Chapter One: The Bankrupt Man Heard the Clock

The emperor in Lu's ear was not excited. “They carried an empty box into my palace and told me to smile.” That did not mean the stock would fall. It meant corporate emotion and market pricing disagreed. Public option data showed wildly expensive near-term calls but a small dent between adjacent strikes. Lu posted 12,000 yuan in margin for a butterfly spread. Maximum loss: 342. Maximum gain: 4,800. He would profit only if the announcement disappointed without destroying the stock. Han saw the order. “Gambling during your own liquidation?” “I'm not betting on direction,” Lu said. “I'm buying the market's overconfidence in its precision.”