Next, he liquidated his position in G Ship International. He had purchased it at an average price of 2.27 yuan per share, holding 30 million shares. After a bonus issue of 2.7 shares for every 10 held, his actual holdings grew to 37.1 million shares.

The average selling price was 101.33 yuan, yielding a profit of 99.06 yuan per share. In total, he profited over 3.6 billion yuan, an increase of more than fiftyfold.

The stock with the greatest percentage gain had an average purchase price of only 0.81 yuan per share. When he sold, the average price was 86.81 yuan. Including the bonus shares, the value had actually increased by over one hundred and thirty times.

Because the stock was so cheap at the time, he bought a substantial amount: 50 million shares. With another bonus issue of 3.2 shares for every 10 held, his total holdings reached 66 million shares. He profited 86 yuan per share, with total earnings exceeding 5.6 billion yuan.

Adding in the other stocks he held, this bull market round yielded a net profit of over 40 billion yuan from a total investment of 2 billion yuan in just over two years.

It was unavoidable. Yi Anguo had focused his investments on ten major bull stocks that grew by more than thirtyfold. Among them, two exceeded fiftyfold, one surpassed a hundredfold, another was over fortyfold, and two others approached the fortyfold mark.

These ten stocks alone contributed 26 billion yuan. An overall twentyfold increase wasn't considered excessive. The bull market was just that fierce, with the composite index soaring six to seven times, from under 1,000 points to over 6,000.

The stock market was extremely hot. When Yi Anguo exited, there was no shortage of buyers. A few tens of billions of yuan hardly made an impact on the market.

With the trading volume in the stock market growing substantially, any given stock could have a daily transaction volume of several hundred million yuan. Stocks with slightly larger market caps easily had daily trading volumes of over a billion yuan.

Yi Anguo was initially concerned about having difficulty offloading his positions, but such worries proved unfounded. The influx of investors resembled gamblers with bloodshot eyes, always believing stock prices would continue to rise. Whenever prices fell just a few points, legions of people were eager to enter the market and buy the dip, convinced that any purchase was a guaranteed profit.

While the stock market raged, the real estate market was likewise in a frenzy.

In mid-July, Ou Xiaolong's real estate company delivered the properties to Yi Anguo. With an average selling price of 18,000 yuan per square meter, they sold out instantly upon opening. All 1,500 units were snapped up without a single one remaining. Some people who didn't manage to buy one still clamored with the crowd, as if the units were free.

Later, Zhuo Weidong's 4,500 units were also handed over, and Yi Anguo sold them off just the same, with not a single unit left. I really don't get where everyone has this much money.

However, Yi Anguo noticed a difference. Zhuo Weidong's handover was in early August, only a month later than Ou Xiaolong's. Back in early July, Ou Xiaolong's 1,500 units had sold out in half a day. Although Zhuo Weidong's 4,500 units also sold out completely, there were two key differences. First, Yi Anguo hadn't raised the price; he still sold them at the average of 18,000 yuan per square meter. Second, they didn't sell out instantly—it took half a month.

This indicated that problems were starting to arise. People were beginning to sense danger, and many were hesitating. Despite this, housing prices remained firm and showed no signs of weakening yet. It was, however, becoming evident that homes were no longer selling easily.

At this point, if any real estate developer lost their nerve and began slashing prices to promote sales, housing prices would topple like dominoes, spiraling out of control.

Yi Anguo had actually placed huge banners when selling the properties, kindly advising everyone that prices were too high and had peaked, urging caution and acknowledging the inherent risks of buying. But people continued to buy homes as usual; hardly anyone was willing to heed his advice.

Nonetheless, Yi Anguo couldn't be the first to drop prices. After all, everyone else was selling at that price, and lowering his own would only draw resentment. Zhuo Weidong and Ou Xiaolong especially would not permit him to cut prices. If he dared to do so, they would hate him for it.

Moreover, the properties were selling out instantly at the current prices. Wouldn't it be crazy to lower them? At least, that's what other people would think. Many real estate developers would surely call him a lunatic.

Yet, come November, housing prices did fall, albeit marginally and not noticeably. After all, each property had a different location, and community environments and landscaping varied, so price differences were to be expected. Better communities could sell for 19,000 or 20,000 yuan per square meter, whereas less desirable ones might go for 17,000, 16,000, or even 15,000 yuan per square meter. There was nothing unusual about that. Homebuyers wouldn't fuss over it; as long as the prices in their own community weren't dropping, there wasn't a major issue.

But the inevitable always arrives. You can't prevent it simply by ignoring it or refusing to think about it. In fact, Yi Anguo wasn't the only one who noticed that houses were becoming harder to sell; many others did too. It was just that most were unwilling to confront this reality, and some were simply trying to hold on.

In July 2007, property prices on the outskirts of Shenzhen had soared by over 100% compared to January. Back in January, the average price was only six or seven thousand yuan, but by July, newly launched properties generally had starting prices around 15,000 yuan. At that time, the subway system offered no real benefits, and there were barely any supporting facilities. With such speculative concepts driving them, the price increases were completely baseless and naturally unsustainable.

The turning point was August 2007, which perfectly matched Yi Anguo's feeling. That August, when the Taihua Sunshine Sea development—whose first phase had sold out instantly at an average price of 15,000 yuan—launched its second phase, the speculators from the first phase felt no joy. The opening average price for the second phase was essentially the same as the first. In Shenzhen at that time, this was a nightmare. It was the first housing project where those who bought early saw no appreciation.

In everyone's mind, a house was an asset that must, and certainly would, appreciate in value. But the reality was that the opening price for Taihua Sunshine Sea's second phase was the same as the first, meaning zero appreciation. For all the owners of the first-phase properties, this was undoubtedly a nightmare.

But this nightmare was just the beginning. Soon after, the entire area fell quiet. Taihua's salespeople began canvassing all of Shenzhen, making calls and trying to bring in prospective buyers, but to no avail. After holding out for three months, they finally decided in November to offer a group purchase promotion to the white-collar workers of Blue Mountain Technology Park at an average price of around 10,000 yuan.

This was merely a warm-up; the real earthquake had not yet begun.

After Taihua Sunshine Sea's average selling price dropped from 15,000 to 10,000, and then to 9,000, it finally bottomed out in the 7,000-yuan range, which at last triggered a buying frenzy from those with genuine housing needs. Other projects in the region followed suit. For example, Bincheng West Coast, which was the first to push the area's average price to 15,000 yuan, eventually had to enter the market with prices in the 6,000-yuan range.

New market entrants in the area were even more helpless. Jingang Huating brought in a Walmart as a community amenity—a strong advantage at the time—but only dared to set its opening price at around 8,800 yuan per square meter. Next door, Zhongxi Xiangti Bay introduced innovative small duplexes and a "co-living but in separate quarters" concept for large households, but it still had to launch with low prices to attract customers.

After the 2008 New Year and Spring Festival, housing prices across Shenzhen nosedived. No one could hold on any longer. By then, if you wanted to sell your house, it was already too late; you simply couldn't find a buyer.

However, Yi Anguo was no longer concerned with any of this. After liquidating his investments in the stock market, he had moved on to reaping profits from international crude oil futures.

This year was a bountiful one for Yi Anguo. He had earned over 40 billion yuan in the domestic stock market, but that paled in comparison to his gains in the international crude oil futures market.

After transferring 1.5 billion US dollars out at the end of 2006, he transferred another 770 million US dollars by January 18, 2007. Adding the initial transfer of 388 million US dollars, he had already taken out 2.658 billion US dollars in profit.

But this was still just an appetizer. On January 18, Yi Anguo bought 50,000 long contracts at an average price of 50.5 US dollars. When the price of international crude oil futures rose to 54 US dollars, he added another 50,000 long contracts. By the end of February, the price broke through 60 US dollars. After Yi Anguo closed his positions, his account's total capital reached 850 million US dollars.

He then transferred the entire 850 million US dollars from his account, leaving nothing behind. This time, he did not immediately go short but instead took a break for a few months.

It wasn't until the end of May, when the price of crude oil futures once again fell to 56 dollars a barrel, that he transferred 100 million US dollars into the account and bought 50,000 long contracts.

In June, the price quickly broke through 60 dollars a barrel, and Yi Anguo added another 50,000 long contracts, remaining firmly bullish.

By the end of June, the price surpassed 65 dollars a barrel, and Yi Anguo added yet another 50,000 long contracts.

In early July, the price broke through 70 dollars a barrel, and he once again added 50,000 long contracts, steadfastly maintaining his long position.

On July 31, the price of crude oil futures broke through 78 dollars a barrel. Yi Anguo liquidated all his long positions, bringing his futures account total to 3.15 billion US dollars—a massive harvest. He then immediately reversed his strategy, going short by buying 50,000 short contracts. However, he did not add to this position again, regardless of how much the price dropped.

By late August, the price of international crude oil futures fell below 70 dollars a barrel. Yi Anguo closed his 50,000 short contracts and immediately switched back, buying 50,000 long contracts.

After entering September, the price quickly broke through 75 dollars a barrel, and Yi Anguo again increased his position by 50,000 long contracts.

On September 13, the price surpassed 80 dollars a barrel, and he added another 50,000 long contracts.

The price continued to climb. By the end of September, it broke through 85 dollars a barrel. On October 19, it surpassed 90 dollars, and by December, it peaked above 99 dollars a barrel.

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