Chapter 686
This time, Mira was determined to compete purely based on her raw, analytical prowess.
Even if she took a heavy financial hit during the trades, her personal fortune could easily absorb the blow. To her, this competition was a crucial psychological crucible to sharpen her instincts.
Back when she was trapped observing her old life, she had watched Ethan Mercer ruthlessly execute massive, high-stakes trades. But watching from the sidelines carried none of the visceral, heart-pounding pressure of having skin in the game.
Passively observing simply wasn’t enough; she needed the adrenaline of genuine risk to truly level up her skills.
Mira scarfed down a quick lunch and hurried back to her empty classroom. With over an hour to kill before her next lecture, she booted up her laptop and logged into her trading terminal.
“Mira, are you placing the trades yet p>
Elara and Leah had closely shadowed her from the cafeteria. While they weren’t officially registered for the tournament, they had decided to run a parallel simulation using their own cash.
They wanted to learn the ropes of the financial markets by watching a master at work.
“Mira, I’m throwing a hundred bucks into whatever you’re doing. If I lose it, I lose it. I just want the thrill of making a real trade, even if the portfolio crashes,” Elara insisted.
Elara’s eyes were practically glued to the glowing stock charts.
Leah mirrored her excitement. “Yeah, same here. A hundred bucks isn’t going to bankrupt us p>
She and Elara had already agreed on their strategy: if they were going to hang out with a certified genius like Mira, they might as well absorb some of her financial magic.
It was the perfect opportunity to learn how to generate real wealth.
“Alright, here’s the deal. If you want to run a live simulation, allocate a strict hundred-dollar budget and mirror my exact positions. You’ll definitely feel the market swings that way.
Just promise me you won’t panic-sell the second the numbers dip.
And if you don’t understand the mechanics behind a move, write it down and ask me after hours p>
“In that case, let’s bump it up to two hundred bucks each.
We basically scored this cash off that massive campus betting pool during your last viral showdown anyway p>
“Alright, boot up your terminals and follow my lead,” Mira said with an amused smile.
Just as they were logging in, the class president—somehow having caught wind of the impromptu trading floor-barged into the room.
He rushed straight over to Mira. “Hey, can you manage a small portfolio for me, too? Just a fraction of my savings p>
“I’m testing a highly experimental algorithm today. I’m not taking on any external capital,” Mira firmly rejected him.
“If you’re willing to embrace total risk, you can mirror these two, but I’m not managing your money directly p>
“Deal. I’m copying your exact trades,” he agreed immediately, pulling out his own laptop.
“Allocate twenty percent into Apex Crimson Growth, push thirty percent into the Sector-EF Index, drop
-five percent into the Patriot
twenty-five keep the remaining
Soband,
twenty-five percent fully liquid to cover dips and snipe volatile breakouts p>
Only after executing the three major buy orders did Mira pause to give them a rapid-
fire breakdown of the macroeconomic catalysts driving her picks.
She highlighted specific regulatory shifts and flagged a few legitimate institutional news wires they needed to monitor.
Behind the Scenes, of course, Mira had already cross-referenced the corporate filings using the highly classified Ellis Intelligence Network to ensure there were no hidden landmines in the balance sheets.
To survive in high-stakes trading, possessing a private, elite intelligence network was absolutely mandatory.
It was a level of access that Elara and Leah simply couldn’t comprehend at this stage in their lives.
Still, as long as they absorbed the fundamental mechanics of market liquidity and risk management today, the simulation would be a massive success.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Mira warned, locking eyes with her friends. “Even if we clear a massive profit today, you cannot start blindly throwing money into the market.
Trading requires ruthless discipline. Even if you believe you have an eighty percent probability of success, you never risk capital you can’t afford to instantly vaporize.
Young, emotional novices trying to beat Wall Street almost always end up completely liquidated p>
After the trades settled, they sat in absolute silence, watching the neon red and green lines aggressively fluctuate across the screen until it was nearly time for the professor to arrive.
By then, the classroom was rapidly filling up with students shuffling in for the afternoon lecture.
When Harvey and the guys walked through the door, Mira was still locked onto the terminal, hyper-focused on a shifting candlestick pattern.
The guys immediately crowded behind her chair, their eyes glued to her chaotic trading dashboard.
Since the Live-Trading Challenge was a fully public campus event, Mira didn’t care if
they studied her entry points or mirrored her strategies.
“See? I told you, Wyatt!” Cedric
groaned, pointing at a spiking ticker
on Mira’s screen. “I wanted to lock in
that exact stock this morning, but your bullied the into buying that other garbage p>
Cedric buried his face in his hands, completely devastated by the missed opportunity.
“The final portfolio screenshots haven’t been locked in with the judges yet. You can still liquidate your position and restart,” Wyatt said, rolling his eyes at the theatrics.
Wyatt shot him an exasperated glare.
“Oh, sure, great advice!” Cedric shot back defensively. “And who’s going to cover the massive transaction fees if I sell at a loss right now p>