The Hellfire Club's Invitation

"Zack can't wait to start filming Batman. He wants to get the preparations underway."

Harry brought up the last item.

Li Chen said, "He can start preparing the sets and casting, but we have to keep control of the script ourselves, and have DC send over a screenwriter too."

Zack Snyder had a distinctive style: his films had an epic feel, which came from a combination of factors.

A director who had started out shooting commercials, he was good at making shots look beautiful, just like Michael Bay.

But Michael Bay was known as an explosion maniac and loved grand-scale shots most, while Zack Snyder liked slow motion...

At first, things were fine with Warner Bros.' professional team helping him keep things under control, and his films were passable.

But later, he let himself go, and that led to his downfall.

For a time, Hollywood overlooked him.

After all, capital chased profit. No one would stick around for a director who lost money.

That meant Star Studios had to control the overall direction and couldn't give Zack too much power.

Li Chen was doing this for his own good.

Hollywood was very different from the other side of the Pacific. Directors here generally didn't have much say unless they were someone like Steven Spielberg.

In Hollywood, the producer-centered system prevailed. Only a good producer could keep a film's quality under control.

After their discussion, Harry Sloan went off to get busy.

Li Chen, on the other hand, found himself with nothing to do, so he settled down to read the news in his office.

There was still no sign of Tony Stark, which had Li Chen thinking about making another profit.

Once people found out Tony Stark was still alive, Stark Industries' stock would shoot up.

Tony Stark was simply too important to Stark Industries. He was unquestionably a genius, and much of the company's technology had been created by him alone.

Li Chen glanced through the news, but the Los Angeles stories were all celebrity gossip, and he wasn't very interested.

Bored, he picked up some comics instead.

It was a good chance to catch up on Batman comics.

In many modern readers' minds, the main thing about Batman, Bruce Wayne, was that he was rich. As the man in control of Wayne Enterprises, he was a tycoon.

But that identity had evolved over time.

At first, Bruce Wayne was just a detective, not some master of the Wayne Family.

Detective Bruce Wayne was even rather poor. On the birthday of Robin, his assistant at the time, she wanted to buy a motorcycle, only for Bruce Wayne to ask in exasperation, "Do you think I'm a millionaire?"

From a detective to the present-day Master Wayne, Batman as a character had kept changing.

Just as Superman hadn't been so all-powerful at the beginning.

At first, Superman was just a little stronger than most...

People said DC was all about its villains, and these charming, dangerous female villains were indeed interesting. Li Chen was quite tempted.

"The script has to be polished carefully. Characters like Poison Ivy and Catwoman have to be in it."

With Li Chen in control, at least Zack Snyder wouldn't go so crazy as to start straight off with Batman v Superman.

They had to make a solo Batman film first.

Of course, that had actually been a move made out of necessity. Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe was at its peak, and Warner Bros. was envious and wanted a slice of the pie, so it could only take an unconventional approach.

The crazy plan had even been proposed by Zack Snyder himself, but it had obviously failed.

For commercial films, the box office decided everything.

"Hmm, and there's Supergirl too. We absolutely have to cast someone beautiful, not a female version of Huang Bo..."

Whenever Li Chen thought of that, he felt somewhat aggrieved.

He didn't know whether their aesthetic sense had really deteriorated or what. Supergirl was clearly supposed to be fair-skinned and beautiful, with a head of blond hair, yet they had cast an actress who looked ugly from every angle...

He simply couldn't understand it.

She had to at least be good-looking, right?

That afternoon, Li Chen was getting ready to slip away early again.

But Harry found him just then. "Boss, there's an invitation from a club."

A so-called club was no different from a party.

America was best known for its parties of all kinds, and Hollywood was particularly notable among them. Li Chen had attended quite a few, but no one had yet invited him to any of the more "private" parties.

Just from the rumors he had heard, Li Chen felt they really knew how to have fun. They would invite dozens of models over to play with, and some even invited San Fernando Valley performers, which fit his impression of this place perfectly.

Just like that island scandal exposed later, the only difference was its scale. Smaller versions were everywhere in Los Angeles. Back in the 1990s, a professional madam had been arrested.

She had made tens of millions of dollars introducing models and minor actresses to Hollywood celebrities.

Even if she had been caught, how could that sort of thing possibly end?

There would always be someone to carry on the business.

"What club?"

Li Chen asked with interest.

One ordinary person was no match for him, but what if there were a lot of them?

Hiss...

No wonder they all liked inviting dozens of models.

"I don't know. They sent the invitation directly, but the person who brought it was someone important."

Harry Sloan said gravely, "Boss, even if you turn it down, it would be best to do so politely."

That made Li Chen even more interested, and he immediately took the invitation.

Harry Sloan then withdrew.

Li Chen slowly opened the letter. The first thing he saw was an emblem: the image of a white queen chess piece.

He ran his hand over it. It had quite a nice texture.

Then he saw the club's name.

"The Hellfire Club?"

Seeing the name, Li Chen narrowed his eyes.

The Hellfire Club was extremely famous. On the surface, it was a club for elites, just like the rumored Illuminati. Elites from practically all over the world had joined, sharing information and profits and making money together.

But that was only on the surface. Behind the scenes, the Hellfire Club's leadership was actually made up of Mutants.

They used the Hellfire Club to integrate into high society and raise their own status.

Some ambitious Mutants even intended to overthrow normal human society and establish an empire of Mutants.

Of course, that was no different from wishful thinking.

Mutants were too few in number, so they were destined never to accomplish it.

"Eight tonight?"

Li Chen tapped his fingers on the desk and decided to go take a look.

In the Marvel Universe, there was no avoiding dealings with Metahumans.

Of course, it was mainly the person who had invited him who had piqued his interest.

Her name was in the lower right corner of the letter.

"White Queen."

If it had been anyone else, Li Chen wouldn't have been as interested as he was now, but this was the White Queen.

Without a doubt, beautiful women always left a deep impression on Li Chen. In his memory, the White Queen always dressed provocatively and wore a noble, aloof expression. She was the kind of Iceburg men wanted to conquer on sight.

For Li Chen, the pleasure of his life was enjoying life, and that naturally included conquering beautiful women.