Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Twenty-Five: The Great Detour
The day after the premiere, film critics in major newspapers gave fairly positive reviews, all pointing out that it was a well-made action blockbuster. Most of the previous criticisms also turned into positive feedback.
While there's no high praise for this film—after all, it doesn't have much depth—it's definitely excellent if you just consider it a standard Hollywood action blockbuster.
As expected, the film topped the box office in its first week. After holding the number one spot on the North American box office charts for two weeks, its cumulative North American box office alone exceeded $140 million. It began to decline in the third week… but the decline was not too rapid.
After making estimates, the film's North American box office was projected to reach around $240 million, with a final global box office expected to exceed $400 million. What surprised me was that, according to research, the Japanese box office alone was expected to reach $100 million… This figure did surprise me quite a bit. However, later, the company's experts told me that the Japanese film market has always been an important overseas territory for Hollywood.
In addition to the profits from the film's merchandise, the sale of multiple broadcast rights to American television stations, and the final release of DVDs and other audio-visual products, the film's net profit is estimated to reach over 200 million.
Does everyone say that movies can make money?
By the way… I don't need to share these two hundred million with the Rothschild family. According to the supplementary terms of our cooperation, this film was an investment made before the company's cooperation, and it was entirely independently invested and produced. Therefore, the final profits do not need to be shared with the Rothschild family. Martin doesn't care about this; he doesn't care about this small amount of money, but he values the long-term profits. And the huge success of this film has given him enough confidence.
I stayed in Hollywood for another month or so.
Over the past month or so, the happiest person has been Aze. This lecherous guy has been following me around, impeccably dressed, looking every bit the playboy from a wealthy family. He's been attending all sorts of Hollywood parties with me, flirting with and chatting up numerous female celebrities... and he's actually succeeded a few times, spending a night with them!
In the end, in his excitement, he made a decision: "I've made up my mind! I'm going to buy a house in Beverly Hills! I can come here for vacation every year!"
As for me, although I mingle with many celebrities every day, chatting and laughing, and appearing as a rising force in Hollywood, there is a shadow in my heart.
Because, at the moment of celebrating the huge success of the company's first film, Yang Wei, the biggest contributor to creating this situation, did not appear!
In fact, Yang Wei hasn't contacted me since I returned to Vancouver to get married. I originally thought she would come to Hollywood for this movie premiere, but she didn't show up. Mr. Yang Er from the Yang family sent someone to attend on her behalf, but Yang Wei didn't come.
I finally couldn't resist and called, but I couldn't reach Yang Wei! I had a phone number that I could always use to reach her, but it was switched off. I realized that she didn't seem to want anyone to find her.
I called the Yang family, but Mr. Yang simply told me that Yang Wei had gone to China to handle some family business and would be staying in Asia for a while.
"You went to China?" I couldn't help but sigh.
Is she trying to avoid me?
With this regret, I wasn't happy in Hollywood, and two months later, I left and returned to Vancouver. Of course, I didn't come back empty-handed.
The profits from the film company are enough to make everyone around me laugh in their sleep.
I can't help but wonder, if old Thorin had dumped this film company on me like trash, what would he think now if he saw this profit and loss statement in my hand? Heh!
And just the day after I returned to Vancouver, Wu Gang, who had been missing for two months, finally came to visit me again!
This time, besides Wu Gang's three henchmen from last time, there was another middle-aged man who came with him. He was a dark-skinned and thin man with ordinary facial features, but the calmness in his eyes told me at a glance that he was definitely a man of unwavering willpower!
I could tell that Wu Gang was very polite to this person, and when introducing me, he first introduced me to the middle-aged man: "This is Mr. Chen Yang, the boss of Huaxing Company, and also a powerful figure in Vancouver."
When it came to introducing the middle-aged man, he only vaguely said, "This is Comrade Ren."
The term "comrade" already carries a slightly different meaning.
That day, I invited the two men into my office, and we talked for the entire afternoon before finally seeing them off. I didn't tell any of my subordinates about the content of our conversation.
******************
The next day, I went to Huaxing Company and then convened a meeting of the company's management team. At the meeting, I announced two decisions.
My first decision was to inject $20 million into the company. This news delighted Wendi Sun and others, but my second decision immediately surprised Wendi Sun greatly. If I hadn't stopped him with a look, I'm afraid my handpicked top executive would have argued with me on the spot!
"My second decision... I will allocate 20 million from the company, and then I've decided to begin the company's overseas expansion. I'll start establishing branches overseas, and I plan to simultaneously set up three branches in Europe, Asia, and... Africa. The Asian branch will be located in Shanghai, China; the European branch in Genoa, Italy... and the African branch..."
“Africa?” Sun Wendi exclaimed in surprise when he heard me speak.
I remained calm and said, "Regarding the African branch, I will personally lead a team to several African countries for inspection before making a final decision." I glanced at Sun Wendi, signaling him to be quiet.
After the meeting, in my office, Sun Wendi began to complain to me: "Boss! Setting up overseas branches is something we've been planning for a while now! And it's all in our plans. Branches in Asia and Europe are not surprising... But Africa? From the current perspective, I don't think setting up a branch in Africa makes any sense!! The investment environment in African countries is not good, and... the situation there is complicated. Although the environment in North Africa is slightly better, they are only separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, and the market there is dominated by Europeans! I don't think we will have any development in Africa... The company's future lies in Asia, and I think we have already made that clear!"
He waved his arms and complained loudly at me. I just sat in my seat and watched him quietly.
“I have my own considerations.” I said calmly, “I will personally take charge of all affairs in Africa, and the head office will not need to interfere. And I can tell you that I do not plan to do trade business with the African branch; I plan to invest there.”
“Investment…” Sun Wendi almost groaned: “Invest in Africa? What for? Mining? Impossible. African mineral resources are controlled by armed forces of all sizes, or they are manipulated by agents of major Western powers. We are not qualified… Ordinary business? Damn it, what kind of business is there in Africa? Do you want to poach wild animals?”
I sighed, then looked up at Sun Wendi: "I know you're thinking of the company. But I can tell you, this isn't just a simple business matter. You've been with my company for so long, you must know my background, right?"
Sun Wendi was speechless.
“I can’t tell you too much, but I just want you to understand that I have other considerations for going to Africa to do things, and these have nothing to do with the company’s current legitimate business. You don’t need to know too much else. I’m taking the funds with me, and I won’t let the company bear the burden. I will personally invest in the company first, and then withdraw the invested part. It’s that simple.”
Sun Wendi left my office silently. I could tell he had been forced to accept it.
I sat in my office, then took my Vanward gold pen and drew three large circles on a piece of paper. Inside each circle, I wrote three words:
Vancouver, China, Africa...
I drew several more directional arrows on the circles, changing the order of the circles on the paper to: Vancouver -- Africa -- China...
"Sigh!" I sighed, tore the paper into pieces and threw it into the shredder, then gave a soft, bitter laugh: "What a long detour, what a long detour... The road back home is indeed not smooth."
After obtaining visas and completing various formalities, and finally passing a series of preparations, I carefully selected a group of people. Apart from Hammer, who had always been my bodyguard, I chose ten shrewd and capable elites from within the larger network. In the end, after much consideration, I decided not to bring Ciro, leaving him at home to manage the smuggling business at the docks.
Just before we set off, one more person was finally forced into my group!
Jojo!
Knowing that I was going to Africa, Qiaoqiao insisted on coming with me. I refused several times without success, but in the end, she convinced me with one of her reasons.
“In Africa, simply speaking English isn’t enough! Many African countries have French as their official language! Do you speak French?” Jojo asked, hands on her hips, looking at me.
"You can?" I glanced at her.
"%￥#￥……※%" Qiao Qiao quickly rattled off a string of strange phrases to me, looking utterly disdainful.
"……What's the meaning?"
"In French, it means, 'You wretched stallion!'"
I was initially going to refuse, but then even Yan Di expressed her hope that I would take Qiao Qiao to Africa. This surprised me! However, I later understood that because I married her, Yan Di felt somewhat guilty towards Qiao Qiao, as if she had stolen my place as my wife. Moreover, she had already tacitly accepted the entanglement between Qiao Qiao and me. Therefore, her allowing, and even encouraging, me to take Qiao Qiao with me was a form of compensation.
After several attempts, I finally agreed to Qiaoqiao's request, but with a strict condition: "Once we're out, you're not allowed to misbehave! You have to listen to me in everything! No disobedience allowed!" Looking at this female bandit, I gritted my teeth: "If you dare to disobey, I'll throw you off the plane!"
What I didn't know was that my decision would make my trip to Africa incredibly exciting, thanks to the addition of this formidable female bandit...
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Twenty-Six: I Am Not James Bond
At Cairo Airport in Egypt, as soon as we stepped out of the airport terminal, we saw Wu Gang and "Comrade Ren," who had seen me at the auto repair shop, standing outside.
"Hello, how was your journey?" Wu Gang looked a bit tanned; it seemed the Cairo sun had left its mark on him.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airport was the dryness! Extremely dry! There were twelve of us, plus Wu Gang and Comrade Ren, and the three Land Rover SUVs they brought. I noticed that all the drivers were Chinese, each with a serious, stern expression, not saying a word, clearly exuding a military air.
The car drove for less than twenty minutes in the sun, and I kept drinking water after I got in.
"Where are we going now?" I laughed. "I'm here prepared to start from scratch."
Wu Gang didn't speak, but Comrade Ren smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, it's not as scary as you say. If things go smoothly, I think we can finish everything in a week at most... Alright, let's take you back to the camp to rest first. I'll treat you to lunch, and then we'll leave here tonight."
Jojo asked, "Are we leaving Egypt today?"
Comrade Ren glanced at Qiao Qiao, and I immediately said, "This is my friend and also my French translator." After a pause, I slowly added, "She's one of us, and I don't hide anything from her."
Comrade Ren's expression changed slightly, but he then smiled and said, "Don't make it sound so scary. There's really no secret about this matter... well, it's just that the fewer people involved, the better."
He then smiled at Qiaoqiao and suddenly spoke a string of French. Qiaoqiao raised an eyebrow and exchanged a few words with him in fluent French.
“You’re a good translator, your French is quite good.” Comrade Ren smiled. “However, she has a bit of a Parisian accent, which is quite rare in Africa… well, it’s alright. We originally prepared a translator for you, but it seems we don’t need to now.”
******************
The car drove for a full two hours, leaving Cairo and heading east until we arrived at an engineering site.
This is on the banks of the Nile River. The world-famous Nile is not as magnificent as I imagined. On the contrary, it looks very small, much smaller than I expected, and the water flow is so slow that it is almost dry.
"It looks much smaller than the Yangtze River..." I muttered.
The site here is vast, far up in the river, where a massive water conservancy project is under construction. Huge bulldozers are moving back and forth, and the roar of machinery fills the air. I noticed that most of the workers are Asian, and quite a few are clearly Chinese. There are also some technical experts wearing hard hats, holding blueprints, standing behind instruments on the riverbank taking measurements.
In the sweltering heat, the scorching sun beat down relentlessly on the ground. I had only taken two steps after getting out of the car when I felt the ground beneath my feet getting hot.
"Where is this place?"
“It’s a collaborative project, a joint construction project between a large domestic engineering company and an Egyptian company… Well, these are normal overseas labor projects, you don’t need to worry about them. I’ll take you to rest now.”
About a thousand paces from the river was a low, simple building. I followed Comrade Ren into the office on the first floor. After finally enjoying some shade, I sighed and said, "It's so hot here. How do you people who work here all year round manage to get through it?"
Comrade Ren licked his chapped lips and said casually, as if it were nothing more than a matter of course, "The country needs it."
During my training in the Great Circle, I received some basic military training. I deliberately stood by the window and looked outside a few times. I immediately recognized that the layout of the entire engineering camp had a military feel to it. From the entrance to the interior layout, it was obviously very suitable for the distribution of security measures!
I was momentarily lost in thought, then turned around: "No need to rest, let's get started... Where should I go tonight? What should I do?"
Comrade Ren looked into my eyes and hesitated for a moment: "Are you sure you don't need to rest first?"
"I didn't come to Africa to rest," I said calmly. "I want to finish this sooner and go home sooner."
He nodded, a slight smile appearing on his lips, and then led me to a conference room.
There were only Wu Gang, Comrade Ren, and myself in the conference room. My subordinates were all drinking water in the lounge, while two personnel from the project site stood at the door of the conference room and guarded it.
I hesitated for a moment and didn't bring Qiaoqiao in.
"Please turn off your phone and give it to me... and please turn off any electronic devices you have on you." As I was about to follow Comrade Ren into the conference room, the two security guards at the door stopped me.
I glanced at them but didn't say anything. Comrade Ren in front turned around, smiled, and waved his hand, saying, "No need, he's one of us." Then he looked at me and said, "If we didn't trust you, we wouldn't have come to you."
I took out my phone and handed it to the security guard: "No, I know you have rules."
"Haha," Comrade Ren laughed, "Alright, no need to make such a big deal out of it... We're not asking you to be James Bond, this job isn't complicated."
After everyone was seated, Comrade Ren turned on a projector in the conference room, and his expression gradually became serious: "Now, let me introduce the person you will be meeting."
After the lights flashed, a picture of a Black man appeared on the screen in front of me, and then it turned into a series of pictures.
The subject of each photo is a Black man, around forty years old, with a burly build and a pair of eyes that gleam with a cold light...like a snake! Some of the photos are publicly available, while others are candid shots, taken from various angles. The Black man is dressed in civilian clothes, military uniform, and in one photo he's standing next to an armored vehicle with face paint on.
"Ru Ken Kunta, 46 years old, is the current ruler, president, and commander-in-chief of the army of G country in East Africa. Of course, he prefers to be called 'General Kunta.' G country has a population of only 4.6 million and a land area of about one and a half Jiangsu provinces. He was originally a young and promising military commander in G country, and had participated in six regional military wars... Of course, from our perspective, those so-called wars were just minor conflicts. Three years ago, he led the army in a coup, overthrowing the original government and executing the original president of G country, who was also a general." Comrade Ren smiled at this point and said, "In Africa, many heads of state of small countries come to power through coups; such things are commonplace." Then he continued, "General Kunta currently controls the vast majority of the country's army, and his political leanings are unclear, which means... um..."
I suddenly blurted out, "Whoever feeds you is your mother."
Comrade Ren paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "You could say that." He then sighed, "Which of these small African countries isn't like that? When they face the United States, they ask for aid with conditions; tomorrow, when they face the Japanese, they can ask for aid with conditions; the day after, when they face the European Union, they can turn around and abandon the Americans and Japanese... As for us, we are just one of their many cooperative options. Whoever gives them benefits, they will lean towards. This kind of guy has no political direction; he just relies on playing both sides to obtain various resources in order to consolidate his rule."