clearly, investors who had bought at yesterday’s low prices were ready to test the waters at this price!

If they were lucky enough to execute a trade, they would make a profit of about $3 per ounce.

However, unexpectedly, these futures contracts were snapped up the moment they were listed.

Seeing this, investors immediately became excited; the market’s lively activity clearly signaled that today’s gold price was poised for a surge.

Consequently, some investors tried raising the price to $600 per ounce.

The result was that they were quickly snapped up again, at a speed that was jaw-dropping.

Less than ten minutes into the session, the gold price had already broken through $600 per ounce.

When Billy’s people relayed the situation back to the VIP lounge, everyone present turned pale.

This meant that not only had Li Yi lost all of yesterday’s meager profits, but he had also incurred a loss of $1,700.

More importantly, trading had only just begun; if things continued at this pace, there was no telling how much more he would lose today.

“Boss, judging by the market’s abnormal behavior, there must be a mysterious force working against us—they’re trying to drive up the price of gold!” Billy said in a low voice.

“Billy, look up someone for me!” Li Yi said suddenly.

“Who?”

“William!”

“That William… you don’t mean the legendary William, do you?” Billy asked, looking stunned.

“That’s right, it’s him!”

Billy quickly caught on and said, “Boss, could it be that Legendary William is sniping at us?”

“If my intel is correct, it’s definitely him!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this, the expressions of every member of Billy’s team and George’s team changed; everyone’s face grew grave, even tinged with despair.

“Sir, if it really is Old William sniping at us, my suggestion is that we consider cutting our losses and getting out!” George said in a low voice.

“Why?”

“Because it’s William—Legendary William!” George said in a low voice.

“Although I don’t know just how legendary this ‘Legendary William’ is, in my view, a legend isn’t a myth—and even if it were a myth, it’s meant to be shattered!” Li Yi said calmly.

“Sir, William is the founder of the Ram William Fund and a godfather-level figure in the Western Chamber of Commerce. He is an absolute legend in the stock market. In just 20 short years, he turned his initial investment of $1,000 into 500,000 times that amount. Moreover, he has shorted the British pound on multiple occasions, inflicting heavy losses on the British government each time.”

George continued, “What’s even more terrifying is that his fund has grown to $10 billion. Both Jim Rogers and Warren Buffett have suffered major losses at his hands. If he really sets his sights on us, we won’t stand a chance—unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless our capital exceeds that of the William Fund!”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “That’s impossible. We don’t have much in reserve funds, banbanhaobang!”

It wasn’t that Li Yi didn’t have the money, but he wouldn’t touch it unless absolutely necessary—and he certainly wouldn’t tell George and the others about it.

“Well…”

Hearing that Li Yi had no reserve funds, George and the others looked even more grim.

Just then, a young man from Billy’s team rushed in, bringing yet another piece of bad news: the price of gold had risen again!

It turned out that while they were talking, trading activity outside had reached another peak.

Yesterday, Li Yi and his team had dumped a massive number of futures contracts, and some had keenly sensed that someone was shorting gold. Today, however, someone was buying up gold on a massive scale—clearly, someone had stepped in to counterattack the group from yesterday.

Clearly, a gold war was unfolding!

Consequently, many people began frantically raising their prices; some had already listed prices as high as $610 per ounce, yet those buyers were still taking every offer.

This move further provoked the investors, who kept raising their asking prices. Consequently, gold prices on the New York futures market were driven to new highs, and the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Li Yi’s side.

Thief Eagle. New York!

Due to the time difference, just as night was falling on Hong Kong Island, it was still just beginning to get light over Thief Eagle.

In the estate’s bedroom, Li Yi was fast asleep when he suddenly heard a series of urgent knocks at the door.

Startled awake, Li Yi stumbled to the door, still half-asleep, and opened it.

When he saw that it was actually Li Yunbao and Zhou Xinghua standing there, he yawned and asked, “It’s not even 6:30 yet. Why are you up so early?”

Zhou Xinghua immediately replied with a grave expression, “Mr. Li, we just received an urgent telegram from the boss in Hong Kong. The British-funded group has made their move—they’re planning to ambush us here in New York!”

Hearing this, Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, then said, “Take us down? In New York?”

“That’s right. According to confidential intelligence the boss received, they’ve raised over a billion US dollars and plan to drive up the gold price until we’re forced to liquidate our positions!”

Li Yi rubbed his eyes and asked, “Is this information accurate?”

“It’s definitely accurate. The boss told me to inform you immediately. He also said he’s already raising funds and will get the money to you as soon as possible!” Zhou Xinghua said.

However, Li Yi replied calmly, “Send a telegram back to Old Li right away. Tell him there’s no need for him to raise funds—I can handle this!”

“Mr. Li, it’s highly likely that the British-funded group has already made contact with the financial groups here. Our enemies aren’t just those bastards—they even include quite a few financial firms on this side. If they join forces, their power will be formidable. We…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “Just follow my orders. I’ll handle the rest myself!”

Zhou Xinghua was about to say something else, but Li Yunbao, who knew Li Yi well, immediately interjected, “Brother Xinghua, just reply to my old man exactly as Brother Yi said!”

“Alright, then!”

With that, Zhou Xinghua hurriedly left Li Yi’s room, leaving only Li Yi and Li Yunbao behind.

“Aren’t you going back to get some more rest?” Li Yi asked, yawning.

The time difference between Hong Kong and New York is exactly 12 hours. Just as our nightlife is getting started, people over there are just waking up and heading to work.

Because of the time difference, Li Yi hadn’t been able to sleep for the past few days and felt particularly miserable.

“I’m not sleepy!”

Li Yunbao then asked again, “Brother Yi, aren’t you really worried about us getting wiped out? That’s 2 billion US dollars! If we get wiped out, we’ll lose everything!”

Li Yi glanced at him and said, “Do you know how high the price of gold would have to be driven to wipe us out?”

“Um… I don’t know!”

Li Yunbao worked in legal affairs and didn’t know much about investments.

“It would have to reach $720 per ounce!” Li Yi said.

“That’s not that much!”

“Haha, it does sound reasonable—it’s only about a $120 difference. But do you know how massive the entire Thief Eagle gold market is?”

Before Li Yunbao could answer, Li Yi continued, “In the New York gold futures market alone, as much as 70 tons of gold are traded daily. And there are several other gold markets like New York’s in the U.S., including the world-renowned Chicago Gold Exchange!”

“To put it bluntly, it would take billions of dollars just to push the futures price of such a massive gold market up by a single dollar. To raise it by 120 dollars? That’s simply impossible without tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars—unless…”

Li Yunbao hurriedly asked, “Unless what?”

“Unless they mobilize state power to create certain circumstances—only then would it be possible to send gold prices soaring!” Li Yi said.

“I’ve heard that over there, the government is controlled by financial conglomerates. They might actually do something like that!” Li Yunbao said.

“Haha, you think that way because you don’t understand finance, let alone economics. Such things might have happened in the past, but now? The likelihood is minuscule—almost negligible!”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Go wake up Lan Xinyi, George, Billy, and the rest. In a little while, I’ll take you all to watch a show!” Li Yi said.

“What kind of show?”

“You’ll find out in a moment. Hurry up!”

“Alright!”

With that, Li Yunbao got up and left Li Yi’s room.

After watching Li Yunbao leave, Li Yi couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth turn up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Li Yi hadn’t expected those bastards from the British-funded conglomerate to travel all this way just to team up with a local financial firm to ambush him—they really went out of their way for this.

Despite this, Li Yi wasn’t the least bit worried; on the contrary, he felt a surge of excitement.

Originally, Li Yi had felt a bit of regret—even if this market-crashing scheme succeeded, it would merely serve to teach the British Capital Group a harsh lesson, without dealing them a crippling blow.

After all, no matter how capable he was, he couldn’t possibly drive the gold price down to zero.

Even if international gold prices did indeed plummet by half as he’d anticipated, those guys’ losses would still be limited.

But now that they’d come here to try and thwart him, there was room to maneuver.

You see, before coming here, Li Yi had already anticipated what might happen once he arrived—including the possibility of others trying to undercut him.

This was New York, the city of the “Predatory Eagles,” where financial titans and all manner of speculative funds were in no short supply—think Jim Rogers’ Quantum Fund, the “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett, and the like.

These people are like sharks roaming the open sea; the moment they spot the slightest opportunity, they swarm like sharks sensing blood, devouring their prey until nothing but scraps remain.

That’s precisely why Li Yi didn’t opt for higher leverage—because higher leverage means a lower margin requirement, which translates to greater risk.

Five times leverage is considered relatively low in the futures market, and this ratio is sufficient for him to deal with those with ill intentions.

More importantly, Li Yi believed that the gold price could not possibly sustain its current high of nearly $600 per ounce; the downward trend was very clear and irreversible in the short term.

The reason is simple: gold’s monetary attributes are fading, meaning the factors that once supported its high price are being stripped away.

As is well known, the surge in gold prices began with the rapid rise of the “Hawkish” economy, particularly after the dollar was pegged to gold. The price of gold soared from $80 to a peak of $850 per ounce—an increase of more than tenfold.

However, over the past few years, the relative shortage of total credit supply ultimately led to the collapse of the gold standard.

The reality in the world today is that US dollars are flooding the market everywhere. Not only the US, but even if the entire world were mobilized, it would be incapable of redeeming this deluge of US dollars with gold.

Under these circumstances, humanity faces two choices: first, to cling to the gold standard, which would stifle economic development due to a shortage of credit supply.

Second, to meet the demand for credit growth required for economic development, we could abandon the gold standard and base the monetary system on credit-backed paper currency rather than gold.

The credit provided by paper money is artificially created and is virtually limitless.

Of course, this approach carries risks, making the economy more susceptible to economic bubbles and monetary instability. Fortunately, humanity has finally found means other than gold to stabilize the economy and maintain currency value—such as oil.

At this point, gold was no longer humanity’s only option, and the demonetization of gold had become inevitable.

It was precisely against this broader economic backdrop that humanity chose to de-monetize gold.

After years of progress, the demonetization of gold has had a significant impact on changes in the contemporary structure of gold supply and demand.

First, on the demand side, there has been a shift from a demand dominated by gold as currency to one dominated by gold as a commodity.

A prominent manifestation of this is that gold has lost its dominant position in international settlements and as the main component of national foreign exchange reserves; central banks are no longer the primary buyers in the market but have become purely sellers, and the total gold reserves of various countries are gradually decreasing.

In short, with more sellers and fewer buyers, the market is experiencing an oversupply of gold, making a price decline inevitable.

Second, there are national policy factors at play. In the U.S., inflation is extremely severe, currently running at double-digit levels—the highest in decades.

High inflation inevitably leads to currency devaluation. To protect their purchasing power, many people choose to invest in gold.

However, if national policy shifts and the government moves to curb or resolve high inflation, gold will lose its appeal.

And now that the U.S. is about to take action to address this issue, gold prices will plummet as a result.

At this point, no one can stop the decline in gold prices—and whoever steps in is doomed.

So, Li Yi isn’t afraid of those people targeting him—he’s afraid they won’t show up!

Now that these guys have come, they shouldn’t even think about going back!

This time, he’s determined to show them exactly who they can provoke—and who they simply can’t afford to cross!

Hong Kong Island!

November 8th was undoubtedly a day to remember. The “81 Gold War,” a battle that future economists would talk about with great interest, officially kicked off on this day.

It is widely believed that the British-owned conglomerates, which had dominated Hong Kong and even all of East Asia for nearly a century, began their gradual decline following this battle and withdrew from the historical stage within a very short time.

To counter Li Yi’s short-selling of gold and to stabilize market prices—ensuring the value of their massive holdings of physical gold and financial instruments did not erode—the British-owned conglomerates reacted swiftly.

As soon as the meeting at the castle concluded, Smith, serving as both chief steward and secretary-general, immediately summoned all members of the British-funded groups across Hong Kong Island to a meeting at the Emperor Hotel in the city center.

Among them were high-ranking white executives, as well as Chinese families and companies willing to act as vassals and lackeys!

Of course, there were also plenty of fence-sitters waiting to pounce on the opportunity!

At the meeting, Smith first gave a brief overview of the situation, particularly revealing that Li Yi, Li Futao, and others were planning to short gold.

The moment he spoke, the room erupted in an uproar, and many could no longer sit still!

The reason was simple: after all, the physical gold and financial instruments worth tens of billions currently held by the British-owned groups had all been purchased with their money.

Although there were dozens, if not hundreds, of these vassal families and companies, spreading that hundred-plus billion across each faction meant the burden wasn’t particularly heavy—just tens of millions to a few hundred million each.

Even if gold prices did fall, the vast majority of them wouldn’t necessarily be ruined.

Gold prices don’t plummet like stocks do once they start falling, and if a stock goes bad, it can truly become worthless.

Gold, on the other hand, has a floor—it won’t plummet to the price of cabbage.

However, such a massive holding still exposes them to significant risk. If gold prices were to crash, it would likely deal a severe blow to some of them.

This is especially true for smaller families and companies that aren’t particularly well-funded; they might not be able to weather this wave of losses—take the Lin family, for example.

Consequently, these people began asking for advice, each of them frantic with worry.

At that moment, Smith—who had a keen grasp of human nature—immediately announced the Jazz’s decision and publicly called for members within the group to contribute funds for the short-selling campaign.

Upon hearing that the Duke was leading the effort to take out Li Yi, the vast majority of people supported the move—after all, it was in their best interests.

Moreover, if this move succeeded, the profits would be substantial.

After Smith’s rallying speech, the members of the British-funded group rushed to pledge funds just as they had done before.

In less than two hours, Smith and his team had raised 8.5 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Although the results were fairly good, Smith still had a vague sense of unease, because quite a few people had actually failed to contribute to this fundraising effort.

They offered various excuses—insufficient cash flow, severe losses, and so on.

At first glance, these seemed plausible, but Smith knew they were nothing but excuses—they hadn’t acted this way before.

Whenever such situations arose, even if they truly lacked funds, they would find a way to raise the money.

Because this was not merely an opportunity; it was a matter of attitude.

Now that these people were refusing to contribute to the fundraising campaign, it could only mean that their attitude toward the British Capital Group’s circle had changed—and this was most likely related to the Li Jiuying incident from a while back.

Although he felt deeply uneasy, Smith couldn’t say a word, because they had long agreed internally that such matters shouldn’t be forced—it was entirely voluntary.

Fortunately, 8.5 billion Hong Kong dollars is no small sum; it should be more than enough.

Subsequently, following the Duke’s orders, Smith converted 7.6 billion of that sum into US dollars and transferred it to Zaiying’s side—banbanhaobang—where it was entrusted to legendary investor Old William to manage, with the aim of thwarting Li Yi’s operations in New York.

The remaining 900 million Hong Kong dollars was managed by Smith’s team to stabilize the Hong Kong market!

In the words of Jazz and the others, the price of the Hong Kong gold market must remain stable; there must be absolutely no sharp fluctuations.

At this moment, the Hong Kong gold market was undergoing a massive test.

Under the relentless pressure from Li Yi, Li Futao, and others, a large number of gold investors and ordinary citizens panicked, rushing to sell off their gold financial products.

As a massive volume of gold financial products flooded the market, the price of gold plummeted rapidly, dropping from a high of $606 per ounce all the way down to $601.

By the afternoon, the price had broken through the $600 mark, dropping to $599—a price nearly identical to what most people had paid for their holdings.

The market’s poor performance further unsettled these investors, prompting even more people to join the wave of selling gold financial products.

More importantly, with so many people selling, there were simply no buyers to take the other side of the trade.

With no buyers, investors had no choice but to keep lowering their prices…

But just as people were worrying whether the gold price would indeed plummet suddenly, as Li Futao and others had predicted, someone suddenly began buying up these gold financial products in bulk on the market—absorbing every ounce that others sold.

Under these circumstances, by the time the market closed, the gold price in Hong Kong had finally stabilized at $599 per ounce.

On the first day, the British-funded group successfully stabilized the market!

However, when the operations team reported the funds expended to Smith, he was immediately stunned.

In less than half a day, they had spent 600 million Hong Kong dollars!

In other words, over the past three hours, investors in Hong Kong had sold off at least 600 million Hong Kong dollars’ worth of gold financial products.

Originally, they had planned to use these 900 million Hong Kong dollars to sustain the market for a week, but now only 300 million remained. Whether they could hold out until tomorrow morning was still an unknown.

In light of this, Smith immediately convened the internal members once again to continue raising funds.

For them, there was no turning back; they had no choice but to hold on, or else the consequences would be dire!

Of course, the violent fluctuations in the market’s gold prices did not escape Li Futao’s notice; without even needing to investigate, someone had already quietly informed him of the British-funded group’s situation.

Upon learning that the Anglo Group had actually raised funds to target Li Yi, Li Futiao was taken aback.

He knew full well how unscrupulous these Anglo-Saxons could be in business, and their influence was vast—extending far beyond the British-owned conglomerates on Hong Kong Island to include close ties with the “Eagles” and “John Bull.”

If these people were to join forces to take down Li Yi, the consequences would be truly unimaginable.

After all, in the financial markets, it often comes down to who has the most money—especially in the futures market. With sufficient capital, one can force an opponent into a margin call even when the odds are stacked against them.

More importantly, Li Futiao knew full well that Li Yi was now completely out of money.

In other words, faced with a counterattack and ambush by the British-funded groups, they would be forced to play defense and would be virtually powerless to fight back.

In light of this, Li Futiao sent a telegram to New York while simultaneously raising funds to prepare for any eventuality!

However, when Li Yi, who was far away in New York, received the urgent telegram from Li Futiao, he didn’t panic—instead, he wore an expression of delight…

………

Hong Kong Island. The Emperor Hotel!

At the very moment those Westerners were discussing how to thwart Li Yi at the Castle Manor, a highly anticipated event was about to begin in the ballroom of Hong Kong’s most luxurious hotel.

The event was hosted by the renowned Starry Company, and its purpose was to present the company’s financial statements for the first three months to investors.

Preparations for this event had been underway for several days, and the media had all been invited.

Every media outlet and investor in Hong Kong was closely watching this event.

After all, the media had been consistently casting doubt on Starry Company and its CEO, Li Yi, so everyone was eager to see just how much profit the company—which had been in operation for only three months—could generate for investors.

Consequently, in addition to select media outlets, many of Star Company’s clients were also in attendance at today’s event.

At 10:00 a.m., as the event began, Star Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Zhao Xinlan, led several members of the company’s management team into the venue and took their seats on stage.

Following that, Ding Can, the Office Manager and PR Manager, was the first to rise and speak: “Good morning, members of the press and Star Company clients. It is a pleasure to have you all here today to attend our company’s press conference despite your busy schedules. On behalf of the company…”

After a rather uninspiring opening statement, Ding Can invited Chief Financial Officer Zhao Xinlan to announce the company’s financial results for August through October on behalf of the company.

Zhao Xinlan didn’t beat around the bush. Ever the efficient professional, she got straight to the point: “Ladies and gentlemen, as of October 30, Star Company has raised a total of 8.5 billion Hong Kong dollars over the past three months. Of this, 7.2 billion was allocated to early-stage investments. Currently, the company’s profits stand at 6.8 billion yuan, with a return on investment of 94.4%.”

“Additionally, the company’s investment team predicted the appreciation of the U.S. dollar well in advance and invested a significant amount in U.S. dollar-denominated assets. We currently hold 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in time deposits. At the current exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the U.S. dollar, this 1.4 billion U.S. dollars is equivalent to 10.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, yielding a return of over 50%.”

“Consequently, according to the company’s financial department’s calculations, clients who invested in Star Company before mid-September will see a return on their investment of 144% over the first three months…”

“A buzz…”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

Although everyone had anticipated that Star Company’s investment performance would be impressive—after all, such a high-profile press conference wouldn’t be held to announce losses, unless the company was about to go out of business—

Since they were releasing the company’s financial data, it was clear that these figures were worth sharing—that their performance was something to be proud of.

But no one had anticipated that Star Company’s three-month return on investment would be so staggering.

144%—that’s equivalent to me giving you one dollar, and you returning two dollars and forty-four cents in principal and interest. Such a return on investment is simply off the charts.

Keep in mind that for other investment firms in the market, an average annual return of 20% is already considered quite good; a 50% return would place them among the top-tier companies.

Who could have imagined that Star Company, a newly established firm, would deliver such spectacular results in just three months? It’s simply unbelievable.

What’s more, it’s only been three months!

If this were a full year’s performance, no one would dare to imagine the results…

After announcing the company’s investment results, Ding Can stood up again and said, “Next, our company will be raising funds once more. If you are satisfied with our performance, we ask for your continued support of Star Company… Now we’ll move on to the Q&A session. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask the heads of our various departments!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a male reporter was the first to raise his hand.

Ding Can immediately gestured for him to proceed.

“I’m Zhu Mingguang, a reporter from the Nanhua Evening News. First, congratulations on your company’s outstanding investment performance. However, I’m curious about the specific projects your company has invested in to achieve such a high return on investment. Could you share this with the public?”

“Let’s have our investment advisor, Pang Feiyan, answer that question for you!” Ding Can said.

Pang Feiyan remained composed and, following her prepared script, said directly, “Normally, this would be a trade secret that cannot be disclosed, but now that the project has concluded, I can certainly share some details with everyone!”

“The reason our company has achieved such outstanding results is mainly due to our recent investment in gold. When we entered the market, the average price of gold was between $250 and $270 per ounce, but we sold it at $603 per ounce. From this single investment alone, our company made nearly 7 billion Hong Kong dollars!”

“Whoa!”

The crowd gasped in awe once again. Wow, nearly 7 billion from a single investment—no wonder the return on investment was so high.

“Gold investment has been booming in Hong Kong recently. As a professional investment firm, do you have any advice for investors?” the male reporter asked again.

“According to our company’s analysis, international gold prices have reached their peak. We’re likely to see significant price volatility in the near future. While we can’t rule out the possibility of a temporary rise, the overall trend is definitely downward—it could even crash!”

Pang Feiyan continued, “Therefore, I’d like to warn all investors: it’s best to stay away from gold right now. Those who’ve already invested should sell their holdings and exit the market as soon as possible!”

“Your company says gold prices are going to fall. Do you have any basis for that?” another reporter stood up and asked.

“The fact that our company has liquidated all our physical gold and futures positions is the evidence. Of course, we’re merely offering a suggestion; what investors ultimately decide to do is entirely up to them!” Pang Feiyan replied flawlessly.

“Your company…”

The press conference lasted a full hour, and later that day, during the noon news broadcast, Starry Sky Company’s press conference made it onto television!

As soon as the news broke, the entire Hong Kong investment community was in an uproar.

Although Starry Sky had only been in business for a short time, it had already made quite a name for itself in Hong Kong.

For one thing, the company offered exceptionally high salaries; even the cleaning staff earned 2,000 Hong Kong dollars a month.

For investment positions, the pay was even more staggering—it represented the ceiling of salaries in Hong Kong’s financial industry and made the company one of the most coveted employers among professionals in the sector.

On the other hand, British-owned conglomerates have been relentlessly smearing the company in recent times. They have mobilized the media to constantly attack Starry Company and its CEO, Li Yi, claiming that this so-called investment genius is nothing more than a “fake” manufactured by the mainland—lacking any real talent and merely a figurehead.

They also claimed that Starry Company had suffered massive losses in real estate investments, and that Li Yi had used investors’ money to plug the holes in the real estate business, causing many prospective investors to back out.

Although the British-owned group’s smear campaign did indeed have a significant impact on Starry Company—resulting in the company raising nearly half as much capital in October as in the previous two months—it also served to spread the fame of both Starry Company and Li Yi.

Hong Kong Island is a small place—even a fart can be smelled by everyone, let alone a smear campaign that’s been going on nonstop for so long.

It’s safe to say that, thanks to the British Capital Group’s relentless attacks and smear campaign, everyone on Hong Kong Island now knows there’s a Star Company in Yuanhua Tower—and that the company’s boss is from the mainland.

Naturally, under the smear campaign waged by the British-owned conglomerate and its associates, Starry Company and Li Yi himself weren’t exactly being hunted down by the public, but their reputations certainly took a hit.

Everyone understands the saying: “Three men make a tiger,” and that “constant slander can destroy a person’s reputation.”

If someone were to constantly whisper slander about you in others’ ears, even if you were blameless, over time people would inevitably change their opinion of you—and even distance themselves from you.

But what no one could have anticipated was that Star Company suddenly released its financial reports.

Wow, it was like dropping a depth charge into calm waters, instantly sending fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs scattering everywhere.

In an instant, some questioned whether Star Company’s 144% return on investment could possibly be real, claiming it was all just a gimmick to attract attention.

Others were relieved they’d chosen Star Company from the start, while some regretted not acting decisively earlier and missing out on the chance to make a fortune.

Of course, there was also a group of savvy individuals who, upon seeing the report, immediately grabbed their money and rushed to Star Company!

Consequently, that very afternoon, a long line formed outside Star Company, all people coming to entrust the company with the management of their funds…

………

Suburbs. Castle Manor!

Same place as before, same group of foreigners!

Only this time, there were more of them—a full dozen or so.

And just like at their last gathering, everyone’s faces were grim, and the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.

Li Yi’s market-crashing operation was beginning to bear fruit, and the pressure was now squarely on those holding large amounts of gold and gold-backed financial products.

And across the entire Hong Kong Island, the British-owned conglomerate held the largest amount of gold!

To bring the Lai family to its knees, they had invested over 10 billion Hong Kong dollars. Coupled with Li Yi’s deliberate trap, the majority of the gold financial products dumped by Starry Sky had ended up in their hands.

On top of that, there were nearly ten tons of physical gold.

Apart from a small portion that had already been sold by the Lin family, the rest was entirely in their hands.

Now that gold prices have experienced violent fluctuations, they are the ones most concerned.

Faced with this situation, they have only two options.

The first is to follow the retail investors in fleeing the market and cutting their losses.

The second step was to inject funds to prop up the market, keeping the price of gold at a relatively stable level.

Consequently, the senior members of the British-backed consortium gathered once again to discuss a strategy!

Among them, two individuals stood out as the most prominent: Sir Sassoon and Smith.

One served as the British-backed group’s spokesperson and leader on Hong Kong Island, while the other acted as its chief administrator and chief of staff.

Whenever the British-backed consortium took action, it was usually Smith who proposed strategies, formulated plans, and oversaw implementation, while the Sir was responsible for making the final decisions.

Over the years, thanks to their seamless collaboration, the British-backed Group has dominated Hong Kong Island and the entire Southeast Asian region; whether local conglomerates or regional governments, they were all at the mercy of the Group.

It was also under their leadership that the British-owned conglomerate on Hong Kong Island gained immense influence throughout the East Asian financial sphere, directly and indirectly controlling hundreds of major companies and enterprises.

But what they never could have imagined was that they would suffer a setback right here on their home turf in Hong Kong. How could they possibly tolerate this?

“Sir, the current situation is extremely unfavorable for us. You must make a decision, or our partners will start to complain!” Smith said in a grave tone.

To crush the Lai family, the British-owned conglomerate had invested a total of over 13 billion Hong Kong dollars in the gold project.

However, not all of this money was their own; a significant portion was collectively raised by members of the British Capital Group’s inner circle—a tactic they frequently employed when undertaking large-scale investments.

Whenever a large and sound project arose, the key decision-makers of the British Capital Group would take the lead, raising funds internally, and upon success, would share in the profits according to their investment ratios.

Over the past few decades, they have used this method to utterly crush Chinese-owned enterprises and capital on Hong Kong Island, emerging victorious in nearly every endeavor.

Precisely because of this, many Chinese families and business owners—even though they knew full well that partnering with these people would make them look down upon—were still willing to act as their lackeys, because following them truly meant there was meat on the table.

Even if what they consider “meat” is nothing more than the soup left over from others’ meals, they don’t care—after all, the money they receive is real and tangible.

This time was no exception. Of the more than 13 billion Hong Kong dollars, 8 billion had been raised by families and companies affiliated with British-owned conglomerates. With gold prices now fluctuating wildly, some were growing restless.

The爵士 seated at the head of the table also had a furrowed brow, but his demeanor remained calm and composed.

He gently swirled the red wine in his glass and said, “Don’t worry, the sky isn’t falling!”

“Sir, we’ve invested over 10 billion in this project after all. If we really suffer massive losses, we won’t be able to explain ourselves to our people!” Smith said.

“Hmph, why should we have to explain ourselves to them? They volunteered to participate in this investment. Not only is the likelihood of a gold price drop negligible, but even if we do suffer losses, that’s simply a normal risk!”

The Jazz then added, “If anyone has objections, let them pull out. We don’t need such waverers!”

At that moment, another elderly white man sitting nearby chimed in, “The Jazz is right. Investment always involves risk—there’s no such thing as a surefire deal. To get so worked up over a little fluctuation is simply outrageous!”

“Exactly, it’s outrageous. It’s just normal market fluctuations—what’s there to be afraid of?”

“Exactly. Gold prices don’t just drop that easily…”

……..

Listening to these people chiming in one after another to support the Duke, Smith’s mood grew even heavier.

Coming from a financial background, he sensed something was amiss. Given the current situation, this was likely a trap set by that young man from Starry Sky Corporation.

Knowing that young man as he did, he was a hungry wolf—he might not make a move at all, but once he did, he would definitely make his opponent bleed.

With that in mind, he said directly, “Sir, based on the information we have, this matter is very likely connected to Li from Starry Sky Corporation!”

“Oh? Tell me more,” the Duke said.

“A few days ago, Star Company took advantage of the sharp rise in gold prices to quietly offload their gold financial products. Our analysts estimate they’ve already sold at least 60% of their holdings—they may even have liquidated their entire position.”

Smith continued, “Add to that the sudden nature of this incident, and the fact that the Li family’s representative made an unusually public statement expressing pessimism about gold’s future. I believe this is a trap they’ve set—luring us in with massive investments before they start dumping the market!”

Hearing this, every single foreigner present broke out in a cold sweat.

If Smith’s speculation was correct, a plunge in gold prices would have a negligible impact on Starry Sky Company—the only ones to suffer losses would likely be us.

From this perspective, that young man certainly had a reason to dump the market.

However, just then, the Jazz spoke calmly: “You needn’t doubt it—this is indeed their plan!”

At these words, everyone in the room froze, staring at the Duke with puzzled expressions.

At that moment, the Duke continued, unflappable: “Not only do I know this is a trap, but I also know that young man is planning to short gold!”

“Short gold? What should we do then? Shouldn’t we inject funds to prop up the market?”

“Don’t worry. That young man’s battlefield isn’t on Hong Kong Island!” the Jazz said again.

“Not in Hong Kong?”

“That’s right. They went to New York a couple of days ago and appeared on the New York International Gold Futures Market. On that very day, there was a massive sell-off of gold futures contracts in New York. Our investigation revealed that it was that young man shorting gold!” the Jazz explained.

Smith’s eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp gleam, and he said in a low voice, “Jazz, shorting gold usually involves financial leverage. Can we team up with our allies over at Thief Eagle to take down that young man?”

A cold smile touched the Jazz’s lips, and he replied in a low voice, “I’ve already contacted Old William. He’s willing to cooperate with us and do everything in his power to take down that young man.”

“Although Sharp Corporation refuses to disclose client information, so we currently can’t determine exactly how much capital they’ve invested or what leverage ratio they’re using, we can make a rough estimate based on yesterday’s gold trading volume in New York. So next, William and his team will gradually drive up the price of gold until the other side gets liquidated!”

Smith immediately exclaimed with delight, “If Old William steps in, that young man is in for a major fall!”

Compared to a seasoned veteran like the legendary William, that young man is no match for Old William, whether in terms of experience or capital.

Not to mention that this battle is taking place on Old William’s home turf—no one can save that young man now!

“Sir, what should we do now? Should we offer Old William some support?”

“Yes. I plan to raise 1 billion US dollars for Old William to manage. Combined with the funds they already control, that’s enough to drive the price of gold up by 80 US dollars. As long as the other side doesn’t invest more than 2 billion US dollars, that’ll be enough to wipe them out!”

The Jazz continued, “Additionally, we’ll need to set aside some funds to maintain our foothold here on Hong Kong Island. We can’t let them completely destroy our market position!”

No sooner had the Jazz finished speaking than someone eagerly chimed in: “I agree with Mr. Jazz’s proposal. We at HSBC are willing to contribute 100 million US dollars!”

“We at Jardine Matheson agree as well. We’re willing to contribute $100 million!”

“We’re also willing to…”

However, just as these parties were raising funds and preparing to prop up the market, Starry Sky Corporation made a new move…

……….

Hong Kong!

On the morning of November 8, after waking up from a night’s sleep, the residents of Hong Kong Island headed to the newsstands as usual to buy their favorite newspapers.

In this era of relatively scarce entertainment and limited access to information, most literate residents had the habit of reading newspapers and magazines.

However, when the residents picked up their papers today, they suddenly discovered that multiple newspapers and magazines were all reporting the same thing: “Gold prices are about to plummet!”

If an ordinary newspaper had reported this, the public might not have paid much attention—after all, the island’s media was notorious for having no scruples; no matter the issue, as long as it was trending, they’d jump on the bandwagon.

But with gold investment currently so hot, it’s inevitable that some would try to ride this wave to boost sales.

Moreover, with all investors bullish on gold, simply going against the grain and predicting a downturn is likely to attract significant attention.

But when people saw that the South China Evening News was the first to report this, it was a different story.

As one of Hong Kong’s four major newspapers, the South China Evening News has always been known for its rigorous reporting. Unlike those unscrupulous tabloids, it generally doesn’t resort to any means necessary to grab headlines or boost circulation.

What was even more shocking was that the South China Evening Post actually ran this story as its front-page headline, relegating even the Governor’s political photo op visiting children at a welfare home to the second page—a clear indication of the newspaper’s seriousness regarding this matter.

So, when people saw this news, they were all taken aback.

It’s important to note that gold and financial commodity trading on Hong Kong Island had been incredibly hot recently, with one-third of the island’s investors participating.

Thanks to everyone’s collective efforts, Hong Kong’s gold price had skyrocketed, surging past $606 per ounce—about $7 higher than the international price.

Investors were pouring money into the market with such fervor because they believed gold prices wouldn’t drop anytime soon; they even expected international gold prices to surge to $850 per ounce, just as they had last year.

They weren’t just blindly following the trend; the main reason was that gold had performed exceptionally strongly over the past few months.

In August, the international gold price was just over $200 per ounce, but by September it had reached $500 per ounce—a full doubling.

By October, it had approached $600 per ounce—a staggering 150% surge in just three months.

Add to that the recent global political turmoil: the Bear Alliance taught the world a lesson with its invincible “steel flood,” and its military exercises simulating the conquest of Europe in eight days not only terrified Western nations but also pushed international gold prices to new highs.

And now that the threat from the Bear Alliance still looms, no one believes gold prices will suddenly crash.

More importantly, as a unique metal, gold’s price fluctuations follow cyclical patterns.

Even if prices do drop, the decline won’t be significant, and everyone still has a chance to break even.

Take, for example, those who got stuck in a losing position during last year’s price crash—haven’t they been given a chance now? At worst, they simply won’t make a profit during this cycle, but most people believe they can afford to wait it out.

At the very least, once the cycle runs its course, they can simply exchange their holdings for physical gold and wait for it to appreciate—after all, it is gold.

In contrast, the current performance of Hong Kong’s property market or stock market is simply baffling. A stock market crash has halved property prices, while stocks have plummeted even further—many people don’t even have a chance to break even.

To put it bluntly, while investors choose gold because they perceive it as relatively low-risk, the bigger reason is that they simply have no better investment options.

After all, other investments carry even greater risks!

However, this report in the South China Evening News has left investors feeling uneasy. The reporter cited an analysis by a senior economist at the Far East Stock Exchange, stating: “Due to the global economic environment, international gold prices are about to undergo a cyclical decline. Furthermore, with the rise of the dollar-denominated oil market, the trend toward the de-monetization of gold is becoming increasingly evident.”

Consequently, the price drop is expected to range between 50% and 60%, and gold prices will subsequently enter a prolonged period of weakness—lasting anywhere from three to two years, or as long as a decade.

In addition to the Nanhua Evening News, numerous other newspapers and magazines have also covered this story, all unanimously predicting a decline in gold prices.

Moreover, each outlet presents its case with great conviction, as if they could see the future.

After reading these reports, citizens who have invested in gold are naturally panicking—many of them have poured their life savings into it.

If prices were to suddenly plummet, the consequences for them could be catastrophic.

Consequently, everyone rushed to the stock exchange to see if gold prices had actually fallen.

Upon arriving at the exchange, they discovered that international gold prices had barely changed. Aside from a slight dip in quotes on the New York gold futures market, prices in the Chicago, London, and Zurich gold markets remained stable.

This news brought a collective sigh of relief!

However, the analyses in those newspapers and magazines had taken root in their minds like a spell. Seeing this, some investors with weaker resolve immediately made the painful decision to sell off their gold financial contracts.

For seasoned veterans in the investment world, the primary goal is to preserve capital; making a profit comes second.

You may be eyeing their high returns, but they might be eyeing your principal. You can’t risk your life savings just for a lollipop.

It’s fair to say that this barrage of media coverage has muddied the waters in Hong Kong’s investment community!

And this is just the beginning!

…….

At 9:00 a.m., Li Futao, a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s business community, gave an exclusive interview to a TV station. During the interview, the host specifically asked Li Futao for his views on the current gold investment craze sweeping Hong Kong.

Surprisingly, Li Futao stated outright that he was not optimistic about gold’s performance.

In Li Futao’s words, the price of gold has already peaked, and there is currently no room for further appreciation.

Unless the petrodollar system collapses and the U.S. dollar is re-pegged to gold,

Otherwise, the price of gold will soon fall, and could even crash.

At the same time, Li Futiao warned investors who still hold physical gold or gold financial products: if you don’t want to end up on the rooftop enjoying the “unlimited” view, you’d better cut your losses as soon as possible.

Even taking a small loss is better than facing a sudden, catastrophic plunge in gold prices!

Furthermore, he advised investors to avoid investing in gold during this period, and if they must invest, not to go long on gold, or else the consequences might be more than they can bear!

Li Futao wields immense influence on Hong Kong Island, and since he made these remarks during an exclusive interview—clearly after careful consideration—no one will dismiss his warning lightly.

Most importantly, everyone knows Li Futao’s character; his integrity is widely recognized in the industry. Since he has so explicitly stated that he does not see a bright future for gold investments, it clearly indicates that gold truly carries significant risks.

Under these circumstances, a large number of gold investors quickly chose to pull out.

There was no other choice; the current situation was simply too unpredictable. If they didn’t act fast, they might very well find themselves trapped in a losing position.

Overnight, the Hong Kong stock market was flooded with sell orders for gold financial products, while others took their physical gold to banks and shops to sell.

With so many people selling, the price of gold was naturally affected.

Less than two hours after Li Futao’s exclusive interview, the local gold price in Hong Kong had dropped from $606 per ounce to $601 per ounce—a plunge of $5 per ounce.

The turmoil in the gold market immediately drew the attention of all investors in Hong Kong Island—and caused unease among certain individuals!

………

New York Gold Futures Market!

As the largest gold trading market in the United States, the trading volume here is staggering.

At peak times, this single futures market alone sees 70 tons of gold traded daily.

Of course, this figure refers only to the volume of gold futures contracts traded; it does not mean that this much physical gold is actually being shuffled back and forth here every day.

With business elites and speculators from all over the world participating in gold trading, coupled with the Reagan administration’s 1974 repeal of the ban on private gold ownership and trading, the New York gold market has developed rapidly in recent years and grown in scale.

And this is precisely why Li Yi chose to come to New York rather than Chicago or London!

As it turned out, Li Yi’s choice was the right one.

Spurred by his successive price cuts, a massive volume of gold futures contracts was quickly traded!

At 2:30 p.m., with only half an hour left before the market closed, the good news arrived: all 166,900 gold futures contracts in Li Yi’s portfolio had been sold, bringing in a total of $9.952 billion.

Based on the funds recovered, the average selling price was approximately $596.

Meanwhile, today’s New York gold market set a new all-time trading volume record—$12.2 billion.

Due to the massive influx of gold futures contracts into the market, gold prices in the New York market were significantly impacted, dropping from $599 at the opening to $593 per ounce.

Excluding the price increase resulting from the buyback, if Li Yi were to repurchase the contracts for delivery now, he would make a profit of $3 per ounce of gold; 169,000 contracts would yield a profit of nearly $50 million.

However, this does not account for standard expenses, such as transaction fees.

Although the commission for a single contract of U.S. gold futures is only a little over $100, 169,000 contracts amount to nearly $17 million.

So, when all is said and done, Li Yi’s investment in this venture yields a paper profit of $34 million.

Even so, none of the team members—including Billy and George—were particularly optimistic about Li Yi.

After all, this involved nearly $10 billion in futures contracts—a staggering sum even by the standards of the New York gold market.

Under normal circumstances, pouring that many futures contracts into the market would drive the price down by at least $10.

But now it has only dropped by $6, which indicates that the gold market remains resilient.

As soon as the market reacts tomorrow and absorbs these 169,000 futures contracts, the price is bound to rebound.

By then, these meager, paper profits won’t stand a chance against the market’s momentum.

As long as the international gold price reaches $596 per ounce, Li Yi and his team will incur a small loss. After all, in addition to the actual gold price, they must pay transaction fees and other taxes to the exchange, plus capital usage fees and so on—so even if they break even, it’s still a small loss.

If the price breaks through $596 per ounce, every $1 increase would cost Li Yi and his team $17 million.

They have set aside $2 billion in margin for this trade. Without additional capital injections, Li Yi would face a margin call the moment the gold price hits $720.

So, whether this investment will turn a profit or a loss is still hard to say at this point!

However, unlike Billy and the others, Li Yi remained calm.

After the trade closed, he didn’t rush back but instead asked Billy, George, and the others to accompany him on a tour of the largest gold trading market in the United States.

The full name of the New York Gold Futures Market is the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), so the commodities traded here include not only gold but also corn, soybeans, and other commodities.

The main reason people often refer to this market as the “gold futures market” is that gold futures trading here is the most famous and frequent.

With the market about to close, investors were particularly active at this hour.

Upon entering the trading floor, buyers and sellers could be seen calling out prices everywhere.

The New York Mercantile Exchange itself does not participate in futures trading; it merely provides a venue and facilities, and establishes regulations to ensure that transactions between buyers and sellers are conducted under the principles of openness and fairness.

Therefore, all gold traded in New York must be settled here through open outcry, giving every buyer and seller the opportunity to execute trades at the best possible price.

Li Yi found this primitive method of open outcry trading quite astonishing; he stood there watching for a good half hour, only stopping when the close of trading was announced.

By the time they left the trading floor, it was nearly 4:00 p.m.

Although Li Yi really wanted to take a stroll through downtown New York, he abandoned the idea to prevent his team members from coming into contact with unnecessary people.

He then led the entire team straight to the Green brothers’ estate.

By the time they returned to the Green Brothers’ estate, it was nearly 5:30 p.m.

Due to jet lag, Li Yi was extremely sleepy, but instead of rushing to rest, he had Li Yunbao immediately contact Li Futiao to inform him that it was time to move.

……….

Hong Kong Island. Li Family Estate!

Before six in the morning, Li Futiao was already up.

When the butler, Uncle Fu, saw this, he was startled, thinking something must have happened, and immediately came over to ask what was going on.

You have to understand that my husband usually follows a very regular routine; he typically gets up at 7:30 in the morning and doesn’t head to the office until 9:00.

Getting up this early has hardly ever happened in all these years!

The reason Li Futiao got up so early was that he was waiting for news from New York.

He knew that the New York gold market closed at 3:00 p.m., which meant that by 3:00 p.m., they would know whether Li Yi’s plan had gone smoothly.

If things went smoothly over there, they could proceed with their plan to dump shares here.

Therefore, he had agreed with Li Yi to receive a definitive update after 5:00 p.m., regardless of the situation in New York.

Just as Li Futiao was deep in thought, his secretary rushed in, holding a telegram in his hand.

“Sir, an urgent telegram from the young master!”

Li Futiao immediately stood up from the sofa, took the telegram from his secretary, and began reading it intently.

After just a few glances, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, exclaiming happily, “Brother Li Yi truly lives up to his reputation as an investment genius. Impressive—truly impressive!”

After finishing the telegram, he immediately turned to his secretary and said, “Call Editor-in-Chief Liu at the Nanhua Evening News right away and tell him we’re ready to move forward!”

“Yes, sir!”

“The Hong Kong Island Business News wants to interview me, right? Go tell them I’ll have an hour after 9 a.m. Have their people come directly to the company to wait for me!” Li Futiao added.

“Alright, I’ll call the TV station right away!” the secretary replied respectfully.

“Also call the weekly and biweekly magazines—tell them the product is ready for market!”

“Yes…”

With Li Futao’s string of orders, the situation in Hong Kong suddenly took a dramatic turn…

……..

New York Gold Futures Market. VIP Room!

“A straight $1 price cut?”

Billy looked at Li Yi with an expression of disbelief, trying to make sure he hadn’t misheard.

At the same time, George and the others standing nearby looked just as stunned.

Only Lan Xinyi, Cai Bingyan, and the others remained completely unfazed; they were already used to this sort of thing.

Just moments ago, Li Yi had issued his first order to Billy’s team: “Have them sell their futures contracts on the open market at a price reduced by $1 per ounce from the current international gold price!”

Upon hearing this order, everyone was completely baffled.

“Boss, I think you might not be familiar with the trading rules of the New York gold futures market. Here, one contract is 100 ounces. The minimum price fluctuation is $0.10, meaning the price of one contract fluctuates by $10…”

Before Billy could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said in a deep voice, “You don’t need to explain the trading rules in detail—I understand them all!”

“Then why are you doing this?” Billy asked curiously.

Hearing this, everyone else’s gaze fixed on Li Yi.

In fact, it wasn’t just Billy who was curious about Li Yi’s reasoning. After all, they held a total of 166,944 contracts of gold futures. Given a price fluctuation of 0.1 USD per ounce, every 0.1 USD rise or fall in the gold price would result in a profit or loss of approximately 1.7 million USD for Li Yi.

But now, Li Yi was directly lowering the price by $1 per ounce. Once all these gold futures contracts were sold, at the current gold price, Li Yi would incur a direct loss of $17 million.

Li Yi glanced at the group and said, “I understand your thinking. Normally, we should indeed place orders at market prices and gradually offload the futures contracts we hold.”

“But we currently hold futures contracts worth $10 billion. If we sell them at normal prices, the process will be too slow, and it will be difficult to drive the price down. So we have no choice but to use this saturation-style low-price strategy to dump a massive volume of contracts and force the international gold price to drop!”

After hearing Li Yi’s explanation, both Billy and George’s teams looked at him as if he were a fool.

Isn’t this just nonsense!

International gold prices have never been driven solely by supply and demand; rather, they are influenced by factors such as the global political landscape and Federal Reserve policy.

Although they hold futures contracts worth tens of billions, if these were to be dumped into the market on a large scale, it would inevitably cause sharp price fluctuations.

However, if there are no major shifts in the international landscape or Federal Reserve policies that undermine investor confidence in gold, international gold prices might dip temporarily but would likely rebound before long.

At that point, Li Yi might suffer unprecedented, massive losses.

With this in mind, as a professional manager, George felt it was necessary to advise the young man before him.

“Boss, I believe there are significant risks inherent in your strategy…”

But before Billy could finish his sentence, Li Yi’s voice rang out again: “Sir, I don’t care what you think—I care about what I think!”

Just as Billy and the others were left dumbfounded, Li Yi spoke again: “It is your duty to warn investors about risks, and you’ve done a good job of that. But let me make this clear: with me, you don’t need to say any of that. You must strictly follow my instructions without the slightest hesitation. Can you do that?”

Billy furrowed his brow; he had never encountered such a domineering investor before.

After a moment’s hesitation, he finally replied, “Yes!”

Li Yi then turned his gaze to George and the others standing nearby—the implication was clear.

George didn’t hesitate and gave an immediate affirmative response.

“All right, ladies and gentlemen, now begin the operation according to my orders!” Li Yi issued his final command.

“Yes!”

Immediately, Billy relayed Li Yi’s instructions to the team members, ordering them to head to the trading floor and begin selling their gold futures contracts at $598 per ounce.

Watching Billy skillfully assign tasks, Li Yi couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

His earlier explanation to Billy and the others had been just one of the reasons; the sole purpose of slashing the price by one dollar was to offload the contracts quickly!

If he’d had enough time, Li Yi wouldn’t have done this. He would have followed Billy and the others’ advice and sold off his positions slowly, bit by bit, ensuring that all his futures contracts were sold at the peak of the market.

But he didn’t have that kind of time now!

Barring any surprises, international gold prices would drop tomorrow. He had only today left, so his only option was to offer a low price to entice investors to buy the futures contracts they held.

Of course, he wouldn’t tell Billy and the others any of this.

As it turned out, Li Yi’s strategy worked like a charm.

When the price of $598 per ounce appeared on the market, it immediately sparked a frenzy among investors.

It’s important to note that international gold prices had remained quite firm during this period, more than doubling in less than three months.

In fact, just as the market opened today, the price had even risen slightly by $0.10.

Therefore, no one expected the price to fall, let alone crash.

Upon seeing such a low price, investors didn’t hesitate and immediately bought in large quantities.

In less than two hours, one-third of the 166,900 gold futures contracts in Li Yi’s portfolio had been sold.

However, due to Li Yi’s massive sell-off, the supply of gold futures contracts on the market surged, causing a significant impact on contract prices; the price dropped directly from $599 to $598.

Seeing that the previously listed price no longer held an advantage, Li Yi once again ordered Billy and the others to lower the price, and this time the reduction was even greater—a direct drop of $3 per ounce.

Although Li Yi’s order seemed outrageous, having learned from previous experience, Billy and the others carried out his instructions without hesitation.

When the price of $595 per ounce appeared on the market, investors were thrilled.

As gold investors, most of them had their own sources of information.

The moment low-priced gold appeared on the market, the vast majority of investors began to suspect that the gold price might be falling, so they called the Chicago Gold Futures Market—the second-largest in the U.S.—to inquire about the situation.

However, the answer they received was that the Chicago gold market remained as firm as ever.

Not only had the price there not dropped, but it had actually risen by $0.30 per ounce, reaching a staggering $599.90—just a little more and it would break through the $600 mark.

At the same time, some well-connected investors sent telegrams to friends in London, asking them to investigate the gold prices there.

After all, the London market deals in physical gold, which reflects the true price of gold in real time.

The investors received word that gold prices in London remained strong, showing no signs of a decline whatsoever.

Upon receiving this news, the investors hesitated no longer. They once again waved their cash and bought up large quantities of the futures contracts that Billy and his group were dumping.

After all, with a price difference of nearly $5 per ounce—and a contract size of 100 ounces—that amounted to $500. If executed well, it was enough to make a killing for the vast majority.

Most importantly, the risk was minimal—wasn’t this a windfall?

Consequently, a frenzy of buying gold futures contracts quickly swept through the New York market…

……….

The arrival of a major client with an investment exceeding 2 billion US dollars naturally drew the full attention of Sharp Pixley’s management.

After all, clients with such a high investment amount are truly rare, and since this one was from overseas, they had to be treated with even greater caution.

If the partnership went smoothly, it would serve as a living advertisement, bringing numerous benefits to the company.

However, this involved a massive sum of 8 billion US dollars. Although the forced liquidation system kept risks relatively low, that didn’t mean there were no risks at all.

Take a long position as an example: suppose the originally set forced liquidation price was 10, but the price suddenly plummeted by half, instantly breaching the warning level. In that case, the liquidation price they set would be completely ineffective.

In such a scenario, not only would the investor lose their entire investment, but the brokerage firm would also suffer severe consequences; a single trade could potentially plunge the company into an abyss from which there is no return.

For this very reason, they conduct rigorous due diligence on high-net-worth clients with such massive margin positions.

If their qualifications are insufficient, they will absolutely refuse to do business with them.

However, this particular client was a major investor with over 2 billion in capital. As long as there was even the slightest chance, neither Billy himself nor the senior management at Sharp Pixley would let it slip away.

Consequently, the company’s executives immediately convened a meeting to discuss the matter.

After some discussion, they decided to first review the financing application submitted by Li Yi and his team, focusing primarily on verifying the team’s identities and other qualifications.

However, when they saw the company behind this team, the executives at Sharp Pixley all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Far East Stock Exchange!

One of Hong Kong’s four major exchanges, backed by the renowned Li family of Hong Kong. Moreover, the young man leading the delegation was not only the brother of Li Futao—founder and major shareholder of the Far East Exchange—but his only son, Li Yunbao, and his trusted assistant had also arrived.

More importantly, the $2 billion in funds the team was managing had already been transferred here through official channels and was ready for immediate use, backed by a certificate from Morgan Bank.

Since Li Yi and his team had prepared so thoroughly, the relevant departments at Sharp Pixley, after a rigorous review, immediately issued a top-tier evaluation.

After reviewing the internal evaluation results, the company’s executives immediately approved the partnership.

Subsequently, Sharp Pixley dispatched a senior vice president to formally sign the financing cooperation agreement with Li Yi.

Under this agreement, the Far East Securities Exchange would use $2 billion as margin to borrow $10 billion worth of gold futures contracts from Sharp Pixley Corporation at 5x leverage. The annual interest rate was set at 6%, calculated on a daily basis.

After signing the agreement, Li Yi’s team promptly transferred the funds to the designated account, and all that remained was to wait for Sharp-Pixley’s futures contracts to be settled.

……..

Sharp Pixley’s capabilities were beyond question; within a single night, the $10 billion worth of gold futures contracts had already been secured.

The reason for this speed wasn’t that Sharp Pixley actually held $10 billion worth of gold on hand, but rather because they specialized in this field, and their capabilities spoke for themselves.

Of course, what matters even more is that this is New York, home to the world’s largest gold futures trading market. In this massive market, an average of 30,000 trades are executed daily, with a trading volume of approximately 70 tons of gold.

Moreover, most investors do not seek actual physical delivery of gold upon contract expiration; instead, they profit primarily through buying and selling contracts. The market only needs to maintain a certain level of inventory to handle the rare instances where a few individuals accumulate massive contracts and demand physical gold.

For example, last year, the New York and Chicago gold markets recorded a total of 800 tons in accounts, but actual inventory was only 79.3 tons. Although this was less than one-tenth of the recorded amount, it was sufficient to meet market demand.

Precisely because the volume of gold futures trading in New York is so massive, the gold price in the New York market is sometimes a more valuable reference than the pricing in the London or Zurich gold markets.

On the morning of November 7, after receiving a call from Billy, the investment manager at Sharp Pixley, and learning that they had already arranged all the gold futures contracts, Li Yi immediately took Li Yunbao, Lan Xinyi, and others, along with George’s team, and drove straight to Wall Street!

In the VIP lounge at Sharp Pixley, Li Yi met Billy again.

Compared to yesterday, the Billy before him appeared more efficient and serious, as he and his team were now working for Li Yi.

After signing the cooperation agreement yesterday, Li Yi had designated Billy and his team as the execution team for this transaction—a right he held as the client.

In other words, including Billy and his team, Li Yi now had three teams at his disposal: the Hong Kong Island team led by Lan Xinyi and Cai Bingyan, the George team from Green Brothers, and the Billy team from Sharp Pixley.

Lan Xinyi and her team are primarily there to learn; their main tasks involve serving Li Yi personally and liaising with local teams.

George and his team, on the other hand, were brought in by Li Yi to provide consulting services and oversee the Sharp-Pixley team, while Billy and his team are the ones actually responsible for the financial operations.

The reason for hiring two local teams to assist them wasn’t because they had money to burn or to make a show of it; it was mainly because Li Yi didn’t trust these foreigners.

After all, they were launching a surprise attack on someone else’s turf, and with such a massive sum of money in their hands, they couldn’t afford to be careless!

Most importantly, neither Li Yi himself nor Lan Xinyi, Cai Bingyan, and the others were particularly familiar with the local trading rules.

Futures trading is an extremely high-risk investment; one misstep could truly lead to financial ruin, especially with gold futures.

It’s important to note that global gold pricing is currently dominated by the markets in the U.S. and Europe.

After all, international gold prices are primarily determined by gold contracts from two major exchanges: the New York Mercantile Exchange’s gold futures and the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) spot gold prices.

Among these, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) holds the strongest influence over global gold pricing.

As for spot gold trading volumes at exchanges in other regions, while they are not insignificant, their influence on pricing is virtually nonexistent and can be disregarded.

Under these circumstances, Li Yi’s decision to invest in gold futures here—whether going long or short—carries significant risks.

With such a large sum of capital entering the market, if it attracts the attention of financial giants specializing in short-squeezes, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For this very reason, when selecting a broker, Li Yi chose only those with a good reputation, rather than those offering high leverage or low financing costs.

He certainly didn’t want to lose his life savings over a lollipop!

He also hired two teams so they could keep each other in check and ensure the investment was executed successfully.

Once he confirmed that all funds were in place, Li Yi immediately issued the order to open a position.

Opening a position is a critical step in short-selling futures and a key process in futures trading.

When opening a position, investors must determine which futures contracts to buy or sell based on their analysis, then submit a quote on the futures market to complete the transaction.

At the same time, during the opening process, they must determine the investment amount based on their risk tolerance and reasonably control the trading volume to avoid exceeding their risk tolerance.

In fact, this was similar to his previous short position on the Hang Seng Index—the same formula, the same strategy: first sell the borrowed futures contracts, then wait for international gold prices to drop before buying them back at a lower price to return to the broker.

However, when Billy, George, and the others heard Li Yi’s closing price, they were all stunned…

……….