The Wolf of Los Angeles.

The Tung Building in Manhattan, New York.

In the dressing room on the top floor, with the help of his model wife, Mr. Dong changed into a well-fitting suit and stood in front of the full-length mirror, carefully adjusting his tie.

Wearing a red dress, Melanie took out a string of emeralds given to her by an Indian, put it around her neck, and asked, "Darling, isn't this necklace beautiful?"

This is a gift from Hafiz of the Loda Group in India.

President Dong nodded in satisfaction: "Very beautiful."

A knock sounded at the door, and her daughter, Ini, pushed the door open and said, "It's almost time."

Mr. Dong asked, "How many media outlets did you invite?"

“Many media reporters refused to attend, so not many people came,” Yini said, to prepare her father. “There are only about twenty reporters present so far.”

Melanie snorted and said, "The media still treats us like a joke."

In the past, Dong Zong has publicly announced its participation in the presidential election, but it has always fallen through halfway.

In the eyes of the media and the public, he was simply trying to attract attention.

Dong Zong said, "When the general election starts next year, they will know whether I was joking or not."

Melanie encouraged him: "You will succeed. The White House will belong to us sooner or later."

"Let's go deal with those reporters." President Dong left the dressing room and headed downstairs first.

In the spacious press room of the Tung Building, most of the seats were empty, and there were very few reporters present.

These reporters were laughing and joking, showing no attitude of attending a political press conference, but rather as if they were waiting for a comedy star to arrive.

Several reporters from Twitter were extremely busy setting up their live broadcast cameras.

…………

Los Angeles, Coast Building.

Hawke opened Twitter's live stream page and found a live stream from the Dong Building in New York.

Because of a meeting, he only saw the footage after the press conference had already begun.

Accompanied by his wife and children, Mr. Dong spoke at length on the news stage.

"Today, I hereby announce my candidacy for the presidential election, committed to making America great again! If elected, I will severely punish those politicians who break the law, restore the credibility of American politics, and lower tax rates for ordinary people..."

After watching the press conference, Hawke immediately closed the live stream.

Edward, standing nearby, said, "We weren't wrong. This guy is indeed ambitious. He finally couldn't resist jumping out and trying to make a quick buck in the chaos."

Hawke found Mr. Dong's Twitter account and said while browsing it, "The more chaotic the situation, the more likely accidents are to happen. He may seem unreliable, but he is actually very clear-headed and knows what is most beneficial to him."

A knock sounded at the door, and Edward went to open it.

The assistant came in and said, "The governor has arrived."

Hawke went to the elevator lobby and waited for about two minutes before Brian took the elevator up from below.

The group entered the reception room.

Brian said, "I received the news and changed my plans at the last minute, so I came to Los Angeles first."

“Dong Zong’s participation in the election was within our expectations.” Hawke had already made many preparations for this, and said, “He also has certain forces supporting him.”

Thanks to Hawke's reminder, Brian had been paying attention to Dong Zong for some time, saying, "Dong Zong's biggest supporters are the new generation of Tea Party members within the Elephant Party who are extremely dissatisfied with the status quo. In 2010, Pence and Palin called for the re-establishment of the Tea Party, which received a lot of support and thus became a force. However, the Washington authorities and Congress are controlled by the Elephant Party, not the Donald Party, so the power of the dissatisfied is relatively weak."

Hawke's emergence changed many things; for example, Obama did not come to power, and the influence of the New Tea Party movement was limited to a smaller scope.

He said, "The melee between Tom Emer, George Walker, Joseph, and others sent a signal to Mr. Dong that victory could be achieved amidst chaos, which gave him some confidence."

Brian continued, "Most importantly, Dong can advance or retreat as needed. With the foundation of his two previous farcical campaigns to participate in the election, he can announce his withdrawal at any time if the situation is not good. The public and media are already used to it. On the contrary, he can go all out and try to take over the Oval Office."

Hawke solemnly reminded him, "Don't underestimate President Dong; he has a group of people supporting him."

Because of his memories from his past life, he valued President Dong more than anyone else.

In fact, after Hawke's reminder, Brian and the Ferguson family paid considerable attention to Mr. Dong, but still not to the same extent as Hawke.

After all, in the eyes of many people, Chairman Dong is most likely a clown and a traitor who has served three masters.

Since the mid-1980s, Dong Zong has jumped from the Donkey Party to the Elephant Party, then from the Elephant Party to the Reform Party, then from the Reform Party back to the Donkey Party, and in the last two years, he has jumped back from the Donkey Party to the Elephant Party.

In comparison, Bloomberg isn't even worthy of carrying Mr. Dong's shoes in this regard.

This has created a problem: Dong Zong does not have a large base of support and is a political novice in the strictest sense.

No mainstream media outlet believed he could win the election, and no one even believed he could compete for the Elephant Party nomination.

Brian asked, "Can your prior arrangements with President Dong be implemented?"

“Okay.” Hawke called Edward over: “Go and inform Henderson of West Coast Tech and Neville of Sugarboo, and have them bring the prepared items to Coast Building.”

Brian asked curiously, "It seems to be something different?"

Hawke simply stated, "Chairman Dong has partnered with India's Loda Group to build a skyscraper in Mumbai called World One. The total investment in this building is nearly $30 billion. In order to boost his reputation and win people's hearts, Chairman Dong has encouraged many friends and partners to purchase properties, including numerous Hollywood stars, as well as party members Palin and Pence."

Brian laughed: "These two are the Tea Party's most important supporters."

Hawke had a fairly detailed understanding of the One World Tower. West Coast Technologies' team had been staying in Mumbai, and their leader, Gilberto, was highly capable and had made many preparations in advance.

He said, "The purchase by these two people alone may not seem like much. However, due to the needs of America's Asian strategy, coupled with our years of media publicity and promotion, India has long been recognized by many Americans as the future number one market in Asia, with a population of 14 billion and Mumbai's population of over 1200 million. Mr. Dong only promoted it slightly, and many of his friends and partners believe that the World One Tower project will inevitably appreciate significantly in the future and is a high-quality asset for overseas investment."

Brian immediately understood Hawke's intention: "If problems arise in the project, these people have invested in it, and with their direct interests at stake, the image of President Dong in their eyes will undergo a complete 180-degree change."

"In other respects, there's nothing new." There's nothing new under the sun. When Hawke supported Eric in making the movie "Sugar Baby," he got Neville connected with several Saint Valley artists: "It's nothing more than the same old story of destroying happy families."

Brian also considered this: "Jennifer is trying to conceive, and if all goes well, she'll be showing in the second half of the year."

Hawke was a little surprised: "You learn very quickly."

Brian, also putting his newfound knowledge to use, said, "Last year at the Oscars, Jacqueline and Natalie Portman both used this approach, and Jacqueline even won the Best Actress Oscar. The effect was obvious." Hawke agreed, adding, "The public and media are more tolerant of pregnant women, which is an advantage that human society has developed over a long period of time."

Brian said with a smile, "Jennifer and I have never considered being childless. We will definitely have children sooner or later. Since we're going to have them sooner or later, we might as well choose this most appropriate time. Even if it increases our approval rating by 0.1%, it's worth it."

Hawke gave him a thumbs up: "You've thought this through very thoroughly."

“Having learned from you for so many years, I’m bound to have learned something.” Brian still remembers how, in the early days of their political careers, the two of them fought their way out of the Democratic Party’s encirclement.

In order to win the support of the California Elephant Party, they successively ousted Robert Redford and BlackRock, among others.

Not long after, Henderson and Neville arrived one after the other, bringing with them a series of carefully collected materials.

The team, led by Gilberto and Juan, obtained a partial list of clients for One World Tower.

Our main customers are in the United States.

Hawke quickly glanced through the list of clients, which was divided into three parts: Hollywood stars, some middle-class businessmen, and family members of political figures.

In the former case, he met Jon Voight, the father of Angelina Jolie.

Other notable actors include Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Wayne Newton, Taylor Swift, and many more.

Hawke vaguely remembered that in his previous life, Taylor Swift was a staunch opponent of Dong Zong.

It can only be said that the ecosystem of Hollywood is just as complex as the political arena.

In the political sphere, it revolves around the Tea Party and a group primarily composed of Pence and Palin.

Hawke finished browsing and handed it to Brian.

Brian said as he looked at the document, "These customers have already paid?"

Henderson had just spoken with Gilberto on the phone before arriving and learned about the details there. He said, "After the Dong Group and Loda Company started construction on this project, they created the phenomenon of 'rooms in the World One Tower being hard to find' through publicity and some marketing tactics. After all, it is the tallest building in India and the second tallest in the world. It has dozens of floors built, and there is Bollywood, a money pit, so there is no shortage of rooms in the skyscraper."

Neville then chimed in, "If we didn't know the inside story, just looking at the Dong Group's advertising in North America, we would also buy the property in World One Tower. From any perspective, it's a good investment that can appreciate in value."

Henderson cut to the heart of the matter: "The building was designed by a purely Indian team, constructed by an Indian construction company, and one of the investors was the Loda Group, a group whose strength in India is clearly insufficient."

Over the years, there has been a lot of trade between West Coast technology and India, and Henderson often deals with Indians: "Knowing Indians as I do, it would be strange if this building didn't have problems."

Hawke said bluntly, "Then let's just let it happen."

Brian asked, "You're not going to blow up the parts of World One that's already built, are you?"

"What a joke! That building is already dozens of stories high. Bombing it would have a terrible impact." Hawke certainly wouldn't do that: "We are people with conscience and principles. We can't commit such a terrorist attack."

Brian cautioned, "India's most elite Black Cat Special Forces seem to be quite mediocre."

Hawke waved his hand: "There are other better ways, there's no need to resort to such low-level methods."

Brian listened to Hawke on this matter: "You're the one who decides."

Hawke turned to Henderson and said, "Inform Gilberto today that the operation against World One is officially launched."

“Gilberto is prepared,” Henderson said with a smile. “We have done a lot of work behind the scenes. The Loda Group’s strength in India is only so-so; they can’t stop us.”

Hawke cautioned, "If that doesn't work, Anil Ambani can also be of use."

The two sides are currently in a honeymoon period of cooperation. Anil had previously expressed his interest in the World One Tower project when he had a private chat with Hawke.

The core of this World One project is dogfighting, using Indians to fight against Indians.

Henderson followed Edward to the information room and contacted Gilberto's team in Mumbai directly via Starlink satellite communications.

Hawke then asked Neville, "Has your Saint Gabriel Valley artist friend had any new projects lately?"

“The last time we had any success was when Mr. Dong came to Los Angeles,” Neville said quickly. “In the past few months, Mr. Dong has been active on the East Coast, while Denise has not left California, so the two have not crossed paths for the time being.”

Brian interjected, "Wait, who is this Denise you're talking about? The artist from the Holy Valley?"

Neville replied, "Denise Stormi, one of the top female artists in the Holy Valley and currently the most popular celebrity in Sugar Plum."

Brian remembered the woman: "That female artist who once announced her candidacy for governor."

He asked, "Is Mr. Dong directly involved with her?"

Neville said, "There's something interesting going on, but her involvement will affect how things develop in the future."

Everyone knew this; revealing client information was undoubtedly a major taboo.

Brian smiled and said, "If she's interested, she can transition to behind-the-scenes work, as a director, producer, or company manager."

The Ferguson family is one of the largest shareholders of Saint Gabriel Valley's top production company.

Moreover, Denise has done quite a bit of directing and producing in recent years.

In this respect, she and Kaden can be considered among the most successful in their career transitions.

The latter even took on the role of director for a top-tier manufacturer brand in the post-Saint-Gobain era.

Hawke said, "Go talk to Denise. It's much more secure for her than just being an actress."

"She probably won't refuse." Neville was confident of that.

The two are not just friends in the ordinary sense, but have a deeper relationship.

To use a certain art form from the Saint Valley, Neville had a significant spiritual influence on Denise.

The meeting ended quickly.

Brian was to return to Ferguson Estate to meet with Paul Ferguson.

Hawke continued to monitor the latest developments on Dong's side.

Neville contacted Danielle.

That evening, the latter arrived at his villa in Santa Monica. (End of Chapter)