(Let's change the chapter first, ask for a monthly pass)

There are some major turning points in this world that always come with a bang, and even months or even years before it actually arrives, its legends and rumors are already boiling.

For example, the beginning and end of the war, such as the accession of the new king to the throne and the abdication of the old king.

But this time, it all came quietly.

Even, people don't even realize that things have already begun.

When the body of the first victim fell from a tall building, most people were still laughing at his cowardice and stupidity, rejoicing in his wisdom and foresight.

But soon, someone realized the seriousness of the matter.

The financial markets began to plummet, and the curve that had been so proud of them and which had brought them everything drew a sharp angle, and then began to fall steeply at an almost incomprehensible speed.

The wealth accumulated over the years vanished in an instant, and the numbers in the financial account were reduced not even on a rolling basis, but by digits.

Ultra-high leverage was originally a magic weapon for them to get rich overnight, but now, it has become the scythe of death.

In just half an hour, the price of CDS plummeted by hundreds of points, and with a leverage of up to 30 times, those trading accounts with more than 50% of the positions were liquidated instantly.

And if the position exceeds 50%, it means that in this round of collapse, the account owner not only lost all his principal, but also owed a large amount of margin to the bank.

——

This is something that shouldn't have happened.

But unfortunately, in the early crazy craze, there are not a few accounts that operate like this.

As a result, an unprecedented large-scale liquidation appeared.

One account after another is falling in pieces, and behind every account that has been suspended, there may be a corpse. Bloody corpses.

In his office, Paulson stared excitedly at the computer screen in front of him.

Admittedly, at this moment, he was nervous.

Of course, it wasn't the economy that was about to collapse that made him nervous, but the rising numbers on the account.

Just now, in less than an hour of trading time from the beginning of the decline to now, the total number on his account has doubled.

This means that in addition to the income that needs to be handed over to investors, he has earned a full $1 billion!

"It's a pity that I should have been crazier if I knew it earlier."

Paulson sighed, feeling a little regretful.

Originally, his year-long layout had almost reached the moment of victory, but just three months ago, his financial chain was stretched to the limit, and the continuous losses almost destroyed his self-confidence.

As a result, he had no choice but to accept investments from several international investment institutions on extremely favorable terms.

Before and after, the amount of funds injected by these institutions reached a staggering tens of billions of dollars, which he dispersed into hundreds of trading accounts, taking advantage of the overheated market and poor regulation, almost swept away all the largest short chips in the market.

It was these funds that helped him get through the most difficult time.

It stands to reason that Paulson should be grateful to these mysterious employers.

But in reality, he only had resentment in his heart.

The reason is simple, he does not allow anyone else to have the same vision as himself.

——

He doesn't want anyone to make money in this market except himself.

Of course, it's too late to say anything now.

Things have happened, the profits have been divided, and what you can do is to fulfill the agreement in accordance with the contract.

Paulson shook his head slightly, picked up the phone on the desk, and called his assistant into the office.

Seeing the assistant's face full of excitement, Paulson smiled slightly and asked:

"Well, I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"As I said, the avalanche is just around the corner, and all we have to do is add the last snowflake to it."

"Now, tell me, did we succeed?"

"It worked!"

The assistant replied excitedly.

In this moment, in his eyes, Paulson is God.

A god who can foresee the future.

Yes, how should all this be explained if it were not so?

When everyone was frantically chasing the rally, he was the only one who bucked the trend and desperately placed short orders up and down one peak after another.

Everyone thought he was crazy, that he was carried away by huge losses, and made the mistake of "not knowing how to stop losses" that only newcomers in the investment world would make.

Even, those colleagues in the past did not care about the past feelings, and after their own funds entered the market, they quickly ate more chips with a ferocious and ruthless attitude, pulling up the price, so that Paulson's losses were always with him.

For more than a year, I have almost completely lost confidence.

If it weren't for Paulson's constant tolerance and encouragement, it is quite possible that he would have left on the eve of victory

This greatest boon in the world does not stop there.

The assistant secretly made up his mind that after that, no matter where Paulson was going or what he was going to do, he would definitely follow in his footsteps.

He looked at Paulson expectantly, waiting for him to give an inspiring speech.

However, after hearing the assistant's answer, Paulson shook his head calmly.

"No, we haven't made it yet."

"Or rather, we've only taken a small step forward."

"The decline of the CDS market has not spread to the stock market, the property market, the futures market, and has not spread to other more real economy industries."

"How is that enough?"

"If the extent of the decline is limited to CDS, then the firmness in other areas will soon backfire on CDS."

"It's going to stop very quickly, and that's not what we want."

The assistant was stunned for a moment, and then said decisively:

"Mr. Paulson, if you need to do anything, you can leave it to me!"

Paulson nodded approvingly, and sure enough, after putting down his dignity and being a clown once, his assistant had grown up rapidly.

So, after thinking for a moment, he stood up, picked up an oil-based pen, and began to write his plan on the whiteboard.

"First of all, we must continue to exert our efforts in the CDS field, throw all our last chips, and continue to smash the market."

"Secondly, the fluctuation of CDS must be transmitted to the property market, and if it is not transmitted or cut off by some people, then we must connect it at all costs."

"In addition, we will continue to spread the word."

"Whether it's the end of the world, the collapse of America, or whatever."

"I want to let everyone, not just investors, know that we've fallen into the abyss and can't turn back."

"Only if everybody realizes this will the entire economy have the potential to collapse, and we."

"to earn more."

A few days later, at a public meeting of shareholders of Lehman Brothers.

John looked at the man on the stage with a solemn face, his eyes full of unwillingness and remorse.

He is just an ordinary investor who can no longer be ordinary, and even among the many investors in this country who have fallen into madness, he can definitely be regarded as the extremely rational one.

I did not participate in futures, did not participate in high-risk financial management, and did not participate in CDS derivative investment, which is called a wealth password by countless people.

He only does stocks, and only the most stable and conservative bank stocks.

The exception is Lehman Brothers, which is not a bank, but an investment institution.

But the credit of this institution is excellent, the profits are extremely high, and the operating conditions are stable.

So, after much deliberation, John put all his money into the company's stock.

For a long time, his decision was seen by his family as a genius investment.

Since 2005, Lehman Brothers' stock has more than doubled from $40 to $90 today.

With the blessing of leverage, his own funds have also changed from $200,000 at the beginning to nearly $1 million now.

——

Or rather, nearly a million dollars a week ago.

Within a week, Lehman's stock price, one of the largest investors in CDS instruments, plummeted for seven consecutive days and has shrunk to just $500,000.

In the course of this decline, John wanted to sell his stock more than once.

However, the initial fluke caused him to miss the best opportunity, and by the time he finally made up his mind, the trading market was already in a slump.

At a price that he can accept, no one is willing to take over, unless he grits his teeth and puts up a price far below the market price, otherwise, his stock will be smashed in his own hands.

The situation is critical, and if the stock price continues to fall, it may take only two weeks for all the funds in your account to be emptied.

——

It's not as simple as starting from scratch.

I have to repay the leveraged debt and take on a loan of a full 200,000 US dollars!

At the thought of this, John's emotions broke down a little.

He took a few hard breaths and comforted himself:

"It's okay, there's still a chance, there's still a chance"

"Lehman is a big company, as long as they don't file for bankruptcy, it's still too late"

"They'll carry it, I'll carry it."

After several times of persuasion, John finally had the courage to raise his head.

Then he found that in this huge office, there were really not a few people who bowed their heads and prayed like himself.

On stage, representatives of Lehman were still chattering about the company.

His expression was calm and his voice was steady, as if everything that happened in the financial markets had nothing to do with him.

"We did have difficulties in our operations, and due to the loss of the CDS market, it is conservatively estimated that the company's net loss this time is more than $30 billion."

"In contrast, the company's total liquid assets are $7 billion."

"We're going to have to make more tough decisions"

"Say no more!"

Suddenly, someone in the audience interrupted the delegate's question.

The man then proceeded to ask:

"We just want to know, will Lehman file for bankruptcy?"

As the words fell, everyone looked at the delegates on the stage with anticipation.

And the representative, who was still talking just now, suddenly fell silent.

He just stood quietly, his eyes fixed on the front, as if something there had caught his attention.

Everyone looked at him in bewilderment, and after a long time, his eyes moved.

Then he looked at the time on the electronic display hanging on the wall of the hall.

He said in a deep voice:

"Now. There is still time. ”

In an instant, everyone understood what he meant.

At this moment, the edifice collapsed.

John followed the surging crowd to the trading desk, but by the time he arrived, it was too late.

In just a few minutes, Lehman Brothers' stock fell by nearly 80%, and all his assets were emptied.

John walked out of the trading floor in despair.

He didn't know where else he could go.

Go home?

But how do you explain it to your family?

How do you tell them that they have lost everything and that they can't even afford to pay off their mortgage next month? ——

Yes, the house.

That damn house!

If it weren't for the rising house prices, I would never have chosen to buy a house at such a time.

If it weren't for the pressure of the loan, I would never have lost the most basic judgment and wanted to rely on luck to keep the hard-won profits!

Damn it! Damn it!

At this moment, John suddenly realized that the gears of fate had actually begun to turn a long time ago.

It's just that I was in the gears, and I never realized that the fate that was about to be crushed.

He sat on the side of the street in a daze, and there were not a few people who were in a daze here like him.

No one knows where to go, and no one knows what to do next.

——

Just then, a man stood up.

His gaze was determined to the front, and almost subconsciously, John followed him and walked into the building.

Subsequently, more people followed the man into the elevator.

They were surprised to find that the man, after stepping out of the elevator, went straight in one direction.

——

Rooftop.

Suddenly, John's heart was clear.

He guessed what the man was going to do, and he understood what he was supposed to do.

He followed the man over the railing, and one step forward, the abyss.

The man lit the last cigarette, and the remaining cigarette butt fell down the tall building first.

Mars floats in the air.

A few seconds later, the man overtook the spark.

John poked his head out and looked down, and the ground was already blood-red.

He suddenly felt a little nauseous.

——

It's not that I'm disgusted by my imminent fate, but I feel that my corpse is going to be mixed with him?

Perhaps, it's not a big deal.

John fumbled in his pockets, trying to light himself a cigarette, but couldn't reach his lighter.

He saw the lighter that the man had left on the rooftop, so he carefully crawled over and lit the cigarette on his lips.

Then, he solemnly put the lighter back in its place.

In this short time of one cigarette, he thought a lot.

Family, friends.

Money in the account, unpaid debts.

It's too messy.

He didn't want to think about it anymore, so he jumped.

It's like stepping down a step without any hesitation.

Twenty minutes later.

In the same location on Wall Street, six bodies were piled up.

(End of chapter)