305: Chapter 304 Chaos

In the United States, in a small office, several men in suits sat opposite each other.

Sitting at the head of the table was a middle-aged man who didn't look very old, with an aquiline nose and pale blue eyes that revealed his superior aristocratic lineage.

"Gentlemen."

With a smile on his face, he spoke in a thick London accent: "The short-selling campaign against the Artificial Intelligence sector has been going on for nearly a week, and the results are excellent. My dear Mr. Finance has given me very good projections, and I think we can continue to increase our investment."

"Mr. Brown."

A white man sitting nearby said: "Following your proposal, we have invested a total of nearly 160 million US dollars. If your information is wrong, we could go bankrupt."

"The information is naturally not wrong."

Brown smiled confidently: "My sources are absolutely reliable. Besides, we aren't the only ones shorting the Artificial Intelligence sector, so what do you have to worry about?"

"We naturally trust you, Mr. Brown."

The white man speaking said: "But my investors, sir, they don't have the foresight we do. Some of them are already getting restless. If we need to continue increasing investment, we need a reason that can convince everyone."

"That is certainly necessary, my dear Murdoch."

Brown was not surprised. In fact, he hadn't prepared to rely solely on his words to bring in new capital today.

To be honest, the current situation was excellent; he only needed to wait to reap wealth enough to startle even him.

But some things are always out of one's control.

"Gentlemen."

Brown withdrew his gaze, swept his eyes across the people present, and said with a smile: "As you all know, nearly a month ago, a company in China released a new Artificial Intelligence entity called zero egg."

Murdoch nodded: "We all know that. You said it last time, wasn't it fake news? Shouldn't the most advanced Artificial Intelligence be sitting in a laboratory in Chicago?"

"No."

Brown shook his head: "What I want to explain to everyone today is that the news is true."

There was an uproar among the crowd.

"Just over ten days ago, this company officially delivered the product to pre-ordered users and began expanding sales."

Murdoch's expression didn't change much, he just asked: "Why didn't we know about this news?"

"Apologies."

Brown said regretfully: "To ensure the perfect execution of our short-selling plan, The Foundation, in conjunction with some other departments, blocked such news on certain channels."

Murdoch was silent.

Trying to control certain channels is not an easy thing to think about; among these departments, there must be the presence of the US Government.

And as for news they didn't know, did the public want to know? Unless by some stroke of luck, it was just a pipe dream.

As for individuals knowing, it wouldn't have any decisive effect; what was meant to happen would still happen.

Information asymmetry is just that terrifying.

"Then, why tell us this news now?" Murdoch asked.

"Because we are about to close the net." Brown smiled: "The Foundation has already persuaded some companies to cooperate with us to snipe at this enterprise that released zero egg."

"Wanji Semiconductor on Taiwan Island, Sanxing Semiconductor in Korea, and the major semiconductor giants in the United States have all expressed their intention to cooperate."

"Now, Wanji Semiconductor and Sanxing Semiconductor have issued statements not to supply the Chips they need. If this company wants to survive, it can only rely on the United States, and this is our opportunity."

Murdoch was also an old hand in the stock industry and understood immediately.

"You will use this to announce cooperation, expose good news, and drive up the stock price?"

"Cooperation?" Brown laughed happily: "No, no, no, Mr. Murdoch, you are too kind. Mr. Victor and the think tank mean... to swallow it, without leaving a trace."

They want to eat the stock dividends, annex the company, and not lose the technical data; this is the style of one of the world's top ten organizations.

Murdoch was not surprised by this.

He had even heard that this foundation organization was also secretly trying to subvert the regimes of other countries; the constant warfare in the Middle East had intricate connections with them. Annexing a small enterprise that hadn't yet gained a foothold was really nothing out of the ordinary.

However, in this way, the profit involved would be quite considerable.

How low the Artificial Intelligence stocks are now, is how high they will be driven by The Foundation in the future.

The income from this short-selling round-trip was almost enough to catch up with the capital he had accumulated over these decades.

Didn't he need a reason? This reason was enough.

Murdoch raised his head and affirmed: "I'm in, another 50 million US dollars!"

... Half an hour later, the office was empty, with only Brown still sitting in the main seat, his expression slightly calm.

It was no surprise to him; when faced with profits enough to drive people crazy, everyone placed all their Chips without hesitation.

This time, the raised funds reached the level of 200 million US dollars, even more than before.

With this money, he could fully further suppress the price level of Artificial Intelligence stocks. As for shaking the entire market, this money was not quite enough.

"Boss." A young white man walked into the office.

"What is it?" Brown didn't look back, asking indifferently.

"Mr. Rod reports that a wave of sell-offs has begun in Artificial Intelligence stocks. This wave of sell-offs will affect other countries within three days. It is estimated that Korea and Japan will be significantly affected, with an expected decline of about 20%."

"What about China?" Brown asked.

"This cannot be accurately evaluated," young man replied.

"Hmm." Brown nodded and didn't ask further.

China has always been a mysterious existence; no law can be said to be 100% applicable to it, so Brown was satisfied with this answer.

"This is enough." Brown smiled slightly: "A fattened turkey should be served on the dining table; keeping it fed is just a waste."

"Have the people from the Asia branch closely monitor the stock trends in Korea and Japan. Once a decline appears, clear the positions immediately. I want their Artificial Intelligence stocks to fall by more than 20% within two days!"

"Very well, sir." young man nodded: "In addition, there is one more thing, Mr. Rod needs you to make a decision."

"What is it?" Brown was in a good mood and poured himself a glass of red wine, gently swirling it to let it breathe.

"There is a new flow of funds purchasing the stocks we are throwing out. Although the methods are very covert, they were still discovered by Mr. Rod. According to estimates, as of today, this fund has reached nearly 30 million US dollars."

"Mr. Rod asks for instructions, should we counterattack?"

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Brown asked with great interest: "Have you traced the source?"

young man shook his head: "No, only that it is funds within the United States. The registered accounts and transaction records have no problems."

Brown frowned, thought for a moment, and then said: "Don't worry about them. It's only 30 million US dollars; they can't make big waves."

young man nodded gently and then retreated.

Brown looked at the red wine in the glass, gently swirling it. Translucent ripples hung on the glass wall, looking extremely vibrant. He murmured: "Within the United States?"

"Is it an old friend?"

... December 29, 2018. As the end of the year approached, the people of China, who were still looking forward to New Year's Day, discovered unusual signs as the new day slowly unfolded.

The hottest trending news was about the United States.

I don't know why, but United States capital was collectively bearish on Artificial Intelligence stocks. After more than ten days of long, small declines, Artificial Intelligence stocks seemed to have finally touched the bottom line of confidence.

Just when China was still asleep, the United States Artificial Intelligence stock index plummeted. In just one working day, it fell significantly by more than 15%!

Added to the previous gradual declines, the total exceeded the original 25%!

This was the largest single-stock decline encountered by the US stock market since the financial crisis!

For a time, the wolves of Wall Street collectively fell silent.

Countless rumors flocked in, countless people wailed, and even before dawn, news of the middle class going bankrupt and jumping off buildings had already appeared!

Not only that, this turmoil continued to spread to the whole world.

Any stock market with deep connections to the US stock market could not escape.

The most miserable were Korea and Japan.

Early in the morning, when the sky was just getting light, the newly opened stock market seemed to have fallen into the spell of the United States, and the decline once exceeded the decline of the United States in the previous days.

In just one morning, the Artificial Intelligence sector stocks in Korea fell by more than 10%, and Japan was even worse, falling by more than 15%.

Such a miserable state was shocking.