American winner takes all

Chapter 423 A new era
This weekend, Memorial Stadium, the sixth round of NFL games.

The figure in the purple jersey rushed into the colliding front line with the football in his arms, but he slipped out from the front line like a loach. Although the Angels' linebacker grabbed his jersey, the player still broke free.

With a "swish", Ethan saw the shield guard under the jersey being torn open.

Then the player rushed into the Angels' zone under the protection of his teammates. The few Vikings fans on the road were immediately in a frenzy, and the young quarterback who rushed into the zone with the ball hugged his teammates to celebrate.

"We saw Vikings quarterback Dante Culpepper doing his signature 'rolling' celebration, which is similar to the gesture a basketball referee makes when he calls a traveling violation. Dante admitted in front of the camera that if he hadn't made this misjudgment, he might have become a basketball player. So we should thank the referee."

"Unfortunately, the Vikings were unable to retain Randall Cunningham and Jeff George, but they retained Dante. Thanks to his outstanding performance, the Vikings once again took the lead at Memorial Stadium. As a very young quarterback, Dante Culpepper did not impress last season. People are more often reminded of the series of records he set in college."

"The single-season pass success rate of 73.6% broke the record set by Stephen Young that had been untouched for years.

"Dante Culpepper is also the fourth player to pass for 10,000 yards and run for more than 1,000 yards in the NCAA. The last quarterback to achieve this is now Dante Culpepper's opponent."

"When Ethan saw him, I wonder if he thought of his past self. At that time, he was as thin as Dante Culpepper, and you could easily see the muscle lines under his jersey. But now, I can still easily see some lines, but they come from his little belly..." The CBS commentator joked about Ethan's current figure.

"Not only in terms of technical moves, but also in terms of mental attributes, Dante Culpepper is very similar to Ethan who just entered the NFL. He is very powerful. I wonder how Ethan will respond next..."

Ethan's subsequent performance demonstrated what "getting better with age" means. Ethan has now completely transformed into a stationary quarterback, sometimes making long passes and sometimes making agile handoffs, coupled with dazzling fake moves and the physical coordination ability to pass the ball under any circumstances. The Angels began a series of fierce attacks on the Vikings' zone.

Obviously different from the previous Ravens, the Vikings and Angels are both teams that are better at offense than defense. Putting them together will make today's game a thrilling offensive battle.

On the Angels side, Ethan is like a god, while the Vikings side has many blossoming players. In addition to last year's first-round pick quarterback Dante Culpepper, there is also running back Robert Smith. As a running back who participated in the draft in 93, Robert, who has been in the NFL for nearly a decade, has entered the end of his running back career. Before the start of this season, Robert Smith revealed to the media that he would retire completely after this season.

The veteran who quietly faded away in an unnoticeable corner should not have attracted people's attention, but Robert played as well as if he had burned his entire career. In the first few rounds, he ran for more than 100 yards in each game. Now he leads the National League in running.

Not to mention, there’s also the equally eye-catching Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss.

Since entering the league, he has never missed the Pro Bowl. Now, like Charles Woodson, he has firmly established himself as the team's main receiver inside and outside.

"Robert started to speed up and knocked away three defenders in a row! It was incredible. He rushed into the defense like a bulldozer."

"Purple Lightning Randy Moss once again streaks across the sky of Memorial Stadium. With just a light change of direction, he is able to shake off the defender. Tell me, who else can do this besides him? Tell me now!"

The Vikings' offensive wave was one after another. The three core players of the offensive group ran and jumped, making high and low passes, and at one point they were about to widen the gap again.

At the same time, Ethan was warning Roland Bailey beside him to pay attention to Randy Moss's change of direction.

"Every time he changes direction, Randy Moss doesn't lower his center of gravity too low, which allows him to change direction at any time." Ethan almost perfectly reproduced Randy Moss's change of direction and demonstrated it in front of his teammates.

"What you need to do is stay calm, don't be fooled by his actions, and don't panic. Don't worry, you can catch up with him." Ethan reminded his teammates to do this like the head coach of the Angels.

At this time, Roland, who was facing Ethan, nodded blankly and asked cautiously: "Ethan... Ethan, I want to know how you imitated Randy Moss so closely. I can't tell the difference at all."

"Always keep your eyes open, you can do it too." Ethan said seemingly nonchalantly, then turned to another linebacker and told him how to block Robert Smith's violent charge.

Andy and Holmgren also saw this scene. They couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. They cleared their throats at the same time and started walking towards the defensive players. They had to find something to do. They didn't want to appear redundant.

The game resumed, and the Vikings continued to attack. On the first play, quarterback Dante Culpepper passed the ball to running back Robert, who chose to run with the ball as before. In the defensive group, the two linebackers closest to running back Robert did not rush forward, but retreated in parallel to ensure that they would not lose their position and let their teammates make up for it.

In a very short time, four defenders appeared around the Vikings running back. As the encirclement gradually narrowed, Robert was forced to slow down. Even though he successfully bypassed one defender, he was soon pinned down by the other three.

Randy Moss encountered a similar situation. He felt that the cornerback, who had no good way to deal with him, suddenly became smart and saw through his series of fake moves. This made Randy Moss more and more confused. Little did he know that his moves had been repeated many times in the mind of a certain team member, and he gradually summed up a set of countermeasures.

Thanks to the defensive skills given by Ethan, the Vikings' offensive tempo slowed down significantly. In contrast, the Angels' offensive tempo did not slow down, but was even better than before.

"Donald scored a touchdown and Ethan used his signature elevator pass to penetrate the Vikings defense."

"I just counted, and Ethan didn't move more than five steps in this offensive round. If the previous Ethan was a typical dual-threat quarterback, then the Ethan in this game was a typical passing quarterback."

"It's not just this game. In the first few rounds, Ethan's running was 95% less than last season. He has been trying new styles of play." The two CBS commentators followed.

On one side, the offense was getting slower and slower, while on the other side, it was advancing in an orderly manner. As a result, the Angels gradually narrowed the score gap and eventually overtook the score in the fourth quarter.

And when the countdown ended in the fourth quarter, the Angels ended the Vikings' winning streak with a touchdown advantage and continued their own winning streak.

"At this moment, there are only two teams left with an undefeated record, and in a few weeks, the two teams will meet at the Rams' home stadium!"

On the Monday after the game, Ethan officially disclosed to the public that he already held more than 30% of Playboy's outstanding shares and would continue to increase his holdings. Playboy's stock price soared that day.

In the evening, Ethan received a call from Kimberly, and she couldn't help laughing on the phone:
"At first, they let the stock price fall without helping, but in the end, they bought at the bottom. They were really patient!"

Ethan knew that this was the peak of the Internet bubble. For traditional media companies like Playboy, failure to transform would be tantamount to a death sentence. In addition, as some people continued to short sell, the stock price could not rise.

Ethan has a deep understanding of the current environment and this is the fundamental reason why he can remain calm. Otherwise, he would not make these investments.

"I regret telling you this news and even more so asking you for help," Kimberly continued on the phone.

"I will know about the stock price fluctuations sooner or later. Besides, this was Hugh Hefner's self-directed performance in order to regain the management rights of the company. What I did was also indirectly helping you." Ethan said.

"So, it's my turn to help you now?"

"Of course." Ethan nodded.

Kimberly is now also one of the shareholders of Playboy. With her support, plus Ethan's own shares, it is enough to control the board of directors.

"I can help you, and even sell you the shares, but I have a condition." Kimberly changed the subject.

"As long as I can do it, I can satisfy you."

"That's what you said. I want you to leave them now and come to me. I'm at home now."

"It's that simple?"

"Come over first." Kimberly hung up the phone. Ethan looked at Grace, Lisa, and Catherine who were sitting next to him. Seeing that they were staring at the TV, he prepared to get up quietly...

But before I took a few steps, I heard a voice behind me.

"Where are you going so late?"

Ethan turned around and saw three women looking at him with smiles.

"Regarding the acquisition of Playboy, we may need to discuss some details." Ethan nodded quickly.

"Who are you going to find?"

"Can't we chat on the phone?"

"Didn't you say the acquisition was completed?"

The three women asked three questions in rapid succession.

"It's hard to explain over the phone. As for who to talk to, of course it's Christina. She was kicked out of the board not long ago. She wants to return, and I need her support and I can help her. We both get what we need." Ethan lied.

Going to Kimberly at this point will obviously make everyone think too much, and it is better to have less trouble than more.

In comparison, Christina looked like she made them feel "at ease".

Catherine and Grace looked at Lisa at the same time. The latter didn't find anything wrong and nodded: "Go early and come back early. We will wait for you to come back before going to bed."

"No need to wait for me. Who knows how long the talk will take. You still have work to deal with tomorrow." Ethan said immediately.

Lisa nodded: "Okay." Then the three of them turned their attention back to the TV, and Ethan was finally able to leave.

Driver Peter drove all the way to Kimberly's mansion. When getting off the car, Ethan found a stretched car he had never seen before parked in front of Kimberly's house. The back door was half open, and Ethan could still hear the laughter of women coming from the car.

Ethan vaguely guessed who it was, so he walked straight in and saw Kimberly in the wide hall with a high ceiling. She was sitting on a large, soft sofa, and sitting opposite her was Hugh Hefner.

Hugh Hefner also noticed Ethan coming in and immediately complained, "Why is he here?"

"Both of you want to seek my support, so of course I have to see who can offer better conditions." Kimberly trimmed the edges of his nails with a file.

Hugh Hefner had an eager smile on his face: "I can give you a generous reward. Don't you want to hold a senior position in the company? I can satisfy you."

"What about you? Ethan, what benefits are you going to give me?" Kimberly looked at Ethan at this time.

Ethan remained silent and just sat down.

"Will you tell me?" Kimberly asked again.

Ethan remained silent.

"Okay." Kimberly was really angry now, and immediately told Hefner that she would support him.

But he was interrupted by Ethan just halfway through his speech.

"I'll promise you." Ethan said with a headache. He felt that Kimberly was really difficult to deal with.

Kimberly immediately clapped her hands excitedly, as happy as a little kid.

Hugh Hefner also realized at this time that Kimberly asked him to come here tonight purely to use him as a tool to force Ethan to compromise.

"Bitch! I never treated you badly!" Hugh Hefner slammed the table in anger.

"Really? When you tricked me into signing the contract and forced me to take those photos, did you ever think of today? From that moment on, I had a plan, but I didn't expect this day to come so soon. I have to thank you, Ethan O'Connor." Kimberly folded her arms across her chest and told the truth with a sneer.

Hugh Hefner was about to rush forward and grab Kimberly's neck, but he saw Ethan stepping forward towards Kimberly. Out of fear, he snorted coldly and prepared to leave.

But Ethan asked him to stay and mentioned a deal by the way. The content of the deal was simple: to acquire most of the remaining shares in Hugh Hefner's hands at a premium of 30% based on the current stock price.

The extra 30% was considered as extra compensation from Ethan to him as the founder.

“What if I don’t sell it?”

"Then the company will immediately become an empty shell." Ethan said. The completion of the acquisition officially means that Playboy will be privatized.

"You're quite capable." Hugh Hefner grinned and left immediately. Ethan asked his men to close the door.

Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally the dust has settled. An old era has ended and a new era has begun."

Is this what successful revenge feels like? Why is there no excitement at all? Kimberly asked herself.

She had imagined this scene countless times before, but when the moment finally came, she did not feel as excited as she had imagined. Instead, she felt a little bored.

Is it because of you? Kimberly looked at Ethan.

At this time, Ethan just happened to speak: "You can keep the remaining shares in your hands."

"Is this how you support me? I have a big appetite, this isn't enough." Kimberly shook her head.

"If you have any additional requirements, feel free to tell me."

"Then I'll tell you the truth..." Kimberly suddenly raised her legs and put her feet on the coffee table in front of her. She was not wearing socks, and her crystal clear white skin could be seen.

"I'm a little tired, please give me a massage first." Kimberly giggled...

(End of this chapter)