Chapter 85
Flower Q!
Chapter 85 Flower Q!
Three days later, Scokey, Illinois.
It's the same office, the same three people.
Two subordinates, one fat and one thin, stood in front of the desk, eyes downcast and seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. Behind the desk, the old man leaned back in his chair, his left arm resting on the armrest, his right index finger tapping absently on the mahogany tabletop.
The disordered tapping sound was like a woodpecker pecking for food, which made one's scalp tingle. Even so, the two people standing there did not move, because they had already read the newspaper placed in front of the old man before they came in.
"Is this what you call guaranteed victory?"
The elderly man with white hair picked up the newspaper, looked at the subheading on the front page, and read it aloud in a calm tone—
"The inventor of Snake Game founded a company, and the patent holder of Odyssey joined it."
The old man's lips were tightly pressed together, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes were sharp as he looked at the two of them.
Seeing that they didn't react, he suddenly became furious.
"MFxxk!!!!"
"Is this what you call 'inevitable victory'???"
"Whoosh!" He flung the newspaper out of his hand.
Unfortunately, the newspaper had barely crossed the desk and floated in the air a little before falling to the ground.
The way they scattered in all directions looked like a smiling face, mocking his foolishness.
This scene made the old man jump up, grab the cup on the table, and smash it at his subordinate in front of him.
"Crack!"
The scalding tea and shattered ceramics exploded instantly beneath their feet.
"You two sons of bitches!!!"
"Is this your final explanation to me???"
"What did you tell me before? That Ethan Jones was infringing on my copyright! That we were guaranteed to win if we sued him! But look at us now! Tell me! Why did Ralph Bell join his company?"
"Do you know what this means???"
"ah???--"
"This means Ethan Jones is out of our control!!!"
"Our monopoly in the video game industry is gone!!!"
The howling wind and rain made the two people standing there feel very wronged.
Because they felt that this matter had nothing to do with them.
Their decision to sue Ethan was to prove to the board of directors and senior management of the parent company that the problem wasn't with their management or their inability to identify talent, but rather that Ethan had exploited loopholes and achieved success through illegal means.
Although they may have had some ulterior motives in choosing the content of the lawsuit, and the patents they used in the lawsuit were no different from using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito, no, it was no different from using an atomic bomb to kill a mosquito, but the final result was good, right?
It's worth noting that when Ethan accepted the lawsuit and chose to settle, even paying $1.5 million in damages, the doubts of the board and the parent company immediately subsided considerably! And when Atari, which was also involved in the lawsuit, settled with them and paid $800,000 in damages, the board members and the US leaders of the parent company praised their work, saying they had done a very successful job!
When this outcome occurs, their litigation plan will be considered successfully completed!
As for the current situation...
They don't know either!
They were shocked when they saw the Los Angeles Times this morning!
Because no one expected that Ethan, who had previously offered to reconcile, would actually ransack their house?
This whole thing seems a bit outrageous!
Of course, although they were filled with shock, they couldn't show it.
The two exchanged glances, their heads twitching slightly. Finally, the fat man who had previously suggested suing Ethan using video games and training devices stepped forward and cautiously said, "Boss, this matter... might... be a... misunderstanding?"
"Oh fxxk! I think you're the one who looks like a misunderstanding!"
His words made the old man even angrier.
He slammed his hand on the table, leaped in front of his subordinate in a few swift movements, grabbed his tie with one hand and pointed at his chest with the other, unleashing his fury in a frenzy, "MFxxK! I already spoke with Sanders on the phone before I called you two here!"
"They told me it was Ralph Bell's personal decision and they had no right to interfere!"
"Do you know what this means?"
"This means Ralph Bell is endorsing Ethan Jones!"
"He's very unhappy about our lawsuit against Ethan Jones!"
"In response, he chose to personally intervene, allowing Ethan Jones to continue making video games!"
The old man's frantically jabbing fingers caused the fat man excruciating pain in his chest.
But at this moment, he had no time to pay attention to the physical pain, because the news his boss brought him was even more shocking.
Ralph Bell publicly supported Ethan Jones?
What is this thing?
Although they all knew that Ralph Bell was very unhappy with Milrova's aggressive patent protection efforts, because he himself only wanted to collect a small amount of patent fees to leave room for video game developers to survive, there was no reason not to do a profitable business, right?
And they didn't collect much, right?
An arcade machine only costs between eighty and one hundred US dollars, and a circuit board only costs between thirty and forty US dollars.
This standard is something that game developers can absolutely afford!
At most, we'll just earn a little less.
Why shouldn't Ralph Bell allow it?
Of course, although they had some complaints, they didn't dare to openly question Ralph Bell, because they knew that in the United States, a country that is a technological powerhouse, scientists' decisions are sometimes more effective than laws.
This doesn't mean they've gone beyond the law, but rather that the law sometimes has to take their feelings into account.
Take Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, for example. Even though he touched on the ideological realm and was labeled a Tongliao by the guy who died of acute hepatitis, the final result of the court was only that there was insufficient evidence and the charge was not established.
No one dares to label him with a real tag.
After all, when Oppenheimer was sued, Einstein took to the New York Times for three consecutive issues to criticize him.
When the hearing actually took place, the American scientific community was in an uproar!
When all these bigwigs who could influence the development of the United States stepped down, the two parties, the Democrats and Republicans, knowing the situation was not good, seized the opportunity and, while the guy who started the trouble was provoking the US Army, they directly suppressed him.
Because if this continues, then there really won't be anyone in the world who can't communicate with Tongliao!
Of course, even after these events have passed, the dissatisfaction and targeting of scientists still exist, but most of the time, they keep things underground, and no one is stupid enough to vent their dissatisfaction.
Therefore, even if they were unhappy with Ralph Bell, they could only think of a solution in their hearts.
but--
Damn it!
The more I think about it, the angrier I get!
"MFxxk! Why would Ralph Bell choose Ethan Jones?"
"Why?!"
"Why would he join Ethan Jones' company?"
The old man couldn't understand!
This kind of help disgusted him!
They finally managed to pin the blame on Ethan, but only a month later, Ethan stripped them bare.
What is this?
That's going too far!
Just as the fat and thin subordinates thought their boss would probably be raging all day, the phone on the table suddenly rang.
The ringing sound prompted the old man to instinctively answer it.
"Hello!" His tone was very harsh.
But the next second, his resentful face tightened instantly, and his already aged skin became even harder.
"Bring him in," he said.
Before he finished speaking, he was already adjusting his breathing.
A few seconds later, a bright smile appeared on his face again.
"Yeah~ Boss~ Hello~ It's me~"
"Oh Boss, please let me explain, it's not what you think..."
"No, no, no, we are already aware of this and are investigating the cause..."
"...Okay, okay, okay...I'll book the tickets right now...I'll be right there..."
After the old man hung up the phone helplessly, a sudden feeling of gloom welled up inside him, and he clenched his hands tightly.
He needed to vent!
but……
In the end, I held it in.
He gave his two subordinates a deep look, his calm tone masking his exhaustion.
"Put Ethan Jones's matter aside for now. I need to go to New York."
"You guys go take care of other things first, we'll talk about the rest when I get back."
These words sent a shiver down the spines of both the fat and thin men.
Because their parent company, Philips, is headquartered in New York.
If nothing unexpected happens, their leader is going to have an accident.
They walked out of the office with the old man, and both the fat and thin men sighed as they watched his desolate figure disappear into the distance.
"What's going on with Ethan? How did he manage to get Ralph Bell to come?" the fat man wondered.
"I don't know!" The skinny man shook his head helplessly.
"I always feel this is strange!" He spread his hands, completely bewildered.
But even more bewildered than them was Nolan Bushnell.
When he saw the front page of the Los Angeles Times early in the morning, he felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he had taken a drastic apology!
"Ralph Bell joins Ethan Jones' company?"
"Oh! Fxxk! Ethan! How dare you trick me!"
But before he could even roar for a moment, the office door was knocked open.
After he was allowed in, a somber message appeared before him.
"Nolan, Warner Bros. is asking if you have time; they want you to go to Los Angeles."
"..."
"Damn!"
Nolan Bushnell slammed his hand on the chair, then grabbed his suit jacket from the sofa and stormed out of the office.
Don Valentine was just as angry as he was.
After selling Atari to Warner Bros., he divested all his shares, so he is currently at home.
After seeing the latest issue of the Los Angeles Times, he immediately bent the spoon he was using to drink his oatmeal!
"Great job, Ethan, you're great..."
He nodded repeatedly, praising Ethan, and as the veins on the back of his hand bulged like a wild beard, he forcefully pushed the table in front of him—
"Ethan!!! Fxxk You!!!"
Thank you to [Thunder Blade] for the 100 Qidian Coins.
(End of this chapter)