America: My Time

Chapter 264 The Speed ​​of Neon
Chapter 264 The Speed ​​of Neon Lights
"Mr. Morita, my friends from Japan, what are your thoughts after visiting Hurricane Investment?" After the Japanese guys finished their visit to Hurricane Investment, John and Meg Whitman greeted them again, giving them another round of encouragement so that they could exert even greater influence in fundraising.

"Mr. John, the Hurricane Investment trip has had a huge impact on us. We never imagined that Dream World's professional servers and workstations could achieve this level of capability. Global Online can connect the East Coast and the West Coast to complete data exchange. This is a brilliant idea, an unimaginable technological advancement."

"You flatter me. Dream World has only made a little progress. There is still a long way to go before it is truly perfect. The current network system is still in the primitive stage. With the continuous progress of research and the continuous development of technology, its speed will be even more amazing. We are only in the early stage of development now. If it weren't for the pressure from the United States, you might not have seen any hope of financing. I hope you can all make the most of this opportunity."

“John, we understand that, and we won’t let you down. If the production pressure on the Dream World side isn’t an issue, we hope to push for financial changes in Japan and introduce the Dream World’s network system. If possible, we also hope to collaborate with Bell Labs to develop the Japanese market!”

At this moment, Akio Morita, representing the Japanese, voiced everyone's concerns and requests. Although Morita had previously communicated with John, knew the direction of Dream World's development, and heard John mention cooperation, he had never actually seen Dream World's network system and hadn't experienced the allure of this technology. After witnessing the technology's appeal through Hurricane Investment, he was even more captivated. Fearing unforeseen circumstances, he immediately seized the opportunity to extend a cooperation invitation to John, maintaining control to prevent other Japanese companies from snatching it away.

"No problem. As long as Mr. Morita, Sony, and the Japanese side are all on track, everything is fine. If you are worried about any unforeseen circumstances, we can hold a press conference to give you a definitive answer, so you can all rest assured and we can also persuade the Japanese side!"

As soon as John finished speaking, he immediately gained the approval of the Japanese guys. Akio Morita also breathed a sigh of relief. Before seeing the situation of Hurricane Investment, he was somewhat worried. Now he was not worried about the Dream World's network system, but about whether John would still cooperate with him.

Fortunately, John didn't change his mind, which pleased Akio Morita greatly. Although Akio Morita had worked with John for a long time and knew John was a man of integrity, the prospect of such profit was too tempting, causing him some apprehension. In the face of such profit, anything could go wrong!
“John, I also want to know how far the testing has progressed in Hong Kong. If possible, we should resolve all the issues at once and complete the layout of Japan Global Online. This will save us more time and speed up our layout in Japan. Time waits for no one. If we drag it out for too long, some unnecessary problems may arise!”

John understood what Akio Morita was worried about. He was afraid that such cooperation would be obstructed by the US government, causing unnecessary trouble for the cooperation that was about to be realized, or even causing it to fall apart.

"The testing is nearing completion and there haven't been any issues. As long as there are no problems on the Japanese side, Bell Labs, Universal Online, and even Dream World are all fine. However, Mr. Morita also has a point. Completing this collaboration sooner is beneficial for both of us, to avoid any unforeseen complications or problems we don't want to see. Right now, I don't have any major issues, but can you convince the Japanese authorities to accept this collaboration?"

"No problem. We have already sent the request back to Japan. I believe that soon someone from Japan will come to New York to visit Dreamworld's network system, and someone else will go to Hong Kong to learn about Bell Labs' mobile communications."

John was taken aback when Akio Morita finished speaking. Although he had expected that Morita and his ilk would not refuse his invitation to cooperate, he did not expect them to act so quickly. Even Meg Whitman was shocked by the crazy actions of these Japanese guys and did not expect everything to go so smoothly.

At this point, John had to admit he had underestimated the power of the zaibatsu. When Akio Morita and his ilk united, even the Japanese government had to accept their proposals and accelerate their progress. John wasn't concerned about the share division right now, nor was it the time to discuss that. The most important thing was to reach an agreement with Japan, preventing the US from intervening. Once the agreement was reached, other matters could be discussed later.

In Japan, no one doubted Akio Morita's vision, nor did anyone doubt John's investment ability. When Morita and his ilk relayed their ideas back to Japan and to the zaibatsu (financial conglomerates) behind them, the Japanese naturally took action. No one would be foolish enough to give up such an opportunity. So, the Japanese government quickly faced pressure from various zaibatsu in Japan. Even if they didn't want to act, they had no choice. After all, several zaibatsu in Japan were now paying attention to this matter, and most importantly, news had also come from the United States, forcing the Japanese government to take it seriously.

John proposed establishing a joint venture, with each party holding a 50% stake. His demands, similar to those in the Universal Studios collaboration, were not exorbitant, making them acceptable to all parties in Japan. However, this project with Universal Studios was different; it involved high-tech collaborations. If Japan didn't act quickly, trouble could easily arise. Even the Japanese understood the immense pressure John was under in the US. If they waited for an official US order to halt the cooperation, they would lose this opportunity, though the likelihood was slim. No one dared to take the risk. They could have obtained their desired benefits with minimal effort, but due to momentary carelessness, they would have to pay a much higher price—a result no one could accept. Therefore, the Japanese government acted much faster than John had anticipated.

"John, we want to know how long it will be before Dreamworld secures funding from Nvidia? You know everyone is very anxious!"

"Under normal circumstances, we could have raised funds much faster. Now it depends on Morgan's opinion and Wall Street's decision. However, you don't need to worry. It won't take too long, just a few days. I believe everyone can wait that long. And if you are concerned about the cooperation, we can hold a press conference first. This is Ms. Meg Whitman, CEO of Dream World. As long as you are willing, we can hold a press conference at any time to announce the details of our cooperation. We will absolutely not create any difficulties for you."

As soon as John finished speaking, the Japanese guys all breathed a sigh of relief, but they all turned their attention to Akio Morita. At this moment, it was Akio Morita who needed to step forward and take the pressure for everyone.

"John, if possible, we'd like to wait for the Japanese representatives to arrive before holding this press conference together!"

"Mr. Morita, you're not mistaken, are you? You mean you want to wait for the Japanese representatives to arrive, but that will take a lot of time. By the time the Japanese make a decision, we'll probably have already started fundraising here!"

“John, you’re wrong. I believe they won’t let us down. They’ll make a decision soon, perhaps even tomorrow. It definitely won’t affect the financing!” At this moment, Akio Morita looked completely confident, showing no sign of worry. Perhaps he had absolute confidence in the power of the Mitsui conglomerate. Of course, this wasn’t just the power of the Mitsui conglomerate; there were other Japanese conglomerates as well. Hitachi was backed by Fuji, Panasonic by Sumitomo, and Sanwa and Mitsubishi—if they all acted, they could indeed influence the Japanese government’s decision.

John didn't want to delve too deeply into this matter; he didn't have the time or energy. Since Akio Morita was so confident, he believed there wouldn't be any major problems in Japan. On the contrary, he needed to be careful in the United States and not give those old guys the chance to ruin his plans.

If Global Online can secure a partnership with Japan, it can expand there, and naturally, it can also expand into Taiwan. It's believed that Taiwan will not refuse such a collaboration. With Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in place, Global Online can then expand throughout Asia, quickly establishing its presence there, before turning back to expand and solidify its position in the United States. As for Europe, that will take time; after all, Europe is different from Asia, and those companies are not easily persuaded.

"It seems I need to accelerate my expansion in Europe and speed up the process of acquiring Nokia to establish a foothold in the region. However, Nokia in Finland alone is not enough; I also need to establish a presence in the UK. Perhaps I can intercept Vodafone ahead of time. I believe that once we raise the necessary funds, acquiring them will not be a problem."

With the help of these guys in Japan, his expansion in communications accelerated even more rapidly. This prompted John to accelerate his expansion in Asia and Europe, aiming to take control of mobile communications and the internet as quickly as possible. This was the perfect time, as Bell Labs would face less pressure.

(End of this chapter)