48: Chapter 48 Bicycle Melee, Another Battle in Finance

On the streets of Magic City, the spring breeze had barely chased away the chill before the city was paved into a colorful ocean by countless shared bikes.

The sky-blue Tianxing Shared Bikes, the yellow Ali bikes, the green Penguin bikes, along with various miscellaneous small brands, were crammed along the sidewalks and bus stops, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The figures of citizens scanning codes to ride were visible everywhere, and the prompts for successful scans occasionally reached their ears; it was incredibly lively.

Chen Mo sat in a roadside coffee shop, watching the chaos outside, his fingertips idly swiping across his phone screen.

At that moment, Zhang Kai's call came in:

"President Chen, have you seen the latest data? Ali and Penguin have dropped their prices again, pushing the deposit down to 199, and they're even offering 'First Month Free Ride'! Our Tianxing Shared Bikes' market share has dropped another two points, now only slightly above 30%!"

"What's the rush?"

Chen Mo took a sip of coffee, his tone flat and unwavering.

"They want to burn money to grab market share, so let them burn. We will proceed at our own pace, expanding production by 100,000 units monthly, keeping the deposit and fees unchanged."

"But if this continues, our share will eventually be swallowed up by them!"

Zhang Kai said.

"Those small brands are even more outrageous, daring to offer deposits of 150, some even zero deposit. They clearly intend to lose money just to make noise and aim to rake in cash from the deposit pool!"

Chen Mo chuckled lightly:

"Raking in cash? That's the extent of their vision."

He put down his coffee cup, looked out at the people busy scanning codes to ride, and said slowly:

"Ali and Penguin are now tied down by shared bikes, throwing all their meager cash flow into this. They can't even manage their funds properly; those small capitals following the trend are even less aware of the risks. By the time they collapse their deposit pools, it will be too late to cry about it."

"Our Tianxing Shared Bikes don't need to compete with them on price or scale. As long as we guarantee the quality of the bikes and ensure deposits can be refunded at any time, we win."

Chen Mo paused, then continued:

"You just focus on monitoring the production line and deposit supervision to prevent any mishaps. Don't worry about the rest."

Although Zhang Kai was still confused, President Chen always had sharp foresight, so he dared not ask more, only responding:

"Understood, President Chen. There will be no quality issues with the bikes on the production line, and the deposits are fully supervised by a state-owned bank; not a single cent can be touched!"

After hanging up, Chen Mo put away his phone, the smile fading from his face.

The shared bike melee on the streets was merely bait he had cast out, intended to tie up Ali and Penguin, leaving them no time for anything else, and also to trap the foreign capital that followed the trend within the immediate small gains.

His real main event had already been quietly laid out before the New Year.

At this moment, it was being pushed forward intensely in a discreet office at the Tianxing Technology headquarters.

After settling the bill, Chen Mo drove straight to the company.

On the top floor of the headquarters, in an office with the curtains tightly drawn, there was none of the bustle from outside, only the cold white light of the desk lamps illuminating twelve focused faces.

This was the overseas macro trading team Chen Mo had specifically assembled—a lineup of top financial talent. There were veteran traders poached from Wall Street, analysts proficient in global exchange rates, and experts skilled in risk control. Each person had two computers in front of them, the screens filled with flickering K-line charts and dense transaction data. The sound of keyboards clicking rose and fell, quiet yet tense.

Chen Mo pushed the door open and walked in. No one looked up until he walked over and sat on the sofa. The team leader, Zhao Yuan, and the risk controller, Zhang Lei, immediately stood up and hurried over.

Zhao Yuan was once a chief foreign exchange trader at JPMorgan Chase. Now, shedding his former flamboyance, he looked respectful:

"President Chen, you're here."

"Mm, tell me the situation."

Chen Mo leaned back on the sofa, twirling his phone with his fingertips, his gaze sweeping over the screens full of data, his tone still flat.

Zhao Yuan pointed to the computer screen beside him, speaking rapidly yet steadily:

"President Chen, as per your instructions, the covert position building for the Japanese Yen has been fully completed without attracting any market attention. We invested 300 million usd in principal, 80% used to buy put options on usd against JPY, with the strike price set in the 90-95 range. These are all out-of-the-money options, so the cost is very low; even if we lose, we only lose the premium. The remaining 20% is used for Yen carry trades: borrowing low-interest Yen, converting it to usd to buy high-yield US bonds and Nikkei ETFs, which hedges against exchange rate fluctuations while also earning a small interest spread."

"The leverage is controlled at 50 times, right within the risk control range you set."

As Zhao Yuan spoke, a hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.

"You have such foresight, President Chen. After Abe was elected at the end of December, he promised unlimited QE and aimed for a 2% inflation target. The Yen has already started weakening, and usd against JPY has slowly climbed up from 77. Our options are now showing unrealized profits, and those profits are continuously expanding."

Zhang Lei, in charge of risk control, added:

"President Chen, rest assured, risk control is absolutely fine on our end. We reserved enough option quotas in advance to avoid subsequent liquidity shortages; simultaneously, we set a strict stop-loss line. As soon as the Yen rebounds by more than 5%, we will immediately close the position to prevent verbal intervention by the Bank of Japan. There will absolutely be no situation where we are liquidated."

Chen Mo nodded slightly, asking no further questions, and turned to look at Li Feng, the analyst in charge of gold trading:

"How is the ambush on the gold side?"

Li Feng immediately pulled up the gold trend chart and walked quickly to Chen Mo's side:

"Reporting to President Chen, everything is proceeding according to your plan! Goldman Sachs started issuing bearish reports since last December, saying the 12-year bull market for gold was over, with a target price of 1200 usd per ounce. We started positioning in early January, investing 150 million usd in principal to buy GLD put options and short positions in New York gold futures. The cost is firmly locked in the 1650-1700 usd per ounce range."

"Leverage is controlled between 10 to 20 times, building the position in three tranches, done very discreetly without attracting the attention of other institutions."

Li Feng continued:

"Furthermore, through secret channels on Wall Street, we obtained advance notice that Goldman Sachs will release even more aggressive bearish reports later, and several large institutions are already secretly building short positions, just waiting for the Federal Reserve to release a signal for QE tapering before they strike together. At that time, the gold price will definitely plummet."

"Good, stay patient."

Chen Mo nodded, his tone calm.

"For this wave in gold, don't be greedy or cling to the position. It should erupt around April. We will add to the position if the gold price breaks below 1500 usd, and close positions in batches if it breaks below 1400. Take profits when you see them; absolutely do not be greedy."

"Yes, President Chen!"

Li Feng quickly responded.

Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment before tentatively speaking up:

"President Chen, regarding Cyprus, the banking crisis you asked us to watch—there are sporadic reports coming out saying they are negotiating deposit-related agreements with the Eurogroup. Should we position ourselves early?"

Chen Mo looked up, his eyes sharp for a moment, but his tone remained steady:

"No rush, wait a little longer."

He leaned back on the sofa and said slowly:

"The Cyprus crisis is a repercussion of the Greek debt crisis, centered on a 'deposit tax.' The news is not yet confirmed. Moving rashly now might alert the enemy prematurely."

"Once the news leaks in mid-March, the market will inevitably panic, and that's when we will strike quickly."

Chen Mo paused, then continued:

"Invest 50 million usd with 20 times leverage, short the Euro against usd futures, and also short Cyprus bank stocks. Enter fast and exit fast; make a profit and run immediately. Absolutely do not hold positions overnight to avoid the risk of the EU bailing them out."

"Understood! We will watch the news closely and definitely not act rashly!"

Zhao Yuan and the others responded in unison, their respect for Chen Mo deepening.

They were all veterans of the financial sector, having seen countless master traders, but none were like Chen Mo, who grasped the global macro trends with such precision:

From Yen devaluation to the major drop in gold, and then to the Cyprus banking crisis—every time node and every operational detail had been planned out clearly in advance, as if he could foresee the future.

Only Chen Mo himself knew that he wasn't predicting the future; he was merely using the memories from his past life to catch every opportune moment in the global financial markets.

Coupled with his Master-level investment skills, it was truly like a fish in water!

The shared bike melee on the streets was just a setup he used to disrupt his opponents' rhythm and consume their capital;

The three waves of financial trades involving the Yen, gold, and Cyprus were what he truly intended to execute.

Investing 500 million usd in principal, leveraging it 50 times to control a scale of 25 billion, primarily targeting the Yen, supplemented by gold, and rapid arbitrage in Cyprus, the total expected return could reach 1.5 to 2 billion usd, equivalent to over ten billion RMB.

This amount, while not enough for his subsequent plans in electric vehicles and high-end manufacturing,

However, there would be opportunities for further financial operations later; he could just earn another sum then!

He just needed to operate carefully, ensuring he wasn't targeted!

Chen Mo looked at Zhao Yuan and instructed:

"The fund splitting must be done properly. Don't put all the money with one broker; spread it across various domestic and international brokers, layer the insulation several times over. As long as it isn't discovered before we finish, it will be fine. Simultaneously, reserve 20% in cash to cope with extreme volatility, preventing a potential coordinated attack from Wall Street and avoiding regulatory attention."

"President Chen, rest assured, it has already been split up!"

Zhao Yuan quickly replied.

"We placed a portion of the funds with each investment bank. The risk control team monitors the market 24 hours a day. If there is any abnormality, we will call you immediately to report; there will absolutely be no oversight."

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction, stood up, walked to the window, gently pulled the curtain open slightly, looked outside, and a faint smile curved his lips.

Chen Mo now only controlled the general direction; the rest was handled by the autonomous trading team.