Chapter 362: First of Its Kind

"Bankruptcy?"

Li Mochen's eyes narrowed slightly: "That would only happen if Ferguson Cultural Media Company goes under."

"I'm not joking with you."

Nanette Drew said very seriously: "BOSS, do you know how much capital Ferguson has used for acquisitions in the past two years to expand his media empire? And how much debt he has taken on? Last year it was 320 million gold shields, this year it's 450 million. In addition, Ferguson Company also obtained 720 million gold shields in commercial loans, bringing their debt ratio to an astonishing 92%."

"For a media company with meager profits, that's incredible, right? And all of this relies on Mandiv Ferguson's income from the publishing industry. Especially textbooks from elementary to high school—that's the most profitable business in publishing. Currently, 17.5% of all textbooks in Atlanta are contracted by Ferguson Cultural Media Company, including Linden Academy where you now attend. The reason he can secure such a large share is that the current chairman of the Atlanta Board of Education, Arnold, is his cousin. Besides, he also has close personal connections in the Department of Education. Thus, textbooks have become the cash cow of Ferguson Cultural Media Company and the source of confidence for banks to keep lending to him."

"You mean, as long as we cut off this cash cow, we can make Ferguson Cultural Media Company go bankrupt?"

Li Mochen mused: "However, Ferguson Company's own assets are over 5.2 billion gold shields. As for the loans, I doubt they'll be his fatal flaw. Also, if Mandiv Ferguson were so easy to defeat, he wouldn't have lasted until now."

"Others may not succeed, but that doesn't mean I can't, BOSS."

Ms. Drew let out a clear laugh: "The two newspapers and one cable TV station Ferguson acquired in the past two years have yet to break even, especially the latter, which loses 42 million gold shields every month. Currently, his business model is to use his influence on public opinion to secure more textbook contracts from the political sphere. The income from textbooks then feeds back into his media empire. But now is his weakest moment, just before dawn. BOSS, I have leverage over Arnold, and with the help of Firefly Media, I'm confident I can have him behind bars within ten days. I also have a certain degree of confidence in taking over more than half of the textbook publishing business from Ferguson Company."

"If that's the case—"

A gleam flashed in Li Mochen's eyes: "Ms. Drew, go ahead and do it. Whether it's money or force, I will be your solid backing."

Since Nanette Drew had given him her assurance, why would he back down?

If it really didn't work, he could always resort to force. Would a force with a demigod be constrained by a small media group with a market value of less than 1.5 billion?

He sighed inwardly. This Nanette Drew was not only well-informed but also sharp in thinking and intuition, and very resourceful. It was his good fortune to have recruited her.

"Understood! Then tomorrow I'll head to Firefly Media. Regarding Ferguson, I'll start the counterattack three days after fully taking over Firefly."

At this point, Nanette Drew brought up another matter: "By the way, BOSS, I have another plan I'd like your approval for. I plan to pull some people and, in addition to Southern Cable TV, set up a new political affairs channel."

"Political affairs channel?"

Li Mochen raised an eyebrow: "That sounds like a new word?"

"I coined it."

Nanette Drew explained with a smile: "A 24-hour channel broadcasting political affairs programs, including news, political commentary, political talk shows, etc., striving for timeliness and professionalism. Such a TV station would be the first of its kind in all of America. I plan to give it a try, initially relying on Southern Cable TV, and then spin it off once viewership reaches a certain scale. But it will likely burn a lot of money at the start."

Li Mochen rubbed his brow, knowing that this 24-hour political affairs channel contained Ms. Drew's ambitious aspirations.

"First, give me a proposal. Also, how much budget do we need? Ms. Drew, my financial resources are still limited; you need to act within your means."

...

Back at Unicorn Apartment, Li Mochen immediately invested the four Fate Stones he had obtained from Anthony into the "Divine Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda."

The latter didn't change much, except that a precious orb had condensed at the top of the pagoda's spire. It was about the size of a thumb, metallic to the touch, and looked unremarkable. However, the efficiency of the "Divine Fortune Purple Gold Pagoda" in converting otherworldly merits had greatly increased, reaching a height of ten strands per day. Combined with his current twenty-two strands per day, he could accumulate thirty-two strands of merit energy daily.

Additionally, Li Mochen speculated that the pagoda's "wish-granting" ability would also be enhanced. Previously, each Fate Stone absorbed by the pagoda had strengthened this aspect. Otherwise, yesterday he might not have been able to severely wound the Void Night Lord with less than two hundred strands of merit energy.

Of course, to determine the exact extent of the enhancement, Li Mochen would need to conduct some experiments.

After the Fate Stones, Li Mochen took out the "Amphitrite's Tears" and, over half a day, swallowed three drops at once!

This further strengthened his physique and partially healed his damaged soul.

If before, after absorbing the Life Spring, his divine soul had barely reached the level of the Out-of-Body realm, now it was at least at the early stage of the "Return to Void" realm—equivalent to around level 19 in this world—restoring about forty-five percent of its former strength.

One of the benefits this brought Li Mochen was a further enhancement of his control over his body. He could now master the newly increased power within his body without much training.

For Li Mochen, this was a timely help. After all, he would soon be fusing the strength talent of an "Iron Claw Behemoth" Lord, ushering in another surge in strength and physique.

And before the NHSAA tournament, he didn't have much time to train his control.

However, after using three "Amphitrite's Tears," Li Mochen felt a sense of fullness in his soul, meaning he couldn't absorb more "Amphitrite's Tears" or similar drugs until he fully refined the medicinal power of these three drops.

Moreover, his injury recovery would become increasingly difficult. There were significant thresholds between level 20 and Legendary, and between Legendary and Demigod. The same applied to his divine soul.

Now, besides needing more drugs, his own magical energy cultivation and the fusion with the original owner's soul were indispensable.

Li Mochen thought to himself that it was time to start investigating the truth behind the original owner's parents' death. The original Li Mochen's pursuit of power, wealth, and status had mostly been achieved. Now, only the obsession with Li Chunchu and his wife remained the greatest obstacle between them.