Chapter 399: Attacking DA

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the ancient costume exhibition, and Zhou Chao had arrived at the company early.

“Have all the staff been organized?” Zhou Chao inquired of Ling Chen, who stood by his side.

“Everything is arranged. Currently, our event ranks first in terms of popularity on the entire internet, including major social media and short video platforms. The discussion volume is continuously increasing.”

“Alright, it’s 9:30 in the morning. At 11:00, we’ll go ahead with our plan to release negative information about DA. By the way, has KE taken care of their part?”

“It’s all set. Yesterday, they initiated a lawsuit, but due to the time difference, we’re not entirely sure about the details.”

“I see. Inform the company’s top traders to prepare themselves. The siege operation begins at 3:00 PM!”

“Yes, boss!” Ling Chen hurriedly went to make the necessary arrangements. After all, this plan had been in the works for a long time.

Zhou Chao stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the bustling streets below, momentarily lost in thought.

“Boss, I forgot to ask you something earlier,” Ling Chen opened the door and walked back in, snapping Zhou Chao out of his reverie.

“What’s the matter?”

“Boss, what if Lei Du Corporation doesn’t show up as planned? What if they bail out at the last moment?”

“Don’t worry; I’ve already made arrangements for that.” Zhou Chao smiled calmly and waved his hand, reassuring Ling Chen.

Observing Zhou Chao’s confident demeanor, Ling Chen hesitated for a moment and then nodded before leaving the room.

Watching Ling Chen’s expression, Zhou Chao smiled, reminiscing about how he had excitedly smiled yesterday because of a surprise he got from signing in.

Yesterday, with nothing much to do at home, Zhou Chao decided to sign in, and to his delight, he received a pleasant surprise.

“Lifeng Group, the world’s most renowned watch conglomerate, virtually dominating the entire watch industry. Their brand portfolio includes names like Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin, among other internationally renowned brands.

Yesterday, he had already spoken to the current CEO of Lifeng Group, Kelly Pullman, on the phone. He had made it clear that he only wanted to invest and didn’t intend to get involved in management. However, as a precaution, he had also brought Kelly into this plan to ensure everything went smoothly. While he had a 35% stake in Lei Du Corporation, it wasn’t a one-man show, so having a backup plan was essential!

“The three luxury giants, two of them with my stakes, and one of them even under my control. I wonder what the outcome will be when we launch this siege against the top luxury brand.” Zhou Chao savored his tea while contemplating.

As time passed, various discussions about DA’s plagiarism and appropriation of other cultures started flooding the internet at an alarming rate. The trend even seemed to be spreading beyond the Huaxia region.

The DA headquarters in Huaxia was busier than ever.

As the president of DA’s Huaxia branch, Phyllis watched the reports coming in and couldn’t hide her frustration.

“Shet, do those idiots at headquarters have no originality at all? They claim to be world-class fashion designers, yet not only did they copy others, but they also refused to apologize. Now they’re throwing this mess onto my plate to handle. It’s really frustrating!”

As more and more people joined the online discussions, with the trend appearing to spread to other regions, Phyllis was starting to feel overwhelmed.

Helpless, he had no choice but to make a call to DA’s global president. As someone who had been in Huaxia for a long time, he knew that someone was definitely targeting them, or else they wouldn’t have been pushed to the top of the trending topics so quickly.

The phone call was quickly answered.

“Phyllis, it’s only 5 o’clock in the morning. I hope you have a reasonable explanation for this!”

“President Cameron, here’s what happened!” Phyllis quickly recounted the events that had taken place in the Huaxia region.

“Shet, Phyllis, can’t you handle such a minor issue? They just got a little carried away for a moment. The heat will die down in two or three days at most. Then you can organize some events and offer discounts, and those people will flock to our stores just the same. Relax, you’re making a big deal out of nothing. If necessary, spend some money to calm things down. Do you really need me to teach you all this? If you can’t handle it, let someone else do it!”

After President Cameron of DA finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for Phyllis to respond. While Phyllis agreed with the president’s words, as this wasn’t the first time such a situation had occurred, he couldn’t help but feel that things weren’t as simple as they seemed.

After setting down her phone, Phyllis immediately called his secretary.

“Arrange for someone to bring down the trending topics about us immediately. Just get it done and report the expenses to the finance department. Right now, go!”

“Yes!” The secretary hurriedly left the room.

Sitting in his chair, Phyllis watched the bustling traffic outside and muttered to himself, “1 hope I’m just overthinking things.”

Time quickly passed, and in the afternoon, the online discussions didn’t subside due to the Huaxia branch’s situation. On the contrary, they escalated further, thanks in part to the videos posted on Mou Yin’s short video platform. Many enthusiasts of ancient Chinese culture spontaneously created and shared videos on it. Some even posted related content on foreign social media, drawing the attention of international students abroad, with many foreigners joining in.

Among them were the works of renowned designers from countries like White Elephant and Romania, who had previously been copied by DA, and they all faced backlash on their respective social media platforms, condemning DA’s plagiarism.

As the situation evolved to this point, DA’s headquarters couldn’t stay idle any longer. Their PR team began to take action and initiated various explanations.

By the time the clock struck three in the afternoon, the European stock market had opened, and prepared as they were, when Zhou Chao gave the order, the shorting of DA stocks began.

He took out his phone and sent a message in the Modu Second Generation Group: “Short DA, take profits when you can!”

After sending the message, Zhou Chao activated the “Do Not Disturb” mode on his phone and placed it in his pocket.

At the same time, as the European stock market opened, unidentified forces started entering the market, launching a widespread short-selling campaign against DA. Thanks to the rapid dissemination of information online, DA’s stock began to feel the impact. Within just ten minutes of the market opening, it had already dropped by two percentage points.

The entire stock market was in turmoil, with everyone fearing the repercussions. DA was being relentlessly attacked in the stock market, and even LV Group, which stood behind them, couldn’t stay out of it.

Unfortunately, it was hard to fight off multiple opponents with just two fists. After resisting for over two hours, they finally conceded defeat. DA had become a fat lamb that everyone wanted a piece of.

After a long eight hours, DA’s market value had plummeted by 23% on the stock market. Meanwhile, the giants who had shorted the stock began to withdraw. DA and LV Group had suffered heavy losses in this bull-bear battle, while Zhou Chao, with an excited expression, watched the gains of this operation.

At 11:30 PM, the European stock market closed, and Zhou Chao sat back in his chair, satisfied, holding his tea, and waiting for the report from Ling Chen. “Boss, good news, great news!” Ling Chen briskly walked in, holding a folder.

“Go ahead, how much did we gain this time?” Zhou Chao asked with a faint smile.

“Hehe, we’ve made a killing this time. Since we shorted DA earliest and at the highest point, we’ve gained approximately 15 billion US dollars in total. Lei Du Corporation, on the other hand, didn’t do quite as well, earning less than 8 billion. It seems your initial concerns were correct; they didn’t go all out from the beginning. They increased their efforts only after realizing that DA couldn’t resist.”

“I see. We’ll discuss this matter later. Take them out to celebrate, and as for the bonuses, make the arrangements!”

“Yes, Boss!” Ling Chen left the room with excitement, and soon there was a chorus of cheers outside.

Zhou Chao took out his phone and called Kelly from the Lifeng Group.

“Hey, Mr. Zhou, we’ve hit the jackpot this time!” Kelly Palmer’s voice sounded excited as soon as the call connected.

“Stay calm, don’t get too excited. Tell me, how much did the company earn this time?”

“Mr. Zhou, it’s not much, just 20 billion!” Kelly Palmer tried to sound modest.

“Well done. Arrange the bonuses as you see fit. I’ll hang up for now.”

“Mr. Zhou, wait!”

“What’s the matter?”

“I wonder if you have some time to visit the Lifeng Group recently and meet with the senior management?”

Zhou Chao immediately understood that this was about reassuring the team after the change of ownership, so they wanted him to come and stabilize morale.

“Alright, once I’m done with my business here, I’ll find time to fly over. I have a few things to arrange as well. We’ll discuss it when we meet!”

“Sounds good, Mr. Zhou!” Zhou Chao hung up the phone and began to contemplate how to proceed.

Even though they had given DA a lesson in the stock market, there still wasn’t a clear answer to the issue of plagiarism.

After a short while, his phone rang again. Glancing at the caller ID, Zhou Chao smiled.

“Zhou Chao, you’re awesome!” As soon as he answered the call, he heard the enthusiastic shouts of Si Cong and the others!

He quickly moved his phone away and rubbed his ears.

“Lower your voices a bit; you almost deafened me!”

“Hehe, can’t blame us for being excited!”

“So, how did it go? What were your gains?” Zhou Chao was curious about what the group had achieved.

“Well, unfortunately, it happened suddenly, and only Qin Fen, Li Yang, Shen Wenxuan, and I managed to get in on time. We didn’t have a lot of capital to begin with, just under 300 million, and we made less than 500 million!”

“Oh, forgot to mention, it’s in USD!” Zhou Chao’s mouth twitched when he heard this. It seemed like they were trying to show off.

“Not bad at all! You didn’t call me just to ask about this, did you?”

“Of course not. First, we wanted to check on your gains, and second, we were wondering if you’d like to join us for some barbecue!”

Zhou Chao was indeed feeling hungry. He replied, “Sure, 1’11 let my wife know first, and then I’ll come over. Send me the location!”

“Sounds good, 1’11 send it to you right away.”

“Alright, see you then!”

After the call, Zhou Chao sent a message to Jiang Li, letting her know he would be joining the gathering for some barbecue. Then, he left the office with his car keys..