Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

Conan stood at the bathroom door, his sharp eyes scanning the scene.

The president lay dead in the cubicle, with obvious ligature marks on his neck, but there were no signs of struggle around him, and the door was locked from the inside.

"A locked room... no, it's not a locked room at all," Conan muttered to himself.

He noticed a small puddle of water under the sink that extended to the ventilation duct opening.

They also found a bit of powdery substance on the president's wrist, which was residue from instant coffee commonly used in the office.

"I see."

Conan looked up at his secretary, Ami, who was standing at the back of the crowd and looked slightly nervous.

He still remembers that he is a primary school student.

So he gave the opportunity to steal the spotlight to Yukiko.

"Are you really sure?" Yukiko asked softly.

Conan said with dissatisfaction, "Of course I'm sure."

Don't you believe my reasoning at all?
Yukiko glanced at her arrogant son, nodded, and then turned to look at Ami.

Under Yukiko's calm and meticulous reasoning, Ami finally broke down and confessed to her crime.

The company president sexually assaulted one of the company's female artists, causing her to commit suicide.

All those who knew about the situation were put on hold, allowing the company president to escape legal punishment.

And that female celebrity is Ya Mei's best friend.

That's why Ami killed the company president.

The case was solved, but Yukiko's signing plan also failed.

With the president dead and the company in chaos, Yukiko would definitely not cooperate with such a company.

"Is this really not something that Shoichi made?" Yukiko asked.

"How could it be Zheng Yi Ge?" Conan said dismissively.

I won't tell you that I've already figured out the murderer.

To put it simply, you negotiated your collaboration with this president so quickly that Zheng Yi might not even know about it yet. How could he possibly kill someone like that?

Don't put all the blame on Zheng Yi Ge.

Yukiko nodded.

Perhaps I'm overthinking it; this was just an ordinary accident.

It's just bad luck.

She quickly regrouped and began looking for other collaborators.

But she believed it was an accident; people from other entertainment companies didn't.

Some people have already paid the price with their lives, and they don't want to try it again.

Even if the profits are huge, it's a path that's 100% doomed.

Money can be earned slowly, but life can be lost in an instant.

There isn't even a single person who wants to collaborate with Yukiko anymore.

After returning to Japan and encountering such a cold reception, Yukiko turned her attention to her son.

Conan scratched his head.

"These guys are really weird," Conan muttered.

Why think so badly of Zheng Yi?

It feels like Zheng Yi Ge's reputation will never be completely cleansed in this lifetime.

"Mom, what should we do?" Conan blinked.

"How should I know what to do? At worst, I'll just try to break into the entertainment industry on my own!" Yukiko said through gritted teeth.

Although he spoke toughly, he didn't actually have much confidence in his heart.

Even if Zheng Yi doesn't say anything.

Those timid entertainment companies probably also think that Zheng Yi is blacklisting them.

I'm afraid she won't receive any resources.

"Mom, I believe you can do it all by yourself." Conan gave Yukiko a fist pump to encourage her.

Seeing Conan encouraging her, Yukiko smiled.

……

Yukiko Kudo wore a haute couture suit, her red lips slightly upturned, but her smile seemed somewhat unnatural.

Zheng Yi sat opposite her, his smile gentle and warm. "After much thought, I still want to collaborate with Zhengyi Entertainment," Yukiko said.

The expression on her face was like someone forced into a corner.

This kind of expression is very displeasing to the person opposite.

But Zheng Yi didn't care.

He often saw this kind of expression, and some people's expressions were even more rude than Yukiko's.

At least Yukiko still had a forced smile on her face, didn't she?

“Of course, the terms I offer will not change,” Zheng Yi said.

Yukiko's expression became even more unnatural.

The current situation is as if she went out for a walk, met many people, and compared all the conditions.

She realized that the conditions Zheng Yi had offered in the beginning were better, so she came back to try and win him back, but Zheng Yi didn't care at all.

This makes it seem like I'm in the wrong.

Zheng Yi produced the contract.

“We have tailored three major empowerment systems for Ms. Yukiko: traffic empowerment, IP empowerment, and international empowerment.”

He turned to the first page, his tone sincere: "First of all, you will receive preferential traffic allocation across all platforms under the Justice Group, including film and television dramas, variety shows, brand endorsements... a guaranteed exposure of 5 million times per month."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow: "Sounds good."

Only Zhengyi dares to make such a promise as guaranteeing at least 500 million exposures per month.

However, Yukiko is currently short of money, and she has a child at home who is a money-devouring beast.

"What are the specific salary details?"

“Oh, we’ve done an innovative design on this part,” Zheng Yi said with a smile.

When Yukiko heard Masakazu mention 'innovative design', she had a bad feeling.

"We adopt a 'zero base salary + high profit-sharing' cooperation model." Zheng Yi smiled as he opened the contract.

"As long as the total commercial value you bring in a single year, including advertising endorsements, film and television remuneration, brand activities, media exposure, etc."

For orders exceeding ten million US dollars, you will receive 15% of the net proceeds.

Yukiko raised an eyebrow: "...What if they don't arrive?"

That ten million dollars is terrifying.

Yukiko didn't have that much confidence in herself.

Even for top Hollywood actresses, it would be very difficult to earn this much money in a year.

Not to mention that she has been retired for so long.

She suspected that Zheng Yi didn't want to pay her salary at all.

“Then reduce it proportionally in stages,” he said casually.

"For example, if it reaches five million US dollars, we get 5%; two million US dollars, we get 1%; if it's less than one million US dollars..."

He paused, his smile unchanged, "Then you'll need to make up for the team's basic operating costs."

The costs, including agents, stylists, PR team, legal department, and AI-powered public opinion monitoring system, amounted to approximately two million US dollars.

Yukiko's pupils contracted slightly: "I can't get acting roles or endorsements, and I still have to pay out of my own pocket to the company?"

"This is not a company rule, but a market rule."

Zheng Yi shrugged. "After all, we've provided you with top-tier resources."

A dedicated public relations team is on call 24/7, an AI-powered image analysis system optimizes your public image in real time, and there are Hollywood-level script evaluation consultants...

These all require a lot of money.

He closed the contract, his eyes sincere: "Of course, with your status, you certainly won't fall to that point."

We're just... taking precautions.

Zheng Yi felt he had been very sincere.

That's a whole year!

God knows how long this year has been.

Shoichi is ready to pay Yukiko's salary.

He touched his conscience.

This requires a great deal of determination. (End of Chapter)