Ch. 1381..1390
Life at the Top Chapter 1381
When Jasper received the call from Ryder, he was busy listening to Sean‘s complaints.
“Mr. Laine, I am not crying about how poor I am. However, over the past few months of the second half of the year, most of land price in first tier cities rose by about 30%, causing the budget within our real estate company to become very tight.”
”We’re unable to buy the two pieces of land that we’re after and had planned to buy after you took out the funds back then.”
“After this period, the headquarters will have to consider our project department. We’re not willing to abandon those projects just yet. You have to remember that the real estate industry requires a lot of money to play in. We won’t be able to show you any results if we don’t have any money.”
Jasper took a sip of water and said bluntly, “Stop complaining to me. I know what you’re thinking. Also, you’re a little too late. The electronics company and the person in charge of Abbylon have already said something similar to me.”
“If we’re so well off, do you think we’ll take out the funds from your company? Soon, some of the funds will be returned to the company, but all of you are saying right now is that you’re in a difficult position and that this is hard on you. Money is tight, so who do you think I should help and not help?”
Sean gritted his teeth and said, “Lance looked cheerful all the time but I know he’s a bad kid. And Wayne too! Damn it, he’s so ugly and has so many tricks up his sleeves.”
Jasper waved his hand in exhaustion and said, “Enough. Stop your act. All of the branches are growing right now so they all need monetary support. I know this very well. I’ll allocate the funds after we procure more stable funds in the headquarters.”
When Sean heard this, he grinned.
At this moment, the phone on the table rang. Jasper lifted his head to tell Sean to go out before picking up the phone.
“This is Jasper Laine.”
“Mr. Laine, it’s me, Ryder Lawrence.”
When Jasper heard that voice, he lifted his eyebrow and smiled. He said, “Don’t tell me you’re here to cry about being poor too.”
Ryder chuckled bitterly and said, “Mr. Laine, I have more important things to report to you.”
Jasper stopped being playful and asked seriously, “What’s going on?”
Ryder immediately told Jasper what was going on in Advent Entertainment Group in detail.
After he reported this to Jasper, Ryder told Jasper what he thought about this.
“Mr. Laine, from what I can see, someone is sabotaging us. Also, I’ve never seen such an aggressive attack before.”
“I’ve collected information on some of the companies that terminated their contracts with us at the same time. They come from different industries, ranging from fashion, cosmetics, and sundries. There’s also one that’s in the aquaculture industry.”
“According to my experience, either the other party is someone who has more power than the Harbor City government, or they are gathering a group of people from different industries to target us.”
When Jasper learned about the attack on Advent Entertainment Group, he subconsciously figured that Fabian was behind it.
By pairing it with Conrad’s text from a while back, he was able to connect the term ‘Empire Meet’ with the clues he was being given now. Thus, everything immediately made sense.
However, Ryder had no idea about any of this. Therefore, when Ryder deduced a conclusion that was not too far away from the truth, Jasper could not help but feel impressed.
This experienced entertainment manager from Hallavu was more competent than he thought.
Life at the Top Chapter 1382
“It’s Fabian,” Jasper said flatly.
Ryder’s voice paused for a while on the other end of the phone.
Obviously, Ryder, who had stayed in Harbor City for so long, could already be considered as someone from the upper class circle. Because of this, he was not unfamiliar with that name.
With a bitter chuckle, Ryder said, “Mr. Laine, if it’s him, I’m afraid only you can settle this.”
“I know Fabian will do something, but his speed and aggression surprised me. He’s truly a young master from the Atticus family. He’s so different from the ordinary people.”
Ryder could detect the complimentary tone in Jasper’s words, hence, he said sullenly, “Mr. Laine, we’re losing money with every minute that passes. Also, if we don’t take care of this soon, the company’s reputation will be greatly affected.
“You should know that the artists make money from their reputation. If they don’t have any publicity for a very long time, even the most popular artists will lose their jobs. How are you still in the mood to mock him?”
Jasper chuckled and said, ‘Don’t worry. This is not a big deal, yet you’re already so anxious.”
“Do you already have a solution, Mr. Laine?” Ryder said in shock.
Jasper explained patiently, “According to our long term plan, we will abandon the market in Harbor City sooner or later.
“There’s nothing left in this market anymore anyway. It’s not stagnant yet, but the entertainment industry in Harbor City can’t support so many artists anymore.”
“Because of this, we’ve always been targeting the market in the mainland ever since the company was founded.”
“Total annihilation by Fabian’s hand right now might not be a bad thing. It’s just in time to prompt us and our artists to completely shift over to the mainland market.”
What Jasper said frightened Ryder. He could not help but say, “Mr. Laine, you’re right. With Easy Media helping us, we were able to do our jobs without any obstructions in the mainland for the past year.”
However, I’m afraid we’re still not prepared enough to leave Harbor City completely and enter the mainland.”
“Prepared? It’ll be too late if you need to be fully prepared before you do anything.”
“You have to go in steadily and strike hard when it comes to business. oftentimes, there’s nothing in this world that’s completely risk free.” Jasper shot down Ryder’s hesitation bluntly.
Ryder became more confident after he heard that.
In any case, the tall people would die first if the sky fell. Moreover, Jasper never made a wrong decision before this, and something great would always come from his leadership. For example, not only did they not fail when the company attempted to enter the market in the mainland before this, they even made a lot of money. This made everyone in the company, including Ryder, trust Jasper completely.
“So, Mr. Laine, what should we do now?” Ryder asked.
“There’s only one plan. If the cinemas in Harbor City won’t screen our movies, then we won’t go to them. What’s the use of those tens of millions of viewers in Harbor City? When are we supposed to make money if rely solely on them?”
“We should go to the cinemas in the mainland. Right now, the cinemas in the mainland lack high quality movies so you don’t have to worry about underperforming in terms of ticket sales.”
“If they don’t give us a venue for our productions, then we’ll do it in the mainland.”
“If they won’t endorse our artists, then we’ll go get endorsements from the businesses in the mainland. You can go and read up on the branches of JW. We’re all on the same team so it’s going to be much easier to negotiate these things.”
“The artists in Harbor City are more well known than the ones in the mainland. Moreover, they have more fans too. As long as the price is right, they’ll know what to choose.”
“In short, if Fabian won’t let us do business in Harbor City, then we won’t do it. We’ll do it in the mainland. After all, the mainland has more clientele and can provide us with a brighter future. Yes, Harbor City is Fabian’s territory, but he has no say when it comes to the alternative.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1383
What Jasper said caused Ryder to feel an intense and passionate fire in his chest.
That was right, even though Fabian was very influential in Harbor City, so what? His power was only limited to Harbor City.
Harbor City was too small, and Advent Entertainment Group was not interested in this place anyway.
The mainland was the future.
However, Jasper was not the one who wore the pants in the mainland. If Fabian wanted to put his foot in the mainland, he would be lucky if his foot was not chopped off by someone else, let alone if he wanted to cause trouble for JW.
“I understand, Mr. Laine. I’ll ask my subordinates to get on it now.”
“The change of our target market is a core strategic decision and it’ll affect all operations of the company. You’ve been managing the operations of Advent Entertainment this whole time, so I can only give this to you. You also have to be responsible for this, so I’ll be monitoring your performance.”
Playvolume00:00/00:44TruvidfullScreen
When Ryder heard what Jasper said, he answered loudly, “Don’t worry, Mr. Laine. I won’t let you down.”
“Good, call Ted after this and ask Easy Media to cooperate with us on all aspects. Advent Entertainment doesn’t have as many resources as Easy Media in the mainland. So, you guys will need Easy Media to lead you in the early stages.”
“I’ll ask Ted to work with you on this. We can keep the current business in Harbor City for now, but remember, it doesn’t matter what difficulties the people who abandon Advent Entertainment are facing right now, we will not consider working with them again in the future.”
Ryder hesitated when he heard the last sentence.
“Mr. Laine, there are multiple decision makers in a company’s hierarchy. Is it necessary to be so extreme? After all, we’ll still be able to make money if we continue working together in the future.”
“Are you trying to say that I shouldn’t give up on money because I’m frustrated?” Jasper said insipidly.
When Ryder sensed the dissatisfaction in Jasper’s voice, he quickly answered, “I’m sorry, Mr. Laine.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I understand what you’re thinking. You’re considering this from the perspective of the company.”
Jasper sighed.
This was the natural difference in mindset between an experienced manager and a boss.
The two of them would look at a problem from almost completely different angles. He had to remind Ryder about this.
“Ryder, you can never make enough money, nor all the money in the world. Of course, abandoning preconceptions and making sure all parties enjoy mutually profitable partnerships is what a mature company should do.”
“However, have you ever considered that a company without moral integrity will never be respected?”
“If people respect you, you become an enterprise. On the contrary, a company is a place where profit is the only decision maker.”
“You’ll only be qualified to fight for the position of the head of the entertainment business department after you understand this problem.”
After Jasper said that, he hung up the phone.
When Ryder heard the beeping of a busy line, he became lost in thought for a very long time.
He thought deeply about what Jasper said. At the same time, he was surprised that Jasper was giving him a chance.
However, he was not the only one eying the entertainment company under JW. Ted from Easy Media was also eyeing it hungrily.
Currently, he had the resources of the entertainment industry in Harbor City, so he could defeat Ted easily. However, Advent Entertainment Group was going to enter the market in the mainland, at which point he might have to exchange positions in his relationship with Ted.
One had to know that Ryder and Ted had been longing for the position of the president of the entertainment company for a very long time.
Meanwhile, most of the major departments under JW, aside from the less experienced Lance, who was temporarily replaced by Chad as the president of the electronics equipment manufacturing company, already had individuals occupying their highest positions.
All except for the entertainment company.
Ryder suppressed the excitement in his heart and picked up the phone again. He said in a deep and steady voice, “Tell all of the people who are ranked manager and above to come to a meeting immediately. ”
Nauritus City in Southeast Province.
Life at the Top Chapter 1384
After Jasper hung up the phone, he had an unpleasant look on his face.
He was not scared of Fabian shutting out Advent Entertainment. After all, the market in the mainland was so big that Advent Entertainment would fit in with no problems.
However, this could not change the fact that Fabian had forced him to exit the entertainment market in Harbor CIty while he was too helpless to stop him.
At this moment, someone pushed the office door open. No one in the company dared to enter Jasper’s office without knocking.
Even Wendy would not do that because she placed a lot of importance on maintaining Jasper’s authority and prestige in the company. Therefore, she would always knock before she entered the office, as was the established standards.
From this, one could tell that the person who did this must be someone that did not belong to the company.
After Henry entered the office, he sat opposite Jasper and crossed his legs. Then, he chuckled and said, “Fabian took action against you, huh?”
“You heard about it?” Jasper asked.
“Damn, I’m the top young master in Harbor City, okay? This is such a big piece of news which I only just heard about. I came to you the moment I understood what’s going on.”
“So what are you going to do? Are you going to go back to Harbor City to drag that son of a b*tch out to parade down the streets?” Henry said with excitement on his face.
“Go back?” Jasper chuckled coldly. “There’s another way to hurt him more, so why should we do so much?”
“Fabian only reacted so strongly because we hurt him too much yesterday. So, it’s up to him if he wants to use all of his tricks on us. However, we’re still the ones in charge when it comes to the stock market.”
Jasper had no expression on his face. Then, he grabbed his phone and called Jake.
After a short while, the call went through.
“Once the trading commences in the afternoon, watch Fabian’s funds closely and destroy them.”
Jake shuddered and answered immediately, “I understand, Mr. Laine.”
After Jasper hung up the phone, he grinned at Henry and said, “See, it’s that easy.”
Henry gave Jasper a thumbs up. “Very aggressive.”
Throughout that day, Advent Entertainment Group was shut out by every establishment in Harbor City because of someone with bad intentions. This piece of news spread all over Harbor City like it had sprouted wings. This was the first time this had happened In Harbor City. After all, this was a place where the entertainment industry was booming.
Back then, shutouts would only happen to one specific artist.
However, this time Fabian was shutting the entire company out. Moreover, he was targeting Advent Entertainment Group, who was arguably the strongest figure in Harbor City’s entertainment industry.
A lot of people were impressed by what Fabian was doing while all this commotion was going on.
Things were fine while he did not move, but the second he did, he caused an uproar.
“Mr. Atticus is really something else. A Mainlander is still too inexperienced to fight with Mr. Atticus.”
This was what a lot of the people in the industry thought.
The sun set and it was soon nighttime in Harbor City. Meanwhile, it was the next morning in the United States. The trading had commenced.
“The Dow Jones Index is still falling drastically after the trading commenced!”
Fabian’s stock trader howled one minute after the trading commenced.
“Mr. Atticus, Jasper is targeting us!”
Fabian’s face turned cold and he said, “Hold on. We got 1.3 billion US Dollars from the fundraising yesterday, so it’ll be enough for us to fight back.”
“We can’t, Mr. Atticus. Jasper is like a lunatic! He’s coming in strong!”
“Gosh, Mr. Atticus, Jasper is taking the lead to attack us. A lot of the organizations are after our position. They want to devour us!”
Life at the Top Chapter 1385
The Dow Jones Index currently looked like a horrifying scene from a battlefield.
Under the influence of the market, the short selling party was making triumphant progress. However, the number of funds held would also make a difference on a battlefield like this.
Even though Fabian had tried everything to hide his position, he could not stop Jasper because Jasper had already thoroughly hunted him down.
The two parties maintained this intricate dance for a very long time. Both sides already understood each other inside and out.
Jasper soon led the attack as he began targeting all of Fabian’s positions.
Jasper’s attack left no means of escape, as Fabian’s disguise was ripped off and he was left completely exposed.
In that moment, the eyes of all the hungry establishments that were busy looking for a free meal lit up.
They did not expect such a big fish to be hiding in such a chaotic battlefield.
To those agencies, they did not care if you were Fabian Atticus or Atticus Finch, as long as there was profit and returns, they would take you down even if Winston Benett himself was standing in front of them.
Which one of the bosses or stakeholders from those agencies was not a big shot that were in the top 500 of the world when it came to power?
Fabian was mighty in Harbor City and his family was powerful indeed.
However, if he was thrown into the Nasdaq’s battlefield, the Atticus family was just a squire from a small town. It would be impossible to make those establishments halt their attack.
Thus, a smokeless financial massacre immediately skipped the mild prelude and leaped into the most exciting bit in which people suffered terrible financial losses.
They were competing to find out who had among them had the most money and most power.
“Mr. Atticus, this is too much, We can’t hold on any longer!”
“Mr. Atticus, we have to come up with a plan soon! If Jasper was the only one hitting us, we might have been able to hold out, but the problem is that the entire market trend is plunging too violently.”
“Jasper keeps attacking us with such great fanfare and he has attracted at least six other organizations to encircle us. We won’t be able to hold on!”
“Mr. Atticus, the warning line of the position funds continues to fall below the critical value. If this continues, our funds won’t be able to take it!”
Fabian felt his head aching when he heard the panicked exclaims of his subordinates.
“Alright, quiet! Shut up!”
Fabian roared, causing the noisy room to fall into an eerie silence.
What was left was muffled and rapid breathing.
“How much funds do we have left now?” Fabian asked through gritted teeth.
“About 1 billion US Dollars.” One of Fabian’s subordinates reported carefully.
“How long has it been since trading commenced? It’s only been 10 minutes and you lost 300 million US Dollars?” Fabian bellowed.
The subordinate that answered him just now did not dare to speak anymore.
At this moment, another subordinate said in a low voice, “Mr. Atticus, you can’t blame us. Jasper is too despicable. He purposely does this with great fanfare hoping to attract those organizations scrounging for a free meal to come attack us.”
“Atticus, let’s back away a little.”
At this moment, Morrison stood up from his desk. His expression was stern.
“As things stand, at least 6 agencies looking for free meals all over the world are taking aim at us. Their combined funds exceed 6 billion US Dollars. If this continues, all of our money will be gone in under 30 minutes unless we back away.”
“Damn it!”
Life at the Top Chapter 1386
Fabian was livid as he kicked the wooden sofa by his side.
The heavy and sturdy sofa did not budge. However, Fabian’s face tumed red before it went dark.
His toes hit the hard wood. Anyone would know how that would feel.
Fabian was in so much pain he could not speak. When Morrison saw this, he shook his head. He knew Fabian must have been on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
So, he spoke for Fabian, “Forgo the unimportant positions.”
One of the subordinates said carefully, “Mr. Morrison, we already let go three positions in a row yesterday, so we are only holding the bigger positions now.”
“Start letting go of the ones with the least amount of invested funds!” Morrison replied impatiently.
“The more positions we hold on to, the more funds we will need to cover up and the more pressure we’ll be under. If we spend everything, how are we going to make a comeback in the future?”
The group of elite stock traders did not dare to speak as they looked at Fabian. Fabian was their boss, so if he did not say anything, how would they dare to do anything?
When Morrison noticed this, he frowned slightly as a hint of displeasure flashed across his eyes.
“Atticus, we have to make a decision now.”
Morrison’s words forced Fabian to endure the pain in his toes and the anger in his heart.
“Do it then. Forgo the seven positions with the least amount of invested funds,” Fabian said helplessly.
His statement was filled with humiliation and dissatisfaction.
Everyone around him lowered their heads toward Fabian ever since Fabian finished his education and entered society. When had someone else ever forced his head down and made him suffer grievances before this? This person was even a Mainlander who came from an ordinary family.
Fabian could not bear this at all.
However, the news he was about to receive would soon cause him to break down.
“Mr. Atticus, the plan to target Advent Entertainment Group is not going too well.”
Conrad came back inside and reported to Fabian with no expression on his face.
As Fabian’s assistant, even though Conrad did not hold any substantial position in Empire Meet, everyone knew Conrad was one of Fabian’s dogs.
Therefore, Conrad was tasked to coordinate and lead everyone in Empire Meet in targeting Advent Entertainment.
Fabian’s face turned icy when he heard this. He said in a deep voice, “How so? Jasper is not in Harbor City, and even if he was, he wouldn’t have the power to fight Empire Meet. How can there be any obstacles to this unchangeable fact? Did the Laws do something?”
Aside from the Laws helping Jasper, Fabian could not think of any other reason for this fight between the two widely disproportionate powers to go wrong.
Conrad shook his head and said, “They didn’t do anything. However, Advent Entertainment made some strategic changes.”
“They are going to give up on all terminated contracts and they did not demand insistently about it. Also, they suddenly signed a series of contracts on endorsement, cinema, distribution, screening, and advertisement with some companies from the mainland today.”
Conrad paused after saying that. When he saw Fabian’s expression turning stagnant, he continued, “They want to leave the market in Harbor City and move to the mainland…”
“Mr. Atticus, please excuse my bluntness. This whole time, Jasper has focused his entertainment business on the mainland. You can see this when he purchased and restructured Advent Entertainment Group before also purchasing Easy Media from Swallow Capital.”
“I think our coercion this time might be playing right into Jasper’s hand. He’s able to use this chance to wipe out all remaining ideas of staying in Harbor City that the management and the artists from Advent Entertainment Group previously held. This way, they’ll be forced to change their mind and start focusing on the mainland.”
“If not for us, he would have needed to convince the management and artist to leave Harbor City, but now, I think he might even thank us.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1387
Smash!
The expensive coffee mug was thrown on the floor, shattering into pieces.
The porcelain pieces and coffee flew everywhere. The strong scent of coffee wafted across the room as this cup of kopi luwak that had cost at least 50 US Dollars was gone just like that.
No one knew how many times Fabian had lost his cool.
“I didn’t expect this at all.”
“When we were targeting Jasper’s conglomerate back then, I thought he was nothing special. I thought he was just good at problem-solving.”
“However, he’s starting to reel back his net now! Hahaha..! This kid made me suffer several serious injuries before. Good. Very good!”
Conrad spoke insipidly, as if he did not see Fabian’s face that was gradually turning sinister and maniacal, “Mr. Atticus, what should we do now? Should we keep going or give up? Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“Continue, of course. Why should we give up?” Fabian said sinisterly.
“So what if Jasper shifts his entertainment business from Harbor City to the mainland? Advent Entertainment Group is still rooted in Harbor City.”
“The artists’ business and resources are all concentrated in Harbor City. Can he move the entire Advent Entertainment in just one night?”
“Even if he moves his business away, can he shift the resources he has based in Harbor City away?”
Fabian’s gaze was malicious. He turned his head to say to Conrad, “Not only are we continuing, but we also have to go in with more force. Isn’t Advent Entertainment Group moving away? Alright then, spread the news!”
“Create all kinds of negative news. I want Advent Entertainment Group to become rats that everyone in Harbor City despises!”
“If their reputation is ruined, people in the mainland will think twice before working with them even if they shifted over there.”
“In short, I’m not scared of paying the price. I just want Jasper to hurt!”
Conrad could hear his ears ring when he heard Fabian saying that he would hurt Jasper even at the cost of his own interest.
“I understand. I’ll get on with it now.”
After Conrad left, Fabian sat on the sofa with a gloomy expression on his face. He settled down from his initial rage and said in a deep voice, “How can Jasper react so quickly?”
At this moment, Morrison walked over.
“Atticus, I’m going back to the United States tonight.”
Fabian lifted his head and looked at Morrison with a frown. “But we need you here.”
Morrison said flatly, “You’ll be able to handle this. I have to go back. On one hand, I need to report back to the investment bank’s headquarters. On the other hand, I need to see my father and talk to him.”
“About Jasper?” Fabian asked suddenly.
Morrison looked at Fabian with a half smile on his face. Then, he said calmly, “Atticus, will you tell your elders about this?”
Fabian’s face fell.
Naturally, he would not complain about this to his family. He was not those useless second generations. This was a private matter between him and Jasper. If he went back and asked for help, it would be no different than admitting defeat.
“Atticus…”
Morrison patted Fabian’s shoulder and said, “From my father’s perspective, Jasper is a rather interesting young man whom I’ll be able to train my skills with. That’s all…”
“I think your family feels the same way too.”
After Morrison said that, he noticed Fabian staying silent, so he changed the topic, “However, I’ll still notify you whenever I see fit. I don’t want to ask my father for help now either. I think that would be no different from admitting defeat to Jasper.”
“I was too impulsive,” Fabian said flatly.
As a person that was respected by all of the first generation in Harbor City, Fabian was powerful in his own way. He hid his true feelings swiftly and admitted his mistakes magnanimously.
“However, I can give you a piece of advice.”
Morrison narrowed his eyes slightly and hid the cruel glint in his eyes.
“You haven’t utilized the advantage you have in Harbor City. We already know that it’s pointless to fight someone like Jasper from a business perspective. At the very least, we know it’s less than ideal.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1388
“Why don’t you use all of your connections and power to force Jasper’s business in Harbor City to close down?”
Fabian lifted his brow when he heard that.
He was a very smart man. If not, he would not be able to attack a formidable character like Kayden back then. Therefore, when Morrison reminded him of this now, he immediately understood.
“You mean…”
“Atticus, you know what I mean. Alright, I have to go now. Damn, I’ll have to get tortured with the long hours in the air and that damned jet lag. I always feel so horrible for a few days after. I hope the next time we meet it will be at a celebratory party.”
After Morrison left, Fabian sat in his room for a very long time.
By midnight, he had already made numerous calls.
“Hello, Mr. Ryder Lawrence, we’re agents from the Commercial Crime Bureau. We received a report and we also have concrete evidence proving that your company has committed huge business fraud. Furthermore, you’re involved in tax evasion.”
“Because of this, we have to sequester your company now and take away your computers for investigation. Please cooperate with us.”
Ryder looked angrily at the men in suits with serious expressions on their faces. He said coldly, “Let me see your warrant. ”
The agent who spoke just now took out the document immediately before handing it to Ryder.
Ryder glanced at it and he knew immediately that this document was genuine.
“What a good strategy.”
Ryder threw the document back at the agents after chuckling coldly.
“Mr. Ryder Lawrence, please get up. We have to take your computer away too,” the agent said strictly as per the rules.
Ryder got up with no expression and did not attempt to stop them.
He knew these agents were just carrying out orders. Or perhaps, they had no idea what the truth was.
It was meaningless to talk to these people.
However, Ryder was surprised by Fabian’s power in Harbor City. Fabian was able to create so much falsify evidence to make it seem that he had committed a crime. Fabian was even able to make the government officials say something as incriminating as ‘concrete evidence’.
It seemed that there were some bad apples in Advent Entertaimnent Group, and this was a simultaneous attack from both inside and outside the company.
When the agent saw Ryder cooperating, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, he waved his hand and asked his subordinates to dismantle the CPU from Ryder’s computer.
After this, the agents grabbed the CPU and left immediately.
When Ryder came out of his office, he saw that the entire company was a mess.
The employees had been forced to one side and the agents from the Commercial Crime Bureau were everywhere. Some of them were dismantling the computers while some of them were questioning the employees.
When Ryder saw this, the corner of his eyes twitched. He called a manager over and told him, “Tell everyone to cooperate with the agents and please trust the company.”
“The company never did anything illegal. This groundless claims is just a trick that can’t be brought to the court. This matter will resolve itself after a few days.”
The manager nodded like a chick eating grain and did not dare to say anything else. After that, he quickly left to spread the message.
Soon, Jasper heard about the incident. He hung up the phone after he said ‘okay’.
Ryder understood what he meant, and he knew what to do.
After he hung up, Jasper turned his head and spoke to Jake, who was on a video call with him.
“Expose all of Fabian’s heavy stocks.”
“Also, take out 500 million US Dollars. I’ll trade it myself.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1389
Right now, the last thing Jasper lacked was money.
The mighty Mr. Laine, who was scared to live in poverty again, had never experienced this feeling for a very long time.
Even as he was making more and more money, his industries were rapidly expanded at the same time.
It was just like when normal people could not understand how those people with hundreds of millions of assets would be able to finish spending their money. However, what they did not know was that the people with hundreds of millions of assets would spend or invest millions of dollars in one go.
Right now, Jasper was easily using a hundred million as his unit of measure.
500 million US Dollars was transferred to his account a minute after he gave his order.
After pulling out of Nasdaq, Jasper set his eyes on international futures.
As international futures were traded, rubber had become an important manufacturing good. Therefore, it naturally became one of the traded goods.
Meanwhile, the Atticus Family was one of the kings of rubber in the Golden Peninsula.
In the context of globalization, the crash of the stock market in the United States influenced the normal operations of the other financial systems too.
For example, the futures market has been greatly disturbed.
The crash over these past few days caused the price of rubber futures to break the barrier of 1200 US Dollars.
Moreover, according to market trends, it could be clearly seen that the Atticus family, whose wealth depended on their rubber industry, had been desperately investing money in an attempt to raise the price of rubber futures.
Jasper did not hesitate. He immediately put 200 million US Dollars into the market and created a short-selling order.
The lukewarm rubber futures started to plummet drastically like a flaming barrel of gasoline after the tiger that was Jasper entered the market.
In every trading situation that followed the market’s natural laws, there would always be dealers present who controlled the market regardless of it was rising or falling.
Today, Jasper was the dealer.
A short sale of 200 million US Dollars immediately made the price of rubber futures plunge.
The unit price of 1200 US Dollars fell to 1150 US Dollars within a few seconds.
When Jasper saw this, he injected another 100 million US Dollars into the market.
The price dropped to 1120 US Dollars.
This scene was directly transmitted to the computers of the countless buyers and sellers of rubber futures around the world.
Hence, countless people began to sell their rubber futures in horror.
They believed that rubber futures were likely to be buried along with the United States stock market. This violent decline caused many people to liquidate their positions.
Similarly, the Atticus family also heard this piece of news.
As one of the main producers of rubber in the world, the Atticus family’s sensitivity to the price of rubber futures was well beyond what one could imagine.
Fabian’s phone rang five minutes after Fabian entered the market.
“Father…”
Fabian held his phone and greeted solemnly.
“It seems that someone is attacking the rubber futures.”
Avoice that sounded as if it had been through the mill came from the other end of the line.
Fabian lifted his eyebrows.
“Is it Jasper?”
Fabian’s father, Sawyer Atticus, said, “You should back off.”
Even though Sawyer did not directly answer Fabian’s question, he had implicitly given him an answer. Fabian was furious after he heard that. He snapped, “Who does Jasper think he is? How can he ask the Atticus family to bow down to him?”
“You fool!”
Sawyer growled.
“Who is Jasper anyway? How can he have the power to shift the price of futures all over the world?”
“However, you have to know what the situation is right now. Something unexpected happened in the United States, and since yesterday, it has caused the United States to lose trillions of dollars.”
“Any small power would be able to cause a frantic dumping storm anywhere in this never-before-seen crash.”
“Just now, Jasper put in 300 million US Dollars, but do you know how many sell orders appeared after that? Tens of billions!”
“300 million moved the lever of tens of billions. This has never happened before. However, in this special situation, no one can stop the destruction of confidence toward the market. Once the plunge of the rubber futures causes an avalanche, who’s going to bear our losses?”
Fabian said through gritted teeth, “Father, I’m unconvinced.”
“You’re too irritable. You can’t be irritable if you want to do something big,” Sawyer said.
“You should calm down and think of another plan. I’ve asked someone to stabilize the price of the rubber futures. This was decided by the elders of the family. You have to follow it.”
Even though Fabian was angry and humiliated, his father had already given the order, so it would be meaningless if he continued to resist.
“I understand.”
Fabian took a deep breath and said.
“You should talk to Jasper personally about this.”
After Sawyer said that, he hung up the phone.
Fabian felt humiliated as he gripped his new phone tightly.
Jasper slapped him across the face, yet he still needed to beg the man for peace?
However, the will of a family was above everything else, and this rule was no different within the Atticus family. Fabian suppressed the anger in his chest and called the number that had contacted him back then.
Soon, the call went through.
“Jasper, our issues are between us. Aren’t you scared of infuriating the Atticus family by starting an attack on my family?”
Before Jasper could say anything, Fabian asked him coldly.
However, a chuckle was soon heard from the other end of the line.
Then… Beep beep beep.
Fabian growled when he looked at the call that had been hung up in disbelief.
Outside, Fabian’s stock traders heard Fabian’s growls and sounds of things smashing coming from inside the room. They did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
Back then, Mr. Atticus would have a neutral expression on his face no matter what happened. However, over these few days, he was like a mad dog with rabies. He would blow up whenever something did not go his way.
No one would dare to poke this hornet’s nest at this critical moment.
‘Just smash it. You’ll be fine after you smash something, you have money to pay back for it anyway.’
Even though Fabian wanted to jump into the phone and skin Jasper alive, after he vented, he still called Jasper again while feeling extremely aggrieved.
“Don’t hang up!”
This time, Fabian was smart. He did not say any meaningless threats to Jasper.
“I’ll stop all activities targeting Advent Entertainment Group, so you should stop too.”
Jasper said insipidly, “Mr. Atticus, you’re so calculative. All of Advent Entertainment Group’s prestige was lost and news about the investigation also broke out. Do you think you can end it with just one word?”
Fabian gritted his teeth and said, “What do you want?”
Jasper replied calmly, “Is this how you sue for peace?”
Crack.
That was the sound of a pen breaking after Fabian clenched it too hard.
“The Atticus family will raise the price of the rubber futures to 1400 US Dollars, and you will be able to earn at least 100 million US Dollars. Will that be enough?
“1600,” Jasper answered insipidly.
“Jasper, don’t be too greedy!” Fabian roared.
Beep beep beep…
Fabian was dazzled once again when Jasper hung up on him. He only registered what had happened more than ten seconds later. He could not control himself from roaring hysterically and then, a loud smash could be heard.
This new phone could not escape its fate as it was thrown against the wall and smashed into pieces.
Life at the Top Chapter 1390
The Atticus family kept their promise.
Half an hour after Jasper hung up on Fabian, a large sum of money suddenly appeared. Not only did it stabilize the plummeting rubber futures price, but the good news that accompanied the injection was also announced. With this, the rubber futures price started to rise slowly.
At this moment, Jasper was cunningly earning more money from this.
Hence, Jasper directly injected 200 million US Dollars. After Jasper put in the 200 million US Dollars to buy into the market, the huge amount of inflowing funds noticeably paused.
It seemed to be shocked by Jasper’s shamelessness. However, soon enough, this fund ignored the greedy Jasper and started executing its own plan.
The rubber futures price stabilized at 1600 US Dollars very soon.
In conclusion, Jasper sold 300 million US Dollars when it was at 1200 US Dollars. Then, when the rubber futures price dropped to 1030 US Dollars, he closed the position. The price was subsequently increased from 1030 US Dollars to 1600 US Dollars.
This was the second time Jasper closed the position and this time, he completely withdrew from the market.
Even though the Atticus family was scared that Jasper would do something at this critical moment and crash the price of the rubber futures, there was still a limit to everything.
Furthermore, Jasper was not only touching the profits of the Atticus family, he was also touching the general market of the rubber futures around the world. If he went overboard, he was worried that it would backfire. Hence, he decided to stop before he went too far.
His idea of ‘too far’ took the form 370 million US Dollars in profit.
Even though he was happy, Jasper knew he could only do this seemingly impossible feat during this special occasion.
Normally, this fund of 500 million US Dollars would only cause a small rise in the rubber futures prices at most, and not have any huge influence.
Moreover, the Atticus family would be able to kill him with just a flick of their wrist.
When Jasper transferred the funds from the international futures market to the account Jake was controlling, Jake was dumbfounded.
“Mr. Laine, what did you do just now?”
Even though Jake was Jasper’s subordinate, he knew it was inappropriate to talk to the boss like this, but he could not help himself.
How long had it been since they withdrew the 500 million US Dollars?
It was less than 2 hours and it had transformed into 870 million US Dollars.
Jake did not think that Jasper had sourced some financing. Back then when Jasper asked Jake to withdraw the money, he had said he would trade himself.
“I took a spin in the futures market,” Jasper said with a grin.
“What a badass.”
Jake was genuinely impressed.
Even if the account Jake controlled held a large number of Dow Jones index short-selling orders and huge profits were being generated with every passing minute, Jake knew none of it was by his hand.
He was just executing Jasper’s orders.
Jasper had started this portfolio a few months ago.
In other words, Jake only needed a pair of ears and a pair of hands to do his work.
However, after Jasper completed the portfolio comprising of funds from the Dow Jones Index, he made a 70% profit after he went to take a spin in the futures market for 2 hours with just 500 million in capital. No one would believe the speed at which Jasper made money even if he were to say it aloud.
Jasper received Ryder’s call after talking to Jake for a while.
“Mr. Laine, we received an anonymous letter, and the evidence inside was enough to prove that we’re innocent. Also, it named the traitors who faked the false evidence,
“We presented the concrete evidence and handed the list of those people to the agents from the Commercial Crime Bureau. They lifted the sequester order of our company and also returned the equipment they took away just now.”