National Tide 1980.

On Thursday, March 8, 1990, the market trend reversed with the fourth large bearish candlestick, bringing the cumulative decline in the recent market downturn to over 3%.

At 2 PM, the index broke through the 23300-point mark of the Nikkei index.

The red-vested staff at the Tokyo Stock Exchange were like headless flies, frantically making phone calls or shouting, behaving in a completely hysterical manner.

The situation at EIE Group headquarters was similar; several board representatives watched helplessly as the stock price plummeted, rolling their eyes and complaining to each other.

"Damn it, is there any hope left? It's been four days and the decline is still so sharp. Our funds are almost depleted again."

"Yes, if this continues, those who are bearish on us, especially the Americans, will be tempted to take advantage of our misfortune!"

"That's right, I'm starting to regret listening to the Chinese. It's really ruined us. EIE's market value is about to drop to 400 billion yen. If this continues, I'm afraid it will attract the American vultures again. They will try to take our Tiga chips."

"What's the point of saying all this? Let's talk about something practical. How about we announce something major tonight and apply for an emergency trading halt tomorrow?"

"No, no, we can't announce positive news so early. It's not the right time. In any case, we can only proceed according to plan. After all, Mr. Ning's character is still trustworthy; otherwise, he wouldn't have proactively told us about the Bird Mountain Restaurant's wine cellar. So I still think his words are feasible. How about this, I'll contact Mr. Ning personally and see if he can give us some more financial support..."

"That's one way, and Mr. Ning shouldn't refuse. After all, we've already reached an agreement on the price of a small portion of the assets listed. For someone with ample funds like him, coming up with another 10 or 20 billion wouldn't be difficult; it would just be an upfront payment. However, if we do that, we'll have no way out..."

"Stop looking back and just do it. We've already run out of options. Now it's either go all in and win everything, or accept defeat and lose everything..."

…………

As for Ning Weimin, he was actually much more carefree and cheerful that day than in the previous days.

Just when the key representatives of the EIE board of directors had finally steadfastly formed their beliefs and reached a consensus, they managed to maintain their composure and withstand the pressure of further market decline.

Instead, Ning Weimin took advantage of this "golden opportunity" and relied on his unparalleled financial advantage to punish those who had followed Takahashi Harunori in his evil deeds and secretly harbored ill intentions towards him.

Yes, this very afternoon, Ning Weimin has officially bared his fangs and decided to take action against Little Karami. His two representatives—Akira Okamoto, president of Fog Studio, and Norio Higuchi, head of Matsumoto Office—have contacted his enemies on his behalf.

And, as he instructed, they are launching a surprise-style equity negotiation against Haruki Kagawa and Kinji Fukasaku.

Ning Weimin's revenge was quite simple.

He wants to take away everything that Haruki Kagawa and Kinji Fukasaku have painstakingly built up.

They presented the fruits of their labor throughout the year as a gift to their beloved wife, Keiko Matsumoto, on this special day.

This was not wishful thinking on his part, but a well-considered decision.

Given the current slump in the Japanese stock market, the Japanese society as a whole has become illiquid.

To put it bluntly, financing through credit expansion has become increasingly difficult in society.

Almost everyone is short of money these days.

This alone is enough to be his trump card for victory.

…………

In the conference room of Jiaochuan Film Studio, the four negotiators sat around a table.

Having just met, they were slowly exchanging pleasantries and savoring the coffee served to them.

But beneath this seemingly harmonious atmosphere of impending negotiations lies a fierce undercurrent of tension.

Both Haruki Kōkawa and Kinji Fukasaku's faces were beginning to show signs of impatience and worry.

This is actually easy to understand. From their perspective, whether it's because their original staunch ally, Harunori Takahashi, suddenly collapsed and the EIE Group was in turmoil, this meant they had lost their biggest financial support.

It also stemmed from an ominous premonition that "good people don't come, and those who come are not good." They were unsure of the enemy they wanted to deal with, so they suddenly sent their subordinates to their door.

Given these factors, it's impossible for them to be so naive as to believe that something good is waiting for them.

"Alright, then I'll be frank."

As expected, the negotiations finally began as Akira Okamoto slowly placed his glass of wine on the table.

The news he delivered was enough to unsettle Jiaochuan and Fukasaku Kinji, making them as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

"I know you two are very busy, but we still have to come and bother you. Here's the situation: During his tenure, former EIE Group president Harunori Takahashi invested 1.5 billion yen in two films produced by Kawakawa Pictures. Furthermore, he subsequently allocated 2.2 billion yen from the EIE Group to jointly establish Kawakawa Entertainment Agency with Kawakawa Pictures and the Kuo Group from Southeast Asia. However, all the related rights and shares originally belonging to EIE have now been bought by us."

"What?" Haruki Kawakawa and Kinji Fukasaku exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The director immediately exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? How could this be?"

"How could it be impossible? This is an indisputable fact. If you don't believe me, here are copies of the transaction contract and supplementary agreement that we just reached with EIE Group. Please take a look."

Akira Okamoto smiled and placed the relevant documents and materials he had taken out of his briefcase in front of the two people opposite him.

Needless to say, confirming this answer again felt like sending a condolence message.

This caused both Kyokawa and Fukasaku, who had a premonition of something ominous, to change their expressions drastically and hurriedly look down at the documents.

The results of the investigation were self-evident. When they discovered that all of Takahashi Harunori's "legacy" had indeed fallen into the hands of their common enemy, they were caught off guard and completely dumbfounded.

This cruel reality and unacceptable outcome plunged them into a severe crisis they could not possibly bear.

How ironic that their cooperation with Takahashi was originally based on fighting against their common enemies, Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko.

Back then, Harunori Takahashi was so confident that he would not rest until he had bankrupted Ning Weimin.

He even boasted that he would definitely get his hands on Ning Weimin's wife and mistress.

It seems he's more eager than anyone to see Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko fall, and more confident than anyone in defeating his opponents.

But the result?

Not only did this arrogant bastard go down in his own grave, but even the most important shares were taken over by the people they were after.

This is equivalent to a battle where one side's most elite troops are not only wiped out by the enemy, but their best and most lethal weapons are also captured by the other side.

How can we play this?
If one had to describe the current situation, perhaps only the phrase "an apocalyptic disaster that fell from the sky" would suffice.

If they had known Takahashi Harunori was such an idiot, they would never have cooperated with him under any circumstances. "This...it really is true..."

Despite his reluctance to admit it, Haruki Kōkawa had no choice but to face reality.

Even though he was filled with hatred for Harunori Takahashi and wished he could drag that bastard out of the police station and beat him a thousand times over.

But at this moment, he had to put aside his resentment and focus on dealing with the situation at hand.

"So... what exactly do you want?"

After struggling to utter those words, he bit his lip, like a chicken about to be slaughtered.

"It goes without saying."

Akira Okamoto grinned triumphantly. "As the main investor and the largest shareholder of the talent agency, we now demand that you relinquish your shares and interests and transfer them to us. Of course, we will pay you. How about a 30% premium based on your investment? That's generous enough, isn't it? You won't be at a financial disadvantage..."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Jiaochuan hadn't expected the other party to have such a big appetite.

"This is impossible! This is outrageous!"

Even more intense was the reaction of Kinji Fukasaku.

Despite his earlier apparent dazed state, staring at the documents as if his soul had been ripped away, Okamoto Akira's request still deeply affected him.

He suddenly regained consciousness and said angrily, "You vampires, you robbers, you can't just take away our hard work like this!"

"Vampires? Bandits?"

Akira Okamoto refused to accept such an assessment and immediately changed his expression, slamming his fist on the table at Kinji Fukasaku.

"Are you serious, Director? Please watch your words. What gives you the right to insult us like this? I need an explanation."

"This...does it even need to be said? Whether it's the movies we've produced or the talent agency, after the past six months of operation, their true value far exceeds your asking price. Your terms are just taking advantage of our misfortune."

Kinji Fukasaku was so angry he almost exploded.

Not to mention that in the past, Akira Okamoto was just a dog that followed him around wagging its tail.

The truth of the matter is obvious; the other party is just trying to reap the benefits.

It's worth noting that, in order to turn things around, he approached the film with unprecedented rigor and worked tirelessly to recruit talent for the talent agency, Kōkawa Haruki.

He extended the filming of "Under the Aurora," which was originally planned to take six months to shoot, by a full three months.

During that time, they worked entirely in freezing weather, and not only did the actors pay a heavy price, but he himself suffered frostbite on his hands and feet.

Fortunately, the film is of excellent quality, and he is confident that it will be a great success at the box office and in terms of awards.

That's not all. "Heaven and Earth," directed by Haruki Kōkawa and produced with great care, also recently wrapped up filming.

He offered a lot of advice on the filming techniques for this grand production, which can be considered a collaborative work between the two of them. They are fully confident that the quality of the film will surpass Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha".

In other words, both of them are hoping for a resounding victory at this year's Japan Academy Prize.

While I wouldn't dare say I can rival the "Big Five," I'm quite confident I can outshine the Fog Studios and steal the spotlight.

Furthermore, thanks to their painstaking planning, the talent agency is no longer the struggling entity it was when it was first established.

Taking advantage of the dispute between Yoko Minamino and her agency, they bought out and re-signed her contract, successfully acquiring one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Idols" who could be ranked alongside Mie Nakayama, Shizuka Kudo, and Yui Asaka.

Moreover, because of the hardships they shared on the set of "Under the Aurora," Kinji Fukasaku even persuaded the highly talented and popular actor Koji Yakusho to leave his original agency and join his team.

They have even designed a plan to promote the two artists, a male and a female, and have already selected the theme of a movie for each of them.

In short, they paid too high a price in their desire for success and a turnaround.

At this crucial moment when they are about to see their results, if someone else takes it all away from them, wouldn't all their previous efforts be in vain? How could they be willing to accept that? They wouldn't even have time to cry.

So Kinji Fukasaku was truly enraged, and his tone was filled with indignation and resentment.

However, despite the facts, the other party was too powerful and acted entirely according to the rules. They spoke the same sentence with righteous indignation, leaving Shinji Fukasaku speechless on the spot.

"I see! You think our price is too low. Well then, how about this: we'll sell our shares and equity to you according to the previous terms. Now you can acquire us, and you won't have any complaints, right?"

Akira Okamoto said very coldly.

That... of course won't work either!

Ultimately, Haruki Kagawa and Kinsuke Fukasaku were both broke.

Since they were Japanese, they were also affected by the stock market decline that day.

Especially since they were partners of Harunori Takahashi, they were naturally misled and couldn't avoid the huge pitfall of EIE's plunge.

It has to be said that Takahashi really screwed them over badly; apart from necessary operating expenses, almost all of their working capital was tied up in the stock market.

Moreover, given the current social situation, the entertainment industry has limited financing channels and can only rely on sponsors from wealthy individuals.

It's completely impossible for them to come up with 5 billion yen all at once; they don't even have 1 billion yen.

Otherwise, they might have already scheduled the filming of their next movie.

To put it bluntly, they're now pinning all their hopes on the box office revenue generated by the release of their two completed films.

So even though it was a worthwhile deal, every penny counts, and Akira Okamoto clearly hit their weak spot, practically causing Kinji Fukasaku to vomit blood.

It was incredibly embarrassing and incredibly frustrating.

"I'm so sorry, Director Fukasaku's words were a bit harsh just now. He really should apologize to you."

Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, Haruki Kawakawa quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "But honestly, it's a bit too hasty for you two to come to the company so suddenly and ask us to pay such a large sum of money to buy shares. Shouldn't we at least give you some time to raise the funds? Otherwise, it's really unreasonable. How about this, give us a month to consider it, and then we can talk about this again..." (End of Chapter)