Chapter 2057: Response

On the way back, Zhao Fusheng sat in the car, never speaking.

Not until they returned to the hotel and went upstairs did Zhao Fusheng suddenly say to Liu Yiming, “Check on what Disney has been up to recently.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Although Liu Yiming found it somewhat puzzling, he still nodded.

He knew very well that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't ask him to look into this without reason; there must be something going on.

Back in his room, after letting Liu Yiming and the others rest, Zhao Fusheng stood alone by the window, gazing at the brightly lit skyscrapers outside, yet he felt no drowsiness at all.

The moment Kevin Feige brought that Tom before him today, Zhao Fusheng knew that Disney was probably planning to acquire Marvel.

His previous thinking had been somewhat off.

Regardless of how Marvel's The Incredible Hulk performed, Disney would likely want to take Marvel into its fold.

“Americans.”

After muttering to himself, Zhao Fusheng's face darkened.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered Disney acquiring Marvel; familiar with the course of history, he had even thought about how to respond and maximize his gains if it happened.

What truly annoyed Zhao Fusheng was Kevin Feige's behavior.

When he met with Sean Favreau before, and even when invited to the party, he never mentioned Disney.

And tonight, he actually brought Tom to him.

Did they really take him for a fool?

Or perhaps they thought that here in America, in Hollywood, Marvel was on the verge of revival and they didn't care about future investment?

Foolish!

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Zhao Fusheng's mouth.

He wanted to see what tricks they had up their sleeves.

……

……

The next evening, Zhao Fusheng obtained the materials that Liu Yiming had investigated.

"Marvel's top brass have been in frequent contact with Disney recently," Liu Yiming reported to Zhao Fusheng. "I contacted Miss Dong, and their discussion suggests that Marvel may have already reached a private cooperation agreement with Disney."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned, then said coldly, "Since that's the case, don't blame me for being unkind."

With that, Zhao Fusheng said to Liu Yiming, "Contact Sony and Time Warner."

"Sony? Time Warner?"

Liu Yiming was taken aback, then immediately nodded.

Although he didn't know the chairman's thoughts, he had to admit it was indeed a good idea.

Time Warner and Sony were Marvel's true enemies.

The relationships here were complex. DC Comics, under Time Warner, had once been in the same comic book industry as Marvel, and the two were competitors.

In the late 1960s, DC was acquired by Time Warner and is now a subsidiary. Superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all under their banner.

Sony, on the other hand, holds the rights to Spider-Man.

In fact, it's not just Sony; superheroes like Wolverine have their rights held by Fox.

There's no help for it—back then, Marvel was too poor and had to sell off the rights to its more popular superheroes to maintain cash flow.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have had to adapt lesser-known superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America into films.

It wasn't that they lacked ideas, but that they didn't hold the rights.

The reason Zhao Fusheng planned to contact Sony and Time Warner was simple: he wanted to muddy the waters even more.

For Zhao Fusheng, he didn't really care who Marvel's major shareholder was—whether Disney or another company—as long as Marvel could develop and he could benefit, he was happy to watch the show.

After all, the funds he had invested earlier had already earned him a good profit.

What truly bothered Zhao Fusheng was Marvel's behavior.

Business isn't done this way.

When he needed something from others, he would lower his posture. Once out of trouble, he would play all sorts of tricks. Even though he was Chinese, not American, Marvel's doing this made Zhao Fusheng very unhappy.

Therefore, he would rather cooperate with Sony and Time Warner to let Marvel know that some people should not be provoked.

Soon, Liu Yiming contacted the top executives of Sony and Time Warner.

Furthermore, Dong Chenxi also took a plane and rushed to the United States overnight.

In the following days, Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi met separately with the top executives of Time Warner and Sony.

For a time, Hollywood was rife with rumors that Future Investment intended to sell its Marvel shares.

Affected by this news, Marvel's stock price rose for several consecutive days.

But Kevin Feige and Disney were about to cry.

"What's going on?" Kevin Feige sat in front of Tom, looking astonished: "Why did Zhao Fusheng suddenly meet with the top executives of Sony and Time Warner?"

Tom smiled bitterly: "I don't know either. I didn't expect this Easterner to be so cunning."

"Bastard!"

Kevin Feige cursed, but his expression grew even uglier.

The board had already started to hold him accountable. Although this matter had caused Marvel's stock price to rise, the problem was that if Zhao Fusheng reached a cooperation with Sony and Time Warner, wouldn't that mean these two companies might enter Marvel?

Thinking that his hard work might be taken over by old rivals, this feeling was unbearable for any Marvel shareholder.

At this moment, the news of Kevin Feige's contact with Disney was also exposed, instantly making him a target of public criticism.

Businessmen are the most heartless and cold-blooded people in the world.

Back then, Kevin Feige had saved Marvel from danger, making him the perfect manager in the eyes of many Marvel directors.

Now, when Marvel encountered difficulties because of him, these people unhesitatingly abandoned Kevin Feige, even though they knew very well that his actions were for Marvel's sake.

But in the face of interests, good and evil, black and white, have never mattered.

"The board has contacted me, telling me not to provoke Zhao Fusheng for now." Tom looked at Kevin Feige: "Although we all know that the market's prediction for 'The Incredible Hulk' is not good, and Marvel is about to face difficulties, under the current circumstances, if we provoke Zhao Fusheng again, he might join forces with Sony or Time Warner."

He paused and said helplessly: "Then, pushing forward the acquisition plan will become even more difficult."

"What do you mean?"

Kevin Feige frowned. "You mean Disney is considering giving up the acquisition?"

"No, not giving up."

Tom shook his head. "On the contrary, we are even more confident about acquiring Marvel. But now is not the right time."

Looking at Tom, Kevin Feige finally understood.

He had been abandoned by Disney.

In the face of immense interests, Disney unhesitatingly abandoned him, its partner, and chose to wait and see.

And all of this was because of Zhao Fusheng.

...

"Chairman, Marvel is calling a board meeting." Liu Yiming came to Zhao Fusheng and bowed.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and looked at Dong Chenxi. "What do you think it's about?"

Dong Chenxi snorted. "Needless to say, Kevin Feige is resigning."

"How so?"

Zhao Fusheng asked with interest.

"Disney certainly doesn't want to step in now, which would mean going head-to-head with Sony and Time Warner, plus us. It's just not worth it."

Dong Chenxi spoke confidently, without a trace of worry. "So the cooperation with them is definitely off. Kevin Feige isn't stupid. If he doesn't resign now, is he waiting for the board to kick him out?"

"Yeah."

Zhao Fusheng nodded. "That guy is really quite smart."

"What are you planning?"

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng. "Although this guy's character isn't great, you have to admit he's good at corporate management."

She paused and lowered her voice. "And frankly, we hold a bit too much of Marvel's shares."

Clearly, Dong Chenxi was not optimistic about Marvel's prospects.

Or rather, in her view, investing these billions of dollars in Marvel was not as good as considering other projects.

Zhao Fusheng said nothing, just silently stared at the glass of water in front of him, lost in thought.