123: Chapter 123 Ella's Counterattack, John Suffers a Setback

Ella's fingers flew, typing on the keyboard incessantly.

The cold keyboard felt like the sharpest weapon under her fingertips; every keystroke landed precisely on the critical nodes of Microsoft's stock price, without the slightest hesitation.

The jumping green numbers on the screen were no longer prey for John to slaughter, but instead became the sharp blade of her counterattack, following the loopholes left by his previous market-crashing tactics, slowly gnawing away at the suppressed stock price space.

There was not a hint of panic in her eyes, only a cold, steely certainty. Her fingers didn't slow down for a second as she fired off a series of counter-trading commands, forcefully twisting the short-selling trap John had laid into a cage that would imprison him instead.

A cold smile slowly curled at the corners of her mouth. Her voice was so soft that only she could hear it, yet it carried a fierce ruthlessness: "John, you dare to play games with me?"

As she finished speaking, another set of critical commands was finalized. The stock price curve, which had been dipping slightly, suddenly showed a sharp upward rebound, like a sleeping beast suddenly opening its eyes, tearing through the defensive line John had set up.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious office on Wall Street where the atmosphere was currently suffocatingly tense, John stared fixedly at the trading screen in front of him. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists so tightly, and the composure on his face had long since vanished without a trace.

Just a moment ago, he was pleased that his market-crashing tactics were working, that Microsoft's stock price was continuing to fall, and that Chenxing Investment was destined for total defeat. But in just a few short minutes, the market had suddenly reversed. A hidden yet powerful buying force had quietly entered the market, precisely catching all the chips he had dumped, not only preventing the stock price from falling further but instead causing it to steadily rise.

"What is going on?!" John slammed his hand onto his desk, the force causing his leather chair to slide backward by half a meter. His subordinates in the office were all trembling like cicadas in winter; no one dared to look up at his furious expression.

He stared at the curve rising against the trend on the screen, his pupils suddenly constricting. He realized in an instant—it wasn't a spontaneous market rebound; someone was counter-trading. It was Ella!

That woman he had never taken seriously was actually using the loopholes left by his market-crashing tactics to turn around and pull the stock price up, returning his own tactics to him in full!

"A bunch of losers! What are you looking at?!" John turned and roared at the trading team behind him, his voice making the office glass tremble slightly. "Increase the funding! Crash the market with everything we've got! We cannot lose! I absolutely cannot lose to that woman!"

The traders didn't dare to delay and hurriedly followed his instructions to add more funds, attempting to suppress the stock price again. However, the speed at which they injected funds was nowhere near the strength of Ella's counter-trading. The opponent's operations were too tricky; every step pinched their weak points, like a venomous snake constricting their throats, leaving them unable to catch their breath.

John's impatience completely overwhelmed his reason. His originally meticulous trading strategy was in chaos. He only cared about frantically throwing money at the problem to remedy it, forgetting to calculate costs or examine the true state of the market. He was like a trapped beast pushed to the brink, left with nothing but unorganized roaring and reckless actions.

Meanwhile, inside Chenxing Investment, the scene was completely different.

Lin Chen sat in the main seat, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop. His rhythm was steady, and his aura was as calm as a stabilizing anchor, firmly steadying the minds of the entire trading team.

The screen in front of him displayed the real-time trend of Microsoft's stock price. Watching the curve gradually climb upward, he had no extra expression on his face, yet he carried an air of oppressive control over the entire situation.

The previously hanging hearts of the employees beside him began to settle bit by bit as the stock price recovered. Their tense shoulders gradually relaxed, and their eyes, looking at the screen, held a glimmer of hope. The frustration of being suppressed by John finally had an outlet.

"Mr. Lin, Ms. Ella's counter-trading is working. The stock price has stabilized and is still rising slightly!" the assistant couldn't help but report, their voice filled with unconcealable excitement.

Lin Chen nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Chen Xi beside him. His tone was calm but carried an unquestionable directive: "Chen Xi, prepare the lawsuit materials."

Chen Xi nodded immediately, the documents in her hand already organized. Her eyes were sharp: "Don't worry, Mr. Lin. I have already secured all the evidence of John's illegal trading. As soon as he dares to take any more extreme actions, the lawsuit documents can be submitted immediately, making him pay the price."

"Very good." Lin Chen turned and looked at Jack, "Coordinate with your connections, get a few reliable investment firms in the industry to come forward and testify, and confirm the fact that John is engaging in malicious trading. Don't hold back."

Jack responded and left, his efficiency extremely high. Every one of Lin Chen's instructions landed precisely on the critical points; he didn't just want to beat John on the market, but also wanted to completely cut off any possibility of John's counterattack through legal and industry rules.

Throughout Chenxing Investment, everyone performed their duties, the rhythm was orderly, forming a sharp contrast with the chaos on John's side. Lin Chen sat in the midst of it all, his every word determining the direction of the battle, his aura fully unleashed, putting everyone at ease.

On the market, the trend of Microsoft's stock price became increasingly clear.

Ella's counter-trading pressed step by step. The funds John added were like stones sinking into the ocean; not only did they fail to suppress the stock price, but they actually became an aid in driving it higher. Every cent the stock price rose was cutting into John's flesh, causing the capital he had previously invested to shrink continuously, and the amount of his losses expanded at a visible rate.

The green figures showing the gains were exceptionally glaring on the screen. The roars in John's office came one after another, from the initial fury, gradually turning into desperate, frantic yelling, and then to later exhaustion. The atmosphere in the office was suffocating to the extreme; no one dared to make a single unnecessary sound.

He stared fixedly at the screen, watching his funds drain away, watching the stock price not only fail to fall but instead rise slightly against the trend. His heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and even breathing became difficult.

He couldn't figure out how his meticulously planned market-crashing scheme could be so easily broken by Ella, and how he had even been counter-maneuvered, ending up in such a passive position.

And this silent slaughter occurring on the US stock market had already quietly attracted the attention of the investment circle.

In the trading rooms of several top investment firms, many senior investors were staring at Microsoft's stock price trend, their eyes full of surprise and curiosity. This sudden battle between long and short positions was fierce, with sharp tactics and rapid reversals. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a fierce game between two sides of capital, but no one expected that the side that had originally held the upper hand would be completely countered in such a short time.

In industry discussion groups, people had already started quietly speculating, guessing the identities of the two parties in this trading war, and wondering who the final winner would be. The sporadic discussions, like sparks, quietly spread through the investment circle, becoming a little foreshadowing that no one knew about yet.

Inside Chenxing Investment, everyone looked at the continuously rising Microsoft stock price and finally let out a complete sigh of relief, smiles appearing on their faces for the first time in a long while. In this tough battle where they had been suppressed by John, they had finally turned the tide, and they had won cleanly and efficiently.

Ella stopped her fingers from typing on the keyboard and looked at the results on the screen. The coldness in her eyes had not yet faded, replaced only by a profound sense of certainty in her victory. She did not show the slightest leniency; trading was inherently a life-or-death game. Being kind to the enemy was being cruel to oneself—she understood this better than anyone.

Meanwhile, in the Wall Street office, John looked at the final loss data, his entire body frozen in place.

In a short period, he had lost ten million in funds. The capital he had invested had gone down the drain; his market-crashing plan had failed completely, and instead, he had been counter-slaughtered by Ella, left in utter defeat.

The ten million in losses weighed on his heart like a thousand-pound boulder.

John slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, completely blinded by desperation.