America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 101. The Zombies Are Coming

Gal Gadot's apartment.

With Judy and Barrefaeli gone, Eric was left alone in the living room.

I turned on the TV and switched to HBO. It was only 7:40, 20 minutes before The Walking Dead premiered.

Looking at the water glass on the table, and the prominent red lipstick mark on the rim, Eric picked it up and went to the kitchen.

Splash!

After rinsing it clean under the tap, I nodded in satisfaction. When you dislike someone, everything about them is often wrong, and you will hate even the good aspects of them.

Having done all this, only two minutes later, Eric sat on the sofa, looking at the Nokia in his hand, and couldn't help but miss the smartphones of later generations.

In the subsequent smartphone wars, Apple was undoubtedly the one who had the last laugh.

As a Chinese person, Eric may not have a good impression of Apple, but he has to admit that it is absolutely dominant in the world.

However, Apple has not yet risen to prominence, and Nokia remains the industry leader.

While this isn't the best time to buy Apple stock, it's still a reasonable opportunity.

Unfortunately, Eric was really short of funds and didn't have any extra money to buy stocks. He only realized his father's predicament after talking to him last time.

MGM currently has more than a dozen projects running simultaneously, including many low-budget horror films. Even though the films don't have all their costs invested at once, the pressure is still immense.

Especially since it includes big-budget productions like "Transformers" and "Frozen" with investments exceeding $1.5 million, in just one month, Weta Digital will have to make a second payment, another tens of millions of dollars.

There are also bank debts. $50 million of the principal has been repaid so far, but the interest is still huge. In June, it will be time to pay the second quarter's interest.

Eric doesn't have much to offer as collateral for loans right now. His most valuable asset is his 16% stake in Hasbro, though to be precise, part of it has already been used for loans. Otherwise, he and Elena would have been taken to court by JPMorgan Chase.

It's theoretically possible to continue using the remaining portion as collateral for a loan, but taking out a total loan isn't a good idea. It's like smoking opium; the more you smoke, the more addicted you become. The bank isn't giving you money for free.

The second way to alleviate the financial pressure as soon as possible is to relist. However, after discussing it with his father, they both felt that now was not a good time. If they could hold out until the release of "Transformers", MGM's market value would at least double.

Money! I'm so poor!

So don't envy those who drive Mercedes-Benzes; maybe they bought them on loan.

"Eric, what time is it?"

Gadot stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe, her still slightly damp hair draped over her shoulders.

The picture of a beautiful woman emerging from the bath is stunning, even without makeup. Her pure and innocent aura makes her exude allure.

"Let me see, it'll be 8 o'clock in two minutes."

"What! Does that mean I won't have time to blow-dry my hair?"

"Just blow-dry it, beautiful lady. Although I can't wait to hug you, I've also heard that wet hair makes women very uncomfortable."

Gadot laughed and said, "But I don't want to miss watching the show. The beginning is very important. If you skip it, you'll miss key information."

Eric pointed to himself: "Look here, look who I am, baby. Sitting on your sofa is the writer and producer of The Walking Dead. If you want, I can get the content for the next few episodes right now."

"Hahaha. You're right, how could I forget your identity? Okay, I need to dry my hair first, then you can tell me the plot later."

The sound of a hairdryer came from the bedroom, and Eric's gaze shifted to the television screen.

The story officially begins with a roar from a yellow-maned lion.

In the small town, a police car is parked on the side of the road, and the protagonist Rick is chatting with his colleague Sean.

The conversation mainly revolved around family. Rick mentioned that his relationship with his wife, Lori, had been strained lately, while his good friend Sean said it was nothing to worry about, that arguments between couples were common, and that he could help mediate.

The subsequent plot differs from the original timeline, where the two were on patrol intercepting a criminal's car.

But Eric thought this was too unrealistic. Normally, when dealing with armed criminals who were trying to escape, at least dozens of police officers would be needed, and a single spike strip would be far too weak.

So it was changed to a story about a patient's family member causing trouble at the hospital, and Rick and Sean going to deal with it, only for the other party to suddenly pull out a hidden dagger and stab Rick.

While at the hospital, Rick was taken directly to the operating room.

Then came a series of hazy memories: Sean often came to visit him, always bringing a bouquet of flowers. His wife, Lori, came a few times at first, but then stopped appearing, and later even Sean stopped coming.

Rick didn't know how much time had passed when he seemed to hear screams and gunshots. He slowly woke up and looked at the withered flowers beside him, indicating that Sean hadn't appeared for a long time.

Suddenly, a pair of cool little hands grabbed Eric from behind and grabbed his neck: "The zombies are coming!"

Eric looked up at the sky: "If all zombies looked like you, I think every man in the world would want the end of the world to come quickly. Oh, and Judy too."

Gadot giggled a few times, then kissed Eric.

"Hmm, although I really want to continue enjoying it, this posture is really not good for my neck."

"So what do you want?" Gadot blinked.

Patting her thigh, the girl obediently sat down, leaning her whole body against Eric's chest, and the two of them casually lay half-reclined on the sofa.

"OMG! Just looking at this environment, I can imagine what kind of disaster this place has experienced."

On the television screen, as Rick explores the hospital, the surrounding environment unfolds before the viewers.

The corridor was a mess, the lights were flickering, there was broken glass on the floor, and bloodstains on the walls, though they had clearly dried out and still contained a lot of bullet holes.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here, which corresponded to the shouts and gunshots Rick vaguely heard.

Rick tried to make a phone call, but the signal was cut off, and he could only search aimlessly, feeling completely lost.

It also left the audience confused, wanting to know why things turned out this way and what would happen next.

Just like Gal Gadot, whose hands were originally drawing circles with each other, her hands are now still, and her eyes are drawn to the plot. All of this took less than 3 minutes.

This is what makes "The Walking Dead" so excellent—it's tense and exciting, instantly grabbing the audience's attention.

Suddenly, Eric felt his hand being gripped tightly, because the first corpse had appeared on the television screen. It was a female corpse that had been gnawed down to its skeleton, with only a few pieces of flesh hanging on it, making it look extremely gruesome.

Such scenes are rare even in films with explicit content, and they are incredibly impactful.

If such footage is discovered during the MPAA review, forget about an R rating; it will most likely be labeled NC17.

"Gadot, are you scared?" Eric asked softly.

"No, I'm just very nervous. He's going to that door, and it says 'Do not open' on it!"

Bang bang bang!

As if it had sensed the presence of living people, the iron gate was pounded repeatedly, and suddenly several filthy, rotting hands reached out from the gaps in the gate.

Startled, Rick quickly turned and left, dragging his weak body as he laboriously walked out of the hospital's side door.

As soon as the door opened, a wide-angle shot appeared, revealing the entire hospital to the audience.

Clearly, the buildings here and in the surrounding area have been reduced to ruins.

When the camera pans down to the ground, countless white body bags are piled up, abandoned ambulances are parked haphazardly, and truck beds are also filled with a large number of corpses.

Flies crawled all over the corpse, while Rick stood with his mouth agape, unable to utter a sound.

This scene is very impactful. Eric was shocked when he first saw it. It instantly created that apocalyptic feeling.

I glanced at Gadot and saw that she was frowning, her expression becoming even more tense.

Rick then walked to the military camp not far from the hospital, but unfortunately it was also reduced to ruins, as if it had been the site of a major battle.

"Has the world ended?" Gadot asked Eric.

"Yes, the army is gone, so the world no longer exists. This is just a story of a survivor trying to survive. Look, he found a bicycle."

Gadot's attention returned to the television, and just as Rick was about to ride away on his bicycle, the half-zombie not far away suddenly moved, letting out a low growl as it lunged at him.

The sight of only half a body instantly shocked Gadot, who involuntarily tilted her head slightly: "Eric, how was this filmed? I find it a little scary."

"They originally wanted to use special effects, but Darabont just found a dwarf actor, and this is what happened after he was made up."

"Okay, after hearing what you said, I don't feel scared anymore."

Then Rick rides his bicycle home. The contrast between the two—a sick person riding a bicycle in the apocalypse and the scene itself—is quite amusing.

Then they encounter the Morgan father and son, through whom the director tells the audience about the current situation.

Rick's health begins to recover under the care of Morgan and his son, until the father and son face the choice of whether to kill their mother, who has turned into a zombie. This marks the first test of humanity in The Walking Dead.

"Eric, if you were in that situation, what would you do? Could you bring yourself to do it?"

Eric nodded without hesitation: "I have to do it, even if it's the person I love most."

"Why? Don't you feel bad? She's your wife or mother after all!" Gadot frowned.

"Yes, I know, but the deceased are gone. Is it really good to let them live on in this form? Besides, I have to protect my living family. The living are more important than the dead."

"If I were to become a zombie, and I retained my consciousness afterward, I would definitely wish to die, so that I could protect those who are still alive."

Gadot climbed onto Eric's neck and gently kissed his face: "I agree with that answer. I would have done the same if I were in his shoes."

After a brief moment of intimacy, Rick on the television arrived at the police station with Morgan and his son. A hot bath helped ease the tension of the scene, and the weapons found at the police station made the protagonists seem less powerless.

On the way to Atlanta, Rick tried to contact Sean using the car radio, but the signal was too weak and they couldn't recognize each other.

Sean had by this time become the leader of a small group, which included Rick's wife Lori and son Carl.

Just when the audience thought Sean was a hero who rescued his best friend's wife in the apocalypse, he had already slept with Lori.

Gadot stared wide-eyed at everything, pointing at the television and asking, "Wait a minute, let me think. Rick just showed us a picture of his wife, this is the woman, right? So, his wife is having an affair with his best friend?"

"That's right, this is the apocalypse. Under the pressure of survival where death is always a possibility, the shackles of morality have become weaker and weaker."

Gadot shook her head: "These two actors are going to get a lot of flak. Audiences don't think that far ahead; most people only see what's in front of them."

"Let them curse. Every show needs a villain, and we can't have these emotionless zombies as villains."

"You mean this Sean?"

"I didn't say that, and I don't know how Darabont will film it either."

"But aren't you a screenwriter?"

"Just kidding!"

"Damn it, you're getting worse and worse, darling."

It's 8:50, 10 minutes left until the end of the first episode, and then the next classic scene appears.

From a great distance, a man and a horse ride on the highway leading into Atlanta. To the left are rows of abandoned vehicles, packed tightly together, stretching as far as the eye can see. Inside the vehicles, one can vaguely make out zombies.

On the right is a derailed train, with many broken bones remaining around it.

Upon entering Atlanta, the horses, sensing the threat, began to neigh, but this only provoked an attack from the zombies.

Rick escapes on horseback, only to run into Love at the corner, where an entire street of zombies has gathered.

Upon seeing Rick, the zombies immediately rushed over.

Soon, the space for escape was completely compressed by the horde of zombies, and Rick fell off his horse, which was also pounced on and devoured by the horde.

Faced with thousands of zombies, viewers realized that the weapons Rick got from the police station were completely useless.

Moreover, these zombies move very quickly, far beyond what you'd see in zombie movies.

An atmosphere of despair filled the air as Gadot gripped Eric's hand tightly once more, her eyes glued to the television screen.

Rick escaped into an abandoned tank, but it was no use, as the zombies were even pulling open the tank's entrance hatch.

In this desperate situation, Rick knew there was no hope of escape and prepared to end his own life with a single shot.

Just then, a voice came through the radio.

"If you want to live, follow my orders!"

The mysterious voice on the radio paused, and the camera finally focused on Rick's terrified expression.

The Walking Dead Episode 1 is over!

As the credits started rolling on the TV screen, Gadot stared at Eric speechlessly: "That's all? Nothing more?"

Eric shrugged: "What else do you want? The first episode was a 60-minute special, that's already an hour, girl."

"What! That fast? I didn't feel a thing. Tell me what happened next!" Gadot asked eagerly.

"I can't say it, you're making me break the confidentiality agreement, little girl."

"Hehe. How about I trade something for it?"

Eric paused for a moment, pretending to think, "We'll have to see what it is."

"How about this one?"

"Hmm, she's very valuable!"

(End of this chapter)