The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

May 4, 2010, Manhattan, New York.

Ron Hunter shifted the Ford Ranger pickup into park, the engine humming low in the traffic on 11th Avenue.

"Don't rush, old pal." Ron Hunter touched the passenger side of the Remington 870.

He is of mixed Chinese and American descent; his mother is of Chinese descent, and his father is a Texas redneck.

Five years ago, he ventured to New York alone in search of a better life.

He carried goods, worked in transportation, and did real estate sales. He worked desperately, saved every penny, and poured all his money into this family.

I thought I could settle down in New York and dream of having my own little cowboy in the future.

In the end, it all came down to a divorce agreement.

Their house and savings were all taken away, leaving them with huge debts.

All that's left is this pickup truck that's been with me for seven years.

As is widely known, the most terrifying thing in America is not gunshots, but "slaughter".

It's important to know that the United States is the country with the most immigrants in the world, with at least several million people immigrating there every year.

However, the population has not surged.

According to the Census Bureau, the total population of the United States in 2000 was approximately 2.81 million.

In 2009, the total population was approximately 3.07 million.

For a country recognized worldwide as one of the most developed, its population has only increased by 20 million in ten years.

It still relies on a large number of immigrants.

This is abnormal in itself.

The reason for this is that many people become homeless after going bankrupt.

The official unemployment rate is 9.6%.

In fact, this data does not include deaths following bankruptcy.

The average lifespan of a homeless person in the United States is three to five years.

3 means 3 days.

In other words, given Ron's current situation, he will either end up on the streets, waiting to die one day on a deserted street corner.

Either pay off this debt.

Therefore, Ron was willing to swallow his pride and go back to Texas to ask his father for help.

He thought the matter was over, but he received news as soon as he returned to Texas.

His ex-wife had been sleeping with a Wall Street bastard who played with financial numbers long before their divorce.

This is not an ordinary divorce; it is a premeditated scam.

At this moment, the redneck's passion completely overwhelmed his reason.

He wanted to rush in and shoot the two scoundrels dead.

First, send that woman who betrayed him on her way, then smash the head of that Wall Street bastard.

As for what will happen next?

He didn't consider it, nor did he want to consider it; the worst that could happen was death!

Ron Hunter walked into the apartment building without saying a word, carrying his shotgun.

The cold gun barrel gave him a little warmth at that moment, and his heavy footsteps echoed like death in the silent corridor.

Arriving on the sixth floor, he stood at the door, concealing the gun in his trench coat, and raised his hand to knock.

Just then, a passage of text struck my mind like lightning:

On May 6, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1000 points, reaching a low of 9869.

Ron abruptly stopped raising his arm.

A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, which were filled with murderous intent.

Actually, this text had appeared suddenly three days earlier, when Ron set off for New York.

However, Ron's reason was replaced by anger at that time, so he didn't have time to think much and thought it was his own hallucination.

When this text reappeared, he was stunned.

A look of astonishment flashed across his eyes, replaced by a violent killing intent.

He knocked on the door without hesitation:

"Knock knock knock—"

A moment later, the door opened.

The woman who opened the door was his ex-wife, Megan.

"Ron? What are you doing here? How did you find this place?" Megan stared in astonishment at the travel-worn man with bloodshot eyes.

She knew this man too well, and at this moment she was completely flustered.

Just as she was preparing some excuse to reassure Ron, a lazy voice came from behind her: "Sweetheart, who is it?"

"Salesman," Megan mumbled a curt reply as she turned around, then, trying to sound calm, she addressed Ron:

"Ron, this is over. If you have any questions, you can talk to my lawyer. Please don't disturb my life."

As they were talking, a middle-aged man in pajamas walked over with a glass of red wine.

He looked at Ron, paused for a moment, then gave a contemptuous smile:

"Honey, who is this country bumpkin? Could he be your husband who only knows how to do manual labor? No—he's probably your ex-husband now."

As he spoke, he provocatively put his arm around Megan's waist.

In fact, for Eric, as an excellent trader on Wall Street, what kind of woman hasn't he been with?

Megan's looks aren't the best, they're even a bit average, but she has a good figure.

The only thing that interested Jeremy was that she was a married woman.

He enjoyed the thrill of this identity and relished the prospect of the other person gradually succumbing to his advances.

Hearing Eric's words and seeing Ron's expression, Megan could no longer remain calm.

"Ron, calm down—"

"Fuck you, calm down, you two sons of bitches!"

Ron's pupils instantly turned blood red, and he pulled out the shotgun from his pocket without hesitation.

"NO! Ron..."

"Oh shit!"

The two men stared in horror at the dark muzzle of the gun.

Death was closer than ever before.

Click—the bullet is chambered.

Then, with a loud bang, the muffled sound of a shotgun rang out throughout the entire apartment building.

.......

Ron is gone.

The men and women who survived the ordeal collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

It's not that Ron is soft-hearted.

Kill them?

This is too cheap for that despicable couple.

A single shot is merely a momentary relief, hardly a form of revenge.

Since he was going to die anyway, he wanted to verify the information in his mind first.

Although Ron is a Texas redneck, not a Wall Street elite.

But after five years of struggling in New York, I know what the Dow Jones Industrial Average means.

That's Wall Street's Achilles' heel, a barometer of the global financial market.

Under normal circumstances, a daily fluctuation of 100 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average is considered drastic.

A 1000-point plunge?

That was a super black swan event capable of crashing Wall Street, bankrupting countless millionaires, and utterly disrupting the financial markets.

And this voice accurately announced the date.

That is, the day after tomorrow.

If it's correct, it will be his chance to turn things around.

There will be countless ways to drag this adulterous couple into the mud.

If we're wrong, it'll only waste a day or two; we can come back and fix it later.

Ron grabbed a quick burger meal at a roadside fast food restaurant for lunch and drove to the Merrill Lynch branch on Wall Street.

After spending the afternoon learning the basic rules, Ron slapped a bank card on the counter:

"Open an account, $200,000, and put Dow Jones options."

This money, totaling $21.8, was borrowed from my father and was originally intended to be used to pay off debts.

After learning that his ex-wife had been having an affair before their marriage, he decided to kill the two sons of bitches.

Then, with the money, he fled to Mexico.

The trader at the counter looked up at the man in front of him. He was around thirty years old, with a full beard, deep-set eyes, and greasy hair, looking exactly like a gambler.

He'd seen many people like this before, and casually introduced himself: "What's the strike price? We currently have options at 106, 105, 104, 103..."

"100," Ron interrupted rudely. "Strike price 100, buy all for $20."

Are you sure?

The trader raised an eyebrow, becoming even more convinced that the man in front of him was a gambler.

He shrugged slightly, feeling contemptuous, and then typed in the information Ron had requested.

DJX options are option contracts with the Dow Jones Industrial Average as the underlying asset.

Unlike futures, futures can easily lead to margin calls if prices surge when the market is bearish.

DJX options, on the other hand, do not carry this risk.

Let's take Ron's put option with a strike price of 100 points as an example.

Whether the increase is 100 points or 300 points, it is impossible for a futures market to experience a margin call.

It's simply a matter of slightly adjusting the contract price from $10 to $5.

Therefore, DJX options are very popular among retail investors or novices who don't have time to monitor the market.

However, if the expected strike price is still not reached as the contract expiration date approaches.

Then this contract will become increasingly worthless.

Therefore, retail investors generally choose strike prices that are close to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Although the price per serving is relatively high, the losses are relatively small.

Instead of choosing a depth value of 100 like Ron did, which means the Dow Jones Industrial Average will fall below 10000 points from its current level of 10860 points in less than three weeks.

The total drop exceeded 860 points.

In this stockbroker's view, it's not impossible, but the interest rate will be extremely low.

So small as to be almost nonexistent.

Ron ignored his broker's well-intentioned advice and simply asked him to set up a system where all positions would be liquidated immediately if the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 9900 points.

He hadn't expected to reach 1000 points; getting 800 or 900 would be good enough.

After opening his account and completing the contract, Ron walked out of the securities brokerage without looking back.

We'll see what happens the day after tomorrow.

Alternatively, one could soar to great heights and embark on a completely different life.

Either kill those two bastards and live a life free from want, or...

(P.S.: This is my first time writing a book, and the financial knowledge in it comes from other people's novels. If there are any inaccuracies, please be kind in your comments.)