Chapter 290: Before Returning

Where was Xiao Ran? He didn’t even want to deal with these messes. After all, Fang Xiaoqiang’s skills over these past days had shown he was strong enough to confront Soros. But in reality, things might not be as he imagined.

On June 27th, Wei Dongling had just flown to the United States by private jet to handle matters related to the six major companies. Soon after, Xiao Ran received news that Soros had launched another fierce attack. This time, the assault was ten times more intense than before, and Fang Xiaoqiang even wished Xiao Ran could fly there immediately.

It happened at 10 a.m. Soros suddenly struck, crashing the exchange rate. By then, Fang Xiaoqiang had less than 5 billion in available funds.

At 10 a.m., in the exchange, all staff clearly saw the Hong Kong dollar’s value against the U.S. dollar plummeting like an airplane crashing. The sharp decline turned everyone’s face pale. At 10:09 a.m., Fang Xiaoqiang intervened, but 2 billion dollars couldn’t stop the decline—only delaying it slightly.

By afternoon, Fang Xiaoqiang had less than 3 billion in available funds. Soros struck again, and the rate continued to fall at an extremely rapid pace. Everyone was restless, constantly monitoring the exchange and urging Phantom to take action.

What were Xiao Ran and Fang Xiaoqiang doing? They were in the command room, thinking anxiously. Everyone was watching them; no one wanted to witness such a dire situation. Xiao Ran glanced around. Seeing the expressions around him, he looked again and was surprised to see Lin Qingxia and Xiao Ling’er at the door.

He hurriedly went outside and asked reproachfully, “What are you doing here? The situation is so critical—I can barely control it.”

“Really can’t control it?” Lin Qingxia smiled meaningfully, stretching out her words, leaving Xiao Ran stunned for a moment before she turned serious and said, “Do you remember that stock market crash? What did you promise me? Don’t forget!”

How could he forget! Xiao Ran sighed. Back then, he had promised to step in and help if there were problems in the securities market. That promise was for today. Yet, he had to admit that his wife was, after all, his wife—one of the people who knew him best.

Lin Qingxia smiled at Xiao Ran. She had confidence in her husband—not blind trust, but well-founded trust. She knew Xiao Ran wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t sure about, and he always had a plan, as proven by everything she had seen over the years.

Xiao Ran smiled awkwardly. He wasn’t trying to hide anything from Lin Qingxia, but he felt that some things were too heavy to bear alone. It was enough for him to carry them; there was no need to drag in the people he loved most.

Lin Qingxia smiled kindly, took Xiao Ran’s hand, and handed him the soup she had prepared. “Alright, Xiao Ling’er and I are going back first. I believe you can do your best.”

Xiao Ling’er, who had been holding Xiao Ran’s thigh, suddenly said coyly, “No! I want to stay here with Dad. It’s so much fun here!”

Lin Qingxia was about to say something when Xiao Ran crouched down and smiled, “What’s Xiao Ling’er doing here? It’s better to go back with mom and play with your brother—how great that would be!”
“No, I like it here. I want to watch Dad defeat the enemies!” That clear voice stunned Xiao Ran and his wife. Such a young child wanted to witness such a high-level business operation—could she really be some kind of business genius?
In the end, it was because of Xiao Ran’s deep affection for Xiao Ling’er that he decided to keep her. While drinking soup, he pondered over the situation. He had already sent people to raise funds, and according to his plan, Tianxia Fund could take action the next day.
However, the question was whether to let things proceed as they were today. Fang Xiaoqiang watched Xiao Ran. This plan against Soros was devised by Xiao Ran himself; only he knew all the details, and only he was skilled in strategy.
If things were left unchecked, the Hang Seng Index might drop by over 600 points that day, allowing Soros to reap huge profits. If they tried to stop it, Xiao Ran was worried they wouldn’t be able to hold out until the desired day.
The next two days would be Soros’s testing period. During these days, Xiao Ran wanted Soros to gauge the depth of his financial strength, thereby forcing Soros to decide to engage in a decisive battle. But to delay things until July 1st, he needed to act on that day.
The central government had discussed this with Xiao Ran, agreeing that if they could return on July 1st and successfully defeat Soros, it would greatly benefit the image of the central government and the new administration. On this point, Xiao Ran had no objections.
After racing through countless ideas in his mind, Xiao Ran gritted his teeth and decided to make an unprecedented big gamble. If successful, he could completely and honorably defeat Soros, possibly achieving his goal overnight. If he failed, the consequences would be unimaginable!
As Xiao Ran was thinking, Xiao Ling’er in his arms stared motionlessly at the people around them. The anxiety in their eyes and expressions amused her. Finally, Xiao Ran made up his mind. Why not take the risk? He gently set Xiao Ling’er down, walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and ordered firmly, “Fight! I said no one is allowed to challenge my authority!”
Fang Xiaoqiang immediately ordered a buy-in campaign, targeting both the stock market and the exchange rate market. Due to insufficient funds, the effect was minimal. At 3 p.m., the funds raised finally reached over 10 billion. Following Xiao Ran’s strategy, Fang Xiaoqiang entered the market with reckless enthusiasm.
That day, both the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate and stock prices rose compared to the previous day. In the United States, Soros looked at the computer screen and smiled faintly, “You’ve finally decided to play your trump card. Now comes the real battle! Perhaps it’s time for me to go to Hong Kong in person!”
On the 28th and 29th, all the funds raised by Meiying were in place, and they fought a close battle against Soros during those two days. On the 29th, Tie Long was extremely excited because Wei Dongling had finally arrived. He had been looking forward to this day all along. For this reason, he went to Michael personally, knowing that Turner would definitely not take a direct stance on this matter—approaching Michael increased the chances of success.

Tie Long now had some reputation in Hollywood. With his current status, it wasn’t difficult for him to meet Michael. Moreover, he was doing this for Xiao Ran. Michael no longer had any interest in dealing with Xiao Ran, as over the years, Phantom had firmly established itself in Hollywood. Universal’s performance was even better than Disney’s.

In the office, Michael raised his head impatiently and asked, “Tie Long, what’s the matter? Speak quickly. I’m busy!”

A hint of resentment flashed in Tie Long’s eyes. If it weren’t for dealing with Xiao Ran, he would never have endured standing here humbly. But he knew well that this man would become his provider, and by relying on him, he could gain power and wealth in Hollywood. Whether he could become another Xiao Ran depended on what happened now.

“Mr. Michael, I understand you’re very busy. But I think if you give me a minute, you’ll definitely be interested in what I have to say!” Tie Long’s humble demeanor always seemed ridiculous and comical to Michael, who also found it amusing—though it brought him deep shame.

Michael thought for a moment. He knew this kid might actually be a decent screenwriter, reportedly one who had even been praised by Xiao Ran himself. For that reason, he decided to give the kid some face—it wouldn’t hurt. He put down the documents, glanced at his watch, and said coldly, “One minute!”

“Phantom is now the largest entertainment media company in the world, the only group to make it into the top ten of the global Fortune 500, and it’s on track to replace Warner and Disney as the biggest film company!” Tie Long spoke methodically. He thought that such exciting news would surely anger his old classmate.

Michael wasn’t as furious as he had expected, because this was already a fact—the threat posed by Phantom was something no company could ignore. If he couldn’t see that, and still got angry over Tie Long’s brief statement, then he wasn’t fit to be the king of Disney.

Surprised, Tie Long became even more wary of Michael. Keeping a calm expression, he continued, “I think Mr. Michael and Mr. Turner certainly wouldn’t want to see this situation. I believe no one will forget Phantom’s huge success in the first half of this year!”

What had Phantom done in the first half? Michael quickly remembered. During that period, Phantom invested in producing about forty films, more than ten of which were released in the United States. Including films like *The Sixth Sense* and *Ringu*, which performed well in the U.S., the global box office for just these two films amounted to eight hundred million dollars.

Undoubtedly, the global market had been dominated by Phantom in the first half of the year. Fortunately, the major Hollywood studios had released their own blockbusters in time to hold back the tide. But Michael knew well that starting in July, Phantom would really step up its game—with films like *Jurassic Park II*, *Titanic*, *Battle at Sea*, and *Speed 3* all being highly competitive blockbusters.

Michael remembered even more—over the years, the subtitles for many of Phantom’s major films listed Xiao Ran’s name in the credits section. He was furious at this; he really couldn’t understand how someone so successful in business could also be so successful in movies. If possible, he would even be willing to hire someone to kill Xiao Ran.

Seeing the hatred in Michael’s eyes, Tie Long sneered inwardly. He wasn’t convinced he couldn’t make the old man lose his temper. Then, slowly, he said, “Actually, I have a way to defeat Phantom and even bring down his empire!”

“You?” Michael naturally scoffed. He realized he had acted like a fool by leaving his work to listen to this yellow-skinned monkey’s nonsense. Bring down Phantom’s empire? Probably no one in the world had the strength to do that.

But then, upon further thought, he became excited. Right now, Phantom was in a fierce struggle with foreign capital in the financial markets. To raise funds, Phantom had accumulated a lot of debt—there might indeed be an opportunity here.

“I!” Tie Long replied to Michael with absolute certainty. “As I said a few years ago, Xiao Ran has always had a fatal weakness. As long as we grasp that weakness, we can win!”

Michael was annoyed by Tie Long’s use of “we.” He wondered who Tie Long thought he was, with what right to be mentioned alongside someone who earned 200 million dollars a year. But since he needed this kid, he quickly suppressed his annoyance, forced a smile, and invited Tie Long to sit down. “So, what exactly is Xiao Ran’s weakness?”

Tie Long laughed heartily and stared at Michael. “Mr. Michael, I believe you know what I want. To get what you want, you must pay a price. For this information, I think you’ll have to give something in return!”

Michael almost slammed the table in anger. Who did this guy think he was, daring to haggle like this? But seeing Tie Long’s confident expression, Michael gradually believed that Tie Long indeed knew Xiao Ran’s weakness. Calmly, he asked, “How much do you want?”

“Twenty million… dollars!” Tie Long secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Given Michael’s temper, he had been afraid he’d be thrown out. “Let me tell you, this weakness is definitely worth that price!”

Michael’s heart skipped a beat. Twenty million dollars—that wasn’t a small amount. Though for him, it wasn’t much at all. After hesitating for a moment, he thought Tie Long would never dare deceive him. Still, it would require cooperation with Warner. Having to pay that amount himself was a bit annoying.

“However, Mr. Michael, I think you can consider it. You can talk to Mr. Turner. See you tonight!” Tie Long said this with a smile before turning and leaving.

He wasn’t afraid that Michael and the others would reject his terms, because he knew very well—everyone knew—that with Phantom’s momentum, it wouldn’t take three years to replace Warner and Disney as the world’s largest film company. Getting all that for twenty million dollars was definitely a great deal.

With these 20 million, he would have the capital. Then, he would have a chance to turn things around. He thought to himself: Xiao Ran, you probably never expected me to reach this point!
What he didn’t expect was that in Xiao Ran’s eyes, he was nothing but an insignificant figure. Aside from Michael and Turner occasionally showing him favor, who else would pay attention to him? Sadly, this attention was only because of Xiao Ran…