America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

Chapter 405 I am the future

Instead of registering a new film company, it's better to acquire an existing one.

In November, Norman Osborne, who had returned to the company, convened an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, presenting the acquisition plans for the two film companies to the shareholders and ending Walter White's tenure as acting CEO.

“Why should we acquire a film company?” an African American director asked Norman.

Why would you ask such a stupid question?

Norman Osborn glared at him, and the African-American director instantly felt a chill run down his spine and swallowed hard in fear, feeling as if he had been preyed upon by some large beast and would die on the spot at any moment.

“Universal Pictures? MGM? Great, should we choose one? I suggest acquiring MGM. Universal Pictures was sold as part of the Vivendi Universal Entertainment assets package, with a total valuation of $140 billion, which is completely unprofitable for us,” said a white director.

“I also agree with the acquisition of MGM. MGM has a clear debt structure and stable cash flow from its core assets, making it suitable for a leveraged buyout,” another director echoed.

Since the box office failure of MGM's new film "Windtalkers" in June of this year, MGM's financial pressure has increased dramatically. At the end of last year, MGM's total liabilities reached around $80 billion, while its net profit for the whole year was less than $2 million.

Norman inquired and learned that Kirk, the major shareholder of MGM, was considering stepping down and wanted to find someone to take over.

Norman Osborne's intelligence gathering capabilities and investigative depth far exceeded those of ordinary commercial acquisitions. Before informing shareholders of the acquisition plan, Norman already knew the bottom line of major shareholder Kirk.

"What do you mean, Norman?"

After reviewing the acquisition plan in front of him, Walter White felt as if Norman had come to give him a lesson, trying to tell him that this was a real business acquisition, and that his own acquisition of the fried chicken chain was just a joke.

“Is there a problem?” Norman Osborn asked Walter White.

"No."

Walter sensed something strange in Norman's eyes; there seemed to be something peculiar about them. When their eyes met, he found himself choosing to yield to him.

Norman stood up and began to explain his future plans. Everyone seemed to be captivated by Norman's vision, and no one raised any objections. Everyone supported Norman's acquisition of MGM Studios.

Norman Osborne smiled with satisfaction, knowing that MGM, the century-old film company, could provide a powerful boost to "his" future.

The effects of turning from a vampire back into a human exist within Norman Osborn's body.

This change is not as obvious on the physical surface as it was for Leopold, but rather originates from the depths of the mind, spirit, and soul.

Norman used to see the future of the Osborne Group as his own future, but now his own future is the future of the Osborne Group.

……

……

In November, the month of mid-term exams, Li Qun and his classmates faced their first important collective exam since starting university.

The content and format of the midterm exams vary for each course, and the exam time is during regular class time.

Harry was very worried. Although most of their courses were the same in the first semester, the teachers were different and the exams were different. He couldn't rely on Peter's help like he did in high school.

Furthermore, Harry spent the last month traveling between home and school to take care of his frail father who had just turned back into a human, leaving him with little energy to focus on his studies.

“Harry, how’s your relationship with your professors? In other words, do they dislike you?” Li Qun asked.

“No, I feel that my relationship with the professor is fine, and I actively answer questions in class,” Harry replied.

"It should be fine. As long as you don't hand in a blank paper, you should be able to get a passing grade on the midterm exam," Li Qun said.

“That’s the problem, the paper is blank,” Harry said.

"Which course do you think you would hand in a blank paper for?" Li Qun asked.

“Humanities and arts,” Harry replied.

“I have the same problem; I’m not good at humanities,” Peter said.

"Have you photocopied the professor's lecture notes?" Li Qun asked.

The two nodded and retrieved their lecture notes.

In the first class of the semester, the professor distributed photocopied lecture notes to all the students in the class.

"The simplest way is to read through all the previous material, and during the exam, answer exactly what he taught, just make sure your own answers aren't too off-topic," Li Qun said.

“Hey, didn’t you guys know? Actually, the exam questions are pretty much the same every year. The professors keep rotating the old questions, basically every eight years,” Gwen said.

"Does that mean we can rest easy once we find the professors' eight sets of exam questions?" Harry asked Gwen.

“That’s right.” Gwen nodded.

"I know someone has done this before. In fact, professors will adjust 40% of the questions during the exam, leaving 60% unchanged, just enough to barely pass," Li Qun reminded.

"Why are you all so nervous? Are you trying to get a perfect score?" Stephanie asked, puzzled.

“Liqun and I need to get close to a perfect score,” Peter said.

"Who asked for it?" Stephanie asked.

“Ourselves,” Peter said.

"To convince the school that we can graduate with a double degree in three years, we must get a near-perfect score."

Peter was terrified.

"Because the professor decides how many points you get on the exam."

“Several of our courses in the first semester are humanities-oriented, which is too subjective, and Peter lacks confidence in himself,” Li Qun said, looking at the somewhat agitated Peter.

“Even chemical experiments have uncertainties, Peter, why are you so nervous?” Stephanie reassured him.

“Chemical experiments are theoretically certain, but unexpected interference factors can occur when you actually do them,” Peter said, shaking his head at Stephanie.

"How about thinking about Thanksgiving after the exams?"

“Mary is all set to celebrate Thanksgiving with us,” Li Qun said to Peter.

"Yes, Thanksgiving, Mary Jane..."

Peter suddenly felt motivated.

Harry looked at Peter, sighed, and shook his head.

“My dad also said he’d spend Thanksgiving with me at the apartment, which basically means he’d have turkey dinner with us,” Harry said.

“Oh, then I’ll invite Uncle Ben and Aunt May to come and celebrate the holiday with us,” Peter said.

“Where is Dr. Banner?” Gwen asked.

"Dr. Banner doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving."

“Did you know? The annual exorcism of the vengeful spirits of the Native Americans is about to begin again,” Li Qun said.

“An Indian vengeful spirit? A ghost?” Harry asked.

“The Indian curse has killed many American presidents; the power of vengeful spirits is even more terrifying than the curse,” Li Qun said.

Chapter 406 Bonus Points for Boys

Are we bankrupt?

“No.” Li Qun glanced at Peter Parker strangely, then calmly stuffed the bacon and egg sandwich into his mouth.

Peter looked at today's breakfast, then turned and opened the refrigerator to check.

The refrigerator was crammed with ingredients, drinks, and various snacks, maintaining its usual pleasant appearance.

Have we offended you?

"No, not really." Li Qun felt a little choked while eating her sandwich and took a sip of her iced Americano.

"Then why are we eating this this morning?" Peter asked.

"I have an exam today," Li Qun replied.

"What does this have to do with the exam?"

"It is said that eating your favorite breakfast can keep your brain in the best condition."

"Ok."

Peter sat down at the table, spread butter on the toast, squeezed on some mayonnaise, assembled his sandwich, and took a big bite.

It had been a while since Peter had eaten this kind of white food, and the ingredients prepared by Li Qun were quite plentiful. After starting to eat, Peter no longer resisted.

Gwen and Stephanie also got up. After eating the special exam week sandwiches, they were fully awake. After finishing their iced Americanos, the four of them set off for school together.

When Li Qun and Peter sat down in the classroom, Li Qun noticed that the students around him quietly began to rearrange their seats, surrounding Li Qun and Peter.

The lecture hall was divided into two large groups, left and right. The group where Li Qun and Peter sat was full, while the other group had only a few people sitting scattered around, with most of the seats empty.

The professor entered the classroom carrying the exam papers, and upon seeing the students' seating arrangement, he immediately laughed. He knew why the students were sitting like that.

The professor just smiled and ignored it, handing out the exam papers and giving some pre-exam reminders.

Being able to cheat on an exam is a skill in itself.

Now that he was in university, Li Qun didn't have the patience to wait for the exam time to end before handing in his paper. After finishing the questions and checking that there were no mistakes, he handed in his paper early and left the classroom.

The professor watched as Li Qun was the first to hand in her paper, even though there were still ninety minutes left in the exam.

The professor graded Li Qun's exam paper on the spot and smiled as he looked at it.

Peter didn't leave the classroom until half an hour later, and he and Li Qun went over their answers on a school bench.

“They must hate us to death,” Peter said.

"I showed them my exam paper very generously. I didn't hide it from them. How much they could copy depended entirely on their eyesight and speed," Li Qun said.

Sitting on a bench basking in the morning sun, someone suddenly blocked their view.

When Li Qun looked up, a beautiful Asian girl with short black hair was blocking their sunlight.

"Hi, my name is Kate."

"Hello, Kate, is there anything I can help you with?"

“We’re classmates, we’ve taken classes together, you don’t forget me, do you?” Kate asked.

"Do you know what we're called?" Li Qun asked Kate, looking up at her.

“I know, your name is Leon, and you are Peter,” Kate said, pointing to the two of them.

“I’m from San Francisco. Where are you from?” Kate asked.