At CloudMode International, Ethan and Edward stared at the trading screen, their faces growing increasingly pale. Even after throwing massive resources into public relations, the stock's plunge had barely slowed. When it finally stabilized, the relief was thin and fragile.
But neither of them was the type to sit still and wait for death. They immediately launched a full counteroffensive.
First move: Stock buyback. CloudMode International announced an aggressive share repurchase program to signal confidence to the market. The goal was clear—push the price up, force short sellers to close positions, and reduce circulating shares. Simultaneously, they quietly contacted allied funds, seeking a white knight to absorb selling pressure.
Second move: Management buy-ins. Senior executives publicly disclosed personal share purchases, reinforcing the illusion of internal confidence.
Third move: Narrative warfare. They issued a detailed rebuttal to the short-selling report, refuting it line by line, while announcing a previously undisclosed major cooperation agreement with the parent company and revising future earnings guidance upward.
Fourth move: Legal pressure. Lawsuits were filed against the short-selling entity for market manipulation and malicious misinformation.
Fifth move: Media control. Friendly outlets were activated. Negative keywords were suppressed. Positive stories flooded the feed.
Sixth move: Expert endorsements. Financial "experts" appeared on television, calmly explaining why CloudMode was "undervalued" and why the panic was irrational.
In the entire market, only short sellers want prices to fall. Everyone else wants prices to rise. If you short a stock, you are standing against the whole world.
And this time, it worked.
CloudMode International's stock stabilized, then rose. Very quickly, it climbed above the price at which Jason Carter had borrowed shares—meaning Jason had officially entered floating losses. With CloudMode buying back shares and prices ticking upward, his losses expanded rapidly. The sheer scale of the position meant that even a small rebound translated into massive paper losses.
Yet Jason showed no anxiety whatsoever. In his view, this was nothing more than a temporary rally. Short selling was always a battle of endurance. As long as you had irrefutable evidence—or enough money—the other side would eventually break. And Jason lacked neither.
At this moment, a well-connected industry boss contacted Jason. He had partnerships with both Starlight Fashion Group and CloudMode International, and had personally witnessed the confrontation that night. Now, he stepped in as a mediator.
"Jason, Ethan and Edward want to sit down and talk things through. We were all partners to begin with. This started as a small friction—there's no need to burn bridges over something like this. Harmony brings wealth. If this continues, your losses could grow even larger."
Jason replied calmly, "You were there that night. You know very well that I wasn't the one who started this."
The mediator sighed. "I know they crossed the line first. But you also understand the reality of business—having female subordinates accompany clients is an unspoken rule in many circles. They didn't understand your style. That misunderstanding led to offense. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to sit down and resolve this peacefully? Ethan and Edward said that as long as you back down, they'll stop fighting the market and let you exit your position smoothly."
He paused, then added casually, "There's just one small request. Have Snow accompany Edward for the evening. She's just a regular model. And Jason, you're not short of women. If relations improve, they'll even send women your way in return."
The line fell silent.
Jason chuckled lightly. "Those two don't even qualify to negotiate with me. Maybe if they knelt and begged, I'd consider it. A temporary rebound and they already can't see the situation clearly? They're still bluffing and making demands? Tell them to pack their things and go back to where they came from. This has nothing to do with you—stay out of it so you don't get caught in the crossfire."
With that, Jason hung up.
Jason's words were quickly relayed to Ethan and Edward, and both of their faces darkened instantly. First, Jason's attitude was infuriatingly arrogant. Second—and more critically—he was absolutely right. They were bluffing.
They weren't nearly as strong as they were pretending to be. They had only assumed Jason was trapped by losses and hoped to scare him into retreat. If they truly had overwhelming dominance, there was no chance they would allow Jason to exit cleanly. Letting him escape without stripping him bare? Impossible.
But continuing the fight was equally dangerous. Yes, Jason was losing money for now—but they were standing on a knife's edge. If Jason won, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Ethan said grimly, "Is he insane? Does he really want to fight us to the death?"
Edward clenched his teeth. "Then let's fight. I want to see how long he lasts. When he finally wants to exit, we won't let him go peacefully. He'll leave missing more than just money."
The news quickly spread through Starlight Fashion Group's internal model circles. Everyone marveled at how ruthless their new boss was—but no one dared to interfere. This was a battle between giants. All watched from the sidelines.
Only Snow stepped forward openly. She directly criticized CloudMode International on her blog and short-video platforms, publicly backing Jason Carter.
A fellow model asked in shock, "Snow, why are you doing this publicly? We're employees. What if Starlight loses? We'll have no way out."
Snow replied calmly, without hesitation. "With Jason Carter backing us, we have dignity. CloudMode never treated us like people anyway. If Starlight falls, do you really think CloudMode would take us in? And don't forget—why do you think Jason is fighting them so openly?"
She paused, then added coldly, "It's mainly because of me. You don't need to worry."
While the outside world believed the conflict had reached a knife-edge standoff, Jason remained at Skyview Pavilion, relaxed as if on vacation. Even Olivia remained composed.
"Next phase," Jason said casually.
Olivia nodded and immediately began executing orders.
The Three Levels of Short Selling
If short selling had tiers, it could be divided into three levels:
First level: Passive shorting—waiting for the market to collapse on its own.
Second level: Publishing investigative reports to muddy the waters.
Third level: Capital annihilation.
Only true giants could execute the third. Jason had already used the second. Now, he was activating the third.
CloudMode International's stock was already unstable. Logically, with so many scandals exposed, it should have collapsed. Yet it was still rising—held up entirely by buybacks, PR, and false confidence. An illusion.
Jason's goal was simple: shatter the illusion. He had deliberately held back part of his capital earlier—for this exact moment.
The moment he moved, massive sell orders slammed into the market. Millions. Tens of millions. Thirty million. Fifty million. One hundred million. One hundred fifty million—
The stock convulsed violently. Then it collapsed.
Like a dam bursting, the price plunged uncontrollably. The buyback funds CloudMode had prepared were instantly rendered meaningless—like ants trying to block a flood.
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