Shadow Empire

What exactly did Chapter 1069 say, and what were the different methods?

At the end of May, Barbara called Lance and said she would be coming to New Gold City in a couple of days.

Wanli Pictures released a number of films this year, and with the "box office revenue sharing system" being promoted by the Lance family and Wanli Distribution Company, it is replacing the old film buyout system, and more and more people are starting to rely on Lance's distribution company.

Some have even attempted to sue Wanli Film & Television Distribution Company for alleged monopoly. If it weren't for several other large production companies also pushing their own revenue-sharing models, they might actually have succeeded.

Many people have already seen the huge profits involved, and like sharks that have smelled blood, they are rushing towards this place from a great distance.

For every movie shown through Wanli Film & Television Distribution Company, Lance would receive two cents from the sale of each ticket.

Don't underestimate these three cents. In reality, a movie often sells hundreds of thousands of tickets across the entire Federation. Some movies with decent production values ​​and passable stories can sell millions of tickets.

For some very popular movies, the number of tickets sold exceeds ten million.

Based on five million tickets, it could provide Wanli Issuance Company with a commission of 150,000.

The company now releases at least forty films every year. Even if some of them are not of good quality, the overall revenue from this aspect is between three and four million.

That's no small sum in this day and age.

Many listed companies may only make this much profit in a year, and this is just a part of the entire Wanli Group.

The ever-expanding cinema chains can also take a huge cut of the box office revenue, followed by talent agencies, and then the most important part of the film industry: production companies.

Wanli Pictures produces about fifty films a year. They operate through an internal system, so they don't calculate those fees or anything like that.

Some of these are big-budget productions, and some are small-budget productions.

As people's incomes rise, more people are willing to buy movie tickets with their families and enjoy a wonderful time in the cinema.

Furthermore, the booming development of the film industry has brought more attention to people, such as the emergence of color films with brighter colors, which are about to be widely promoted.

The film industry is developing at an increasingly rapid pace, attracting more and more people to enter the field, which intensifies the competition within the industry.

Barbara is considered one of the core leading actresses of Wanli Pictures. On the one hand, she is the sister of Lance's wife, and on the other hand, she has excellent qualities in all aspects and has already gained many fans and admirers on the big screen.

It's said that people would occasionally drive convertibles to the film studio to wait for Barbara after get off work, but unfortunately, there haven't been any rumors about Barbara so far.

This makes people feel both incredulous and yet somehow perfectly natural.

How could such an outstanding woman fall into the grave of marriage so early?
Many people believe that if Barbara gets married, she will definitely leave the film industry. People don't want her to leave so soon; they think she should create more excellent works before leaving, rather than now.

From June to August is the peak season for the release of movies during the federal summer vacation, including many big-budget films.

Because more people need entertainment during summer vacation, and students are also out of school, they are willing to try new things or watch movies they don't know.

Therefore, this is a huge market that everyone is vying for, and it is also the period of the most intense "battle".

Barbara will be coming to New Gold City at the end of the month to promote "My War," a patriotic war film in which she plays a nurse accompanying the army.

Because Lance doesn't like to romanticize war, the company's war films have a completely different feel from those of other film companies.

Other film companies always exaggerate the love between the male and female protagonists, covering up the cruelty of war.

Last year, they also selected a "Top Ten War Movie Scenes". The number one scene was the one where the male protagonist, covered in blood and wounds, had just come down from the battlefield and immediately kissed the female protagonist.

The camera zooms in from a distance as they kiss passionately, then zooms out again, creating a very special feeling.

Some film critics called it last year's "best kiss," and the female and male leads are also very famous actors, winning first place in the poll.

No films from Wanli Film Company were selected last year because their films often focus more on the brutal reality of war.

The directors and their team went to the battlefield and filmed a lot of useful war footage, which they then used to create a war footage archive.

When filming war movies, some real footage is cut in, which can cause physical discomfort to some people.

Of course, the company's explanation to the outside world was that these were all actors and props, which unexpectedly earned them the annual "Film Association Best Props Award," which can be considered an unexpected gain.

Whether it makes money or not is not important. What matters is to accurately depict the cruelty of war and let the film's artistry speak for itself.

Making money is something to be left to other things.

Lance can get some subsidies from Congress for promoting mainstream culture, and there are also local tax rebate policies. It can't be said that he makes a fortune, but he definitely makes money.

The market is gradually accepting this kind of movie. People are tired of seeing male and female protagonists crawling out of two trenches and embracing and kissing passionately on a battlefield where bullets are flying. On the contrary, movies like those produced by Wanli Pictures, which are full of cruelty, are becoming popular.

The company has decided to increase its promotional efforts, not expecting outstanding results, but at least hoping to achieve some success in the film industry this summer.

Barbara heard that Lance was currently in New Gold City, so she took the initiative to call him.

Lance did not refuse to host Barbara, who was coming to visit. He had many places to stay here, so hosting Barbara was no problem, let alone the entire film crew.

Two days passed quickly. Lance picked up Barbara at the train station. The crew members who accompanied them didn't say anything after Barbara and Lance left.

The producer tried to stop him, but his assistant held him back, looking at him like he was an idiot. "That's Mr. Lance White. Don't you want to quit?"

Lance is not only the honorary chairman of the board of directors of Wanli Pictures, but also the honorary chairman of the Film Association. Although he doesn't personally get involved in these matters, his influence in the film industry is still very strong.

Not to mention that he now owns numerous businesses, has connections with Congress, and is rumored to have become an important foreign advisor, responsible for coordinating negotiations between the federal government and Lapa.

As for those identities that are inconvenient to mention, there are even more!
Trying to stop someone like that is tantamount to courting death.

The producer looked distressed. "What about tomorrow's publicity?"

His assistant could only look helpless. "That depends on whether Barbara can remember it."

As for disturbing?

just forget it.

The producer felt his assistant was right; it was clearly smarter not to offend Lance than to have Barbara participate in the promotional activities.

Offending Lance could instantly ruin their future in this industry.

There's no need to kick yourself out over such a trivial matter.

Wanli Pictures is wonderful because anyone can apply for projects, even the company's cleaning staff. As long as they have a complete project proposal, they can apply for projects.

Nobody wants to lose such a good job.

Barbara sat in the car, tapping the thick glass window twice with her finger with some curiosity. "Your car looks different from the ones in Golden Harbor City."

Lance nodded and explained, "This is a bulletproof car."

It was only then that Barbara realized that the man in front of her had many identities, some of which posed a constant risk to her.

"Would someone assassinate you?" she wondered.

Lance nodded again. "Yes, I've been assassinated many times, more than once."

"However, I've been lucky enough to survive, so I chose a bulletproof car, at least so I can be more at ease when facing trouble."

Barbara was very curious about the car. "It must be very expensive."

"Around fifty thousand yuan." Hearing this price, she still gasped. "You're really willing to spend that much!"

Lance smiled and said, "It's just a few tens of thousands of dollars."

Just as they were talking about the new movie, the convoy suddenly slowed down, and Lance stopped talking to Barbara and looked ahead.

There are cars everywhere ahead, it's a bit congested.

Turn left at the next intersection and you'll reach Detland Street. It can get congested here sometimes, which is normal, and it will clear up quickly. Lance has already spotted the police cars.

“Perhaps we should wait a while,” he said.

Barbara didn't object to this; she hoped to spend more time alone with Lance.

She sat down towards Lance. "I know you spoke with Patricia on the phone before you came here. Do you know what we talked about?"

Lance turned his gaze away from outside and asked with some curiosity, "What did you say?"

Barbara's gaze was slightly drawn to a pedestrian with a somewhat distorted expression outside the window behind Lance. As an actress, and now a successful performing artist, she was well aware of the complexity of human expressions.

However, she was only attracted for a moment before her gaze returned to Lance's face.

Perhaps Cooper didn't know that just a second ago, he was less than five meters away from the "answer" he wanted.

Even if he knew, it wouldn't make any difference. He couldn't speak directly with a big shot like Lance, nor could he get any reward back from Lance.

This is a meticulously planned harvesting game, using greed as bait to lure in those who can never be satisfied with their greed, and then catching them all in one fell swoop.

That's how it is in the financial market: when someone is always immersed in stories of others getting rich quick, they themselves will also yearn to become one of those people.

Even if they know that what they are doing carries enormous risks at this moment, they will not give up easily, after all... what if?
Failure and success are always just a step apart. In this terrible disaster, there were also those who managed to escape successfully. They escaped from the mountainside or even the mountaintop, becoming a new miracle on Detland Street.

Miracles and disasters coexist; people can only see the living miracles, but not the living disasters.

Cooper ran quickly toward the exchange; a resolution was needed today. The nature of this case was too egregious, and the Financial Supervisory Commission and Congress were taking it very seriously.

They investigated the situation at an unimaginable speed, so today is the "final chapter" of this game.

Cooper almost lost his shoes while running, and the fear, anticipation, unease, anxiety, and terror on his face made him look like he was going through something terrible.

When he arrived at the entrance of the exchange, a large crowd had already gathered there, and he noticed something quite unusual.

There were not only police officers here, but also some agents in FBI uniforms.

The FBI's power is quietly expanding. Congress and the president both want more power, and in the federal government, the judiciary is a more concrete manifestation of that power.

The FBI director requested a joint investigation, and considering the considerable convenience he had provided, the president agreed.

Of course, these are things that Cooper doesn't know and doesn't need to know. He ran here, panting, looking at the officials of the Financial Regulatory Commission standing on the high platform.

"...Hope Mining's top management and board of directors have all fled the Federation, and we do not yet know their whereabouts."

"We have confirmed with the official government of the new government of Lapa that Hope Mining is acquiring only mines that have no mining value, and the total acquisition price will not exceed 500,000 federal soles."

“They falsified mining records and bought ore from other mines, creating an information gap by taking advantage of the information blockade and suppression during the Lapa Civil War.”

"In addition, we have found evidence from multiple departments that they used money to corrupt officials and expedite the approval process for listing on the stock exchange."

"These individuals who violated the rules have been suspended and are being held accountable."

"We will continue to monitor the funds and personnel on the run, and if there is any news, we will publish an announcement in The Investor's Daily and Finance magazine as soon as possible."

"Based on our current assessment of Hope Mining's existing assets, their actual assets amount to approximately 270,000 federal soles."

"There are approximately 55 million shares in circulation. Our initial compensation plan is one cent for every two shares held."

"As we recover more and more funds, the amount of compensation we receive will also increase. We will continue to monitor and track this case, so please keep your stock certificates safe..."

Cooper was drenched in sweat. His arrival was only partly due to the compensation they offered.

Two shares, one cent?

Fake!

His body was trembling. Although he had known for the past few days that this might be the outcome, when the actual result came, he still couldn't control his panic, shortness of breath, and a feeling that he was about to die!

He clutched the file folder in his hand tightly, his mind filled with the shouts of the "victims," ​​and numbly walked to the registration area next door.

He wasn't really in the finance industry, so he didn't realize that there was a 99% chance the money was unrecoverable.

The Financial Supervisory Commission's proposed solution is merely using a vague hope to control them; what if things go wrong?
Just like they think the stock market might skyrocket, what if they actually manage to bring all these people and their money back?

While others were still "besieging" the Financial Supervisory Commission officials, Cooper had already arrived at the registry office.

There weren't many people queuing here, and those who were queuing were all "laymen" like Cooper.

He looked back and saw the stockbroker just moments before, but in the blink of an eye, the man had vanished.

He staggered along with the group and soon arrived at his place. He showed his stock certificates and said, "I have 20,000 shares, about 300 to 500 shares."

Then he gave his name, home address, and phone number.

After registering him, the staff wrote him a check and gave it to him, saying, "This is your first compensation."

At this point, he had completely lost all hope. He picked up the check and glanced at it, feeling a wave of dizziness. "One hundred and seventeen dollars and five cents?"

The staff member gave a slightly regretful, smiling look. "I'm afraid that's the case, sir."

Cooper couldn't help but laugh. "What the hell can this do?"

The staff seemed to have a lot of similar experience. “Sir, you can have a good meal here, then buy a ticket home and start your life anew.”

"I believe you could earn this much money through your hard work before, so you can do it again now!"

Cooper was getting a little frantic, and his movements became a bit too exaggerated, so the policeman next to him put his hand on his holster.

This made Cooper calm down instantly. "You're right, this is my problem."

He intended to tear up the check, but in the end he put it in his pocket.

He actually has a lot of troubles to deal with right now, such as bank statements, which are worth about one or two thousand yuan, or even more.
He couldn't remember clearly.

Just as he turned around, looking at this bustling, decadent world with a bewildered expression, a loud bang suddenly rang in his ears, and the ground seemed to shake.

The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent, but then came an even sharper scream.

Cooper touched the scalding liquid on his face, then turned to look at the guy lying under the table, whose eyeballs had been squeezed out by the immense pressure and rolled to his feet.

Although the man's facial features were now completely collapsed, distorted, and deformed, he could still recognize that this was his stockbroker.

(End of this chapter)