Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet

The reason it had taken five days to begin acting was that the Swiss National Bank was too cautious to provide leveraged funds for William this time. The sum of $4.86 billion was simply too large. Even if William only used $4 billion with a relatively safe 3x leverage, the short-selling funds would total $12 billion.

Although William hadn't explicitly told the Swiss National Bank what his target for shorting was, even an idiot could guess that it was Valentine Group.

With the majority of people optimistic about Valentine Group, the Swiss National Bank didn't have the guts to provide William with the necessary leverage. Even John Gress, the bank's president, who had always supported William, remained unusually silent this time.

Thus, after confirming the news on Sunday, William transferred the entire $4.86 billion to Bastet Bank, which was controlled by the Priory of Sion.

Without waiting for the Swiss National Bank to notify him, William transferred the funds directly, effectively burning his bridges with the bank. The next day, rumors spread in the market that William was planning to go all-in on shorting Valentine Group.

However, this kind of news couldn't hurt William—in fact, it delighted him. He had been wondering how to enter the market without raising suspicion or triggering an insider trading investigation. Now, a perfect excuse had been delivered right into his hands. 

Not only that, but it also made it easier to quickly execute futures contracts. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank's reputation took a hit, and soon after, word spread that a member of the board had resigned—although it was clear to everyone that the resignation wasn't voluntary.

After transferring the $4.86 billion to Bastet Bank, it took two days to prepare the contracts and leveraged funds. On Monday of the new week, at 8:59 a.m. GMT (9:59 a.m. in Switzerland), William stood in the VIP room of Bastet Bank, speaking to the bank's general manager, André Vernel.

"$2 billion, 10x leverage, contract duration of three days. Let's begin, André."

"Three days is a wise choice, Elder Devonshire," André said with a smile.

"Haha, I understand the principle that you can't make all the money in the world and can't afford to offend capitalists too much," William said, squinting at André.

"Apologies, sir. I spoke out of turn."

Indeed, William was now officially a hidden elder of the Priory, a title he had only accepted three days ago.

After William helped the Priory take control of Bastet Bank, he was selected by the four public-facing elders of the Priory to become the fifth hidden elder. The role of a hidden elder was simply to oversee security forces, a position that the Devonshire family had held for centuries until the sudden death of Henry Devonshire, which left the role vacant for ten years.

William had accepted the position because, three days earlier, André had come to London and handed him a list of Priory members. After glancing at the list, William's heart skipped a beat.

Sunday quickly scanned the list, and William listened to the profiles of everyone on it. He suddenly realized that he had been underestimating the Priory all along. It wasn't just an old, irrelevant organization—it was a true treasure trove. 

The list contained over a hundred professors from the world's top 50 universities, hundreds of artists, philosophers, economists, and bankers—essentially the best talent in their fields.

According to André, as a hidden elder, the Priory would provide William with any experts he needed as compensation for serving as the elder overseeing force. This employment relationship was, of course, secret, and it was up to William whether or not to reveal the arrangement to those hired. However, William would be required to provide them with appropriate remuneration. The only disappointment was that very few of the individuals on the list had achieved anything significant in the field of science—likely because scientists naturally tended to clash with theology.

After apologizing, André Vernel respectfully nodded at William, then loudly instructed the three middle-aged men in the trading room, "Begin."

"Understood," came three steady but excited replies.

With Sunday's help, the three Priory members acting as traders only needed to provide specific instructions. Sunday would take care of the rest at maximum speed.

At exactly 9 a.m. London time, a flood of short-selling funds targeting Valentine Group suddenly hit the stock market. Investors and capitalists who had been waiting for William to make a move for days finally cheered.

To many, it seemed like William was handing out free money.

As the morning progressed, with contract after contract being executed, those paying attention around the world grew increasingly alarmed. In less than two hours, the total value of the trades had already exceeded $18 billion.

Whenever anyone tried to bet against William, the contracts were executed in a matter of seconds, with a sweeping momentum that left everyone on edge.

At first, those who had taken the opposite side of William's short positions felt smug and confident. But once the contracts totaling $20 billion were completed, the stock price suddenly began to fluctuate violently.

It didn't take long for everyone to realize that others were now following William's lead and entering the market to short Valentine as well.

A quick investigation revealed that several telecommunications and internet service companies, along with some private investors, had begun participating.

Although these followers weren't making large individual short positions, the sheer number of them was overwhelming. Telecommunications and internet service providers around the world were desperate to see Valentine Group go bankrupt as soon as possible.

With William leading the charge and looking invincible, these companies and investors, cornered and facing a do-or-die situation, scraped together tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, to bet on William's success.

The shorts' all-in gamble left the longs—those betting on Valentine's success—feeling surprised, suspicious, and increasingly uneasy. Capitalists began to wonder if William held some secret, lethal card.

No one was a fool, and no one believed that William, who had committed $20 billion to short Valentine, was a fool either. Especially since he still had $2.86 billion in reserve as margin. For William to lose everything, Valentine Group's stock would need to rise by at least 15%.

A 15% increase wasn't an impossible target. However, William, who had prepared thoroughly, wasn't about to give his opponents a chance to strike back, nor would he leave time for Valentine, that madman, to retaliate.

At noon, when the market closed for lunch, William called Catherine and simply said, "Begin," before hanging up.

Shortly after, Lynn Jacobs, the head of the U.S. Secret Service, received an encrypted video. The video's source was England's Secretary of Security, Catherine.

When Lynn Jacobs played the video, the first thing she saw was a highly advanced laboratory, with about a dozen people in white coats wearing sealed helmets.

One person, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward and said, "Apologies, for security reasons we must conceal our identities. Today, we are here to expose Valentine Group's conspiracy."

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