John had absolutely no interest in managing a team.
Even with the high salary He Xi Meng promised, John remained indifferent.
Having no other choice, He Xi Meng decided to tap into John’s recent interests and enticed him into a bet regarding the fluctuations of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
In this life, John could not escape his destiny and once again found himself ensnared in the tender embrace of Jill.
With Jill’s influence, John stopped his womanizing ways, significantly reduced his visits to nightclubs, and slowed down his extravagant spending.
Days without clubbing left John feeling utterly indolent.
His players, too, required no meticulous attention from him, growing ferociously like they were on steroids. Without even reaching their rookie contracts, they were all capable of remarkable performances. Their second contracts would, at the very least, start with a mid-level exception.
All John needed to do was to offer guidance, ensuring they wouldn't fall prey to any poison pill contracts. Beyond that, as long as the players didn't ask, John would not interfere, letting them make their own decisions. He was a master of the hands-off approach, and commissions flowed into his personal account like a steady stream. Wasn't that infuriating?
With fewer trips to nightclubs, John's accounts actually started showing a surplus…
Thus, bored, John had recently become fascinated with financial management.
However, He Xi Meng’s disbelief in his newly acquired "secret techniques" infuriated John.
To "compete" with He Xi Meng and showcase his newly learned superior investment and financial management skills, John chose to deliberately diverge from He Xi Meng's investment strategies.
Simply put, if He Xi Meng favored a particular stock or fund, John would refuse to buy it.
Conversely, if He Xi Meng was bearish on something, John would conduct his own research, pore over analyses, and diligently seek out overlooked gems to prove that, at least in the realm of investment and finance, he was superior to He Xi Meng… the infuriating competitive spirit of a man…
John was looking in the wrong direction; he should have competed with He Xi Meng in picking up women, as that was where his innate talent truly lay!
Competing in investment and finance… Hmph! The ultimate result, of course, was John’s wealth dwindling with each management attempt.
It truly exemplified the saying: If you don’t manage your wealth, it won’t "stay" with you!
The crucial point was that John, experiencing success in both love and career, had finally found a stage to prove himself and was unwilling to give up easily.
The more he lost, the more he wanted to manage! Money lost could be earned again.
But if wealth wasn’t managed, life would lose its zest…
Therefore, when He Xi Meng proposed settling the bet based on the outcome of their financial investments, John immediately agreed.
After repeatedly studying the secret manuals of various global investment philosophies, John believed the market had reached its peak and was due for a technical correction.
In simple terms, there was only one outcome: a fall!
However, He Xi Meng knew that before the 2008 financial crisis, stock indices worldwide would surge, and at an accelerated pace.
For the next year and more, bulls worldwide would dominate bears, beating them until all bears capitulated and turned bullish, only then would the crisis descend, and the global economy would collapse amidst widespread optimism!
Currently, those holding a bearish outlook were mainly technical analysts like John.
John declared that the stock index would fall within a month.
He Xi Meng then bet him. If John lost, he would have to act as a proxy for He Xi Meng and Kobe, heading the team’s acquisition group. In the future, if the team acquisition succeeded, John would become the overt majority owner!
Of course, He Xi Meng would find a separate general manager for the actual team operations. The primary utility would be John’s American identity and his hidden status, to shield He Xi Meng and Kobe from unnecessary trouble.
"And if you lose?" John retorted to He Xi Meng.
"Money, or anything else within my capabilities, you can ask for!"
"Alright! If you lose, you have to distract Jill for a week so I can go to Paris for the Victoria's Secret show!"
"Are you sure it's for the Victoria's Secret show?"
"Are you in or out on the bet?"
"Deal!"
Since John was bound to lose anyway, He Xi Meng saw no reason not to take the bet. However, considering John's incorrigible nature, He Xi Meng hesitated, wondering whether to report him to Jill.
A month later, a dejected John joined the Mamba Brothers Consortium, becoming its nominal, visible wealthy owner.
The name of this Mamba Brothers Consortium was undoubtedly chosen by Kobe.
After O'Neal left the Lakers, Kobe gave himself the formidable nickname "Black Mamba."
Subsequently, the reputation of the mamba, a type of venomous snake, began to spread throughout the North American basketball world.
Mambas belong to the Elapidae family, with primary classifications including the black mamba, green mamba, slender mamba, and eastern green mamba.
Therefore, in principle, mambas do not exhibit an extensive range of colors.
However, when translated to the basketball court, fans paid little heed to such distinctions.
Since there was a Black Mamba, fans logically assumed the existence of mambas of various other colors.
Thus, after Kobe declared himself the Black Mamba, Roy was dubbed "Yellow Mamba," Matt Bonner became "Red Mamba," Sasha Kaun was "White Mamba," Corey Brewer was "Smiling Mamba," and even Capela was absurdly called "Pancake Mamba"…
In essence, the moniker "Mamba" was becoming ubiquitous in the NBA.
He Xi Meng reminded Kobe, "Using such a distinctive name, aren't you worried about being associated with it?"
"With John, the rich second-generation, covering for me, what does it matter if people make the connection? It also gives me a perfect excuse to leave the Lakers. This consortium name clearly indicates a die-hard fan of mine…"
He Xi Meng, unable to sway Kobe, decided to let him have his fun. Mamba Consortium did sound pretty cool.
Kobe had a point; with John's background, no one could uncover the source of his funding unless John himself revealed it.
Once the team acquisition arrangements were formally in place, He Xi Meng needed to focus on making money with Mickey.
Previously, they had invested heavily in acquiring the Celtics, and Mickey had progressively recouped it all through equity pledges.
During his recovery period, He Xi Meng intended to maximize the value of these funds. He would pool all the capital he could muster, aiming to earn at least the equivalent of a new team in the capital market…
After all, the current stock market was essentially a one-way upward trend with no risk of a pullback.
All He Xi Meng needed was to raise a substantial amount of capital. Earning the equivalent of two or even three teams would be effortless.
Kayla, uninterested in He Xi Meng’s financial market battles, took advantage of her constant presence by his side to "force" him to write two more scripts for her.
One was titled "Black Widow," and the other was "Avatar"…