Rebirth of America, this is my time

A few months ago, on March 1, 1979, neon.

When Jack Valenti, the former president of the American Film Institute, walked out of Tokyo's Narita Airport with his family carrying large and small bags of luggage, the eye-catching pick-up sign guided them to board a black Toyota. business. After a while of twists and turns, the vehicle stopped in Chiba City, 31 kilometers away from the airport. When the car opened the door and got out, a luxuriously decorated hotel stood in front of everyone.

With the help of the hotel concierge and the translation of his personal secretary, the group quickly checked in, threw items into the guest room, and signaled his family to have a good rest. Jack Valenti then left everyone behind and returned to the hotel lobby. Reboarded the black Toyota that had not yet left.

There was no inquiry, no explanation, and in a moment of silence, he arrived at the izakaya next to Tokyo Bay.

Then, he saw two white bodyguards guarding the door.

As he appeared, the white bodyguards took the initiative to greet him, and just when he was wondering why the meeting process was so cumbersome, when he arrived on the second floor, the figure in casual clothes made his pupils shrink suddenly.

"Mr. Kerkorian?"

"Why are you here?"

Although Jack Valenti once worked as a special assistant to the commander-in-chief, he still used honorifics at this moment because the guy in front of him was a real capitalist.

Moreover, he played in a casino involving gangsters.

When this fact emerged, no one with any sense would be able to despise him, not to mention that at this moment, Jack Valenti came to Neon at the request of the big boss, Steve Ross.

Although so far, he doesn't know the boss's intention of letting him come to Neon, but now...

The appearance of Kirk Kerkorian made him smell something abnormal.

And just when Jack Valenti's pupils shrank suddenly, Kirk Kerkorian also smiled and raised the wine cup in front of him, took a sip and said, "Why can't I be here?"

"Who can tell you what to do next if I'm not here?"

"..." The frank words caused Jack Valenti's head to shut down instantly.

Before he had time to think clearly, Kirk Kerkorian already raised his hand and asked him to sit down.

"Come over and sit down first, let the waiter serve the food, and we will chat while eating..."

Although Jack Valenti was not capital and did not have a formidable backer behind him, under Ethan Jones's angry blow, he collapsed and was eliminated without even being able to withstand a punch.

but……

He was, after all, a real talent that Steve Ross paid a fortune to woo from Universal.

As a highly intellectual person who has served old-school oil capitalists, carried packages for generals, and spoken in Washington, there is no doubt about his ability.

Therefore, even if he is kicked out of the American Film Association by Ethan Jones like a lost dog, Steve Ross does not want to throw him away as trash. After he has offended Universal and Ethan Jones, it is not good As long as North America continues to survive, sending it to Neon, the next main location of the Avengers, is the most appropriate choice.

Because there are so many things he can do.

For example, Jack Valenti could serve as a liaison between Warner Communications and Taitung Electronics.

Organize manpower and deliver messages for the Avengers' subversive plan.

For another example, Jack Valenti could serve as the commander of the Avengers' branch in Neon.

He can represent the Avengers as a collective and negotiate with neon manufacturers...

Since Ethan Jones' table-turning behavior in Hollywood was an accident, Jack Valenti did not know his mission before setting off, so it became inevitable to send someone to tell the story.

And waiting for Jack Valenti to learn that the boss of MGM is the contact person, his boss actually wants to use the power of Neon to crack Ethan Jones's home console, and join forces with Neon's game manufacturers to produce a After piling up junk games and destroying the North American video game market, he was instantly confused!

"Mr. Kerkorian, are you serious?"

Jack Valenti's eyes were fixed on the boss of MGM, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Are you going to join forces with Neon's game manufacturers to release junk games to North America in the name of Destiny Game?"

"And the prerequisite for achieving this step is to crack Ethan Jones's home console?"

"I……"

"Did you hear that right?"

The hesitant voice made Kirk Kerkorian laugh.

He put down the chopsticks that were very twisted when used, directly picked up the grilled fish with his hands, and said: "You heard it right, but you said it wrong. It's not you, but..."

"us."

Before he finished speaking, there was a clicking sound.

Kirk Kerkorian bit into pieces of the grilled fish in his hand.

The sudden burst of food residue made Jack Valenti's face turn pale instantly.

Because he knew that Kirk Kerkorian was positioning himself.

But now he...

How can I get it right?

Although after deciding to play for Steve Ross last year, Jack Valenti already knew that from now on, he who had betrayed Universal would be firmly bound to the Undertaker Ross, whom everyone revered.

but……

At that time, he would never have imagined that Steve Ross was actually a lunatic!

At first, he thought that Steve Ross was wooing him just because he hoped that he could give more attention to Warner Pictures in the American Film Association in the future;

And this kind of thing is simply a piece of cake for him.

Later, when Steve Ross said that the association needed to suppress Destiny Pictures, he only thought it was a normal business struggle. After all, the two parties had become feuds;

With him playing for Warner, there's nothing wrong with helping out.

Later, when he was kicked out of the American Film Association by Ethan Jones, he just felt that he was a little unlucky. If he had known that Ethan Jones would unreasonably knock down the table, then he would not have listened to Steve at all. ·Ross’s arrangement uses rules that already have many loopholes to force people down;

But there was no regret in the world about taking medicine, so he accepted his fate.

When he received a call from Steve Ross and learned that the capitalist actually kept his word and had arranged a way out for him, he even felt a little happy in his heart;

Although it is difficult to leave his hometown, as long as capital is willing to fulfill its promise, he can still spend the rest of his life safely.

But now?

When he came to Neon with great joy, the task he received was to unite foreign capital to deal with private enterprises?

This special code is simply a crazy behavior!

Having worked in Washington, he understands that if this kind of thing is done improperly, it is treason!

That’s right!

It's that serious!

Although from a macro perspective, the alliance between Warner, Commodore and Neon manufacturers is the most common business cooperation among multinational companies, but in many cases, the judgment of business cooperation and betrayal of national interests is based on the victims. Is there any background?

If it is an ordinary company, you can only recognize it by pinching your nose.

But Game of Destiny?

The academicians behind them can directly point out Washington!

A cross-border joint attack on such a company?

This can’t be said to be boring!

It can only be said that he is looking for death!

And thinking about this...

Jack Valenti immediately pursed his lips and said with an apologetic smile: "Oh, Mr. Kerkorian, you are right. There is indeed something wrong with my wording just now, but at the same time, you also misunderstood what I meant."

"Because what I want to say is that this matter seems to be very difficult to handle."

Almost instantly, Jack Valenti, who didn't want to get into the fire pit, already thought of an explanation, "In the past few years, you have been developing in Las Vegas, so your knowledge of Hollywood may be There will be some deviations, and the understanding of neon may not be enough..."

"Neon is a very closed and exclusive market. They are extremely wary of all foreign capital. Take Hollywood movies as an example. If we want to sell movies to Neon theaters, we can We must first establish a joint venture with Neon's local company, and then we have the power to negotiate with Neon's theater chains about the introduction. If we don't divide the interests, the theater chains will not pay attention to us at all."

"The same goes for other industries. For example, the video games we are talking about, Ethan Jones's products also entered Neon through Nintendo."

"When Neon's local companies are very conservative, you want them to crack Ethan Jones's home console? This may be an impossible task."

“As for dumping the trash game on North America?”

"This kind of thing is even harder to communicate."

"Because Neon's companies are very smart and they know how big the risks are."

Jack Valenti's caution was revealed to Kirk Kerkorian.

When Jack Valenti pursed his lips, wanting to know Kirk Kerkorian's inner thoughts, Kirk Kerkorian, who had finished eating the grilled fish, threw the fish tail directly on the table.

"Jack, I understand your concerns."

"In other words, I know your true thoughts."

"But what I want to say is that there is no need for the worries in your heart to exist."

“Because there’s a lot of things that we’re going to do personally.”

"All you need to do is just stay in Neon, collect news for us, and deliver intelligence."

"..." Jack Valenti forced a smile and nodded slightly.

On the surface, he was echoing Kirk Kerkorian's words. But in fact, even if Kirk Kerkorian thought about it with the soles of his feet, he knew that Jack Valenti didn't want to do this.

But the problem is, there are many things that you can’t just stop doing if you want to.

Pick up the wine cup and take another sip.

Kirk Kerkorian, who had been drinking a lot before Jack Valenti's arrival, was a little tipsy.

He held his chin with one hand and looked at the middle-aged man sitting opposite him with a smile.

The fact that his temples are turning white proves that the man is no longer young.

At this moment, he is not running for his own survival.

But work hard for the future of your children.

Since that's the case...

"Jack." Thinking of this, Kirk Kerkorian's eyes flickered and he called out the other party's name.

"I'm here," Jack Valenti replied respectfully.

"Don't be so uptight, relax..." Kirk Kerkorian smiled and waved.

Seeing that Jack Valenti did not comply, he stopped pressing and said instead: "Jack, I know what you are worried about, but I can tell you that the thing you are worried about will not happen."

"Because there are many people involved in planning this matter..."

When Kirk Kerkorian named other companies besides Warner and MGM as if he was applying for a job, Jack Valenti, who was still thinking about how to refuse this high-risk job, suddenly became petrified!

He never expected that Disney, Philips, Commodore, and Rockwell would also do it!

When Kirk Kerkorian said that he had already met with Taidong on behalf of Steve Ross before meeting him, Jack Valenti was even more surprised!

Because he simply couldn't believe that these people had already taken action!

He couldn't believe that these guys didn't even give him a chance to choose!

…………

"So, Jack Valenti is now your spokesperson over there at Neon?"

After listening to Kirk Kerkorian's brief description, the CEO of Philips North America suddenly laughed, "The former president of the American Film Association is actually the current Neon Liaison Officer?"

"Did you get promoted or demoted?"

Perhaps because his words were not funny, everyone at the scene ignored him. Rockwell's chairman, Willard Rockwell Jr., stared at Steve Ross with a frown.

"Steve, what do you mean..."

Although he didn't finish the sentence, Steve Ross knew what he was asking.

"Just as you thought."

Steve Ross smiled and said: "While asking Jack to contact Neon Game Company, I also asked him to get in touch with some electronic manufacturers in Neon and ask them if they could make spreadsheets."

"Maybe it's because spreadsheets are so tempting, so many companies have said they can produce them and are willing to accept our investment..."

"According to my original idea, we only need to make a product similar to Microsoft, but after Jack said that Neon manufacturers are very interested in localized spreadsheets, I suddenly felt that making a Japanese software It might be better to translate it into English, because this approach can directly eliminate the risk of plagiarism, and at the same time, this behavior can also help us open up Neon's software market first."

"Although our core purpose is to overthrow Ethan Jones, our fundamental purpose is to seize the attractive market in his hands. Therefore, now you only need to work hard to launch your own personal computer, and I will let you do the rest. Neon manufacturers cooperate with you.”

"I want this arrangement..."

"Should it satisfy you two?"

Steve Ross looked at the two angry people with a smile.

At this moment, they had nodded.

"Oh - Steve - you did a great job -"

"Oh - Steve - you are indeed the best teammate in the world - bar none -"

Maybe it's because Steve Ross has arranged everything in advance, but it's also possible that Ethan Jones's moves were all blocked by Steve Ross, so when Steve Ross confessed his feelings towards the alliance members, After using the protective method, the atmosphere at the scene immediately relaxed.

As for what to say, under the operation of Steve Ross, other members of the alliance did not receive the dividends of the software? They don't care about this kind of thing at all!

Because everyone has studied it for a long time. Software seems to have extremely low research and development costs and is a high-quality investment project. However, it is extremely easy to be pirated, and most of the profits will be contributed to the legal team.

In this case, selling hardware is the way to develop the computer industry.

Especially with Apple soaring all the way.

They don't even want to make software.

As the atmosphere at the scene gradually became harmonious, the members of the Avengers also chatted about other things.

Cornelis van der Krugt, CEO of Philips North America, described the cooperation between the parent company and Sony and said everything was going well. He also said that at the request of the parent company, they would make some adjustments to the company's internal business this year. Several companies in North America will merge;

Kirk Kerkorian, the boss of MGM, told how he was optimistic about Neon, wanted to invest in real estate in Neon, build the MGM Asia Hotel, and strive to build a base for their alliance in Neon;

Jack Trammell, the boss of Commodore, talked about his cooperation with Casio, claiming that Casio has obtained the latest memory quotation for them, which is at least a quarter cheaper than North American products. If everything goes well, they can Launch its own personal computer product at the end of this year;

And Rockwell’s chairman, Willard Rockwell Jr.…

"Oracle's product is very good, and I have recommended it to many companies."

"If nothing else happens, many companies will purchase it by the end of this year. It will not only pose a threat to IBM, but also make Ethan Jones's investment in Edgar Corder look like a joke..."

The second official meeting of the Avengers was held at ten o'clock in the morning on August 10th.

At first, everyone just entered Warner with a straight face.

But when the clock hand reached twelve o'clock, the group left the conference room arm-in-arm, and under the leadership of Steve Ross, had a light meal in a nearby hotel.

It wasn't until two o'clock in the afternoon that Steve Ross sent everyone away.

Then……

Looking at the disappeared car body, the face that was still full of smiles was instantly covered with frost.

Although Steve Ross knew that as the founder of the alliance, he had to tolerate the bad temper of every member who was invited to come, but when these people started clamoring in front of him...

The sudden anger still made him clenched his fists!

He believed that if he hadn't taken the overall situation into consideration, when Jack Trammell, the boss of Commodore, questioned him, he would have punched him!

The boss of a trading company still wants to challenge his majesty?

This is simply not tasting the taste of death!

If it weren't for the purpose of leading the team, when he saw Cornelis van der Krugt, CEO of Philips North America, answering his questions in a perfunctory manner, he would have kicked him out and told him to get out!

A part-time worker still wants to scream in front of him?

This is really no big deal!

However, even if today's meeting was unpleasant, the end result was still good.

When he thought that the entire alliance was not panicked because of Ethan Jones's move and could still work together firmly, Steve Ross' anger dissipated a lot.

"Now, it depends on who moves faster." Steve Ross murmured.

In his view, the next step to stabilize allies is to accelerate research and development.

As long as all the layouts are laid out, it will definitely give Ethan Jones a fatal blow!

However, just as Steve Ross was urging Jack Valenti to speed up the development of Neon, in late August, a new piece of news reached Steve Ross's ears.

"Boss, something seems to have happened!"

On this day, the general manager of Warner Music found Steve Ross and said with a worried look: "Ethan Jones seems to have discovered a new gold mine!"

“Off the Wall released by Columbia Music sold out!”

"Michael Jackson?" The title of the album "Off the Wall" reminded Steve Ross of the transaction a few months ago, and he directly reported the other party's name.

"Yes, that's him." The general manager of Warner Music nodded repeatedly.

"His album sold well?"

"Yes."

"How good is it?"

"'Off the Wall' has already entered the top ten of the Billboard, and may reach the top of the Billboard, or even..." Warner Music's general manager hesitated, and finally expressed the expert's judgment, "It is very likely to be stable. Entering the top three in sales, it is even expected to hit the top spot in sales..."

"..." This news made Steve Ross' eyes widen.

The next second, he screamed, "How much???"

"Top sales???"

"This is impossible!!!"