16: Chapter 16: Brother Zhang called to report that adding to the position had resulted in huge profits!

Lin Chen stared at the unfamiliar number on the screen, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. His fingertip hovered over the answer button, trembling slightly. Was it the voice from the warning call, the one that had been processed? Or was it a new trick from Marcus Guerrero? Or perhaps... something else, even more unknown?

Fear urged him to hang up immediately. But running away wouldn't solve anything. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the answer button with force, pressed the phone tightly to his ear, and held his breath.

"Hello?" His voice was dry, laced with a tension he himself hadn't noticed.

"Kid, it's me, Manager Zhang Yuan."

A gentle, clear voice, carrying a trace of familiar concern, came through the receiver. It instantly felt like a warm current, washing away some of the chill that had congealed around him. Lin Chen's tense shoulders slumped suddenly, and he leaned back against the cardboard box behind him, almost collapsing in relief. It was Manager Zhang Yuan, the Chinese manager who had helped him at the futures company.

"Manager Zhang Yuan?" Lin Chen's voice held a mix of surprise and a barely perceptible relief. "How... how did you get this number?" He instinctively lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping warily over the tightly closed warehouse door.

"I had a friend in Chinatown ask around for me. Took some effort," Manager Zhang Yuan's voice came through the phone. The background seemed a bit noisy, but he spoke quickly, his tone clearly serious. "Hope I'm not disturbing you? There's something urgent. I felt I had to tell you immediately."

"No, no, it's fine. Go ahead, Manager Zhang Yuan." Lin Chen's heart tightened again, his fingers unconsciously gripping the phone tighter.

"Recently... have you been keeping an eye on your futures account? Or have you noticed anything... unusual?" Manager Zhang Yuan's voice dropped even lower, carrying a cautious probing tone.

Lin Chen's heart sank like a stone. The warning about his account being monitored, that bizarre $427.18 transaction, and the terrifying anonymous call just now... Could Manager Zhang Yuan have noticed something too?

"Manager Zhang Yuan, you... have you found something?" Lin Chen's voice tensed up.

"Just this afternoon, a man came to the company's front desk," Manager Zhang Yuan spoke faster. "He wasn't a regular client. Looked... off. Tall and burly, Latino appearance, aggressive. He directly asked to look up information on a client's account. He gave... your name and the general information you left when opening the account."

A Mexican? Tall and burly? The image of Marcus Guerrero's scarred, ferocious face instantly flashed in Lin Chen's mind. Was it him? Or someone he sent? How did they find the futures company? Did Marcus Guerrero not only want the debt repaid but also want to cut off his lifeline at the source?

"He... did he find out anything?" Lin Chen's throat tightened.

"The front desk, of course, didn't give out any specific information as per the rules. They just said they needed authorization from the client himself," Manager Zhang Yuan's voice carried a hint of lingering fear. "But the man was relentless, his words laced with threats. He even tried to force his way in. Security stopped him in the end. By the time I heard the commotion and went over, he was already gone. But I asked around about his appearance... Kid, have you gotten into some trouble lately? Is it... related to that loan shark you mentioned before?"

Manager Zhang Yuan's assessment almost perfectly matched Lin Chen's guess. A chill crawled up his spine again. Marcus Guerrero's reach was longer and more dangerous than he had imagined. They weren't just hunting him on the ground; they were even starting to try and penetrate the virtual financial fortress he had just built.

"Manager Zhang Yuan... Thank you. Thank you for telling me this." Lin Chen's voice trembled slightly, from fear but also from gratitude. In this world full of malice and unknowns, this seemingly accidental connection with Manager Zhang Yuan felt incredibly precious at this moment. "It might... it might be those people. They're pressuring me to repay the debt."

"You have to be extremely careful!" Manager Zhang Yuan's tone intensified. "Those people are capable of anything. Your account has profits now, making you an even bigger target. The market itself hasn't been stable lately either. I've heard there are some unidentified funds stirring up trouble in the crude oil market, specifically targeting retail traders' movements... You must be extra cautious with your trades. Take profits when you can, don't get greedy!"

"I understand, Manager Zhang Yuan. I'll be careful." Lin Chen replied solemnly. Manager Zhang Yuan's reminder, intertwined with his own recent experiences and the AI's warnings, sharpened his awareness of the danger. "By the way, Manager Zhang Yuan, on your end... could there be trouble? Could that man come back for you?"

"Don't worry about me. The company has regulations; he wouldn't dare cause trouble here. It's you I'm worried about. You're out there. You must hide well, don't let them find you." Manager Zhang Yuan paused, his tone softening a bit. "As for the market situation, you judge for yourself. Remember, safety first. If anything seems off, or if you need help, find a way to contact me."

"Okay... Manager Zhang Yuan, thank you so much." A wave of warmth surged in Lin Chen's heart, mingling with the icy sense of crisis.

"Don't mention it. I'll hang up now. Take care of yourself."

The call ended. The warehouse fell back into silence, broken only by Lin Chen's own slightly ragged breathing. The phone screen went dark, but the information from the call buzzed loudly in his mind.

Marcus Guerrero's people had gone to the futures company to investigate him... This meant his "money-making method" might already be exposed, or at least had drawn their attention and suspicion. Offline pursuit combined with potential online surveillance and interference—his situation was worse than he had imagined.

Almost instinctively, he woke the phone again. His fingers, somewhat stiff, tapped open the futures app. The screen lit up, its cold light illuminating his grave face.

When his gaze fell on the curve representing the NYMEX crude oil futures price, his pupils contracted sharply!

In the mere few minutes he had been talking to Manager Zhang Yuan, that curve, as if injected with a powerful stimulant, had shot upward at an almost vertical, jaw-dropping angle in a crazy surge!

Red. His vision was filled with glaring, burning red!

The price numbers refreshed several times per second, each jump carrying a heart-stopping magnitude. 18.50... 18.80... 19.10... 19.50... With almost no pullback, a steep straight line soared into the sky!

[Emergency Market Update!]

[Detected Massive Sudden Buying Pressure!]

[NYMEX Crude Oil Front-Month Contract Price Violently Breaks Out!]

[Current Real-Time Quote: $19.87 per barrel! And Still Rising Rapidly!]

[Upward Momentum Extremely Strong! No Apparent Resistance!]

[Based on Current Positions, Your Floating Profits Are Exploding!]

The AI's cold but accelerated prompt sounded simultaneously in his mind, each word like a drumbeat pounding on his nerves.

Lin Chen stared fixedly at the screen. His initial capital after going all-in, plus the locked-in profits—under this terrifying surge, the numbers representing his total assets and floating profits were spinning wildly like an out-of-control rocket counter!

$20,000...

$30,000...

$40,000...

$50,000!!!

Broken through! Fifty thousand dollars! And it showed no sign of stopping!

A massive, unreal euphoria washed over him like a tidal wave, instantly breaching the dam of worry built by Manager Zhang Yuan's call. His heart slammed wildly in his chest, blood rushed to his head, and a buzzing filled his ears. His fingers grew numb from gripping too hard, his eyes widened to their limit, unblinkingly glued to the string of crimson numbers still leaping and growing on the screen.

Marcus Guerrero, the monitoring warnings, the mysterious call... At this moment, in the face of this visible, crazy wealth appreciation, they all seemed to recede into a distant, blurry background.

Only money! Only these ever-expanding numbers! This was the key to escaping all nightmares! The passport to another world!

He opened his mouth, wanting to laugh, but only a hoarse rasp came out. The muscles in his cheeks twitched slightly from the extreme emotion. Sweat beaded again, but this time from excitement and agitation.

Yet, beneath this overwhelming flood of euphoria, an extremely faint, icy sliver of doubt, like an undercurrent in deep water, silently Slide the depths of his consciousness—

This rally... was it too fierce? Fierce to the point of... being abnormal?

But the next second, that sliver of doubt was utterly crushed by the even higher profit number that refreshed on the screen.

$52,000...

Gasping for breath, his back against the cold wall, he slowly slid down to sit on the floor, his gaze still firmly locked on the phone screen.

Outside the warehouse, the night in Chinatown seemed to deepen. In the distance, the faint clamor of drunks and the sharp sound of a stray cat scraping against a trash can could be heard.

And in this dim warehouse cluttered with miscellaneous items, a young man huddled in a corner, cradling a glowing screen in his hands. On the screen danced numbers powerful enough to change his destiny, and powerful enough to drag him into an even more unfathomable abyss.

The flames of euphoria burned in his eyes, reflecting the string of constantly climbing, bright red like blood numbers.

They also reflected, hidden deep within the pupils, a faint hint of apprehension towards the unknown huge change—a fear even he himself hadn't fully realized.