America: My Time

Chapter 552 Cutting the Trouble with a Quick Sword

Chapter 552 Cutting Through the Gordian Knife

It's clear that the California consortium has reached an agreement with some guys in Japan. It seems they've acquired the semiconductor chip technology they wanted, otherwise they wouldn't be in such a hurry to take over the game world. As long as they have the game world, these guys won't have to worry about selling semiconductor chips. However, it's hard to say whether Rockefeller is behind this.

Of course, Morgan hadn't considered asking around. It was their secret, and asking too much would only make him uncomfortable. Besides, the profits in the game world were indeed too great, so great that these guys were tempted. Now that they had such an opportunity, they were naturally willing to give it a try, just like when those guys had taken the initiative to bring John into the military industry. However, Morgan didn't think much of their schemes. John could see through everything they could see.

"I'll ask one last time, just to avoid any mistakes: are you sure you want John to use shares of the game world in the transaction, and on an equal footing?" Morgan's expression was solemn, without a trace of jest.

“That’s right, that’s the deal. And as long as he agrees, the two special steel companies and the cutting tools company are not a problem. We can offer them all for the deal. This is not just the power of the California consortium, but the choice of all of us!”

"Alright, I'll go talk to John now. I hope everything goes smoothly and that you'll be satisfied!"

Morgan was shocked by all of this. He hadn't expected these old guys to be so cunning, timing their deal with John perfectly and even getting the White House's approval. It seemed these guys were enraged by the failure to suppress Zhenhong Semiconductor; otherwise, they wouldn't have done something so crazy or paid such a high price.

When John saw the Morgan tycoon return, a faint smile appeared on his face. It seemed that he had made arrangements with the California consortium, and they had already offered a price for the acquisition.

“John, this is beyond my imagination. Although I have cooperated with them before, I did not expect that their target is the game world. They are asking you to trade shares in the game world, as well as the special steel company and the knife company you need. They want to take over the game world. I advise you to think carefully. The profits of the game world are far greater than those of the companies they own, and the game world has great development prospects!”

In this matter, Morgan did not hide anything, because he knew that such things could not be kept from John, so it was better to speak frankly and directly. As for how to choose and decide, that was John's own business. As long as he told John everything and expressed his opinion, that was enough.

"Interesting. It seems they want to kick me out of the game world. After their initial scheme failed, they found another way—to use a deal to eliminate me. Impressive. It seems I underestimated them. Those guys got the technology they wanted from the Japanese, the storage chip technology, so they want to control everything in the game world and the market share of storage chips!"

Upon hearing Morgan's words, John instantly understood their intentions and calculations, and saw through these old guys' development in the semiconductor chip field. This shows how knowledgeable John is in the semiconductor industry and how familiar he is with the semiconductor market.

"That's what I think too. If they've already accomplished all of this, it means they've succeeded more than halfway. Now all they need is a guaranteed market share. Taking over the gaming world will not only bring them huge profits in the gaming market, but also good returns in the semiconductor field. That's their plan—killing two birds with one stone."

"Giving up Game World isn't a big deal. Initially, I didn't expect it to develop into what it is now, to soar to such heights. In my mind, Game World was just a source of funding, a source of cash flow. Now I've got everything I wanted; what I'm pursuing isn't money, but technology, and dreams. If they decide to make such a deal, I have no objection, as long as they can offer enough assets—assets that appeal to me—Giving up Game World isn't out of the question. However, how they negotiate with Japan is not my concern. After all, Game World had an agreement with Sony, Hitachi, and Panasonic in Japan back then. I don't bear any responsibility in this regard; it's something that needs to be clarified to avoid future trouble!" "Don't worry, they all know. And if you agree, there will inevitably be negotiations between you. Game World's stock price is recovering rapidly, while Lockheed's stock price hasn't recovered much. However, there's one thing I don't understand: giving up Game World seems like a huge loss for you. Is it worth it?"

“There’s no question of whether it’s worth it or not. Since they’ve already made their decision, they definitely won’t let go. There’s already been one upheaval, and another one would probably impact the game world as well. Most importantly, some people within the game world have different ideas, and my plan hasn’t been implemented at all. In that case, it’s better to let go and get the assets I want in return, so everyone can get what they need.” John sighed as he said this, also shocked by the scale of those guys’ actions.

"John, do you think the development of the game world will be affected by the stock market crash? Will the development of the game world be affected in the future?" Faced with John's calm reply, Morgan was also shocked. He did not give up as John said, without the slightest hesitation, which made him worry about the future of the game world.

"The development of the game world isn't a problem, at least not for a long time, provided they manage it well. The game world has a solid foundation, and with the continuous growth of the population, such a mass-market product has even greater development potential. I believe the game world won't have any major problems. It's just that it's been targeted by those old guys, and the initial delegation of power has also caused many problems for the game world. So under these circumstances, I don't have many choices. It's best for everyone to get what they need. If Morgan intends to give up, then I have nothing to say, but giving up now is not the best option. The game market is huge, bigger than everyone imagines, and the game world hasn't truly captured the entire market yet."

At this point, John suddenly had a thought, and a faint bitter smile appeared on his face. In an instant, he realized why those old guys had been so persistent in the previous negotiations. Those old guys were setting things up, and even the White House was cooperating with them. These old guys had long anticipated that he might agree to such a deal, so what he had promised before was not a condition at all. He had been tricked by them.

"Impressive. The old fox is indeed cunning. I've been outmaneuvered by these old guys again. The White House is cooperating with them. The price I paid was real, but they didn't pay much. If there was anything they paid, it was only the export rights to weapons. No wonder the White House reacted so quickly. I was too careless and underestimated their methods!"

When Morgan heard John's words, he was taken aback, and Jimmy's face showed shock. It seemed that they were also unaware of all this, otherwise they would not have reacted this way. It seemed that Morgan had also been tricked. These old guys were too cunning, and everything was under their control.

Although John discovered the old guys' scheme, he didn't want to refuse. These old guys had already figured out John's thoughts, so there was no need to continue torturing him. However, John didn't want to bear the cost of this deal. Everything should be borne by those old guys, which could be considered a response to them!
"John, are you still willing to continue trading with them?"

"A bet is a bet. Although these guys' methods were a bit too underhanded, they did succeed. And it was a win-win situation. They wanted to seize the market share of memory chips, and I wanted to improve Gulfstream Aerospace. Since they saw through everything, why keep making trouble? It's better for everyone. However, this time, Morgan will have to collect the transaction fees from them. I won't bear the costs. They planned this whole thing, so they should be responsible for it!"

“This is not a problem. They were the ones who approached Morgan first, so they should naturally bear the responsibility. I just don’t understand why you would make such a decision when you clearly see through all of this. Besides, the game world isn’t impossible to restore. This kind of deal is still a bit of a loss.”

"So be it. After all, rebuilding the game world will take time and effort. Instead of wasting energy on them, I should focus on other things. If those guys agree, it's best to get it done quickly. I don't have much energy to waste on them. I need to focus on expansion. More than a year has passed, and I need to expand further. So there's nothing to worry about in the game world. I believe those guys already hold most of Lockheed's stock. As for the White House, I can only say I'm very disappointed with their choice!"

John's answer made Morgan nod in understanding. He acted swiftly and decisively. In terms of the stock market crash, John had already seized the initiative and made all the necessary preparations. Indeed, he didn't have the time or energy to haggle with these old guys. Doing so would only be counterproductive and affect his own development. Compared to the overall plan, the gains and losses in the game world were not so important, and there was no need to worry about them too much!
(End of this chapter)