"This isn't over..."
Ma Yang Smith gritted his teeth, his head lowered, voice hoarse as if it came from the depths of his throat.
"I never said it was," Moses Adams replied with a cold laugh. "But my boss's original words weren't to bankrupt you. He said to destroy you. I think you understand the difference."
Though he sounded regretful, Moses was only carrying out his orders. If someone thought they could out maneuver Jiang Hai, they were sorely mistaken. This wasn't some game.
In America—let's be honest—money rules everything. The richer you are, the more you're in the right. Jiang Hai had more money now. Even if he crushed someone completely, society would still say he was justified. That's the terrifying nature of a capitalist system.
"Damn it! You listen to me!" Ma Yang Smith snapped, eyes blazing with resentment. "There's an old Chinese saying: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't look down on a poor young man.' Everything I lost today—my money, my dignity, my bottom line—I'll get it all back someday!"
Seeing Moses Adams' mocking smile nearly drove him insane. If Jiang Hai had been here, he might've wondered if this guy had also suffered a broken engagement or something.
But even if he had, Jiang Hai wouldn't have cared. This was reality, not some fantasy world with internal energy, Dragon Groups, or mystical mentors. It wasn't some epic adventure where someone stronger appears to help you reclaim your lost pride.
Here, what was lost, stayed lost.
"Well then, good luck."
Moses chuckled at Smith's angry declaration, then turned and walked away. Penelope Dahler followed him out, holding a folder of documents.
"The situation with Ma Yang Smith is more or less settled," she said as she got into the car. "But there's a bit of trouble brewing over on the island…"
"Let's deal with that later." Moses smiled mysteriously. "I just found a nice surprise for the boss. I think he's going to love it."
He glanced at the contract in his hand. Jiang Hai probably wouldn't understand what it meant, but to someone like Moses Adams, this was huge.
Jiang Hai didn't know much about finance—his understanding of stocks and futures was vague at best. To him, investing was like buying an antique: purchase it for a million, wait for it to appreciate, and sell it for two million. But instead of a tangible object, you got a share in a company. If the company made money, its stock rose. If it didn't, the value tanked.
For example: a company issues one million shares at ten dollars each. The company is then worth ten million. But if its product—say a mobile phone—is a massive success, demand skyrockets. By the end of the year, each share might be worth 30 or even 40 dollars. Investors flock in, driving the price even higher.
On the flip side, if the company's product flops, that ten-dollar share might be worth only two or three. If it collapses completely, shareholders are left with nothing.
Jiang Hai didn't care to play in the market, but Moses did—and he was good at it.
His strategy against Colorite was simple but devastating: first, drive up the stock price from a few dollars to nearly $100. This inflated the company's value nearly tenfold, though it wasn't worth anywhere near that much. Then, at the peak, he dumped large quantities of stock at very low prices, causing panic.
Investors, seeing prices crash, rushed to sell. But the shares were barely worth their inflated prices to begin with. Those in the know held back or bought at bottom rates—mere dollars or even cents.
As fear grew, Colorite tried to stabilize the situation by buying back stock, but it turned into a contest of capital. In the end, Moses—or rather, Jiang Hai—was wealthier. Colorite's stock price collapsed. Once shares dropped to rock-bottom prices, Moses began quietly buying up the majority stake.
Soon, he controlled over 50% of the company. The largest shareholder is the de facto owner. He ousted the original Colorite family by buying out their shares—at current market prices, just a few dollars each—and then restructured the company, selling off parts of it at full value.
He earned $150 million from the deal.
However, Ma Yang Smith was a trickier case. His company was a venture capital firm—meaning he didn't own companies outright, but held large stakes in many publicly traded firms. That meant slow dismantling—bit by bit.
Still, results over the past few days had been good. Today, Moses acquired Ma Yang Smith's most valuable asset: 0.12% of Google stock.
That might not sound like much, but in the U.S., that's power.
"I've got to tell the boss this news," Moses said to himself, excited. Google stock—worth around $800 million—not only meant wealth, but also status. It qualified Jiang Hai for a seat on Google's board of directors.
He immediately called Jiang Hai.
But Jiang Hai didn't answer—he was otherwise occupied.
About an hour later, Jiang Hai emerged from the woods, carrying a thoroughly exhausted Galina. He placed her gently on a lounge chair. She had wanted to go swimming, but now lacked even the strength to stand.
After handing her a bottle of juice, Jiang Hai lay back in his own chair, grinning contentedly.
"You pervert. Don't you have a barbecue to tend to?" Qi Jie frowned at him.
Hearing this, Jiang Hai glared at her playfully.
"Whose fault is that? Don't pretend you don't know."
"Hmph…" Qi Jie blushed but didn't respond. She turned her head away, feigning indifference.
Jiang Hai smiled. He couldn't bring himself to be mad at her. In fact, he often felt a deep sense of guilt toward Qi Jie, Qi Ya, Ai Xiaoxi, and the others.
They'd once had bright futures ahead of them. They could have lived normal, simple lives with people who loved them. But instead, they'd followed him—someone who couldn't even give them a name, let alone a future that others would accept.
Because of that, he tended to indulge them, even spoil them.
Seeing Qi Jie go quiet, Jiang Hai lay down again. He felt something hard under his back—his phone. He picked it up and was just about to resume his game when he noticed a missed call from Moses Adams.
He called back, and Moses picked up quickly.
"Hello, Moses? What's up?" Jiang Hai asked. He was curious why Moses would call him now.
"Hehe, Boss, I've got a surprise for you. I just got you some stock." Moses sounded thrilled.
"Stock? What kind of stock?" Jiang Hai asked, confused. He wasn't much for investing.
"Google. 0.12% of their shares," Moses replied, barely containing his excitement.
"This thing… what use is it?" Jiang Hai asked, puzzled. He'd never taken stocks seriously.
Qi Jie, who had been ignoring him, suddenly turned around. "Google shares? That's very useful—especially 0.12%. That's no small matter."
"Oh?" Jiang Hai blinked. He didn't have the mind of a trader, and most of his understanding of the stock market came from novels.
In his view, stocks were the playground of financial elites. If they said something was worth a fortune, then it was. But Jiang Hai never trusted things without tangible value, so he stayed far away from investing.
Now that Moses had acquired some for him, he didn't know what to think.
"If you don't get it, listen closely," Qi Jie said, sitting up. "First, owning more than one-thousandth of Google shares gets you a seat on their board. That means status—you could put 'Google Director' on your business card. No matter how rich you are, without that title, you're just a landowner. But now you're a top-level entrepreneur."
She held up a finger.
"Second, with that identity, you can expand your network. You'll gain access to people and resources you couldn't before."
She held up another finger.
"Third—and most importantly—it gives you control over one of the biggest advertising platforms in the world. You could use it to promote the Tenglong Group."
Jiang Hai was stunned. It actually sounded… smart.
"But how much can such a small stake be worth? If it's so powerful, couldn't anyone just buy their way onto the board for 800 million?" he asked.
"That's equity, not just stock," Qi Jie corrected. "Stocks are bought and sold like notes. Equity is about dividends and control."
Jiang Hai blinked. "Is that true?"
On the other end of the line, Moses Adams laughed. "Ms. Bernice is absolutely right. What I acquired is equity—you qualify for a board seat."
Driving back to Boston, Moses smiled to himself. He had almost forgotten how inexperienced Jiang Hai was in the world of finance. All that excitement had been a bit premature.
Fortunately, Jiang Hai was surrounded by talented people, so his efforts hadn't gone to waste.
After confirming the news, Jiang Hai was genuinely happy. With this new identity, he could open up new business channels—and gain advertising exposure for his group.
He announced immediately that Moses Adams would be rewarded—but the reward would come after everything else was settled.
(To be continued.)