"Holy crap! They're actually betting!"
"Old Man Zhang got kicked out early! Was he stumped by his students?"
"I've seen it all! This is the first time I've seen someone make the department head freeze in his tracks!"
"Two hundred thousand! That's real money, two hundred thousand! I've never seen that much cash piled up in my life!"
"Mò Cè must be out of his mind. Where did he get two hundred thousand? Isn't he the poorest guy in our finance department, the famous simp for the school beauty?"
"How is he supposed to win? One versus three? The opponents are Class President Wáng Hào, Simulated Trading champion Zhōu Kǎi, and school beauty Lǐ Mèngqí! This lineup could form a team to compete in the National College Student Stock Trading Competition. Is he going to win with his head?"
The murmurs bubbled up in the lecture hall like boiling water.
The three 'Value Investing' group representatives, unceremoniously thrust into the spotlight, wore expressions that were more colorful than the last.
Class President Wáng Hào's brow was furrowed into a QR code, which, if scanned, would probably lead directly to a resignation letter template.
He glanced at Zhōu Kǎi, who stood beside him with a poker face, and then at Lǐ Mèngqí, whose face was ashen. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.
What the hell is this?
Professor, you're playing with our heartbeats, risking our futures and reputations to go all-in against someone.
Couldn't you have at least called us and asked for our opinions as the parties involved?
Everything's already decided?
Are we your AK47s, to be deployed to shoot whoever you want?
Zhōu Kǎi's face was as gloomy as the sky before a thunderstorm.
He had won an award in the Simulated Trading competition last year and was planning to use that qualification for an internship at a brokerage firm. Now, he was personally appointed by the professor to fight a lunatic who kept babbling about 'Price-to-Dream Ratio'.
How could he possibly fight this?
If they won, it would be a hollow victory. The outside world would just say they ganged up on one person, three against one, and it was just game currency.
And if they lost?
That would be an epic, historically humiliating defeat! A hand of three aces and a pair of twos, wiped out by a single three-card run? How could they ever hold their heads up in the finance department again?
The most humiliated, the most embarrassed, was undoubtedly Lǐ Mèngqí.
She felt that two of the three conditions Mò Cè proposed were aimed directly at her face.
And he wanted her to shout 'I am the clown!' one hundred times in front of the whole class?
And record a video to post on her Moments? And post 'I am the biggest clown!' on the confession wall for a whole month?
This damned simp!
How dare he!
He must be doing this on purpose!
He must want to use this extreme method to get revenge for me dumping him, to attract my attention again!
Disgusting!
So disgusting!
A close friend leaned over to Lǐ Mèngqí and grumbled indignantly, "Mèngqí, is this Mò Cè crazy? And the professor, how could he agree to such a ridiculous bet?"
"He's not crazy, he's stupid."
Lǐ Mèngqí gritted out the words through her teeth. She forcibly suppressed the raging anger in her heart, tidied her expression, and put on her arrogant facade again, sneering at the surrounding classmates.
"Just wait and watch the show."
"A pauper who can't even afford an 8,000 yuan bag, even if he stumbled upon a stroke of luck, he absolutely won't be able to produce 200,000 yuan."
"I want to see how he'll get out of this when he can't produce the account screenshot tomorrow!"
Although she spoke contemptuously, an uncontrollable restlessness inexplicably arose in her heart.
Damn Mò Cè, just you wait!
I will make sure you lose everything you have and then crawl back to me, begging like you used to!
...
Mò Cè was about to pack up and leave when a figure blocked his path.
Sū Wǎnqíng.
Her face showed no extra expression, and her clear eyes, like two high-speed precision instruments, scanned him from head to toe.
"Risk-reward ratio analysis."
She spoke, her voice flat and devoid of emotion, holding a pen and a small notebook.
"Your maximum potential loss is 200,000 yuan in principal, plus unquantifiable reputational damage."
"Your counterparty is a three-person team, operating with 600,000 yuan in simulated funds."
"Assuming they follow a Value Investing strategy, with a market average annualized return of 12% as a benchmark, over a semester of about four months, their target return is 4%, which is [REDACTED]."
"This means your real account must achieve at least a 12% return during the same period to beat them in absolute terms."
"As for your chosen stock, 000622, based on its trading data from the past sixty days, the average daily volatility is only 1.3%, and trading volume has long been below the five-day moving average, lacking any technical bullish signals."
"Conclusion: This is an extremely irrational trade. Your win rate is below 7%."
'Wow!'
Mò Cè was overjoyed inwardly.
This is what a future Chief Trading Officer should look like!
Even her advice felt like a due diligence report!
Calm, composed, data is king.
She wasn't a little rabbit; she was a supercomputer in human skin!
Looking at her stubborn refusal to budge, insisting on quantifying everything, he felt a strong sense of admiration.
Yes, this is it.
This is the sharpest blade in his future capital empire.
"Let's go, time to eat."
Mò Cè picked up his books, nudging Gāo Shēn, who was already petrified beside him.
"Lao Mò! You're my brother! From today on, you're my sworn brother!"
Gāo Shēn instantly unfroze, threw an arm around Mò Cè's neck, his face flushed with excitement.
"Price-to-Dream Ratio, I get it now!"
"I'm going back right now to research which company has the best PowerPoint! Which boss is the best at drawing big pictures!"
Mò Cè pushed his face away with disgust.
"Get lost, don't take advantage of me."
In the cafeteria, Mò Cè and Gāo Shēn sat facing each other.
Sū Wǎnqíng hesitated for a moment, then took her food tray and quietly sat down next to Mò Cè. She then took out her phone, opened the stock trading software, and began to review her trades with a blank expression.
Gāo Shēn had completely transformed into Mò Cè's biggest cheerleader. With a chicken leg stuffed in his mouth, he mumbled indistinctly,
"Brother! What you said today just fried my CPU! What crap Price-to-Earnings Ratio, even dogs don't look at it! From now on, I only believe in your Price-to-Dream Ratio! Whatever you say to buy, I'll buy!"
Mò Cè was picking at his rice, too lazy to bother with him.
This guy's train of thought had seamlessly jumped from one extreme to another.
Hopeless, just wait for death, goodbye.
"Swallow what's in your mouth before you speak, it's embarrassing," Mò Cè said, not looking up as he picked up a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks.
"Oh, oh!" Gāo Shēn gulped down a mouthful of Coke, his eyes gleaming. "Brother, that 200,000 yuan... is it real?"
"What else?" Mò Cè asked casually. "Am I betting with Professor Zhang using spirit money?"
Gāo Shēn gasped.
He thought Mò Cè was bluffing, but he didn't expect him to be "bulling" for real.
Sū Wǎnqíng, next to them, paused her finger on the screen. She couldn't help herself and finally asked softly,
"Hengli Industrial... its fundamentals are poor. Why did you choose it? Is there some hidden positive factor I missed?"
Mò Cè looked up, glanced at her, and a smile tugged at his lips. "Because last night I observed the heavens, and the Ziwei Star moved east, favoring the infrastructure engineering sector. After a quick calculation, it seems I have a connection with it."
Sū Wǎnqíng: "..."
She silently lowered her head and continued eating, not saying another word.
After eating, Mò Cè returned directly to the dormitory.
Gāo Shēn trotted after him, like a loyal follower.
"Brother, what do we do next? Should I help you gather information on those three? Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles!"
Mò Cè threw himself into his chair, crossed his legs, and casually opened his laptop.
The screen lit up, reflecting his calm, unruffled face.
"No need."
"Huh?"
"Does a player at the King level need to research the opponent's build and runes before playing three Bronze matches?"
Mò Cè glanced at him.
"The only thing you need to do now is control your hands. Don't touch your stock account. Stay away from it, okay?"
Gāo Shēn: "..."
Mò Cè didn't take the bet with Professor Zhang to heart at all.
This confrontation, which others saw as a gamble for their lives and fortunes, was merely a harmless interlude on his path of reincarnation.
A bonus item, unplanned.
A free stage to quickly expand his personal influence.
Even without this bet, he would have followed his own rhythm, gradually harvesting the entire market.
It was Professor Zhang himself, along with his three proud disciples, who actively sought him out, wanting to be his background actors and enrich his future 'Stock God' persona.
This wasn't a bet.
It was a gift.
They were simply presenting themselves to add a few celebratory song and dance performances to the upcoming feast of wealth.
And he didn't even have to pay for them.
Quite good.
Saved him trouble.
Especially Lǐ Mèngqí.
He had originally thought about finding an opportunity later to settle accounts with her from his past and present lives.
Now, it was perfect.
She had proactively offered her face, strongly demanding public execution.