How can I justify myself as a Magnate if I don't indulge myself?-Chapter 485 - 222: Soft Persimmon = Gu Heng_2

Although there were dozens of computers, the number of operators was small, just a few people...

Yet these few people were working extremely hard...

They were constantly monitoring the data detection information and then collecting it.

In a separate office, a middle-aged man wearing glasses was making a phone call, his tone filled with laughter, "Director Zhang, although we have not cooperated much these past few years, my reputation at Zhuo Wei is still good, isn’t it?

It’s just a matter of delaying the payment for your 1 million comment entries, right? Day after tomorrow, I will send you 500,000 payment the day after tomorrow, but you have to promise me one thing."

"I heard that your business scope is no longer limited to Weibo, and you’ve started testing waters on TikTok and Kuaishou video platforms too, right? How about we collaborate? Could you help me post another 1 million comments on both Douyin and Kuaishou apps for the same price as Weibo, 0.5 yuan per post, with all payments made the day after tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, alright, Director Zhang is generous! Before noon at 12 PM the day after tomorrow, I’ll transfer the remaining 1.5 million payment in full to our collaboration account!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhuo Wei looked at the few people sitting in front of his desk and smiled, "Told you, didn’t I? Our studio has been quiet these years, but its influence in the industry still exists. A deal just worth two or three million, how could it crush us?

I’m processing the sale of that apartment in Shenzhen, and by the day after tomorrow, we should be able to receive the first payment, this bill should be settled then."

As he finished speaking, the few men sitting in front of Zhuo Wei exchanged glances. It took a few seconds before a chubby man couldn’t help but speak up, "Zhuo, are we really going to play this big?

In the past few years, we went around exposing information for money and have offended the entertainment industry to death. Out of the five partners in the studio, three have been jailed, and they still haven’t been released.

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Now, you want to resume the old business, no problem, we support you, given our reputation in the journalism circle is already ruined, and no decent media outlet would probably hire us.

But this time, I really don’t understand."

Zhuo Wei adjusted his glasses and replied, "I know you don’t understand, that’s why I’m bearing all the costs by myself this time, isn’t that enough?"

This time, apart from the chubby man, another man also wearing glasses stood up and said, "It’s not about the cost; several millions, although a lot, we can still manage.

It’s the consequences we can’t afford!

Have you seen the TikTok video that Gu Heng posted? He paid 7.135 billion in taxes! To put it bluntly, a regular listed company doesn’t pay that much in taxes in a year.

And such a person, why must you provoke him? These years we have gathered quite a lot of material on popular celebrities in the entertainment industry. If we just submit it to their companies, isn’t that money?

I think you’re getting carried away, you think just because you’ve exposed material on so many top celebrities, you can touch anyone!"

Clearly, what the man with glasses said was well received as the others looked at Zhuo Wei with serious eyes.

Zhuo Wei nonchalantly lit a cigarette and slowly said, "I know what you’re worried about, but we’ve been working together so long, don’t you know what kind of person I am? When have I ever done something that hurt you?"

"Because we know your character, that’s why we don’t understand!"

"When Gu Heng sent our studio’s journalist to the local police station in Geneva, I investigated him.

He’s completely a nouveau riche! He has no real connections with the heir of the LV Group, and even if he does, the LV Group is powerful in Europe and America, but can it really affect Hua Country?

As for paying 7.135 billion in taxes, I’ve seen that too, don’t make a big deal out of it.

Gu Heng clearly has almost no industry of his own; whether the source of that money is legitimate is another issue. To exaggerate a bit, aside from having some money, he has no influence domestically at all. Isn’t it that every year a few nouveau riches like him emerge only to be devoured completely by legitimate capital?"

"Even if what you said is true, that he has no influence, but do we need to offend him? What’s the benefit?"

Zhuo Wei smirked slightly, "Benefits? If we talk about benefits, there are plenty."

Celebrities’ careers are collapsing too quickly nowadays, and there are more and more of these "assembly line top-streamers" who only stay popular for a year or two. The stuff we make is becoming less and less valuable.

In the past, when we got some dirt on big stars, even if we charged 5 million, 10 million, their companies were willing to pay. We would each pocket a couple million—sweet, wasn’t it?

Now, what?

A team of more than a dozen people staked out Cai Xukun’s dark secrets for over three months. I alone threw in over a million in labor costs, but they were only willing to pay 500,000, not even covering the costs. Why is that?

It’s simply because those big companies no longer care about these artists. They know the artists have a short shelf life, taking whatever they can get, preferring their careers to collapse rather than paying up!

"What’s that got to do with you?"

The others were baffled.

"That’s why I’m considering a change. From now on, we’ll operate as a pure exposure studio, no longer asking those companies for money.

These companies might be stingy with us but they spare no expense in crushing their competitors.

From now on, we’ll set a clear price—whoever pays a bounty for someone’s secrets, we’ll take it. You’ve seen the current internet public opinion trends, right? When the time comes, we’ll make money from internet traffic in addition to bounty money. Earning a few hundred million a year will be a piece of cake, right?

The reason I targeted Gu Heng this time is simple: he’s famous and a pushover.

You gotta pick the softest persimmons.

Once the public opinion ferments a bit more, I’ll register our studio’s account and admit that this exposé came from us.

If Gu Heng doesn’t respond, then it confirms our exposé was correct. We’re absolutely "politically correct." In the eyes of the public, what is Gu Heng? He’s capital! We’re fighting against the capitalists. In the eyes of netizens, we’re definitely the underdogs. Gaining a fanbase of several hundred, even tens of millions, wouldn’t be hard, right?

And if Gu Heng responds, even better. We continue to stir public opinion; the bigger the scandal, the better. After all, we’re the "underdogs," giving voice to the ordinary people. We’re already on the moral high ground; the bigger the fuss, the better for us."

"What if he sues us?"

"Let him sue! Whatever he wants!" We’ve handled thousands, even hundreds of lawsuits over the years, right? Has any lawsuit ever really affected us? If worst comes to worst, we apologize and pay some money. How much will it cost? It’s nothing compared to what we make.

Plus, afterwards, we can spin it, saying we had to make a compromise under the "capital" threat. We might even get more famous.

Once we get our studio’s account going, even whitewashing and selling products won’t be a problem. Nowadays, an account with tens of millions of monetizable fans makes as much money in a year as an ordinary public company."

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Having said all this, Zhuo Wei was completely enjoying his own wonderful vision...

And those sitting in front of him just felt Zhuo Wei had lost his mind...

But they had no choice...

Having already boarded this pirate ship, whether it’s profit or loss, they couldn’t disembark now...

Their only hope now was that Gu Heng was really as Zhuo Wei said, a soft persimmon without the power to retaliate...

Otherwise, even though Hua Country is a society governed by law and wouldn’t assassinate them like abroad,

legally, a tycoon with billions in assets could crush them just like clay dolls...

...

Meanwhile, Gu Heng, who had already acquired flight authorization, was now on a plane to Jingcheng...