The city's financial core was quiet before the storm. Tall glass towers loomed over the skyline, concealing within them the whispers of power, greed, and ambition. But tonight, in a silent war waged not with bullets but with numbers and predictions, Lin Chen was about to flip the entire board.
In his high-rise temporary office, Lin Chen sat before six wide screens, each displaying rapidly shifting data feeds. Green and red candlesticks danced across charts with volatile urgency. The blue system interface floated just above his vision, almost like a heads-up display out of a sci-fi movie.
System Notification:
🟢 "Market Manipulation Module" activated.
🟡 Current Objective: Lure and liquidate target institution – Victory Fund Group.
🟢 Mission Reward: 500,000,000 system coins + 'Capital Sovereign' title if completed within 12 hours.
He cracked his knuckles and leaned forward. Everything was in place.
Step 1: The Misdirection
The first step was planting false intel. Using his newly unlocked "Emotional Manipulation" and "Behavioral Forecast" skills, Lin Chen had orchestrated a series of media leaks and insider whispers about a supposed government investigation into NewSky BioTech—the very stock Victory Fund had gone all-in on.
He didn't need to convince everyone. Just enough noise in the right channels would prompt the reaction he needed.
"System," Lin Chen murmured, fingers hovering above the keyboard. "Deploy the timed cascade across investor groups A to G, staggered delays of 3 to 6 minutes."
Confirmed. "Deploying false sentiment cascade..."
He watched as social media sentiment on NewSky plummeted. A popular finance influencer "leaked" documents. A whistleblower tweeted ominous warnings. A fake analyst report got picked up by two mid-tier news outlets.
Then came the ripple effect.
Step 2: The Panic Sell
Less than thirty minutes later, Lin Chen's screen flashed.
🔴 Victory Fund just sold 8.4 million shares. 🔴 Liquidity pools drained by 17% in Sector C. 🔴 Algorithmic trade alerts triggered in five institutions.
The bloodbath had begun.
He grinned.
"They bit."
The smart money followed the rumors, dumping shares like they were radioactive. Sell orders flooded the market, triggering auto-sell conditions and pushing the stock price into a nosedive.
"Begin Phase Two," Lin Chen said.
Gold Coins Deducted: 20,000Skill Activated: Reverse Arbitrage Execution
Purchasing NewSky at -52% with market masking.
Step 3: Building the Fortress
While the world was panicking, Lin Chen was buying.
At a fraction of its former price, NewSky's fundamentals hadn't changed—the company was still poised for a breakthrough. The panic was pure emotion, smoke and mirrors that Lin Chen had lit himself.
His system handled the stealth accumulation. He moved funds through shell entities, dummy corporations, even a few crypto forks. On the surface, no one could tell that someone was amassing an absolute fortress of stock.
"You now control 19.6% of NewSky BioTech.""Your average purchase price: ¥4.83/share."
Perfect.
Step 4: The Flip
As dawn crept over the city, Victory Fund executives sat in their marble-floor office staring at disaster.
They had sold their holdings at a steep loss. A billion-yuan loss, to be exact. And now, contradictory news began to flood the market.
The investigation? Fake. In fact, regulators had just approved NewSky's latest product for nationwide rollout.
NewSky's stock rebounded so fast it left the trading bots scrambling.
Step 5: The Revelation
9:30 AM. Trading floor. Public shareholder call.
Lin Chen dialed in.
"This is Lin Chen, independent financial consultant. As of this morning, I now hold controlling interest in NewSky BioTech."
The call exploded into shocked gasps.
At that very moment, across every major finance network, a breaking news banner ran:
"Anonymous investor pulls off historic stock reversal – profits over 500 million yuan overnight."
One reporter recognized him. "Isn't that the young man from Titan Head Capital? The guy they said was a fluke?"
Lin Chen smiled, live on screen.
"No fluke. Just numbers."
Aftermath
At Victory Fund's headquarters, the founder collapsed into his chair.
"Who the hell is this Lin Chen?"
The answer was already circulating online.
"Capital Falcon." "Stock Market Reaper." "The Man Who Bankrupted a Giant in One Night."
And in Lin Chen's ear, the system chimed once more.
Mission Complete! 🟢 Rewards: • 500,000,000 System Coins • Title Unlocked: [Capital Sovereign] • Reputation Boost: +8000 (Public & Elite Tier) • New System Feature: Reputation-Based Discounts
Lin Chen leaned back, sipping his coffee.
He had just rewritten the rules of the game. Not by being the richest… but by being the smartest man in the room.
And Erebus?
He knew they were watching now.
And he smiled.
Let them.
He wasn't prey anymore.
He was the one setting the trap.