American Gossip King

Chapter 224 The test is useless to me

San Francisco, Lucasfilm.

In the office, a group of people sat helplessly.

Natalie Portman glared angrily at the group of Jewish tycoons. She shouted, "I told you long ago, Ian Carr had already spotted the reporters; continuing like this would have played into his hands. But you persisted! You've pushed me into hell!"

George Lucas rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He said helplessly, "We thought Ian Carr was just overconfident and would use his political influence to cover it up... Nobody expected him to have evidence. Didn't you just randomly pick a hotel?"

"That's his long-stay room, I told you that," Natalie replied, covering her face in exasperation.

Who would have thought that Ian Carr, that madman, would install surveillance cameras in his own hotel suite!

He monitors everything, including himself!

Not far away, Spielberg sighed, "Don't worry, Natalie, Ian Carl at least gave you a way out. We can arrange for someone to push you out and say that the other person forced you to do it; you're also a pitiful, innocent victim."

At the other end of the sofa, ABC News Chairman Utrecht Boyce also said, "This needs to be done quickly; the longer it drags on, the less the public will believe it."

In another corner, a man said, "Also, we need to make sure Ian Carl doesn't file a lawsuit, otherwise it will be very troublesome if we investigate further."

His name is Igor Lanpin, an important figure in the Viacom Group.

It can be said that this incident was mainly planned by DreamWorks, Lucasfilm, ABC, and Viacom, with Disney also involved.

Despite Disney's collaboration with Ian Carr on Pirates of the Caribbean, it didn't stop them from secretly plotting against each other.

Nations can cooperate and do business while simultaneously engaging in confrontation, and so can businesses.

Natalie Portman shook her head repeatedly.

She is now very glad that she said "I don't remember" in court, instead of insisting that Ian explained the role of the alcohol afterward, otherwise she would have been charged with perjury.

But looking back, the reason she changed her story was because of the expression she saw on Ian's face.

He seemed to be telling himself not to do that.

That was the opportunity he gave himself!

Thinking of this, she whispered, "I don't think you can solve the problem by putting forward a scapegoat. Ian Carl is no ordinary person; he may have already planned everything. He monitors everything, knows all the secrets, and might even be eavesdropping on our conversation right now."

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Lucas said, "He can't get in here. My employees all know him and won't let him into Lucasfilm."

Natalie sneered: "Didn't you suspect that he also obtained the evidence against Moreno and Chung Mong-joon? Do you think Lucasfilm's security is stronger than the World Cup?"

Hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Spielberg jumped to his feet: "Get a security company immediately and search the room!"

Large enterprises typically contact these security companies, and for important business decisions, they may even arrange for comprehensive checks beforehand.

But it didn't work!

You can't possibly check every corner, let alone check it every day.

So when security personnel entered the office with their equipment and began searching the office, the familiar beeping sound soon rang out.

A security guard quickly picked up the desk lamp on Lucas's desk and took out a small listening device from inside the lampshade.

Meanwhile, another security guard pulled a small camera from under the table opposite.

The red light stared at them like the eyes of a ghost, making everyone's scalp tingle.

Really?!

Outside Lucasfilm, there was a very ordinary-looking van parked.

Inside the car, Ian watched as Spielberg, Lucas, and the others' large faces appeared on the screen and laughed.

He picked up the phone and dialed: "Mr. Lucas... This is Ian Carl... I'd like to speak with you. Ten minutes from now, at the coffee shop across from your office... Yes, I'm in San Francisco, right across from your office. Wipe the sweat from your brow, Mr. Lucas, you don't look well, you need some rest."

………………

Ten minutes later.

George Lucas, Steve Spielberg, Utred Boyce, Eagle Lanpin, and Natalie Portman are among those who have appeared here.

Some security personnel were also present.

They thoroughly searched Ian, Brideson, and Vincent with their equipment before telling Lucas and the others, "There's only one camera and one laptop."

The camera was definitely brought, but it was placed in plain sight, not turned on, so everyone could see it.

George Lucas and the others then came over and sat down next to Ian.

They had booked the entire coffee shop, and there were no outsiders left for the time being; even the staff had been asked to leave.

Ian's gaze lingered on Natalie Portman for a moment; the girl's face was still pale, but Ian was reminiscing about his romantic encounter that day.

He said softly, "Anyway, that day was wonderful, and I'm reluctant to let you go so easily, Miss Portman."

Natalie Portman kept her head down.

She actually really liked the feeling that day; the sensations Ian Carl gave her were very appealing.

But the reality left her no time to dwell on it.

She simply said in a sorrowful tone, "That wouldn't be your condition, would it?"

Ian laughed: "Of course. So many girls like me, and being with me is their honor, even their happiness. I am their asset, so I don't need to offer anything more to win over any girl!"

He then looked at George Lucas and said, "Your idea is good. I can allow you to find a scapegoat to take all the blame, including clearing Natalie Portman's name and making her a victim as well. But the condition is that I can accept it!"

George Lucas asked, "I admit you're very capable, Ian Carl. Let's just leave it at that. We can give you some benefits, and let's not hold it against each other anymore."

Ian said, "I'll pay you twenty million for the Star Wars copyright, and you can have the development rights."

The latest novel is first published here!

George Lucas was speechless.

Why am I not surprised at all?

Yes, Ian Carl has been acquiring copyrights all this time.

Spider-Man became a hit, but the copyright belongs to Ian Carr.

Men in Black, Resident Evil, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mission: Impossible—he's currently negotiating with companies like Fox and Warner Bros., trying to acquire the rights to major IPs like 007.

Now they're even including Star Wars.

This is America's number one IP!

Sure enough, the next moment, Ian looked at Spielberg: "Yours, I want the Jurassic Park copyright. I'll offer five million, and I can also give you the development rights."

Then he looked at Utrecht Boyce: "Give me the rights to the Victoria's Secret Angels' live streams, free of charge."

The broadcasting rights for Victoria's Secret Angels aren't very valuable right now, so Ian didn't even ask for a price; he just took them for free and handed them over to LANN.

He then looked at Eagle Lanpin: "Fin Company will be sold to me for twenty million."

Finne Company is a media outlet under Viacom, primarily producing the Financial Times. While its revenue is average, it has abundant financial information. As mentioned before, what it needs is intangible influence, intangible resources, and information sources.

Then Ian sighed, "It's a pity Disney isn't here. Eisner is very cautious, otherwise I could have asked Disney for some good stuff too. Now, I guess I'll just have to make him give up on competing with me for Pixar."

Everyone was angry.

They glared at Ian: "Do you really think we'd go to such lengths for Natalie Portman?"

Natalie Portman was also furious.

Are you even human?

How could someone say such a thing!

We're all Jewish, and this is how you treat me?

I lost everything because of this!

Ian grinned, showing his teeth: "The point is that you admitted you did all of this."

Spielberg immediately said, "We didn't admit it; we were just trying to help Natalie get through the crisis. We admit it was a mistake, but mainly out of friendship."

Ian laughed and said, "But now, through this conversation, you've admitted that you're the ones behind it all."

Igor Lanpin said, "But you have no evidence of this conversation."

Ian shook his head slightly: "The reason I am Ian Carl is because all your examination methods are useless against me."

As he spoke, he turned on his computer and pushed it in front of everyone.

Then they saw their own image prominently displayed within it.

How is that possible?

Hadn't everything already been checked? Why are you being monitored again?

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines and looked at Ian.

Ian smiled and said, "The media monitors everything!"

(End of this chapter)