Chapter 442: Shorting the Dow Jones

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Time moved on, and it became Wednesday. Following lunch, Zhou Chao headed straight to the operations room. There, he found Todd and his team standing by the door, sporting conspicuous bulges at their waists, even carrying their tactical briefcases. Seeing this, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

“You’re making quite an entrance. Do you want to scare people? Put that briefcase away. Someone who doesn’t know might think you’re here to rob us!” Zhou Chao stared at Todd, his eyes unwavering.

Todd paused for a moment, and his brain quickly caught up. He promptly turned around, took the briefcase from his subordinates, and handed it to Zhou Chao, saying, “Boss, you can keep this for now. We won’t need it temporarily.” “Yeah, everyone’s on edge as the project starts. When the time comes, you should arrange your people outside, so they won’t get distracted.”

“Boss, you can rest assured; I understand all of that,” Todd replied. Zhou Chao was worried that someone among Todd’s subordinates might be tempted by the money. Though Todd himself had no such intentions, it was challenging to know everyone’s true intentions.

“Alright, you get busy. I’ll put this thing away.” After saying that, Zhou Chao headed to his exclusive room, closed the door, reached into his pocket, and took out a portable device from the system’s storage. He checked the room and confirmed that everything was in order before storing the briefcase in the system’s storage.

Meanwhile, outside, things were getting busy. The ten members of the financial team were undergoing inspections. The older members of the team were calm and composed, allowing themselves to be checked without any resistance. In contrast, the newcomers showed resistance when they were asked to be searched.

“Hey, it’s so hot today. Why isn’t the air conditioning working in this room?” Todd stood to the side, complaining. He also unbuttoned his coat, revealing the weapons strapped to his waist. He even took off half of his coat, as if he wanted to ensure everyone saw it.

Several people who were being checked were taken aback when they saw the things on Todd’s waist, but they quickly regained their composure. The resistance on their faces vanished in an instant as they submitted to the inspection and handed over all their belongings.

“Ling Chen, did you arrange this?” Gu Chen asked quietly on the side.

“What do you mean, did I arrange this? Todd told the boss himself. How could it have been me!” Ling Chen shook his head directly. How could he admit to being the one behind it? If he did, what would his boss think of him? It was always better to let outsiders do these kinds of things.

Gu Chen looked at Todd and the others, whose waists were bulging, and contemplated for a moment before saying, “Ling Chen, should we inform the boss? If Todd and the others have ulterior motives, our safety…”

“You can rest assured; the boss knows everything,” Ling Chen calmly replied. After all, their boss never took uncertain actions. Anything they could think of, Zhou Chao had probably already considered.

Gu Chen didn’t say anything more and remained silent, watching quietly from the side.

Soon, the financial team and Gu Chen’s group completed their inspections. Everything on everyone except their underwear was checked thoroughly.

The several newcomers who had initially shown resistance were now being consoled by the older members of the team. They all knew that this project might be extraordinary. Previously, the projects they had participated in were worth hundreds of millions, and they had never received such treatment. It was easy to imagine that their boss was making a big move this time. After being reassured by their colleagues, the newcomers gradually regained their composure.

At this moment, Zhou Chao opened the door and walked out. All eyes in the room were fixed on him. His gaze landed on Todd.

Zhou Chao’s gaze swept over everyone and finally settled on Todd.

“Todd, have your people stand guard outside. You can arrange your rest time as you wish, but ensure there are at least three people at the door from this moment on. Remember, nobody is allowed in or out from now on—absolutely nobody!”

“Yes, boss!” Todd immediately led his people out.

Once Todd and his team had all left the room, Zhou Chao turned to the remaining individuals and spoke, “Some of you here have been with the company since the beginning, and you know what kind of person 1 am, and when this project succeeds, your bonuses won’t be meager.”

“Boss, can our bonuses double this time?” A bold trader from the original team exclaimed loudly.

Zhou Chao looked in the direction of the voice, recognizing him as one of the early members. He smiled at the slightly nervous expression on the trader’s face and said, “Bonuses won’t just double; they might multiply several times. 1 guarantee it here – if you all do a good job on this project, each person in this room will receive an eight-figure bonus!”

“Eight figures! That’s over ten million!”

“Oh my goodness, with that, I can buy a house back in Modu and even get married to my girlfriend!”

“Boss, you’re so generous!”

The entire room buzzed with excitement. Gu Chen had a joyful smile on her face, while Ling Chen had a hint of seriousness. After all, with 67 billion US dollars gathered here, one could only imagine the magnitude of this endeavor.

Once the excitement subsided, Zhou Chao clapped his hands and said, “Alright, let’s announce the project!”

Everyone in the room quieted down, holding their breath, eagerly awaiting Zhou Chao’s announcement.

Seeing the expectant looks of everyone, Zhou Chao softly said, “Short the Dow Jones Index!”

“Short the Dow Jones Index?” Everyone in the room exclaimed. As professionals in the financial industry, they all knew the significance of the Dow Jones Index, which had a market capitalization of up to 9 trillion dollars. Why did they think they could manipulate it?

“Yes, the Dow Jones Index.”

“Boss, aren’t we taking quite a risk?” Ling Chen asked with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let my money go adrift.”

Seeing Zhou Chao’s firm resolve, Ling Chen stopped trying to persuade him. After all, with 67 billion dollars pooled together, their boss must have a plan.

When the excitement had settled down, Zhou Chao continued, “Everyone, stay focused. This time, we can only afford success, not failure.”

“We will do our best, boss!” the team members replied.

“Each of you needs to familiarize yourselves with your accounts. Ling Chen, transfer the funds to each person’s account. We will start at exactly 2:00 PM,” Zhou Chao said, checking his wristwatch. They had about an hour left before they began.

As soon as Zhou Chao finished speaking, everyone started checking their computers to ensure they were running smoothly. Meanwhile, Ling Chen began transferring funds to each trader’s account.

“60 billion US dollars!” one of the traders exclaimed loudly, looking at the balance in his account.

“Mine is also 60 billion!”

“Mine too!”

One after another, the traders discovered that each of them had received 60 billion US dollars, totaling 600 billion. The remaining 70 billion was in Gu Chen’s account.

At 2:00 PM, the traders were sitting upright, fully focused, waiting for Zhou Chao’s command.

“Ling Chen, coordinate with Gu Chen to approach major brokerages and borrow a large quantity of stocks. If any brokerages are willing to take our bet, accept them all. The rest of you, purchase put options heavily, acquire a small amount of scattered stocks, and leverage up to the maximum of 10 times. Move immediately,” Zhou Chao shouted.

The room was filled with the sound of keyboards clicking as everyone began executing their orders.

Meanwhile, Gu Chen started leveraging his connections on Wall Street to approach brokerages. Shortly after, he rushed back excitedly.

“Boss, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan, among a few other brokerages, want to enter into a contra trade agreement with us, and they seem even more eager than we are!” Gu Chen exclaimed.

Zhou Chao’s eyes lit up upon hearing this and he laughed, saying, “Sign it immediately! And why not enjoy the cake that’s delivered to our doorstep? They’ve practically handed us the money. Don’t worry about it being too hot.” Gu Chen quickly signed the contra trade agreement with the other party. After entering the stock market, Zhou Chao immediately instructed the traders to rapidly sell their stocks. However, the stocks were quickly absorbed by other traders, and the index was only slightly affected, dropping by less than 30 points.

“Boss, we’ve acquired all the Dow Jones Index put options and short positions through contra trading. If the index surges significantly… we might not be able to hold on for long,” Gu Chen said with a heavy expression.

“I know, don’t worry, I have a plan,” Zhou Chao replied calmly.

Soon, it was 4:00 PM, and the stock market closed with a modest profit of less than 200 million dollars, considering the massive initial capital.

Smiles adorned the faces of every trader.

“Alright, take a break, everyone. We’ll continue the battle tomorrow!”

The group dispersed, and despite the room being several hundred square meters in size, with only around 80 square meters occupied by computer equipment, there were many other facilities such as a bar, board games, and electric massage chairs. The traders were enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Zhou Chao, on the other hand, stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of freshly squeezed juice, gazing at the distant sky.

Gu Chen was about to approach Zhou Chao for a chat when Ling Chen pulled her aside.

“Let the boss have some quiet time alone. The pressure on him right now is heavier than all of us combined,” Ling Chen said, nodding in agreement.

Little did they know that Zhou Chao was thinking, “When my child is born, should I build a theme park as grand as Disney or just acquire the domestic Disney company in Huaxia.”

As night fell, Zhou Chao, in a rare move, cooked dinner for everyone. When the traders saw his culinary skills and the way he cooked, their mouths watered. They hadn’t expected their boss to be such a good chef.

As they tasted the dishes Zhou Chao prepared, they stopped caring about their image in front of the boss and dug in, eating heartily. This led to Zhou Chao struggling to keep up with the pace of their eating. After he finished cooking, he looked at the dishes that were almost gone, feeling frustrated. He scolded Ling Chen for not helping out.

After dinner, the group chatted for a while and then Zhou Chao sent them back to their rooms to rest, preparing for the challenges of the next day..