America: My Time

Chapter 942 Precise Counterattack

Chapter 912 Precise Counterattack
“We understand, and we’ve also learned about Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group. You’ve been doing this all along, so we have no reason to oppose or stop you. Besides, nurturing talent comes at a price. You can’t expect the talent you’ve painstakingly cultivated to end up with nothing!” The leaders of the Film Bureau agreed with John’s statement. After all, this wasn’t targeting Chinese actors; even Hollywood does the same thing, and they’ve been doing it all along, so there’s no reason to oppose it!
"It's good that you understand. Many people don't understand. There have always been discontent voices in Hollywood, and even in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Even the artists we sign have complaints. This is why we've been choosing some Japanese and Korean artists in recent years. No film company can afford the losses from a failed project. Hollywood is a little better off because there are merchandise products to make up for box office losses, but Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China can't. They rely entirely on box office revenue for profit. Although we've been trying to change, it hasn't been very effective. Piracy is also a big issue. Hollywood has zero tolerance for piracy, which is why it's developed the way it is now. But Hong Kong and Taiwan can't do that. We've suffered significant losses, especially in VCD distribution."

At this point, John couldn't help but sigh. If this was the case in Hong Kong and Taiwan, one could only imagine the situation on the mainland. This was why VCD production in Taiwan and Hong Kong had shifted to the mainland, and why they were released at lower prices—to minimize the impact of piracy. However, that wasn't the main point now; the main point was to participate in the development of the Chinese film industry.

The sheer profit potential of the film market is evident in Hollywood, where films also possess significant promotional power, making them even more highly valued. However, reaching Hollywood's level is no easy feat. Hong Kong is currently in decline, a consequence of broader economic conditions that no single film company can prevent.

Regarding talent development and growth in China, after this communication, nothing was an obstacle anymore, which relieved John and allowed him to temporarily put those matters aside. However, John was soon affected by a new influence: that scoundrel Soros directly portrayed John as a villain, even believing John to be worse than him. After all, Hurricane Investment and Standard Chartered Bank had gained more profits, and those who didn't understand naturally assumed John was in cahoots with Soros!

"Boss, this is news from Britain!"

When John received the fax from his private secretary, a dark look appeared in his eyes. Oil Capital was too arrogant. Although this was just Soros's claim, John knew that Oil Capital was actually behind it all. This kind of reputation was not what John wanted, and if he were to be manipulated by that bastard Soros, it would have a significant impact on the development of Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment.

Of course, John had anticipated this situation and had a plan. Soros had targeted him, but John wasn't the CEO of Standard Chartered or Hurricane Capital. These two CEOs would handle the situation and deliver a fatal blow to Soros. If Soros hadn't taken these actions, if he hadn't targeted John, Standard Chartered and Hurricane Capital would have remained silent and wouldn't have retaliated. But now things were different. Oil Pacific Capital had once again attacked him, and John needed to teach them a lesson they wouldn't tolerate!

The two media groups conducted exclusive interviews with the CEOs of Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Phoenix Investment, asking them about the European financial crisis and their feelings about Soros's statements.

A counterattack quickly followed. Standard Chartered Bank has numerous branches and substantial deposits in Europe. Knowing the problems with European currencies, they naturally had to prepare in advance. They were responsible to their depositors, ensuring the safety of their funds and, more importantly, the bank's own security, thus requiring targeted arrangements. However, all of this was not caused by Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments, but by problems within Europe itself. Furthermore, it wasn't Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments that ignited this situation, but by George Soros. Most importantly, both companies had made preparations before Soros intervened, making Soros's accusations problematic.

When asked about their boss, both CEOs expressed disdain and ridicule towards Soros. The reason was simple: their boss had numerous investments and vast assets in Europe, and it was only legitimate to hedge against risk to ensure their investments and assets were not lost. However, Soros was a financial killer.

John has a huge investment in Europe and even more in Britain, including cars, large aircraft, and real estate. It is only natural for him to prepare for the crisis in the pound in advance. This is completely different from Soros. One is a complete financial killer, while the other has a lot of real investments. The public naturally understands the difference between the two!

Of course, John didn't just take the beating without retaliating. Since Soros and his backer, Oil Capital, dared to scheme against him, he wouldn't hesitate to expose them completely. Soon, Soros and Oil Capital paid the price for their actions. Their plans in Europe, and even their personnel, were exposed one by one, without any concealment. They were directly accused of being behind the European financial crisis. At this time, some people were also drawing parallels to Germany in the past, clearly implying that Oil Capital wanted to use financial means to undermine the financial security of other countries, and that they were condemning Oil Capital's greed. They argued that Oil Capital was willing to attack other countries' financial currencies for their own greed; in short, Oil Capital was a greedy villain.

However, this was not the work of the two major media groups, but rather a counterattack by countries that suffered losses in this financial crisis. Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media merely brought Yutai Capital into the public eye, without taking any other action.

"Damn bastard, how dare he do this? How dare he target us? This isn't our decision, it's the Fed's decision. We're just the executors!" Even though those guys know that Oil Capital is just a henchman of the Fed, and that they're now isolated by Europe for disrupting European finance and currency, it doesn't stop them from targeting Oil Capital.

In contrast, no one targeted Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment, which made Oil Capital even more unacceptable and made Soros even more dissatisfied and hateful towards John. Although he made money this time, he did not feel the joy of success because his plan had been anticipated by Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment from beginning to end.

"Alright, let's not dwell on this. When we took action against that little fox John, we should have expected him to retaliate. What's there to be angry about? You don't think that little fox will just take the beating without fighting back. Besides, this was just the beginning. The real backlash comes from the Europeans and the Middle Eastern tycoons. Compared to John, that little fox is actually quite polite to us, while the Middle Eastern tycoons are dangerous. We have to be careful!"

"Well said. These guys in the Middle East are constantly vying with us for media power. They've used money to pave the way and have acquired a lot of media power. And these guys are targeting us. It's not just in the US that they're targeting us; Europe is doing the same. They want to ruin our reputation."

So what if they know? These guys from Oil Pacific Capital have no way to stop it. And what the Middle Eastern tycoons said is true. It's all because these guys from Oil Pacific Capital are too greedy and have done all sorts of bad things. This time, their attack on European financial currencies gave the Middle Eastern tycoons an opportunity. Originally, the problem wasn't too big, but they shouldn't have targeted John out of momentary anger. That's why things got out of control and they suffered such a crazy counterattack!

Do they regret it? It would be a lie to say they don't regret it, but regret is useless now. It has already happened, and the reactions of Hurricane Capital and Standard Chartered Bank have dealt them a heavy blow. Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Capital were both operating normally and had no malicious schemes, unlike Soros and Oil Pacific Capital.

However, when the situation in Europe reversed, and the reputation of the oil capital and the oil people was once again tarnished, the pressure on them increased. Some even dragged Israel into the fray, directly exposing the greed of the oil people. Moreover, they presented concrete evidence that since the founding of the state, Israel had annexed a large amount of Palestinian land, and that every war was an invasion, and that this was justified and based on evidence, directly reversing the image of the oil people as victims.

While this wasn't the outcome the Americans wanted, the Europeans now deeply resent the Americans. They're not fools; they know that Soros and his ilk are backed by the Federal Reserve and, more importantly, by the Americans themselves. Therefore, they completely ignored American directives and began targeting Israel and the oilfields. With the help of Middle Eastern tycoons, this has utterly tarnished the reputation of oilfield capital, putting them under immense pressure and causing many oilfields to be scorned. At this point, no one believes the oilfields are innocent; many consider them evil. Those directly affected have begun to vehemently criticize them, causing the situation to spiral out of control.
(End of this chapter)