Chapter 120: Homecoming! New Year's Eve Dinner

Seeing Clark Lee creating lotuses with his steps, even the stern Mordo couldn't help but give a thumbs up internally.

Mordo had a pair of boots that allowed him to exert force in mid-air, enabling short runs, but walking as leisurely as Clark was something he found difficult to achieve.

More importantly, he had never realized before that one could flaunt their skills in such a manner!

It was indeed an eye-opener!

Walking back to the ground, Clark slightly smiled at the two and said, "Please convey my thanks to the Ancient One for me. I'll be taking my leave now."

With that, he casually opened a portal and disappeared from the New York Sanctum.

As they watched Clark disappear, Daniel suddenly remembered something, and Mordo, patting his shoulder, remarked, "Clark left behind a pair of Berluti custom shoes, top-of-the-line stuff worth at least $2000, you're in luck."

With a laugh, Mordo headed towards the portal leading back to Kamar-Taj.

What did the price matter? Who would be interested in such worldly possessions? Daniel picked up the shoes, somewhat sullenly, and found that they fit perfectly. ...

"Delicious!"

Teleporting back to his Manhattan villa, Clark stepped out of his room to a long-missed aroma of meat. That scent was...

Kung Pao Chicken!

"Clark!" Hearing Clark's voice, Hope turned around abruptly, surprised to see it was indeed him, "When did you get back? I didn't see you come upstairs?"

"That's a long story," Clark lightly shook his head. "Let's wait until everyone's gathered, and I'll explain then. Speaking of which, am I smelling Chinese food?"

"Your nose is really sharp!" Hope rolled her eyes at him, "Knowing you were coming back today, Bai went out of her way to buy a bunch of ingredients, saying she wanted to cook a genuine Chinese meal to celebrate properly."

"It seems I'm in for a treat today."

With Clark's arrival, Mindy soon emerged from her room, clinging to Clark and boasting about her popularity at school.

In short, thanks to "A Song of Ice and Fire," many previously unknown actors became famous, including the actress playing Arya Stark, little Mindy.

The sudden appearance of a little star at school naturally made her the center of attention, which was not surprising.

Talking and laughing, Old Pi and Yilong returned from the laboratory, and the family was officially gathered.

Soon after, Bai finished cooking, calling everyone to dine together.

During the meal, Bai suddenly asked, "Does anyone know what day it is today?"

"That..." Mindy, quick-witted, immediately raised her hand, "It's Bai's birthday!"

Bai shook her head slightly, looking at the others. Old Pi pondered for a moment, "Today is January 25, 2009. It doesn't seem to be any special day?"

"Today is New Year's Eve." Yilong, usually quiet, revealed the truth, his eyes betraying a hint of loneliness, reminiscent of a stranger in a strange land.

Clark patted his shoulder, grinning, "Yilong remembers well. I've been so caught up in my own affairs that I forgot such an important day."

"Stop it!" Yilong shrugged off Clark's hand, "I'm not so fragile that I need comforting, it's just a moment of homesickness."

Though he said that, Yilong's expression had already returned to normal.

Before Clark could retort, Yilong glanced meaningfully at his feet, "Wearing the red shoes, huh? It's not your zodiac year, is it?"

Clark shrugged helplessly, feeling it was better to go along with the misunderstanding in this atmosphere.

Bai then spoke again, "Apart from being New Year's Eve, today also marks the successful acquisition of DC by Nirvana Group. It's worth celebrating, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses.

After putting down the glasses, Clark smiled at Bai, "The acquisition was completed so quickly, the asking price must not have been too high, right?"

"The initial demand was high, but they seemed desperate for the 'Battle Through the Heavens' rights. I firmly held the negotiation advantage, and the final deal was for 'Battle Through the Heavens' and all animated movie rights, plus $7.3 billion."

"$7.3 billion?" Clark smiled, "We did get a bargain then, at least $1.5 billion lower than my internal estimate. But you're mistaken about one thing; their rush wasn't for 'Battle Through the Heavens' rights but to get DC into our hands."

Bai nodded, "The slump in superhero movies is well-known. They saw a good opportunity to target us."

Looking at Clark, Bai said, "I've done what I could; now it's up to you, the miracle worker of the entertainment industry, to come up with a script."

"I've already written the script."

Handing over the printed script to Bai, she frowned upon seeing it.

"Man of Steel"

Bai hadn't expected Clark's first live-action movie script for Nirvana Group to be a Superman story.

Superman's popularity was unquestionable, a true icon of DC, on par with Batman.

However, making a movie about him wasn't straightforward. Movies are for adults who seek stories, not just because Superman is the strongest.

Superman's flaw compared to other superheroes was his perfection, which meant dullness.

Making Superman fascinating was a challenge compared to other heroes.

But since it was Clark's script, Bai held high hopes. After reading, she was pleasantly surprised, "This script is good, fitting current audience tastes. But even so, we're not guaranteed to win."

Clark nodded. He had made minor adjustments to the original movie, adding dynamism to Superman's character, lightening DC's somber tone, and incorporating humorous elements.

In essence, it was a Marvel-style "Man of Steel."

But even so, dominating the competition was a tall order. Hollywood was filled with talented writers and directors; standing out wasn't easy.

Even Marvel's first Iron Man wasn't the year's box office champion. It took five movies and the Avengers to truly establish the cinematic universe.

Laying the groundwork while dominating was an impossible task, even for Clark.

But Clark smiled, "My real trump card is the cast."

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