Chapter 192 - Chapter 192:I Didn’t Serve Chairman Jiang Well
Chapter 192:I Didn’t Serve Chairman Jiang Well
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Under the direction of Lu Zhiyuan, Ji Chi suspended several projects in collaboration with Hualan Bank. During this period, Hualan Bank and Black Hawk were in a honeymoon phase. Led by Ji Chi, they held meetings at Hualan Bank every few days, and the projects progressed smoothly. After discontinuing cooperation, Ji Chi turned to the Lu Corporation for support.
Black Hawk has always had the backing of the Lu Corporation within the country.
Lu Zhiyuan didn’t want Black Hawk to become entangled with the Lu Corporation. It wasn’t because he feared his own identity being exposed; it was a matter of boundaries. The two identities had distinct realms, and he didn’t want to overstep.
Now, with the confusion of Third Master’s and Lu Zhiyuan’s identities, and their memories and senses intertwined, Third Master no longer had so many inhibitions.
Gu Ci and Lu Zhiyuan had a certain understanding between them, even though they hadn’t communicated directly. Gu Ci still delayed Chen Rushi’s illness, which led to Chen Rushi losing the initiative in the gold theft incident, causing significant losses for Pei Qiuying’s group. Lu Zhiyuan also stepped forward to shield Chen Rushi, but by the time Chen Rushi recovered, it was too late to handle the situation.
Black Hawk’s Asian division, which had been controlled by Chen Rushi, was betrayed by him. Chen Jing was imprisoned by Ji Chi, fulfilling Chen Rushi’s desire. The Chen family used Chen Jing as a scapegoat, settling the score for his attempted power grab. The internal turmoil of the Chen family was left for Chen Rushi to handle.
In this executive reshuffle, Ji Chi successfully ousted two vice presidents and gained control over several key projects.
After the termination of cooperation between Black Hawk and Hualan Bank, they stood in opposition to Hualan Bank. For four consecutive days, the short-selling team from Black Hawk caused massive losses to Hualan Bank.
During the meeting, Jiang Junlin remained unfazed.
“Chairman Jiang, Ji Chi lacks integrity. He cut off cooperation without warning, and all the capital we invested in the early stages has gone to waste. This matter isn’t over,” a vice president burst out angrily, feeling highly irritated and anxious about the financial battle that had been raging for the past few days.
“Since the Lu Corporation and Black Hawk have formed an alliance and severed ties completely, it’s straightforward. Remove the Lu Corporation from Hualan Bank’s list of collaborators and announce it publicly,” Jiang Junlin said casually. “I’d like to see which bank would dare to provide them with funds without my approval.”
Cash flow in businesses was always insufficient, especially considering the Lu Corporation’s core focus on real estate over the past five years. They had limited funds on their books, and once the supply chain was cut off, if a financial crisis occurred, their assets would shrink significantly.
Banks generally held the upper hand in business collaborations.
Ever since Jiang Junlin took over Hualan Bank, any company that had conflicts with the bank had already disappeared into the currents of time.
“Understood.”
Jiang Junlin spoke calmly, “The domestic financial system operates as a coherent entity, with funds forming alliances. If Black Hawk wants a piece of the pie, they can’t bypass Hualan. 1 don’t like empty threats. Since Black Hawk wants a battle, I’ll grant their wish. I want to see how much money Ji Chi has and if he dares to engage me in a financial battle.”
The audience shivered inwardly, sensing that their usually stable and composed boss had gained an extraordinary level of dominance and a willingness to take high risks. Several bold venture capitalists were itching to engage Black Hawk in a financial battle.
Half an hour after Jiang Junlin’s meeting, the futures market saw an 80% surge in London nickel prices, creating the biggest short squeeze in the futures market in three years.
In the evening, when the futures market opened, London nickel prices skyrocketed by 60%, briefly surpassing 110%. The world was shocked, and the exchange had to temporarily halt trading in London nickel.
Black Hawk’s subsidiary, Jin Yun Company, suffered heavy losses and faced a direct liquidation.
After the unexpected surge in London nickel prices during the afternoon, Gu Ci placed an order and had Gu Ziyu investigate who was going long on London nickel. It didn’t take long to discover that it was Hualan Bank.
“Wow… Uncle’s got deep pockets. Black Hawk is bleeding money.” Gu Ziyu bizarrely found pleasure in others’ misfortune. He found that the large nickel companies controlled by Black Hawk had heavily concentrated short positions. This was a normal operation, meant to counteract fluctuations in spot prices.
No one could have predicted this surge, and its speed was staggering.
Gu Ci immediately called Ji Chi, “Ji Chi, close all the short positions. Don’t add to them.”
This was the downside of having dual identities. When Hualan Bank was shorting the market, Lu Zhiyuan was still in training and not in his Third Master persona. Ji Chi saw the intraday surge and knew that Jiang Junlin had taken action.
Ji Chi had been thinking about adding to his positions. Since spot prices hadn’t changed and futures prices couldn’t keep rising indefinitely, he intended to keep adding to his positions to drive up the prices. Then, when the prices came down, he could offset the losses.
“If Third Master were awake, he would have instructed you to close the positions immediately. My brother is determined to short the market. The massive domestic funds combined with the underworld’s support account for a third of global cash. You don’t have enough money to cover the gaps. The more you cover, the more you’ll lose. You can only cut your losses to survive.”
Ji Chi made a swift decision and closed the short positions. He couldn’t close half of them in time, and when the market opened in the evening, he had to liquidate them immediately, resulting in a loss of nearly 50 billion.
Losing in the futures market could lead to ruin.
“Mr. Ji, it’s Hualan Bank that’s shorting London nickel.”
“I know!” Ji Chi took a deep breath, having anticipated this outcome. Once Nick left, a video conference call from Lu Zhiyuan followed suit. “Did you close the positions?”
“I closed them!” Ji Chi replied.
“How much did you lose?”
“Almost 60 billion!”
Lu Zhiyuan’s gaze slightly darkened. Jiang Junlin’s move was truly ruthless. Black Hawk had been forced to cover its positions twice now, incurring heavy losses. Ji Chi’s decision to suspend cooperation with Hualan Bank would undoubtedly trigger Hualan’s countermove.
The financial market encompassed various instruments, and he had no idea which approach Jiang Junlin would take for revenge. He didn’t expect it to be the highest-value option – London nickel.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t add to your positions; otherwise, the losses would have been more than 60 billion.”
If it were him and the increase exceeded 20%, he would have investigated thoroughly and closed the positions immediately.
Ji Chi explained, “Miss Gu Ci called me right away and advised me to close the positions instead of adding more.”
Lu Zhiyuan paused for a moment, then spoke softly, “Well done.”
Ji Chi’s handling of the futures market showed his lack of experience, but he wasn’t arrogant. He managed the situation quite well.
“A night of intimacy brings a hundred nights of gratitude.” Lu Zhiyuan’s voice was calm. “Did you think your move was a bit harsh?”
Ji Chi’s usually smiling face stiffened for a moment, “It seems 1 haven’t treated Chairman Jiang well enough.”
After a peculiar silence.
Lu Zhiyuan said, “Due to a decision-making error, I’ll have to demote you.”
This was the outcome that both Lu Zhiyuan and Ji Chi had already anticipated. However, the losses exceeded their predictions. Jiang Junlin’s move was more severe than they had imagined.
Jiang Junlin had tried every means to prevent Ji Chi from taking a higher position. This was in line with Jiang Junlin’s wish – to push Ji Chi off the stage.
“Alright, I understand.” After the meeting ended, Ji Chi sat in his study, staring at a lighter with a somber expression. His security team leader, Nick, stood by the door, watching Ji Chi anxiously.
He had followed Ji Chi for four years but had rarely seen Ji Chi in this state.
With the lighter in his hand, flickering on and off, Ji Chi seemed to be making a momentous decision. “Brother, I’ll reciprocate your ruthlessness. Since you’re heartless, don’t blame me for lacking loyalty.”
The probing and entanglement had come to an end.
Fortunes and lives were things earned through ruthless struggle..