Inside the dim, musty rental apartment.
Shen Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the curve on his computer screen, which represented the price of the cat coin.
It was climbing upwards at an almost insane speed!
The humiliation and anger he'd experienced at the party had now transformed into an insatiable craving for wealth.
Two million!
Two and a half million!
It's still rising!
"Rise! Keep rising!"
Shen Yan's breathing was ragged, his heart pounded, and he muttered to himself.
"I must wait until the absolute peak! The highest point!"
"Lu Cheng... once I have enough capital, I will definitely take Qing He back from you!"
"I must squeeze every last bit of profit from this market trend!"
He, Shen Yan, would let everyone know who the real protagonist was!
...In the Lu family study.
Lu Cheng leisurely sipped a cup of high-quality Mingqian Longjing tea, his movements elegant and composed.
A real-time chart of the cat coin trend was displayed on the tablet beside him.
The protagonist should be about to sell, right?
Lu Cheng's lips curved into a faint smile.
It was time to pour cold water on this overexcited rat.
It was time to let him search for his next 'treasure'.
He picked up his phone and sent a concise message to the boss of the underground bank:
"Sell."
...Shen Yan's heart was practically leaping out of his throat!
The price of the cat coin, driven by the frenzied pursuit of countless retail investors, finally surged to nearly five yuan per coin!
Soon! It was almost at its peak!
The peak from his past life's memory was nearby!
Just a little longer! He could wait a little longer! He could earn a little more!
However!
Just as he was fully concentrated, ready to welcome the final frenzy!
An unexpected change occurred!
On the screen, the dense buy orders were instantly wiped away as if by an invisible hand!
Immediately after!
As if on cue!
Countless massive sell orders, representing astronomical figures, crashed down like a bursting dam, without any warning, in a furious torrent!
The order book was instantly stained a dazzling blood-red!
The K-line chart in the center of the screen, which had just been soaring upwards, seemed to be cut in half!
It instantly reversed direction!
Plummeting at an incredibly terrifying, almost vertical angle!
Trading volume exploded to an unprecedented, astronomical level!
Panic!
Stampede!
Sell-off!
The entire market, within a mere few seconds, plunged from its fervent peak directly into a cold abyss!
"No!!!"
Shen Yan's pupils suddenly constricted!
He stared in disbelief at the cliff-like plunge on the screen, his mind a complete blank!
Impossible! How could this be?
It hadn't reached the peak yet!
Why did it suddenly crash?
Did my memory go wrong again?
Or... was someone dumping?
Who? Who exactly was dumping, and with such a reckless, insane sell-off, no matter the cost!
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
He faced an incredibly difficult choice:
Should he immediately follow suit and sell, securing the still considerable profit on paper?
Or should he hold on, gambling that this was just a technical pullback by the market maker to wash out investors, and that it would rise again later?
His memories from his past life... seemed to be no longer reliable.
The anomaly during the last purchase... this sudden crash... he couldn't gamble anymore!
Shen Yan gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with unwillingness!
Where there's life, there's hope! He had to run! Immediately! Right now!
Although his heart was aching, he forced himself to calm down.
Every second of hesitation now meant a massive evaporation of profit.
With trembling hands, almost by instinct, he furiously clicked the mouse!
Sell!
Sell all!
No matter the price! Sell as much as possible!
Soon after... Shen Yan collapsed onto the chair, looking utterly dejected.
He saw his account balance stop at 1.5 million... Although he had earned a lot, the surge from this purchase and the crash from this sale.
The back and forth had significantly reduced his expected earnings.
How could he possibly contend with Lu Cheng now... "Bang—!"
The already dilapidated wooden door of the rental apartment was brutally kicked open from the outside!
Several burly men in black suits, with buzz cuts and menacing expressions, stormed in like fierce devils!
Shen Yan was startled!
He abruptly stood up from the chair, looking in terror at these uninvited guests.
Thinking about what he had done recently, he vaguely guessed their identity!
People from the underground bank!
So fast?
Didn't the contract still have a few days until it expired?
He hurriedly raised his hands, trying to explain, his voice tinged with flattery and panic:
"Brother! Big brothers! Let's talk! I have money! I have money in my account! I'll pay it back right away, there's no need for this."
The leader of the strong men, with a ferocious scar on his face, didn't listen to his nonsense at all.
He snorted coldly and tilted his head towards the two subordinates behind him.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"The boss wants to see you!"
"Let's go!"
The two strong men immediately stepped forward, like eagles snatching chicks, one on each side, directly lifting Shen Yan from the chair and roughly dragging him out!
"Hey! What are you doing? Let go of me!"
Shen Yan struggled in terror, his feet kicking uselessly on the ground.
"I'll pay the money back! I really have money! Let go of me!"
But his struggles seemed so pale and powerless in front of these strong, muscular thugs.
He was forcibly dragged out of the rental apartment and shoved into a black minivan parked downstairs... After an unknown amount of time.
The minivan stopped in a dimly lit, foul-smelling underground parking lot.
Shen Yan was roughly pulled out of the van and shoved into a hidden stronghold.
He was violently pushed into a room, stumbled, and fell heavily to the ground.
He struggled to raise his head, trying to make out the situation in the room.
When his gaze focused on the sofa in the center of the room, he froze completely, as if struck by lightning!
Sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed was an unexpected person!
Tang... Tang Yurous?
She wore heavy makeup, a sexy slip dress, and held a slender lady's cigarette between her fingers, painted with bright red nail polish, exhaling smoke.
Her face wore an undisguised, gloating smile, and her eyes looked down contemptuously at the disheveled Shen Yan on the floor.
As if looking at a dog wagging its tail for scraps.
"Oh, isn't this our great Casanova, Shen Yan?"
Tang Yurous's voice carried a sharp mockery.
She stood up, walked over to Shen Yan, and slammed a document she was holding onto his face!
It was the loan agreement he had signed not long ago!
Tang Yurous pointed with her bright red nail-polished finger to a clause printed in tiny font on the contract.
She read it out word for word, her voice filled with malicious glee:
"Contract Article 8, Clause 3: 'Funds lent by this bank are strictly limited to living expenses and emergency turnover, and are strictly prohibited from being used for any form of investment and financial management activities such as stocks, funds, or virtual currencies. Once discovered, this bank has the right to immediately terminate the contract, demand full repayment of the principal from the borrower, and pay five times the principal as a penalty for breach of contract!'"
"Which means, great Casanova Shen, you now owe us... one and a half million."