Chapter 50: Half Sea, Half Flame

"Wu Ya, are you digging a pit for me here?"
At this moment, Huang Silu felt utterly suffocated.
A thousand questions crowded his mind, but he dared not ask a single one.
Because Qiao Ya was right beside him.
If he voiced them, everything would be over.
But if he kept silent, it was unbearable!
What on earth was Wu Ya up to?
He hoped it wasn't some elaborate scam—otherwise, he'd be doomed!
Personal bonds—everyone knew they were about to become worthless.
Yet Wu Ya wanted him to use these to prove his financial acumen?
This was clearly just pretending to know what he didn't!
Thus, in utter helplessness, he could only suppress his anger and lower his voice,
leaning in to hiss bitterly in Wu Ya's ear.
But then...
"What did you say? Are you hesitating? Fatty Huang, you can't chicken out in front of us!"
Wu Ya shot back with ill intent, his voice ringing out.
Loud enough to ensure Qiao Ya heard every word!
Sure enough—
A glance, full of disdain, swept over him.
But she said nothing.
In this moment, her silence was not more meaningful than words;
it simply meant she had lost all interest in speaking to Huang Silu.
The only reason she hadn't left was because of Wu Ya's remark—
to let Huang Silu give up, and to let themselves accept it.
From now on, they would be strangers, with nothing left to do with each other!
"I—you—!"
Huang Silu's eyes bulged; he was on the verge of tears.
But Wu Ya ignored him completely.
"Hahaha, starting today, it's our time to shine at last!"
"Yes, finally the clouds have parted and the moon is revealed—we can leave poverty behind!"
"How much do you think collective bonds will rise once trading opens?"
"I think they'll double, straight away!"
At that moment, the entire hall was in an uproar.
Every single voice, without exception, was discussing one topic.
Collective bonds!
It was as if personal bonds were not even state-issued—
they had already been tossed into a forgotten corner.
"It's nine o'clock! Treasury bond trading has begun!"
Suddenly, someone shouted, instantly quieting the noisy hall.
All eyes turned to the big screen.

The scene changed.
In the capital of Hua,
inside the national bank's trading hall,
the same large screen displayed two sections:
one for collective bonds, one for personal bonds.
Clear and distinct.
Red and green lines in their respective sections rose and fell, showing the ebb and flow!
"Look! Just as expected, collective bonds are surging strongly! The moment trading opened, prices shot up in a straight line!"
Another voice sparked fresh tension in everyone present.
Boom!
Excitement exploded in an instant!
"Fantastic! They’ve lived up to the hype and didn't let us down!"
"Up, up! If it rises another ten percent, I’ll sell!"
"Ten percent? You underestimate the power of collective bonds! Watch, they'll at least double!"
The market had just opened,
but the soaring collective bonds had already thrown the hall into chaos!
The frenzied crowd stared unblinking at the screen,
their eyes brimming with a terrifying greed!
How long had it been?
Not even five minutes!
That red line was already close to standing vertically,
rocketing to the heavens…

"This is somewhat unexpected!"
Wu Ya knew that the final outcome back then had been a massive surge in personal treasury bonds—
after they’d hit rock bottom, they had soared over thirty times their original value!
But the exact process was still unclear to him.
Now, experiencing it firsthand, he couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.
Even collective bonds had such a dazzling moment!
At the opening, they surged continuously!
Just ten minutes in, their price had already tripled!
And the trend was still climbing madly!
In stark contrast, personal bonds were plummeting across the board!
"My god! I thought your collective buying would overheat collective bonds and cause them to crash! That’s why I went for personal bonds, hoping to sneak in for a profit! Who knew I'd lose everything!"
"Exactly! I read so many professional books, and they all said never to chase bonds—because a price surge usually means market manipulation! Now I see, it's all a lie!"
Those who had bought personal bonds, hoping to pick up a bargain,
now stared at the screen, each on the verge of tears!
As soon as trading opened, the green line for personal bonds and the red line for collective bonds
became two parallel lines—
never crossing, never interfering.
But one was fire, the other water!
One soared upward, the other plunged downward!
Amid the crash,
the ten-yuan personal bonds had already dropped to three yuan!
At this rate, within another ten minutes or so,

they would break below one yuan!
Finally, they'd be nothing but scrap paper!
But that wasn't the end…

"Look! It’s climbing again, surging even more violently!"
Another excited, trembling voice whipped the crowd's frustration to a fever pitch!
"Damn! The losses are catastrophic!"
"Sell quickly! Use the remaining funds to buy collective bonds—at least we can recover some losses!"
"Yes, yes, sell and buy fast—time waits for no one!"
Those holding personal bonds, wracked with regret,
rushed to the counters.
In an instant, the branch's trading desk was packed!
Without exception,
they were all there to dump personal bonds and snap up collective ones.
In the hall—
"Hahaha, we’ve struck gold! Finally, we've struck gold!"
"Four times! The price has quadrupled! If I’d only bought more at the start!"
"Haha, a ten-thousand-yuan household! Now I’m a proper ten-thousand-yuan man!"
Everyone had gone completely mad.
The immense profits twisted their facial muscles
into grotesque, almost feral grins!
The greed in their eyes pooled into a blood-red gleam,
as if they were bloodthirsty monsters.
In the hall, on the big screen,
the glaring red line kept climbing.
It was already approaching its highest peak!
Rushing past the fivefold mark in a straight line.
The room exploded again!

"Five times, five times!"
"Five times, five times!"
Thousands roared as one.
All chanting the same phrase,
willing the red line upward, demanding ever greater returns!
It was just about to cross the fivefold threshold!
"Huang Silu, isn't it time to act?"
Wu Ya nudged the shell-shocked Huang Silu.
"Yes, yes! Wu Ya, help me buy in, please."
Huang Silu answered mechanically, eyes glazed.
He failed to notice that the green line for personal bonds had already plunged to the bottom—
falling past the two-yuan and one-yuan marks!
The number displayed: thirty cents.
Utterly worthless.