Chapter 30: Acquisition
Author: Yue Shang Xintou
Over the next few days, Colin continued to travel between the Main World and the Anti-World, serializing the Superman Comic.
He attempted to unlock more new Powers while silently adapting to his Super Strength.
Super Strength.
This was the first of the Powers Colin had serialized in the Comic.
In later generations, under the overwhelming influence of various Superhero comic themes, this power would become almost cliché. In many comic book stories, both heroic Superheroes and evil Supervillains possessed this power.
However, just because the power was common didn't mean Super Strength was bad.
Quite the contrary, it was precisely because Super Strength was so useful and best exemplified a character's superhuman aspect.
That was why comic creators tirelessly added it to the characters they penned.
This feeling of being able to effortlessly lift an Automobile was truly captivating.
After a few days, Colin had basically adapted to his new power. He no longer uncontrollably destroyed things around him as he did when he first acquired it.
These past few days, he had gone to great lengths to conceal the abnormality of this power.
He had nearly exposed himself in front of the cameraman.
The complex situation in the Anti-World made Colin wary. Therefore, until he had sufficient ability to protect himself, he had no intention of revealing his unique traits too early.
Similarly, he had no plans to use his Super Strength to serve justice and become a Superhero.
This was true even in the Main World, where the Superman character he created had already become a symbol of a Superhero in the readers' minds.
...
"An acquisition?"
In the Main World, inside the Messenger Newspaper office.
Colin looked at the uninvited middle-aged man before him and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"That's right."
Nodding, the man glanced around the cramped space of the Messenger Newspaper office, a trace of contempt flashing in his eyes. He turned his head to Colin and spoke in a condescending tone, "In fact, the terms I'm offering are a huge concession for a small paper like The Messenger... Two hundred thousand dollars is enough to buy ten small newspaper offices like the Messenger Newspaper in this era..."
"And according to the latest statistics, The Messenger's sales are only around twenty-three thousand copies, which isn't even a fraction of the World Daily News's."
Just as the man said, the World Daily News had a daily distribution of over a million, making it one of the newspapers with the highest circulation in New York at the time.
Clearly, a major newspaper office with a daily distribution in the millions wouldn't make a move on a small paper like The Messenger for no reason.
Therefore, there could only be one reason for the World Daily News's action.
"So, your target is Superman?"
Faced with Colin's question, the man representing the World Daily News for the acquisition clearly disdained to lie. He nodded and admitted right away, "Without a doubt, the only thing in The Messenger that the World Daily News would be interested in is the serialized Superman Comic."
It wasn't just the readers who were aware of Superman's potential; the newspaper offices saw it too.
With the Comic's serialization, The Messenger's sales skyrocketed, and although it was still insignificant compared to a major paper like the World Daily News, the implications behind this growth were undoubtedly tempting to them.
After all, the larger the newspaper business, the more they value sales.
Since Superman could increase The Messenger's sales from a few thousand to over twenty thousand, wouldn't publishing it in the World Daily News—with its larger distribution and wider readership—attract even more readers and boost their own sales even further?
Not to mention the Merchandise revenue the World Daily News could generate from the Superman comic.
It was for these reasons that the World Daily News made a move, proposing to acquire the Messenger Newspaper under Colin.
Under normal circumstances, there would be no reason to refuse an acquisition offer from a major paper like the World Daily News.
Although, as the negotiating party, the World Daily News's attitude was a bit arrogant.
But that didn't diminish the allure of the terms they offered.
At the very least, inside the Messenger Newspaper office, both Old John and Little John had expressions of clear temptation on their faces after hearing the conditions proposed by the World Daily News.
If Colin agreed to the acquisition, they would receive a substantial severance package and might even get the chance to work at a subsidiary of the World Daily News.
"I'm sorry."
"I currently have no intention of selling The Messenger."
Withdrawing his gaze from the father and son duo, Colin decisively rejected the World Daily News's acquisition offer.
As the creator of the comic, he knew the value of Superman better than anyone else in this world.
Not to mention, obtaining the powers of the Black Iron Mark required Colin to continue serializing the comic's content to unlock them.
Once Superman fell into the hands of the World Daily News, how could he ensure they would serialize the comic according to his wishes? More importantly, Colin couldn't guarantee that if Superman were serialized in the World Daily News, the readers he gained would become Faith, as they did with The Messenger.
It was due to these various concerns that Colin spoke up and rejected the World Daily News.
Of course, it was also undeniable that the man's arrogant attitude since entering the office had annoyed him.
"Hm?!"
Colin's refusal was clearly not what the World Daily News had anticipated.
"Are you sure you've thought this through, Mr. Collin Roper?"
The middle-aged man in charge of the acquisition looked at him and asked for confirmation again, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"Do you understand what you're doing right now?"
"I believe I've made myself perfectly clear."
Facing the man's questioning, Colin replied with a calm expression.
"The Messenger is doing well, and I have no plans to sell the newspaper office. So, I'm sorry, sir, to have made you come all this way for nothing."
After hearing Colin's words, the expression on the man's face instantly turned ugly.
"You have no idea what you're passing up!"
He stood up, picked up the hat from the table, and put it back on his head. He looked down at Colin, his voice laced with a clear threat.
"You have one last chance to regret this before 10 AM tomorrow, Mr. Collin Roper. Otherwise, The Messenger should prepare to shut its doors. You should be aware that The Messenger isn't the only newspaper company in the world capable of publishing so-called Superhero comics..."
(end of chapter)