America: My Time

Chapter 1443 Vigilance
Chapter 1433 Vigilance

"Is this arrangement a good idea? Won't it cause you trouble? I heard there's been trouble in Hollywood again, targeting the three major media groups," Yu Feihong said worriedly after seeing John's arrangements for her. This time, John's involvement was significant, with arrangements made in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Taiwan had "Little Li Flying Dagger" and "The Peerless Twins," while Hong Kong had "Genesis" and "Across the Seas." What shocked her most was that John had arranged a role for 007—a role with considerable influence!
“Yes, don’t let us affect them!” Zeng Li nodded in support of Yu Feihong. In their opinion, this was a bit too crazy. This was only an arrangement for them, not for others. Even though they had only been in the industry for a short time, they knew how big the impact of this was.

It must be said that these two people are not so ruthless. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have such thoughts. They would only be tempted by the benefits and wouldn't care about the impact this would have!

"You don't need to worry, everything is fine. Even without your interference, those guys wouldn't let me go. You underestimate their cunning." John shook his head, unconcerned about their schemes. If he could drag them all into this mess, that would be the outcome he wanted. If they did nothing, what reason did he have to openly and fairly strike them down?
While these conglomerates may not care about rules—might makes right—that only applies to the weak. Even with equals, rules apply. Without a legitimate reason, John wouldn't dare to resort to violence, or he would become the target of everyone's attacks.

John was acutely aware of the situation in Hollywood. Ever since he began his foray into Hollywood, the struggle with those guys had never ceased. Therefore, John didn't believe that compromise would bring 'peace' this time. In the struggle for interests, there is never any 'peace' to speak of, not to mention that John now controlled most of Hollywood. How could those old guys turn a blind eye? And how could the oilfield capital, which had always wanted to control media power, not put up any resistance? Over the years, behind every struggle in Hollywood, different forces had been involved. But since Legendary Entertainment's influence in Hollywood grew, the struggle between oilfield capital and John in Hollywood had become even more intense!
"It really won't affect you. I can wait. There's no need to rush into a big Hollywood production." Yu Feihong said solemnly. It would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted, but she knew her own situation well! Having a Chinese person involved in such a big Hollywood production, especially as a decent supporting actress, would have a significant impact!
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. As for Hong Kong and Taiwan, that's even less of a problem. No matter how many ideas those guys have, they can't shake the rules of Phoenix Group. If anyone insists on causing trouble, I also want to know who my friends are and who my enemies are!"

In Yu Feihong and Zeng Li's eyes, such an arrangement was somewhat alarming. After all, such a large transfer of resources would be unacceptable to both Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors, and they would all have their own opinions. However, they forgot that Phoenix Group was a private company controlled by capital and would not care about the opinions of others.

With Phoenix Media's current strength, blacklisting those actors wouldn't be difficult, and neither would Hollywood. What the two women were worried about was insignificant in John's eyes, and it was all part of his plan. As for whether this 'good deed' was a test from John, that was not the case; John had no time to concern himself with such trivial matters!
With John's order, Hollywood quickly learned of the news, and soon those who wanted to cause trouble sprang into action. Tabloid accusations emerged, and Hollywood was once again in turmoil, with many harboring ulterior motives. Although no one dared to directly expose John's media and entertainment plans, many within Hollywood, and even those in California, were actively involved.

"What is John up to? Why would he do something like this at this time? Doesn't he know how serious the consequences will be? Hollywood is already unhappy with his rampant expansion and control of the three major Hollywood giants. This makes many people uneasy. He controls half of Hollywood. I don't believe this guy is unaware of the actions of the oilfield capital. Does he really want to have a head-on confrontation with these guys?"

"It's unclear. Nobody knows what this guy is up to right now. If he hadn't made his move before, would you have imagined that he would be so crazy as to split his power into such a small amount? And if it weren't for the Asian financial crisis, would you have known that this guy's strategy in gold futures was so impressive? More than a decade of accumulation has given him a huge gold reserve, which is the foundation of his confidence in gold futures."

"Yes, nobody knows what John, that madman, is up to, but I have a bad feeling. If possible, we'd better talk to the White House and Morgan. If the White House gets involved, things will be much easier for us. If Morgan gets involved, we might find out what John is up to."

"Stop dreaming. Even if we go to see Morgan in person at this point, it won't do any good. Morgan won't listen to us. He won't sacrifice his own interests for us. Putting aside other interests, Morgan has already taken the largest share of the benefits that John has offered this time. So expecting him to stand with us and be of one mind is a joke. It's an impossible idea!"

"That's right, I agree with Rockefeller's statement. Even if we step in now, it's useless. It's all just wishful thinking. It's not easy for us to get the White House to step in, let alone Morgan. We've caused Morgan a lot of trouble in this short period of time, and he's paid a heavy price. Don't put all the blame on him. This guy has his limits. Provoking him won't be good for anyone. Don't forget that this guy is the one who distributes the benefits."

This statement is correct. John merely presented the profits; Morgan was the one who truly distributed them. The IPOs of those companies were all handled by Morgan, giving him absolute control over the distribution of profits. Provoking Morgan would be detrimental to them. Of course, among these old men, some harbored ill intentions; some with dark motives hoped someone would willingly walk into their trap and fight for them.

"Alright, let's put Morgan's matter aside for now and discuss John's matter. I don't believe John couldn't see through those guys' schemes, or ours. Even if we're leveraging their strength, we can't hide it from John. We need to be prepared, at least to prevent the situation from getting out of control. The bottom line must not be crossed under any circumstances. If anyone dares to cross the bottom line, they will pay the price."

"Well said. John, that madman, is capable of anything. If he weren't hiding his assets, he wouldn't be sharing such a huge amount of profit with us. So, we shouldn't anger him. After all, we haven't gotten all the benefits yet. Dreamworld and Nvidia aren't truly in our hands. If someone crosses the line now and gives John an excuse, things will get complicated!" "Are you worried that John will take this opportunity to back out? You underestimate John. While this is indeed an industry with immense potential, it doesn't mean John won't give it up. I don't know if you remember what John said back then: he never lacks investment opportunities. So, you can rest assured. As long as you don't push things too far, John won't go back on his word. His most important task right now is asset restructuring. I know some people want to test John to see if they can make his plan fail, but I warn you all, don't even think about it. You can hinder him, but never push things too far, or the consequences will be unbearable!"

Despite the significant conflict between Rockefeller and John, Rockefeller knew John's bottom line. Even though he had been testing John, he never wanted a direct confrontation. Therefore, he didn't want to see any foolish person break this tacit understanding and cause the situation to spiral out of control. If John were to stop following the rules, it would be a disaster and destruction for them, a consequence that no one could afford!

“I agree with Rockefeller’s opinion. Under no circumstances should we provoke John’s bottom line. We shouldn’t push things to the extreme. Also, those guys from Oil Capital are unreliable. If things really escalate, are you sure they won’t turn around and blame us for everything? Whether John believes it or not, once this door is opened, we will be in crisis. John is capable of anything!”

These old fogies harbored a degree of wariness towards Oily Capital, and it was precisely this wariness that prevented them from launching a full-scale war against John. Of course, some of these old fogies did align themselves with Oily Capital; after all, profit is a powerful motivator, and under the lure of profit, it's not a big deal for some to betray their former allegiance!
Human nature is treacherous. In this environment, it's perfectly normal for some to succumb to the temptation of profit and betray others. After all, they are driven by capital, and all they care about is profit. Faced with absolute self-interest, these people have no morals whatsoever. For their own benefit, they will betray their comrades at any time.

The more they understand their companions, the more uneasy they become, and the less they trust these "friends" present. If it comes to their own interests, they are willing to betray anyone present at any time, because self-interest can be a powerful motivator.

“We all know John’s situation. I know there are always some people who are hoping for the best and think that those so-called ‘experts’ are right and that John doesn’t have enough funds. But I want to tell you, don’t have such thoughts. If you do, you’d better give up quickly. Don’t ruin us all because of momentary greed!”

“Well said, that’s what I think too. Don’t assume that John’s bottom-fishing in Hong Kong has stopped and that he’s short of funds. If you think that way, I can only say you’re courting death. The funds John has are definitely not as simple as they seem. Even if he has spent a lot of money during this period, it doesn’t mean he’s really short of funds. It’s fine if you want to die, but don’t drag everyone down with you!”

“Yes, we absolutely cannot cross John’s bottom line. We can’t let this guy go crazy. Whoever angers him will have to clean up the mess themselves. However, we still need to talk to Morgan. It’s not sustainable for John to keep hiding in China. Although he does have a lot of investments there, he can’t keep avoiding us forever. There are many things we need to discuss in person; we can’t explain them over the phone. Rockefeller, we need to get Morgan involved. We need to organize a gathering on Wall Street. John can’t be absent!”

“DuPont, you can’t keep having me talk to Morgan. I’ve already paid a high price, and I don’t have much of a relationship with Morgan anymore, so I can’t agree to this. If this continues, even the little bit of friendship I have with Morgan will be worn away, and that’s not the outcome I want.”

DuPont's proposal was directly rejected by Rockefeller. If it were for Rockefeller's own benefit, he would not have refused and would have gone all out. However, this was not just Rockefeller's own benefit; it concerned the interests of everyone. How could he keep making sacrifices while these guys could reap the benefits? This was unacceptable to him.

At this moment, DuPont said with a wry smile, "If I could, I wouldn't want you to bear this heavy responsibility alone, but we have no choice. Among everyone here, only you have a close relationship with Morgan. It would be easier for you to gain approval than for us. Moreover, time is of the essence. Nobody knows what will happen next. If it gets too late, the consequences will be severe. I believe you don't want to see John attack us like crazy!"

(End of this chapter)