"Young Master Lu, we've made a fortune."
The price surged by 2 yuan—national debt is not like stocks, and a 2 yuan increase means our profit has more than doubled.
Even for Lu's Group, this is an unimaginable windfall.
And all of this is thanks to Young Master Lu's strategic brilliance, executing his plan from afar.
At this moment, Li Li couldn't help but look at Lu Yiming with eyes full of mystery, a complexity she couldn't explain.
How did he do it?
Every step was perfectly timed, manipulating everyone as if they were puppets in his hands.
"How much margin do we have left?"
"Just a bit over 100 million."
"Not enough."
"No, Young Master Lu, Wanguo no longer has the ability to fight back. We're certain to win this battle."
"Yes, Young Master Lu, Wanguo has used up all their backup strategies. We estimate their losses will exceed 4 billion. This is something they can't afford."
The people around Lu Yiming didn't quite understand his words.
Wanguo Securities was now like a lamb ready for slaughter—how could they possibly turn things around?
"Young Master Lu?"
Even Li Li didn't believe Wanguo had any chance left in this situation.
"This is only the beginning."
Only Lu Yiming knew that the real climax was yet to come.
"How much time is left until market close?"
"10 minutes."
"Not long."
In the previous world, the final 8 minutes marked Wanguo's last desperate attempt, dragging countless retail investors from heaven to hell.
In the hour after the market closed, many people had tragically ended their lives.
What Lu Yiming aimed to prevent now was that very tragedy from happening.
In order to avoid massive losses caused by misjudging the market trend, Wanguo Securities would use every trick to exploit loopholes in the rules and unleash a massive sell-off.
This would be Wanguo's final desperate move.
And this time, that move would cause a collective margin call on the bulls.
Wanguo would turn the entire national debt futures market upside down.
"No matter the reason, no matter how large the short orders, we'll absorb them all."
"But..."
"Young Master Lu, we can only take in 300,000 contracts at most."
Lu's Group held a massive amount of funds, but those funds had already been locked into national debt.
There was no time to liquidate them.
The remaining margin could not support the purchase of more short positions.
"Someone's about to flip the table."
Lu Yiming's gaze never left the monitor.
The moment that would truly affect the course of history was about to unfold right before his eyes.
Lu Yiming even found himself anticipating it.
Lu Yiming: Manager Guan, this time, I won't let you have your way.
Even if it's a false victory, I won't allow you to have it.
The futures trading rules on national debt included two major mechanisms: margin control and position limits.
The rules stipulated that margin is only "marked to market daily," which meant it couldn't be tracked in real-time for every transaction.
To avoid exchange restrictions, both the bulls and the bears borrowed positions from other accounts.
This had already set the stage for what was coming.
Manager Guan of Wanguo was gambling, betting that the exchange wouldn't dare to take drastic actions and cancel those trades.
"Young Master Lu, something's wrong..."
With just 8 minutes left until market close, a massive short position of 900,000 contracts suddenly appeared, shocking everyone.
900,000 contracts?
What does that even mean?
"Impossible, Wanguo doesn't have that much money."
"How are they doing this?"
For a moment, everyone rushed to the screen.
Today was supposed to be a celebration for the bulls, but at the last moment, a shocking reversal had occurred.
Everyone was stunned.
Whether it was retail investors or Zhongjingkai, everyone's eyes were wide with disbelief at the numbers flashing on the screen.
The price was instantly pushed down by half a yuan.
This wasn't just a loss of wealth—it was a terrifying signal.
"Take the orders."
"But... Young Master Lu, our margin isn't enough."
"The exchange can't track the margin in real time. No matter how many orders, we take them all."
"Young Master Lu, this is against the rules!"
This wasn't just a violation—it could be illegal.
Although they were exploiting a loophole, anyone who dared to do this would face serious consequences.
"Wanguo doesn't have the margin; they're just trying to crash the market."
"Young Master Lu, if that's the case, we don't need to worry about it."
Li Li quickly understood Lu Yiming's intention and caught on to the trickery.
If there was indeed rule-breaking behavior, the exchange would inevitably have to give a clear answer.
Otherwise, the entire market would collapse.
"I understand, and you understand. But do the retail investors understand?"
"Young Master Lu?"
"How many people do you think will have the courage to face sudden bankruptcy?"
"..."
Li Li couldn't answer Lu Yiming's question.
The market was inherently dangerous. Investors were always told to be cautious, but how many could truly endure a sudden margin call when the crash hit?
Perhaps, as Young Master Lu said, once the price is breached, countless investors will...
The consequences were too terrifying, and Li Li couldn't imagine it.
"Since we're all exploiting the loophole, at least we should give retail investors a fair chance."
Although this could have unknown consequences, in this moment, Lu Yiming was determined to stand as a shield for the retail investors.
"I understand. I will take full responsibility for today's trades."
Lu Yiming was the youngest son of the Lu family and the future leader.
He couldn't afford any mistakes.
In this moment, Li Li had made up her mind. No matter the outcome, she would not let Lu Yiming take the fall.
"This is not the time to discuss this. Buy, no matter how many short orders come in, we take them all."
"Understood."
"Got it."
At this moment, everyone's faces showed intense focus.
Lu's Group's positions were all firing at once.
In an instant, 900,000 short contracts were absorbed.
"Young Master Lu, two more short orders of 900,000 contracts each."
"Keep going. Stabilize the current price. No matter how many, we take them all."
The battle was on—the true battle of the century.
Everyone was stunned.
Looking at the battle between the bulls and bears, it was beyond their comprehension.
"Crazy, they've all gone crazy."
Zhongjingkai's high-level executives were sweating profusely.
No one had expected the situation to escalate this far.
Inside the exchange, the news was reported immediately.
However, at this point, the exchange could only watch helplessly as both sides engaged in this abnormal battle, powerless to intervene.
"Guard against gentlemen, but not against scoundrels."
Wanguo was desperate, throwing everything in their last-ditch effort.
Lu's Group's positions stood firm, guarding the bulls.
But in the end, both sides were violating the rules.
"Call me, call me!"
They had to stop this madness.
But Wanguo's phone lines were completely down.
Wanguo had already abandoned everything—they were gambling everything in this life-or-death struggle.
On the bullish side, Lu's Group had replaced Zhongjingkai's position.
They became the last defense for the bulls.
What was about to happen would go down in history as one of the darkest days in securities history.
But at this very moment, a dramatic scene unfolded.