America: My Time

Chapter 836 Waiting in the Night

Chapter 826 Waiting in the Night
John's decision not to go to Hong Kong was also a way of avoiding the British. Those guys had already started making their plans, and John didn't want to get entangled with them anymore, causing himself unnecessary trouble. Many British people wanted to take back Standard Chartered Bank, but unfortunately, they didn't have the opportunity. So, these guys wanted to suppress Standard Chartered Bank because its existence had already threatened their interests.

Of course, some of these guys were also after the oil crisis in Europe. After all, John had made a fortune from the crisis, and some were now regretting their decision to cooperate with him and involve him in the North Sea oil field development. That's human nature; that's the shamelessness of the British. They just can't stand seeing others succeed. For them, discarding someone after they've served their purpose is perfectly normal. John was prepared for all of this; it wasn't the first time he'd encountered such a situation. He knew that when cooperating with them, one must be prepared to be targeted.

Looking at the current situation in Hong Kong, one can see how despicable and treacherous the British are. John has nothing more to add regarding the Hong Kong strategy; everything is under control. No matter how much those guys target it, it's useless. Standard Chartered Bank has long since transformed into a world-class bank, and its investments are thriving. A few rumors have very limited impact on Standard Chartered Bank; smart people won't believe their ridiculous lies.

In fact, Hong Kong's financial market is now in a relatively stable state. It is unrealistic for Standard Chartered Bank to compete for more customers. After all, HSBC has a much stronger influence in Hong Kong than Standard Chartered. However, from a global perspective, HSBC is far inferior to Standard Chartered. The British wanting to target Standard Chartered is just wishful thinking; they are too arrogant.

If John still had some reservations and needed to be wary of those guys in Japan, he didn't feel as much pressure in Taiwan. He was much more relaxed here. After arranging things at Standard Chartered Bank and handling the restructuring and integration here, John was completely at ease. There weren't as many problems here; at least the guys from Taiwan wouldn't bother him with his peace and quiet.

It's said that the higher you climb, the colder it gets, but everyone's striving for it. Standing in this position, John deeply understands the immense pressure he faces. The slightest carelessness could lead to him being outmaneuvered by those old fogies. And his enemies aren't just the old guard; the oil capitalists are currently the most vocal, the ones who hate John the most. Now the British have jumped in, feeling powerful again. Perhaps the oil crisis has given them the leverage to challenge John once more. It's not that these guys are forgetful; it's just that the profits are too tempting. Seeing such enormous profits, some can't resist the allure, jumping out to try and extract what they want from John without considering the actual situation.

John's relationship with the Englishmen was also volatile, for a simple reason: self-interest. Those guys would do anything for profit, and even when one group calmed down, new greedy individuals would emerge. In this world where profit reigns supreme, greed will never disappear.

Of course, those Europeans aren't exactly benevolent. As Jaguar Security's interests in Africa continue to expand, they're all wary of John and Quantum Mining's expansion. They treat Africa as their own territory, and John's arrival is seen as an intruder encroaching on their interests. Especially now that Jaguar Security has sold Russian weapons to Africa and reaped enormous profits, they're even more furious.

However, the one who hated John the most wasn't the Europeans, but Colonel Gaddafi. The Pan Am affair had ignited John's fury. He couldn't directly target Gaddafi, but he could target him through other means, with arms exports being the best option. After all, these Africans were all incredibly ruthless, and those warlords were wealthy men who controlled considerable resources, so they could acquire any weapons they wanted. John reaped enormous profits from these transactions alone, earning a fortune in gold and diamonds each year, which accelerated the expansion of Jaguar Security Company.

It is precisely because the power of Jaguar Security Company is constantly growing that many people dare not target John. After all, no one dares to fight John. He has real armed forces at his disposal. Only with strength can one be respected and not be treated as a soft target or exploited!
Relaxation time is limited. As time went by and the end of November approached, John became more serious, waiting for changes in the Middle East and for the final ultimatum to arrive. This was related to his next move and the situation in the Middle East. Although the situation in the Middle East had not exceeded his expectations or deviated from his memory, John still had to be careful about such a major event and needed to know the decision as soon as possible.

John understood the US's thinking; after all, he was a US arms dealer with good relations with the military. However, time was of the essence. Even knowing the US would definitely target Saddam, time was of the essence. Furthermore, the security company's personnel had already located Saddam's numerous vaults, and secretly robbing them of gold and treasures was essential. How could they seize treasures without even understanding the enemy's situation?

However, the matter with Saddam Hussein still needs time, but the operation against India has already begun. After more than a year of careful planning and preparation, the Golden Temple in India has been located. Only in this chaotic time is the best opportunity to take action and cover everything up, because John has a lot of trade relations with India, since India still has a lot of supplies.

"Go to sleep, you don't need to wait for me here. I still need to wait for news from the US, and I don't know when we'll get a result!" John said to the three beautiful women beside him. They were all clearly sleepy, but they were all vying to stay, which made John shake his head. They say beautiful women are trouble, but normal men all want them, and John was no exception. It would be a lie to say he didn't like beautiful women. After learning that John had settled in Taiwan, Ye Qianwen and Wang Zuxian returned there. After all, they had relatives there and had a good reason to stay, which created some competition for John's affections with Xiao Qiang, who had always been by his side.

This wasn't just any ordinary struggle; it was a fight for profit. After all, they all knew how astonishing John's net worth was, and they also knew about Martin's personal foundation. It would be a lie to say they weren't tempted. These beauties' willingness to follow John wasn't purely based on emotion; profit was everything. Whatever their initial reasons for following John, it was now all for profit. They were no longer the naive girls they once were. Especially after being in the entertainment industry for so long, they had changed even more, having been tempted by countless opportunities for gain.

"I'm not sleepy, I'll wait with you!" Xiao Qiang said, raising an eyebrow at Ye Qianwen and Wang Zuxian, issuing a challenge. For beautiful women, staying up late was unacceptable. Although Xiao Qiang did take on some advertising work, most of it was for the Yongyuan Group, so there wasn't much pressure or much work.

That's how people are. When they don't have something, they'll fight tooth and nail for it. But once they have it, they change. Xiao Qiang is a perfect example. She used to care a lot about her roles at the TV station and the movie company, but she changed soon after. She could live a good and comfortable life without doing those jobs, so she naturally lost her motivation to work. As long as she could please her man, she could have a luxurious life, so she stopped trying.

In contrast, Wang Zuxian and Ye Qianwen are different. They have not given up their efforts in their 'careers' or their pursuit of fame and fortune. After all, their situations are completely different from Xiao Qiang's. They have both had experience in the world of fame and fortune and still value fame and fortune very much. Xiao Qiang, on the other hand, is completely different. Now she does not care about the size of her fame, but rather about her quality of life and her interests!

“I’m not sleepy either. I often film night scenes, so this is nothing!” Wang Zuxian retorted, showing no intention of backing down.

Similarly, Ye Qianwen also retaliated, not taking Xiao Qiang's challenge to heart. Seeing the three beauties bickering made John smile, and the pressure in his heart dissipated a lot, which was quite interesting.

"I think you should get some rest. Filming night scenes all the time will turn you into haggard old women!" Xiao Qiang's words directly shut down Wang Zuxian and Ye Qianwen. Beautiful women care a lot about their appearance. Being called haggard old women is a blatant provocation and a slap in the face to them.

These words made Wang Zuxian and Ye Qianwen grit their teeth in hatred. This was simply a disregard for their dignity. How could they accept such provocation and swallow this insult?

Just then, John shook his head and said, "Alright, stop arguing. Since you're not sleepy, sit down and talk about your plans and arrangements. Will you continue your acting career or gradually withdraw from the industry? Although you won't encounter any trouble, the situation in Hong Kong will become more chaotic. All sorts of shady characters will take turns appearing, making the industry even more chaotic in a few years."

(End of this chapter)