“You came to share this intelligence with me... What is your ultimate motive?” Minister Rong Zhenhua inquired directly.
Pakpoom met the politician’s gaze, a sharp smirk touching his lips as a calculating gleam flickered in his eyes. “To demonstrate absolute sincerity, Minister... If I prosper, you prosper. If I unearth a secret capable of generating immense wealth, you deserve access to that same wellhead. As sworn allies, transparency is our only currency.”
Zhenhua burst into a delighted laugh, genuinely entertained by the directness. “It has been a considerable time since I encountered an entrepreneur of your breed...”
Pakpoom maintained a steady, unyielding gaze. “When a Thai offers his loyalty, he delivers it without reservation. I trust you can feel the authenticity of the partnership I extend.”
Zhenhua narrowed his eyes slightly, a low chuckle echoing in his chest. “And what is your analytical forecast regarding the imminent fallout?”
Pakpoom smiled serenely. “Following this initial index collapse, the institutional juggernauts will throw down their final hands to flip the board completely. Scraps of capital cannot alter this course... But I am willing to lay my wager right before you, Minister... In this play, our position is mathematically bulletproof.”
Zhenhua’s expression softened into a profound, enigmatic smile. “It still sounds remarkably like a high-stakes gamble...”
“Let us designate it as a formal pledge of sincerity instead,” Pakpoom countered effortlessly.
Rong Zhenhua locked eyes with him, silently probing his depth before dropping his gaze to calculate the risk-reward ratio of the board. Pakpoom remained motionless, projecting utter composure until the Minister signaled his personal secretary standing behind him.
“The instant the index touches the 3,850 support level... execute full buy orders immediately. Deploy maximum capital allocation,” Zhenhua instructed crisply.
“Understood, Minister,” the secretary acknowledged, bowing before departing swiftly to execute the order.
Pakpoom’s eyes flashed with cunning triumph as he observed the minister stepping cleanly into the parameters of his design.
Meanwhile, Kawin lifted a hot cup of dark roast coffee, inhaling its rich aroma mingled with the crisp essence of spring. His eyes drifted across the leisurely foot traffic along Wukang Road, where a lush canopy of firmiana trees shaded the sprawling colonial architecture lining the avenue.
A faint, relaxed smile touched his lips. Following his sudden termination as Director, this marked his very first moment of unadulterated tranquility.
Chime!
A notification sounded on his phone. Kawin retrieved the device, revealing a video clip of the newly appointed Hydrogen Director’s press conference alongside a sea of plunging crimson stock charts for HEC.
Vibrate...
A fresh message from Chatchawin materialized across the screen:
‘Enjoy your rest to the fullest... for very soon, duty will demand your return. I trust the coffee tastes exquisite.’
Reading the text, a soft, amused laugh escaped Kawin’s throat. He lowered the device, gazing back at the slow flow of pedestrians and vehicles navigating the tree-lined boulevard.
“Moments of pure peace... why are they always so fleeting?” he murmured softly to himself, lifting his cup for another quiet sip amidst the catastrophic collapse of the equity markets.
Applause and enthusiastic congratulations reverberated across the corporate conference room. Mi Ling clapped along with the board of directors in supreme satisfaction, watching the HEC stock figures surge upward on the display an immaculate rebound that temporarily restored the confidence of retail investors and capital markets alike.
“Congratulations, Director!”
“A magnificent turn, Ms. Mi Ling!”
Praise poured in from every corner of the room. Among them, only Rong Ru perceived the subtle, unnatural distortion hidden beneath the sea of green metrics currently flashing on the trading board.
Simultaneously, inside the Chairman’s executive suite... Li Ming stood with arms folded, observing the Shanghai skyline through the floor-to-ceiling glass. The artificial indoor stream trickled softly, cultivating an atmosphere of absolute serenity.
The heavy door glided open as Rose stepped inside, halting behind him.
“Are the orders from the Swiss portfolio fully staged...?” Li Ming inquired, without bothering to turn around.
“Fully operational, Chairman. They will enter the system the moment you give the signal.”
A cold smirk curled at the corner of Li Ming’s mouth as his gaze traced the distant Huangpu River. “On a day with such glorious weather... a stroll along the Huangpu River seems appropriate.”
Rose offered a respectful bow, lifting her tablet to execute a massive, coordinated sell-off order directly into the market instantly.
In a fraction of a second... the surging green chart that had championed Mi Ling’s appointment froze mid-air. The curve executed an abrupt, vertical nose-dive, shattering the bullish predictions of financial analysts broadcasting live across every major media platform.
Panicked retail investors who had just rushed in to buy were left stranded at the absolute peak. Financial brokerages across the city erupted into chaos, firing off margin calls and forced liquidation notices—compelling leveraged traders to dump their shares at catastrophic losses. The panic-induced sell-off accelerated the downward spiral, driving HEC shares into a historic, record-breaking new low with every passing second.
Observing the crimson candles plunging through his portfolio, Adisorn offered an amused, ruthless smile. His eyes drifted to the 3-billion-yuan OTC credit facility contract bearing Wenjie’s fresh signature resting on his desk.
The trading floor monitors flashed rapidly as the index crashed through the 4,500 support level with zero momentum of recovery.
Mi Ling stood paralyzed before the screen, her face drained of color as she unconsciously gnawed on her thumb in sheer panic, completely forgetting her posture before the board.
In stark contrast, Li Ming leaned back comfortably into his leather armchair, taking a refined sip from his teacup. “Let the retail sheep weep... Once the valuation hits absolute rock bottom, route the buy orders to sweep up total controlling equity,” the Chairman commanded smoothly. Rose bowed in obedience.
Meanwhile, standing near his office window, Wenjie glanced at the crashing ticker with a scheming grin.
“Keep dreaming, Father... thinking you can scoop them back up at your target floor. I know the exact price point to cut right in front of you,” Wenjie whispered to himself with dark satisfaction.
Across town, Pakpoom retrieved an insulated tumbler packed to the brim with ice. He carefully poured warm, steeped tea over the ice, swirling the liquid with a straw before taking a deep, satisfying gulp.
He cast a cold glance at the plunging red candlestick descending toward his precise target zone.
“We’ll see who the real master strategist is...” he muttered, smacking his lips softly as he savored the crisp, iced tea.
He looked down at the tumbler with a self-assured smirk. “Ah... A true Thai can’t survive without ice. Absolutely freezing cold.”
Pakpoom’s smirk widened into a confident grin. In this war of attrition... time would tell whose calculations were absolute.