Starting by Making Dazzler a Star

"Go on back. I'll come see you."

Li Chen embraced and kissed Gwen Stacy, then waved for her to stay where she was.

Then, under the curious gazes of Shadowcat and the others, Li Chen boarded the plane with them and headed for Los Angeles.

They had flown first class on the way there, but for the return trip, they had a private jet.

It was the Hellfire Club's private jet, a Gulfstream G650ER. The Hellfire Club's emblem was painted on the outside, giving it an imposing appearance.

The interior was completely different from an airliner's as well.

It had several areas, including a lounge, a private theater, a dance studio, and even an airborne swimming pool.

The dance studio was rudimentary, with nothing but a pole installed. Those who knew, knew.

And the flight attendants on the jet were finally no longer middle-aged women, but beautiful girls from all over the world.

They stood on either side to welcome Li Chen and the others. With their different skin tones and appearances, they looked like a colorful fruit platter, a feast for the eyes.

Li Chen felt like a judge at a beauty pageant as the beauties from around the world posed coquettishly before him, showing off their looks.

They were all dressed in flight attendant uniforms, clearly prepared especially by the Hellfire Club.

Only at that moment did Li Chen feel what life was all about.

The meaning of life was enjoyment.

Li Qianhuan and the others were stunned as well, and arrangements were made for them to rest.

Kitty Pryde and Dazzler excitedly went to enjoy the private theater, where the flight attendants brought them red wine and food.

"Qianhuan, aren't you going?"

Li Chen asked Li Qianhuan, who was following him.

The girl wouldn't leave his side for a moment, keeping a close watch on him.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Gwen had said something to her.

But in fact, Gwen was wary of them too.

After all, Gwen knew her boyfriend was too outstanding. If she couldn't keep an eye on him, something was bound to go wrong.

But there was nothing she could do. She hadn't graduated yet, and her studies came first.

Li Qianhuan stared at the flight attendants behind Li Chen.

"Don't worry, it's very safe here."

With that, Li Chen sent her away.

How could he have a woman following him around for what came next?

Then Li Chen headed to the dance studio to test their dancing skills.

These flight attendants had been carefully selected and trained, so they could be said to be proficient in everything.

They also came in every skin color, with several shades ranging from light to dark.

For the first time, Li Chen felt that a plane could be surprisingly fast.

Before he'd had his fill, they had already arrived in Los Angeles.

When they got off the plane, Kitty Pryde and Dazzler were still excited.

They were happy too, having never experienced such luxury before.

And they were also happy to see Los Angeles.

"Come on, I'll take you to see the Hollywood Hills first."

Li Chen decided to grant their wish.

He took them to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Walk of Fame was best known for its more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass star medallions, covering the five fields of film, television, recording, radio, and theater.

Every name engraved on them belonged to a superstar who shone in their respective field.

As they walked along the Walk of Fame, Dazzler wondered when she would be able to leave her own name there.

Without a doubt, it was an honor.

Afterward, Li Chen took them to the Hellfire Club.

That was another advantage they had over ordinary girls chasing their dreams.

Many girls came to Hollywood with dreams in their hearts, but reality was far more cruel than their dreams.

They had to live in cramped, rundown rooms and work odd jobs every day to make ends meet, all for one paltry chance to audition.

That was also why most people left in disappointment.

In Hollywood, opportunities were scarce, and the odds of one falling to an ordinary person were tiny.

Without a benefactor to help them along, they would never rise to the top in their entire lives.

There were also people from all over the world here, not just native-born Americans, which made the competition even fiercer.

By comparison, Kitty Pryde and Dazzler already had a better start than others.

The Hellfire Club would be willing to promote them.

Li Chen met the White Queen, whom he hadn't seen in several days.

Because of her mutant ability, Emma Frost, the White Queen, seemed frozen in time and barely aged.

That was why she always looked this perfect.

Having spent a long time in America, Li Chen knew very well that although these white women looked glamorous, they actually didn't age well.

A white girl's best years were from sixteen to twenty-five. Many began to age after twenty-five, with forehead wrinkles starting to cover their faces.

Moreover, most white women had terrible skin, with large pores and thick body hair.

The legendary black pearls, on the other hand, had smooth, flawless skin, soft and supple as satin.

But because of their skin color, black pearls depended heavily on their facial features. If those features were even a little unattractive, they didn't look good.

The White Queen had none of these shortcomings. Because she was a mutant, her skin was as dazzling as diamonds, and she was in astonishingly good condition.

"Long time no see, Li."

The White Queen smiled at Li Chen, then looked at the people beside him.

"You're the mutants who just graduated, aren't you?"

She looked at Kitty and the others haughtily.

Kitty Pryde and the others recognized her as the famous White Queen.

"You made the right choice coming here. I hear you dream of becoming stars?"

"Yes, I want to be a star."

Kitty Pryde answered immediately.

That made the White Queen feel as though she were seeing her younger self.

She glanced at Li Chen, who shrugged. At most, he could give Kitty a small role.

After all, Transformers had already begun filming, and it was impossible to replace the female lead at this point.

But arranging a small role wouldn't be much of a problem.

It didn't matter if she made an appearance or even had a couple of lines.

Dazzler was more troublesome. The problem with MGM was that it had no media conglomerate backing it.

As one of Hollywood's giants, MGM was too much of a pure-play studio. Warner Bros. Pictures, for instance, had been acquired by media conglomerates multiple times and had a financially powerful parent company behind it.

Disney went without saying. It was a major conglomerate in its own right, with vast businesses like its theme parks.

That was precisely why MGM had gone bankrupt repeatedly. Even though it had plenty of IP, such as Tom and Nezumi and the 007 series, its ability to withstand risk was far too weak.

So in the twenty-first century, many of the former Hollywood giants went bankrupt and restructured, 20th Century Fox among them.

In the late 1990s, 20th Century Fox and Paramount were in a league of their own, having spent nearly two hundred million dollars making Titanic.

For a time, that made 20th Century Fox the laughingstock of Hollywood.

But what happened in the end? Titanic turned things around against the odds. When no one believed in it, it took the top spot in box-office history and became a worldwide sensation.

Back then, 20th Century Fox was riding high.

But by the new millennium, everyone knew what happened afterward: it was acquired by Disney.

Without a media conglomerate behind it, bankruptcy and acquisition were unavoidable.

Li Chen felt they also needed to set up a music division, starting by making Dazzler a star.