America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 474 Profits Won with Lives

At the entrance of the University of California Medical Center, crowds thronged, and cameras and video recorders, like long guns and cannons, were set up on both sides of the road.

Television broadcast vans from WarnerMedia, NBC, ABC, and CNN all drove up to the hospital's main entrance, with live cameras pointed at the scene. Their respective reporters interviewed people on site from time to time, which was then broadcast on television news.

The buzzing of engines could be heard from above as a Fox News helicopter flew directly above the medical center to film from above.

More and more people gathered at the entrance, and those who came later were all wearing red T-shirts. In just over half an hour, there were hundreds of people.

"They're all Martin Davis supporters," an NBC reporter said. "If something happens to Martin, this hospital and the LAPD will be in serious trouble."

Another reporter said, "Martin estimates he could double our bonuses this month."

A reporter behind them suddenly said, "If Martin dies..."

Countless eyes from his peers immediately turned to him. Most of the people here might have similar thoughts, but they could think about it, but they absolutely could not say it out loud.

The man was a reporter who had just finished his internship. His supervisor scolded him, "Shut up! You've seen the video from multiple angles. Martin is a hero!"

The young reporter, who seemed to have some connections, said, "Those people were targeting Martin. What kind of hero is he?"

WarnerMedia sent their star agent, Helen, who overheard the conversation as she arrived. She retorted, "Are you blind? Given the madness of those thugs, how many people would have died in the dock area if Martin hadn't deliberately drawn fire?"

Someone who knew Helen and Martin were close said, "Helen, what's going on with Martin? Why don't you ask him?"

Helen's expression was extremely serious: "I can't get through to Martin's private phone, and no one answers his agent's phone."

Someone chimed in, "The situation might not be good."

As we were talking, a red Porsche drove up and entered the hospital gate.

A quick-thinking reporter remarked, "That's Elizabeth Olsen's car; Martin's girlfriend is here."

Once the Porsche disappeared from sight, another reporter, looking around, remarked, "The area is going to be dyed red."

Reporters noticed that Martin's supporters, dressed in red, never stopped coming.

Cars drove into the hospital entrance one after another.

Lily and Elizabeth got out of the Porsche and went into the medical center together. After asking some questions, they arrived at a consultation room.

Thomas, Chad, Menez, and others who were nearby arrived shortly afterward.

Elizabeth was on the verge of tears, asking, "What happened? Where's Martin? Where's Martin?"

Lily pursed her lips, not saying a word. Her hand, which was in her pocket, gripped the carving knife tightly. Only then did she realize how powerless she was when her loved ones were hurt.

Thomas said, "Martin is injured and is receiving treatment inside."

Eliza rolled her eyes but finally couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her face as she clutched the cross her mother had given her and prayed to God for protection.

Lily came over and hugged her: "Martin is tough, he'll be fine."

Elizabeth, whose personality was much gentler than Lily's, buried her face in Lily's shoulder and cried.

Mene paced back and forth anxiously, scratching his head repeatedly. He wanted to help but didn't know how, which was incredibly frustrating.

His verbal skills are useless in this kind of situation.

The door to the medical room opened, and a nurse said, "Is Thomas Lane here? Martin wants to see you."

Thomas quickly strode over and said, "That's me."

The nurse nodded and let him in.

Lily visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Elizabeth suddenly had a bad feeling: "Martin, Martin..."

"Martin's fine, it's probably just a minor injury." Lily relaxed immediately and even joked, "If Martin were really in bad shape, I would have been the first one called in, not Thomas."

Elizabeth lifted her head from Lily's shoulder, took a step back, and looked at Lily with a slightly surprised expression.

But she didn't say anything, and turned to look towards the examination room.

In the examination room, Martin had his left arm in a sling around his neck, his right thigh wrapped in bandages, and some minor scratches around his neck and shoulders, all of which had been carefully treated.

Thomas asked, "How's it going?"

Martin smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

Because it was a ricocheting bullet, and was deflected by a Nokia phone, the wound on my right leg wasn't deep; it was just a superficial wound that didn't even require stitches. It will heal after a while.

His left arm took the full force of that Russian's blow, so it wasn't easy for him. He had a very minor fracture, and the doctor put it in place just in case.

In fact, Martin suffered far more serious injuries than this when he was a stunt double in his previous life.

Martin asked first, "Where's Old Brooks?"

"He's on his way after being questioned by the LAPD and FBI!" Thomas glanced at his watch and said, "He should be here in about half an hour."

Once Martin confirmed that Old Brooks was alright, he moved on to other things, asking, "How is this situation affecting you now?"

"The news channels of the five major television networks are broadcasting it on a loop, and online media outlets like TMZ are releasing related news every ten minutes." Thomas has been keeping abreast of media developments through his assistant, Natasha: "The whole of America is watching this now."

He added, "Two of your old friends, Bradt, a public relations expert with the Los Angeles Police Department, and Neves from the FBI, have contacted me and advised you not to give interviews or face the public for the time being. They are on their way to Los Angeles."

Martin thought for a moment and said, "You give them a reply, I'll wait for them until evening."

Thomas said, "They'll be here soon." He added, "The FBI and LAPD have also spoken to the hospital; they'll remain silent as long as you don't go public."

The deed is done; Martin was considering maximizing his profits from the moment he deliberately fell.

He said, "For the time being, you should not respond to any media or outsiders. Tell them to keep quiet for now."

Thomas said, "We're all on the same side, so there's no problem."

Martin said while thinking, "Regarding this matter, you should immediately communicate with Rita and Martha's Oscar PR team and have them keep a close eye on the situation and adjust their strategies accordingly. I believe this will be extremely beneficial to the Oscars."

Thomas wrote it down.

Martin added, "Remember to call Chad over."

Thomas pointed outside the door: "He's right outside the door."

Martin nodded, aggravating the injury on his arm. This wasn't the time to risk his life, yet he became pampered again, wincing in pain. He gestured with his eyes to the Nokia 1100 with the bullet lodged in it and said, "Send the Nokia guys a blurry picture and see if we can make some money off them."

Thomas glanced at his phone, helped Martin put it away, and said, "This time, they'll be begging to give us money!"

Then a nurse came in and wheeled Martin out of the examination room to the ward area.

As soon as the hospital bed was moved out, Lily and Elizabeth ran over.

Elizabeth looked at Martin's arm, and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Martin leaned back on the hospital bed and shook his head slightly at her, indicating that he was fine.

On the way, Thomas gave instructions to Chad and Mene.

Upon entering the ward, the nurse gave a few instructions and then left on her own.

In her eyes, Martin's injury was nothing.

Martin said, "Don't worry, I'm fine, I'll be alright soon."

Elizabeth said, "I was terrified!"

Seeing that Martin was alright, Lily went to the balcony of the ward alone and called Elena and Harris.

Martin called Chad over and said directly, "Hurry up and cut out a trailer for 'John Wick,' communicate with Warner Bros., and use this incident to promote the movie."

Chad also had a good business sense: "I watched the video from the docks, and your performance was like Jonathan Lee stepping into reality. Our film is bound to be a hit!"

Martin smiled and said, "If you want to go viral, you need to do a good job of publicity and marketing."

Chad said, "With such good material in front of me, I know what to do. Warner's professional team will do a great job, especially Daniel, who is a skilled one."

Martin said, "I'm fine here, you go and push this forward."

Chad was about to leave: "I'm going to the studio now to see Daniel first, and we'll edit a trailer tonight."

Menne said a few words to Martin, then left with Chad.

Elizabeth poured him a glass of water and held it to his lips: "Have some water, your lips are so dry they're peeling."

Martin took two sips and said, "Nervous."

"Just rest and recover." Elizabeth had been worried, especially since Martin's arm was in a sling and his leg was wrapped in bandages. She deliberately complained, "You're like this, and you're still thinking about work."

Martin said, "After such a big incident, I was almost shot to death, but I survived by sheer luck. Of course, I want to take advantage of this to gain the greatest benefit."

Elizabeth didn't understand any of this: "I'll stay here with you. Just tell me what you need me to do."

Her phone rang, and when she answered, someone was asking about Martin's injuries.

Elizabeth didn't say anything, hung up the phone and turned it off.

There was a knock on the ward door. Lily went to open it, and Leonardo and Nicholson came in.

The two men were surprised to see Martin's disheveled appearance: "Is he injured that badly?"

Martin laughed and said, "A minor injury, deliberately exaggerated."

Nicholson, a shrewd and experienced man, immediately understood: "If you use this opportunity well, your Oscar for acting is practically guaranteed!"

Leonardo understood and scratched his head. He seemed to see two bastards showing off their Oscars in front of him, while he was ridiculed every day in his miserable future.

Nicholson comforted him, "It's alright, I'll give you one later, after all, I have three."

Leonardo surpassed Martin to become the most injured person in this ward.

The two didn't stay long. They chatted with Martin for a while, confirmed that his injuries were indeed not serious, and then quickly said goodbye and left.

When faced with reporters again, the two only boasted about their close cooperation as a trio, taking down more than a dozen armed thugs, and said nothing else.

In the late afternoon, representatives from the LAPD and FBI officially came to visit.

(End of this chapter)