103: Chapter 103 Acquiring a TV Station: Public Opinion Must Be Controlled

The nightscape of New York crawled beneath his feet.

At the top floor of Titan Center, although the banquet had dispersed, the suffocating tension lingered in the air for a long time.

Those Wall Street financial tycoons who usually held sway were still trembling in their legs as they walked out the door.

They knew very well that from today on, an unreasonable Tyrannosaurus rex had been added to the jungle of Manhattan.

Chen Yuan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the flickering neon lights below.

He swirled the remaining red wine in his hand, his gaze deeper than the night.

"Boss, those old foxes have been scared out of their wits."

Victor trotted over, his face full of undisguised excitement, "When Douglas left just now, he couldn't even find his way."

"This is just the first step."

Chen Yuan took a sip of wine, his voice revealing no emotion, "The money is secured, the rules are set, but it's not enough."

Victor paused for a moment, asking hesitantly, "Boss, what do you mean by 'not enough'?"

Chen Yuan turned around and pointed to the giant wall-mounted monitor in the hall.

At this moment, the news was scrolling through in-depth commentary on "Umbrella Corporation entering New York."

A suit-clad expert was talking eloquently to the camera, his words sharp.

"...Chen Yuan's behavior is naked capital hegemony; an upstart like him, lacking roots, is destroying the commercial civilization of New York."

Chen Yuan watched the screen, a cruel arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Victor, if you killed a person, but all the cameras in the world said you were a firefighting hero."

"Then are you a murderer, or a hero?"

Victor rolled his eyes and chuckled, "That would be a hero, of course."

"The truth never grows in mouths; it lies in the ink of printing presses and satellite signals."

Chen Yuan handed the wine glass to Alice behind him.

"I want to buy the source of this voice."

"Boss, are you thinking of acquiring media?" Victor gasped, "The media in New York is all backed by those few great families."

"So what?"

Chen Yuan sneered and strode toward the desk, his tone overbearing and unquestionable.

"Since they can't stand me, I'll take away their opportunity to speak."

"Red Queen, pull up the top three TV stations with the highest ratings in America; I want to see their financial cards."

"Searching... Targets locked."

The voice of Red Queen sounded in the office, with a metallic coldness.

"GBC (Global Broadcasting Company), one of the three major mainstream channels in America, with an audience of over two hundred million. Currently, due to the parent company's poor management, it is facing a serious financial crisis."

Chen Yuan stared at the GBC headquarters building flashing on the screen, along with those strings of red loss data.

"This is it."

"Victor, bring your team of actuaries and my checkbook."

"It is ten o'clock at night; by six o'clock tomorrow morning."

Chen Yuan held up three fingers, his tone as flat as if he were ordering breakfast, "I want to see the promotional video for Umbrella Corporation on GBC's morning news."

Victor made a bitter face and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Boss, that is a multi-billion dollar operation; those people on the board..."

"Give them a fifty percent premium."

Chen Yuan interrupted him, a deep blue light flickering in his eyes, "If they don't sign, tell them I will have the private dirt on every one of their directors played on loop on their own channel."

The efficiency of Wall Street reached its peak under the dual catalysis of money and fear.

The GBC headquarters building was brightly lit in the dead of night.

Those directors who originally claimed to be elegant, after receiving the "death check" issued by Chen Yuan, rushed into the conference room without even dressing properly.

Victor sat at the head of the negotiating table, his feet still shod in those incongruous custom leather shoes.

He toyed with a thick stack of blackmail material in his hand, flashing a devilish smile at the old chairman in the main seat.

"Gentlemen, the boss's patience is limited; there are four hours left until dawn."

Four o'clock in the morning.

An acquisition agreement, enough to be recorded in the annals of media history, was signed in the conference room filled with sweat and panic.

Umbrella Corporation acquired a controlling stake in GBC with 6.8 billion US dollars in cash.

This acquisition, from initiation to completion, took less than six hours.

In New York, where processes and games are paramount, this was simply a miracle.

Or rather, an armed robbery.

In the office at Titan Center.

Chen Yuan had changed into a sophisticated bathrobe.

He sat in the spacious media area, the screen displaying the real-time feed of GBC.

At this moment, the first ray of morning sunlight was spilling over New York.

The program that was supposed to broadcast the morning weather was suddenly interrupted.

The screen flashed, and the originally dull tones became solemn and grand.

The red and white Umbrella icon slowly rotated, occupying the center of the entire screen.

"Good morning, America."

A powerful narration rang out, the screen displaying the grandeur of the Umbrella building.

"Umbrella, shielding you from unknown storms."

The commercial was only thirty seconds long, but that overwhelming sense of oppression was transmitted into thousands of households through the airwaves.

Chen Yuan watched the screen and nodded with satisfaction.

"Public opinion is like this glass of red wine."

"As long as I want, it can flow down everyone's throat according to my will."

Just then, the image on the screen cut back to the studio.

A female anchor wearing a white professional suit appeared in front of the camera.

She had a cold, beautiful face with an extremely aggressive aura.

Her long brown hair was pinned behind her head, her gaze sharp, and her temperament aloof.

That was Andrea, the undisputed star anchor of GBC, and the "thorny rose" of the entire American news industry.

Even though a shocking change had just occurred at the station, she still maintained absolute professionalism.

But deep within those steady eyes, Chen Yuan caught a trace of unease and stubbornness.

That was the instinctive resistance of prey when encountering a higher-level predator.

Chen Yuan leaned back in his chair, his fingertips gently grazing the screen.

The sound of his nails touching the glass was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

"Boss, this Miss Andrea is very difficult to handle."

Victor pushed the door open from outside, holding the freshly printed employee roster in his hand.

"She previously rejected the pursuits of three financial tycoon heirs."

"She even publicly blasted our 'Dali' drink on the show."

After hearing this, Chen Yuan was not angry; instead, the interest in his eyes grew stronger.

He stared at that face on the screen, cold to the point of being sacred.

"A thorny rose is more fun, isn't it?"

Chen Yuan stood up and adjusted his bathrobe.

He walked to the screen, his finger stopping precisely at Andrea's lush red lips.

The pleasure of controlling everything made the genes in his body tremble slightly.

"Boss, do you mean to replace her?" Victor asked cautiously.

Chen Yuan shook his head.

He turned his head to look at Victor, a flicker of evil in his eyes that made Victor tremble with fear.

"It would be a pity to replace her."

"I want to personally pull out this thorn, one by one."

"Victor, go notify her; she doesn't need to go back after the program recording is finished."

Chen Yuan sat back down on the sofa.

He watched the woman on the screen who was broadcasting the news to the national audience, enunciating word by word.

"Tell her."

"I want her to come see me tonight."