Chapter 56: The Financial Battlefield—Extracting the Poisonous Fangs

The "Shangganling" massacre on the lower limit board had reached its fever pitch. Anderson's barrage of short sales seemed inexhaustible, while the golden ramparts of the "National Team" grew dimmer with each relentless assault. The trading volume had already broken through the staggering threshold of one hundred billion. Every second, countless fortunes were incinerated along this invisible front line.

Everyone in the finance group was fighting with bloodshot eyes, nerves stretched to their utmost limits. Yet, behind the suffocating fog of this brutal war, a true "decapitation" operation was silently unfolding.

At the command center's backend, within the section staffed by elite technicians and seasoned financial analysts, the "Decapitation Squad" held their positions. Xiao Ran had already left the front-line command post. She was the chief surgeon of this "tooth extraction" operation.

Before her, the holographic screen displayed a global topology map of "phantom accounts," painstakingly drawn by Wang Zhe—a web as intricate and sinister as the devil's own. Every glowing dot represented a toxic nest hidden in some corner of the world, feeding ammunition to Anderson.

"Wang Zhe, final confirmation on the data link," Xiao Ran's voice was as cool and sharp as a scalpel.

"Reporting, Chief!" Wang Zhe's eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze burned with an alarming intensity. "All nodes have been triple-cross-locked! They're like parasites clinging to bone, channeling endless ammunition through thousands of shell accounts and offshore funds worldwide! Anderson's main capital pool is right at the center of this web!"

Xiao Ran nodded and turned toward the head of the foreign affairs coordination group. "Status of the 'Green Corridor'?"

"Reporting! We've established temporary top-level hotlines with special investigation offices at seventeen international financial clearing centers—Switzerland, Cayman, London, New York, and others. Once we provide a list, they will immediately carry out 'reasonless temporary freezes.'"

Everything was ready. Only one thing remained—the perfect window for attack.

Xiao Ran's gaze returned to the carnage of the front line. She waited for that precise moment when Anderson would be most relaxed, savoring the fruits of victory.

...

On the other side of the globe, in a luxurious safehouse atop an international financial center, Anderson sat elegantly with a cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain hand-brewed coffee, lounging on a leather sofa. Before him, a colossal wall of sixteen high-definition screens broadcast the tragic state of Huaxin Tech's stock price in real time. The green line lay inert at the bottom, and every feeble rally was crushed by even heavier waves of selling.

"Do you see, John?" Anderson's lips curled into a contemptuous, godlike smile as he addressed his anxious head trader beside him. "This is the folly of the 'National Team.' They think brute courage and unlimited ammunition can defend a worthless line... yet every penny they burn tears apart their nation's financial credibility."

He sipped his coffee, savoring the rich bitterness and lingering sweetness. "My ammunition... is limitless."

"As long as they drag this out, they'll bleed themselves dry. I need only enjoy this grand spectacle, built from mountains of money—"

"Boss!!"

A terror-stricken, almost shrill scream abruptly shattered Anderson's elegant commentary. One of the traders monitoring the backup capital pools shot up from his seat, face pale as a ghost, pointing at his dimmed screen.

"B-bad news! All our... all our 'phantom' backup funds... across thousands of accounts worldwide..."

"—have all... all gone dark!"

Crack!

A sharp, piercing sound rang out. Anderson's priceless English bone china cup slipped from his hand, shattering across the mirror-smooth Italian marble floor. The brown coffee stain splattered like an ugly scar.

The graceful composure on Anderson's face froze, cracked, and was utterly replaced by disbelief and boundless fury.

...

At the precise moment Anderson's cup struck the floor, in the "Dark Bureau" command center, Xiao Ran slowly spoke into the master communicator, delivering the long-prepared verdict from hell.

"'Tooth Extraction' operation... commence!"

The instant the command was issued, a financial storm swept across the globe.

A rapid-fire montage flashed across the command center's main screen.

Beijing!

At the National Security headquarters, a foreign affairs coordinator picked up the red phone, declaring, "Activate 'Financial Great Wall' Protocol Level Two! Target list sent with encryption!"

Zurich, Switzerland!

Inside a private bank’s server room, fortress-like in its design, red warning lights blazed. An anonymous account flagged "X-001," the highest risk category, was forcibly locked and frozen by an irresistible command.

Cayman Islands!

A similar scene played out in the core account of a massive offshore hedge fund.

London! New York! Singapore! Luxembourg!

Dozens of global financial centers—renowned for secrecy and freedom—received, in that moment, a thunderous directive from the East.

This was not a request, nor a negotiation.

It was an order.

...

On the holographic screen, the complex spiderweb representing "phantom accounts" was collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

One!

Ten!

A hundred!

A thousand!

In merely three seconds, over ninety-five percent of the once vibrant green nodes marking "active" status had turned gray, symbolizing "frozen" and "dead."

"R-report, Chief!" Wang Zhe stared at the rapidly spreading "gray plague," his voice trembling with overwhelming excitement. "The 'phantom account' network... is... is basically paralyzed!"

"The enemy’s main capital flow... we've..."

He looked up, summoning all his strength, and roared the victory declaration:

"—Severed!"

A thunderous, long-suppressed cheer erupted in the command center, wild and booming like a storm.

Victory on the financial battlefield! A historic, clean, and astonishing reversal.

Yet, Xiao Ran's expression showed no joy. She glanced at the sea of gray, then turned her gaze to another massive screen representing the "public opinion battlefield."

There, where the data stream had once been calm, faint, ominous ripples had begun to appear.

It was as if something filthier and more venomous was about to break the surface from the abyss.

Watching those ripples, Xiao Ran murmured, so softly only she could hear:

"With the funds severed..."

"That lunatic will start using 'lies'..."

"...to kill, won't he?"