The Helios chart collapsed like a falling knife.
Red candles stacked one after another.
Five percent down.
Ten percent.
Fifteen percent.
Marcus stared at the monitor.
"Okay… this is bad."
Ethan didn't answer.
His fingers were already flying across the keyboard.
The trading AI reacted instantly.
Emergency protocols activated.
Dozens of positions opened and closed within seconds.
Hedge trades.
Short positions.
Rapid exits.
Marcus watched the numbers change so fast they blurred.
"Is it stabilizing?"
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
Marcus swallowed.
"Then what's happening?"
Ethan pointed at the order flow.
Marcus leaned closer.
Massive sell orders kept hitting the market.
Millions of dollars per second.
Marcus whispered,
"That's him."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus stared at the numbers.
"Victor Liang is crashing the stock."
The profit counter dropped again.
$548,000 → $523,000 → $497,000
Marcus winced.
"There goes half a million."
Ethan didn't look away from the screen.
"Money isn't the problem."
Marcus blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan opened the market depth panel.
Marcus saw something strange.
Some sell orders were huge.
But others were tiny.
Very tiny.
Marcus frowned.
"Those small trades look familiar."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"They should."
Marcus thought for a moment.
Then his eyes widened.
"Those are probes."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus felt his stomach drop.
"He's studying how the AI reacts during a crash."
Ethan said quietly,
"Exactly."
The room filled with the sound of rapid notifications.
Trade confirmations.
Market alerts.
System warnings.
The algorithm was fighting to stay ahead of the collapsing market.
Marcus pointed at the screen.
"Your AI is still making money on some trades."
Ethan nodded.
"It's adapting."
Marcus leaned closer.
"How?"
Ethan opened the strategy panel.
A new module had activated.
Volatility exploitation protocol.
Marcus blinked.
"That sounds aggressive."
Ethan nodded.
"It thrives in chaos."
Marcus looked impressed.
"Your AI is basically surfing the crash."
Ethan allowed himself a small smile.
"For now."
Another message appeared on the mysterious observing terminal.
Text slowly typed itself across the black screen.
External strategy escalation detected.
Marcus frowned.
"That doesn't sound good."
Ethan didn't respond.
Instead, he opened another network log.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What are you looking for?"
Ethan whispered,
"Proof."
Marcus blinked.
"Proof of what?"
Ethan pointed at the data stream.
Marcus followed his finger.
Several trading accounts had suddenly appeared.
All selling Helios.
But not directly from Liang Capital.
Marcus frowned.
"These accounts look unrelated."
Ethan nodded.
"They're shell accounts."
Marcus's eyes widened.
"You mean…"
Ethan finished the thought.
"Victor Liang is hiding his real position."
Marcus leaned back.
"That's sneaky."
Ethan shook his head.
"That's strategy."
The Helios chart dropped again.
Twenty percent now.
Marcus winced.
"This stock is getting destroyed."
Ethan looked thoughtful.
Marcus noticed.
"You're not surprised."
Ethan answered quietly,
"No."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Why?"
Ethan pointed at the crash pattern.
Marcus studied it.
Then he noticed something strange.
The drops weren't random.
They followed a rhythm.
Sell wave.
Pause.
Sell wave.
Pause.
Marcus whispered,
"That's controlled."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus leaned closer.
"He's not panicking."
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
Marcus finished the thought.
"He's conducting an experiment."
Ethan looked at him.
"That's exactly what he's doing."
The profit counter fluctuated wildly again.
$497,000 → $521,000 → $489,000
Marcus laughed nervously.
"My heart can't handle this."
Ethan didn't smile.
Because the AI suddenly triggered another alert.
Strategic adaptation required.
Marcus pointed at the screen.
"What does that mean?"
Ethan answered quietly,
"It means the AI realized something."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
Ethan opened the analysis window.
The model displayed a new prediction.
Marcus read it slowly.
"Victor Liang is not targeting Helios."
Marcus blinked.
"Wait… what?"
Ethan nodded.
Marcus looked confused.
"But he's crashing the stock."
Ethan pointed at the broader market feed.
Marcus followed his finger.
Several other tech stocks were starting to drop too.
Not as fast.
But still falling.
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Oh."
Ethan whispered,
"He's spreading panic."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"A chain reaction."
Ethan continued.
"If multiple stocks crash…"
Marcus finished.
"…algorithms across the market start reacting."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus leaned back.
"That means millions of trading bots are entering chaos mode."
Ethan nodded again.
"Yes."
Marcus swallowed.
"He's not attacking one AI."
Ethan looked at the screens filled with flashing data.
"He's attacking the entire market."
The observing terminal printed another line.
Global volatility spike detected.
Marcus looked around the room.
"Are we… causing this?"
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
Marcus whispered,
"Victor Liang is."
Ethan nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus rubbed his temples.
"That guy is literally manipulating the entire market."
Ethan didn't disagree.
The phone vibrated again.
Another message from the future.
Ethan opened it immediately.
Marcus watched his face carefully.
"What does it say?"
Ethan read silently.
Then handed the phone over.
Marcus read the message.
His face slowly went pale.
Future Ethan had written:
"This is the moment everything begins."
Marcus swallowed.
"That doesn't sound good."
Ethan pointed at the next line.
Marcus read it.
And suddenly understood the scale of the disaster.
"Victor Liang isn't testing your AI."
Marcus looked up slowly.
"Then what is he doing?"
Ethan answered quietly.
"Training it."
Marcus felt a chill run down his spine.
"What?"
Ethan pointed at the final line of the message.
Marcus read it aloud.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"Every trade your AI makes right now… is teaching him how to control the future."
The room went silent.
The Helios chart continued collapsing.
The trading AI kept fighting.
But Marcus realized something terrifying.
"This isn't just a market crash…"
Ethan finished the thought.
"It's a war of algorithms."
Marcus looked back at the monitors filled with flashing trades.
Then he whispered the question neither of them wanted to ask.
"Ethan…"
Ethan didn't look away from the screen.
Marcus finished quietly.
"Are we actually helping him win?"