Chapter Twenty-One: Forced to Gamble

Changan Automobile opened with a 10% limit-down, immediately landing on the stock exchange’s "Dragon and Tiger" list, triggering anomaly alerts across all securities platforms.

According to the regulations of the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, stocks are listed if they meet criteria such as a daily price deviation of ±7%, a daily turnover rate reaching 20%, a daily price amplitude of 15%, or a cumulative price deviation of ±20% over three consecutive trading days.

The violent sell-off by seven groups of hot money investors, coupled with a sell wall of 500,000 lots, caused discussions about Changan Automobile to surge on stock forums.

[Little Bear]: A million-lot sell wall! My god, Changan Automobile has crashed!
[Wang Buliuxing]: Let me out! You market manipulators, let me out! I’m done!
[One-Slash-Master]: This is the charm of earnings disclosure month; some stocks soar to the heavens, while others plummet into the abyss.

A 500,000-lot sell wall, with 100 shares per lot, equals 50 million shares. Even at the limit-down price of 6.63 yuan, the total capital involved is 330 million yuan. This means that 330 million yuan in Chinese currency must be poured in just to lift Changan Automobile from its limit-down state.

Do retail investors have 330 million? They do. The investment composition of the A-share market is 95% retail investors, 4% wealthy hot money investors, and 1% institutions, with retail capital accounting for over 60%. However, retail investors are constantly harvested because they cannot form a unified front. If one person buys ten thousand and another sells ten thousand, even with a large market share, they cannot exert a decisive influence.

Meanwhile, hot money investors and institutions share a tacit understanding; their goal is never to fight amongst themselves, but to find ways to harvest retail investors. In a market where 95% are retail investors, there is no need for head-on conflict—the "prey" is abundant. From the moment Chen Sanrong (known as "Jump-Off-the-Building Brother") and other hot money investors initiated the dump, other institutional players and speculators chose to watch from the sidelines like cheetahs on the savanna, waiting for their moment.

At 9:45 AM, the sell wall for Changan Automobile reached a staggering 1.12 million lots. At least twenty groups of hot money investors were participating in this siege against retail investors. Chen Sanrong, "Stock-Investing Breadwinner," and "Chancheng Shadowless Kick"—the initiators—all understood that this was a signal for other hot money players to join in for a piece of the pie. Naturally, they were happy to make the cake bigger.

Outside the market, rumors flew. Inside the market, hot money and institutions locked the board. Panicked retail investors, unaware of the true situation, dumped their holdings and cut their losses to flee.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere:
Shanghai Metropolitan University of Finance and Economics, Finance Analysis Room of the library.

Zhang Yang continued to monitor the million-lot sell wall of Changan Automobile, a faint smile on his lips: "A clarion call bringing everyone together to hunt the prey—how interesting." Through the market data, a scene reminiscent of the "Eighteen Lords besieging Dong Zhuo" unfolded in his mind. The stock market is financial investment, but it is also a battlefield where every move draws blood.

Just as Zhang Yang was appreciating this long-planned "slaughter," Lai Weijie approached him again. Unable to contain himself, Lai demanded loudly, "Tell me the truth, Yang! Did you ever have any intention of helping me get into the top ten of our major?"

Looking at the aggressive and sullen-faced Lai Weijie, Zhang Yang frowned and retorted, "What do you mean?"

"Changan Automobile hit the limit-down!" Lai Weijie gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with rage. "If I recall correctly, you put all the funds from my simulated account into Changan Automobile, right?"

"Yes. And?" Zhang Yang asked.

"It’s at the limit-down!" Lai Weijie suppressed his fury.

"It is indeed at the limit-down," Zhang Yang admitted with a slight nod.

Seeing Zhang Yang remaining calm and nonchalant, Lai Weijie finally lost control, raising his voice: "Give me back my money! You don't have the ability at all. I must have been blind to ever trust a 'small-town test-taker' who only knows how to pass exams!"

Zhang Yang was not a local; he was from Guangdong Province. The term "small-town test-taker," as used by Lai, referred to someone who excelled only in theoretical exams but lacked real-world utility. In short, it was discrimination.

Zhang Yang was not angry; he and Lai Weijie were not on the same level. Watching Lai’s reddened face, he said calmly, "Let’s make a bet."

"I’m not betting! I want my money back!" Having burned the bridge, Lai no longer believed a word Zhang Yang said.

"We’ll bet on whether I can reach the top ten in the major. If I lose, I’ll pay you 40,000. But if I win, you have to add another 20,000 to the original 40,000," Zhang Yang said, stating the terms of the bet.

The moment these words left his lips, Lai Weijie, currently in a fit of rage, laughed. "Heh, heh, heh!" He was so angry he laughed. Having suffered a 10% full-position limit-down, his total return rate had turned negative again. Excluding today, there were only 12 trading days left in the "Huaxin Simulated Trading Contest." It was impossible to achieve a 50% return in such a limited time.

"Fine! I’ll take that bet!" Lai Weijie stared into Zhang Yang’s eyes, his tone laced with malice. "If you can still make it to the top ten, I’ll give you another 20,000!"

"Words are empty proof."
"Then we’ll sign a document and record a video."
"Exactly what I wanted."

Zhang Yang stood up, ready to find the librarian for two sheets of A4 paper. In the corner of the analysis room, Xu Zhirou and her group witnessed the scene, whispering to each other about what they had heard.

"They seem to be involved in insider trading."
"I almost thought they were going to fight; that short guy is so fierce."
"I heard something about the top ten in the major. Do you think it’s about cheating on exams?"

Xu Zhirou narrowed her eyes, observing the sharp silhouette of Zhang Yang’s profile. Her hearing was exceptionally keen; she had heard every word of their conversation. This was clearly insider trading. Since her sister, Xu Zhiruo, was an Investment major, she knew about the "Simulated Trading Contest." If she wasn't mistaken, they were trading the results of that competition!

But Xu Zhirou felt a sense of confusion. She felt something wasn't right. After a few seconds of contemplation, she suddenly realized something and began typing rapidly on her laptop, searching for the Changan Automobile stock.

"Rou Rou, what are you doing?" someone in the discussion group asked.

However, once the stock page opened, the group witnessed a scene they would never forget. The sell wall on the right began to shrink rapidly as other hot money and institutional players withdrew their orders.

Then!

Changan Automobile, which had been locked at the limit-down, shot up like a rocket. The loss narrowed rapidly, racing toward the opening price line.

-8%
-6%
-3%
-1%

In less than 20 seconds, the 10% loss was completely erased, with a large number of retail investors offloading their shares between the -6% and -8% marks.

"This... this is!"
"My god, a violent, straight-line pull-up!"
"It’s a 'demon' stock!"

The accounting discussion group gasped. At that moment, Xu Zhirou finally understood why Zhang Yang was so confident in proposing the bet. This man had clearly researched Changan Automobile thoroughly, and he was certain that the 10% drop was merely a "washout" by the main force.

"He was set up and didn't even know it, what a fool," Xu Zhirou thought, looking at Lai Weijie in the distance with pity. If Lai had simply waited for the contest to end, Zhang Yang wouldn't have gone out of his way to trick him out of his money. But this guy kept pestering him with irrelevant questions every few days, as if Zhang Yang were an online customer service agent for QQ. Furthermore, with hot money now clearly intervening in the market, he failed to see the reason and instead ran over to accuse Zhang Yang of ulterior motives—he was practically begging Zhang Yang to empty his wallet.