King of Hollywood

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Most Profitable Business in the World@@novelbin@@

Under the azure sky, fluffy white clouds drifted by, and the brilliant sunshine poured through the gaps in the clouds, making the verdant hillocks appear even more fresh. The trees that surrounded the area swayed their lush branches in the breeze, and the clear lake, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, began to ripple as if summer had arrived.

Thwack, the sound of a swing resonated, and a white ball soared in a high arc before it plopped into the water.

“See that, Claude?” Adrian said, shading his eyes with his hand and turned to Claude, who was sitting not far away under an umbrella, excitedly brandishing his club, “That parabola was quite wonderful!”

Claude sighed and shook his head, then covered his forehead as if he wanted to signal that he didn’t know the other man. Of course, they were at a private golf club—apart from them and a few caddies standing far away, no one else was present, so Claude soon lifted his head and called out, “I suggest you better discern your direction, Ed. Your shot has veered off to God knows where!”

“Really?” Adrian looked around and then raised his hand in an indifferent gesture, “Well, at least neither I nor the club flew off. That’s progress already.”

Claude rolled his eyes with resignation, stood up and chose a club from the bag, then walked over to Adrian and patted him on the shoulder firmly, “You better take a break, Ed.”

“Hey, I haven’t lost yet, Claude,” Adrian protested with a laugh, swinging his club as if he disagreed.

“Yeah, yeah, just two Molder Restaurant dinners, which indeed means nothing to you,” shrugged Claude, “how about we bet your limited edition Bentley sports car?”

“Are you sure?” Adrian immediately raised an eyebrow.

“You rascal,” Claude couldn’t help but chide with a laugh, “All right, let’s watch mine.”

Having said that, he turned and stepped onto the open ground, took the tee from the caddy and planted it into the ground, then placed the ball on it. He shaded his eyes to look toward the target, silently calculated, then took a deep breath and positioned himself over the ball.

Claude gripped the club with both hands, aiming at the ball and looking into the distance, made his first swing. Of course, it was just a warm-up, so he swung back without hitting the ball. Then he made a second swing, still without contact, using it as a measure of strength. Finally, with a snap, the club struck the ball hard, sending the white golf ball flying through the sky in an arc far more perfect than Adrian’s just moments ago, before it bounced several times upon landing.

“Did you see that, Ed? That’s how you play golf,” Claude turned back to Adrian with a mocking look after the caddy indicated the position, “It’s not just about hitting the ball out there.”

“Just say you’re a pro, Claude,” Adrian spread his hands.

The two exchanged a glance, laughed together, and then rose to leisurely walk towards where the golf ball had fallen.

“To be honest, looking at Mr. Cox’s beautiful golf course, I suddenly want to buy an estate, stroll through the fields with my woman, rest under the shade of trees, and swim in the lake. It must be very nice.”

“A woman of your own?” Claude raised an eyebrow, “Do you mean that? Miss Kate Beckinsale from the United Kingdom or that Italian model Monica Bellucci?”

“Each has their charm,” Adrian smiled faintly, “Experiencing these things with different women gives different rewards. I thought you would understand, Claude.”

“Of course, I understand. Although I settled down after graduation, I’ve never forgotten that from high school to university, we did it all together.” Claude shrugged and, after a two-second pause, sighed, “Anyway, do what you want.”

Adrian chuckled and patted his good friend’s shoulder. Even though Claude did not say it, how could he not guess? After all, Claude had often covered for the past Adrian, something he clearly remembered now. Even looking at it starkly, hadn’t Claude been a great help these past two years? Not to mention their partnership in setting up a media company. Such feelings are not easily found; therefore, Adrian was very grateful and equally confident that they would succeed. They would, certainly.

“By the way, do you remember our conversation at the start of last year?” He decided not to beat around the bush.

“Which one?”

“Quantum Fund.”

Claude stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at Adrian, “You seem to have gotten some news?”

Adrian was somewhat surprised; Claude’s response meant he had been paying attention.

“Yes,” he nodded, “If the intelligence is correct, Soros’s target is the British Pound.”

“Yes, I’ve received the same information,” Claude nodded. “Do you think we should get involved?”

“Why not?” Adrian heard the implications in his words. “Is there a problem?”

“I don’t think following their lead is a good idea,” Claude shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend getting involved.”

“I’d like to know the reason,” Adrian asked calmly.

“The profits are too low while the risks are too high,” Claude shrugged. “Preliminary estimates suggest that the profits won’t exceed ten percent, and Soros and the Quantum Fund can raise up to 7 billion dollars at most. If we were to participate, the capital we could deploy definitely could not exceed theirs, at best half of that. Even if we bank on their upper limit, the profits we would end up with wouldn’t be more than 4.5 billion dollars—and this is all assuming everything goes smoothly. We all know the financial market is incredibly volatile, and a slight misstep could lead to being swallowed whole, Soros included.”

Adrian couldn’t help but clap his hands, “Brilliant analysis, Crow. It looks like you’ve done a lot of research.”

“Of course, don’t lump me together with someone who spends their days messing with movies and women,” Claude raised his eyebrows.

“…Fine, I won’t quibble with you over this,” Adrian glared at him for a while before temporarily giving up on the notion of lecturing him. “I don’t think their chances of failure are that high. Soros, although he likes to speculate and gamble, is also a cautious fellow. Moreover, we’re just following behind them; even if something goes awry, we can react more quickly than they can. As for the profits, why can’t we deploy all our capital?”

“Oh, God, spare me,” Claude walked forward with his hand over his forehead. “Talking about this with someone who doesn’t understand a thing is truly painful.”

“Crow!” Adrian raised his voice in dissatisfaction.

“Okay, okay, if we invest all our capital, earning back a billion is certainly doable with the right maneuvers, but the consequence would be being invited for coffee by the FBI,” Claude sighed as he spoke.

“Going to the FBI for coffee? Why?” Adrian was completely puzzled.

“Think about it, mate, the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States,” Claude explained. “Politically, we are allies, natural friends, got it? That’s why I say the risk is too high. Soros is different from us; he can leave the United States and go elsewhere, but we can’t, we have other enterprises. Put it this way, if it’s just the Quantum Fund’s investment and our billions of dollars, the UK government can withstand it, and internal movements wouldn’t be too disruptive as, after all, it’s a commercial activity. However, once you attract all the international hot money, the UK government would have no choice but to exit the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. If that happens, the US government would go after not only the leader but also those who invested the most money!”

Adrian blinked, his expression showing a touch of surprise as if startled by this analysis. After holding this posture for a long time, he exhaled deeply, “It looks like… we have no choice but to give up.”

Claude’s concern was indeed valid, Adrian had also just recalled that Soros had been monitored by US officials and the media after thwarting the British Pounds in ’92. If it weren’t for a clever ruse in ’94 that fooled the FBI, he certainly wouldn’t have achieved such success in targeting the Mexican Peso. If they were to get involved, they would inevitably end up on the FBI’s blacklist. One is an ally and the other a backyard; the US government definitely wouldn’t allow them to cause chaos.

Just as Claude had said, they were different from Soros; after all, they weren’t true speculators. They had more important enterprises Here, and if these were to suffer because of this venture, it would truly be a loss not worth the gain.

Forget it, there will always be other opportunities. Adrian reassured himself. The British Pounds and Peso might be off the table, but they could still participate in targeting the Thai Baht. The US government would be happy for them to shear the wool off Southeast Asia; they just had to be careful not to touch those who had dealings with Hong Kong.

“I’m glad you think this way,” Claude laughed. “There will always be opportunities to make money. Let’s keep playing, I’m about to win.”

Adrian hummed lightly and walked with Claude toward the golf ball’s landing spot. After a few steps, he stopped again, his expression turning strange.

“What’s wrong now?” Claude turned his head back after walking two more steps.

“It’s no wonder I’ve always had this nagging feeling,” Adrian looked at him with a peculiar expression, “when did we have billions of dollars in funds?”

“Oh, that,” Claude smiled and suddenly became incredibly confident. “Do you remember what you reminded me of last year? I seized the opportunity and engaged in the most profitable business in the world.”

“That’s impossible. I know about the foreign trade company’s operations. There are profits, but certainly not that much,” Adrian shook his head, staring intently at Claude. “Tell me, Crow, how much did you make in the Soviet Union?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Of course, I wanted to talk about this when I asked you out today, besides the Quantum Fund matter. I need to know what your surprise is exactly!” Adrian stated earnestly.

“What a pity. I was planning to tell you after finishing up, your reaction would have been priceless,” Claude said regretfully. After seeing Adrian glaring at him, he raised his hands. “Well, it seems that it’s almost coming to an end over there too, so telling you in advance isn’t such a big deal—so far, we’ve pulled in a total of 14 billion US dollars from the Polar Bear!” (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, and support the author by reading the legitimate version!)