I've Got You, Nintendo

They all had a lunch of Italian and Soviet fusion cuisine at the Verkhovod's house before going ice skating.

It really highlights how limited entertainment options were back then.

In reality, these activities were far more engaging than anything available after the internet became widespread. With a large group of people, everything was fun.

Before dinner, Dejan Lu specifically went to a restaurant to pack food before heading home.

After the meal, Dejan Lu sat at the table and began to draw.

This piqued Monica's interest. Her mother was an art teacher, so she was quite skilled at drawing.

"Is this a comic?" Monica asked, leaning over Dejan Lu's shoulder.

"Yes, it's for kids."

"This mouse is called Pikachu?"

"Right, they're called Pokémon, and they're distributed all over the world like animals," Dejan Lu nodded.

After sketching a few character concepts, he immediately wrote an outline.

The setting for "Pokémon" isn't important, so he decided to place it in China.

"Sun Xiaochuan, a 10-year-old boy from Cao County, dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master. He begged his mother to let him join Dr. Zhang's training camp, but he was late and only received a problematic Pikachu. Together, they embarked on a journey..."

"Along the way, Xiaochuan grew from ignorance, defeating opponent after opponent with his never-give-up determination and love for Pokémon. Just when he thought he was an excellent Trainer, he met an even more outstanding young man."

"Yamagami Toru is the son of a wealthy Japanese businessman. Dissatisfied with his countrymen being oppressed by capitalists, he attacked one such capitalist. Later, he was reported by a waiter while eating a hamburger. This incident caused him to lose trust in people. This disillusioned youth hid on a cruise ship and fled to China, where Pokémon are most abundant, preparing to build his own Pokémon army to change his homeland through force..."

"After a fierce battle, Xiaochuan narrowly defeated Toru. Believing he had lost the chance to save his countrymen, Toru fell to his knees and wept, choking out, 'Japan has lost hope. The banker's son will become a banker, the politician's son will become a politician. Ordinary people are always oppressed, and they don't even have the spirit to resist. Only through force can they be compelled to regain their dignity.' Xiaochuan clenched his fist in his left hand and waved his right hand forcefully, shouting, 'Don't be ridiculous! Force will achieve nothing. If you're unhappy with your homeland, work to change it. If you think people have lost faith, then help them rebuild it...' After Xiaochuan's 'Talk no Jutsu,' Toru regained his confidence and joined him on his journey..."

"Xiaochuan and his companions went through great hardship to qualify for the tournament and eventually won the championship. Only then did they discover that Dr. Zhang was the mastermind. He gave them Pokémon Pokédexes to collect data on Pokémon, intending to research a virus that would make all Pokémon sick and thus harvest trainers worldwide. Of course, Xiaochuan eventually reformed Dr. Zhang, and Toru, along with his Pokémon Charizard, began his journey home..."

Dejan Lu was very satisfied after finishing the outline.

During the period of Sino-Japanese honeymoon, adding a Japanese character was a good idea and would be very helpful from a promotional perspective.

From a purely story perspective, the logic of this narrative was already quite good.

Children would see passion and friendship, while adults could also perceive deeper themes, moving beyond simple stories where every character acted out of love. Most people had their own motives.

The protagonist had the typical personality of a Japanese anime character, which was also very appealing.

The country where the story took place had no impact; the selling point of this work was Pokémon itself.

Pikachu had universal appeal.

In a few years, he could use this manga to strongly extort Nintendo and thus begin an era of profiting from them.

With just this one IP, he could rely on Nintendo for a lifetime.

Monica had been watching intently from the side as he drew, which further boosted Dejan Lu's confidence in his work.

"From now on, you'll be the mother of Pokémon!"

Perhaps he, Dejan Lu, could even become a great manga artist.

After this, he could draw something like "Showa American Story." The Showa era was about to end anyway.

Cultural provocation was the most interesting thing.

The sense of contrast and the resulting gap was incredibly impactful.

It would be quite interesting if someone actually evolved and flew to America to become a "male gunner."

With that thought, Dejan Lu made up his mind.

If he had the chance, he would give the filial sons some confidence and encourage them to rebel against their fathers.

Alas, for the national awakening of the Japanese people, he, Dejan Lu, was truly dedicating himself.

Knock, knock, knock—

When Dejan Lu opened the door, he saw the club chairman, Roberto Mancini, and a Japanese man.

When working, Japanese people naturally wore a mask of humility, making them easy to identify.

"I thought you two had gone traveling," Mancini complained.

Dejan Lu used to be the one looking for him to hang out with, and Mancini had planned to take Dejan Lu out to see the world.

"Monica and I were busy," Dejan Lu said.

Seeing Mantovani, Monica quickly went to the kitchen to prepare coffee.

Paolo Mantovani put his arm around Dejan Lu's shoulder and said affectionately, "Your news has been all over the world lately, but you, the protagonist, have disappeared. Some Englishmen even called the club to inquire about your situation."

"They just want a story," he replied.

Dejan Lu complained.

He had only drawn comics at home for three days, but it felt like he'd been missing for a long time.

"This is someone from the Suzuki Group," Mantovani introduced.

The other person immediately bowed slightly and extended his hand, saying, "I am Tarumoto Koji, head of the European sales department for the Suzuki Group. It is a great honor to meet you today. I've seen you frequently in the media recently."

His Italian was decent, but with a Japanese accent, and he couldn't pronounce the rolling 'r' sounds.

It was like the word "hamburger," which Japanese people pronounced as "han-ba-gu."

As soon as he heard it was the Suzuki Group, Dejan Lu knew they were here to give him money.

However, he didn't rush to speak because Mantovani gave him a look.

After the three of them sat down, Monica served coffee.

Tarumoto Koji said, "The company saw the video of you riding a Suzuki motorcycle into the stadium recently. We have to say, your charisma perfectly matches Suzuki motorcycles. We sincerely invite you to be an endorser for our company's products."

"How much is the endorsement fee?" Mantovani asked directly.

"We hope to be highly associated with Mr. Dejan Lu, and the endorsement fee will be calculated based on team and individual performance," Tarumoto Koji said quickly. "The base endorsement fee is 500,000."

"Dollars?"

Mantovani asked.

When people in Italian football talked about transfer fees in the millions or tens of millions, they meant dollars; otherwise, in Italian Lira, it would start in the billions.

"RMB."

Tarumoto Koji explained, "After all, Mr. Lu is just a player who has recently debuted in Serie A, and his commercial value is not that high."

"No, no, no," Mantovani waved his hand. "We can't calculate it like that. Serie A is the best league, and Dejan is an important player for us. Also, his style is what young people all over the world love. Even without considering future results, he has greatly boosted motorcycle sales. Young people in Genoa have been riding motorcycles these past few days. Jordan, who debuted in 1984, is already earning $500,000 a year. I think Dejan's value is no less than Jordan's."

Dejan Lu: ...

The chairman had quite a lot of confidence in him.

However, even if his skills weren't inferior to Jordan's, Serie A's commercial value couldn't compare to the NBA.

Player endorsement fees were generally not high during this era, with only a few players having sufficient commercial value.

For example, Maradona endorsed Adidas, and Platini endorsed Pepsi Cola.

Even years later, when Beckham became famous, players like Neville from Manchester United, a top-tier club with immense attention, didn't have many commercial activities.

"How is that possible?"

Tarumoto Koji exclaimed.

Even though he was prepared, he was still shocked by the figure.

Mantovani shrugged, "You approach him because you see Dejan's future potential, but you are not the only company selling motorcycles. Dejan can choose BMW, Ducati, or Fiat. Even in Japan, there are many brands, isn't there that one called Kawasaki?"

The old businessman was very confident that Dejan Lu was unique in this regard.

He had stood in the center of the field that day and witnessed everything unfold.

If he were 20 years younger, he would have the urge to buy a motorcycle and pursue freedom. He didn't think a Hollywood star could achieve the same effect.

Most importantly, this was just the beginning; Dejan Lu was still on the rise.

After seeing his debut performance, Paolo Mantovani had reason to believe that he would become Genoa's Maradona.

Thanks for the tip, I still like sunny days.

Seeking follow-up reads, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and collections~

The current results are acceptable, having made it through the first round. Please continue to support Old Ye, everyone! Thank you!!!!!