"What are you going to do now? Continue studying?"
Walking on the bridge, Clark asked Dane.
"Of course, studying must continue, but we also have some other things to do."
"What things? Invite Batman?"
"Let's put him aside for now. He doesn't know Jason is still alive, so he's probably in a very bad mood right now. I'm afraid he'll beat you up if you go."
"You know he's no match for me."
Clark showed a confident smile.
"Then you want to fight him? Then you can forget about teaming up with him for the rest of your life."
Dane shook his head. Despite Batman's various problems, his brain was essential for the Justice League.
"Then what else is there? Are you planning to invite others?"
"Not really. The priority isn't to form the Justice League, but to make money first!"
Dane only just remembered this. Forgive him, ever since he became Shazam, he no longer needed wealth.
As a magic god, the Rock of Eternity was his greatest wealth.
But the Justice League needed financial support. The original Justice League's biggest investments came from Wayne Group and some government funding.
Now, however, they didn't have those conditions, so they could only make money themselves, and it had to be legal.
Ideally, they would also run a large enterprise for sustainable development.
Money could not only help the Justice League solve material problems, but in a capitalist country like the United States, it could also help them solve some issues from official channels.
Look at Vought International in "The Boys"; they were thriving, and their network of connections was incredibly complex.
So, making money was imperative.
But this kind of thing touched upon Clark's blind spot in knowledge; his super brain clearly didn't possess talent in this area.
Throughout all DC comics, Superman was rarely wealthy, even though he theoretically had the ability to be.
Anyway, Dane didn't understand his thinking. According to his idea, letting the intelligent AI on the spaceship operate casually in the stock market would be enough to earn a startup fund.
"Isn't this a bit against the rules?"
"Clark, the money I'm making is legal!"
"But, do we really need that much money?"
Dane rolled his eyes and said impolitely, "Then return the money for the two sets of clothes I gave you?"
Those were designer brands; they were expensive.
Clark choked. He was wearing his battle suit now; where would he get the money?
"You are truly wealthy and unaware of it."
Dane shook his head. Although he had only learned some superficial knowledge, it was enough for him to find ways to make money.
He decided to establish a technology company, and its first product would be Kuaishou short videos.
This product had already proven its commercial value and profitability in the Real World, and it had a very complete development process. Dane only needed to copy it.
So he quickly came up with a business plan. Clark didn't understand it, but he was greatly impressed.
As a nominal Kryptonian, but essentially an American.
Clark maintained due reverence for legal businessmen who could make money. In his eyes, Dane had the potential to become such a figure.
So he dared not say anything more.
Of course, the most important reason was that Dane's plan had already decided to allocate some original shares to him.
Even if something happened to Superman in the future, his wife and mother wouldn't be left destitute.
You, as a Superman who saved the World, yet your mother went bankrupt because the farm was unprofitable and ended up working as a waitress in the city.
Is that reasonable?
If everyone was that miserable, who would be a hero in the future? Not even a dog!
Acting on his words was one of Dane's good qualities. He quickly put his ideas into action.
Soon after, a company named "Vanguard Technology" was established in New York.
Then they quickly recruited people, purchased equipment, developed products, and soon launched their first product—Kuaishou.
Similar to its development in the Real World, "Kuaishou" immediately ignited the creative passion of a vast number of creators upon its launch.
Soon, a novel type of video content called "short videos" began to appear on the market.
Anyone, as long as they didn't violate laws and regulations, could create whatever they wanted and then share it with everyone.
This novel social software quickly captivated young people and spread rapidly.
Although it launched ten years earlier than in reality, the DCEU's technological development was slightly faster than the Real World, with countless hidden black technologies, so the public quickly accepted this novel virtual product.
When the number of users officially exceeded ten million, countless venture capital organizations waved cash, begging to enter, but Dane was unmoved.
Internet technology like this requires burning money in the early stages; profitability comes later.
But when this product is about to become profitable, who would want others to come in and share the pie? Get out of the way!
Dane began to display inhuman profitability. No one expected that when Vanguard Technology's funds started to dwindle, Dane, as the company's president, actually borrowed money from the bank and invested it all in the stock market.
Everyone was waiting to see this young man stumble. Yes, although Dane used Shazam's mature appearance, looking at most thirty years old, he was still just a young man in the eyes of many capital tycoons.
But to everyone's surprise, Dane used the money borrowed through share pledges to make several rounds in the stock market, resulting in huge profits!
Vanguard Technology's financial difficulties were immediately resolved, allowing it to continue developing.
Even the "Vanguard Fund," which Dane established for investment convenience, was highly sought after by countless people.
The venture capital organizations saw this situation and became a bit anxious. This wouldn't do!
If the other party never lacked money, how could they get a piece of the pie?
Doing business in the capital market, what you fear most are those who hog everything, and even more so, those who have the ability to hog everything and dare to do so.
So Dane soon discovered that someone was employing some underhanded tactics. He smiled happily, "Dare to mess with a god? You probably don't know what heavenly retribution is."
So very quickly, some capital magnates found that the assassins and mercenaries they hired never returned. They began to realize that things were developing beyond their control.
But more trouble soon arose. Vanguard Technology also had its official account on Kuaishou.
They released a series of videos online, showing video evidence of a certain company hiring assassins to suppress competitors.
No one knew how Vanguard Technology obtained these videos, but it undoubtedly caused an uproar among the public!
The stocks of the named companies plummeted overnight, and shareholders lost everything.
Meanwhile, Dane seized the opportunity to make a killing in the stock market, earning another hefty sum.
He then used this money to acquire the companies whose stocks had previously crashed. Although he didn't earn much money from the buy-and-sell, it greatly expanded Vanguard's business empire.
In the following time, "Kuaishou" seemed to transform into a news frontline.
Countless video creators, hiding their true identities, filmed exposé after exposé of major corporations, revealing them to the public. Even many traditional media outlets began to habitually search for news material on Kuaishou videos.
After this battle, "Kuaishou" became famous in one fell swoop, officially rising to become the leader in new media, becoming one of the most important means for people to learn about important news.
And it was at this time that Dane officially became a billionaire. From obscurity to Forbes' 12th position, he only took one year!
Furthermore, he had many hidden assets unknown to the public. His visible assets alone had already elevated him to a new wealth myth, and he had climbed this path by stepping on the bones of countless capital entities.
Not only him, but even Clark, without doing anything, became a multimillionaire, fully embodying what it means to win by doing nothing.
When Dane told him, he was still completely stunned.
"So, I've become a rich man just like that?"
"Yes, Mr. Big Shot!"
Dane patted his shoulder. He had spent a year, finally building a somewhat decent framework.
Of course, compared to Gotham's Wayne Group, Metropolis's LexCorp, and some top oil families and conglomerates, it was still far from enough; more effort was needed!
Dane wasn't just busy making money this year. Every day, he set aside some time to study the knowledge in the Kryptonian archives.
Anyway, with magic teleportation, traveling back and forth wasn't troublesome, and he had now basically absorbed all the knowledge within.
The reason Kuaishou burned so much money in the Real World was that user growth costs were secondary; the main expenses were significant costs in technology development and promotion.
But for Dane, who had received Kryptonian knowledge, this kind of low-level programming technology was effortless!
Therefore, Vanguard had almost zero expenditure in technology development. Most of the expenses went into purchasing servers, large supercomputers, and hiring staff.
He invested all the remaining funds into another company he founded—Umbrella.
This low-key established company was Dane's focus, as it was the primary location for researching and experimenting with black technology.
In the future, Dane hoped it could become Earth's true "Umbrella."
It would provide technical and logistical support for the Justice League, and of course, make appropriate compensation for the battle damage caused by the heroes.
Umbrella Corporation also had a foundation under its name, which would be specifically responsible for the repair of damaged buildings and personnel due to heroic activities in the future.
To be fair, Batman and Lex Luthor's hatred for Superman wasn't without reason. With the fighting style seen in "man of steel," how many people would die, and how much property would be lost!
Politicians were not entirely unreasonable; it was because the public genuinely held such grievances that they brought them up for discussion.
Dane hoped that with his involvement, such situations could improve somewhat, making the future plight of superheroes a little better.