"Oh—Isa—why did you make the house smell so bad?"
"What? Mom, does our house smell?"
"Hiss—Isa—can't you smell it?"
"These animals you're raising have turned our home into a public restroom! Especially that capybara!"
"Can't they just—can't they use the bathroom on land? Do they have to go while soaking in the water? Every time they do that, they turn the pool into a cesspit! And they look like little devils that fell into one!"
"And—what I also want to say—these otters absolutely, absolutely, absolutely love playing with them! Every time the capybaras go into the water, the otters follow right after, and then after just one swim, their whole bodies are covered in poop and pee!"
"I really—oh—
"Isa! I admit they're cute! But I still have to warn you! Today! You are sending all of them to the pet house! Otherwise I'll make cute little you stay together with cute little them!"
"I'll personally throw all of you into the pet house together!"
"And you—Catherine, stop laughing over there!"
"The chaos in this house is partly your fault too!"
"Your sister only wanted to raise one capybara and one otter at first! You were the one who said these things are only fun when raised in groups!"
"OMG—I must have been insane—to agree to you keeping—a whole bunch of capybaras—and a whole bunch of otters at home!!!"
The shrill roar shot into the sky, spreading across the entire Cayman in an instant.
Vivian's chest heaved, one hand on her waist, the other waving wildly in the air.
The way she gestured looked bold and domineering no matter how you saw it.
The rapid-fire questioning seemed to vent her frustration;
But the stench lingering in the air seemed to ignite her anger all over again;
In short, less than two seconds after she stopped, after only taking two heavy breaths, she rolled her eyes and strode off.
With a "bang—", she kicked open the front door.
After calling out loudly a few times, the roar of a car engine erupted instantly.
She had left with her bodyguards and assistant.
The smooth escape left the two people in the living room staring at each other—"I think…the smell at home…isn't that bad, right?"
Isabella frowned slightly and voiced her thoughts.
"I also think it doesn't smell that much."
Catherine nodded in agreement.
Not only that, she even lifted her nose like a dog and sniffed hard twice.
Then—
"Hiss—I think it actually does smell a bit—"
"Wait—no—"
"Why is my hand wet—"
"Ah—Chestnut, you little brat, you peed on my hand again!!!"
A piercing scream once again tore through the Cayman sky.
Two lion-like roars in such a short time made the residents of Cayman tremble in fear.
Because those occasional demonic sounds were just too terrifying.
Uh—
Alright, enough nonsense.
The current time was May 16, 2006.
The place Isabella was in was her luxury mansion in the Cayman Islands.
This was a property she purchased in March this year.
That's right.
Even though in March this year, YouTube—her investment—suddenly came under heavy attack and was targeted by a bunch of content capital…
Even with the situation so urgent, she still didn't give up on taking breaks.
Not only because she believed the advantage was on her side—cough cough—
But also because work is work, and life is life.
Once you become a boss, if you can't delegate detailed work to others and instead travel the world yourself—like going to Antarctica to enjoy life while casually feeding your employees some motivational soup—then how could you possibly become a true capitalist?
Right?
If you can't cast aside your conscience and exploit others with peace of mind, then at most, you're just a slave to money!
So, after arranging everything regarding YouTube, Isabella leisurely went back to enjoying life.
She came to the British Cayman Islands, embracing the vast ocean and the refreshing sea breeze.
In her original plan, she would only stay in the Cayman Islands for a few weeks.
Because at the time, she was actually on a study tour.
And a study tour meant reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles.
So if you stayed in one place all the time, how could you learn anything?
Hehe~
But one day, while out surfing with her mom and sister, they spotted a beautiful coastline, and she decisively changed her travel plans, deciding to purchase property in the Cayman Islands and stay long-term.
Because that coastline was simply too beautiful—
Pristine white sandy beaches;
Crystal-clear Caribbean waters;
Lush tropical greenery full of charm;
A place where every second lets you feel the beauty of nature.
And the beach Isabella had her eyes on was already a developed private area.
The most beautiful villa covered about 1.38 acres.
The two-and-a-half-story main building featured a fully open design;
The high ceilings made the space feel vast and independent;
Most importantly, the villa had a semi-open cave-style bath!
Slip inside in a bathrobe—
Oh—
Caribbean is very very very beautiful
Since the entire villa only cost twenty million, Isabella bought it without hesitation.
And since she liked peace and quiet, and the entire coastal resort area only cost 450 million in total, so—
She had her mom call over the long-unseen bald Valentine O'Connor;
Had him review the contract, and then bought the entire beach in one go.
After turning the beautiful coastline into her own private kingdom, Isabella, along with her mom and sister, started thinking about how to decorate it and leave their own personal mark. Then, while strolling around Cayman, perhaps because of the high average income there, they noticed many residents kept animals.
That harmonious coexistence with nature made Isabella decisively embrace these adorable lives.
Because she had long planned that when she had time in the future, she would raise some otters and capybaras, so—
These two animals became part of her household.
At first, Isabella just wanted to try raising two.
But when Catherine learned that both capybaras and otters are social animals, and that they're more fun in groups—the former would stack together in playful piles, and the latter would compete for attention by acting cute—
Their once beautiful villa turned into a zoo.
If it were just a few extra animals, it wouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately, the villa Isabella chose was full of pools, and both otters and capybaras love playing in water, so—
The place they lived in could become filthy in less than half a day without cleaning.
"We'll leave the villa's cleaning to you. I'll take Chestnut and the others next door."
"Yeah yeah yeah, from today on, Chestnut and the others will stay in the house next door. We'll only bring them over when we want to play with them. Otherwise, they'll stay there."
"Alright, then move all their mats and supplies over later."
"Oh right, especially the bird nest in the living room. Chestnut likes sleeping there, so move that too."
Since their mom didn't want to live with smelly furry creatures, Isabella could only call the maids to move the animals, and the so-called pet house her mom mentioned was actually the neighboring villa.
That was also a multi-million luxury home. Letting animals live there seemed extravagant, but Isabella didn't care.
Because money can't buy willingness.
After spending an hour moving the animals—
Moving the otters was easy. You could just grab them by the back of the neck like cats or dogs and carry them along;
But moving the capybaras wasn't easy, because an adult capybara can be one meter long, half a meter tall, and weigh over sixty kilograms. When they don't feel like moving, it's hard to drag them.
So Isabella, who had bought a family of six—two adults and four young—had to lure them along with food. Capybaras love beans, so if you wave a bunch of beans in front of them, they'll happily trot after you.
Leaning against the sofa in the neighboring villa, while luring capybaras was fun, doing it for an hour was exhausting.
Just as Isabella yawned, about to call someone for a spa and take a nap, Catherine, sitting beside her, suddenly laughed and nudged her with her elbow.
"Look at that idiot. His mouth's full of green foam. Doesn't he look like he's poisoned?"
Following her gaze—
Isabella also burst out laughing.
Because a capybara with a mouth full of green foam really looked stupid (cute).
"Too bad I don't have my camera with me, or I could put this in my vlog."
Isabella felt a bit regretful.
She was too lazy to go next door to get it.
Catherine didn't mind. "They're all ours anyway. You can film them anytime you want."
"True." Isabella agreed.
She stretched lazily, feeling relaxed.
But the next second, Catherine ruined the mood.
"By the way, the YouTube case isn't over yet."
"If you lose, and the court orders YouTube to shut down, then you won't be making vlogs anymore."
"..."
The suffocating words made Isabella roll her eyes.
She shot her sister an annoyed look. "Catherine, are you even my real sister?"
"Your little sister's company is being sued, and instead of wishing me luck, you're here predicting what happens if I lose? What is that supposed to be?"
"Hehe~"
Maybe she realized her words weren't great—or maybe she genuinely wanted her sister to succeed—
After hearing Isabella's complaint, Catherine grinned sheepishly and brushed it off. "I was just talking about a scenario that won't happen. Do you think I don't know you'll win?"
"You know, even the U.S. Department of Defense is backing you now!"
"If Hollywood can still win, then that would be a miracle!"
Hearing this, Isabella immediately pouted.
Her delicate face tried to stay serious, but—
She couldn't hide the smile.
Yes.
The U.S. Department of Defense backing YouTube was the real reason Isabella could vacation so freely right now.
Because most of the time, the U.S. judicial system wouldn't go against its own Department of Defense.
And it certainly wouldn't do so for a third party.
So, after Isabella presented her footage of the F-22 in court, there was no way YouTube could lose the lawsuit against the Hollywood giants—and the Department of Defense, this external support—
Just like Rupert Murdochhad shouted, it was Steven Spielbergwho helped her bring that in.
No way around it.
After all, Steven Spielberghad ambitions of his own.
As early as the last century, after creating Jaws, Indiana Jones, and E.T., Steven Spielberg had already wanted to own an independent, large-scale film company.
Back then, that dream was actually quite achievable.
Because Hollywood hadn't truly gone global yet.
At the time, the Big Eight's main battlefield was still North America, so as long as Steven Spielberg could keep producing outstanding works, he could build a film empire from scratch overnight.
But in the current era—
Things are different.
A company without a global distribution network will never reach the top tier.
A company that can't secure a seat in the Motion Picture Association of America—the body that controls film ratings—will forever remain second-tier.
Right—
Even the film rating system in the U.S. is essentially controlled by the major players.
Its current members include MGM, Fox, Sony, Universal, Paramount, Disney, and Warner.
That, in fact, is the real reason they're called giants.
If they don't like you, they can butcher your film in the editing process. Don't like it?
Then go overthrow the association.
Since these two things can't be obtained through normal means—
When Isabella told Steven Spielberg that she wanted Rupert Murdoch gone, the old man's mind immediately started working.
He knew that if he helped her, he could get the biggest slice of the pie. Even if he couldn't swallow all of Fox, he still had a chance to seize Fox's global distribution arm and its seat in the MPAA.
Not to mention—
His good friend George Lucas had wanted Fox gone for ages.
Because the distribution rights to the Star Wars series were held by Fox.
Right.
Even though the Star Wars IP belongs entirely to George Lucas, aside from toys, comics, and some peripheral merchandise, how the rest of the business operates is decided by Fox.
That's a historical leftover issue.
A problem dating back to when George Lucas signed the original Star Wars development contract with Fox.
Since taking down Fox aligned with Steven Spielberg's interests, and Isabella had a guaranteed winning move—
He helped.
He had his father step in and contact the right people, and then—
The game was over.
Because his father directly called the current Secretary of Defense.
The decision to allow Transformers to feature the F-22 was made by that very person.
So now, proving that Isabella had filed with the Pentagon before filming the F-22?
They're all on the same side.
Everything is negotiable.
Because Isabella never hid any of this from her family, how could Catherine not know her sister was guaranteed to win? And precisely because she understood the methods Isabella used this time—
"Isa."
"Hmm?"
"…I feel like you've changed. You've changed quite a lot over the past few years."
Catherine lounged on the sofa. "Before, no matter how much money you made, you were still creating… products? But now, ever since you successfully looted those luxury brands last year—
Your methods, your goals… have become more and more wild."
"Do you feel that?"
"Oh—I feel that. People grow up, don't they?"
Isabella smiled. "When you live in a small place, the sky you see, the mountains you see, the water you see—they're all local scenery. Even if you conquer them, all you gain is praise from that one place.
But once you've seen the world—
A single place can't hold you anymore, right?"
"Like us right now—
My islands in Scotland and New Zealand aren't even finished yet, but does that stop me from loving the Caribbean?"
"If I didn't have the ability to take them, sure, I'd just admire them and move on.
But when I do have the ability—
Do you think spending 450 million to buy a coastline is stupid?"
"We might not even stay here for a month in a whole year.
But that doesn't matter, right?"
"If I like it, I buy it.
Once I own it, we can come whenever we want."
"And that's the meaning of striving, isn't it?"
"You can't treat living as if it's just survival.
And when you actually want to live well, someone has to pay the price."
"Right?"
Isabella blinked at her sister.
Catherine pursed her lips, nodded, and smiled.
She wasn't blaming her sister.
Not just because she enjoyed this carefree life too—
But because she knew Isabella couldn't fall. If she did, everything they had now would be gone forever.
And that—
"So you think those companies will definitely help you?"
Watching a baby capybara get its beans stolen by its bulky father, Catherine stood up and fed it one herself.
At the same time, she asked, "Do people like Sumner Redstone really go along with things that easily?
Will they act against Rupert Murdoch just because you call for it?"
"They're not easy to deal with. But they won't pass up profit delivered to their doorstep."
Isabella also stood up, teasing the baby capybaras.
She hung a few bean pods on their heads.
In an instant, the little creatures all looked like they had dreadlocks.
Their tiny cute noses made Isabella laugh. As she fiddled with their ears, she said:
"These capital groups have direct conflicts of interest with Fox—or rather, with News Corp."
"The real power behind MGM, Comcast, wants to enter the entertainment industry. With MGM in hand, all they need is a broadcast network to instantly become a top-tier giant.
But ABC, CBS, and NBC aren't available.
So FOX—
Is their best option."
"As for NBC Universal, their biggest headache right now is News Corp eating into their news business. Their market share is shrinking rapidly."
"In that case, eliminating News Corp entirely is the best defense.
Because even the best promises from an opponent can be broken. Only a dead opponent is a good opponent."
"Sony doesn't need a film company, and as a Japanese firm, they can't own a broadcast network. But they partnered with Comcast to acquire MGM mainly to use its home entertainment services to boost their own disc format's market share."
"So if someone wants to take down Fox? Take down Rupert Murdoch?
They don't need to acquire Fox Studios. They just need to make the new owner adopt their format."
"As for Lionsgate, their motivation is even simpler.
Their boss dreams of becoming a giant. Now the path to that dream is right in front of him."
"Viacom benefits the most.
Because they hold shares in DreamWorks.
If DreamWorks wins, they win."
"When all five neutral parties profit no matter what, do you think they'll reject my proposal?"
"And in my plan, our allies, Time Warner and Disney, also profit regardless."
"If Time Warner takes over Fox's broadcast network, they'll become a true full-media platform like Disney. After all, CNN is just a specialized news channel, not a comprehensive platform."
"If they don't take the network and instead take over News Corp—
Then their print media business reaches another level."
"And Disney—
On the surface, it gets nothing. But I'll take Fox's mutant IP and Blue Sky Studios."
"Once those are in my hands, doesn't that make Robert Igereven stronger?"
"Because I'll give up Fox's distribution business, meaning my animations will have to rely on a giant for distribution—basically Disney. The stronger my animation becomes, the weaker Disney's internal animation looks. And the weaker it looks—
The stronger Robert Iger becomes."
"I believe Bob won't refuse to let me take Ice Age."
"Even if I didn't discuss any of this with him beforehand—
He'll still support me and let me take 5 billion."
After Isabella calmly laid everything out—
Catherine smiled in admiration. "Isa, you're way better than me."
"Oh, Catherine, you said that six years ago."
"???"
Catherine frowned, not understanding.
Isabella puffed her lips. "Six years ago, when I secured Hermione Granger, you said the same thing."
The distant memory froze Catherine on the spot.
After a long pause, she shook her head helplessly. "Alright… looks like I should've just accepted being useless from the start."
"Hahahaha—!"
Her resigned words made Isabella burst out laughing.