Chapter 662: Dog Bites Dog

This didn't require much money—he'd already made plenty these past years following the Principal, didn't have to work nine-to-five, and got paid monthly; long ago, he was well-fed and clothed.

Opening that supermarket was just to solve his sister's employment issue; over these years, the Principal never shortchanged him.

No matter how much the outside world cursed, the old hands who followed the Principal never left, no matter how hard others tried to poach them or what they said.

Truly, calling the Principal a capitalist—would switching to another capitalist make anyone treat them better than the Principal did?

All the pieces are now on the board, including the Yin-Yang Contract; all that's left is for the storm to arrive and scoop up the entire entertainment industry.

The Yin-Yang Contract was actually the simplest move—there were too many ready examples; just pick the biggest, most explosive one and expose it.

For this past month, Fang Hong showed no movement; the only movement was pulling the film Superintelligence from release.

Some said he feared he couldn't bear the losses; others said he feared Alibaba would back out; still others said he'd lost.

Some had even defected to the Zhejiang-Shanghai business circle, hoping Ma Baba would become their own father and guide them—this was exactly what Ma Baba loved to do.

Full of self-importance, always eager to teach others!

He even uttered a famous quote: "Combatants do not rage; opponents are for learning, not for hatred. If you fixate on hating your opponent, you'll get trapped. Competition should make your opponent angry, not yourself."

It was said so well that not just the entertainment circle erupted in applause, but the internet circle did too.

Yet on December 22, the day he said this, a netizen named Wen Jiajia revealed on Weibo: "A three-character male star has been caught—and the reason? Soliciting prostitutes!"

Soon after, another netizen named Junjun Travel Diary revealed: "I checked—it's true. The woman was under surveillance and gave him up."

Some netizens were surprisingly well-connected.

But they didn't name names, leaving the gossiping netizens baffled, unsure if it was real or fake.

Quickly, CCTV's New Year special removed a certain person's segment; Satellite TV's National Drama Awards removed the song "Remember I Love You," performed by that person.

Even some official Weibo accounts deleted promotional MVs of that person; the relevant government departments already knew.

This confirmed the identity, sending the Campus Idol's fans into panic—they insisted it wasn't true, that it was fake, and launched massive online whitewashing campaigns, claiming the removal was just for the movie's sake, nothing proven yet, demanding the studio issue a denial.

But a top fan of the Campus Idol posted, delivering a crushing blow to these fans: "Don't wait for the studio's denial—it won't come. As someone who's half-inside the industry, I've known about this for a long time, I just held onto hope."

"I've wanted to change my avatar countless times, but out of seven years of emotion, I couldn't bring myself to. Little Dees, love yourselves well—the prerequisite of fandom is becoming a better version of yourself!"

Even so, some fanatics refused to accept it, claiming it was fake, slander, even threatening to sue the top fan.

But CCTV News posted on Weibo, confirming the news—and directly named him, stating it wasn't the first time, but multiple times.

This shattered the fans' world; some wept and screamed: "Is your desire really that strong? Multiple times?!"

"Are you still the pure, innocent, sweet, devoted Li Duohai?"

The fans wept, but the gossiping netizens dug up even more juicy details, spreading wildly exaggerated claims.

"My classmate was paid by him—he said this guy was stingy; promised eight thousand, gave only six!"

"That's the going rate—no wonder he's a veteran."

"Seven women at once? How could he not get caught?"

"One man with seven women? So impressive!"

"This guy either hooks up for sex or pretends to date—looks good but useless."

He also mentioned another person, saying the same thing happened to him—netizens really had their people.

Of course, Fang Hong didn't dig up this other person either, nor did he need to—solving one was enough.

Netizens rejoiced, fans' worlds collapsed, and Hua Yi's General Manager Wang Changtian's world collapsed too—he cursed the Principal: "F*** your mother!"

The higher-ups immediately halted the release of Mr. Six!

Of course, it wasn't publicly announced—just a notification: if the film wants to release, cut out this person and resubmit for review, see if the cuts are clean.

On December 24, Mr. Six couldn't be released, causing Hua Yi's stock to plummet.

From a peak market cap of 59 billion yuan, it crashed to 40.2 billion, evaporating roughly 19 billion—pure freefall; it hit the daily trading limit.

A drop exceeding 10% triggers the daily trading limit.

This wiped out the stock market support Ma Baba had propped up for Hua Yi; worse, the institutions and retail investors who followed Ma Baba into the market suffered heavy losses.

Especially Zheshang Yinhang—Ma Baba had ruined them.

It wasn't that one star or one movie had this much power—it was that investors lost confidence all at once.

After the scandal broke, everyone started fleeing.

This stunned much of the entertainment industry—even Huanrui was stunned; the Campus Idol was their artist.

With the Campus Idol gone, multiple Huanrui films and TV dramas halted—Qing Yun Zhi series, Ma Que—all starring him; the losses were enormous.

And Huanrui was right at the critical juncture of its IPO—if it failed, Huanrui could be plunged into the abyss; all preparation work and funding would vanish—losses far beyond their capacity.

"You son of a bitch, Principal," Huanrui's CEO Zhong Junyan couldn't help screaming.

But it was useless—since this was a struggle, sacrifices were necessary; who got sacrificed depended on who was in the game.

Those in the entertainment industry began distancing themselves from Hua Yi and Ma Baba; the word "Dad" was temporarily unspoken.

The situation was unclear; the Principal was too ruthless; now wasn't the time to pick sides—the Principal's strategic patience was too strong, holding back for over a month before striking.

Everyone thought the Principal had no moves left and chose silence; instead, he directly blocked Hua Yi's film from release.

And he struck right before Mr. Six was set to screen—after they'd spent hundreds of millions on promotion; how patient he was.

"Brilliant," Lao Wang Zong watched closely.

This move was truly brilliant—it didn't just remove Mr. Six from the New Year Slot, but also left the film's plot unrecognizable.

If they had to recast and reshoot, it would cost another fortune.

"But it's still not enough—this level of force won't hurt Hua Yi enough," Lao Wang Zong hoped the Principal would push harder.

Ma Baba showed no reaction—this force wasn't enough to hurt Hua Yi; for him, it was minor, just Zheshang Yinhang was hard to handle.

But in the film industry, it was an earthquake-level event.

The happiest person here was Wang Changtian of Guangxian, because on December 24, their film Bad Guy Angel was also releasing.

With Mr. Six removed and Superintelligence pulled, he wanted to thank the Principal—his pressure was gone.

Originally, "Ex Machina" was scheduled to be released on this day.

While all sides in the outside world watched with varied reactions, Yutu announced: "The Tangrenjie Tangan will be moved to December 24 for release."

This means it has taken over the slot of "Mr. Six."

This movie was originally set for a December 31 release, allowing it to capture only the New Year holiday; moving it to the 24th lets it capture both Christmas and the New Year.

This move truly annoyed Huayi.

"The Principal is the number one evil force in the entertainment circle," Guan Hu cursed.

This was ultimately his directed film, and he had also invested part of the capital—he had to bear part of the loss.

"People like this should be kicked out of the entertainment circle!" Feng Kuzi cursed.

These people really are: when they win, they strut around proudly; when they lose, they curse and complain endlessly.

They only allow themselves to hit others, never letting others hit them—Fang Hong was cursed so badly, who did he insult?

Of course, the Wangyi were just watching the show; this time they took no side, they just ate watermelons.

Now "Mr. Six" has been confirmed as unable to be released; Xiao Wang and Da Wang have run around everywhere but are powerless—it's settled.

"I just feel the Principal must have a scheme—damn, that's too ruthless," Da Wang Zong couldn't help cursing; he hadn't expected this move.

"It's all that bastard's fault—sleeping with so many women, doesn't he fear getting AIDS?" Xiao Wang Zong cursed.

This round has utterly ruined them.

After venting, the two began discussing countermeasures, but with their intelligence, they couldn't come up with anything.

They could only seek advice from Ma Baba, asking him to guide them.

"He's targeting your films, so target their artists—you only need to take down one, and multiple films won't be able to be released," Ma Baba told them to turn the tables.

"Of course, we're afraid the Principal might have another trick up his sleeve," Da Wang Zong feared the Principal would strike again—they couldn't take it.

He held back so long, didn't strike early or late, but struck precisely now—the Principal must have another move.

"Of course he has another move, and it's a big one, very powerful—you must hold on. As long as you hold until he plays all his cards, he'll have no more tricks against you; after that, I'll deal with him," Ma Baba saw through it clearly.

This struggle has lasted nearly three months, but it was the Principal who started it first; so far, he has only played two cards—one made Huayi lose the bet, and this is just the second.

The third and fourth cards haven't been revealed yet.

Da Wang Zong and Xiao Wang Zong listened in shock; Da Wang Zong asked: "What other cards does the Principal have next?"

"That's something you need to ask yourselves—what vulnerabilities do you have, or what have you done that he's caught onto?" Jack Ma said.

"There doesn't seem to be any vulnerability! We've never had dealings with Yutu," Xiao Wang Zong said.

"Think seriously—don't think from within yourself, think externally—expand your thinking, stretch it farther, stretch it even farther," Jack Ma was worn out from worrying over these two brothers.

The two brothers fell silent, straining to think, but couldn't figure out what other card the Principal might have.

Jack Ma told them to think for themselves—he still had to calm down the Zheshang Yinhang, since they had lent Huayi 2.5 billion, and suddenly this happened.

They might refuse to disburse further loans to Huayi, or demand Huayi repay early.

Huayi had no money at all—it was busy plugging its own holes.

Jack Ma told them to retaliate in kind; after searching, they settled on Zhu Yirong—he was Yutu's pet artist, carrying multiple film and TV projects.

He was also one of the earliest artists to follow the Principal.

Fang Hong didn't know Huayi's moves—even if they made moves, it was normal; they couldn't not fight back—it had reached a white-hot stage, life or death.

He was preparing to play his second card, but before doing so, he called Warner's Lao Zha.

He wanted Warner to find a way to swallow Huayi's 600 million.

Huayi's hole was growing larger, yet it kept sending money to Warner, hoping to break the deadlock through Warner.

"Principal, this is shameless!" Lao Zha said, Liu Tianxian translating.

"Do you Americans even care about shame?" Fang Hong spoke without mercy to the American who didn't understand Chinese.

Of course, he knew Liu Tianxian would translate well for him: "My husband says, money! Don't you want it?"

Having his motives exposed by Liu Tianxian, Lao Zha smiled awkwardly and said: "Alright then, we'll do our best—but if Huayi comes after us, you'll have to help us."

Openly swallowing money isn't easy—it inevitably leads to a huge international lawsuit; but that's exactly what Fang Hong wanted—to let them tear each other apart.

Better they keep biting, until the end of time.

"If you get into trouble, we'll help you," Fang Hong said.

The charm of Chinese culture—what does "get into trouble" even mean?

(End of chapter)