Reborn in Hollywood

New York, Tetporo Airport.

This is a private airport located in New Jersey, just a short drive from Manhattan, and is the exclusive domain of Wall Street tycoons and Hollywood stars.

The airport runway was filled with all kinds of private jets—Gulfstream, Bombardier, Cessna, each more expensive than the last.

As the improved Gulfstream V-SP sent by Goldman Sachs landed smoothly, Li Rui glanced at the tarmac outside through the porthole.

Not long ago, he was still feeling the pinch over the tax amount of more than 20 million yuan.

Now, he's flying in his private jet to acquire a comic book company.

Philip sat opposite him, holding a stack of documents, his expression somewhat grave.

"Are you alright?" Li Rui asked.

Philip looked up.

"It's nothing. I'm just a little... uneasy."

Li Rui chuckled.

"You'll get used to it; there will definitely be many more similar incidents in the future."

The plane came to a stop and the cabin door opened.

A black Mercedes was already waiting by the gangway, and a middle-aged man in a suit was standing next to the car; it was Michael Steinhardt.

Li Rui stepped down the gangway and extended his hand.

"Mr. Steinhardt, thank you for your help."

"Mr. Li."

Steinhardt grasped his hand, his gaze lingering on his face for a second. "Mr. Paulson specifically instructed that today's matter must be handled flawlessly."

Li Rui nodded.

The car drove out of the airport, through the suburbs of New Jersey, and headed towards Manhattan.

Steinhardt opened his briefcase in the back seat and took out a stack of documents.

"Mr. Li, time is of the essence, so I'll briefly explain today's schedule."

Li Rui took the document and quickly glanced at it.

"First, we arranged for representatives of Marvel's creditors to sign the debt transfer agreement at a law firm in Midtown Manhattan. Merrill Lynch and representatives from several hedge funds will also be present."

He paused.

"After signing, you will need to transfer $4.8 million to the escrow account—this is the final acquisition price, which is a bit higher than the previously estimated $3.5 million, mainly because several funds raised their bids at the last minute, but we negotiated down a portion, making it lower than their initial asking price of $5 million."

Li Rui nodded.

"and then?"

"Then, we went to Marvel headquarters."

"The handover procedures over there are all arranged," Steinhardt said. "You'll need to sign a few documents as the new boss, and then—"

He glanced at Li Rui.

"Marvel is your private property now."

Li Rui leaned back in his seat, watching the scenery flash by outside the window.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of an office building in Midtown Manhattan.

The law firm is on the 42nd floor, an entire floor of floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of Lower Manhattan.

The conference room was already full of people—lawyers in suits, expressionless fund representatives, and several executives who appeared to be from Merrill Lynch.

The moment Li Rui walked into the conference room, everyone looked up at the same time.

Those gazes held scrutiny, curiosity, and a hint of barely perceptible contempt.

Ignoring those gazes, Li Rui walked straight to the head seat and sat down.

Steinhardt stood behind him, and Philip sat beside him.

A lawyer wearing gold-rimmed glasses stood up and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, now that everyone's here, let's begin."

For the next two hours, Li Rui experienced the longest and most boring two hours of his life.

He was bombarded with documents, which he turned page after page and signed.

The lawyers read the terms in a soporific tone, while the fund representatives occasionally chimed in to argue about the reasonableness of a particular figure.

Of course, no one can fool Li Rui. With his ability as a Force Master, everyone will tell the truth under his "hints".

On the contrary, Philip was on edge the whole time, reviewing each document several times before letting Li Rui sign it.

So Li Rui was quite relaxed, and his relaxed demeanor made Stanhardt nod in approval, and his opinion of this Hollywood newcomer changed slightly.

With Philip overseeing things and Goldman Sachs backing him, Li Rui only needed to sign his name on the last page.

It was already 3 p.m. when I finished signing the last document.

The lawyer with the gold-rimmed glasses stood up, and finally a smile appeared on his face.

"Mr. Li, congratulations. From this day forward, you are the controlling shareholder of Marvel Entertainment."

Sparse applause rang out in the conference room.

The fund representatives stood up, shook hands with Li Rui, and then filed out.

The Merrill Lynch executive was the last to leave. As he reached the door, he glanced back at Li Rui and uttered a seemingly pointless remark, as if he were unwilling to accept defeat.

"Mr. Li, good luck. Not just anyone can handle the Marvel mess."

Li Rui smiled.

"That's none of your concern."

The door closed.

Steinhardt walked over.

"Mr. Li, are we heading to Marvel headquarters next?"

Li Rui nodded.

"Let's go."

Marvel's headquarters is located in Lower Manhattan, in an unassuming old building.

As Li Rui parked the car at the entrance, he looked at the drab gray building and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

Is this Marvel?

The creator of the miracle that was acquired by the giant for $42.2 billion a few years later and will generate nearly $100 billion in output value in just over a decade?

Philip whispered beside him.

"It looks pretty run-down."

Li Rui nodded.

"It's quite dilapidated; it seems we'll need to spend an additional ten million or so on renovations."

The two entered the building, with Steinhardt leading the way.

The elevator was old-fashioned, creaking and moving as slowly as a snail.

The walls were covered with various comic book posters—Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man—all faded and curled at the edges.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor.

The door opened, revealing a long, narrow corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a glass door with the words "Marvel Entertainment" pasted on it.

Pushing open the door, you'll find a large open space inside.

Dozens of desks were crammed together, piled high with drawings and documents.

More posters were pasted on the wall, along with some storyboard sketches.

Several young people were engrossed in drawing when they heard the door open. They looked up briefly, then looked down again.

The air was filled with the smells of coffee and pencil shavings.

Li Rui stood at the doorway, watching all of this.

Steinhardt walked to the door of a nearby office and knocked.

The door opened.

An elderly man with white hair and wearing sunglasses came out.

Stan Lee.

The Marvel icon, who is about to turn eighty, is wearing an old sweater, his hair is thinning, and his face has a complex expression—warning, curious, and a little tired.

He saw Li Rui and paused for a moment.

"Who are you……"

Li Rui extended his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Stan, I am Raphael Lee."

Stan Lee grasped his hand, his gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds.

"I know you, the future boss of Marvel, you did a good job in Fast & Furious."

Li Rui smiled.

"Thanks."

Stan Lee released his grip and stepped aside.

"Come in."

The office was packed with people.

Besides Stan Lee, there were several elderly men who looked like core members, as well as several middle-aged faces.

They were all sitting on the sofa or leaning against the wall, their eyes fixed on Li Rui.

Li Rui walked in and sat down on the sofa in the middle.

Philip and Steinhardt stood behind him.

Stan Lee sat down opposite him.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Then Stan Lee spoke.

"Mr. Li, I know you've already signed the contract. Marvel is yours now, and we're all just working for you."

His tone was calm, but beneath that calm lay a resentment that was about to burst forth.

Li Rui didn't say anything.

Stan Lee continued.

"But before you start giving orders, I want to ask you a question."

Li Rui nodded.

"ask."

Stan Lee stared into his eyes.

Why did you buy Marvel products?

Li Rui thought about it.

"make money."

A few soft laughs echoed in the office.

Stan Lee didn't laugh.

He continued to stare at Li Rui.

"What happens after you make the money?"

Li Rui met his gaze.

"After making money, continue to make even more money."

Stan Lee remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he sighed.

"Mr. Li, do you know what Marvel has gone through over the years?"

Li Rui nodded.

"I know, being sold around, being used as a cash cow, being squeezed dry until the last drop of blood is drained and then thrown to the next one."

Stan Lee stared at him wide-eyed.

"Then you're still buying it?"

Li Rui smiled.

"Because I'm different from the people before me."

"What's different?"

Li Rui stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to them.

"Because they only want to take things from Marvel, and I want to put things in."

He turned around.

"One billion dollars."

The office fell silent.

Stan Lee paused for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"I said, one billion dollars!"

Li Rui repeated, "In the next five years, I will invest at least one billion US dollars in Marvel to launch a project called 'Project Avengers'."

He started pacing around the office.

"The first step was to film 'Iron Man,' with a budget of around 100 million. We would find the best director and the best actors to bring the character to life."

"The second step, Thor; the third step, Captain America; the fourth step, Black Widow. Each step is a standalone film, but each step is laying the groundwork for the final culmination."

"Step 5 - The Avengers."

He stopped and looked at everyone present.

"Put these characters in one movie and have them fight side by side! Budget? No limit! Box office? You can look forward to it."

The office was deathly silent.

Stan Lee stared at him, his expression shifting from wariness to confusion, and then from confusion to an even more complex bewilderment.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses couldn't help but speak up.

"Mr. Li, do you know how much it costs to make a movie? All the things you mentioned add up to at least five or six hundred million—no, seven or eight hundred million. Marvel can't even come up with ten million right now."

Li Rui nodded.

"I know, that's why I just said that the investment over the next five years will be at least one billion yuan."

Another person spoke up.

"No one has ever made a superhero movie like this before. Even Fox's X-Men never dared to invest this much. What if it failed—"

Li Rui interrupted him.

"If it fails, the money will be wasted, right?"

The man nodded.

Li Rui walked back to the sofa and looked down at them.

"Do you know what the biggest difference is between me and those other people?"

No one spoke.

Li Rui spoke slowly and deliberately.

"My superpower is being rich."

The office fell silent once again.

Stan Lee looked at him and suddenly burst into laughter.