booktalesy Chapter 223 The Value of Gold-Tier Equipment
Chapter 223 The Value of Gold-Tier Equipment
Chapter 223 The Value of Gold-Tier Equipment
As the three veteran actors, their faces ashen, signed the termination agreements and slunk away from the set, the atmosphere on set seemed to become a little fresher.
Kitahara Shin turned around, just as he was about to tell the director to continue filming, when Matsu Takako quietly crept up to him. She was wearing her smart policewoman uniform, and her bright eyes were filled with curiosity and worry.
"What did you just whisper in their ears?" Matsu Takako asked in a low voice.
Kitahara Shin picked up the slightly cold coffee next to him, took a sip, and smiled normally: "I didn't say anything, it was just out of politeness as a junior to ask how they were doing."
"Who are you trying to fool?" Matsu Takako rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "I was standing so close, I saw it all. Those three seniors were trembling as they left. You were clearly threatening them, weren't you?"
Upon hearing this, Kitahara Shin simply smiled calmly and did not respond.
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Matsu Takako frowned slightly, still worried, and said, "Aren't you afraid they'll go around saying bad things about you? I remember those three people very clearly; last time at the Karuizawa hot spring resort, they were among the most senior members of the 'Nikakai' (Second Division Association). You went through so much trouble to get into that industry, and now you've ruined things like this. If they unite with other veteran actors to boycott you, it will have a lot of negative impact on your reputation in the acting world."
Listening to Matsu Takako's rapid-fire worries, Kitahara Shin smiled slightly and reached out to gently pat her head.
It must be said that Matsu Takako is indeed a very intelligent girl. Compared to Nakamori Akina, Sakai Izumi, Matsushima Nanako, and Miyazawa Rie, Matsu Takako, who comes from a top Kabuki family, has witnessed too much hypocrisy and deceit in the world of fame and fortune from a young age with her father, Matsumoto Koshiro.
She understands the intricacies of this industry better than anyone else, so she also understands best how important "connections" and "experience" are for a young person on the rise.
"In the past, this would have caused me quite a bit of trouble."
Kitahara Shin withdrew his hand and looked at Matsu Takako earnestly, explaining, "But for me now, I don't need to care too much about their opinions. What I need to care about most is the absolute quality of this current drama series, and any projects I do in the future. As for that Second Division Association—its purpose as a stepping stone has been achieved. Didn't you meet quite a few people in Karuizawa last time? Besides those three senior figures who act like they're in charge, there are quite a few seniors willing to extend olive branches to you. You can cultivate those relationships yourself; don't worry about being influenced by me."
Matsu Takako looked into Kitahara Shin's deep, confident eyes, pursed her lips, and ultimately said nothing.
She knew that the man in front of her had long since transcended the so-called "actor circle".
"Alright, stop worrying about my business." Kitahara Shin changed the subject, chuckling, "Have you figured out your character in this show yet? I'm warning you in advance, if you don't perform well during the actual filming, I'll be very strict with you. I might even punish you in front of the whole crew."
Hearing this half-joking remark, Matsu Takako snorted and turned her head away, too lazy to pay him any attention.
"By the way, don't rush home after you finish filming today," Kitahara Shin called out to her, adding, "I'll take you home after I finish work, but before that, could you come with me for a bit?"
Matsu Takako blinked, unsure of Kitahara Shin's intentions, but still obediently nodded.
After spending time with her, she has seen things very clearly.
Although Kitahara Shin is a tyrant who has the final say at work, he takes great care of her in private. However, at present, this care is more within the boundaries of a boss to a core employee, or a brother to a sister.
After all, she is only seventeen years old this year, and Kitahara Shin is obviously not so depraved as to have any wicked thoughts about a minor girl.
That evening, after a long day of intense filming, Kitahara Shin personally drove Matsu Takako to his luxurious villa by the sea.
The villa has now been completely renovated, and is furnished with all kinds of expensive furniture and decorations.
Matsu Takako looked around curiously and followed Kitahara Shin into the spacious living room.
At first glance, she was drawn to the extremely expensive black grand piano placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Why did you ask me to come over in the middle of the night?" Matsu Takako turned to look at Kitahara Shin and asked in confusion.
Kitahara Shin walked to the sofa and sat down, pointing to the piano: "I've heard your parents mention that you can play the piano, right?"
In this era, for extremely traditional elite families like the Matsumoto family, having their children master one or two Western musical instruments from a young age is almost standard practice in elite education.
"Yeah, a little. What's wrong?" Matsu Takako blinked.
"You don't need to do anything. Just sit down and play whatever you're good at." Kitahara Shin leaned back on the sofa, pointed at the piano, and said with a smile, "I'll just sit here and listen for a bit. You can wait for me."
Matsu Takako found this request utterly absurd. Calling her to a seaside villa in the middle of the night just to hear her play a piece?
But for some reason, looking at Kitahara Shin's slightly tired yet still calm profile, she didn't refuse. In the past six months, Kitahara Shin had done too many things that ordinary people couldn't understand, but in hindsight, every action he took had a very deep purpose.
"He's probably brainstorming some key plot points for the upcoming script, which is why he needs to find inspiration this way," Matsu Takako thought to herself.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Matsu Takako found it somewhat amusing. She realized that the longer she knew Kitahara Shin, the more she found herself automatically making excuses for his eccentric behavior.
Takako Matsu sat down at the piano and took a deep breath.
Deep down, she knew she was unwittingly stepping into a bottomless pit. She was fully aware that Kitahara Shin had intricate, even ambiguous, relationships with four extremely dazzling female celebrities: Nakamori Akina, Sakai Izumi, Matsushima Nanako, and even Miyazawa Rie.
In the past, she would have scoffed at this and stayed far away from such a womanizing bastard. But now—she finds herself seemingly not caring about these things anymore.
She simply wanted to stay by this man's side and see just how much trouble he could stir up in the world.
The image of the deeply moving harmonica piece that Kitahara Shin played when she first became curious about him flashed through her mind.
Matsu Takako's slender fingers rested on the black and white piano keys, and she gently pressed them down.
The melodious sound of a piano instantly filled the spacious living room of the villa.
At the same moment the piano music began, Kitahara Shin, who was sitting on the sofa, closed his eyes and activated the long-lost system synthesis panel in his mind.
This was his real purpose in summoning Matsu Takako—for metaphysics.
Based on countless previous synthesis experiences, Kitahara Shin summarized an extremely mysterious rule: whenever he performed a high-level synthesis, as long as he was accompanied by a high-quality female companion with a very high level of affection for him, the probability of obtaining top-quality equipment would increase significantly.
During this time, Kitahara Shin quietly collected a massive amount of low-level white equipment while on various film sets and in his daily life.
After an extremely long and tedious process of "white to green", "green to blue", and "blue to purple" as a preparation step, he finally accumulated enough "fodder" for synthesis today.
A total of twelve pieces of purple equipment, which are currently relatively useless to him, lie quietly in the crafting slot.
In other words, he can finally officially start the system's highest-level synthesis of a gold-grade equipment!
This was his first attempt at crafting a gold-level item. He had always found the purple equipment he'd obtained too useful to waste as fodder.
Only now, with capital accumulation complete and resources overflowing, does he have the confidence to try.
To prevent the first piece of gold equipment from being underwhelming, he deliberately prepared two opportunities to synthesize it.
Listening to the melodious piano music played by Matsutaka, Kitahara Shin did not hesitate at all and dragged the six pieces of purple equipment into the synthesis furnace.
"Ding!" A burst of extremely dazzling, even somewhat sacred, golden light suddenly erupted from the system panel.
[Synthesis successful! Congratulations on obtaining the rare gold item—[Enterprise-level Sandbox: Business Vulnerability Sniffer]]
Item type: Area-of-effect passive/active items.
Gold effect:
Passive (Absolute Barrier): As long as this item is bound to the host's core enterprise, any malicious business espionage, accounting manipulation, or supply chain traps from competitors will be automatically alerted within 24 hours of occurrence, and a clear countermeasure plan will be formed in the host's mind.
Proactive (Dimensional Reduction Attack): Can proactively initiate a "full industry chain scan" once a month. Ignoring any disguises, it directly and accurately identifies all management loopholes and financial losses in the host's current business landscape and automatically generates the optimal remediation strategy.
Upon seeing the long description that appeared on the first piece of golden equipment, Kitahara Shin was slightly taken aback. Then, he subconsciously held his breath, staring intently at the virtual panel in mid-air, and began to read the words that shimmered with golden light, word by word.
"This is so timely!"
After seeing the results, Kitahara Shinichi's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but let out a deeply emotional sigh.
He was well aware that his current physical industrial chain was too large, while his foundation was too shallow. This was precisely the vulnerable period when he was most susceptible to being tricked and sabotaged by traditional conglomerates through supply chain or accounting schemes.
But this piece of equipment is practically the "ultimate firewall" tailor-made for his current career!
With this, anyone who tries to sabotage him or obstruct his channels will become a transparent joke in his eyes.
He can not only stabilize his base, but also use it to turn the tables and expose those who want to get rid of him.
Suppressing his inner elation, Kitahara Shin took a deep breath and threw the remaining six pieces of purple equipment into the synthesis furnace once more.
Another dazzling golden beam of light shot into the sky!
Synthesis successful! Congratulations on obtaining the rare gold skill—[The Compass of the Prophet of the Ages]!
Item type: Strategic-level passive skill.
Golden effect: Absolute trend lock. When the host is making cross-industry investments, choosing a technology development direction, or selecting a future long-term IP, this compass will automatically generate a "market heat map for the next five years" in the host's mind based on the current socio-economic environment.
Core Feature: Ensures that all strategic investments made by the host at the macro level are absolutely correct, completely avoiding all market risks caused by blind expansion. As long as you follow the compass, you will always be one step ahead and stand at the next super trend of the times.
Looking at this second golden skill, Kitahara Shin's eyes became brighter than ever before.
As a time traveler, although he possessed countless memories from his previous life, he was, after all, a human being and couldn't possibly remember every single economic detail of every year like a computer. Moreover, as the waves he stirred up in this world grew larger, the "butterfly effect" would inevitably cause certain original historical trajectories to deviate.
If you blindly invest based solely on memory, sooner or later you will fall into an abyss of no return due to the butterfly effect.
But now that we have this compass, everything is different.
It helps Kitahara Shin to proactively identify and fill in any gaps in his memory, whether he can recall them clearly or not. This is truly an "absolute guide to avoiding pitfalls"!
One item completely locked down his current defensive foundation, while the other item helped him accurately defuse potential threats and illuminate the fog of development for the next thousand years.
With the support of these two powerful tools, Kitahara Shin finally had the absolute confidence to unleash his full potential and rampage through the ruthless capital market.
Kitahara Shin let out a long sigh of satisfaction, and with a thought, he directly retracted the system panel in mid-air.
The dazzling golden light before my eyes slowly dissipated, replaced by the warm and soft lighting in the villa's living room, and the still-flowing piano music in my ears.
Matsu Takako was still sitting in front of the black grand piano, her head slightly lowered, her slender fingers dancing lightly on the black and white keys, playing a soothing classical piece with utmost concentration.
Kitahara Shin stood up and walked over quietly.
He didn't interrupt her, but instead sat down very naturally on the large piano bench, next to Matsu Takako.
Feeling the warmth and familiar presence around her, Matsu Takako paused slightly while playing the piano, then turned her head and looked at him with some confusion.
"Thank you." Kitahara Shin turned his head, looking at the girl so close to him, a very gentle and relaxed smile on his lips. "Thank you for staying here with me tonight."
Matsu Takako blinked, somewhat bewildered by his sudden thanks. She'd only asked him to play the piano; what was he thanking her for?
But when she looked into Kitahara Shin's deep eyes, which had lost the violence and coldness she displayed on set and were now filled with only extreme gentleness, Matsu Takako's heart still skipped a beat, and a beautiful blush rose slightly on her originally fair cheeks.
"How bizarre—" she muttered under her breath, quickly looking away. To hide her panic, she pressed a few more notes on the piano keys.
Kitahara Shin chuckled softly and said nothing more. He raised his hands with remarkable ease, placing his slender fingers on the high register of the piano keys, and gently struck out a chord in accordance with Matsu Takako's melody.
Matsu Takako paused for a moment, then couldn't help but smile slightly. Her left hand laid out the bass register, while Kitahara Shin's hands leaped and flowed in the treble register. Without exchanging a single word, the two completed a four-hand duet on the piano with remarkable harmony, without any rehearsal.
The melodious sound of the piano echoed and reverberated in the spacious seaside villa.
The quiet and peaceful night passed in the blink of an eye.
The next morning, the high-speed industrial rhythm resumed in the 1:1 scale set of the Wangan District photography studio.
With Katsuta's three veteran actors, who relied on their seniority and tried to control the crew, being ruthlessly kicked out, the crew, which had seemed to have a rusty gear stuck in it, suddenly became incredibly smooth.
Kitahara Shin acted extremely quickly, and in just one night, he got the production department to find three veteran actors to replace them.
These three newcomers, all veterans, have also spent most of their lives in the entertainment industry. But unlike Sheng You and the others, these three have never been very famous and usually make a living by playing minor supporting roles in various film and television productions.
For veteran actors like them, who are at the bottom of the industry, receiving an invitation from Kitahara Shin to a big-budget S-class production that is destined to be a long run is an honor that feels like a pie falling from the sky.
Moreover, given Kitahara Shin's near-monopolistic absolute dominance in the Japanese television and film industries, anyone who can get into his production team, even as a supporting actor, is enough to reap the benefits for several years.
Therefore, these three new veteran actors not only had no airs, but also cooperated remarkably well.
"Group scene in the lobby, third test—Action!"
As soon as the machine was turned on, Shin Kitahara, playing the role of Shunsaku Aoshima, strode over with a cup of coffee.
The three newly replaced "Big Three" walked past, and faced with Kitahara Shin's rapid-fire and extremely imposing lines, the three veteran actors did not hesitate at all. They followed Kitahara Shin's instructions with great precision, instantly cutting in with an impatient tone, and even creating a noisy feeling of two or three lines of dialogue overlapping each other in a very natural way.
The incredibly realistic sense of busyness, bureaucracy, and anxiety in a grassroots police station immediately comes to life!
"Good! Cut! That was perfect!" The director behind the monitor shouted excitedly and let out a long sigh of relief.
Kitahara Shin smiled and nodded to the three veteran actors, who were covered in sweat but extremely dedicated, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
Just as he turned and walked to the rest area, preparing to pick up his water glass and take a sip of water.
"drop"
A sharp, synthesized electronic voice suddenly rang out from the depths of his mind, a voice that only he could hear.
Immediately afterwards, at the edge of the retina, the golden equipment [Enterprise Sandbox: Business Vulnerability Sniffer] that had just been synthesized last night suddenly emitted a blinding red alarm light.
[Passive Trigger: Absolute Barrier!]
[A malicious business scheme targeting the host's "Kitahara Surrounding Project" and a garment OEM factory in Chiba Prefecture has been detected.]
[Crisis Details: This morning, traditional capital, led by a major trading company, pressured your upstream fabric suppliers, attempting to unilaterally terminate your M-51 windbreaker military green specialty fabric supply contract in two days. Simultaneously, plastic toy factories in Saitama Prefecture are facing a joint blockade of their raw material supply channels.]
[Estimated losses: Without intervention, all orders placed during the pre-sale period for the premiere will face default, with an 87% risk of the cash flow breaking down.]
Looking at the dense details of the crisis in his field of vision, Kitahara Shin paused slightly in his hand holding the water glass.
They arrived as expected.
He had a premonition that those traditional conglomerates wouldn't sit idly by while he developed the entire industry chain.
These old foxes acted swiftly, directly targeting the most fatal choke point of the physical manufacturing industry—the raw material supply chain.
If it were before yesterday, even if Kitahara Shin was very smart, he would have been caught off guard by this kind of combined blockade, which was akin to a dimensional reduction attack, and would have even had to bow his head and beg those conglomerates to let him go.
But now—
Kitahara Shin calmly continued reading. Below the red alert, the system sandbox dutifully generated a row of text radiating golden light.
[Ambush plan has been generated:]
[1. Vulnerability Exploitation: It was detected that the fabric supplier has a batch of unsold, low-priced alternative fabrics of the same specifications overseas, which are not subject to the jurisdiction or restrictions of the domestic consortium association.]
[2. Countermeasure: Immediately utilize Representative Kobayakawa's special authority over customs green channels to acquire the shipment of overseas fabrics at an extremely low price. Then, have the legal team leverage the clauses regarding the other party's unilateral breach of contract to launch a counter-suit for substantial damages and freeze their penalty account.]
Watching this near-perfect combo, Kitahara Shin slowly curled a cold, mocking smile onto his lips.
Not only did they detect the enemy's movements 24 hours in advance, but they even delivered the knife to him in a perfectly safe manner.
With this sand table, he essentially had a full-map perspective cheat in the ensuing business battles.
Kitahara Shin put down his water glass, took out his heavy mobile phone from his trench coat pocket, and dialed Ota Masakazu's number without hesitation.
"Daejeon, it's me."
As soon as the call connected, Kitahara Shin didn't waste any words and immediately issued the order in an extremely cold and unquestionable tone of a superior.
"Immediately drop all your accounting work. Now, take the company's top legal team and head to that fabric supplier in Chiba Prefecture."
Ota Masakazu on the other end of the phone was clearly stunned.
At this moment, he was sitting in the office of the Kitahara Office, with a series of perfectly normal production progress reports submitted by the Chiba Prefecture OEM factory beside him.
Upon hearing this sudden order, Ota was completely bewildered, even somewhat confused: "To Chiba Prefecture? President, is there some problem with that order of special fabric for the M-51 trench coats?"
"But—I haven't received any word of it at all." Da Tian looked at the documents in his hand and reported to his supervisor with great puzzlement. "The purchasing team below confirmed with me this morning that the cooperation over there is very stable, the deposit was settled yesterday, and there is absolutely no sign of any problems."
Dae-tae's doubts are entirely reasonable.
In an era before the internet was widespread, even if a conglomerate wanted to sabotage something in secret, it would take time for the message to travel.
Before the consortium's joint ban was officially issued and placed on the desk of the fabric factory manager, no one in the industry could have sensed the impending storm.
"They're about to run into trouble."
Kitahara Shin's voice was extremely firm, exuding a terrifying sense of oppression as if he could foresee the future. "Listen carefully, after you go there with the lawyer, don't bring up the matter of terminating the contract. Just pretend you're going to inspect the progress and wait for them to speak first."
"If they dare to produce the breach of contract notice, I'll have my legal team slam the prepared contract on the table and initiate the most stringent commercial litigation process, demanding the highest possible compensation!"
Hearing Kitahara Shin's menacing series of arrangements over the phone, Ota Masakazu's grip on the receiver tightened suddenly, his heart filled with turmoil.
He couldn't understand where his boss had gotten such top-secret information!
The other party hasn't even hinted at breaching the contract, yet our company president has already prepared a whole series of moves, including having lawyers confront them at their door and demanding a counterclaim?!
This intelligence network, which seems to have an invisible eye watching the entire Japanese business world, is truly chilling.
However, after following Kitahara Shin for so long, Ota had come to trust his boss's almost supernatural predictive abilities.
He swallowed all the questions and shock in his heart, and without the slightest hesitation, solemnly replied, "I understand, President! I will immediately gather the legal department and set off."
"There's one more thing."
Kitahara Shin continued, directly outlining the system's ultimate countermeasure: "At the same time, contact Representative Kobayakawa's secretary and use the special customs channel to directly acquire that batch of unwanted, affordable fabrics overseas. Be quick; plug all the potential holes caused by the supply disruption beforehand."
After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Shin put the mobile phone back into his pocket.
His gaze pierced through the bright lights of the film set, looking into the distant void, his voice carrying a chillingly ruthless decisiveness.
"Since those old guys want to play the game of cutting off supplies, this time, I'll chop off their hands with interest."