The majority of small capital participants in the market believed that the decline would stop and that the U.S. stock market would return to its original state. Therefore, they frantically bought stocks at low prices to lower their holding costs, hoping to sell for a profit during the rebound.
However, this was merely a brief resurgence. A large influx of domestic U.S. capital勉强地推到了2090点位，上涨的动能就消耗殆尽，再也支持不了指数的回升了。
When the Dow Jones Index rebounded to around 2040 points, Zhong Shi issued another trading order, liquidating all his long positions and switching to holding short positions at a high level.
At this moment, the market was in a state of high excitement, and there was no shortage of futures contract transactions. Zhong Shi's 10,000 long positions were filled within less than a minute.
However, the appearance of such a large long position made the market participants uneasy, and they began to speculate about its intentions. However, since the Dow Jones Index was still rising, people only thought for a moment, assuming that investors were taking profits and not paying much attention.
But then three more short positions of 3,000 each were placed, which could not be ignored by the participants.
"Is this a signal that the index trend is changing?" As people were still speculating, the index had already surged to 2090 points, about to break through the psychological barrier of 2100 points.
2100 points would be a crucial level for a fierce battle between bulls and bears. If it broke through, the day's trend would be slightly negative. If it failed, the index would continue to fall, possibly even more severely than in the morning.
At this price level, stocks and futures contracts were frequently changing hands, and trading volume surged. Both inside and outside the market, traders were on edge.
It was around 2:30 PM in New York, and everyone knew a critical moment had arrived.
"2094, 2095, 2098..." The bulls were shouting every rising number, while the bears were pale and sweating profusely.
Just as the index reached the 2099 level, a massive short-selling force appeared, aggressively selling various stocks. The market was instantly flooded with massive sell orders, and the left side of every trading screen was filled with large sell orders.
The bulls were not weak either, and they quickly placed large buy orders. For a moment, at the 2099 level, both sides engaged in a fierce battle.
Trading volume surged, and large buy and sell orders appeared frequently. The index fluctuated at the critical level, and traders were rapidly executing trading orders, completing one transaction after another.
However, after a few minutes of stubborn resistance, the bulls' confidence finally broke, and they retreated under the strong attack of the bears. The index plummeted by dozens of points.
At this point, everyone realized that a major decline was inevitable. Investors who understood the situation no longer hesitated and began a new wave of selling.
This was not surprising. The funds invested in the U.S. capital market now had only one thought: to quickly withdraw from the U.S. before the dollar depreciated. The previous decline was so severe that even if they wanted to, they could not withdraw at such a price level.
Even at that time, they were still bullish, buying stocks frantically to prevent their capital from depreciating significantly. It was only with the large-scale intervention of domestic U.S. capital that they had a chance to escape.
Funds from Japan, the Middle East, Europe, and even some African dictatorships were all looking for opportunities to escape. These funds, when combined, were enough to rival domestic U.S. capital.
The index continued to fall, causing renewed panic. No one could hold out any longer.
Everyone's face was filled with sorrow, even those who had made the right call. Most of them did not know what had happened, but they understood the significance of the decline.
Is this country finished? Is the world economy finished?
Many people had this thought.
In the almost frozen atmosphere, the Dow Jones Index plummeted like a waterfall, breaking through the psychological barriers of 2000, 1900, and 1800 points, continuing downward.
Now there was only one question: Would the index break 1650, the new low set in the morning?
Fortunately, at this point, the bulls, who had been retreating, regrouped at the 1700 level. They seemed to realize that they could not let the decline continue, or it would replay the 1929 stock market crash.
Confidence is the most important factor in the market.
At this time, the closing time was approaching, and there was little time left for both bulls and bears.
Both sides confronted each other at the 1700 level. In just over an hour, trading volume had already exceeded 150 million, more than the usual daily volume.
The short-selling funds seemed to have reached their limit.
As the index stabilized, market confidence seemed to recover, and people began to try buying stocks. At this point, the stocks of various companies were at rock-bottom prices, and there was no cheaper time to buy.
The gradual inflow of funds, the expansion of trading volume, the exhaustion of the short sellers, and the reinvigoration of the bulls slowly pushed the Dow Jones Index upward.
"Clang, clang," with the sound of the closing bell, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some even fell to the floor, panting heavily.
In the final confrontation, the bulls had a slight advantage, and the index stabilized at 1738 points.
That day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by 508 points, a decline of 22.6%, with intraday losses exceeding 25%. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the S&P 500 fell by 30%.
In other trading markets, various indices continued to fall. For example, the Nasdaq index fell by 11 points, and $500 billion in stock market value, equivalent to France's annual GDP, vanished into thin air.
Countless people were ruined, losing the fruits of a lifetime of hard work, while others became overnight millionaires, envied by all.
Zhong Shi was undoubtedly one of the successful ones.
When the index fell to 1800, he ordered Andrew to liquidate all his short positions, securing his profits.
In the final settlement, Zhong Shi's account gained over $700 million, nearly reaching the $800 million mark. Including his initial investment, his account now had over $900 million.
However, these funds had not yet been settled, so they were only paper wealth.
Zhong Shi already had plans for this money. The stock market crash was an isolated event. In fact, it was later proven that this crash did not have a fatal impact on the U.S. economy, not even a significant one. It was even a great opportunity to buy at the bottom.
Stocks like General Electric, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Walmart, Boeing, and Microsoft were at prices that were incredibly cheap.
These companies would become major players in the future, with stock prices rising to unimaginable levels. If not now, when?
Liao's father and son and Andrew, staring at the numbers in their accounts, were completely numb.
$900 million, equivalent to about HKD 7 billion, was roughly the annual profit of some major banks. More frighteningly, this was all cash.
And the owner of this money was a teenager in front of them.
...
After writing down some stocks to buy, Zhong Shi gave Andrew a few more instructions and left the Far East Financial Center with Liao's father and son, who had been up all night.
The financial elites who had just finished work were clearly divided into two groups: those with gloomy faces and those with joyful expressions, forming a stark contrast to the calm Zhong Shi and the expressionless Liao's father and son.
Not until they were in the limousine did Liao's father and son recover from their shock.
"To Tseung Kwan O!" Zhong Shi said calmly and closed his eyes to take a nap. Liao's father and son remained silent, staring straight ahead, still thinking about the numbers.
Not until the car entered the sea tunnel did they react. Liao Xiaohua, puzzled, asked, "Where are we going?"
The driver, hearing this, was at a loss. He had thought Liao's father and son had tacitly agreed, but now it seemed otherwise.
"To shut them up!" Zhong Shi replied calmly and said no more.
"Shut them up!" Liao Xiaohua was startled but, seeing that Zhong Shi was not going to say more, kept quiet.
On a deserted piece of land near the sea in Tseung Kwan O, Lu Hu was directing people to unload magazines from a truck, piling them into a mountain. He and a few young men, bare-chested and tattooed, were pouring gasoline on the pile.
After everything was done, the young men and Lu Hu quickly disappeared into the night.
The sedan drove to this place, and they saw the mountain of magazines emitting a pungent smell. Lu Hu was sitting on the ground, playing with a Zippo lighter.
"Mr. Zhong, everything is done!" Lu Hu said as Zhong Shi got out of the car, handing him a new magazine.
"Rich boy orders bodyguards to attack on the street," Liao Xiaohua, curious, leaned over and saw Liao Chengde and himself walking towards the building, with Zhong Shi's face blurred out.
Without a doubt, this was the work of entertainment reporters. Liao Xiaohua quickly flipped through a few other magazines, all of which had similar content, accusing Lu Hu and the alleged mastermind, Liao Xiaohua.
"This..." Liao Chengde was furious, pointing at Liao Xiaohua, unable to speak.
"Mr. Liao, don't be angry. He has his plans, and I have mine. It's just a matter of spending some money to settle this." Zhong Shi waved his hand to stop Liao Chengde's anger. Liao Xiaohua, blushing, dared not say a word.
With a "whoosh," Zhong Shi threw the lighter into the air, landing it precisely on the pile, igniting a fierce fire that shot up into the sky, visible in the dark night.
"Let's go! This will teach them a lesson!" Zhong Shi, with a cold face, threw the last magazine into the fire. (Special thanks to the book friend ア忏→魂ヾ for the donation, thank you for your support!)