America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Times Square in New York, the temperature in December was a bit low, but it couldn't stop the enthusiasm of movie fans, as thousands of them gathered in front of a shopping mall.

Today, The Dark Knight DVD was officially released.

On the edge of the square, there were more than twenty street portrait painters alone, busy attending to the request from too many people wanting a Joker makeup.

Before long, Times Square was filled with Jokers.

The shopping mall had yet to open its doors, while Martin was still flexing his wrists in the break room.

Besides Bruce, Thomas was also in the room.

The agent was a bit excited, constantly tapping on his mobile phone calculator.

The Dark Knight had ended its run in North America, and Martin's profit sharing was clear at a glance.

According to the remuneration contract they had signed, Martin's base salary was five million US Dollars, and if the North American box office hit 250 million US Dollars, he would receive a 2% share.

For every additional 50 million US Dollars over 250 million, Martin would receive 1% of it, and for every 100 million, it was 2%, and so on, up to a maximum of 6%.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics initially expected around 300 million US Dollars, but The Dark Knight's North American box office reached a staggering 616 million US Dollars!

Thomas looked up and said to Martin, "It looks like you can get a total of 26.96 million US Dollars in profit sharing."

Hearing this figure, Martin was deeply moved and quickly asked, "Is that accurate?"

Thomas scratched his head, "I'm not great with math, I've basically forgotten what I learned back in the day." He looked at Bruce, "Old Cloth, why don't you calculate it?"

Bruce hurriedly shook his head, as that would just embarrass him on the spot.

He said, "Martin is the best at this kind of math problem."

Academically challenged Martin stood up and said, "The mall is opening, I need to go for the signing event."

No matter the calculation, the profit sharing would definitely be over 20 million US Dollars, and although it would take a long time to get it in hand, Warner wouldn't renege on such a contract.

In front of the mall, a specific area was marked for queuing. The Jokers lined up in two long rows, and not too far from them, a minibus drove over.

The bus had the heater on, but the dozen or so thinly dressed girls inside were still shivering with cold.

Though their bodies trembled, their hearts did not.

The leader Tony took off her coat, revealing a specially tailored white wedding dress underneath, and with her beautiful face she said, "Sisters, it's our time to move."

Aisha took out a stack of cards and distributed them to the corresponding person.

Tony loudly reminded them, "Make sure to leave the card for Martin, so that he will have the chance to contact us."

A girl who looked rather ordinary feared that the most beautiful Tony would monopolize Martin and said, "No matter who gets it, we will share it together, right?"

Tony nodded and said, "Sisters unite!"

The others shouted in unison, "Sisters unite!"

Tony told the driver, "Open the door."

The minibus door opened, and led by Tony, a dozen pretty girls in white wedding dresses stormed towards the queuing area.

Under Tony's leadership, the girls loudly chanted together, "I love Martin! I love Martin!"

Countless eyes turned towards them, watching as the girls lined up.

Driven by the girls' chant, the thousands of Jokers joined in, soon shouting together, "I love Martin! I love Martin!"

Tony and Aisha and the others, who had chased stars from Los Angeles to New York across the North American Continent, were particularly satisfied at this moment.

Once again, they had become influential people and had once again become the center of attention.

Soon, media reporters came over to interview them.

Aisha's face was radiant with joy as she spoke to the camera, "Of course, I like Martin! I love Martin! How much do I love him? I love him so much I want to marry him!"

She showed the wedding dress to the reporter, "Isn't it beautiful?"

The girl with the quick mouth suddenly jumped in front of the camera to grab the spotlight, "I love Martin, I want to have his baby!"

Suddenly, a few people dressed in Batman costumes joined the queue.

The thousands of Jokers turned their attention away from the wedding-dressed beauties and fixated on the Batmen.

The Batmen felt tremendous pressure, and one of them wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Shall we go buy from another store?"

The others nodded in agreement, wanting to get away from this troublesome spot.

On one side of the center of the square, Big Beard and Victor were paying attention to the queued crowd.

The former said, "Fans are terrifying, all crazy!"

Listening to the shouts of "I love Martin," Victor agreed with Big Beard's comment, "They say we're crazy, but are we as crazy as these people?"

Big Beard asked, "If we kill Martin in front of them, do you think they would tear us apart alive?"

Victor wasn't sure, "I don't know." He lit a cigarette, "I'm only sure of one thing; being a star is damn busy. That bastard has run all the way from Los Angeles to New York, never staying in the same city for more than a day, running to at least three different places every day, is that fun?"

Big Beard's mind suddenly worked for a moment, "With tens of millions of dollars earned each year, it must be fun."

Victor scratched his head, "The boss is already here, that bastard is too busy working to stay in the same city, it's too difficult for us to take action."

Big Beard in his typical style, "Just do it."

"The boss wants to capture Martin alive and blow his head off with a soda bottle, just like what Martin did to the boss's grandson," Victor exhaled a puff of smoke, "We're here for revenge, not to throw away our lives.

We need not only to track his whereabouts but also to make plans in advance, be able to retreat after succeeding, and with Martin running around everywhere, it's impossible for us to make a move."

Big Beard shook his head, "You think too much."

Victor asked, "Do you want to die in America?"

"I certainly don't want to die here." Big Beard had a strong sense of home, "Only the wind and snow of Siberia can bury me."

Victor's phone rang, and he pulled it out to take a look, then said, "Boss, he's holding an event in New York. According to media reports, after finishing two events today, he will return to California."

The person on the other end said a few words, and Victor responded, "What we're watching is the public itinerary reported by the media. We haven't been tracking him specially or asking anyone about his whereabouts, so we definitely didn't alarm him."

These two were reliable in their work. Martin was a public figure, and they had always kept track of Martin's whereabouts through the media.

Victor responded, "Alright, we are heading back to California right now and we will take action there."

His boss's grandson had died in California.

The caller hung up the phone.

Victor put away his phone and nudged the man with the large beard, "Let's go, buy plane tickets, back to the West Coast."

Inside the music and video store, Martin's wrist whirled like a whirlwind as he signed autographs on one DVD after another.

With each autograph, he said, "Thank you for your support."

Even when fans took pictures with their cameras, Martin didn't mind, as long as they didn't use the flash.

Suddenly, the store filled with commotion.

Martin glanced over, slightly taken aback. What was happening?

A dozen girls, clad in wedding dresses, came through the door, vigorously waving their hands at Martin.

Having seen much of the world, Martin was not easily surprised.

He took a DVD from a fan, continued signing, and smilingly said, "Thank you for your support."

The fan, dressed as the Joker, spoke in a hushed tone, "Martin, they were just outside clamoring about wanting to marry you."

Martin nodded with a smile, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The Joker walked away, quite satisfied.

Soon, Tony came up with a commemorative edition disc.

Martin looked at the beautiful girl, took the disc, and smiled in thanks.

"Can I take a photo with you?" Tony's hands trembled with excitement.

Martin whispered, "The organizers don't allow me to take photos."

Tony didn't insist and instead said, "I understand! I understand! Once you agree to take a photo with one person, everyone else would request a photo."

Martin signed swiftly and took the opportunity to say, "Long live understanding."

Tony felt that Martin was exceptionally kind, even taking the time to explain, which made her hidden impulse grow stronger.

As she took the disc, she slipped the card she was holding into Martin's hand, her voice trembling slightly, "You can call me anytime."

Tony turned her head and quickly made a heart gesture.
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Aisha quickly captured the photo.

Tony, having achieved her goal, ran off with her wedding dress in hand.

Aisha passed the camera back, and while Martin was signing, she mimed a kiss from afar, having a companion take the photo.

Martin felt helpless but couldn't stop it, as they weren't disrupting his signing.

Afterward, he received another card.

Tony hadn't left the store when she heard a companion directly ask from behind, "Martin, can I marry you?"

The crowd erupted into whispers.

Tony turned her head to look; it was that fast-talking Bitchy!

She decided then, Bitchy was to be expelled from the sisterhood.

Although Martin declined all requests for photos with the brides, the people behind still managed to get photos of him with the brides and received a dozen cards with names and phone numbers.

Several cardholders had ulterior motives, writing down their measurements and the like.

The ones behind followed suit, and various female clowns left Martin hastily scribbled notes with phone numbers written either with lipstick or other means.

Even some male clowns left cards or notes.

Seeing a male clown sashay away, Martin almost felt the urge to throw down his pen and refuse to sign anymore.

But his professional ethics were strong, and he finished the signing without a change in expression.

As the music store quieted down, Bruce tidy up Martin's things and asked, "Should I keep these notes and cards for you?"

Martin said, "Keep them for now."

Bruce's eyes widened, "You actually turn out to be that kind of person."

Martin replied offhandedly, "After we leave, shred them in the shredder. I'm worried if they get out, someone will use my name to scam people."

Bruce thought about it and realized the possibility, saying, "You've thought this through."

He changed the subject abruptly, "But those bridal gown fans leading the pack, they really were pretty. Aren't you considering?"

"I'm not into sleeping with fans," Martin started confidently but faltered mid-sentence as he thought of Blake Lively.

Bruce packed up all the cards and notes carefully, double-checking the signing table to make sure nothing got left behind.

Martin called out to him, "Let's go."

They headed to the office area to join Thomas and used the mall's shredder to destroy all the notes and cards.

There was another signing in Long Island that afternoon. After that, Martin would return to Los Angeles to shoot an advertisement for Cartier men's watches in a few days.