America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

California State Prison, visitation room.

Manningger sat in front of the explosion-proof glass window, listening to the young black man speaking.

The black man said, "Man, we've been taking care of your sister and mom, they're living well."

Last month they came for a visit, Manningger nodded, "Thank you guys."

"No need for polite words between brothers," the black man continued, "I figured out a way to get you a few new bars of soap, you'll receive them after the inspection, there are three tender new fish that just came in, the tallest one..."

Manningger finished listening to the description and said, "I recognize him, brothers haven't had a taste for a long time, your timing is perfect."

The black man saw it was about time to leave, "We'll talk more next time I come to see you."

After their visit ended, Manningger left with a bag checked by the guards, which contained a few opened boxes of soap.

The soap had a strange fragrance, invigorating and mind-clearing, very different from before.

Manningger returned to his room, waited for the iron door to close, and immediately called over a few underlings.

The day was calm, but during the yard time, many of the old blacks gathered together.

They were full of energy, brazen about certain things, and had formed their own faction inside the state prison.

These men quickly came to an agreement, with six deciding to participate directly.

Some of them, well-funded, could be sent to Sacred Valley to work as male performers.

The next day, it was shower time in the prison.

Pitt, Ben, and Cassie, who had just transferred in, entered the open shower room and deliberately chose a spot where nobody was to take their shower.

As soon as the water started, some old blacks came over talking loudly about something, their eyes occasionally sweeping over here.

Pitt glanced at them and said to Ben, "I made some friends, we'll get privileges soon enough, don't stir up trouble in here, and try to bribe with more money, and we should be able to get out early for sure."

Ben had been grim these days, "Once I'm out, I won't let Martin Davis off the hook!"

He said vehemently, "That sister of Martin's, Lily Carter, right? You'll see her on Tijuana Vice Street!"

"Shouldn't we just stay away from Martin?" Cassie, recently scared, didn't want to get involved anymore, "Martin is not easy to mess with!"

Pitt agreed profoundly, "Value your life, stay away from Martin."

Ben looked around, "You guys chickened out?"

Cassie lowered his head silently.

Pitt sighed and said, "Haven't you heard about Harvey? Harvey is likely coming here too, in a worse position than us."

Ben wasn't about to give up easily, "I still have Damon, Damon will help me on the outside, I need to get out early and quietly give back all that Martin Davis has brought upon us, let him live in pain for the rest of his life."

Pitt fell silent too, his thoughts becoming restless, starting to think for himself, if he reported Ben, could it reduce his sentence?

Once this kind of thought began, it couldn't be suppressed.

With a snap, something seemed to fall nearby. Pitt turned his head to see a bar of soap with a peculiar aroma had landed near Ben's feet.

Ben saw it too, the fragrance entered his nose, even more invigorating than the traditions of the Foot Clan.

He looked in the direction where the soap had come from and saw an imposing, tower-like black muscleman.

The man smiled broadly showing two rows of big white teeth, looking very friendly, "Hey buddy, help me pick up the soap."

Ben ignored him, stepping away from the spot near the soap.

The tower-like black man walked over, picked up the soap, but didn't leave.

Ben watched him curiously.

The tower-like black man raised his hand, the soap in his fist lathered, applied a bit of force, and the bar shot out from between his fingers, hitting Ben in the chest and falling to the ground again.

Ben, tall and muscular, was not easily bullied, and had a quick temper, "Apologize to me and get out of here!"

The black tower broke into laughter, "Help me pick up the soap."
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Ben was about to clench his fists when footsteps sounded all around, as all the old blacks in the area gathered, with more than thirty people closing in.

The black tower snapped his fingers, "Are you going to pick it up willingly, or should we force you to?"

Cassie quickly pulled at Ben, "Let's talk it out, let's talk it out, he's Ben Affleck!"

The black tower pushed Cassie aside, "A Hollywood star, too damn rare here!"

Laughter exploded around them, the old blacks eager to try.

Cassie quickly pulled at Pitt, "Come up with something fast!"

About a dozen old blacks turned their attention to them.

Pitt could see clearly, they weren't targeting him, his eyes quickly scanning around, and noticed the patrolling guards seemed to have silently agreed to patrol elsewhere at the same time.

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Clearly, this was all set up.

Having been schemed against repeatedly and having lost their fortunes and futures, their reputation no longer intimidated these old-timers.

Pitt knew what was coming next, and although he had similar experiences before he became famous, he definitely did not want to go through it several more times. He quickly raised his hands and said, "I'm not close with them at all, not one bit."

The iron tower of a man nodded, and Pitt hurried off, eventually breaking into a run.

Even though he had fallen on hard times in prison and was forsaken and spurned by the entire Hollywood, Pitt remained resolute. If someone wanted him to do those things, they should at least pay him a hefty sum like the production companies in Sacred Valley.

Once he was a safe distance away, Pitt looked back only to see a few old-timers had taken control of Cassie, and dozens more had surrounded Ben, with some of them clutching soaps that emitted a peculiar fragrance.

It wasn't long before Ben's cries were heard.

The sound was very, very strange, and Pitt couldn't tell at first if they were screams of agony.

The terrible incident now recorded as the "Manningger Massacre" at California State Prison had erupted!

......

On that same day, at the Hollywood Chief Rock Grand Theatre, a grand premiere was taking place.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" made its North American debut.

In alignment with the awards season PR campaign, this film, which had already premiered globally at Cannes, was formally released in North America only after the awards season had officially begun.

Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures had invited many stars and celebrities, and the appearance of Christopher Nolan caused a huge sensation.

This star director had a massive fan base all over America and the world that supported him unconditionally; even to this day, they would fight tooth and nail on IMDB against fans of "The Godfather" and "The Shawshank Redemption."

In the words of Warner Bros. and Nolan himself, as long as the discs of "The Dark Knight" were still being sold in the market, this bloodless war would never cease.

The upcoming film "Inception" next year had a trailer added into "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Paramount Pictures' current ace star, Tom Cruise, also came to support the event and brought Martin a particularly special gift.

Martin and Elizabeth walked the red carpet together, proceeding to the Cola Cult gathering area for the routine signing and cola drinking before entering the media zone.

Tom Cruise was waiting for him in the media area.

Martin was somewhat surprised, not knowing what Tom Cruise intended to do.

In front of numerous reporters and cameras, Tom Cruise strode over, opened his arms wide to give Martin a firm hug, and then gestured towards the back.

Katy Holmes brought over a little cake.

Tom Cruise took it and handed it to Martin, "This is for you."

"Thank you," Martin said, accepting it and solemnly handing it to Elizabeth, "We must try Tom's cake later."

Seeing that Martin understood his gesture, Tom Cruise said, "My cake is very special, I'll send you a few more later."

Martin didn't need to signal; Bruce had already taken out a gift box from his bag and quietly slipped it into Martin's hand.

Martin handed over the hand-carved statuette made by Lily to Tom Cruise, "I also have a gift for you."

Tom Cruise accepted it graciously.

The two stood together, displaying the stance of close friends.

A reporter asked, "Tom, Martin, when did you two become such good friends?"

Tom Cruise spoke first, "During the filming of 'Mission: Impossible 4,' Martin gave me a lot of advice on action design which saved the production team a lot of trouble. The smooth progress of 'Mission: Impossible 4' filming owes a lot to Martin."

In years not favorable to the movie market, even Tom Cruise had started to ride the wave of popularity.

Sometimes that's how relationships in the circle come about, and Martin didn't mind, replying with a smile, "I've been a diehard fan of Tom since 'Top Gun' was released; I've watched Mission: Impossible over a dozen times. It's a classic of classics, and it's an honor to be able to lend a small hand to Tom."

Tom Cruise bumped fists with Martin, "When 'Top Gun' was released, I should have invited you to the premiere."

Martin laughed heartily, "I was just a kid back then." He was good at creating talking points, "Tom, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

Seeing these two actors didn't even need questions to put on a show for the media, the reporters simply stopped asking questions and focused on capturing the news.

Tom Cruise asked, "What is it, ask away."

"Now that 'Mission: Impossible' has its sequels, I've waited several years and finally got them," Martin said. "When can we expect a sequel to 'Top Gun'?"

Tom Cruise reacted swiftly, immediately realizing this was also a great topic for hype, "Soon, we are in the preliminary planning stages!"

He vowed earnestly, "Martin, I promise, in just a few years you'll see 'Top Gun: Part Two'!"

"That's great news," Martin remarked.

The reporters were excited, as this news could stir conversations for several days.

Martin left the media zone, rejoined the other principal members of the production team, took a group photo in front of the sponsors' backdrop, and proceeded to the theater's foyer.

Elizabeth handed the cake to Bruce and approached, asking, "Why would Tom Cruise give out cakes at an event like this?"

Martin explained briefly, "It's a symbol of Tom Cruise's friendship; every year before Christmas, he sends cakes to people he's close with. It's one of Cruise's traditional items."

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