To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 524: Chapter 307: The Collapse of Landick (Part 1)

“Isn’t Huaxia the land of propriety? Why are they so impolite?”

Standing at the entrance of Fang Cheng Studio, Landick looked back at the studio with dissatisfaction.

The automatic door had already closed, and the little cat lying at the reception desk nonchalantly wagged its tail without even glancing at the two people at the door.

Although disappointed, Landick merely complained a couple of sentences, then gave up.

Sitting in the taxi en route to the airport, he closed his eyes and began to contemplate what to do next.

He had made ample preparations, ready to kick off the contingency plan as soon as he failed here.

...

He had leveraged his own company’s stock short selling up to ten times its margin. Once the news of the failed acquisition was released, Druid Entertainment’s stock would plummet, and he would be able to cash out a significant sum from the stock market.

Of course, if Druid Entertainment’s stock still rose, then he would also face the risk of margin calls and bankruptcy.

But those stock investors were more panic-stricken and greedy one than the other. Such an event was impossible, making the investment virtually without risk.

Besides, he had already contacted various stock institutions and company executives. Everyone would short sell Druid Entertainment’s stock together at this time, jointly harvesting this batch of “leeks.”

Such actions were of course illegal, but he had several capable scapegoats who would ensure that nothing could be traced back to him in the end.

Of course, there might be some discontent from the board of directors, but as long as he could bring back profit, that too could be resolved.

In any case, everything was within his plan, everything was under control.

Many things were both opportunities and challenges. Once again, he was thankful for the short-selling mechanism in the US stock market; it’s truly a pity that the A-shares market doesn’t have it.

Checking the time, he said to Leon who sat beside him, “It’s time. Let them know the acquisition in Huaxia failed. Also release the news that we acquired the wrong studio previously. Let’s make the negative news even more intense.”

Leon, looking at Landick before him, felt anew how far this man would go for his own benefit.

However, he was just a minor assistant, unable to intervene in the affair of corporate higher-ups. He could only prepare to send back the various intelligence as instructed by Landick.

Just as he was about to send the messages, Landick suddenly raised his hand and said, “Wait!”

Leon, who was ready to press the send button, paused and looked at Landick, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing, carry on.”

Re-closing his eyes, Landick sank back into his seat.

The seat of the luxury car was soft and comfortable, the air conditioning just right, and the driver was skilled; despite the speed of eighty miles per hour, the ride was so smooth that not a single bump was felt.

But just a moment ago, he had suddenly experienced a sense of palpitations, as if he was about to make a wrong decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

After thinking through the issues once more, he still couldn’t find any fault in his plans, and he could only attribute it to a delusion.

Yet, that unpleasant premonition shadowed him, leaving him completely puzzled.

Arriving at the airport, he discovered he still had two hours before his flight took off.

He could have taken the time to shop and let the company foot the bill. However, that sense of foreboding came again, making him reluctant to visit any place.

Sitting in the business lounge, he drank the complimentary grape wine. The numbing effect of alcohol made him slightly more at ease, and then he started reading the comments on the social media platform Bluebird.

As he had expected, the company had already released the news of the acquisition failure, and the comments on Bluebird were already showing signs of getting out of control.

[Landick! I FXXX! FXXXXX!]

[Don’t let me see you! I swear if I knew where you were, you’d be dead!]

[You should win the Nobel Peace Prize because when you show up, everyone will only fire at you!]

[I knock your mother! I say I knock your mother!] (This sentence is in Chinese.)

Leon also read these comments, and the players’ fury seemed about to leap out from behind the screen, making him shudder with fear.

With several negative news items stacking up, any goodwill toward Landick instantly evaporated, making him the new target of public vitriol.

All sorts of strange memes started to trend rapidly, Landick’s public photos becoming the subject of players’ Photoshop mockery. On anonymous forums like 4chan, a myriad of memes ridiculing Landick spread wildly in an extreme manner.

Even though he wasn’t the direct target of the online outrage, Leon still felt a shock upon seeing these images.

Imagining if he were the protagonist of this incident, perhaps he would directly fall into depression.

But glancing at Landick beside him, Leon noticed that Landick almost didn’t react but instead handed over a photo with a corpse on it and, pointing to the picture, said, “Don’t you think the Photoshop skills of this person aren’t bad?”

Leon’s expression twisted for a moment as he responded to Landick, “Aren’t you scared at all? They are making death threats!”

“Not scared. After all, they’re just barking dogs that don’t bite. When it comes to these people, I’ve always been indifferent. Ah, the stock market is about to open; I need to see how much I’m going to make this time.”

Pulling out his phone, Landick eagerly began to check the stock market, but the expression on his face gradually turned to stone.