America: My Time

Chapter 603 Schemes of All Parties
Chapter 593 Schemes of All Parties

"The donkeys are having a meeting. Edward is already furious. It seems the donkeys are really useless! If they dared to directly attack John, that little fox, I might have some respect for them. But it seems they don't have that kind of guts. They only know how to use the power of the guild to get those lower-level guys to cause trouble. Now that John has retaliated, they're completely dumbfounded. Protecting the vulnerable, that slogan is really powerful, even more so than the donkeys themselves. Coupled with his previous bailout efforts, the entire American public is on John's side. The donkeys have no chance of turning things around."

"Actually, there's something John said that I think makes a lot of sense: Hollywood has never been run by those guys. It's always been dominated by giants, and capital determines everything. Those guys can't even see that, which just shows how foolish they are. But now we're in trouble too. Panasonic of Japan wants to acquire Disney, which is not a good thing. It will increase Japan's influence in the United States, and I don't think we should let them succeed!"

"No, I don't see it that way. I think the exact opposite is true. I think we should give them that opportunity. If we can't even give up this small benefit, how can we let those Japanese guys get involved? Besides, Disney itself is a trap. What difference does it make if we give it to Panasonic or Japan? Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, but what was the result? It's still the same as before. We don't need to care at all. It's not us who are anxious, but those Japanese."

"But if Japan acquires Disney, there will be no force in Hollywood that can restrain Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media. At that time, Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media will become unstoppable, and half of Hollywood's power will be in their hands. This will affect our interests!"

"No, things aren't as simple as you think. Do you think those Japanese guys will be on the same page as that little fox John? Do you think they'll still trust him after he sold the game world, the mobile phone factory, and the wafer technology? That's impossible. Those Japanese guys won't trust John, just as John has never trusted Japan. This time, their acquisition of Disney behind John's back is the best proof. Even if Panasonic takes over Disney, they won't be on the same page as Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group. They'll only have more ideas, and might even continue to stand on the opposite side of the two groups!" At this moment, Rockefeller expressed his opinion. If anyone in their group understood John best, it would be Rockefeller.

"That's right, I agree with Rockefeller's opinion. Those guys in Japan are despicable. They used to have business dealings with John and could benefit from the game world. Now that John has sold the game world, these guys are bound to be dissatisfied. Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi will all abandon their cooperation with John, or even their friendship. I think that since Panasonic acquired Disney, it's more likely to stand with Columbia Pictures than with Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media. In fact, when the pressure from Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media affects their interests, these guys are very likely to stand with Warner Bros. and the like to jointly resist the pressure from Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media. Profit is what they value most."

"So, you all agree to Panasonic's acquisition of Disney, or have you already sold your Disney shares? So you don't care about this acquisition at all?"

"You're overthinking it. We don't own any Disney shares, and we don't care about Disney. What we care about is the reaction of those Japanese guys. First, Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, and now Panasonic wants to acquire Disney. Don't you think those Japanese guys have gone crazy after they were no longer suppressed, and they've started frantically acquiring our companies? With the yen appreciating and the Japanese economy growing rapidly, these guys with money in their hands are going on a buying spree!"

"Hiss, you know what, things could actually turn out that way. And didn't that little fox John say he was going to sell off his assets in Japan this year to raise funds? It seems like those Japanese guys will get their hands on those assets again. Maybe we should prepare and take action to give those Japanese guys more confidence!"

These old guys were indeed cunning enough to keep the neon bubble expanding. However, at this point, none of them realized that John was actually extricating himself from the neon vortex; in their eyes, John was simply gathering funds to prepare for the next investment.

John paid a huge sum of money for this series of acquisitions, so they all felt that John was under pressure in terms of cash flow. Although he could borrow money from the Japanese bank, they did not believe that John would be completely without precautions. It was reasonable for him to sell Japanese assets and secure enough funds to deal with a possible crisis.

Now that old man Akio Morita is in the US and has met with that little fox John, Panasonic's acquisition of Disney will make John even more wary. Under these circumstances, they don't see anything wrong with John selling his assets in Japan; they just think it's perfectly reasonable.

Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media were true to their word. After failing to secure a compromise from the Writers Guild, they abandoned negotiations and immediately launched new projects. With these two media giants making their moves, other capable Hollywood companies quickly began to outmaneuver the Writers Guild and take action. Meanwhile, Panasonic's negotiations with Disney finally concluded, and they completed the acquisition. However, the acquisition price was not disclosed, and none of their Hollywood counterparts were notified, not even John, their close friend from Japan. This filled John with a cold sneer.

It seems these guys already have a plan. Before their trip to China, it's time to sell off their assets in Japan to raise enough funds. At this point, John no longer has any goodwill towards these Japanese guys. It's time to start preparing to reap the rewards, give them more confidence, and accelerate the bubble in Japan.

Just as John was preparing to devise a plan against the Japanese, an unexpected piece of news arrived: shocking news came from the Middle East that Abu Jihad had been assassinated by Israel. Before John could even process this news, the US Navy launched an attack on Iraq, disrupting the balance between the two countries.

Not only is there a problem in the Middle East, but there is also a problem in Africa. The chaos is intensifying, and the situation in Russia is getting worse. John's trade is growing bigger and bigger. Now he can do scrap metal business with Russia. Originally, this business was small-scale, but now it has become crazy. He may sell everything from armored vehicles to tanks and helicopters.

With its scrap-collecting activities in Russia, Jaguar Security Company's expansion in Africa became even more frenzied, and its influence grew larger and larger. However, with the rapid development of Jaguar Security Company, it also affected the interests of some people.

"What did you say? That little fox John left the United States and went to Tokyo, Japan?" Morgan's expression turned serious when he received the news. He understood what this meant!
"Yes, John has already gone to Tokyo, and after Tokyo he will go to China, then Hong Kong and Taiwan, and maybe he will also go to South Korea to watch the Seoul Olympics! Of course, this could also be an excuse to take the opportunity to make moves in South Korea, after all, John's investments in South Korea are already quite substantial."

"First, we'll go to Tokyo. They're selling assets there. I just wonder if this little fox will sell the oil refinery in Japan. Western Energy has become a giant in the oil refining industry, holding the largest share in Asia. That old Rockefeller guy has mentioned it more than once!"

"Yes, Western Energy's refineries in Asia have exceeded everyone's expectations, especially in China, where they have grown increasingly large. They're not only developing oil refining but also rapidly expanding in petrochemicals and other areas. They're investing the profits from their refineries into chemical projects in China. Western Energy's largest plant is now in China! Not only refineries, but also steel mills and even metallurgy are expanding rapidly. John's trip to China this time was part of this expansion plan. However, there's a piece of news I'm unsure if it's true!"

"What news?" Morgan frowned when he saw Jimmy's hesitant expression.
"Merck has agreed to transfer the technology of its hepatitis B vaccine to China for one dollar, which has angered many people who believe that Merck is breaking industry norms. Many pharmaceutical giants have grievances against them, and it is said that this decision was made by John."

Morgan Stanley said calmly, "Ignore those guys. Merck has been fully acquired. Their complaints are useless. They're just trying to cause trouble, suppress Merck's development, and hinder John's investments in the pharmaceutical group. The stock market crash has affected their R&D funding, so they're trying to hold Merck and Amgen back. They'll never succeed; such tactics are completely ineffective!"

"But with Donkey stirring things up, I'm afraid things won't end so easily. And now that John has left the US for Tokyo, it's easy for Donkey to do something. Besides, those guys are involved too. After all, they didn't get John's help with the Disney acquisition, so they hold a grudge!"

(End of this chapter)