America: My Time

Chapter 96 Battle
Chapter Ninety-Six: The Challenge

The tension and anxiety of First Industrial Bank were anticipated by John and Robert Iger. When First Industrial Bank made inquiries, Robert Iger explained the reforms of Universal Pictures, stating that only by focusing on film could Universal Pictures have a future. If Universal Pictures could not repay its loans, Legendary Entertainment would assume the responsibility, as Universal Pictures is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legendary Entertainment.

With Robert Iger's explanation and assurance, First Commercial Bank finally breathed a sigh of relief. With Legendary Entertainment as a guarantor, they had no need to worry about the loan going wrong. Legendary Entertainment was now the largest media giant in the United States, possessing vast resources and formidable strength.

In contrast to the concerns of First Industrial Bank, Mitsui Bank remained calm. After Legendary Entertainment took over NBC, the entire network underwent a remarkable transformation, and for the better. The single show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" significantly increased NBC's market value, not to mention the high-quality dramas that John had already prepared for NBC!
It must be said that the preparations made by John and Robert Iger beforehand played a huge role. After NBC had good programs, it immediately exploded with amazing ratings, directly crushing other TV stations. Its market value was growing rapidly. Everyone knew that once NBC's potential was fully unleashed, it would definitely become the strongest TV station in the United States.

If anyone had doubted John's creative abilities before, no one will have that doubt now, because John wrote several programs for NBC, and his carefully crafted NBC drama "Growing Pains" has become a ratings sensation.

This was just the beginning. Everyone understood that given enough time, NBC would grow stronger and more complete step by step. At this moment, John and Robert Iger made an even more audacious decision: to use NBC to wage war against those who doubted their abilities, to challenge them to a live showdown with John, to make their demands on the spot, and for John to respond!

NBC and John were already very close, and when the news of this challenge came out, the whole of the United States went crazy. Everyone was looking forward to the day of the showdown and wanted to see John face off against those 'experts' who questioned his abilities!
Did those challenged 'experts' have any chance of refusing? No. Refusing would be tantamount to admitting they intentionally framed the other party, instantly shattering their public image. Even if it meant gritting their teeth, they would still participate. They had no way out; they all knew this was their only chance to turn the tables, and that chance wasn't small, at least in some people's minds. They could combine their strength to deliver a fatal blow to John. As long as they could suppress John's 'arrogance,' they could escape unscathed and preserve their reputations, because John had provoked too many people!

Of course, some people might consider admitting their mistakes face-to-face to end the fight, withdraw from the conflict between John and Warner, save face, and prevent their careers from being ruined. After all, admitting mistakes is a self-preservation strategy. However, such people are few and far between; not everyone can recognize the reality and cut their losses to survive!

"That kid's character is really awful. Warner was really unwise to provoke him. This challenge has completely ruined Warner's reputation. Suppressing younger generations is a terrible thing. If the people Warner instigated can suppress John, everything will be fine. But if they can't, Warner and these people's reputations will plummet!"

“Boss, this has nothing to do with us. What we need is John’s shares in the company. Now that he has taken over Universal and NBC, it’s time to fulfill his promise to us and start financing the gaming world!”

Seeing his subordinates' anxiety, Morgan, sitting in his executive chair, shook his head and said, "No, we don't need to rush him. Give him some time. The time isn't right yet. We shouldn't be in such a hurry. If we're too hasty, it will only make this kid underestimate our abilities. Besides, we've made a good start with him, and things will naturally fall into place. Warner wants to rebel, doesn't he? I'd like to see if they can succeed. If they fail, don't blame us Morgan for being ruthless. We'll use them as an example to let others know that Morgan is not to be trifled with! We can't touch those bastards on Wall Street right now, but we can still deal with Warner!"

Morgan was furious that Warner dared to disobey his orders. Previously, because of the involvement of other Wall Street giants, Morgan couldn't go too far. But now it was different. If Warner failed, Morgan would definitely kick them while they were down, teach them a lesson, and let them know how powerful Morgan was!
“Boss, if Game World doesn’t complete its financing, it will affect the asset acquisitions we recommended to him. He won’t have enough funds to complete new expansions and accelerate the development of Dreamworld and Nvidia.” “Jimmy, do you think he lacks funds? Funding has never been a problem for him. When NBC’s market value increased significantly, he no longer lacked funds. He could leverage his acquisitions of Universal and NBC before, and he can do the same again. And we’re not in a hurry. Such acquisitions cannot be completed in a short time; we need to patiently wait for the right opportunity. As long as he’s interested, nothing is a problem! Even if you urge him now, there’s no way to make progress. He needs time to digest the previous acquisitions. He won’t make new acquisitions until Universal and NBC are fully absorbed by Legendary Entertainment. Don’t underestimate Dreamworld and Nvidia. Although they haven’t acquired other companies, their development has never stopped. Many companies have tried to poach Dreamworld’s talent, wanting to make a mark in personal software, but how many people have you seen leave Dreamworld? Don’t underestimate him; although he’s young, he’s incredibly shrewd!”

Upon closer examination, this is indeed the case! As Dreamworld's personal software business has grown rapidly, it has been subjected to a barrage of poaching attempts from Silicon Valley companies, including Nvidia. However, very few people have actually left, and even those who have left are only a small number, unable to shake the foundations of Dreamworld and Nvidia. This is enough to demonstrate the strength of these two companies!
"Have you figured out the crux of the problem? Do you think this kid's methods are lacking? The previous acquisitions are over, so don't waste your energy on those meaningless things, and don't worry too much about the next acquisition. Now you need to learn to look at everything from a long-term perspective, pay more attention to the situation in Silicon Valley, and learn more about his Dreamworld and Nvidia!"

"Boss, I understand. It's just that Dreamworld has already started developing minicomputers and professional workstations, which is impacting IBM. If they don't accelerate their development, they will inevitably be suppressed by IBM. Acquisition is the best option. If we strongly recommend it now, we should reap the rewards!"

"Yes, recommending him to this kid at this time is indeed a good opportunity, but you've got one thing wrong. Dream World isn't afraid of IBM's suppression. They're already preparing for the worst. Why do you think they spun off Nvidia? Professional image processing, professional industrial design, the launch of minicomputers, and their new operating system, although it's only for professional workstations and minicomputers. As time goes by and technology develops, do you think their new graphical operating system will become the choice for personal computers? Is Nvidia only going to develop GPUs?"

IBM dared to suppress Dreamworld, but did Dreamworld have no means of retaliation? They monopolized word processing! And don't forget this guy's relationship with Japanese electronics companies! If IBM had joined forces with other Silicon Valley companies to strangle Dreamworld from the beginning, it could indeed have suppressed Dreamworld's development.

It's too late now. He's already laid the groundwork. If pushed too far, he'll inevitably move directly into personal computer manufacturing, and might even forgo cooperation with those Japanese companies. Do you think Apple dares to take that risk? Do you think IBM dares to go all out? Take a good look at Dreamworld now; it's not as weak as it was a few months ago. Dreamworld now has the resources to compete with any company in Silicon Valley!

As a Morgan tycoon, after discovering the potential of Dream World, he had already arranged for people to conduct a thorough investigation of Dream World. Although Dream World has many confidentiality measures in its development, these are only technical secrets. The general direction of development cannot be kept secret. Many companies know about Dream World, but they don't know the progress of its development!
Currently, Dreamworld's graphical operating system is limited to professional workstations and minicomputers, but the response from enterprises has been astonishing. Morgan Enterprise ordered such workstations and minicomputers, which naturally led to evaluation by the company's professionals, who understood how powerful Dreamworld's technology was and how attractive its prospects were!

It was precisely this understanding of the dream world that allowed Morgan to remain so calm and confident, believing that given the opportunity, John would definitely choose to cooperate with Morgan to acquire Bell Labs and Motorola Semiconductor. Even if John didn't need Motorola Semiconductor's manufacturing facilities, he would still need Motorola's patents and technology.

Although some Wall Street giants had the same idea, they were not as good as Morgan. They were too late to the game. Morgan had the advantage and the initiative in this battle. They had already established a good working relationship with John. As long as Morgan did not make any mistakes, no one could take this piece of the pie from Morgan. No one could bypass Morgan and do business with John, thus breaking the existing working relationship between the two parties!
(End of this chapter)