Chapter 43: Fear is the Source of Inspiration

"Did you invite me here just to talk about this kind of nonsense?" Shoichi frowned.

Tadashi Fujiwara said with a nervous and uneasy expression, "Of course not. I was just furious to see you being slandered, so I couldn't help saying a bit more."

"You said too much."

Shoichi handed the newspaper to Ai, telling her to study it carefully and see how people criticized her dear older brother.

Ai, however, read it with great relish.

Most of the content was attacks directed at Shoichi, which she found immensely entertaining. She simply loved this kind of reading material. Moreover, the details written inside were quite explosive; the newspaper had managed to uncover many insider secrets that even she, who stayed close to Shoichi, was unaware of. It was truly impressive. She only wondered if such a formidable newspaper could withstand Shoichi's retaliation.

Tadashi Fujiwara said timidly, "What I actually wanted to say is that the price for your acquisition of the theater chain can be reduced by another ten percent."

"How could I possibly feel good about that?" Shoichi put on a troubled expression.

Tadashi's face turned completely pale. "You must accept it, otherwise I will feel terribly guilty! Selling the theater chain to you at such a high price truly weighs heavily on my conscience."

Under Tadashi's strong insistence, Shoichi very reluctantly agreed to his request.

After the meal, Tadashi offered to drive Shoichi back, but Shoichi declined.

Once inside the car, Shoichi tested Ai by asking, "Do you know why Tadashi Fujiwara suddenly offered to lower the price for me again?"

What other reason could there be?

Wasn't it because his father refused to sell it to you at a low price, so you directly drove his father to suicide?

Superintendent Matsumoto investigated you, and his daughter was poisoned shortly after.

How could he possibly dare not lower the price?

"I don't know," Ai said in a soft, naive tone.

Shoichi stroked Ai's head and whispered, "It's sincerity. Tadashi felt my sincerity, which is why he took the initiative to lower the price."

Ai nodded with a look of half-understanding, though her heart was raging wildly in turmoil.

"Ai, you must remember that sincerity is the ultimate killer move."

"Understood," Ai nodded.

*Can you please stop killing people?*

...

Shoichi was not some kind of crazed murderer.

Correction, he had never killed anyone in the first place.

Right now, he had no major conflicts with anyone, so naturally, after people were carried away by the Grim Reaper, they wouldn't come back to trouble Shoichi.

Shoichi was finally able to enjoy a rare period of peace.

During this time, he took the opportunity to check on the development of his companies.

The construction company managed by Akemi Miyano had already gotten on track. Akemi had grown familiar with the operations, and various engineering projects were progressing in an orderly fashion. These projects were enough to sustain them for quite a while, so expansion plans were temporarily put on hold.

However, Akemi kept nagging and nagging, constantly demanding to see her younger sister.

It was getting quite annoying—where was he supposed to go find Sherry?

The newspaper business was progressing the fastest and doing the best. It had already secured a firm foothold in Tokyo. The next step was to stabilize the subscriber base, continue deeply cultivating the Tokyo region, and then they could begin expanding.

The target for expansion would be Osaka.

Osaka was the stronghold of the Sumitomo family, and the assistance Shoichi could receive there was incomparable to what he had in Tokyo. In Tokyo, businesses were practically left to fend for themselves; Osaka would be much more comfortable.

It was about time to return to the family estate.

Next was the entertainment company. Gin was nagging him relentlessly, even more annoying than Akemi.

Was it really such a big deal just because he took a little bit of money from him?

Did he have to call him every single day?

It wasn't like he wasn't going to pay it back.

Shoichi felt rather melancholy. The crew had already started filming, and the theater chain acquisition was complete; they were just waiting for the movie to be released.

Although the purpose of making this film wasn't entirely pure, the box office revenue still had to be earned. After all, the original *Ring* had done quite well at the box office.

As for now, although Yumi's acting skills remained uncertain, the director had a pistol pointed right at his head, which should surely stimulate his potential and help him direct a better film, right?

If the finished product turned out poorly, he would simply have to ask Gin to go and "exchange pleasantries" with the director once more.

He just hoped the revenue splits from the other theater chains would satisfy him, otherwise he would have to resort to his business warfare "killer move" again—relying on pure sincerity to reform them.

Ai continued to endure in silence at Shoichi's house.

After the incident with Sayuri, she finally remembered that she was a chemist.

She shouldn't use her own weaknesses to attack Shoichi's strengths.

As a chemist, she should exact her revenge using a chemist's methods.

"Mr. Shoichi, the filming has been completed."

"So fast?"

"We worked overtime to finish it, but post-production is still required," Hideo Nakata said in a low voice over the phone.

Hideo Nakata always harbored deep dread toward the man who had forced him to direct at gunpoint.

Although he was quite satisfied with his film and believed it to be a remarkably excellent horror movie, he could not sway Shoichi's mind.

If Shoichi wasn't satisfied, he would literally treat people to bullets.

"I hope the post-production can be a bit faster, because the investor of this movie keeps pushing me. You wouldn't want to make things difficult for me, right?" Shoichi said with a smile.

"Rest assured, I will speed up the production process," Nakata replied.

"I have full faith in you. However, to help you finish your work even faster, I've prepared a little gift for you," Shoichi said.

"A little gift?"

Nakata was somewhat surprised. Could he actually receive a little gift?

"Get to work hard." Shoichi didn't tell him what the gift was.

Maintaining a sense of mystery made it more of a surprise, didn't it?

After hanging up with Hideo Nakata, Shoichi made another phone call, this time to Vodka:

"Hello? Vodka, come over and do me a favor."

"No time," Vodka replied bluntly.

He was a capable agent of the Organization, not a domestic servant of the Sumitomo family; why should he listen to him?

"It's about money. The money Gin deposited with me will soon be laundered through legal channels. You're working for the Organization, after all," Shoichi said.

Vodka frowned, and only after receiving Gin's approval did he ask Shoichi, "What do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple. Just hold a gun and point it at someone," Shoichi said.

When dealing with these literary and artistic creators, one simply had to point a gun at their heads and crack a whip behind them to boost their productivity.

Besides, a horror movie director would surely find more inspiration amidst terror.

Shoichi was merely helping him create a classic.

Now that the film was completed, they needed to consider theater screening schedules and revenue splits.

Naturally, his own theaters would offer the best treatment. As for the other theaters, Shoichi would just have to go through the trouble of negotiating with them one by one.

Hopefully, having gained a modest reputation in the Tokyo business circles, people would treat him with sincerity.

...

*A transitional chapter, slightly dry. The author is already stockpiling chapters in preparation for publication. Asking for recommendation votes, monthly votes, and golden guild sponsorships.*