Chapter 17: Could This Be Considered Pushing Myself into the Fire Pit?

A 23-year-old man watching a beautiful woman in black silk stockings perform a provocative dance—that’s perfectly reasonable, isn't it? After all, it is only human nature to pursue pleasure once one is well-fed and warm; there is nothing shameful about normal desires.

The five investment consultants wore varied expressions: some bit their lips in shyness, some pouted in defiance, and others looked deeply thoughtful.

Yang Chen smiled and said, "Hurry up and decide. Once the capital opens the 'Iron Plate Edition,' you will have missed your chance to get the better of me."

The five consultants huddled together and began to whisper.

Zhao Jing, the ICBC consultant, whispered, "What do you all think? I, for one, don't believe he can be this lucky every single time."

Gao Ya, the CCB consultant, nodded and agreed, "I don't believe it either! If one could treat the stock market like an ATM just by relying on luck, wouldn't our twenty years of hard study be a waste of time?"

Bai Zhi, the Commercial Bank consultant, suggested, "Then let's bet against him! To prevent him from welching, we must have him sign a written agreement. As long as he follows our instructions from now on, even if we can't guarantee how much he'll earn, at least he won't lose his entire principal."

Huang Wei, the Jiangfa Bank consultant, concurred, "Exactly. We must have him sign a note so he can't deny the bet if he loses."

After reaching an agreement, the five consultants approached Yang Chen with serious expressions.

"We have decided to take the bet. However, we must sign a written agreement to clearly state the terms so that no one can back out if they lose," Zhao Jing stated.

Oh, what a delight—losers who take the initiative to create evidence for themselves. That was a request I simply had to satisfy.

Yang Chen clapped his hands and said with a grin, "Come on, who’s afraid of whom?"

The five consultants rolled their eyes at him, then exchanged triumphant smiles. Soon, Yang Chen signed the agreement with the five of them, and he even took a photo of it to ensure they wouldn't try to swallow the paper later to avoid their debt.

Leaning back in his chair, Yang Chen said leisurely, "Chao, transfer 300 million into the securities account. Split it into six portions and buy the top six stocks on the decliner list, 50 million for each."

Chen Chao nodded with a smile, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Comrades, get to work! Group 1, buy the first three; Group 2, buy the last three. Buy with large orders immediately. Execute now!"

The traders followed the instructions instantly, and within moments, the 300 million was dumped into the market. Everyone stared at the order books for those six stocks, waiting to see if there would be any unusual movement.

Five minutes later, the first stock, Great Wall Gas, showed a surge in activity. Large capital began gobbling up shares, dragging the price from a limit-down to a limit-up in the blink of an eye.

Chen Chao said excitedly, "Chairman Yang, the first one hit the limit! You are incredible!" The traders began to discuss the move with fervor, all praising Yang Chen's prowess.

The five consultants furrowed their brows; however, they still believed that Yang Chen couldn't possibly remain this lucky forever.

Yang Chen smiled and said, "Basic operations, don't be surprised!"

Zhao Jing, the ICBC consultant, remarked, "Chairman Yang, your luck is still holding, but I don't believe it can last."

Yang Chen took a sip of water and replied with a smile, "Brother Chen is a specialist in curing all forms of defiance."

No sooner had the words left his lips than the second stock, Longxin Guoan, showed movement. In less than two minutes, it went from limit-down to limit-up.

The traders applauded and cheered. Chen Chao said excitedly, "Chairman Yang, another limit-up! I just checked—the reason for the first one was the instability in Europe, which drove up oil and gas prices. Great Wall Gas was originally destined for about three limit-downs due to illegal disclosures, but the news of the price hikes reversed it."

The system's rewards were truly formidable; they always found a reason for a stock to rise.

Huang Wei, the Jiangfa Bank consultant, asked, "Did he receive insider information beforehand?"

"It’s infuriating! I feel like all the professional knowledge I learned is useless," Zhao Jing complained indignantly.

"Longxin Guoan had its bankruptcy reorganization petition approved by the court. Sigh... how is he so lucky? Why does he always know this news beforehand? He’s clearly been sitting right here in front of us, and he locked onto the six stocks that were falling the hardest. Logically, there shouldn't be any possibility of him working on this in advance or getting inside tips," Gao Ya from CCB said, sounding perplexed.

At that moment, the traders began cheering again. Stocks three and four started to rise simultaneously. It was as if they were racing to see which would hit the limit-up first; they shot up in a straight line and were almost simultaneously sealed at the limit-up price.

Chen Chao laughed heartily and shouted, "Chairman Yang, you are a stock god. Even Warren Buffett would have to call you 'Master' if he were here. There are still numbers five and six remaining... wait, no, number five is moving! Number five is going too—pull it up, pull it up!"

Any stock driven by positive news shares a common trait: it rises with extreme urgency. If the major players want to push it to the limit, they do it in a straight line, giving retail investors no chance to enter. There would likely be several more limit-ups to follow.

If the stock price fluctuated up and down, there would be no need for doubt—the major players would be lacking confidence and using the positive news to offload their shares.

Number five also surged in a straight line to the limit-up, and it was certain that it would see another two or three limit-ups in the coming days.

Zhao Jing said in a daze, "What is going on? That’s five limit-ups. His luck can't be this defying of the heavens, can it?"

Huang Wei, from Jiangfa Bank, consoled her, "Don't panic, don't panic. There is still one left. As long as they don't all hit the limit, it counts as his loss. I don't believe that someone can just blindly guess this many correctly by luck alone."

Just as she finished speaking, Zhao Jing tapped her and signaled her to look at the big screen.

At that moment, the buy orders for the sixth stock grew, and it once again devoured all the sell orders at the limit-down price with lightning speed, shooting straight to the limit-up.

The office erupted in cheers, whistles, and applause. The traders stood up in excitement, all looking at Yang Chen with expressions of awe.

"Chairman Yang, you are too amazing. They all hit the limit in less than half an hour," Chen Chao said with a smile.

Yang Chen stood up and said, "Wrap it up! Chao, let’s go home!"

Chen Chao nodded excitedly and shouted, "Comrades, we’re off work!"

The employees cheered with their hands raised. "Long live Chairman Yang!"

"Chairman Yang, why don't you kick me a couple of times? Otherwise, getting off work after only half an hour every day makes my salary feel a bit unearned."

"Haha..."

Yang Chen smiled and said, "There's nothing to do now, so we might as well leave early. Once the investment department returns to normal, you'll have plenty of overtime days ahead. Oh, and tomorrow is a day off. I have other things to do, so don't bother coming in."

Chen Chao quickly asked, "Should I arrange for a few people to be on duty? In case a stock breaks its limit or drops, we can sell in time."

Yang Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all! As long as I don't sell, the stock prices will keep rising. Rest assured and enjoy your time off."

Huang Wei from Jiangfa Bank asked with a puzzled expression, "How can you be so confident that the price will keep rising if you don't sell?"

Yang Chen turned to look at Huang Wei, gave her a wink, and said, "Want to know? Wear black silk stockings and dance for me tonight until I'm satisfied, and I'll tell you why."

The employees giggled, gossiping among themselves. Huang Wei pouted and glared at Yang Chen but said nothing.

Yang Chen waved his hand and walked out, while the employees bid him a hasty farewell. As Yang Chen walked out of the investment department office, the five consultants followed him, lingering and whispering.

"How can there be a person with such good luck in this world?" Zhao Jing asked, deeply confused.

Huang Wei asked, "So, what do we do now? Are we really going to move in with him and dance for him in black silk stockings?"

Gao Ya sighed, "Well... what other choice do we have? The agreement is still in his hands."

Bai Zhi blamed herself, "Sigh... it's my fault. I shouldn't have suggested signing an agreement with him. Now it's become evidence we can't deny."

"Do you think we just pushed ourselves into a pit of fire with our own hands?" Chen Lan from the Agricultural Bank asked.

The five looked at one another and then lowered their heads in defeat.

Yang Chen turned around and said to them, "Stop following me. Go home and pack your things. Buy plenty of black silk stockings—white ones are actually fine too; my personal aesthetic is quite broad, and I can appreciate both."

The five consultants clenched their fists in frustration, but having lost the bet, they had no choice but to comply.