America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 164. Nothing Left

On July 15, Eric returned to New York.

I came here mainly for three things.

The first thing Mike told Eric about his current debt, a staggering $1.88 million.

It's important to understand that this isn't a debt of a company or an organization; it's purely his personal debt.

It's only 2003, and this amount of debt is terrifying, even from the perspective of a big star. Many stars can't earn that much money in their entire lives.

After seeing the composition of his debts, Eric was left with only sighs and helplessness.

The money was definitely borrowed from the bank. Given his credit and reputation, the bank would be willing to lend him as much as he wanted.

The largest portion of this was from co-investment with Sony Music, which involved spending money to expand and acquire other companies and labels.

The second largest category is the charitable organizations he supports. You wouldn't believe it until you look it up—there are a whopping 39 of them. The list is so long it would take several minutes to read through.

Organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Children's International Academy, Black Congressional Committee, Marriage Happiness Organization, Motown Museum, UNESCO, YMCA 28th Street, Brothers of the Crusades, etc.

They are incredibly diverse, and many organizations, judging by their names alone, don't seem like they're involved in charity, such as the Brotherhood of the Crusaders.

Eric strongly suspects that Michael will provide funding to any so-called charitable organization that comes to him for help, and that these organizations take tens of millions of dollars from his pocket every year.

The third largest expense is his living expenses. The management fee for Neverland Ranch is at least two to three million US dollars a year, in addition to various collectibles and works of art.

In addition to financial support for family members, the annual expenses amount to tens of millions of dollars.

Fortunately, thanks to his music copyrights, he can earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars every year from Sony Music; otherwise, he would have gone bankrupt long ago.

Currently, many of Michael's song copyrights are held as collateral by banks, which is why he said that if things fall apart and both sides suffer, he will also be in trouble and will inevitably go bankrupt.

With two weeks until the trial, this battle is one that must be won; MGM still has over 200 million dollars in liquid funds.

However, the company also had investments, so Eric had no choice but to go to New York again to find Elena and try to raise some more money.

The second thing was to meet with John DeFal Adams, the colonel I met while filming Transformers at the Nevada military base.

However, thanks to his powerful family connections, he has been promoted to brigadier general in just a few months and is currently resting in New York.

The two maintained a good relationship during filming, and Eric gave him a lot of money. This time, he came to ask Eric for a favor.

The third thing is Zhou Wenqiong's Hudson Theatre. After we parted ways in Los Angeles last time, this woman would call him every few days, inviting him to come and inspect it.

Eric didn't take it seriously. He figured he'd just go if he had time, and skip it if he didn't.

A nobody like her is being ignored, yet she still dares to play tricks on her. People like that will eventually get impatient and come knocking on her door to beg for her help.

As usual, Elena picked him up from the airport; the slut was wearing sunglasses and driving a red Porsche.

"You changed cars? You're not driving the Panamera anymore?"

Eric sat in the passenger seat and asked.

"I just bought it not long ago. I wanted to change my mood with a new car. Now that I'm all alone, I can only enjoy cars."

Elena took off her sunglasses and glanced at him, seemingly casually.

Eric chuckled: "There's a hidden meaning in your words. I go to New York at least once a month now. You can't use that to criticize me, can you?"

"I would prefer you to stay in New York. It's no worse than Los Angeles. Universal and Paramount's headquarters are both in New York."

"Is this the same thing? Setting up a branch office is one thing, but moving the headquarters is not something to be taken lightly."

"Besides, haven't you heard that distance makes the heart grow fonder? If you're too close, seeing each other every day can actually make you bored. It's just right now; absence makes the heart grow fonder. Let's keep each other feeling fresh and eager for each other."

Elena rolled her eyes as she listened to Eric spouting his fallacious logic.

"If you don't like it, just say so. Why all this pretense between us? Would you say that to your mistresses?"

"Of course I will. I treat you all the same; you're all my little sweethearts."

"Heh. Eric Cooper, you're truly shameless!"

"But you like it, women love bad boys, that's an irrefutable truth."

Elena snorted coldly: "Let's get down to business. If you want a loan, it's very simple. I can get you up to two hundred million, without any collateral."

"Why? Have banks started doing charity?" Eric looked at the other person in confusion.

"Idiot, have you forgotten that after you shorted Hasbro's stock last time, didn't you use 16% of the stock as collateral for an unsecured loan?"

"You borrowed $4.8 million at the time, which was less than the value of the stock, so I can lend you up to another $2 million."

"Or if you want, you can use other collateral. You are now a major shareholder of Double Star Entertainment, and it has been doing well recently, so it's worth even more."

Eric considered what he needed to do recently, which was that Lionheart.com and YouTube were about to go live.

In addition, we plan to make initial contact with Marvel. Time waits for no one, so we need to make a move.

"Okay, I'll think about it more carefully. Anyway, I'll be in New York for two days, and I'll decide on the loan amount tomorrow."

"Whatever, it's your business anyway. If you release more, I'll get a bigger commission; if you release less, I'll make up for it by taking a smaller commission from you."

"You've only been serious for three minutes, and you're already acting lewd again."

Elena glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense and put your hands on your lap."

"what?"

"Just release it when I tell you to!"

Eric did as he was told and placed his hand on Elena's thigh.

"What are you standing there for? Touch it!"

As my fingers traced the surface, it immediately felt clean and smooth, with a warm sensation.

"Hmph! Don't you see anything special about it?"

Elena hummed in agreement: "How does it feel?"

"It's great, it's like kneading a peeled egg, so smooth and tender."

"Hmph! I've been taking care of myself all along, I'm no worse off than Ashley and Mary, right?"

"What's there to compare?"

Eric stared speechlessly at the slut. He noticed that ever since he slept with the three women, Elena had become particularly keen to hear him recount his scandalous affairs with the Olsen sisters.

He also likes to compare himself to his niece, always asking Eric whether he is better than them, and who makes him happier.

Although the thrill of blood ties is exciting, talk is cheap. After talking too much, Eric was itching to try it, but he couldn't actually do it.

Elena is definitely fine with it; she'd love to have a foursome, and even better, a fivesome when Elizabeth grows up.

However, Eric wasn't bold enough to make such a request to the Olsen sisters.

In short, further development and adjustments are needed; there's still a long way to go.

I accompanied Elena shopping, had dinner, and then went to a hotel for some intense sex.

Eric once again successfully quelled the resentment of the sluts.

The next morning, Eric visited John Adams' home.

The maid served the tea and then left.

"Eric, I didn't expect you to like tea. Few young people have your hobby; coffee is their first choice."

Eric took a sip: "Coffee is refreshing, tea is good for you. If you like, I can ask someone to bring some premium coffee from China."

"Do you know Da Hong Pao? It's said that there are only a handful of original plants in the entire country of China, and the annual tea production is only a few kilograms. You can't buy it even if you have money."

John Adams grinned and said, "I don't know much about tea; this is for the guests. I prefer alcohol, but I don't like Chinese baijiu. Whiskey is much more to my liking."

Well, this is like casting pearls before swine.

Eric shrugged. This kind of tough military general didn't seem like the type to enjoy drinking tea.

"By the way, your Transformers movie is coming out soon, right? I watched the trailer a few days ago, and the weapon display was pretty good."

"It will be released on November 16th. The content has already been approved by the Ministry of National Defense. When we film the second movie next year, we might need your help."

"If you still want to film at the Nevada base, I'll give you the green light."

"Weren't you promoted? Why are you still staying at the Nevada military base?"

"Otherwise what? Should I go to the Department of Defense? At the Nevada base, everyone has to take my orders, but if I go to the Department of Defense, with my rank, I'll only be able to take orders from others."

"I understand, the difference between a regional governor and a central government official."

"Almost. After a few more days of leave, I'll go back to base."

After chatting for a while, Eric began to explain his purpose: "John, I've come here today to ask you for a favor."

"Come on, we don't usually work together, why do you need equipment again?"

"It's not equipment, it's the internet. I'm developing a website, which you can think of as a website for watching TV series and movies online."

"This kind of website requires a very high internet speed, and the current consumer-grade devices on the market cannot meet my requirements."

"So I'd like to know if the military's network can be used commercially?"

Upon hearing this, John Adams fell into thought, and after a while he shook his head slightly: "Commercializing military networks, you certainly dare to think and act."

"But I can't answer that question. Just one point: can you guarantee that there won't be any leaks of military secrets?"

"If critical data is leaked, not only will you be taken to court, but I will also face military prosecution. The risk is too great."

"No precedent?" Eric asked.

"I haven't heard of it, but don't lose confidence right away. I'm not a tech professional, so let me ask an expert and I'll give you an answer."

"Alright then, money isn't an issue anyway. Don't forget to tell me even if there's only the slightest possibility."

John Adams looked at Eric with amusement: "You're making a video website? What are you doing with this? You're not trying to compete with TV stations, are you?"

They were both smart people, and Eric didn't intend to hide anything from them.

"That's definitely the idea. It's impossible for MGM to get a share of the television market, so the only option left is to build its own platform."

"The future will be the era of the Internet. I think online viewing will gradually replace television sets, especially since modern people are increasingly fond of surfing the Internet."

"Think about it, the television set is fixed in one place and cannot be moved. Viewers cannot decide what programs they want to watch; they have to follow the TV station's instructions."

"And the internet allows for free on-demand streaming; you can watch whichever show you want, and start watching from whichever minute you want."

"All you need is a laptop or even a mobile phone, something portable that you can use wherever you go."

"This is an opportunity; whoever fills the market gap first will gain a competitive advantage in the future."

John Adams listened attentively to Eric's analysis: "Again, I don't know much about technology, but your idea sounds very interesting."

"There is at least one thing I agree with, and that is that the future will definitely be the era of the Internet. This view has already been confirmed in the military."

"Information warfare has been incorporated into our training curriculum, and the military will also cultivate specialists in this area."

"Then why don't you work with me? If you can help me solve this problem, I can give you a certain percentage of company shares for free," Eric said.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

After lunch, Eric left John Adams' house. With no progress on the matter, Eric lost interest in going to Broadway.

His offer to give away Lionheart.com shares for free was no joke; the Adams family wielded far more power in the country than he could imagine.

However, it certainly involves all sectors of the military, government, business, and academia, and John Adams became a brigadier general before he was even forty years old, so his future prospects are absolutely limitless.

The fact that he was able to obtain such good resources also indicates that his status in the Adams family must have been quite high.

Eric didn't intend to exploit the resources of such people; his main goal was to gain their assistance in crucial moments.

Moreover, he doesn't plan to give too much; 5% is the maximum, and it will definitely be diluted after the company goes public.

In the afternoon, Elena processed the loan application for Eric, and after consideration, decided to use 16% of Hasbro's shares as an unsecured loan.

The loan amount was increased to the maximum, and the two hundred million US dollars would arrive in the account soon.

MGM then has over 400 million in liquid funds, which is more than enough as a reserve fund.

After finishing his business, Elena, that slut, drove him to the airport, and then, as expected, couldn't resist her lust and dragged him into the men's restroom.

Eric had no rest at noon and hadn't drunk any medicinal wine, so he was too exhausted to continue fighting.

He dealt with the harlot hastily, and then boarded the plane and left amidst her lingering expression.

(End of this chapter)