Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

@FOXNewsAnchor: A Superman who threatens Wall Street by lifting a building? That's not a hero, that's a villain.

@MAGA2024_forever: China sent a superhuman to intimidate American financial institutions, and our government just stood by and watched? What's wrong with this country?

@Anonymous_4chan: He was sitting in a plastic chair drinking coffee, and the SWAT team was standing fifty feet away. Honestly? Pretty cool.

The second camp: "Bullshit! You capitalist lackeys!"

@BernieSanders_Fan: Oh, shut up. These "legitimate businesses" have been shorting the world and manipulating the media for decades. They've ruined people's lives. They've destroyed economies. Now that someone's finally fighting back, you call him the villain? Wake up.

@AOC_2024: Let me translate what just happened: Wall Street wanted to destroy an industry. The people in that industry said, "Enough is enough." One of them—who happened to be able to lift a building—went to Wall Street for a talk. This isn't terrorism. This is superhuman collective bargaining.

@ClassWarrior_99: "A legally operating company"? A legally operating company wouldn't pay the media to spread lies. A legally operating company wouldn't hire influential figures to incite workers to fight each other. A legally operating company wouldn't short-sell its own company until it goes bankrupt and then call it "analysis." Vulture funds deserve it. Superman is a hero!

@MiddleAmerica_Mike: In 2008, they made billions, and I lost my retirement pension. If I could lift a building, I'd do the same. Good job!

The third group: "What are you all arguing about? You're missing the point!"

@StructuralEngineer_AMA：满载的波音747重约57.5万磅，也就是287吨。数字不小。但这栋超过30层的商业大厦。保守估计：10万吨。那是一亿公斤。是747重量的347倍！

@MarvelFan_2099: So what? Superman saved 300 people, what did this guy do? He's—no, he's already destroyed a building!

@MathGeek_42: Let me tell you what this guy did! This guy is saving tens of millions of food delivery jobs!

--------

Y City, local rider group.

Looking at the familiar high-definition screenshot of the face in the video, Hu Zai, A Xing, Xiao Mao, Lao Zhang, Lao Zhao, and others were all dumbfounded.

"Ming actually said he's not very educated!" After a full three minutes, Xiao Mao finally uttered the first complete sentence:

"He can also speak English!"

90 Force Majeure

8:13 pm.

A sudden commotion broke out among the crowd outside the cordon.

Several black sedans emerged from some alley and silently stopped at the edge of the cordoned-off area.

The car doors opened almost simultaneously, and the people getting out started walking quickly before the car had even come to a complete stop—the way they walked was clearly a habit: someone opened the door, someone cleared the way, someone blocked the camera, and someone handed over their documents in advance.

The leader, dressed in a suit and with his hair neatly styled, was in his fifties. Almost simultaneously, the other three men and one woman followed, each clutching something in their hands—a folder, a cell phone, or simply a clenched fist.

They paused for two seconds in front of the police line and exchanged a few words with Sheriff Vanderbilt, who was already waiting there.

After listening, Vanderbilt's expression subtly changed, and then he nodded toward the slightly tilted building behind him.

The warning line was raised.

The six people walked across the open space, which was dyed red and blue by police lights, step by step, toward the white plastic chair.

When they were ten meters apart, the one in the lead slowed down.

When he was five meters away, he stopped completely, put his hands at his sides, and bowed slightly.

The five people behind him followed suit.

“Sir,” the leader began, his voice steady, “may I have a word with you?”

The attitude was so humble, it was the kind of humility that said, "You can make us disappear at any time, but we hope you won't."

The young man looked up: "Who are you?"

The leader swallowed hard and straightened up—only halfway up, his back still bent.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am James Whitman, Chief Investment Officer of MetLife."

Whitman waited two seconds to make sure the other person didn't intend to interrupt before continuing:

“We—I mean Metropolitan Life Insurance—hold 48 percent of the shares in this building.”

“We are a life insurance company, sir. Our business is to provide life insurance coverage for ordinary Americans—yes, the kind that pays out a sum of money to keep the family alive if the breadwinner of the family goes out of business. We serve more than 60 million people. Our investments, including this building, are ultimately aimed at providing stable returns to these policyholders.”

After finishing this, Whitman paused cautiously to observe the other person's expression.

The young man's expression remained unchanged.

Behind Whitman, a middle-aged woman in a gray suit stepped forward.

“Sir, my name is Patricia Cole, Chief Financial Officer of Putian Insurance.”

Her voice was steadyer than Whitman's, but her fingers, hanging at her sides, were also trembling slightly.

"Puttenhouse owns 42 percent of the shares in this building. We are a property and casualty insurance company—you know what that is? Car insurance, home insurance, commercial insurance. If someone is injured in a car accident, if someone loses their home in a hurricane, we pay. We serve more than 35 million customers across the United States."

"Sir, I understand your anger. You are working for the jobs of tens of millions of people. You are fighting for the rights and dignity of the riders in Da Yang. This is a great cause."

“I just want you to understand that Putian Insurance also affects the livelihoods of many people. We have 62,000 employees. Our policyholders number 35 million—they are not vulture funds, they are just ordinary people who bought insurance hoping that someone would compensate them if something happens. If we suffer financial problems because of the loss of this building, they will be the ones who are ultimately affected.”

The young man glanced at her.

Cole shrank back half an inch.

The third person came up.

This was a man in his sixties, with gray hair and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He had a more composed demeanor than the previous two.

"Sir, my name is Richard Mendoza, Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees Retirement Fund."

“We are not a private company, sir. We are a public pension fund. We serve California public employees, teachers, police officers, firefighters—people who go to work every day, pay taxes their whole lives, and expect to receive some money to live on in retirement. We own nine percent of this building.”

"That nine percent is their money. It's the money teachers use to buy medicine after retirement, the money police use to raise their children, and the money firefighters use to pay their mortgages."

“I know there are vulture funds in this building. I know what they’ve done. If this building belongs to them, I’ll applaud you if you tear it down.”

“But this building doesn’t belong to them. They are just tenants; the real owners are teachers, police officers, and firefighters.”

After he finished speaking, he took half a step back.

The fourth person stepped forward.

The man was in his early forties and was wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit.

“Sir, my name is Thomas Lane, Senior Vice President of L&L Development Group… Well, L&L Development Group is the developer of this building.”

His tone was completely different from the previous ones—not so humble, not so cautious, even carrying a hint of "whatever."

"Sir, my boss sent me here, so here I am. My boss asked me to try my best to talk to you, and you gave me this opportunity, so I must say: Well done!"

After the last person finished speaking, the young man stood up.

He first looked at James Whitman: "You just said that you are the chief investment officer of Metropolitan Life?"

Whitman nodded quickly: "Yes, sir."

"Alright, let me ask you a question." The young man's voice was calm. "What are your company's total assets?"

This was information Whitman was almost familiar with: "As of the last quarter, MetLife's total assets under management were approximately... $677.4 billion, sir."

The young man nodded and pointed to the building behind him: "What about this building? How much are your shares worth?"

Whitman's Adam's apple bobbed.

“...approximately $3.84 million, sir.”

"Oh..." The young man looked away, "That's 0.056%?"

This number was like a slap in the face, landing precisely on Whitman's cheek.

Whitman's face turned completely pale.

The young man did not look at him again.

He turned around, his gaze falling on the woman in the gray suit—Patricia Cole, the chief financial officer of Putian Insurance.

“Patricia Cole, Putian Insurance?” the young man asked.

“Yes, yes, sir.” Cole’s voice trembled even more than before.

The young man took out his phone from his pocket and tapped a few times.

“I just checked,” the young man said, turning his phone screen toward Cole, “Your company’s rejection rate is 32%.”

“Sir!” Cole explained earnestly, “This number needs to be understood within its specific context! Our business structure is primarily property and casualty insurance, and the claim rejection rate for property and casualty insurance is inherently higher than that for life insurance—different types of insurance, different policy types, and different risk exposures all have completely different statistical methods! Moreover, we have a large customer base and a large number of claims, so any statistical figure will be magnified when faced with absolute numbers—”

“Yes,” the young man nodded, “various force majeure events.”

Patricia Cole was also speechless.

To Richard Mendoza, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the young man simply asked one question: "Do you charge an administration fee?"

Richard was speechless.

The young man didn't say a word to Thomas Lane, the senior vice president of L&L Development Group.

However, he took out a pack of red cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Thomas.

Ryan paused for a second, then took it with both hands and held it in his palms.

--------

Zhang Qiliang lit a cigarette for himself and sat down again.

I took out my phone and started browsing various apps.

Don't ask Zhang Qiliang how he plays on his phone in America; that's not a skill a good kid should master.

A local app.

Discussions surrounding Metropolitan Yong An Security quickly became a trending topic:

"365 days a year, no accidents happen, and just because the insured is a year older, they want to raise the premium..." Netizens did the math for MetLife, "Now, they actually say that less than one-thousandth of your assets will affect your insurance claims against the public?"

“The risks of financial assets are not so simple to calculate.” Someone replied: “Asset allocation, liquidity management, solvency capital requirements, regulatory stress tests—the impairment of any core asset will have a chain reaction on the financial statements. If this building is gone, the credit rating may be downgraded, financing costs will rise, capital buffers will be compressed, and ultimately it will inevitably affect the underwriting capacity of new policies, and even… in some extreme cases, even affect the efficiency of service to existing policyholders.”

"Get out of here, you capitalist lackey!"

"Brothers, I have to say, this guy is really competent. I can't understand a single word of what's written above."

“In contrast,” someone replied, “the delivery guy’s expression and eyes are all too easy to understand: you, your colleagues, and your investors, if you’re bold enough, can influence your insurance claims.”

……

Someone posted a screenshot of Putianxin's annual report data, highlighting the 32% figure as the largest.

"A 32% rejection rate. Friends, 32%. That means that for every three people who make a claim, one will be rejected."

"'We are concerned about the livelihoods of 35 million people.' The livelihoods of 35 million people? Why doesn't she look at the 32% of people—those people have lost their jobs, paid their insurance premiums for nothing, have no one to care for them when they are sick, and have no one to compensate them when something happens."

"Different types of insurance, different policy types, and different risk exposures require completely different statistical methods."

Someone posted a link to an old news article in the comments section—after a hurricane a few years ago, Putian Credit's claim rejection rate soared to 47% in the worst-affected areas. The reason given was that "floods are not considered typhoon disasters."

"Force majeure!!! I never imagined that one day I would like this word so much."

……

California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) official website.

"In 2025, the Clean Energy Fund invested 4.68 million yuan, but suffered a 71% loss, resulting in a book loss of 3.3 million yuan."

“In February 2026, Congress launched an investigation. Representative Kevin Keeley said, ‘CalPERS appears to have a completely different agenda and may be operating in violation of fiduciary duty.’”

"The management fees were still collected without fail. For that investment that lost 71%, they paid the fund manager 2200 million in management fees—not a penny less."

"Right now, we have 9% of the shares in this building. 3.84 million. Compared to all that, what's that?"

"Your calculations are wrong. The key issue isn't the 3.84 million; the key issue is—on what basis did their investment committee make these decisions?"

"For example, a newly recruited 'Chief Diversity Officer' has no experience in the financial industry. Her responsibilities include: integrating DEI principles into investment decisions, recruiting employees who meet DEI standards, and guiding DEI-based voting and investment. Simply put: an outsider who is unknown and whose qualifications are unclear decides where the money is invested."

Someone quoted Richard Mendoza: "Nine percent of that money goes to teachers for their retirement medicine, to police officers for their children, and to firefighters for their mortgages."

"The money used to buy medicine was used to invest in private prisons."

"The money meant for raising children is being used to invest in companies that exploit workers, evade taxes, and even employ child laborers."

"The money used for mortgage payments was invested heavily in a hedge fund with absolutely no credibility, and billions of dollars were lost."

……

It has to be said that wealthy people are particularly protective of their lives.

In just 17 minutes, the entire evacuation of a 30-story building was completed.

Once the sensor confirmed that everyone in the building had left, Zhang Qiliang stood up and rudely tossed his cigarette butt on the ground.