157: Chapter 157 Financial Storm Short Selling Technology Alliance

On Monday morning at the Jiangcheng Stock Exchange, the red numbers on the electronic screen made people's eyes ache.

Yunqi Technology's stock price plummeted 15% at the opening, fell below the trading limit within half an hour, and sell orders covered the trading software like snowflakes, with a sealing order amount reaching 1.2 billion.

The stock price of "Song Capital," under the Song family, opened 8% lower, trading volume surged threefold, and there were clear signs of capital flight; even the gaming subsidiary under Gu Group was hammered by unknown funds, with its stock price diving 7%.

In the conference room of Singularity Technology, the atmosphere was even heavier than the stock market.

Zhang Fan stared at the real-time market software, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, when a sudden, urgent buzzing from the system sounded in his mind, and a light blue [Emergency Intelligence] pop-up window with a warning symbol appeared:

[Emergency Intelligence: Polaris Capital has united with Wall Street short sellers (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley associated hedge funds) to use 5 billion USD to short "Jiangcheng Technology Alliance" enterprises (Yunqi Technology, Song Capital, Gu Group subsidiary). They are entering the market via roundabout channels such as offshore accounts and Stock Connect, with the goal of triggering a chain reaction through a stock market crash, forcing the alliance to abandon core projects like medical ai and the European and American launch of "star path," and cutting off the path for Huaxia technology to go global.]

"It's Polaris," Zhang Fan looked up, his tone grave. "Since they couldn't get the upper hand in technology, they want to use financial means to take us down. President Zhou, you come from the capital circle; what methods do you have to deal with short sellers?"

Everyone's eyes turned to Zhou Yurou. She was wearing a sharp black suit, her fingers sliding quickly across her tablet to pull up the capital flow chart of the short sellers: "Looking at the data, the short sellers' positions are concentrated in Yunqi Technology's circulating shares (holding 8% short orders) and Song Capital's convertible bonds. The source of funds is offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, operating through three Hong Kong shell companies. On the surface, they appear to be 'independent funds,' but in reality, they are all controlled by Polaris."

She paused, her eyes sharp as knives: "Their weakness is obvious—30% of the short orders are 'naked short selling' (no actual holdings, selling by borrowing shares). As long as we can raise the stock price to break through their stop-loss line (Yunqi Technology's stock price is 18 yuan, currently 12 yuan), we can trigger a liquidation. Additionally, their capital turnover relies on a Swiss bank settlement channel. If we can block this channel, they won't be able to add margin."

"I'll contact the Song family and Gu Corporation immediately!" Zhang Fan picked up his phone and dialed Song Zhiwei, "Zhiwei, Polaris has united with short sellers to short us. Can the Song family withdraw funds to enter the market and take over the sell orders?"

On the other end of the phone, Song Zhiwei's tone was firm: "My dad already knows. He just held an emergency board meeting and prepared 2 billion USD, ready to enter the market through Song Capital's account at any time. In addition, he has also contacted several state-owned capital firms, and they are willing to provide 1.5 billion USD in liquidity support. They won't let the short sellers succeed."

After hanging up with Song Zhiwei, a message from Gu Jingshen also came in: "Fan Zi, I'm deploying 1.5 billion USD on my end to block the short sellers' closing channel in Stock Connect—they want to buy back stocks at a low price to close their positions? No way! Also, I had Qin Xue investigate those Hong Kong shell companies and found they are suspected of money laundering. I've already handed the evidence to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and applied to freeze their accounts!"

Lu Qingyan also adjusted his glasses and added: "I found that Polaris has a 10 billion USD fund in a Swiss bank account, planned to be remitted at noon today to provide margin for the short sellers. I have already sent the account information to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, reporting them for 'illegal cross-border capital flow.' There is a high probability we can block this money."

Zhou Yurou looked at the constantly updating intelligence on the screen, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of her mouth: "Now everything is ready, just waiting for the market to open to counterattack. Sister Rou, you contact the brokerage, transfer all of Singularity's liquidity (500 million USD) into Yunqi Technology's protective account; Liu Ruyan, you watch the short sellers' share borrowing data. Once any borrowed shares expire, notify me immediately. We will seize the opportunity to snatch the shares, leaving them with nothing to return."

At 10:00 AM, in the second trading session after the market opened, the short sellers increased their selling pressure again. The sealing order amount for Yunqi Technology exceeded 2 billion, attempting to completely seal off any room for growth.

Just then, the account of Song Capital suddenly made a move, using a "market order" to eat up 500 million in sell orders in one go. Yunqi Technology's stock price instantly pulled up from 12 yuan to 14 yuan, tearing a hole in the sealing orders.

"Now!" Zhou Yurou tapped the keyboard and pulled up the derivative trading interface, "Buy call options for Yunqi Technology, with a strike price of 18 yuan and an expiration date of 3 days. Use 1 billion USD and leverage it 5 times!"

This operation instantly triggered a chain reaction—the market saw large funds entering, and follow-up funds began to pour in. Yunqi Technology's stock price soared like a rocket: 14 yuan, 15 yuan, 16 yuan... within half an hour, it broke through 18 yuan, hitting the short sellers' stop-loss line.

In the settlement center of the Swiss bank, Robert, the Asia-Pacific director of Polaris, looked at the "insufficient margin" prompt on the screen, his face turning pale: "Add margin immediately! Transfer that 1 billion USD over!"

But what he received instead was a notice from the Swiss bank: "Sorry, your account has been frozen by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China due to 'illegal cross-border capital flow,' and transfers cannot be made."

"Damn it!" Robert slammed his keyboard, but it was too late—after Yunqi Technology's stock price broke through 18 yuan, the short sellers' naked short orders began to liquidate on a large scale. The stock price continued to soar to 22 yuan. For every lot the short sellers closed, they lost 10 yuan. In just one hour, the losses exceeded 1.5 billion USD.

Even more fatal was the announcement suddenly issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, which, citing "suspicion of market manipulation and naked short selling," froze the accounts of the three Hong Kong shell companies controlled by Polaris and seized all their holdings. This meant that the remaining short orders could not be closed, and they could only watch helplessly as the stock price rose and losses continued to expand.

At 3:00 PM, when the stock market closed, Yunqi Technology's stock price closed at 25 yuan, a 108% surge from the opening, marking the largest single-day increase since its listing; Song Capital's stock price recovered to above the opening price, rising 3%; the Gu Group gaming subsidiary's stock price rose 5%, completely recovering its lost ground.

The short sellers united by Polaris ultimately suffered losses as high as 3.2 billion USD, with Polaris alone losing 2 billion USD, accounting for 40% of its total funds in the Asia-Pacific region; the three Wall Street hedge funds that participated in the short selling also suffered heavy losses, with one even announcing the suspension of its Asia-Pacific business.

In the conference room, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Song Zhiwei walked in, holding a financial newspaper, and said with a smile: "President Zhou, you are now a popular figure in the capital circle—the front page headline of 'Financial Weekly' is 'Capital Queen Zhou Yurou: Single-handedly repels Wall Street short sellers, safeguarding Huaxia technology.' Even my dad praised you, saying you are 'better than Wall Street fund managers'."

Zhou Yurou took the newspaper, a relieved smile appearing on her face: "It's not my credit alone; it was everyone's concerted effort—without the Song family's funds, Gu Corporation's channel blockade, and President Lu's intelligence support, I wouldn't have been able to win this battle."

Zhang Fan looked at everyone before him, his heart filled with emotion: "In this financial war, Polaris lost not only money but also its fear of the Huaxia Technology Alliance. Next, they will certainly have new moves, but as long as we continue to unite, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome."

Lu Qingyan also nodded in agreement: "I have already found that because of this loss, Polaris has suspended its investment in Xingyao Entertainment, and their 'technology plundering plan' has also been forced to be postponed. We can take this opportunity to accelerate the R&D of medical ai and the European and American launch of 'star path,' and seize the initiative."

The setting sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the conference room table, reflecting the smiles on everyone's faces. A thrilling financial showdown ended in a complete victory for the Huaxia Technology Alliance; and the battlefield against Polaris also shifted from "passive defense" to "active offense."