Chapter 293: The United Kingdom

This producer knew exactly how to speak and quickly understood Cruise’s mindset. He said enthusiastically, “Tom, don’t hesitate. You know the success Universal has achieved since Phantom took over, and Columbia is no match for Universal at all. If you work with Columbia and it fails, it will be hard to maintain your value in the future!”
Cruise was tempted. He had to admit that after several years of development, Universal had gradually risen to become one of Hollywood’s top studios. While other companies struggled to achieve good results, Universal’s films generally performed well. A company backed by such a powerful empire was certainly not easy to turn down.
So, after a brief hesitation, this handsome man, known in the East as the “Liu Hua of the West,” quickly agreed. Even if he hadn’t wanted to agree, his agent would have persuaded him for more money.
However, Universal clearly had no intention of signing a contract with this handsome man right away. A few hours later, Columbia’s executives learned of this and were furious, slamming tables and glaring angrily. But they also knew that Columbia was indeed not strong enough to compete with Universal. Currently, only Warner could rival Universal in strength.
After much thought, Shinji Itoe, who also served as Columbia’s president, was pondering what to do. The film was still in the planning stage, and without Cruise, it would likely lack a box-office draw. An assistant beside him gently spoke to the new president, who had been in office for less than two years: “Mr. President, if Universal can raise prices, why can’t we? They have other options, but our only choice is Cruise. We can’t afford to lose this!”
Shinji Itoe was an extraordinary man. Shortly after taking over as Sony’s president, he immediately dismissed Columbia’s two wasteful executives. After thinking it over, he quickly decided on a course of action. This was understandable—after all, it was Columbia that had started the trend of price hikes. Xiao Ran was simply taking advantage of the situation, adding more bricks to an already high foundation.
Soon, Columbia responded by paying 40 million to get Cruise back. Obviously, no one would refuse money. As mentioned earlier, even if Cruise himself refused, his agent would still be eager for more compensation. Thus, Wei Dongling easily achieved his goal through Sony.
While he was wondering whether Xiao Ran was fighting against Soros, Xiao Ran casually looked at Guan Xin, who was gradually growing older: “Master, on the 30th night, you need to keep the underworld under control. Don’t let them cause trouble outside!”
“I know, I’ve been instructed,” Guan Xin said with a shrug, seemingly indifferent. Though he had aged, he still retained the stern demeanor he had when Xiao Ran met him ten years ago.
“I guess so!” Xiao Ran chuckled, rubbing his nose. “What are you planning to do? Don’t tell me you’re going to kill someone again—that’s not good! How about this: I’ve talked to the leader on the phone, and we both agree there’s no need to rush to eliminate the underworld forces.”

Guan Xin listened quietly to Xiao Ran speaking, taking sips of the red wine in his glass from time to time. At his age, it was time to enjoy himself a bit. Xiao Ran also had it well understood—that eliminating the underworld forces wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two; it required cooperation from various aspects of the environment. This time, as long as the underworld was properly controlled, there would be no problems. This was precisely what Xiao Ran was least worried about—the underworld posed no threat anymore, and national security hadn’t warned him to be wary of the Brits. His focus was mainly on Hollywood, Murdoch, and Soros. He knew he was taking risks, but without risks, where would the profits come from?

“We need to keep track of all the gang leaders’ whereabouts within 30 days, and at 7 p.m., bring them and their key members to one place for custody. Without these key figures giving orders, the lower-level members can’t do much.” Xiao Ran quickly came up with a plan for Guan Xin. It was a straightforward and effective way to prevent trouble from arising again.

“But make sure nothing goes wrong down there!” Xiao Ran blinked and said lightly, “Master, you take charge personally, control those key members, and let them direct the lower-level guys!”

Guan Xin nodded. He liked straightforward and effective methods. “So you mean no need to kill anyone?”

“No need, of course not. It’s best if not a single case occurs by the end of the day!” Xiao Ran answered without hesitation, clearly having a plan long ago. “Of course, if something does happen, Master, you can adapt as needed.”

Murdoch was currently in the United States, having arrived just a few days ago. On the surface, it seemed he was there to complete that acquisition in person. But he knew well that the so-called acquisition was just a smokescreen, perhaps even a tactic that allowed him to advance or retreat as needed.

At that moment, he was in his office, thinking about how to acquire that $4 billion subsidiary under Shuxiang. Maybe there was still a chance to get Shuxiang. He had waited a very long time for such an opportunity—Phantom, that vast empire, had finally fallen into unprecedented difficulties.

But it seemed inevitable. After all, it was that idiot Xiao Ran who had overestimated himself and challenged international speculators. Considering Xiao Ran’s personality, he didn’t seem the type who would take it upon himself to protect Hong Kong’s or even Asia’s financial system, so he always thought it unlikely that Xiao Ran would do such a foolish thing.

Yet it was obvious that Xiao Ran had already done it. So far, he had invested over $60 billion, with losses exceeding $3 billion. This had nothing to do with any conspiracy. With such a huge amount of foreign debt, if it couldn’t be repaid, then…

Thinking of this, Murdoch couldn’t help but laugh. He had been waiting for such an opportunity. For Phantom, a vast empire, to acquire a subsidiary from Shuxiang was by no means easy. So he had been patient, hoping for a similar chance.

And now, Phantom is trapped in the quagmire of the financial market. From any perspective, its chances of turning things around are slim, especially since Xiao Ran has to deal with a huge sum of 200 billion dollars. As long as he can take the initiative at this moment, it’s likely Phantom won’t be able to do much, let alone ensure its own survival.

Under such circumstances, acquiring Shuxiang might not be impossible after all. But he immediately realized that Shuxiang Media’s market value is as high as 20 billion dollars, beyond his financial means to acquire. Perhaps that wasn’t the main issue—just by proposing to acquire Shuxiang, the bankers would likely rush to help, allowing him to raise such a sum of money.

Of course it’s possible. Think of how Li Zekai, with a net worth of less than one billion dollars, was able to acquire Hong Kong Telecom, which had a market value of over 30 billion dollars, by using exactly this approach. By presenting plans and strategies to gain the trust of banks and conglomerates, followed by refinancing for the acquisition, there’s a good chance of success.

With this in mind, his ambition grew. If he could successfully make the acquisition, News Group would become the world’s largest media conglomerate. At that point, not only Asia but the entire global media industry would belong to him, Murdoch.

However, he thought it was necessary to consider things carefully. He had studied his two rivals, Xiao Ran and Bai Pengfei. Bai Pengfei was a business rival, while Xiao Ran was a strategic rival. In his view, Bai Pengfei’s biggest weakness was his short-sightedness in strategy, while Xiao Ran’s weakness—well, he couldn’t quite figure it out. But one thing was certain: Xiao Ran was skilled in tactics.

Tactics—something the Chinese excelled at. Murdoch’s wariness of Xiao Ran was understandable. So, he believed he had to figure out whether this damned guy had any schemes up his sleeve. He didn’t want to end up like Hail Group, suddenly destroyed by Xiao Ran for no reason.

Yet this time, he really couldn’t detect any trace of trickery. If this was still a trick, then he’d just have to admit defeat. Besides, Xiao Ran and Phantom were indeed in deep crisis—those international speculators couldn’t possibly be playing games with Xiao Ran!

What if Xiao Ran wanted to get out of this quagmire? First, the international speculators would have to stop attacking. That might mean Xiao Ran’s defeat or his escape, or perhaps the speculators’ failure. But could 200 billion dollars really be defeated so easily?

He thought he could make up his mind. After making this most important decision regarding News Group’s future expansion, he felt relieved all over. Just then, his secretary told him that Turner and Michael wanted to talk to him, followed by a meeting requested by the American Film Association to resolve conflicts among various companies.

Those two! Murdoch snorted lightly. He had never seen them so enthusiastic before. This time, those two old guys must be planning something—perhaps trying to gain some advantage from him.

Though he thought so, he still had to go. Just like that meaningless film association meeting—although listening to people argue was boring, since they insisted that the president or CEO attend in person, he had to go anyway. That’s the power and the rules. Unless one could, like Xiao Ran, gain the power to transcend the rules or set them, it was hard to avoid it.

When he rushed there and pushed open the door to the meeting room, he was immediately surprised. Standing before him were not only Turner and Michael but also the presidents of the other three major companies.

After a brief shock, he quickly calmed down and laughed loudly, “Hollywood’s giants, what brings you here? Has there been a coup in the United States?” He wasn’t stupid. With all seven big players present except for someone from Universal, what it meant was already quite clear.

After Murdoch sat down, Michael stood up with a serious expression, looked around, and said, “What we’re discussing here today is top-secret. If it gets out, we’ll all lose our reputations. Please keep your mouths shut and stop spreading nonsense!”

Everyone shrugged indifferently. Michael clearly loved being looked up to and said in a self-important tone, “Before we start officially, I want to ask you all a question—one that requires an honest answer! What are your thoughts on Xiao Ran and Phantom?”

A thought flashed through Murdoch’s mind—this was clearly aimed at Phantom Group. The others obviously understood the implication behind his words as well, and for a moment, none of them said anything. Pierce, from the mafia, was an older man with a relaxed and amusing demeanor, showing no trace of the aggression one would expect from a gangster.

Who here wasn’t an old man over fifty? It was quite amusing to see such a group of tough guys seriously discussing an issue. It was just unclear what they would discuss next…

As Michael’s temporary ally, Turner clearly didn’t want the silence to persist. Seeing that no one else spoke, he couldn’t help but marvel at Xiao Ran’s intimidating presence and immediately spoke up, “Phantom Group has only been in charge of Universal for a few years, yet they’ve rapidly taken over markets that used to belong to Warner, causing Warner’s annual sales to drop significantly. I swear to God, I really dislike Xiao Ran and Phantom.”

Michael gave Turner a slight glance before turning to the others. Unexpectedly, the next to speak was Murdoch, that cunning and resourceful man. Murdoch knew well that this was another opportunity. Whatever Turner and Michael planned to do to Xiao Ran and Phantom was another chance for him, increasing his odds of success.

“I admit, I also don’t like Xiao Ran and Shadow—they’re too domineering!” Murdoch didn’t even realize he had used the word “domineering” to describe them. With a resentful expression, he added, “If given another three years, Hollywood will belong to Xiao Ran and Shadow. I absolutely won’t allow that to happen!”
Turner and Michael were slightly surprised. They thought Murdoch, the old fox, would wait until others had expressed their opinions before speaking. To their surprise, he was so proactive. But Murdoch wasn’t done yet. The old man stood up passionately, waving his hands. “A few years ago, I chose to form a strategic partnership with Shadow. It was the biggest mistake I’ve made in my life. I’ll make amends for my error!”
Nonsense! All nonsense! Everyone present who had experienced Shadow taking over Universal back in ’93 cursed Murdoch in their hearts for being shameless. If Universal hadn’t helped Fox back then, Fox would have been in such trouble it would have had to sell underwear by now—let alone for Murdoch to come here and act!
Murdoch clearly didn’t care. He knew others were surely cursing him in their hearts for being shameless. But in business, who isn’t shameless? Ask anyone here—who dares say they’ve never done something even more shameless?
“A few years ago, Columbia chose Universal because Akio Morita made a wrong decision,” said Shinichi Idei seriously, looking at the others. “But today, I definitely won’t make such a mistake!”