When Linda Vagos arrived at Simon's office after leaving the High School Musical audition, Simon had just finished a meeting.
The guest was Victor Meríces from Africa.
Victor had accompanied an Angolan government investment delegation to the United States and took the opportunity to visit Simon, reporting on developments in Africa.
After the events in Rwanda three years ago, the visible presence of the Westeros system in Africa had been shrinking, but the actual expansion had never stopped.
Victor Meríces was one of the most notable pieces in this strategic game.
This Portuguese-Angolan white man had been quietly building his influence in Africa over the past few years, with remarkable success.
In addition to the vast 600-square-kilometer coffee plantation in southern Angola that was gradually taking shape, Victor's import-export business between Africa, the United States, Europe, and China was also growing rapidly. He had established close ties with the Angolan government and, with the support of the Westeros system, was beginning to venture into Angola's oil and mining industries.
But that was just the surface.
On another level, thanks to Victor's skillful maneuvering, the Westeros system had quietly built a private armed force in Angola through arms deals, training teams, private security companies, and local mercenaries. This force could quickly mobilize up to 2,000 men if needed.
In fact, at critical moments, with enough incentives, this number could expand tenfold due to the infiltration of the Angolan military.
In Africa, human life was cheap, and money could buy anything.
During this meeting, in addition to discussing various business ventures and further infiltration in Angola, Simon focused on one particular task.
It concerned the Savimbi forces in southern Angola, which had repeatedly clashed with and then reconciled with the Angolan government.
In recent years, with the help of the Westeros system, the Angolan government had acquired a large amount of weaponry and had been relentlessly suppressing the Savimbi forces. The warlord's territory had long since moved away from Simon's coffee plantation, shrinking to a corner in the southwest.
Simon's request was simple: find a way to keep this warlord alive for a few more years, and then, at the right moment, make an example of him.
This was something Simon had been considering for a while, and the idea had become clearer after the topping-out ceremony of the Westeros Tower in Manhattan last year.
Kill a chicken in Africa to scare the monkeys in the Middle East.
The plan was straightforward.
In a few years, Savimbi's forces would recklessly attack the Westeros family's coffee plantation, causing some casualties. Although the poor Mr. Savimbi would claim ignorance and attempt to apologize and make amends, the Westeros private army, in collaboration with the Angolan government forces, would swiftly and decisively eliminate him.
Moreover, to ensure the deterrent effect, Simon planned to kill more than just one chicken.
The message would be clear.
Simon didn't care about other things, but if anyone dared to attack the Westeros system—say, by flying a plane into the Westeros Tower—even if they were only tangentially involved, whether they were warlords or princes, no matter how innocent they appeared on the surface, they would not escape the brutal retaliation of the Westeros family.
Victor Meríces wasn't fully aware of Simon's deeper intentions, but he had been instilled with another concept: "养寇自重" (keeping the enemy alive to maintain one's own importance). He fully agreed with Simon's decision.
When Linda Vagos arrived, she happened to see her boss escorting Meríces out. After Simon saw him off, they walked together to a small conference room next door equipped with a projection screen.
The conversation quickly shifted from Africa to Hollywood.
A-Girl followed them in to operate the projector, and Simon, guided by Linda, watched the audition tapes of the actresses vying for roles in The Matrix.
Most of the candidates were of Asian descent, and many were familiar faces to Simon. For example, there was Anita Mui from The Heroic Trio, Michelle Yeoh from the still-screening Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Japanese action star Yuka Ōshima, who had made a name for herself in Hong Kong cinema, and even the two famous beauties, Rosamund Kwan and Brigitte Lin, who were eager to break into Hollywood but, in Simon's eyes, seemed more like they were just along for the ride.
To be honest, even the two beauties, despite their many flaws, gave excellent performances, clearly having prepared meticulously. The problem was, for the role of Trinity in The Matrix, Simon just didn't feel it.
Beauty alone couldn't carry everything.
In fact, watching Rosamund Kwan's audition, Simon was reminded of another woman: Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian sisters.
Unlike her later overly-tanned family, who sometimes made it hard to tell their ethnicity, Kris Jenner, who also aged remarkably well, was in her early forties and still a fair, soft-looking beauty who made people want to pinch her cheeks. Moreover, at first glance, she bore at least a 50% resemblance to Rosamund Kwan. If you compared her to Rosamund's short-haired look in The Big Shot, the similarity jumped to 70%.
What a strange coincidence.
Linda Vagos knew that her boss had developed a keen interest in Asian women over the past two years. After playing one of the audition tapes, she glanced at Simon, who seemed slightly distracted, and gently reminded him, "Simon, most of them are in Los Angeles right now. Should we call them in for a face-to-face meeting?"
Simon snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head.
He was too busy these days to spare the time.
Linda didn't press further and asked, "Simon, what do you think?"
Simon shook his head again. "Let's skip ahead to Demi's audition."
Demi Moore's audition was noticeably longer and more detailed than those of the Asian actresses, including scenes with Keanu Reeves.
To match Trinity's look, Demi Moore had already cut her hair short and dyed it black. Each audition was done in full makeup, making the effect immediately clear.
Finally, Demi Moore performed a beautiful set of Chinese martial arts. Aside from being unable to execute high kicks or splits, everything else looked quite impressive.
For a 35-year-old actress, Simon couldn't ask for more.
While watching Demi Moore's audition tape, Linda kept a closer eye on her boss's expression. Seeing Simon's satisfied look, she didn't feel the need to say much. She was almost certain that the role would go to Demi Moore, so there was no need for her to deliberately advocate for her.
Over the past few weeks, Demi Moore had privately invited Linda out seven or eight times for various activities. She had even sent a very expensive gift to Linda's second daughter, who had recently turned 14. Linda had to bluntly warn Demi not to overdo it, or they would both be in trouble. She also returned the two expensive purebred ponies and the VIP membership at a Malibu equestrian center, which came with a five-year prepaid fee, much to her daughter's dismay.
She really couldn't accept such gifts.
Besides, her family could afford them.
Still, as the saying goes, "礼多人不怪" (courtesy invites no blame). Demi's attentiveness had made Linda more inclined to put in a good word for her when possible.
Of course, she would do so within reason and wouldn't deliberately hide or disparage other actresses who performed better.
Linda's most important quality, which had kept her by Simon's side for so many years, was reliability.
If her boss ever deemed her unreliable, everything she had would quickly disappear. Linda was very clear about the stakes.
After Demi Moore's audition tape finished playing, Simon didn't hesitate much longer. He turned to Linda and said, "It's Demi. Get the contract sorted out as soon as possible, and make sure it's for a trilogy. Also, tell her to keep up her training. Whenever possible, she should do her own stunts."
Linda nodded, then let out a relieved sigh and joked, "That's great. Demi will be thrilled. She's been so attentive to me lately, always inviting me to dinners and shopping trips. I couldn't promise her anything, and I was almost afraid to answer her calls."
Simon understood why Linda was saying this and just smiled, letting the matter drop. He had heard some rumors, mainly about the back-and-forth in the industry. Demi Moore wanted the role, and naturally, there were people trying to sabotage her, leaking information to Simon.
Linda's candidness pleased Simon, and he said, "You can give her the good news right away. Consider it a reward."
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