211: Chapter 209 Plotting in Futures Trading

The Golden Army was the world's only treasure-hunting force, its mysterious and unique veil never truly lifted.

Its publicly announced functions included gold mineral exploration, regional geological and mineral surveys, polymetallic prospecting, and geological disaster emergency rescue. Twelve Golden Army detachments were spread across the country, their fighting presence felt in the Gobi deserts, snowy forests, and deep canyons.

However, as a member of the Supervision Department, Cao Xiao knew that the Golden Army shouldered other secret missions and had not shifted to purely geological services as publicly claimed. He didn't have the clearance to know the specifics, only that the Golden Army and the Supervision Department often intersected, and their appearance here today confirmed this.

"Heh! Major Cao, you certainly made a grand gesture this time! Two hundred tons of gold is no small amount. It's impressive if we can prospect one hundred tons of reserves in a few years, but you have physical gold. Perhaps we should get to know each other better in the future; if we see you a few more times, we could retire and enjoy a life of leisure." General Shen smiled broadly, his tone very gentle, though his narrowed eyes seemed to hold a different meaning.

"Uh!" Cao Xiao was stunned by these words, then his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. General Shen's words were gentle, but the meaning behind them was worth pondering. It was accusing him of recklessness, while also carrying hints of suspicion, warning, and threat. In a flash, he grasped the crux of the matter: his practice of offloading large quantities of gold was significantly diminishing the purpose of this force. Doing this a few more times would be smashing their rice bowls—not just for a few people, but for a force of over ten thousand. From General Shen's perspective, he had overreached his authority. Regardless of his own view, from the perspective of the country's interests, General Shen was being selfish.

Although the words were mild, they were like needles hidden in silk, sharp and aggressive. It was clear that this man was narrow-minded and deeply calculating. Cao Xiao couldn't help but feel a bit of disgust, so he pretended not to understand and said heartily, "Haha! That's for sure. I'll certainly be troubling General Shen in the future."

"Haha! Good, good, good!" General Shen's smile faded slightly; although he was still smiling, there was no sign of genuine happiness.

Cao Xiao naturally saw the hidden anger in the man, but he couldn't be bothered to play word games with him. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was an army general, he wouldn't even give him the time of day. It didn't matter if the other party was a leader of the Golden Army; even if it were his own superior in the Supervision Department, he would react the same way if annoyed. Seeing no point in further conversation, he said, "The goods are in this warehouse, full in quality and quantity. The fuel is in fully sealed alloy packaging that isolates radiation; as long as there is no violent collision, it will not leak. Once the money arrives, you can collect the goods directly."

Hearing Cao Xiao speak to him with such a cold attitude, the fake smile on General Shen's face vanished. He angrily reprimanded, "Major Cao, what is this attitude! It's one thing for an officer not to respect a superior, but as a soldier, you don't think about serving the country, acting just like a mercenary businessman blinded by money. Do you not know the significance of this batch of gold to the country? Is it something that can be measured by money?"

"Don't use grand principles to pressure me; you aren't qualified to represent the country. The higher-ups sent you here to handle the handover. I don't care what your motives are, you can't do anything to me. On the contrary, the moment you said those words, it meant you are… finished! Wait for the consequences! Get lost! If you dare to act rashly, I have the authority to execute you on the spot!"

At this point, how could Cao Xiao not see what the other party was planning? He was furious. This behavior couldn't simply be described as bureaucracy; it was outright extortion and embezzlement of the huge funds allocated by superiors, all while hiding behind the banner of the country. He had always despised such scum, so without caring about anything else, he immediately looked at the other party with disgust and presented his credentials. He assumed the other party was not a core leader of the Golden Army, otherwise, they wouldn't have been unaware of his identity in the Supervision Department or failed to realize the consequences of doing this, effectively walking straight into his line of fire.

His actions seemed very overbearing, and he technically had no right to control a major general, nor did he have evidence to report the other party. But he shouldn't forget that there was nuclear fuel in the warehouse, so nothing could go wrong. Otherwise, a leak or a leak of information would cause a massive storm. Not to mention this Major General Shen, even Cao Xiao himself would be in trouble. Besides, did the Supervision Department need evidence to act? As long as they determined there was a major threat, they could immediately take control of anyone regardless of their status, or even execute them on the spot in an emergency.

Regardless of the other party's reaction, more than a dozen fully armed bodyguards were on alert nearby. If the other party acted rashly, they would open fire immediately. Even if the other party had a whole company, if a firefight broke out, there would only be one outcome: the total annihilation of the enemy with zero casualties on his side. Cao Xiao took out his phone and dialed Cao Xingzhi's number: "Hello, Director Cao, I am Cao Xiao. I am currently in Hong Kong handing over that cargo with your people, but an accident has occurred. The situation is like this… I need you to handle this within ten minutes, otherwise, I'm sorry… I will sink all this cargo into the sea!"

"Don't get excited. Control the scene. I will report to the superior immediately. Wait for me for five minutes… Beep…"

On the other end of the line, Cao Xingzhi likely realized the situation was somewhat serious and hung up hurriedly after speaking. Meanwhile, Major General Shen had been stunned by the credentials Cao Xiao showed earlier. After regaining his senses, his expression was uncertain. He looked at Cao Xiao, who was on the phone, with some fear, but it lasted only for an instant. Then, a look of determination appeared in his eyes, and he retreated to the side and took out a satellite phone to make a call.

Cao Xiao did not move after finishing his call, watching with disdain as the other party twisted the truth with a silver tongue. Less than five minutes later, Cao Xingzhi called back. Cao Xiao answered, grunted a few times, and hung up. He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Having received a positive reply from Cao Xingzhi, he no longer needed to worry. In truth, he hadn't been sure; things in officialdom were very complex, and dealing with a major general quickly wasn't easy. Sometimes, for the sake of the big picture, even with direct evidence, one might not be able to act immediately. Just then, the other party finished his call as well. Although there was cold sweat on his forehead, his expression was relieved, and a look of joy gradually appeared on his face. He turned back and glanced at Cao Xiao with an arrogant look. Just as he was about to step forward to mock him, a voice came to his ears.

"Shen Conggui!"

Hearing someone call his name, and it was his own subordinate, a major named Peng Yu, he turned his head, ready to lash out with a stern reprimand. Unexpectedly, the man didn't wait for him to speak and said loudly with a serious expression, "By order of the Military Commission, Shen Conggui is in serious violation of discipline and law. Effective immediately, all his duties are suspended. Take him into custody at once and transfer him to the military court. From now on, I will cooperate with Major Cao to take over all matters here. Take him down and disarm him!"

Shen Conggui was terrified upon hearing this, but after a moment of shock, he regained his composure, thinking this was impossible. Less than five minutes had passed since their argument; taking down a major general was no small matter, and it was absolutely impossible to make such a hasty decision and execute it in such a short time. This must be because that Cao Xiao had some connections and had moved some superior to give a private instruction. With that thought, he was no longer afraid. In terms of background, he believed he was no worse than a minor major like Cao Xiao; being able to reach the rank of major general was enough to show how powerful his backing was. Seeing soldiers about to move against him, he hurriedly shouted, "Wait! This is impossible. The order is invalid. I am a major general. We are under the dual leadership of the Armed Police Headquarters and the Ministry of Land and Resources. Without the signatures of leaders from both departments, unless the Military Commission forms a resolution, no individual has the authority to issue such an order. I was just on the phone with Minister Wang, and Minister Wang ordered us to ignore everything else and take this batch of gold back directly, using force if necessary. Peng Yu, have you grown the guts of a bear or a leopard? You actually dare to accept private instructions, violate regulations by faking orders, openly defy superiors, and harbor ulterior motives. I order you to take him down immediately!"

Peng Yu was undeterred and said with a sneer of disgust, "Idiot! Do you think the superiors don't know about the dirty things you've done? They've kept an account for you! It's enough to get you executed several times over! People have already gone to your villa in the suburbs. You even dared to covet the money the country uses to purchase gold reserves. You are very lucky; the superiors happened to be in a meeting, heard about the situation here, and unanimously passed the decision to deal with you. If you dare to resist, I have the authority to execute you on the spot! We'll take you to the Southeast Military Region in a moment; Commander Gao is waiting for you. Save whatever you have to say for Commander Gao! Do it!"

"Ah! No! You can't touch me! I don't believe it! I want to make a call…" As a high-ranking military official, he usually lived in the barracks. The villa in the suburbs was his secret stronghold, where he hid a large amount of wealth that no one else knew about. Now, hearing Peng Yu mention the villa, he immediately understood that he was finished. He was plunged into despair, but he wouldn't give up until the end. He couldn't bear to let go of the position he had spent half his life struggling to reach, and the huge fortune he had hidden that he hadn't yet had time to enjoy. Clinging to a glimmer of hope and terrified of the consequences he was about to face, he struggled hysterically.

Cao Xiao watched coldly from the sidelines, but he felt very unhappy. This matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. How could someone with such major problems as Shen Conggui be sent for such an important task? The sequence of events was too coincidental. He felt he had been used, or rather, someone was using his hand or this cargo to make a move. Although it was Shen Conggui who was unfortunate, the feeling of being used as a tool made him uncomfortable. There was also an element of testing; if he had compromised earlier, Shen Conggui would never have been exposed immediately. Letting Shen Conggui come to disgust him was one thing, but to want to take this batch of gold without paying any price—Shen Conggui was merely an abandoned pawn. The deep calculations of the person behind this made him feel a bit alarmed. It seemed he should deal less with people in officialdom in the future; the scheming, maneuvering, and acting were too mentally draining and exhausting.

Shen Conggui was dragged into a car by two soldiers and then left without a moment's delay. Peng Yu stepped forward and said to Cao Xiao, "Major Cao, sorry for the spectacle. The troublesome person is gone, and now I am responsible for the handover with you. I won't inspect the goods; the items cannot be fake. The payment is already being transferred, and you should receive a notification immediately. A total of 56 billion huaxia currency. Sorry it's not the us dollar you requested. Is that okay?"

"No problem, the money has arrived! You can go in and collect the goods. I have other things to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Please give my regards to your leader!" Hearing that it was paid in huaxia currency, Cao Xiao naturally understood the implication; it was simply because they didn't want this capital to flow out. If he really wanted to invest abroad, no one would stop him, it would just be more troublesome to exchange, but as long as the money arrived, it didn't matter.

This was the largest sum of money he had obtained to date. Adding the money he had drained from all the bank accounts of the Wu Meng family members and his own remaining few hundred million us dollars, the cash in his account had now reached 62 billion huaxia currency! Even though he considered himself numb to money, he couldn't help but feel unsettled at this moment. The thought of spending lavishly soon arose in his mind, but he immediately stopped it. He was now well-fed and clothed, lacking nothing in terms of material goods, but his career had only just begun. No matter how much cash he had, if it couldn't be openly converted into strength, it was just floating wealth. Besides, this money seemed like a lot, but converted into us dollars, it was less than 10 billion. There were countless listed companies in the world with a market value exceeding 10 billion us dollars, and now the company with the highest market value in the world had reached a staggering 1 trillion us dollars. So, now was not the time to be complacent or extravagant. In fact, for his development plan, this money was far from enough to complete the first step of the layout. To continuously acquire companies, purchase mining rights, and research products, at least 100 billion us dollars would be needed.

If people knew that the initial investment required 100 billion us dollars, they would definitely be scared. Such a large investment could only be managed by a country or a consortium of super-financial groups; even the world's richest person couldn't afford it. The Three Gorges Project only cost about that much. His starting point was different from others; he didn't need to start from scratch and struggle slowly to grow. Therefore, his goals were set higher and the span was larger. What others might pursue for a lifetime might be his starting point. From the moment he obtained the Super Industrial Mother Machine, his gaze was no longer limited to Earth. Since he couldn't predict his own lifespan, he wanted to leave Earth before the age of thirty; time was short. He couldn't stick to the rules and develop step by step; he had to advance on multiple fronts and take great leaps, and the prerequisite was to ensure a massive, continuous influx of funds.

Right now, he had to solve the funding problem for the first step of investment. There was only one feasible way to get nearly 100 billion us dollars in a short time, and that was to speculate in gold futures. The thousands of tons of gold in his space, if dumped into the international futures market, would be enough to move the market. If the leverage ratio was maximized and a heavy position was built, doubling his money tenfold would not be a problem. However, the risk was too great. Firstly, it was easy to be targeted, and secondly, he had no allies. In the event of a long position with abundant capital, he might be unable to support himself alone. 10 billion us dollars in cash plus the value of the gold he possessed was about 100 billion us dollars. Leveraging 1 trillion us dollars in capital, if it rose by more than ten points, it would be completely offset.