589: Chapter 589 The Endgame and its Outcome

The next morning, before the A-share market opened, Hengchuan Machinery's overnight buy orders hitting the daily limit had exceeded 1 million lots, with a sealing price of 9.25 yuan, involving capital exceeding 1 billion yuan; market bullish sentiment was at an unprecedented high.

At the split second the market opened at 9:30 AM, Hengchuan Machinery's stock price was instantly locked at the daily limit by massive buy orders, the price of 9.25 yuan remaining motionless.

In the secondary market, buy orders for Hengchuan Machinery were already very scarce, and even if they appeared, they could not shake the massive volume of limit-up orders.

However, Secretary Lin Wentao and his associates had not yet given up. An hour after the market opened, a large number of municipal media outlets and several financial self-media accounts that had previously taken ambiguous stances launched a coordinated attack, as if by prior arrangement.

Headlines such as "Hengchuan Machinery's Exclusive Agreement Questioned, 8 Billion Yuan Procurement May Be Just Paper Wealth" and "Deep Blue Semiconductor's Timing for Increasing Holdings Suspicious, Regulatory Investigation Points Directly to Insider Trading" flooded the headlines of major financial sections, and the comment sections were left in a chaotic mess by paid trolls.

Meanwhile, a so-called "screenshot of an internal document" began circulating online, claiming that the China Securities Regulatory Commission's enforcement division had obtained evidence of Hengchuan Machinery and Deep Blue Semiconductor engaging in non-arm's length transactions disguised as arm's length ones.

It even hinted that Chu Qianlan had used the complex equity structure of the "Xinghai Group" to effectively control the board of directors of Hengchuan Machinery, and that the so-called "exclusive supply" was nothing more than a financial game of shifting assets from his left hand to his right.

For a moment, the market, which had just ignited with confidence, wavered once again.

"Why does this drama keep getting bigger? If there really is insider trading, wouldn't this 8 billion yuan contract just be worthless paper?"

"Don't panic! CEO Chu has never fought a battle he wasn't prepared for. This is obviously someone getting desperate, a final counterattack before they die!"

"The key is to see if the China Securities Regulatory Commission speaks up. If there were really clues of violations, they would have issued a notice long ago. Relying on media rumors right now doesn't have much credibility."

"The man is one of the richest people with assets in the hundreds of billions; he wouldn't ruin his own reputation just to harvest us retail investors!"

Although most retail investors remained bullish on Hengchuan Machinery, a large number of retail investors and institutions still began to cancel their orders.

However, those who actually sold their shares were few and far between.

By 11:00 AM, although no one was dumping the stock, the limit-up orders had dwindled to just over 20 million shares.

Five minutes before the midday break, a massive wave of sell orders suddenly appeared, instantly devouring all the buy orders. Hengchuan Machinery's stock price plummeted like a kite with a broken string, diving straight down from 9.25 yuan to 8.82 yuan in a mere three minutes, a drop of over 5%.

In the short-selling firm's trading room, the traders stared at the sell order data on their screens, their faces full of excitement: "It worked! Retail investors are starting to panic and cancel their orders; our chips have finally been dumped in!"

"Keep short-selling! Use the momentum to smash the stock price to the daily limit, and completely dismantle the bullish confidence!" the leader roared, fingers hammering furiously on the keyboard as sell orders corresponding to the remaining funds poured out continuously.

The stock forum fell into chaos once again, the sentiment that had just stabilized instantly torn apart:

"Why is it being dumped again! Who on earth is selling?"

"A surprise attack right before noon—is this a dump or a shakeout?"

"Is the internal document circulating online real? Could there really be insider trading?"

"Should we run first? What if it hits the daily limit-down again?"

"Someone is offloading chips, this is our chance to get on board! Charge, charge, charge!"

The stock price continued to fall, and sell orders poured out like a tidal wave. By the time Chu Qianlan paid attention, the market was already closed for the midday break.

Yet even so, the internet did not quiet down. Many institutions struck while the iron was hot, releasing inflammatory reports warning of a "Hengchuan Machinery Limit-Down."

Paid trolls flooded stock forums and social media platforms with false messages like "Internal Document Confirmed" and "Data Disclosure Fraud," even forging screenshots of brokerage risk control alerts, claiming that "Hengchuan Machinery may face delisting risks."

All these statements were intended to mislead retail investors and institutions, causing them to lose confidence in Hengchuan Machinery.

However, Chu Qianlan had already laid out his countermeasure.

At exactly 1:00 PM, as soon as the market reopened in the afternoon, Tianxiong Technology and Deep Blue Semiconductor entered the market simultaneously, placing orders directly at the limit-up price and violently driving the stock price up.

In less than two minutes, the two companies purchased 25 million shares, pulling the stock price directly to the daily limit and sealing the market with 100 million shares.

In the short-selling firm's trading room, the previously excited atmosphere instantly froze. The traders stared at the dense wall of buy orders on their screens, their fingertips trembling helplessly on the keyboards.

They no longer dared to easily offload their remaining short-selling chips; once dumped, they would only be easily absorbed by the other side, merely increasing their own losses.

"We don't have enough capital! Our chips are exhausted, we can't possibly eat through the limit-up orders!" a trader said, his voice hoarse and his eyes filled with despair.

The leader clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, saying grimly, "Contact the brokerage, keep adding leverage for short-selling! Even if we can't break it, we have to reduce the volume of limit-up orders and create the illusion for the market that there is still room to resist!"

"But our funds are already stretched thin; we've even lost all our previous profits! If we continue to short Hengchuan Machinery, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for us to get out unscathed," one trader warned.

In the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee office, Secretary Lin Wentao watched the real-time stock price, his face so dark it could drip water.

The 100 million shares locked at the limit meant at least 900 million yuan in capital was tied up, while the available funds of their institutions were less than 200 million yuan; they were simply powerless to shake it.

"What about the municipal media reports? What about the narrative being pushed by the paid trolls? Why haven't they had any effect!" Secretary Lin Wentao slammed the table, scattering files all over the floor.

Wang Jinsong replied, covered in cold sweat, "Chu Qianlan is also guiding public opinion on his side. StarChat and Feiyu Forum are flooded with topics like 'Tianxiong Technology + Deep Blue Semiconductor Jointly Protecting the Market' and '8 Billion Yuan Procurement Agreement as a Safety Net.' Our reports are being rapidly diluted, and the trolls can't gain any traction!"

What made them even more desperate was that Hengchuan Machinery released a supplementary announcement after the midday break, disclosing key terms of the 8 billion yuan procurement agreement with Deep Blue Semiconductor, including core details such as annual supply volume, quality acceptance standards, and payment cycles, shattering the "paper wealth" accusations with ironclad proof.

This announcement was like the final straw, completely crushing the market's confidence in short-selling.

By 2:00 PM, the limit-up orders for Hengchuan Machinery exceeded 150 million shares, with a capital scale of over 1.4 billion yuan.

More and more retail investors and institutions realized that the outcome of this game had been decided, and they began to frantically place orders in line to buy, hoping to get a slice of the pie.

The short-selling firm's traders slumped in their chairs, their eyes filled with defeat.

They knew very well that with the entry of Tianxiong Technology and Deep Blue Semiconductor into the battlefield, the short-selling forces had been completely defeated.

At this point, what they needed to consider was no longer whether they could smash Hengchuan Machinery's stock price down, but how to return the borrowed shares in their hands and minimize their losses. Otherwise, they would continue to lose their principal for the foreseeable future.