Chapter 105: Bayonets Drawn

October 25th—this would be a day of bayonets drawn. Through his experience over these days, Xiao Ran was no longer easily stirred to excitement. Yet his enthusiasm remained high as he directed everything like an energetic emperor.

When the market opened in the morning, Xiao Ran ordered Fang Xiaoqiang to buy 10,000 lots immediately. As expected, influenced by the U.S. stock market, the index plummeted by over 40 points. It was only when Xiao Ran added another 20,000 lots that he noticed Fang Ruohai and his brother entering the market. The two of them bought a total of 30,000 lots right away, seemingly intent on driving the Hang Seng Index down.

At the same time, Fang Xiaoqiang thought carefully before shouting, “Boss, something’s wrong. Based on our intelligence, Fang Ruohai only has 800 million Hong Kong dollars this time. There’s no reason for him to follow us so closely. He knows our capital size and wouldn’t act so recklessly.”

“Recklessly?” Xiao Ran’s mind stirred. Amid his heightened excitement, he quickly began to ponder. Why was Fang Ruohai so bold? Hadn’t the last time failed to defeat him? But recalling that day in history, his mood immediately stabilized. “Add another 10,000 lots. Let’s see how he reacts!”

Sure enough, Fang Ruohai followed up with another 10,000 lots. Xiao Ran smirked. Now, Fang Ruohai had no choice but to follow. He gave orders to Xiao Yi to start buying more shares, taking a deep breath. If nothing went wrong, he would surely defeat Fang Ruohai today.

By the time of the noon market close, the index had plummeted by nearly 300 points, getting closer and closer to Xiao Ran’s prediction. But at that moment, a sense of foreboding arose in his heart. What was wrong? He trusted Guan Xin’s intelligence—that Fang Ruohai and his group only brought $100 million.

But where exactly was the problem? Xiao Ran kept banging on the table, the sound intense like war drums. Three minutes before the market closed, Fang Ruohai took action again, buying another 30,000 lots.

Xiao Ran and Fang Xiaoqiang were stunned. How could Fang Ruohai be so foolish as to spend all his money in the morning? Thinking of this, Xiao Ran broke into sweat, realizing a terrifying possibility: “Fang Ruohai must have more than $100 million!”

“Add another 30,000 lots! We must knock him down!” Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, his face pale as he gave the order. “We’ll bet on how much he has. If we win, we win; if we lose, we lose!”

“No, absolutely not!” Fang Xiaoqiang immediately voiced strong opposition, jumping up from his chair and shouting, “It seems Fang Ruohai definitely has more than $100 million. If we invest all our funds now, we’ll be crushed in the afternoon!”

Xiao Ran never thought he had such a high-risk appetite. What he was betting on now wasn’t just how much capital Fang Ruohai had, but whether a stock crash would indeed occur. Given the decline in the morning, it seemed inevitable.

With that thought, the market officially closed for the morning, and Xiao Ran no longer had time to add more shares. During the wait for the market to reopen at noon, his mood grew increasingly strange, along with his feelings. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Lost in thought, Xiao Ran resolved to first verify Fang Ruohai’s funds. He looked up at Guan Xin, whose face was pale, and said, “Master, how much exactly did Fang Ruohai get? It’s very important. I think you know!”
“According to our intelligence, it’s indeed only 100 million dollars!” Guan Xin was even more frustrated than Xiao Ran. If such a problem arose at this critical moment, it would be a huge scandal for the intelligence agency. “But now I doubt whether this is correct. I think you’d better assume he has 1 billion!”
Xiao Ran was both amused and exasperated. What did it mean to have 1 billion? Whether in business or on the battlefield, intelligence work was extremely important. Accurately assessing an opponent’s strength had a crucial impact on formulating strategies.
However, Guan Xin seemed helpless, so Xiao Ran decided not to press him further. He simply thought to himself that he’d better not rely too much on this intelligence agency in the future. After considering all this, Xiao Ran fell back into meditation, recalling the past.
October 19, 25, and 26, 1987, were the craziest days of the 1987 stock market crash. On the 19th, the Hang Seng Index dropped by over 600 points; on the 25th, it dropped by over 400 points. The 26th was the true apocalypse, with a drop of nearly 1,200 points, a decline of 33%, setting a world record.
Suddenly, Xiao Ran opened his eyes, his gaze terrifying, while his heart trembled. He thought he had found the problem that had been plaguing him. If only 400 points had dropped that day, there was no reason for it to drop by over 300 points earlier in the morning.
There were only two possibilities. One was that someone was deliberately driving the stock market down more in the afternoon, effectively altering history. The second was that someone was also manipulating things to trap Xiao Ran, the main buyer of falling stocks. If the stock market soared in the afternoon, then…
At this thought, Xiao Ran felt chilled to the bone and broke into sweat. If this were true, he might not be able to save all of his 1 billion-plus dollars, and bankruptcy might even be possible.
“How much did the Nikkei and U.S. stocks drop yesterday?” Xiao Ran’s heart pounded. He suddenly realized that to play in the stock market, one really needed a strong heart. He even thought that continuing like this might cause him to suffer from heart disease.
Fang Xiaoqiang didn’t check the data and blurted out, “The Nikkei dropped by over 300 points yesterday, and the U.S. stocks dropped by over 70 points. Those are quite normal figures. Is there anything strange about this? I don’t think so.”
Xiao Ran didn’t understand stocks, but he could see further than Fang Xiaoqiang because they were in different positions. He slumped back in his chair, murmuring, “I’ve really been tricked this time. I never thought Fang Ruohai had such a trick up his sleeve!”
There were many more things he hadn’t expected, especially that this battle was actually against the entire Fang family and another foundation, not just him and the Fang brothers. It was just that Fang Poli was in the United States, while the Fang brothers were in Hong Kong, with both sides attacking from different sides.
Fang Xiaoqiang, slightly panicked, asked in confusion, “Boss, what’s wrong? Could it be Fang Ruohai’s doing? Impossible. He doesn’t have enough influence to control the U.S. stock market.”

Xiao Ran no longer even wanted to move. He really wanted to return to Lin Qingxia for comfort. But just thinking of her made his heart warm instantly; even if it wasn’t for Hong Kong cinema or for himself, he had to win this war without gunpowder for her sake.
Hearing Fang Xiaoqiang’s question, Xiao Ran, who had regained his usual state of mind, took a deep breath before explaining, “U.S. stocks only dropped by seventy or eighty points. I don’t know if the Fang family is involved there, but with such a decline, Hong Kong stocks definitely couldn’t drop by over 300 points in the morning. There’s only one explanation—Fang Ruohai wants me to step into his trap, hoping I’ll get carried away in my pursuit of victory!”
“So all those morning drops were done by Fang Ruohai and his men!” Fang Xiaoqiang didn’t quite understand at first, but once his sharp mind caught up, he was horrified: “There must be experts among them. I can’t believe even I didn’t see through it! What should we do this afternoon?”
What to do? Xiao Ran also wanted to ask that question. He was faced with a difficult choice: either preserve the more than 300 million left in his hands or invest everything in a last-ditch attempt this afternoon.
The choice was truly hard! Xiao Ran smiled at himself sarcastically. Under the watchful eyes of Fang Xiaoqiang and Guan Xin, he closed his eyes, his thoughts racing. He now knew clearly that this afternoon could bring not only a sharp rise but also a steep drop—testing his true judgment skills.
Suddenly, he stood up and paced restlessly around the room. Guan Xin was stunned; he had never seen Xiao Ran act so out of control, thinking he was only optimistic.
“Fight him to the end—clashing blades might not be such a bad thing!” Xiao Ran sighed deeply before finally stopping, fixing a resolute gaze on Fang Xiaoqiang and Guan Xin. “If we lose, we still have a chance to rise again!”
Was there really a chance if they lost? Xiao Ran knew better than anyone that Fang Ruohai was someone who loved his sister deeply and, though seemingly polite on the surface, was extremely ruthless toward enemies. Even if it were Xiao Ran, he wouldn’t give Fang Ruohai any chance to recover.
So, if he lost this time, Xiao Ran’s chances of rising again would be slim, and he might even be forced by Fang Ruohai to die on the streets. Start making movies again? Before falling into conflict with the Fang family, that had been possible. But now, with such deep enmity, the chances were extremely low. Xiao Ran even suspected that, given the Fang siblings’ vengeful nature, they might acquire a film company to force his death.
With no way out, he had no choice but to fight to the end! That was Xiao Ran’s decision—whatever the outcome, he would have to bear it alone…
Fang Ruohai, in high spirits, was already preparing to celebrate. The morning’s battle had indeed been fueled by his efforts to drive the Hang Seng Index even lower. In Fang Ruohai’s words, this was just making the storm worse!
Having spent over a billion, he finally managed to drive the Hang Seng Index down by over 300 points in the morning—a truly excellent result. Without taking advantage of the stock crisis, over a billion would never have caused such a stir.

“Now Xiao Ran has fallen into the trap. This afternoon, we’ll just wait to take over the internet cafe!” Fang Ruohai rarely showed such delight these days, as he had basically defeated Xiao Ran, who had once brought shame to him and the entire Fang family. The pleasure was indescribable.
While Wang Yu and Wang Minggui were celebrating with drinks, Fang Ruohai laughed heartily and said, “Now we can plan our next steps—how to drive Xiao Ran to his death. After going bankrupt this time, he’ll definitely try to make a comeback in the film industry. Then it’ll be Wang Yu’s turn.”
“No problem. That scumbag dared to frame me on purpose and even oppose me. He deserves to die!” Wang Yu was more proud than anyone else, because not only was he going to make a huge profit today, but he was also going to get rid of Xiao Ran.
Mo Fei chuckled beside them and said, “This afternoon will be much simpler. We just need to buy aggressively. With the influence of the Nikkei, we’ll definitely achieve our goal.”
Watching everyone smiling proudly, Fang Ruoshan, who had been observing quietly, said calmly, “Don’t be too proud. It’s never too early to celebrate once we win! Ah Hai, this isn’t like you.”
Fang Ruohai was suddenly startled. Looking at his elder brother, who seemed scholarly yet very steady, he grew wary. Many people had been overturned by their opponents precisely because they became too complacent. Fang Ruohai didn’t want Xiao Ran to turn things around, so he had to crush him completely.
What was Xiao Ran doing? He was anxiously waiting for the market to open this afternoon. Not only him, but all Hong Kong stock investors felt as if they were waiting for a death sentence. To pass the time and distract everyone, Xiao Ran, with a pale face, said to Fang Xiaoqiang, “Xiaoqiang, are you interested in joining Tianxia Fund and showing your skills?”
“Let’s talk about it after we win!” Fang Xiaoqiang smiled bitterly. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ran to bring up such a question at this moment. He felt like his heart might burst out of his chest at any second. “But since only you guys value me that much, who else should I help?”
Xiao Ran turned to the nervous Guan Xin and forced a smile. “Master, don’t be nervous. Victory and defeat often hinge on a thin line. By the way, you said you could introduce mainland kung fu masters to teach us. How about this—after this, go and invite them. I want them to open a martial arts school here.”
Guan Xin was also stunned. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ran to remember such a distant matter. “No problem. As long as we can get through this safely, I’ll definitely help you invite them. But I don’t want them to be harassed by gangsters once they arrive.”
Xiao Ran’s mood gradually eased. His attempt to change the subject had indeed worked. Smiling, he added, “Well, since you have extensive connections in the mainland, why not help me find some talent—film talent, for example? You know, I’ve always wanted to turn Hong Kong into a base for Chinese-language movies.”
After hesitating for a while, the market finally opened. Seeing the numbers on the screen start to change, Xiao Ran knew everything was imminent…
Recommendation: “Live Again,” a reincarnation story. Link: http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=37188