The conference room was filled with arguments.
Gabe was a bit extreme, perhaps because he had fought so fiercely with retail investors. It was like a gamble; those who lost always wanted to win back next time!
Greed was the downfall of people like him!
Michelle: "Regardless, you still have Griffin and Cohen supporting you."
Gabe: "Yes, they will give me 2.75 billion dollars. This money is enough to scare off the retail investors!"
Michelle: "In return, what do you give them?"
Gabe: "At this time, one can truly see who the real brothers are. I will give them my non-controlling income share. You, including you, Michelle, will never have such treatment from me!"
Michelle: "Then so be it. You and your brothers continue to short. The rest of the brothers should cut their losses in time."
***
The meeting finally concluded. Not long after the dispute over the ferry grounding, this short-selling incident had once again caused headaches.
If Michelle hadn't personally been in Tang's position, she would never have known the pressure Axe endured every day...
Lawyer Yan: "Miss Michelle, are you alright?"
Michelle opened her eyes, rubbing her temples.
Michelle: "I'm fine. How is Axe?"
Lawyer Yan: "Same as usual."
Lawyer Yan: "However, why didn't you stop Gabe? His decisions have caused Tang's assets to shrink."
Michelle: "He was so hyper, as if he'd been injected with adrenaline. One person could argue with a room full of people, refuting anyone who opposed him immediately."
"If you were me, you would have made the same decision. Let him cause trouble. Perhaps he'll become honest if he loses it all."
Lawyer Yan: "Perhaps we can stop the bulls' actions at the source."
Michelle: "What is it?"
Lawyer Yan: "Uproot the bulls' headquarters!"
***
When the three giants, Citadel Capital, Point72, and Darwin, gathered, they indeed put some pressure on GameStop, and the next day there was a significant drop.
It wasn't the stock price drop that angered the retail investors, but the Citadel executive who posted mocking messages to retail investors on social media, even boasting that GameStop's stock price must fall!
The outcome was predictable. The enraged retail investors were now completely provoked by the capital!
Retail investors who had originally invested a few hundred or a thousand dollars were now willing to lose their money just to fight back against capital!
Retail Investor A: "I will hold firm, absolutely not sell!"
Retail Investor B: "Capital is too much! I will resist them to the end!"
Retail Investor C: "Why do they get to make all the rules! And then they harvest our leeks!"
Retail investors bombarded Citadel's social media accounts. Before Citadel Capital, Point72, and Darwin could even celebrate the stock price drop, the headquarters of nearly 3 million retail investors injected everyone with another shot of adrenaline!
The account that first posted its GameStop stock holdings once again showed its latest gains. What was once a stock valuation of millions had now skyrocketed to tens of millions!!!
This was no longer a rational contest between bulls and bears. These banded-together retail investors were no longer just aiming to make money!
***
Retail Investor A: "Hedge funds are bullshit! I want you bankrupt!"
Retail Investor B: "Hedge funds are bullshit! I want you bankrupt!"
Retail Investor C: "Hedge funds are bullshit! I want you bankrupt!"
***
Previously, a 17-fold price increase in just ten days had triggered countless circuit breakers. Darwin still failed to hedge in time.
They had thought that sinking 2.75 billion dollars would cause a massive ripple, but fate was unpredictable. In just one day, it was all lost.
Now, Gabe finally couldn't sit still.
He could only choose to announce his liquidation on social media.
***
Axe, sitting in his wheelchair, looked at the report in his hand. Gabe knelt on the ground before him, a laughingstock of Wall Street.
Axe: "Last month's loss was 53%. At the beginning of the year, we had 12.5 billion dollars in capital, and now it's only a little over 8 billion dollars."
Gabe lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
Axe: "You're quite a talent, really. You're either the crouching dragon or the phoenix. You've created the biggest loss since I took over."
Axe handed the report to Lawyer Yan. His face showed no anger; instead, he seemed to take it all in calmly.
Axe: "Gabe, tell me, what was the reason for this failure?"
Gabe: "I shouldn't have been so reckless. I missed many warning signals..."
Axe: "Mmm, but you weren't wrong about the fund. GameStop could have been completely harvested..."
Gabe looked up, utterly confused.
Axe: "If it were me, I would have made the same choice as you, to continue shorting."
"But this time, we both overlooked one thing. The large-scale purchase of GameStop by retail investors was also greatly aided by social media. In fact, social media played a very significant role."
Axe: "As the head of Darwin, you must re-examine the current environment. Any industry has to adapt to these changes, don't you agree?"
Gabe nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. If he had made such a mistake in the past, Tang would have punished him.
Axe: "Get up. This is a period of market volatility. You should think about how to recover your losses."
After Gabe left, Lawyer Yan handed over another report. This one contained more detailed data, clearly distinguishing between retail investors and institutions in this short-selling campaign.
It was clear that the majority of those shorting were fund capital institutions. It wasn't just retail investors who were involved in the bullish options!
Axe: "I knew it. How could it be that there were no participants from our competitors? Without their fanning the flames, the retail investors couldn't have won."
Lawyer Yan: "The retail investors have moved on to other sunset industries. Judging by their momentum, they intend to continue confronting the institutions."
Axe: "Heh, they truly have no idea about the power of capital."