America: My Time

Chapter 1198 Silent Warning

Chapter 1188 A Silent Warning
“This is difficult. Why don’t you publish a book? Aren’t you a great writer?” Lee Boo-jin suggested at this moment. However, publishing a book is not an easy thing. It takes time and preparation.

“No, that won’t work. Time won’t allow me to do that. Those guys didn’t give me that much time to prepare!” John shook his head, rejecting Lee Boo-jin’s suggestion. By the time he finished writing the book, got everything ready, and released it, it would be too late. Soros and his cronies would have already made their move!

“Music, perhaps you could consider music!” At this moment, prompted by Lee Boo-jin, Sachiko Kamachi voiced her opinion: music would be a quicker option than publishing a book!
"Music? Maybe I can give it a try, let's see if those guys can understand my intentions!" At this moment, John was slightly tempted. Compared to writing a book, music was indeed simpler, and with so much material in his mind, choosing a suitable piece of music wouldn't be difficult!

It's a pity. If "A Song of Ice and Fire" hadn't been published, perhaps they would have understood my intentions. A thought flashed through John's mind. It's not his fault. In order to accumulate funds quickly, he had gone to great lengths to copy extensively. However, he didn't expect things to go as he had planned. Everything went too smoothly, and his preparations were not very effective.

Speaking of which, John also has to thank those guys from Japan. Without their help, he wouldn't have developed so quickly and smoothly. All his previous preparations hadn't played a significant role.

Having figured things out, John began to ponder how to make those guys understand his anger and his warning, and how to make them restrain themselves. If possible, John didn't want to fight them to the death at this time, and didn't want to waste too much of his precious funds.

Despite his extensive preparations and knowledge that the Chinese government would spare no effort to support Hong Kong, John still harbored a lingering unease. Paying a heavy price in Hong Kong could significantly impact his own situation. He wasn't afraid of these guys resorting to financial maneuvering or business warfare; his real fear was their underhanded tactics. The recent Standard Chartered incident was the best proof of that, and such a scenario would be disastrous for him!

In John's plan, Standard Chartered Bank wasn't intended to be a financial predator, so it wouldn't take the lead or make such an obvious profit-taking move unless absolutely necessary. Even Hurricane Investments is backing down, demonstrating how much John values ​​his reputation and public image. It's precisely because of this that Soros and his ilk saw an opportunity, leading to Standard Chartered Bank's current predicament—all because they saw through its weakness in this area!
Once is never enough. John didn't believe that Soros and his ilk would give up after one failure and abandon their weakness. Based on John's understanding of these greedy capitalists, these guys would relentlessly attack any weakness they discovered, and they would continue to use the same tactics.

Making changes to cut off Soros and the oilfield capital's opportunities to scheme against him? This is not something John can't do, even if he wants to. It's easy to ruin a reputation and public image, but difficult to build one. John has made considerable sacrifices for his good reputation and public image. Giving it all up simply because of Soros and the oilfield capital is unacceptable to John.

Everyone has weaknesses, and when these weaknesses are out in the open, they can reassure some people. Just like his playboy reputation, it's all there for those with ulterior motives. However, Soros and Oil Capital went too far this time, directly crossing his bottom line. This was intolerable, and the timing was perfect, leaving him with no way to vent his anger and forced to swallow his pride!

Talking directly to guys like Soros wouldn't be appropriate either; it might even make them think you're afraid, making them more arrogant and causing them to make even more unreasonable demands. No, John insisted on thinking the worst about Soros and his ilk because that's exactly what they are—they're driven by greed and desire to the core!

John quickly found the music he wanted from his memories. For those gloomy guys, those who know him well, he believed they would understand his intentions after listening to the album.

This time, John chose epic music: Awakening, Go Time, Never Back Down, Heart of Courage, For the Win, and Victory. From the titles alone, those guys should understand his warning and his determination. They have no chance of outmaneuvering him. Even if they dare to make a move, he will persevere to the end and achieve final victory. Therefore, this album is called 'Victory'!
As John quickly selected suitable music, he suddenly realized he had no instruments at all, nor any suitable people to listen to. Although Sachiko Kamachi was a professional singer, her voice didn't match his musical needs. He hadn't been involved in music 'creation' for a long time, which stirred a faint excitement within John. Perhaps this way of humiliating himself was the best, and most suitable, way to do things!
Phoenix Group has a top-notch recording studio here. As long as there is a suitable female voice, it can be recorded quickly. However, this is not an easy task, because it is a warning to Soros and his ilk, and the music he has chosen all requires female voices, and there must be no language issues. This makes John somewhat troubled.

Of course, John could go to the Central Conservatory of Music for help, or even hire a professional symphony orchestra. However, doing so would be too obvious, revealing the underlying issues and causing unnecessary trouble. If professional personnel, recording, and distribution are needed, this would create a significant loophole! Normally, for financial reasons, John should return to the United States, where he would have access to a truly professional symphony orchestra, where language wouldn't be a problem, and the impact would be minimized. But this isn't what John wants.

Since it's about slapping someone in the face, there's no need for professional personnel. After all, the goal isn't to make money, but to slap someone in the face and issue a warning! There's no need to make things so complicated or invest too much energy!

While John was making preparations for establishing the company, some things were also happening at the Central Academy of Drama. The head of Valentino agreed to John's proposal, believing that Zeng Li's temperament perfectly matched Valentino's brand requirements, and she became Valentino's spokesperson in China. However, as Ms. Chang Li said, the endorsement fee wasn't much, but the resources provided would be substantial. At least, well-known Chinese fashion magazines would feature her, something not every brand could offer.

Although they were prepared, many at the Central Academy of Drama envied them, and just as many were jealous, especially within the entire Chinese entertainment industry. For established stars, such an opportunity falling into the hands of a newcomer was an unacceptable outcome, yet they were powerless to change it. This is just the beginning; soon more luxury brands will follow suit, and more people will have this chance!

The original plan was to select a brand ambassador at Phoenix Group's headquarters. However, the news leaked and caused quite a stir. If it were held at Phoenix Group's headquarters, it would attract a lot of media attention, and some malicious individuals might even take targeted actions. This forced Wang Jinhua to make a change.

Therefore, it was ultimately decided to complete the course at the Central Academy of Drama, which would at least avoid some unnecessary trouble. After all, it's not the start of the school year yet, and as long as they keep a low profile, no one will notice. By the time someone finds out, it will all be over. As for whether anyone will leak the information again, that's also taken into account.

Normally, for the sake of brand promotion, such a selection process would be as high-profile and as media attention as possible. However, due to the Asian financial crisis and some internal issues within Phoenix Group, they had to abandon such arrangements and proceed discreetly to avoid any unfortunate incidents.

Whether it's John or Wang Jinhua, they need to be wary of people's hearts. After all, the people they are selecting this time are all newcomers. It's easy for them to make mistakes when facing the media. Once a problem occurs, not only will they be unable to promote the brand well, but they may even attract some negative comments, damaging the brand's reputation and also harming their own reputation.

A good reputation is hard to build and takes time to accumulate, but a bad reputation can be built with a single small act. Because they understand the dark side of the entertainment industry, John and Wang Jinhua are making the worst preparations, not giving newcomers a chance to make mistakes, at least not in front of the media, so as not to affect the company's interests or their own reputations!

With such arrangements in place, any problems that arise can only be attributed to bad luck, and no one can be blamed for that. After all, no one expected Phoenix Group to make such a last-minute change, making it difficult for any unexpected events to occur. Similarly, this low-key arrangement also reduces John's exposure and avoids arousing suspicion from those involved. At this critical moment, John certainly doesn't want to negatively impact the development of the Asian financial crisis because of himself!
(End of this chapter)