Chapter 65: Windfall Profits (Vote Requested)

From the evening news on the restaurant television, Tao Zhiming saw that the exchange rate was indeed shifting just as he remembered it would. With a total principal of 260 million yen and an average leverage of 300 times, today’s earnings promised to be impressive.

Even though he had accurate memories of today, Tao Zhiming didn’t act like a gambler, using the maximum possible leverage. If he had used the full 500-fold leverage, the profits would have soared even higher. But after all, of that 260 million, only a small portion truly belonged to him. If something unexpected happened and he suffered heavy losses, his previous meticulous planning would seem like nothing more than reckless bravado.

So Tao Zhiming adopted a relatively conservative strategy, though even this approach had once made Kudou Changyue at Nomura Securities nervous. The yen’s appreciation today was more dramatic than ever before. With such volatility, Kudou Changyue’s day must have been a rollercoaster.

Despite reserving a risk margin, Tao Zhiming had arranged for 2,000 hands at 200 times leverage, some at 300, and others at even higher. In total, he set up 3,000 trades. Each lot was based on 100,000 US dollars. At 200 times leverage, only 500 dollars in margin was required per trade. Tao Zhiming instructed Kudou Changyue early in the day to sell all 3,000 lots of dollars to buy yen, when the rate was just over 175 yen per dollar. By the time the news aired, the rate had approached 173:1. Closing the position by selling all the yen for dollars would yield a profit of over 1,000 dollars per lot.

Three thousand trades! Even after accounting for spreads and other costs, the profit was nearly 3 million dollars.

In other words, in just one day, with 50 million yen set aside as a risk reserve, the 1.2 million dollars initially put in would now become over 4 million. More than tripled!

Converted to yen, Tao Zhiming could barely contain his excitement.

Sure enough, when the call connected, Kudou Changyue’s voice was trembling, clearly knowing why Tao Zhiming was calling. “Mr. Tao… I’ve already called your home many times today. This is truly…”

“What’s the exact number?” Tao Zhiming asked succinctly.

“…No need for small figures. Thanks to today’s wave, if we close out the yen position now and subtract the original 260 million yen and transaction costs, net profit is close to… 500 million yen!”

Kudou Changyue couldn’t suppress his excitement. None of his other clients had so much margin or dared use such high leverage. Although his personal stake was limited to the transaction fees, Tao Zhiming’s sheer number of trades meant significant business.

How did he dare to use leverage above 100 times on every trade?

But it had paid off yet again! The market had made a huge move, and the strategy worked perfectly.

Tao Zhiming felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He’d worked so long for this day. Even powerful conglomerates like Tomokazu’s funneled funds into speculation for days like this.

The legendary “Six Demons Running Amok in Tokyo” was born when idle corporations and conglomerates poured money into the financial markets, making billions of yen every day.

Today, he had seized that windfall for himself. And though he hadn’t been quite as daring, his profit per trade far exceeded theirs.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Then continue with the previous strategy. Don’t close the positions yet—my margin should suffice.” After a moment’s thought, he continued with Kudou Changyue, “Don’t rest tonight! Ignore minor fluctuations. As long as there’s enough margin, do not sell any yen.”

The foreign exchange market never sleeps; it trades twenty-four hours a day. Who could rest on a night like this?

“Understood!” Kudou Changyue replied, his voice brimming with excitement. “We’re all working overtime. Mr. Tao, our section chief is hoping you’ll come by. Do you have time?”

Tao Zhiming shook his head. “No time! Just remember, as long as the margin holds, don’t make any moves tonight. Wait for my call in the morning. Tomorrow, I’ll have you make major trades!”

“Can’t you give me a target number?” Kudou Changyue asked urgently, then quickly added, “I promise I won’t reveal your judgment!”

Tao Zhiming just smiled. “I’ve just gotten home. I need to think a bit. There’s no hurry. In any case, Nomura will make a considerable profit.”

With that, he hung up, not waiting for a reply. He’d chosen Nomura Securities for their strength and professionalism. Their spreads wouldn’t balloon into extra costs.

But with the market moving so swiftly, even short-lived platform spreads could reach ten points. With each dollar-yen tick worth over five dollars, that meant every trade cost dozens of dollars. Three thousand trades—tens of thousands in fees.

So, indeed, Nomura stood to gain handsomely.

At that moment in Nomura Securities, Ichiro Kawasaki stood behind Kudou Changyue. As soon as Kudou ended the call, Kawasaki asked, “Well? What did Mr. Tao say?”

“He told me not to rest and to wait for his call. He gave no target price…” Kudou Changyue replied, shaking his head.

Kawasaki paced, wringing his hands, deep in thought. Today, this Mr. Tao’s account was truly frightening. With only 260 million yen, he’d already made nearly 500 million yen in net profit. It was astonishing.

But Kawasaki didn’t dare replicate Tao Zhiming’s strategy for those clients who had entrusted him with their accounts. Tao’s actions were too wild—the lowest leverage he used was 200 times, and some trades went as high as 500 times.

How could anyone dare? Not a single trade below 100 times leverage!

This was the information gap. Tao Zhiming thought he was being conservative, but to professionals like Kawasaki, he looked like a madman.

Yet this madman had been right again!

He wasn’t entirely reckless, for he’d kept plenty of margin to avoid liquidation in case of sudden fluctuations. But with today’s market, his positions were far from any danger of being wiped out.

Kawasaki gritted his teeth. If this turned out well, the impact would be enormous—it could change his whole career trajectory.

“All right, you guys, calculate the expected profits and transaction costs for these accounts if the leverage is raised to 50, 100, and 200 times, according to the allocation strategy I just explained!”

Within Nomura Securities, information was never as tightly sealed as they claimed. At least between Kawasaki and Kudou, there was an obligation of guidance and supervision. For those accounts fully entrusted to him, Kawasaki could follow his own strategies. Beyond ensuring basic client returns, any additional profits were split differently.

After giving his instructions, Kawasaki fixed his gaze on the live market feed. Watching the numbers flicker, he muttered to himself, “Where will this end… What is your bottom line, based on today’s news…”

At this moment, there was no one in the world—except Tao Zhiming—who truly knew how high the yen would soar. All they saw was that today’s rate cut had not inspired confidence in a stable exchange rate.

But with the yen already making such a huge move today, would things calm down a little tomorrow? No one dared to say. No one dared to bet everything on high leverage.

Those who did were pure gamblers—win and you’d become rich overnight, lose and you’d lose everything.

But Kawasaki felt that man—no, that man—

As insane as his positions were, it didn’t feel like gambling.

After all, he had been winning for over ten days straight!