America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

"Thank you, thanks to all the judges!"

This was an essential part, and Martin looked to his side again, "Thanks to Bruce, thanks to Jack, and thanks to Leo. Without these three, I might have collapsed on the beachside of Santa Monica!"

A warm applause erupted throughout the venue.

Nicholson and Leonardo laughed and clapped heartily.

Martin continued, "Thanks to my agent, thanks to every member of my team, thanks to my girlfriend, thanks to my sponsors, thanks to everyone I have encountered in my life, thanks to Director Nolan and everyone from The Dark Knight Crew."

The time for the acceptance speech was only 45 seconds, and as the countdown behind him turned red, Martin raised the Oscar statuette and hurried his speech, "I don't know how all this happened, but I am very lucky."

Being young, Martin naturally wanted to show the youthful side of him, and he blurted out loudly at the end, "To borrow a line from The Dark Knight, 'What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!'"

Among the thunderous applause, Martin walked backstage together with Nicholson and Leonardo.

The live broadcast camera focused on the trio walking side by side, capturing a close-up of their retreating figures.

Another round of applause followed.

…

"Cheers!"

The crisp sound of glasses clinking rose, the bar was as merry as if everyone had hit the jackpot.

The young people dressed in red cultural shirts filled the bar, all watching the Oscar live broadcast together. At the moment Martin lifted the trophy, the atmosphere peaked.

A blond-haired big boy jumped onto a table and shouted, "To celebrate Martin's win, all expenses tonight are on me!"

"Thanks to the Oscars, thanks to Martin, thanks to Croix." Someone raised a Martin commemorative edition Coca-Cola.

Croix took a commemorative Coke and raised it high, "A toast to Martin!"

Hundreds celebrated with a toast.

It was a night of explosive consumerism across America, as millions celebrated Martin's Oscar win, directly boosting spending by hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Not far from here, in a convenience store, the owner opened the cash register under the muzzle of a Joker.

Another Joker swiped all the money inside.

Before leaving, one Joker shouted at the store's surveillance, "Don't come after us, we're just celebrating Martin's win in our own special way!"

The other Joker yelled out, "Long live Martin, long live the Joker!"

The two exited the convenience store to the sound of police sirens. Instead of running away in panic, they raised their handguns and fired shots into the sky in succession.

The bangs of gunfire erupted like salutes.

The crowded street went into disarray, hindering the police cars from advancing.

One Joker bellowed, "Martin has won! Martin has won! Long live Martin!"

In the midst of the chaotic street, suddenly someone responded, "Long live Martin!"

Gradually, more people chanted, "Long live Martin!"

It was a crazy night—the number of robbery and shooting incidents involving Jokers in disguise across America hit a new high.

Those marginal Martin fans were also celebrating in their own special way that Martin had won the Oscar statuette!

In Burbank, inside a dimly lit apartment, Ben Affleck watched expressionlessly as that jerk on TV hoisted the Oscar high.

He picked up the remote and turned off the TV. The apartment plunged into darkness.

In the dark, Ben grabbed a bottle of liquor and took fierce swigs directly from it.

"Martin Davis!" he muttered a name, "It can only be you, Martin Davis!"

Ben and Cassie had settled all their cases, for which they had paid a massive monetary price. Although not bankrupt, they were seriously crippled.

When all was said and done, and their emotions finally settled, Ben thought through the causes and consequences. It didn't take much to feel that behind these rotten incidents, an invisible big hand seemed to be pushing.

Who was the master of that hand? TMZ?

It did seem like TMZ's doing—from the exposure to digging up more dirt, TMZ had consistently been hammering at him.

Ben had thought through this past half year's experiences—there was actually only one person he had serious conflict with.

Martin Davis!

The initial conflict arose when Martin snatched the rights to a novel Ben was eyeing, and he and Cassie wanted to teach Martin a lesson…

That was merely Ben's conjecture, devoid of any evidence, but he was not the LAPD; he didn't need evidence.

After all, doesn't the LAPD sometimes fabricate evidence for their cases?

He turned on the lights in the room, found the documents for the last house, and decided to sell it. He would gather the cash to confront Martin Davis.

He had Harvey behind him, and Harvey had been irritated with Martin for a long time. As long as an opportunity arose, Harvey would surely act.

After finishing the last of the liquor in the bottle, Ben stepped out into the night, aware that opportunities needed to be sought after, not waited for.

In the North District of Sunset Boulevard, Lily shouted as she came out of her villa, lighting a box of fireworks placed on the fountain square. The whistling sound began, and the splendid fireworks burst into the night sky.

Martin didn't know when he would be back, so Lily decided to celebrate alone.

She set off more than a dozen boxes of fireworks in one go and took special care to capture the moment with photos.

As the fireworks bloomed, they attracted quite a lot of attention.

Martin had given prior notice to the community committee, which had informed the residents. Since it wasn't too late, there weren't many people who minded.

But the neighbors were not pleased.

Charlize Theron had gone out to film, leaving Stuart Townsend alone at home, sipping his drink in silence. Hearing the noise outside, he went to the window to take a look.

The fireworks in the sky made him nauseous, because they were set off by the neighbors.

As a somewhat famous actor, Stuart also followed the Oscar awards ceremony. He had just seen his neighbor Martin Davis win an award, and seeing him hold the Oscar statuette was even more painful than losing ten roles, each with a million dollar paycheck.

For a man with a beautiful girlfriend, having a male neighbor who was superior in looks, status, and wealth was an excruciatingly painful thing.

This was also the root of Stuart's dislike for Martin.

Martin getting the Oscar statuette only deepened Stuart's pain.

How to relieve the pain? Stuart had a way. He took out his phone to make a call and said, "It's me, coming over tonight?"

"Is Charlize Theron not there?" asked a voice that was a bit coarse from a woman.
Explore hidden tales at empire

Stuart asked, "Are you coming or not?"

The woman replied, "Of course, wait for me. I've got a party here, and I'll be right over when it's done."

Stuart glanced at a photo of him with Charlize Theron and felt that being with this South African woman was becoming more and more meaningless. He said, "Hurry up."

The woman on the other end replied, "I'll be as fast as I can."

Stuart checked the time and called the community office, saying, "I'm Stuart Townsend. A lady will visit me later, her license plate number is… Let her in directly when she arrives."

At the community office, Tony, who was on the night shift, said, "Okay, Mr. Townsend, I've got it."

After hanging up, Tony transferred the information to the community entrance security.

Aisha, seeing that nobody was in the office, ran over and asked, "Why do you suddenly want to switch shifts?"

Tony pointed at her, "You really are clueless."

She switched the computer page to a live text broadcast, "See? Martin just got the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He notified the community yesterday that there might be fireworks tonight, they're definitely going to celebrate big time!"

Aisha, unenthusiastic, said, "Even if they celebrate, we can't join in. We like Martin, but he's not going to invite us to his house. If he really cared about us, he would have called when we were in New York."

Tony was almost defeated by her naivety, and spelled it out, "Martin returns home to celebrate wildly, in a high state of excitement, he's bound to do that, right?"

Aisha nodded mechanically.

Tony continued, "I've observed carefully. Martin's servants take out the trash at 7:30 every morning, just after we get off work. We'll pass by Martin's place on our way out of the community main avenue through the other exit, and then we can rummage through his trash cans. The chances of finding something will definitely be high!"

"Wow, Tony, you're a genius!" exclaimed Aisha with wide eyes. "I'm finally going to have Martin's baby!"

She danced with joy, "I can't help it, I'm too happy."

Tony stood up, covered her mouth, and said, "Shut up, do you want the whole world to know?"

Aisha quickly closed her mouth. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "If we find something, do we tell the other girls?"

Tony retorted, "Why tell them? Even if we find something, how much could there be? Will there be enough to share with so many people?"

Aisha nodded, "I get it now."

Tony looked out into the night sky, longing for the night to pass quickly and for the day to come.

Martin was her favorite star, and she yearned to show her love for Martin in a very special way.

But that was only one reason that motivated Tony to do this.

On the other hand, Tony had seen a case where having a child with Martin meant an unbreakable connection, and a comfortable life for decades to come.

If lucky enough, with her looks, she might even become Mrs. Davis.

The night shift was idle, and Tony let her thoughts wander to the beautiful life that could be ahead.

The Oscar awards ceremony came to an end, and the biggest winner of the evening was "Slumdog Millionaire". British director Danny Boyle, who had worked with Martin on "Limitless", triumphed by taking home both Best Director and Best Picture awards.

The Best Actor award predictably went to academy darling Sean Penn.

Gay-themed films were gaining prominence at the Oscars, with the award season's political leaning moving increasingly leftward.

After the ceremony, Martin did the routine photo ops, then hopped into Nicholson's stretched Lincoln to attend the Oscar night party.

Elizabeth Olsen headed home early to prepare for her own party.

Nicholson was particularly energetic, presenting a deeply philosophical math problem, "There are three famous Hollywood actors in the car and a total of four Oscar statuettes between them. Tell me, who doesn't have an Oscar statuette?"

Leonardo's cheeks puffed up as he glared at Nicholson.

Martin, ever loyal, handed the statuette to Leonardo, "I promised you, once I got it, I'd give it to you."

Nicholson twisted the knife, "Leo, wasn't I right? Martin would get an Oscar before you."

Leonardo rejected Martin's gesture, stating, "I'll soon have one that's rightfully mine."

Martin patted his old pal on the shoulder, "Be ready to keep running mate."

"With that glowering and snarling triple combo of yours, you won't get one soon," Nicholson mused. "At least another ten years of accompanying runs for you."

Martin comforted him, "It's okay, Jack and I will cheer for you."

He deliberately raised the Oscar, shouting, "Leo, keep it up! Keep running, you can do it!"

Leonardo pointed at the car door, addressing the two clowns, "If you two don't shut up, believe me, I will jump out of this car right now! Would you have the heart to watch me jump?"

Martin and Nicholson, true to their camaraderie, closed their eyes and shouted in unison, "Keep running, you can do it!"

Leonardo leaned back in his seat, looking at the roof of the car, this damned Oscar, when would it finally come his way?

The three made a brief appearance at the Oscar night party and quickly joined other friends at Martin's house for a celebration.