In the international crude oil investment project team of Chen's Enterprises' financial investment department, the price of international crude oil futures had just surged from $49.73 to $50 a barrel, causing Gong Bin to frown involuntarily.

Could it be that the new manager really has some tricks up his sleeve? Is the international crude oil futures market really about to bottom out and rebound?

However, Gong Bin remained calm and decided to wait and see, not making any hasty moves.

By afternoon, the price of international crude oil futures broke through $50.48 before suddenly taking a nosedive. It didn't just fall below $50; it plummeted past $49. A smile crept onto Gong Bin's face.

Just as I thought. The price of international crude oil futures can't stay above $50. The trend is definitely downwards.

Yet, the new manager, General Manager Yi's, judgment was the complete opposite. He believed the price of international crude oil would rise, breaking through $60 a barrel, and could even exceed $70 in the future.

So, do I follow his orders, or do I stick with my own judgment, which I know is correct? Gong Bin began to hesitate.

If I think about the company's best interests, I should obviously operate based on my own judgment. That would prevent a major loss. But if I do that, wouldn't I just be letting the new manager off easy? This is a perfect opportunity for me to get promoted. If I stand my ground, insist on my correct judgment, and save the company from a huge financial loss, shouldn't they praise my contribution? Shouldn't I get a reward, a promotion, and a raise? But... reliable inside sources say this Yi Anguo, the new general manager, has powerful connections. If I stick to my judgment and save the company money, they'll definitely reward me, but trying to take Yi Anguo's place… that probably won't go smoothly. So, should I just follow Yi Anguo's instructions? The company would suffer a massive loss, and I might have to take some of the blame, but there's an upside: Yi Anguo, having made such a severe command error, probably wouldn't be able to stay on as manager of the financial investment department. Either way, I'm in an unbeatable position. The question is, which path gives me the greatest benefit? The first option brings the most personal financial gain, but I probably won't succeed in getting promoted and ousting the new manager. That could create future problems; who's to say Yi Anguo wouldn't find a chance to come after me later? So, for my long-term interests, the best choice is to get rid of the new manager first. General Manager Yi, oh General Manager Yi, your biggest mistake was picking the wrong target. You shouldn't have tried to make an example out of me. Since you started this, don't blame me for finishing it. Don't blame me for being ruthless. I hope that wherever you end up next, you'll remember this lesson: it's better to keep a low profile. Especially when you don't have the strength to back up your ambition.

"Give the order," Gong Bin commanded, his mind made up. "Tell them it's from the new manager: when the price of international crude oil futures falls below $48 a barrel, go long. Buy up as many long positions as possible."

「On May 18」

The price of international crude oil futures fell below $48 a barrel, yet Yi Anguo still did not instruct Ding Jing to close out positions. Instead, he increased his short position, buying an additional one hundred short contracts.

「On May 19」

When the price of international crude oil dropped to $47.31, Yi Anguo decided he had waited long enough and had Ding Jing immediately close the positions.

After closing out, the total account funds reached $307,500. Yi Anguo watched the market for a bit. When the price fell again to $47.26 a barrel, he decisively instructed Ding Jing to buy 500 long contracts.

500 contracts equaled 500,000 barrels of oil; a one-dollar fluctuation meant a $500,000 difference.

The risk seemed immense. However, the price was unlikely to fall below $47 a barrel. From that perspective, the risk wasn't so great—in fact, you could almost say there was no risk at all.

Nevertheless, Yi Anguo wouldn't go all-in. He was confident, but he wouldn't make his move that obvious.

On the other side, as soon as the price dropped below $48 a barrel, Gong Bin of the Chen's Enterprises financial investment department's crude oil futures team immediately ordered the company's traders to buy aggressively, going long on crude oil futures.

As the deputy manager in charge of the project team, Gong Bin wielded significant power. He had authorization to control up to $5 million, and this time, he used his full authority to buy 5,000 long contracts for international crude oil futures.

Five thousand contracts were equivalent to five million barrels of crude oil. If the price fell below $47 a barrel, the entire $5 million would go down the drain.

Five million US dollars was equivalent to 40 million RMB. Even for a massive company like Chen's Enterprises, this was unequivocally a major financial loss. In 2005, 40 million RMB was an enormous sum.

They had just bought the 5,000 long contracts when the price, which had just dipped below $48 a barrel, showed no signs of stopping or rebounding. It continued to plummet.

It fell below $47.90!

It fell below $47.80!

It fell below $47.70!

It fell below $47.60!

Every ten-cent drop meant a loss of $500,000!

Everyone was glued to the trading data on the large screen, including Yi Anguo's assistant, Zhou Mengdie.

At this moment, she and the new manager, Yi Anguo, were like two grasshoppers on the same rope; their fates were intertwined, for better or worse.

So when she saw the price of crude oil futures continuously falling on the screen, her heart sank with it.

"Deputy Manager Gong! It looks to me like you're deliberately harming the company's interests," Zhou Mengdie accused, her face cold with anger.

"Assistant Zhou, watch your tone," Gong Bin retorted, his expression equally cold. Of course, he wasn't afraid of an assistant. In the workplace, no one calls a deputy manager 'deputy'. They just call you 'manager'. For this assistant to call me 'Deputy Manager' in front of everyone is a clear insult. She's looking down on me. Why would I be happy about that?

"You took the meeting minutes yourself," he continued. "General Manager Yi instructed us to maintain a long position when the price falls to $47 a barrel. Am I not carrying out his instructions right now?"

"You're not wrong, General Manager Yi did say in the meeting to go long when the price drops to $47 a barrel," Zhou Mengdie shot back fearlessly. "But you started buying everything up the moment the price fell below $48, while it was still above $47.90. How can you claim you're not deliberately targeting him? Even a novice like me, who knows nothing about futures trading, understands you should wait and see if the price will keep dropping, or at least buy in batches! How could you just ignore everything and throw all your money in to go long as soon as it dipped below $48?"

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