Chapter 295: Before the Final Battle

The lunch after the market closed was the most tasteless one for everyone in Hong Kong, as everyone’s mind was preoccupied with finance and stocks. It was only thanks to Phantom’s efforts in holding things together that they managed to withstand this financial storm; otherwise, many would have committed suicide during these days.

However, the financial crisis in Thailand still spread, affecting various countries and regions in Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong. Compared to Thailand, Hong Kong’s situation was clearly much better—at least during these days, Xiao Ran’s reputation had truly reached its peak.

As soon as the market reopened in the afternoon, Soros launched a fierce attack. But Phantom only intervened once before 4 p.m., using just 2 billion dollars. Clearly, this amount seemed insignificant in the face of Soros’s assaults.

By 4:30, the exchange rate hit its lowest point ever. The Hang Seng Index and futures plummeted by over 300 points within just one hour. Watching this, the once noisy and tense exchange suddenly fell dead silent—a terrifying silence.

If Xiao Ran didn’t act now, it would be over! Everyone could only hope for that. But could Xiao Ran truly be the savior? Those who thought critically quickly realized why he hadn’t intervened again—likely due to a lack of funds.

What could be done? Over these days, both sides had invested over 100 billion dollars in Hong Kong’s financial and stock markets. Phantom’s market value was indeed high, but that didn’t mean it had that much cash available. Likely, Phantom had already reached the limit of funds he could use.

At this thought, people felt fear—a terrifying fear akin to that of Hong Kong’s impending doom. Starting at 4 p.m., fear and despair spread rapidly throughout Hong Kong. Would Hong Kong’s economy be destroyed because of this?

Office workers listened nervously to the news from the financial market, their bodies drenched in sweat. On the streets, discussions spread even faster, intensifying the fear.

Not long after 4:30, Phantom finally invested the last 1 billion dollars of the day. But by then, it was already too late. It was inevitable that they would be swept away by the waves, like people rushing into a flood.

As the numbers on the screens kept dropping, everyone in the exchange became desperate. Some smashed whatever was in front of them, sending papers and documents flying everywhere. Others crouched on the ground, head in hands, savoring the feeling of utter despair, while still others slumped in their seats, paralyzed.

The exchange fell into a deathly silence, filled with an oppressive sense of indifference and despair. Everything resembled the scene in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. But could it be revived like in that movie? No one knew.

Finally, the market closed, as the bell rang. Those who had still held onto a glimmer of hope, staring intently at the screens, could no longer bear it and collapsed in despair. Some cried, some laughed, some shouted—every emotion was on display, and human nature was perfectly reflected here.

In Phantom’s headquarters’ Intelligence Department, the spacious room was filled with despair as well. Even Fang Xiaoqiang, who understood why they had to let things go, couldn’t help but slump into a chair, looking at Xiao Ran with a bitter expression and saying, “Brother Ran, we really went too far this time! Thankfully we didn’t invest much in the stock market; otherwise, the losses would have been even greater.”

Xiao Ran still smiled—a smile that quickly boosted confidence, for it carried great assurance. He thought, It’s finally here! But whether betting so heavily was worth it was hard to say.

Xiao Ling’er, curious, blinked and shook Xiao Ran’s hand, asking, “Dad, why are Uncle Fang and the others so down?”

“Xiao Ling’er is so smart—she even learned the idiom ‘down in the dumps’!” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh. This little girl was truly remarkable. “Your Uncle Fang and the others are down because they lost!”

“Lost? Did they lose money?” Xiao Ling’er looked up at him, not understanding. “Then you can give them money so they don’t have to be down. That’s not good!”

“Of course not. Money doesn’t mean anything. What they lost was their confidence and dignity, and also…” Xiao Ran glanced at the traders who now seemed somewhat embarrassed by Xiao Ling’er’s words, lost in deep thought. “They also lost the trust of Hong Kong people in them!”

“What are confidence and dignity?” Xiao Ling’er’s clear voice snapped Xiao Ran out of his thoughts.

After pondering for a moment, he thought it might be a good time to teach his little one. “In life, you can do without anything, but you can’t do without confidence and dignity. Do you understand? Alright, let’s play a quiz game next time. Dad will take you back to the office.”

He gave Fang Xiaoqiang a look, and they went to the office together. Xiao Ran leaned back comfortably on the sofa and said to Fang Xiaoqiang, “Xiao Fang, do you think you can defeat Soros? I mean, with ample funds?”

Fang Xiaoqiang’s eyes lit up immediately. Since Xiao Ran asked this, it meant there was still much room to turn things around. After thinking for a while, he recalled his encounters with Soros over the past few days and nodded uncertainly. “I think, if both sides are on equal footing, I have at least a 50% chance.”

Equal footing? Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh. He and Wei Dongling had prepared for today for two years. If they still gave Soros equal conditions, they would have long been swallowed up in the ruthless business world.

“Chairman, you’re amazing! You defeated Xiao Ran and Fang Xiaoqiang in less than a month. You truly deserve to be the number one!” Raphael wasn’t one to flatter others, but he truly admired Soros for his precise control.

Soros smiled and shook his head at his assistant, thinking that this victory had not come easily either. If he hadn’t come in person to take charge, it was very likely he would have been defeated by Fang Xiaoqiang. This victory was truly hard-won; all the previous attacks had been attempts to probe his limits, and today he had finally reached Xiao Ran’s bottom line.

Now he knew he had won, and it was time to capitalize on the success and expand his gains. In his eyes, without Xiao Ran, Hong Kong was nothing but a piece of cake he could eat whenever he wanted. He wasn’t afraid that Xiao Ran might turn the situation around. By now, Shadow had already spent over 70 billion, and he currently controlled 30 billion in funds—at least on the surface. If other scattered funds were included, there was probably another 60-70 billion. He also had a trump card of 20 billion left unspent, just in case of problems. Adding today’s profits from the stock market, their total funds amounted to around 100 billion.

Xiao Ran simply couldn’t come up with such a sum—even if all the wealthy people in Hong Kong combined their resources, they still couldn’t match it. He found it very amusing. The other wealthy people in Hong Kong had invested less than 10 billion in the market recently, just to conserve their strength, and now even that was insufficient.

He knew well that if Xiao Ran still had ample funds, he would never hand them over bit by bit, let alone tolerate such a crushing defeat. He was certain that today’s battle had completely shattered the Hong Kong people’s trust in Xiao Ran. He also understood that once such a scenario occurred in finance and the stock market, panic would spread rapidly. Unless someone could manage $200 billion, it would be difficult to control the situation.

He knew he would win this battle. No, not just win—it had been decided from the day he figured out Xiao Ran’s financial limits. Today, he had already achieved victory, and this victory would surely continue.

With these thoughts, Soros gradually smiled. It was time to calculate how much he could plunder from Hong Kong and what his next target would be…

At 7 p.m., Jiaolong knew exactly where he was and what returning meant. He didn’t dare act recklessly. That night, he didn’t want to go out no matter what.

But when control wasn’t in his hands, he had no choice. While resting in the garden, three people appeared in his sight. He recognized one of them as Guan Xin’s assistant.

After the last incident, Guan Xin had started grooming a successor, choosing another former national security officer for evaluation. The man before him appeared as Guan Xin’s successor to Jiaolong. Jiaolong was slightly shocked—Guan Xin’s man showing up at this moment was definitely no good sign.

Yet the young man named Liu Bin didn’t seem to intend to harm him. Instead, he politely said to Jiaolong, “Jiaolong, Brother Xin wants you to come over. Call all the key members here—just leave three who can control the situation!”

To be honest, Jiaolong had great respect for Liu Bin. Over the years, Xiao Ran had subtly hinted during one of his meetings with various underworld gangs that Liu Bin would take charge of the underworld in the future. Moreover, whenever some gangs made mistakes, it was Liu Bin who interceded on their behalf, and Jiaolong had even been saved by Liu Bin from Guan Xin once.

However, this didn’t mean Liu Bin was easy to provoke. Remember when Liu Bin first appeared in the underworld as Guan Xin’s assistant and started giving orders, a boss from a small gang thought arrogantly that since he was a newcomer, he could be bullied. Needless to say, he ended up dead on the street the next day.

Liu Bin had a subordinate named Han Xun, who was extremely skilled, almost on par with Guan Xin. Many astute gang leaders realized that Liu Bin would become Xiao Ran’s successor, while Han Xun would become Guan Xin’s successor.

Now, the fact that Han Xun hadn’t shown up was a good sign—it at least indicated that Liu Bin had no ill intentions. He didn’t ask anything, thinking it was pointless to say anything to this young man who might take control of the underworld in the next few years.

At 7:30, he and the main members of the gang arrived in a banquet hall of a large hotel. It was packed with people from various gangs. Jiaolong was already a well-known figure in the underworld—having survived twice under Xiao Ran and Guan Xin, his luck alone earned him admiration from others.

So, everyone couldn’t help but call him “Brother Long.” It had to be admitted that Jiaolong was quite proud hearing others address him that way; the feeling was indescribable. Liu Bin led Jiaolong and his men in, then said with a smile, “Jiaolong, stay right here—don’t go anywhere!”

After half an hour of chaos in the hall, as everyone’s patience wore thin, the doors were suddenly pushed open. Guan Xin entered accompanied by Liu Bin and the others, and all the people who had been complaining immediately fell silent.

Calls of “Brother Xin!” and “Brother Bin!” rang out continuously, and the crowded crowd quickly parted to make way for Guan Xin and his group. With his usual expression unchanged, Guan Xin walked through the crowd to the podium, where one of his subordinates quickly brought him a chair to sit on.

“Everyone, find a seat!” Guan Xin was always concise in his speeches. With a wave of his hand, the hundreds of people below immediately moved and found their seats within less than three minutes. “Today is the Day of Return. Xiao Ran wants you all to stay here quietly—no one from any gang is allowed to cause trouble!”

Chaos erupted among the crowd. Jiaolong thought irritably, The police must already have sent everyone to keep an eye on things—who would dare to make a move? Guan Xin ignored those useless people below and simply gave Liu Bin a glance. Liu Bin nodded in understanding and said loudly, “Hand in all your cell phones and pagers. Brother Xin will give one to each gang’s leader later!”

Complaints continued nonstop. Guan Xin frowned. He was used to order and disliked the chaos before him. With a cold glance at the crowd, he said into the microphone, “Shut up!”

The crowd immediately fell silent; the contrast was so huge it was hard to believe. Liu Bin glanced at Guan Xin with envy. He really didn’t know when he would be able to achieve what his senior had done. Sometimes he felt he wasn’t qualified enough to take Xiao Ran’s place—given Xiao Ran’s reputation in the underworld, it was something he would never be able to match in his lifetime.

However, thinking that Xiao Ran was the first to rule Hong Kong’s underworld and had reached an unrivaled level of prestige, Liu Bin felt it was the right decision not to compare himself to him. Still, he didn’t really like this job. Even though Xiao Ran had personally helped establish his authority and he had two strong subordinates, he still disliked it and preferred to do what he used to do.

At that moment, Guan Xin came over, whispered a few words in Liu Bin’s ear, and then left. Liu Bin sighed and stood on the stage helplessly, saying softly, “Brother Xin said that if anyone from any gang causes trouble in the next few days, they should just find a window to jump out of!” Incidentally, this was the 23rd floor!