25: Chapter 25 A Huge Bargain! Three Demolition Compensation Apartments for Only 12,000 Yuan

Lin Chen's eyes suddenly narrowed as the ominous premonition in his heart was instantly confirmed. He quickly answered the phone, his voice remaining steady, though his speaking rate was much faster: "Manager Zhang Yuan, speak clearly, what's the situation?"

"Someone is smashing the market! Malicious short-selling!" Manager Zhang Yuan's voice on the other end was urgent and breathless. "Oil prices have suddenly plummeted, dropping nearly three points already, and it's still being hammered down! Check your positions immediately!"

"Understood, thanks." Lin Chen's voice was cold and concise as he hung up immediately. His phone screen instantly switched back to the futures interface. The red line that had represented a massive surge was now plunging like a cliffside. Piercing green numbers flickered constantly, and the profit figures in his account were shrinking rapidly.

"Brother Chen, what's wrong?" Li Wei noticed Lin Chen's expression was off and quickly leaned in. Seeing the sea of miserable green on the screen, his face turned pale as well.

"Someone has made a move." Lin Chen's gaze was like ice as he stared intently at the market board. His fingertips slid rapidly across the screen, pulling up real-time data and in-depth analysis. An AI prompt popped up almost simultaneously, cold and precise: [Abnormal concentrated selling of large orders detected; suspected institutional market manipulation. Short-term Support Level has been broken; downward pressure is immense. Suggestion: Immediately reduce positions or lock positions to avoid further risk.]

"Then what should we do? Should we sell quickly?" Li Wei's voice was tight, and sweat broke out on his forehead. He had just witnessed how Lin Chen made a fortune, and in the blink of an eye, they were facing massive losses; the disparity made his heart race.

Lin Chen didn't answer immediately. He pursed his lips tightly, his mind racing. The AI's suggestion was to avoid risk, but selling everything now would not only mean giving back most of the profit he had just locked in, but he might even go from profit to loss. Furthermore, this market crash was coming too fast and too hard; it didn't seem like normal market fluctuation, but more like... it was aimed at him?

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced toward the alley entrance—the two figures under Marcus were gone, but the feeling of being watched hadn't completely vanished. The sniper-like attack in the futures market and the spying by Marcus's lackeys in reality occurring at the same time—was it merely a coincidence?

"We can't sell everything," Lin Chen finally spoke, his voice low but carrying a resolute decisiveness. "Panic selling now would play right into their hands." His fingers tapped rapidly; instead of closing his positions, he operated quickly to establish a set of reverse hedging Short Orders while setting an extremely narrow stop-loss for his remaining Long Positions.

"Brother Chen, you're..." Li Wei watched, dazzled and confused, not understanding what Lin Chen was doing.

"Hedging risks to preserve the spark." Lin Chen explained briefly, his gaze not leaving the screen for a second. Establishing reverse Short Orders could reduce losses if oil prices continued to crash, while a narrow stop-loss would protect the last bit of principal and prevent a Margin Call before the situation completely deteriorated. This was a dance on the edge of a blade, requiring extremely precise judgment and cold execution.

The numbers on the screen were still jumping, and losses were expanding, but the hedging orders also began to generate slight profits, slowing the rate at which the overall account funds were shrinking. A layer of fine cold sweat broke out on Lin Chen's forehead, but his hand holding the phone was as steady as a rock.

Uncle Zhao also saw that something was wrong and asked in a low voice, "Kid Chen, is there a problem with the futures? Is it serious?"

"It's a bit of trouble, but I can handle it." Lin Chen didn't even look up, his gaze rapidly scanning between the phone screen and the distant alley entrance. "Uncle Zhao, Li Wei, we can't stay here long. The house matter is settled; let's leave first."

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, his other hand tightly gripping the House Agreement he had just acquired, which was still dusty. The cold touch of the paper and the dangerous numbers jumping on the screen formed a strange contrast.

"Let's go." Lin Chen stopped looking at the screen that was still a piercing green. He turned first, heading deeper into a more secluded alley in the opposite direction from which they had come. Uncle Zhao and Li Wei exchanged a glance and immediately followed.

After walking a few steps, Lin Chen paused slightly and whispered to Li Wei, "Li Wei, contact The Homeowner tomorrow. Be sure to keep a low profile and complete the transfer as soon as possible. Also, keep an eye out for me on whether there's any other movement from Marcus's side."

"Understood, Brother Chen!" Li Wei nodded heavily.

The three figures quickly vanished into the depths of the Slum District's intricate and dim alleys. In the distance, the faint clamor of Chinatown could still be heard, while nearby, there was only the whimpering of the wind blowing through broken window frames and the continuous, yet deliberately ignored, slight vibration of a phone in someone's pocket, representing the violent turbulence of the market.