Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm-Chapter 444 - 443: The Saddam Government Becomes History

A director from Texas Oil Group immediately called James Hendricks at the safe house in upstate New York.

He started off with a furious rant, "Motherf***er, James Hendricks, you idiot! Didn't you say you had Martin under control? Why the hell is he in Iraq?!"

James Hendricks' lips curled up slightly, but his voice carried a tone of confusion. "What? That's impossible. Martin is still right here with me!"

"Oh yeah? Then why did my people see him in Iraq?"

"Buddy, shouldn't you be asking your people that question? Either they're lying, or they mistook someone else for him!"

Director Goldson was momentarily stunned before responding, "That's impossible!"

James Hendricks shrugged. "That's the reality. Martin is currently a guest at my safe house, so the one in Iraq must be a fake."

"F***, you guys are messing with my head. Are you absolutely sure Martin is still there?"

"Of course I'm sure. I had breakfast with him this morning. If you don't believe me, send someone over to check."

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"Hmph, I will."

Goldson hung up and immediately arranged for someone to verify whether Martin was still at the villa.

Three and a half hours later, at 7:30 a.m., he received a call.

"Sir, I've seen Martin. He's definitely in New York."

"You're sure? You didn't mistake him for someone else?"

"Sir, there's no way I'd get it wrong. Martin's face is way too recognizable! I even took a picture."

"Send it to me."

"Yes, sir."

Moments later, a photo was sent to Goldson's phone.

He opened it and saw Martin Meyers sitting at the villa's dining table, drinking milk.

Now he was convinced.

But... if Martin was still in New York, then who was the one in Iraq?

Did Goodman Hall lie to me?

Why would he do that?

Or was he tricked too?

Goldson couldn't figure it out.

Baghdad, Iraq.

Morning.

Goodman Hall received a call from Director Goldson.

"What the f***? That's impossible! I'm absolutely certain the person I saw was Martin!"

"Damn it. Unless he has some kind of cloning ability, he can't be in two places at once. He's definitely in Iraq."

Goldson frowned on the other end of the line.

Goodman Hall's voice didn't carry any hesitation or deceit.

That meant he was telling the truth.

So Goldson was completely baffled.

How the hell was Martin appearing in Iraq while simultaneously being in New York?

Unable to make sense of it, Goldson decided to assume the worst—that Martin was indeed in Iraq and had already finalized a deal for the West Qurna-1 oil field with the rebels.

So, he told Goodman Hall, "Alright, regardless of whether Martin is in New York or Iraq, we need to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

"The Bush administration has already persuaded two of the five permanent UN Security Council members—England and France—as well as most of the General Assembly members.

"Tomorrow, Iraq's new government will be officially established, and the UN will vote to recognize it. They'll also formally declare the Saddam government as an illegitimate regime."

"Once the UN vote passes, you need to immediately sign the West Qurna-1 oil field transfer agreement with the new government."

Still feeling gratitude toward Martin for saving his life, Goodman Hall hesitated for a moment and instinctively said,

"If Martin has already signed a contract with the Saddam government, wouldn't we just be wasting our time? After all, his contract would be signed before the new government was established and before the UN declares the Saddam government illegal.

"If this goes to court, we might not win."

"Goodman Hall, that's not your concern! Do you understand?"

Goldson's voice turned sharp.

He felt that Goodman Hall was overstepping—acting like a decision-maker rather than just a company representative.

Goldson sneered inwardly. Not win the lawsuit? Do you think we care about winning?

What we want is controversy. What we want is a legal battle.

Drag the case out for ten, twenty years, and by then, Campbell's oil extraction rights will have expired. Do you think Iraq's new government will renew their contract? Of course not!

The ideal outcome would be Campbell getting crushed under massive international legal fees, forcing them to back out—and the oil field falls right into Texas Oil Group's hands.

Then again, recalling Martin's monstrous ability to make money, Goldson felt that was unlikely.

After hanging up, Goodman Hall felt a pang of guilt toward Martin.

The man had just saved his life, yet now he was about to betray him.

But that was the extent of his guilt.

Westerners had always been good at separating business from personal matters.

Sorry, Martin. I don't have a choice either.

What Goodman Hall didn't realize was that this was exactly what Martin wanted.

He had deliberately made himself known to Goodman Hall to disrupt Texas Oil Group's plans—to force them into rushing a deal with the new government.

And when people rush, they make mistakes.

Letting these guys play their little games for too long was pointless.

Better to cut through the mess with a sharp blade!

That day.

Countless people following the war in Iraq sat in front of their televisions, watching the live UN vote on the establishment of Iraq's new government.

The outcome was as expected.

The UN officially approved the formation of the new Iraqi government and recognized its legitimacy.

From that moment on, Saddam's government was officially history.

His administration was now nothing more than an armed insurgency.

And just two hours after the UN vote...

Goodman Hall sat across from a representative of the new government, each signing their names on the oil field transfer agreement.

Afterward, Goodman Hall stood up, smiling as he shook hands with the Iraqi official.

"Well then, here's to our cooperation."

"Indeed, a pleasure working together."

Neither of them noticed that something was happening to the text on the contracts in front of them.

The blue-black ink twisted, scrambled, and reformed.

The words "Texas Oil Group" slowly transformed into "Campbell Oil Company."

Even the official seals stamped on the documents underwent a similar change.

At the same time, invisible strands of magic seeped out from Goodman Hall's body, infiltrating the Iraqi official's mind.

A subtle influence took hold, making him instinctively ignore the details of the contract.

The magic continued to spread until the transformation was complete.