America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 341 Focus

On May 3rd, the eyes of the global financial world seemed to be firmly drawn by an invisible gravitational field, focusing entirely on the Nasdaq exchange building on Wall Street in New York, which had stood for many years. At the heart of this attraction was YueDong Games, the company that was about to ring the bell for its IPO there.

At this moment, Wall Street is filled with countless camera lenses, the hurried figures of financial reporters, and the expectant eyes of investors from all over the world. The scene is as lively as Times Square during New Year's Eve in New York, except that there are no fireworks and a more tense atmosphere of money flowing.

It's no exaggeration to say that the area around the Nasdaq trading floor was bustling with excitement early on, with crowds so large that even early-morning New Yorkers couldn't help but slow down.

Just after six o'clock in the morning, as Ernst was in his car heading to the Nasdaq trading floor, he could clearly feel the traffic congestion as soon as the car left the upscale residential area of ​​Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The streets, which should have been clear in the early morning, were already showing signs of traffic jams, with cars moving slowly like snails in the flow of traffic.

"No wonder Goldman Sachs specifically instructed us to leave before 7 a.m. With this traffic, if we wait another half hour for the New York morning rush hour to arrive, we might really have to abandon the car and walk the entire distance to Nasdaq." Ernst looked at the slowly moving traffic outside the window and shook his head helplessly.

Given the congestion of ground traffic, why not choose the more efficient helicopter?

That's something you shouldn't even think about.

Thinking about this, Ernst couldn't help but silently despise the Jews in his heart.

According to Jewish law, Saturday is the Sabbath. On this day, believers must strictly observe a series of taboos, including prohibitions against working, carrying keys, and moving items between public and private areas. There are a total of 39 rules, each like an invisible shackle that restricts the daily behavior of believers.

These Jews were indeed very wise. In order to live normally on the Sabbath without violating religious doctrine, they came up with a truly ingenious solution: to create a barrier.

Anyone who has been to Manhattan can easily spot some inconspicuous barbed wire fences high in the sky if they pay a little attention. These seemingly ordinary fences are actually markings used by Jews to demarcate boundaries.

The area enclosed by barbed wire was their designated special territory.

Within this enclosed area, Jews are not bound by Sabbath taboos; for example, they can freely carry items and engage in some simple activities.

This operation is somewhat self-deceptive, but they do it in a very professional manner, even arranging for someone to drive along the barbed wire fence every day to patrol it, for fear that the barbed wire fence might be damaged.

These barbed wire fences cost millions of dollars to maintain each year, for routine inspections and replacement of damaged parts.

In Ernst's view, this was purely making trouble out of nothing, a case of having nothing better to do than cause trouble for no reason.

What frustrates him most is that the entire Upper West Side of Manhattan and many surrounding areas have been included in this barbed wire fence, and his mansion near Central Park happens to be right in the center of the fence.

According to regulations, no aircraft is allowed to fly over the barrier before 10:00 AM every day. Not to mention private helicopters, even US military aircraft must take a detour during this time period.

He doesn't have the ability to face the wrath of the entire Jewish community, so forget about helicopters and just stick to the car.

He shifted his gaze from the window to the car interior, landing on Monica Bellucci, who was leaning on his shoulder, looking drowsy.

The Italian beauty had her eyes slightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, and a hint of lingering languor on her face, clearly indicating that she hadn't fully woken up.

Ernst shook his head helplessly. He really didn't know where this woman got so much energy last night, staying up until almost three in the morning before finally going to sleep.

When she woke up in the morning, her colorful clothes and strange toys were scattered all over the bedroom floor.

"I really don't understand what's so great about coming here. To put it bluntly, this IPO bell-ringing ceremony is just a bunch of people cheering around the stock code. There's nothing fun about it; it's just people joining in the fun."

It wasn't that he didn't want to bring Bellucci along, but he simply couldn't understand what made her so excited about such a commercial setting.

If he weren't the founder and largest shareholder of YueDong Games, he would rather stay home and sleep soundly than join in this commotion.

Upon hearing Ernst's words, Bellucci slowly opened his eyes, rubbed his slightly swollen eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "This kind of company IPO is a once-in-a-lifetime event. How could I not be curious?"

She said that, but she had other plans in mind.

She wasn't really interested in the listing process; she was more interested in the huge exposure opportunities the event offered.

Although Ernst will not personally ring the bell today, as the founder of Leap Games, he will inevitably become the focus of media attention and appear on the pages of major financial and entertainment media around the world.

As Ernst's companion, she naturally gained more exposure by riding on this wave of popularity.

She previously rose to global fame with just an iPod, and now she's striking while the iron is hot.

This is a good opportunity to break into new markets again.

She realized that unless the man beside her agreed, she would most likely be a canary kept in a gilded cage for the rest of her life.

She is no longer young and knows the cruelty of the entertainment and fashion industries. While she still has charm, she must seize every opportunity to improve herself and save enough money for her retirement.

This is also why she chose to settle in New York instead of going to Los Angeles, which is more suitable for developing her acting career.

The competition in Los Angeles is too fierce, while in New York, her only competitor is Gisele Bündchen, who has recently risen to fame in the supermodel world.

However, Bellucci also knew that Gisele Bündchen was extremely career-driven and always wanted to use the New York modeling scene as a springboard to enter Hollywood and become an actress, so she didn't have much time to spend with Ernst.

She can then focus more on cultivating her relationship with Ernst and leveraging his resources to create more opportunities for herself.

The car moved slowly through the congested traffic. Although the speed was not fast, it did not come to a complete standstill, and the journey was relatively smooth.

As the car passed through Times Square, Ernst once again truly experienced what a vibrant game day meant.

This New York landmark, known as the Crossroads of the World, is now completely dominated by promotional content from Leap Games.

Every giant electronic screen in Times Square is playing promotional videos about Leap Games on a loop.

The information covers everything from the company's founding background and development history to introductions of its hit games, personal profiles of the company's management, details of the IPO, and even the daily work scenarios of the company's employees.

Passersby stopped to take photos, and many loyal players of the game spontaneously cheered and shouted in the square, holding up signs that read "Yuedong Games." The scene was as lively as a grand fan meeting.

The car continued on its way and soon arrived at the Nasdaq trading building, which is not far from Times Square.

At this time, the listing team of YueDong Games had arrived ahead of time and was surrounded by a group of media reporters holding microphones and carrying cameras, giving interviews.

The reporters bombarded the company with questions, ranging from its future development plans and the intended use of the IPO proceeds to its assessment of future trends in the gaming industry. They seemed eager to uncover every piece of information related to YueDong Games.

Ernst didn't want to be disturbed by the media, so he had his driver take the car to a relatively secluded side door. Then, escorted by bodyguards, he quietly got out of the car and went to the lounge where Paulson and the others were.

As soon as they entered the lounge, Paulson strode forward and said to Ernst with a smile, "Are you really not going to go up on stage and ring the bell? You know, you're the absolute focus today. If you stand on that stage, the eyes of the whole world will be on you. This is an opportunity that so many people would kill for!"

Paulson still can't understand Ernst's decision. In his view, Ernst is at the age of youthful vigor, a time when he should be showing off his personality and enjoying flowers and applause. However, on the day when Leap Games went public, which should have been the time for him to shine, he chose to step back from the spotlight. This calm and experienced mentality is not what a young man should have. On the contrary, he is more composed than those old foxes who have been in the business world for decades.

Ernst casually found a sofa to sit on, picked up a cup of coffee on the table, took a small sip, and said in a calm tone, "Today's focus should be on YueDong Games, so I won't try to steal that spotlight."

Once you've seen it, your mindset changes.

It's like a person who, when he only has 10,000 yuan, will feel compelled to show off to those around him if he spends 1,000 yuan on a new piece of clothing. But when he earns a million yuan a year, spending 1,000 yuan on a piece of clothing is as ordinary as buying a bottle of drink, and he won't feel any pride in it.

The listing of YueDong Games is like that thousand-dollar shirt; although it is an important milestone for the company, it is not an achievement worth making a big fuss about.

If Google goes public in the future, he might consider making an appearance, but YueDong Games, in terms of both practical and strategic value, doesn't hold a very high position in his mind.

When he founded this game company, his initial intention was simple: to quickly accumulate wealth in a short period of time to pave the way for other investment projects in the future—in short, to make money.

He just didn't expect his career to develop so smoothly that he no longer has to worry about money. Every day, countless people want to give him money, but he refuses them all.

Turning to look at the glass window of the lounge, one can see the Leap Games team surrounded by the media outside.

Everyone on the team had an excited smile on their face, and some were even so excited that they were incoherent.

Even through the thick glass, Ernst could feel their barely suppressed excitement.

For most people, being able to participate in a company's IPO process is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Moreover, I don't think today is a highlight for YueDong Games. At most, it's just the starting point for its growth into an industry giant."

Ernst's tone was somewhat confident, and everyone else in the lounge couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

They certainly hoped Ernst was telling the truth, because the greater the future development potential of Leap Games, the more money they, as investors, could make.

Paulson patted Ernst on the shoulder. "I hope you're right, and I hope Leap Games lives up to its name, leaping forward in the capital market and creating more miracles."

Ernst smiled, gave him a meaningful look, and said nothing more.