69: Short selling? Open the door, free trade!

Chapter 69: Shorting? Fellow Countryman, Open the Door, Free Trade! (Three-in-one chapter, must subscribe)

(PS: A three-in-one chapter. I felt that splitting it up didn't feel right, so I just updated it all at once.)

One thousand Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles had all been delivered a week ago.

The reason they hadn't acted yet was to conduct specialized training for these carefully selected recruits at this military training camp.

The main training focused on how to use Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, such as flight control, hovering, throwing, returning, and how to arbitrarily modify the drone in an emergency.

After all, even though operating a drone is very simple, not much different from playing a video game, in 2009 it was still considered a high-tech product, especially in an area like Gaza where even televisions are rare.

Therefore, the selected operators were primarily young soldiers, or those relatively familiar with electronic products.

Only in this way could they quickly learn to skillfully operate the drones.

Today would be the final lesson of the training.

“For our deceased loved ones and friends, for our occupied homeland,” the commander’s voice was filled with a roar.

Everyone repeated the sentence, their surging voices reaching the sky.

“Now, depart!” the commander shouted.

Everyone marched with somewhat untidy steps; some carried boxes containing Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, while others carried various ammunition and equipment.

The murderous intent in their eyes spread throughout the camp; this was not merely a simple case of territory being occupied by the enemy, but a nation destroyed and homes lost.

The family or friends of every single one of these soldiers had long ceased to exist; they had to use the enemy's blood to commemorate the souls of their loved ones, and no one could utter the words 'forgive'.

This area, only sixty square kilometers, suffered dozens of tons of falling bombs per square kilometer each year.

Among them, Beit Hanoun, a key combat zone, heard artillery fire almost every moment.

On a rooftop that had been attacked by missiles, now collapsed and abandoned.

Several soldiers were lying prone, concealed behind a wall’s cover.

They stared intently at a target two kilometers ahead: a Merkava MK4 Main Battle Tank. Several soldiers were monitoring the surroundings; anyone attempting to approach the tank would be ruthlessly killed.

“AdanEr, is this thing really useful?” Abbas chewed on plant roots that resembled wild grass, “It doesn’t look like a weapon; it looks more like a child’s toy.”

This plant, called 'Khobiza' by the locals, was the most common food eaten during times of food scarcity.

However, even digging for such wild vegetables carried the risk of being discovered and killed.

If it were a watchtower, it would be fine; they just needed to avoid getting within the city wall's firing range.

But these armored vehicles and tanks roaming in northern Gaza were like nails driven into the heart of Gaza, immobilizing them.

However, could this remote-controlled toy, which AdanEr was operating and could only fly, really be effective?

Abbas harbored doubts; even if a Merkava MK4 tank took a direct hit from an RPG rocket at close range, it would not be enough to penetrate its protective armor.

Upon hearing this.

“Its utility is greater than you imagine.”

AdanEr revealed a mysterious smile: “A brand new concept of warfare; let them have a taste first!”

Having been rigorously trained in 'drone operation' for a week, he was well aware of the powerful capabilities of this seemingly harmless 'toy'.

It could be said that this drone would completely change the entire battlefield's landscape.

He lightly manipulated the thick screen with his finger, and an object with a diameter of thirty to forty centimeters quickly flew several hundred meters into the sky, becoming a sesame-sized black dot.

Under the intense midday sun, it seemed to become invisible in this world, rushing towards the stationary tank at a speed of over ten meters per second.

“This time, it’s the opponent’s turn to experience what an airstrike and a sniper kill feel like,” AdanEr murmured to himself.

Over there.

Inside the Merkava MK4 tank, several soldiers were gathered loosely, resting and chatting.

“It’s a pity I couldn’t bring back a lot of things last time, otherwise I might have made a fortune.”

“You’re so stupid, if you can’t take it, why not burn it all? Discard the food, pour out all the mineral water, and burn down the house.”

“Last time I happened to find a wedding venue and snatched the bride’s diamond necklace; my girlfriend was so happy.”

They occasionally joked and discussed what 'good things' they could bring back from the next raid.

As for surveillance and vigilance? They had long been completely forgotten.

They didn't believe that light weapons could pose any threat to this 'main battle tank' weighing over sixty tons.

Little did they know, thousands of meters up in the sky, a Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was quietly hovering.

“First, hover, then aim the crosshairs at the target,” AdanEr stared intently at the screen, continuously reciting the training mantra.

Finally, after continuously zooming in and clarifying the image.

The crosshairs were aimed directly at the top of the Merkava MK4 tank, which was the most vulnerable part of the tank's armor.

“Drop bomb.”

He pressed a button, and the drone in the sky immediately dropped two bombs with tailfins, which fell in freefall.

‘Boom! Boom!’

Two explosions rang out.

Instantly, in the image, the Merkava MK4 was blown open from above, creating a large hole. The four or five soldiers inside the tank had no time to react and lost their final consciousness in bewilderment.

“One-key return.”

AdanEr entered another command, and the drone hovering in the sky quickly returned along its original flight path.

“AdanEr, I was wrong.”

Abbas’s eyes widened as he looked at this huge success: “This Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is too powerful; it is our true divine weapon.”

One must know that the manufacturing cost of a Merkava MK4 Main Battle Tank is at least four to five million usd.

And how much does this Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle cost? Does it need two to three thousand usd?

“AdanEr, we must report to the leader.”

Abbas’s eyes were filled with excitement: “Continue to heavily purchase these drones; one thousand is far from enough.”

Even if one thousand drones were consumed to destroy one Merkava MK4 Main Battle Tank, it could still be considered a huge profit.

What's more, this only consumed two modified bombs, each costing only tens of usd, to achieve such a brilliant victory!

More drones meant eliminating more enemies.

He couldn't imagine what a magnificent sight it would be once they possessed tens of thousands or even more Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

At this moment.

Another place was experiencing intense conflict.

That was the global stock and futures markets, dominated by carbon fiber composite materials and supplemented by other high-end materials, which were experiencing a terrifying surge.

Since Toray Group announced a reduction in carbon fiber production, the price of carbon fiber had skyrocketed from 30 usd per kg to 70 usd per kg.

The international market for T700, a high-end carbon fiber composite material, surged from 1000 usd per kg to 3800 usd.

The main reasons for this, besides market panic, were the subprime mortgage crisis that occurred in the Eagle Country in recent years, which swept across global capital markets, leading to a cold financial market and a crisis of insufficient liquidity.

And with such a good opportunity this time, many international Capitalists intended to make a big profit to satisfy their insatiable appetites.

As for the price of carbon fiber materials within Da Xia, it completely collapsed, almost skyrocketing by one level every day, with each day bringing a new price.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that this was an action specifically targeting high-end manufacturing projects.

Carbon fiber materials are now aptly described as 'worth more than gold', and various speculators flocked to them.

This eye-catching and frenzied momentum lasted for a full week.

Global capital rushed in, with daily northbound fund inflows reaching new historical highs. These people were all eager to tear off the most succulent 'fat meat'.

On the other side.

LLNL Laboratory main building, rest area.

In the afternoon, Lu Ze was still sitting on his usual sofa.

Today was Friday, and there were two days left until the next replication refresh.

[Achievement Points: 10000.]

[Replication Count: 1 time.] (Refreshes once every Monday.)

'Lucy's 'mystery surprise' will be here next week,' Lu Ze muttered to himself.

He had specifically saved one replication count, just in case two high-level tech items appeared then, and he missed the opportunity to replicate them.

Although partly, he hadn't found anything worth replicating this week.

After all, even though he had been promoted to a D-level Area employee, he was still just a small fry in the LLNL Laboratory, and high-level tech items in the D-level Area were truly few and far between.

One must know that even the receptionist, who usually had a stern face, actually had D-level Area employee authority.

It's clear that this thing has no real value.

To enter some key scientific research project areas, the entry threshold is C-level Area authority, and for global top-tier tech items like lithography machines, only B-level Area authority or above qualifies one for access.

As for what was in the A-level Area, Lucy wasn't quite sure, and Lu Ze couldn't think of what it might be for a while.

Was it nuclear weapons? Or technological items related to the Eagle Country's lifeline?

Just as he was immersed in these thoughts.

Lucy, who was eating snacks next to him, suddenly looked up at him with eyes sparkling: “Lu Ze, I think your snacks taste better.”

“Especially the green powder balls you made last time, they were absolutely delicious, so addictive.”

Ever since she had eaten Lu Ze’s snacks once before, she felt that her former favorite blueberry tarts seemed utterly bland.

Indeed, when it came to food, any province in Da Xia could single-handedly take on the entire world.

Lu Ze twitched his mouth, full of helplessness: “Those are called mung bean cakes, not some green powder.”

What she said didn't sound like a snack at all; it was clearly the drug that many people in Eagle Country liked the most, wasn't it?

"If you like it, I'll buy some raw ingredients this weekend and make some more for you."

As each other's only friends, Lu Ze wouldn't refuse such a thing.

"That's great." Lucy nodded quickly, like a chick pecking rice.

The snack in her mouth was no longer appealing, replaced by the fragrant taste of mung bean cake.

After eating and drinking to their fill.

Lucy casually brought up a topic: "It seems the carbon fiber material market in your Da Xia is experiencing a surge."

"This is probably not a good situation. Now, various international hot money from Wall Street are flocking in."

"Why are you concerned about such things?" Lu Ze was quite curious, how could she even care about such major international events?

"I heard someone talking about it this morning, so that's why I thought of it."

Lucy picked up a milkshake, placed it directly on her chest, and took a few sips.

She had heard many employees in the laboratory discussing this morning whether to participate in this investment feast.

A 200% profit within a week was enough to blind most people.

And this kind of extreme market frenzy, she had only witnessed it on the eve of the financial crisis.

"I believe Da Xia will definitely handle this matter well."

Lu Ze raised a confident smile: "It only needs a little time."

He was very confident, not only because he believed Da Xia would never sit idly by.

More importantly, whether it was T800 or T1000 technical specification carbon fiber composite materials, the detailed complete set of technical research and development data was included in the F22 or B-2 Spirit Bomber technologies he had submitted earlier.

It's just that for large-scale production, there might be some technical difficulties that need to be overcome.

"Oh, in that case, that's good." Lucy let out a long breath.

"What? You seem to hope Da Xia can win this time?" Lu Ze was even more surprised at this point.

Could it be because of him that she would favor Da Xia more?

'That's not right either.' Lu Ze quickly denied it in his heart.

It wasn't that he thought Lucy and his relationship wasn't good enough, but simply that Lucy had never had such a calculating mind.

She always said what she thought in her heart, so how could she consider these reasons?

"I don't hope those Capitalists on Wall Street win."

Lucy pouted and looked at Lu Ze with firm eyes: "And I know Da Xia is a poor developing country, I don't want them to earn huge profits from these poor people."

What if she was an Eagle Country person? Not to mention that Eagle Country is a federal country composed of fifty-one states, and many people have a higher sense of identity with their own state than with the country.

More importantly, what does it have to do with the majority of ordinary Eagle Country people that the ones making money are that group of Capitalists on Wall Street?

They extract profits from the poor in third-world countries around the world and cause various wars and disputes. Lucy wished these people would lose more money.

After all, the more money those Capitalists on Wall Street made, the worse the world became.

Hearing this explanation.

Lu Ze had a different understanding of Lucy. She was not only not calculating, but also kind-hearted.

To be able to view problems objectively and with sympathy from the perspective of the weak, this quality was already very rare.

"This time, I'll make you an extra mung bean cake." Lu Ze playfully flicked her nose.

This definitely needed a good reward.

"Okay!" Lucy was always bad at refusing delicious food.

At this moment, she remembered something: "Oh, by the way, that 'mysterious surprise' at the maintenance center seems to be arriving next Monday."

"I know." Lu Ze nodded, his heart filled with uncontrollable excitement.

After waiting for so long, had this 'mysterious item' finally entered the LLNL Laboratory?

'I hope you don't disappoint me.'

This thing had not revealed a single hint until now. Even Lucy couldn't find out any news, and its secrecy was even higher than that of the previous B-2 Bomber.

How could this not make Lu Ze curious? What level of technological item was it exactly?

'Speaking of which, I should go find that pair of sleeping dragons and phoenixes this weekend.' Lu Ze blinked, thinking to himself.

If he didn't go soon, unexpected changes might occur.

And it had been over a week, so he probably had finished reading those few books, right?

On the other side.

Da Xia was already in the night.

Xia Academy of Sciences, Director's Office.

"Old Zhang, the US stock market still has an hour left before closing."

Zheng Lixing said cheerfully: "The price should not be able to rise any further."

The price of carbon fiber in the international futures market had already risen to 85 usd/kg, and the average delivery price for T700 carbon fiber even exceeded 4500 usd.

As for T800 and T1000 strength specification carbon fiber materials, there was simply no supply on the market even if there was a price.

"How are Shenying Composite Material, Guangwei Material, and Zhongjian Material preparing?" Zhang Yuli asked.

"The production lines are operating at full capacity, and the first batch of goods is all ready."

Zheng Lixing's smile was like a hidden sharp knife: "It's time for us to make our move."

"Then notify them to start full delivery." Zhang Yuli waved his hand: "I want to see whose flesh will be cut."

This time, they not only arranged for Shenying Composite Material, but also mobilized several top carbon fiber material production bases in Da Xia.

Some were responsible for research and production in the high-end market like T800 and T700, while others were mainly responsible for the mid-to-low-end market of T300-T600.

And choosing this time to trade was also because the futures trading market here had already closed, so these Capitals had nowhere to run even if they wanted to.

Now was the time to catch them in the act.

Instantly.

With an order, many carbon fiber material contracts in the international futures market were sold at their highest price.

And the delivery price slid down step by step, 84 usd, 83 usd, breaking below 80 usd in a flash.

As for the prices of mid-to-high-end carbon fiber materials, they instantly plummeted, triggering the circuit breaker mechanism, and the upward trend of the entire rare materials market led by carbon fiber began to fall sharply.

Even the stocks of all carbon fiber-related companies also experienced a round of sharp declines.

"WTF? What happened? Am I dreaming?"

"Just now it was almost breaking through the 86 usd support point, how could this happen?"

"Is this another black swan event? Did something big happen in the carbon fiber field?"

"My money... Why was I just profitable, and now I'm liquidated directly?"

"Goodbye everyone, I'll be waiting for you on the rooftop."

In Wall Street's various hot money and the global futures market, cries of lamentation instantly echoed everywhere.

Don't think that this is just a drop of less than 6%. For conventional stocks, this might be within an acceptable range.

But it must be known that the leverage these people used was calculated at least tenfold.

A 1% drop meant they lost 10%.

A direct drop of more than 10% meant that if most investors did not make additional capital contributions, even if they were forced to close their positions and the goods were delivered, their losses would still be greater than their account balance, which is commonly known as liquidation.

As for a drop of 15% or higher, it meant that they not only lost all their principal but also owed a large sum of money to the futures company, which is 'negative equity.' If it reached this point, then it was only a matter of time before they jumped off the rooftop.

'What exactly is going on?'

This was the first question that appeared in everyone's mind.

Before their questions could linger for a while, a statement jointly issued by many carbon fiber chemical companies in Da Xia instantly spread globally.

[Shenying Composite Material, Guangwei Material, and Zhongjian Material issue a statement.]

[Five thousand-ton carbon fiber production lines are in full operation, and one T800 strength specification thousand-ton production line has been put into production.]

[It is expected to jointly build a ten-thousand-ton carbon fiber production scale within one year, covering low, medium, and high-end markets.]

[Ex-factory price of conventional carbon fiber material: 35 usd/kg.]

[Ex-factory price of T700 grade carbon fiber material: 1500 usd/kg.]

[Ex-factory price of T800 grade carbon fiber material: 3500 usd/kg.]

Looking at this announcement, even the most ordinary futures traders understood.

All contracts on the market were undoubtedly sold by Da Xia, because their ex-factory prices for carbon fiber materials were far lower than the futures prices.

And the selling price was just the original price, so choosing physical delivery at that time would allow them to make huge profits.

Of course, they didn't have time to consider physical delivery, because their funds wouldn't last until then, and they would have to choose to jump off the rooftop and restart.

"No wonder there were no countermeasures... It turns out Da Xia had already planned it out."

An international hot money investor's heart was bleeding: "35 usd, and that's not even their lowest price."

The production cost might be much lower than Toray's, how could they go long? Were they planning to give money to others?

And that group of Capitalists on Wall Street now wished they could directly make Eagle Country levy huge tariffs on these carbon fiber materials from Da Xia.

This was like Da Xia sailing a giant ship to blast open their port and loudly declaring: "Fellow, open the door, free trade!"

My QVNMD free trade, what we Eagle Country people least talk about is 'freedom'!

And we never talk about 'trade principles' either.

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