The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 108

108. The Typhoon’s Landing (3)

Toronto, Canada.

The basic cityscape wasn’t much different from Chicago. If there was a difference, it was the atmosphere.

Something indefinable set Toronto apart from Chicago.

A quiet park in Toronto.

A senior man was sitting on a bench, looking at the pond.

A middle-aged woman approached the man.

“Hello. It’s a pleasant afternoon.”

The man didn’t turn his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the pond.

“It can’t be a pleasant afternoon when an uninvited guest appears.”

The middle-aged woman sat next to the man. She was wearing a Versace two-piece suit and Valentino shoes. In short, she was dressed luxuriously.

“Is a junior [someone younger or less experienced] who has come to visit after a long time an uninvited guest?”

The man gave a bitter smile.

“You seem to want to mock me.”

“Perhaps.”

“Why did the witch of San Francisco come to find me?”

The witch of San Francisco.

The middle-aged woman sitting next to the man was none other than Kani Paul, the CFO [Chief Financial Officer] of Bank of America.

And the man sitting next to her was Neil Hamilton, the former head of JP Morgan Investment Bank.

“I wanted to talk a little.”

“Talk? If it was a proposal, you should have made it 30 years ago.”

30 years ago, both of them were young.

“Neil, you’re not my type.”

“Wasn’t I?”

“Didn’t you know?”

“I thought you had been admiring me for the past 30 years, but I was wrong.”

A dry joke.

Nevertheless, Kani Paul was kinder than when she talked to Lyra Marine.

“Oh, didn’t Neil like me?”

Neil Hamilton turned his head and raised his voice.

“Me? Like you?”

“If not, I’m disappointed.”

Neil Hamilton turned his gaze back to the pond.

“I liked your intelligence a little.”

“That’s a relief. At least there was something you liked about me.”

“So, what’s the reason for coming? I don’t think you came to mock me.”

Behind the chair where the two were sitting, two men who appeared to be Kani Paul’s bodyguards were standing.

“I wanted to hear a story.”

“A story?”

“About Victoria Corporation. You can tell me now, can’t you?”

Since he had left JP Morgan, there was no secret he had to keep.

“I didn’t expect that company to come out of your mouth.”

“Is it true that you resigned because of Victoria Corporation?”

Neil Hamilton’s forehead creased for a moment.

“If I made a mistake, it was choosing the wrong successor.”

He had entrusted Sean Luke with matters concerning Victoria Corporation, but it didn’t go as he intended.

“Sean, you mean?”

“That friend’s work was clumsy.”

“Was that all?”

“You seem to want there to be a significant problem.”

Kani Paul put her Birkin bag [a high-end handbag] down next to her and said.

“I thought you were reprimanded for misusing $1 billion.”

$1 billion.

The amount JP Morgan paid to acquire a 10% stake in Victoria Corporation.

When this deal was first announced in the press, Wall Street was turned upside down.

“Did you think I would be swayed by such a small amount of money?”

“So, it was a voluntary retirement?”

Neil Hamilton narrowed his brows and said.

“You’re not being yourself, beating around the bush.”

“Do you want me to get to the point?”

“A CFO isn’t someone with a lot of free time, is it?”

“That’s right.”

To Neil Hamilton, Bank of America was another kind of nemesis.

‘I have a bad relationship with Bank of America until the end.’

If Bank of America hadn’t moved, he would still be on Wall Street.

“If there’s anything you want to ask, I’ll answer only three questions.”

Kani Paul smiled slightly as Neil Hamilton held up three fingers.

“Neil, you’ve become more relaxed since you retired. You’re even letting me ask three questions instead of one.”

“Hahaha, you’ll know when you retire.”

Kani Paul raised her tone and asked.

“Can I ask the first question?”

“Of course.”

“Neil, did you think Victoria Corporation was worth $10 billion?”

A subtle smile lingered around Neil Hamilton’s mouth.

“Are you thinking of investing in Victoria Corporation?”

“That’s not an answer, is it?”

“Alright, I’ll tell you. I didn’t invest in Victoria Corporation.”

Kani Paul’s face drained of color upon hearing his answer.

“What does that mean? Are you saying JP Morgan didn’t invest in Victoria Corporation?”

Was he saying that he invested $1 billion in Victoria Corporation for money laundering?

If that was the case, Neil Hamilton had gotten one over on her.

‘No. That can’t be.’

The unusual contract between Victoria Corporation and JP Morgan was enough to attract the attention of Wall Street and the IRS [Internal Revenue Service, the US tax authority].

‘Neil isn’t that foolish.’

She didn’t think Neil Hamilton had brought in Victoria Corporation for money laundering.

‘He recognized the value of Victoria Corporation and invested $1 billion.’

Neil Hamilton smiled calmly.

“Your voice is trembling.”

“My voice is trembling?”

“It’s trembling like ripples on a calm lake.”

“That’s a lie.”

If it were 30 years ago, the two of them might have made a good match.

“Kani, I invested not in Victoria Corporation, but in a young boy.”

“You mean Charlie Jung.”

If he invested after seeing the technology and vision of the owner, Jung Hyun-woo, there would be no problem.

‘So, this old man has been teasing me until now.’

It was when Kani Paul narrowed her brows.

Neil Hamilton clasped his hands together and said.

“Watching that boy’s dream come true will also be a pleasure in old age.”

“Neil, you seem to genuinely like Charlie.”

“Because he’s the boy who ruined my dream.”

Kani Paul raised her eyebrows for a moment.

“Neil?”

“Don’t misunderstand. I mean it sincerely.”

He meant it sincerely, so don’t misunderstand.

The beginning and the end didn’t match.

“You’re watching the boy who ruined your dream?”

“Hahaha, you seem to think it doesn’t make sense.”

“Isn’t it natural to think that way?”

“Kani, what we see and think isn’t the whole world.”

Kani Paul got up from her seat and said.

“That sounds like an old soldier’s lament.”

Neil Hamilton’s gaze was still directed at the pond.

“Are you leaving already?”

There were still two questions left.

“Neil, you’re still far from becoming a sage [a wise person].”

Neil Hamilton didn’t deny her words.

“Maybe. But know that I’m closer to the truth than you are.”

“The truth?”

“The monster called Wall Street.”

Kani Paul snorted and turned her body.

“We’re not on Wall Street, we’re in San Francisco.”

Bank of America’s headquarters were in San Francisco, not Wall Street.

“Kani.”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“It was nice seeing you after a long time.”

Kani Paul raised her eyebrows at his answer.

“Neil, you’ve become a ghost.”

She walked away from him, making a clicking sound.

Neil Hamilton listened to the sound of her shoes and thought.

‘Kani, we’re just chess pieces anyway.’

Both she and he were just parts of JP Morgan and Bank of America.

‘The real ones are those who inherit the bloodline.’

In many cases, American companies had separate owners and CEOs. But the most important decisions were often made by the owners, not the CEOs.

This was the same as a general manager of a major league team getting permission from the team owner before making a blockbuster trade or signing a free agent.

‘I envy Bill and Charlie.’

Bill Gates and Jung Hyun-woo.

Both were owners and CEOs of IT companies.

He thought that those two were in a different situation from him.

* * *

What filled the TV screen were colorful characters.

“Hmm.”

A low groan.

The protagonist of the groan was Robert. He was surprised by the number of characters that appeared on the TV screen.

‘So many characters appear?’

The games he had made so far had a maximum of two or three characters.

But the games made in Japan were completely different.

“Because it’s running in Japanese, I haven’t been able to perfectly analyze the feeling of the dialogue. But as a result of entrusting the analysis to an employee who can speak Japanese, the overall story is evaluated as very good.”

The person moving the console in front of Robert, Jung Hyun-woo, and Sarah was John River, the head of the 3rd development team.

He was in charge of analyzing Nintendo, the latest console game machine in Japan.

“Does the story being excellent mean that it doesn’t give pleasure with simple operation?”

John River answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“That’s right. It’s not very deep, but it contains a story that can’t be compared to the games made in the North American market over the past few years.”

The games produced in Japan had a different volume than the mass-produced games in North America.

“I’ll move on to the next game.”

John River replaced the cartridge with familiar hand movements.

Jung Hyun-woo asked, watching the scene.

“How is the usability of the game console?”

John River stopped his hand and answered.

“If you’re asking about cartridge replacement or power operation, this is also excellent.”

User convenience was an aspect that could never be overlooked in electronic products.

The next game that was running was a puzzle game. But the graphics and characters of the puzzle game were completely different from those made in North America.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“It looks like a photo.”

Robert groaned once again.

“Hmm.”

He thought that Nintendo, the latest game console from Japan, was not much different from the console game machines in the United States.

But the actual test results completely exceeded his expectations.

‘There is no big difference in hardware performance. The problem is software.’

The moment he narrowed his brows, John River resumed his explanation.

“This game is called drawing. But the actual game is not drawing, but creating a picture.”

The cursor implemented as a character was avoiding obstacles and gradually creating a picture.

Jung Hyun-woo could see that this game was the origin of the game called territory occupation that he had seen in the arcade in the past.

‘Territory occupation evolved from here.’

As John River almost completed the picture, Sarah blushed slightly.

“This is an adult game.”

John River said calmly to Sarah’s point.

“The female character is wearing lingerie, so it’s not nude.”

Sarah had no choice but to lower her eyes slightly.

On the other hand, Robert and Jung Hyun-woo were focusing their attention on the screen. Like game developers, they were focusing on Japan’s technology and the diversity of content rather than lewd thoughts.

“I didn’t know you could make such fluid graphics with dots.”

Jung Hyun-woo also sighed briefly.

“Hoo… The Zero Space series can’t even hold a candle to it.”

The Zero Space series he produced had no special advantages in terms of graphics.

Robert raised his right hand and said.

“Let’s stop the game demonstration here.”

Sarah was finally able to raise her face when the woman wearing lingerie was erased from the screen.

“Ha… Japanese games are really diverse.”

Robert shrugged and took her words.

“There are similar games in the United States. However, there is only a difference in the quality of the graphics.”

The explicit parts of adult games were more severe in American games. They even made what they commonly call porn games.

The problem was that the graphics and operability of those games were extremely crude.

Jung Hyun-woo turned his gaze to the front and said.

“John, I want to hear an overall evaluation.”

John River adjusted his glasses and told the opinions of the 3rd development team.

“The analysis and opinions of the team members are that a great game machine has been born.”

Robert still didn’t have a good expression.

“In what way is it great?”

John River answered his question.

“As you saw before, the third-party composition is considerable.”

“Isn’t that because the game developer is excellent, not the game machine?”

“I think it is also the responsibility of the game machine manufacturer to form a third party.”

In other words, it could be said that the Atari shock [the video game crash of 1983] was triggered because Atari did not properly manage the game developers.

“Although I haven’t looked at it in detail yet, the CPU performance doesn’t seem to be much different from Commodore’s latest product.”

There is no big advantage in the CPU.

Robert’s face brightened slightly at this one word.

“In the end, there is no difference in the hardware itself.”

John River shook his head and took his words.

“That’s not true.”

Robert narrowed his brows again at his words.

“How is it different?”

“There is a difference in color expression. This game machine can express 64 8*8 pixels on the screen at once.”

As of 1984, this level of graphic expression was considerable.

“Did you put a high-end graphics chip in the home game console?”

“It’s amazing considering the price of this game machine.”

The Famicom [Family Computer], the next-generation game machine produced by Nintendo, overwhelmed the Commodore 64 in terms of graphic cost-effectiveness.

“The operability is also very good. I think the size of the pad and the position of the buttons can also be given good points.”

Compared to the pads of the game machines released later, the Famicom’s pad was at the level of a toy.

But as of 1984, it was at a considerable level.

Robert groaned again after hearing John River’s answer.

“Hmm.”

Jung Hyun-woo knew what he was feeling.

‘He wouldn’t want to admit that Japan made this kind of thing.’

But the Famicom, produced by Nintendo in 1983, was one of the best inventions of the 1980s.

‘The Famicom is also a symbol of Japan’s invasion of the United States.’

This time, Jung Hyun-woo raised his right hand and asked.

“John, I heard that there are also games ported from arcade games. Is that true?”

Just as Zero Space was ported to arcade games, arcade games were also ported to home console game machines.

John River nodded his head greatly and answered.

“I’ve played a few ported games, and there are almost no differences from the arcade.”

The game ported to the Famicom meant that there was no big difference from the arcade game, which is commonly called an arcade game.

“That’s amazing.”

Robert sighed deeply at Jung Hyun-woo’s high evaluation.

“Hoo… I admit that Japan’s new product is excellent. But if you ask if this product will be a hit, I can’t answer Yes.”

He resisted tenaciously.

Sarah, who was sitting next to him, said briefly.

“Robert, it looks like stubbornness.”

Robert frowned at her point.

“Sarah, I can’t help it if it looks like stubbornness. This game machine has too little American color.”

In short, it was not American style.

Jung Hyun-woo nodded slowly.

“I admit that.”

The Famicom, or NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) as it was released in the United States, was a game machine with a strong Japanese color.

Robert slightly unfolded his frowned forehead at Jung Hyun-woo’s admission.

“Does Charlie think the same?”

“I only think the same on that part.”

“Then…”

“This game machine will be successful.”

Robert frowned again.

“Charlie.”

Jung Hyun-woo put his hands together and said.

“We are businessmen. Businessmen should not become fans. We will have to think coldly about the success and failure of this game machine.”

He was telling them not to think about nationalities such as the United States or Japan.

“John, what do you think?”

John River answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“Our team members’ opinions are the same as the CEO’s.”

The Famicom will be successful.

No, it had no choice but to succeed.

This small game machine contained everything gamers wanted.