184: Chapter 184: Obtaining Money-Making Skills Helps Ye Ziming Successfully Get Out of Trouble

"What the hell, what's going on?" Hearing the System's notification that the mission was complete, Qin Yi raised an eyebrow, secretly surprised. Immediately after, Qin Yi put down his chopsticks, quickly picked up his phone from the side, lit up the screen, and eagerly wanted to check if there was any news about Hongtai Construction on the internet.

Sure enough, as soon as Qin Yi clicked into the Toutiao App, it was as if Toutiao could read his mind, continuously pushing several pieces of the latest news regarding Hongtai Construction.

'Press Conference | Magic City Establishes Joint Investigation Team to Enter Hongtai Construction'

'China Securities Regulatory Commission | Announcement Regarding the Suspension of Hongtai Construction Co., Ltd.'s Listing'

'Breaking News! Chairman of Proposed Listed Company Hongtai Construction Tragically Dies in Car Accident Early This Morning; Can His Only Son Inherit Control?'

...

Seeing these news headlines, Qin Yi's pupils constricted slightly. He clicked into them one by one and read them carefully, his facial expression changing with the content he read, at times grave, at times relieved.

At this moment, Wang Tengfei, sitting opposite him, looked at Qin Yi's appearance and was filled with curiosity, unable to help asking: "Number Four, you've stopped eating your meal, what are you looking at? So engrossed?" As he spoke, he stretched his neck, wanting to sneak a peek at the content on Qin Yi's phone.

Qin Yi glanced at him, a mysterious smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He pointed to the phone Wang Tengfei had placed to the side and said: "Search for Hongtai Construction, and you'll know why I'm so engrossed."

"So mysterious," Wang Tengfei's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. He muttered to himself, then impatiently picked up his phone, opened the browser, and entered the four characters "Hongtai Construction" into the search bar. Immediately after, dozens of news items about Hongtai Construction appeared on the browser like a waterfall.

"Holy crap!" Looking at these news headlines, Wang Tengfei couldn't help but exclaim, "Wang Hao, that kid, is completely finished this time." While scrolling through his phone screen and browsing the news, he frowned and continued: "Hey, look, this article says that in order to go public, Wang Hao's dad previously sought out investment institutions in Hong Kong Island and even signed a valuation adjustment mechanism agreement with them. Once Hongtai Construction's listing fails, the equity under his dad's name will have to be pledged to the investment institutions."

Qin Yi nodded, as if he had known this outcome all along, and replied calmly: "It's normal. Investment institutions aren't stupid; who would do a money-losing business?"

Wang Tengfei continued to scroll through the phone screen. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, as if he had seen some incredible information again. "Hey, look at this comment," he said, pointing to a comment on the screen, continuing, "It says that many of Hongtai Construction's projects are done with Advanced funding, and two bank loans are due by the end of the month. If they can't pay them back, Hongtai Construction will likely face the risk of a broken capital chain and bankruptcy... Tsk, tsk, tsk, the person who commented this is either from the bank or from inside Hongtai Construction. Otherwise, how would they know about Hongtai Construction's loans being due soon..."

Qin Yi watched Wang Tengfei's certain demeanor and couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He didn't reply, but silently issued a command to the System in his heart: "System, introduce the special skill just rewarded by the mission—'Financial Prophet'."

[Ding! Replying to the Host, the 'Financial Prophet' skill allows the Host to gain insight into the subtle changes in the financial market and predict the trends of financial products such as stocks and futures. This skill is divided into five levels: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced, Top-tier, and Divine-Grade. Elementary can predict the trends of stocks, futures, and other financial products within the next 1 hour. The higher the level, the greater the time span that can be predicted.]

"This skill is definitely a money-printing Divine Artifact." Although the Elementary Financial Prophet can only predict trends for the next hour, in Qin Yi's view, that was enough. After all, even the stock market legend God Ba once admitted that no one could accurately predict the short-term fluctuations of the stock market unless they held inside information.

However, the trading System of the Dragon Country's financial market implements T+1, which means that what is bought on the same day needs to wait until the second trading day to be sold. For Qin Yi, who can only predict trends for one hour, this undoubtedly increased the risk. But, besides the domestic market, Qin Yi could completely choose the stock markets of Hong Kong Island, or the United States, Island Country, or Europe. Those financial markets are more mature, and the T+0 trading System gives Qin Yi greater room for operation and lower risk.

Thinking this, Qin Yi's heart stirred, and a cunning smile appeared on his face. He looked up at Wang Tengfei and found that the other party was still focused on the news on his phone and had not noticed his abnormality. Qin Yi had a plan in mind; he immediately picked up his phone and opened the securities trading App on it.

At this moment, it was already nine o'clock in the morning. Hong Kong Island stocks had just opened, and they were still in the warm-up stage of centralized bidding. Real trading would have to wait another half hour.

Just as he was looking at the securities trading App on his phone to pick stocks, a familiar greeting suddenly came to his ears: "Young Master Qin, you're up really early."

Qin Yi looked up and saw Ye Ziming standing by the table, smiling, with a tray in his hand.

A warm smile instantly appeared on Qin Yi's face. He set his phone aside for the moment and greeted him warmly: "Young Master Ye, you've come over too? Come on, sit down, let's eat together."

Wang Tengfei, opposite him, saw this and hurriedly put down his own phone, curiously sizing up the newcomer.

Ye Ziming smiled and sat down beside Qin Yi, placing the tray on the table. He turned his gaze to Wang Tengfei and nodded slightly in greeting: "Hello, I am Ye Ziming. We met at the hotel last night, but you might not have much of an impression."

Wang Tengfei scratched his head and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Uh, hello, hello, Wang Tengfei. I did drink a bit too much last night, and I can't remember many things clearly. Sorry about that."

"Haha, it's alright." Ye Ziming laughed heartily, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Qin Yi's phone screen, his eyes suddenly lighting up: "Young Master Qin plays the stock market too?"

Qin Yi smiled sheepishly and nodded, replying: "Yeah, just playing around, nothing serious."

"Oh? Is that so?" A flash of keen light crossed Ye Ziming's eyes, and he asked with great interest: "Then, Young Master Qin, have you taken a fancy to any stocks recently? Maybe we can exchange some insights together."

Qin Yi was slightly taken aback, then smiled: "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. I've been quite busy recently and haven't had much time to follow the stock market. See, I just got some free time today and opened the software to see how the market is doing, and it just so happened that Young Master Ye saw it."

"Hahaha, then I'll be bold enough to recommend a stock to Young Master Qin." Confidence flashed in Ye Ziming's eyes as he continued: "I've been tracking this stock recently, and its trend is quite good. If Young Master Qin is interested, you might as well invest a little to test the waters. Let me tell you, this stock is super Heaven-Defying; it has been soaring continuously for the past few months, nearly ten-fold."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yi's heart stirred, but on the surface, he calmly asked with a smile: "Oh? Which stock is so impressive?"

"Shengneng Group in the Hong Kong Island stock market. Young Master Qin, you have to take a look at this." Ye Ziming took out his phone, lit up the screen, and pointed to the trend chart of Shengneng Group's stock displayed on the screen for Qin Yi to see. His eyes were full of excitement as he continued: "This stock has been soaring for three consecutive months. The stock price has surged all the way from 3.76 Hong Kong dollars by 463%, and it has now reached 21.15 Hong Kong dollars. My investment manager estimates it will rise to 30 Hong Kong dollars!"

"Is that so? So Heaven-Defying? It seems Young Master Ye has made quite a bit." As Qin Yi said this, he operated the mobile App a couple of times and pulled up that stock.

Ye Ziming couldn't help but lean in. His finger traced across the K-line chart on Qin Yi's phone screen, his face showing a bit of smugness and pride: "See, Young Master Qin, I wasn't bragging, right? This stock's upward trend is like a rainbow; it has never fallen."

Qin Yi's eyebrows raised. He muttered to himself: This rise is too outrageous, right? Could it be that the market maker is preparing to harvest the leeks? Thinking of this, he calmly commanded the System in his heart: "System, activate the 'Financial Prophet' skill."

Immediately, a "ding" sound rang in his mind, and a faint layer of light screen appeared in Qin Yi's eyes. His gaze looked at the mobile App again, and at the same time, the K-line chart of that stock appeared on the light screen before his eyes, with the timeline extended to the next hour.

Qin Yi watched the constantly changing K-line chart. Five minutes later, the stock price climbed from 21.15 Hong Kong dollars to 22.15 Hong Kong dollars. Ten minutes later, it pulled up again to 23.10 Hong Kong dollars. However, this upward momentum did not last long; immediately after, the stock began to fall sharply. Under Qin Yi's current Elementary Prophet level, he could only foresee the trend for the next hour, but even so, that steep downward curve was enough to make one's heart tremble.

Qin Yi's eyebrows knitted together involuntarily, and a grave expression appeared on his face simultaneously. Ye Ziming noticed the abnormality in Qin Yi's expression, gave a light cough, and asked curiously: "Young Master Qin, what's wrong? Is there a problem with this stock?"

"Uh," Qin Yi came back to his senses. He looked up at Ye Ziming, a complex look flashing in his eyes, wondering whether or not to tell him. After pondering for a moment, Qin Yi gave a light cough and asked tentatively: "Young Master Ye, you've bought quite a lot of this stock, haven't you?"

"Hehe, yeah, I bought in when it was 8 Hong Kong dollars, and I bought over 6,000 lots." Ye Ziming laughed smugly, "Young Master Qin, how about you get some too? This stock definitely has potential."

Qin Yi took a deep breath, looked into Ye Ziming's eyes, and said seriously: "Young Master Ye, to tell you the truth, I studied finance. According to my judgment, this stock's trend is very abnormal. I estimate that 23 dollars might be its peak; once it passes this peak, this stock is likely to plummet."

Regarding Qin Yi's warning, Ye Ziming didn't care much. He smiled and replied: "Ups and downs, ups and downs; there are ups and there are downs, it's normal, right? As long as it's rising in the long run, it's fine."

"Cough," Qin Yi gave another light cough, looked at Ye Ziming, and said with a serious expression: "Young Master Ye, I'm not joking. I advise you to quickly sell it at the high point. This stock really has a lot of problems. If you don't sell in time, I'm afraid it will really crash in your hands."

Seeing that Ye Ziming didn't seem to believe Qin Yi's words too much, Wang Tengfei, who was on the side, couldn't help but interject. He raised an eyebrow and advised with a serious attitude: "Young Master Ye, I think you should listen to Number Four."

"Number Four?" Ye Ziming was stunned, clearly feeling unfamiliar with this form of address.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce you." Wang Tengfei patted his forehead, showing a slightly awkward smile, "Number Four is Qin Yi. We are college classmates and brothers in the same dorm. Number Four is a genius in his major; he sits firmly on the throne of first place in the department every year. If he says this stock has a problem, then it's basically a done deal."

"Really?" Ye Ziming's gaze turned to Qin Yi, carrying a bit of verification in his eyes.

"Hehe, it's not as exaggerated as Fatty says." Qin Yi met Ye Ziming's gaze and continued: "Young Master Ye, I suggest you don't wait until the last moment. To be safe, when the stock price rises to 22 dollars, you should sell it all."

Seeing that Qin Yi's expression was serious and he didn't seem to be joking with him, Ye Ziming felt a stir in his heart. He immediately took out his phone, found the stock agent's number, dialed it, and pressed the speakerphone button: "Hello, when Shengneng Group's stock rises to 22 dollars, sell it all for me!"

On the other end of the phone, a man's voice with a heavy Hong Kong-accented Mandarin came over, full of confusion: "Mr. Ye, but according to our predictions, Shengneng Group's stock has very strong momentum. Selling at 22 dollars is too much of a loss, right?"

Ye Ziming didn't answer immediately, but turned to look at Qin Yi, his eyes seeking advice. Qin Yi shook his head slightly and said softly but firmly: "If you don't sell, that's when you'll really lose money."

"Okay, I believe you!" Ye Ziming took a deep breath, cast a trusting look at Qin Yi, and at the same time, emphasized his tone to the person on the other end of the phone: "I order you, as soon as the stock price reaches 22 dollars, sell everything immediately, do you understand?"

"Uh, understood!" The person on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned by Ye Ziming's decision. Before the call was even hung up, a series of sounds of dialing and keyboard tapping could already be heard from over there, clearly in the midst of urgently processing Ye Ziming's order.

...

Time ticked away, second by second, and the surrounding air seemed to be filled with an atmosphere of tension and anticipation. At 9:30, the Hong Kong Island stock market officially opened, and Shengneng Group's stock price, like a wild horse off the leash, began to climb rapidly.

21.15, 21.23, 21.36... The stock price kept jumping. Unknowingly, Qin Yi, Wang Tengfei, and Ye Ziming had squeezed together from their sitting-opposite state. Qin Yi was sandwiched between the two, and all three pairs of eyes were fixed on the K-line chart on Qin Yi's phone.

Five minutes passed, and Shengneng Group's stock price, just as predicted by Qin Yi's System before, broke through the 22-yuan mark and reached 22.15. At this moment, Ye Ziming's phone suddenly rang. Ye Ziming gave a start and quickly answered the call, his voice revealing an unconcealable nervousness.

"Mr. Ye, the 6,250 lots of Shengneng Group stock you held have all been successfully sold at the price of 22 dollars according to your instructions, with a total profit of 8,750,000 yuan." The stock agent's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Okay, I got it." Ye Ziming hung up the phone and let out a long breath. He looked at the K-line still stubbornly climbing on the screen, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain in his heart. He turned to look at Qin Yi, his eyes filled with a bit of unwillingness and confusion: "Young Master Qin, why is this stock still rising?"

Qin Yi smiled slightly, a confident expression appearing on his face: "Soon, just wait a little longer."

"Wait? Wait for what?" Ye Ziming muttered to himself in his heart, watching as the stock price was about to touch the high point of 23 yuan. He calculated secretly in his heart that if he hadn't sold just now, he would have been able to earn at least another 600,000 at this moment... What a pity, what a pity.

However, this wait did not last too long. Just five minutes later, the stock price finally climbed to 23.1 yuan, which had already exceeded the highest point estimated by Qin Yi. Just as Ye Ziming was preparing to ask Qin Yi another question, a sudden change occurred.

The line on the K-line chart was like being hit on the head by an invisible force; it instantly lost its upward momentum and began to plummet rapidly. Ye Ziming's eyes widened, his face full of confusion and shock: "Holy sh*t! What's going on? How did it fall directly without any support?"