Chapter 345: Going Public, Ringing the Bell

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Going Public, Ringing the Bell

After the meeting, every team immediately threw themselves into intense preparations.

A week later, the official Facebook group was quietly created. The first users to join discovered that the group contained only a pitch-black image, with a line of text written below it: "The game is about to begin. Are you ready?"

In just a few hours, the group’s membership surpassed 1,000. Everyone scrambled to guess the meaning of the image and discussed potential puzzles. A thriller marketing storm, sweeping across North America, had already begun.

The morning of August 31st in the Bahamas, following the passage of a tropical storm, was humid and stifling.

Irene had just jumped off the bumpy assault boat when the Director of Photography’s anxious voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Irene, the number three high-speed camera has suddenly malfunctioned. The deck battle scene scheduled for this morning might need to be postponed."

She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead: "Notify the mechanical team. It must be fixed within twenty minutes. If that’s not possible, contact Los Angeles immediately to have a new camera sent over. I’m heading over now to redesign the camera angles. Tell the stunt performers to prepare their safety gear. I will personally follow the ship to coordinate."

Today was supposed to be the day she flew to New York.

The invitation from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange was still lying in the bedside drawer, the gold-stamped "Facebook" lettering exceptionally eye-catching.

As the largest shareholder of Facebook, she had been invited to ring the opening bell with Mark Zuckerberg. This was not only a symbol of commercial honor but also a crucial opportunity for Future World Pictures to deeply integrate with the social platform.

But right now, the location shooting for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was in its final stages. With a crew of nearly 200 people and daily venue rental costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, she couldn’t afford to step away for even a moment.

"Irene, a video call from Director Chen." The assistant ran over holding the phone. On the screen, Chen Shiyu was wearing a crisp, custom-made suit, with the bustling hall of the New York Nasdaq Stock Exchange in the background.

His usually capable business demeanor held a hint of nervousness at this moment. His tie was knotted meticulously, and the watch peeking from his cuff was the commemorative edition for the IPO that Irene had gifted him previously.

"Shiyu, thank you for your hard work." Irene leaned against the ship’s railing, with the stunt performers nervously rehearsing in the background. "Don’t be nervous when ringing the bell. Just follow the procedure. Remember, this is not only Facebook’s IPO, but also an important debut for our Future World Pictures in the technology sector."

Chen Shiyu nodded. In the camera view, Mark Zuckerberg could be seen chatting and laughing with his team members: "Don’t worry, Irene. I’ve already confirmed the procedure with the exchange. Immediately after ringing the bell, we will release a joint statement, attaching the link to the puzzle-solving official website for Saw to the statement, using the IPO hype to push another wave of marketing."

A flash of satisfaction crossed Irene’s eyes, but she was immediately pulled back to reality by the shouts on set: "Alright, have Jean follow up on the equity liquidation. I must finish all location shooting within half a month, otherwise, it will affect the studio shooting schedule in Los Angeles."

After hanging up, she put on her headset and issued a stern command into the walkie-talkie: "Attention all departments, prepare for scene 76, the sea shoot. Lighting team, keep up with the angle of the sunlight. Sound team, block out the noise of the waves. Actors, take your positions. Countdown: ten, nine, eight..."

Meanwhile, inside the New York Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Chen Shiyu followed Mark Zuckerberg onto the bell-ringing platform.

Inside the New York Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Chen Shiyu had just finished his call with Irene when he turned around and bumped into Mark Zuckerberg, who was walking towards him.

"Why didn’t Irene come? To let you stand in for her at such an important moment?" Mark was wearing a hoodie, his face still full of the callowness of a university student, but the sharpness in his eyes seemed to tell others that he was not that naive.

Chen Shiyu put away his phone and showed a polite smile: "Irene had some urgent work come up suddenly and really couldn’t get away. She specifically instructed me to witness this important moment of Facebook’s IPO on her behalf and also to convey her congratulations to you."

Mark nodded, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the watch in his pocket. It was the R&D commemorative gift Irene had given him back then.

He couldn’t help but recall the profound help and advice Irene had given him back then. If it hadn’t been for Irene finding him with seed funding, proposing the concept of "moving beyond campus social networking to build a platform for the entire web," and helping him sort out his business model and connect with capital resources...

Perhaps their venture wouldn’t have succeeded so quickly. At the very least, Hollywood connections were an important resource that had been beyond his reach. Anyone could see that if it hadn’t been for the "Ice Bucket Challenge" last summer that showcased Facebook to the public, their platform would be nowhere near its current level of success.

Logically speaking, he should be full of gratitude. After all, it was Irene who guided him to achieve his current success.

But as Facebook grew, he came into contact with more and more Silicon Valley tycoons and capital investors. Seeing that Irene’s vision and resources far exceeded his own, and that even the technological R&D he took pride in was merely one link in Irene’s business layout, a kind of jealousy he was unwilling to even admit to himself was quietly taking root.

"Urgent work?" Mark chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. "Is she busy filming that pirate blockbuster, or does she have a new investment plan?" His tone seemed casual, but it actually carried a hidden sense of resentment.

It was clearly every line of code he typed that supported the foundation of Facebook, yet when outsiders mentioned Facebook, they would always first think of "the social platform invested in by Irene." This disparity made him increasingly concerned about Irene’s movements.

"It’s mainly because the location shooting for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End has entered a critical stage, and the crew of nearly 200 people cannot do without her coordination." Chen Shiyu avoided the main issue, not mentioning Irene’s capital layout. "Irene has always been very attentive to Facebook’s development. She has quite a few ideas regarding post-IPO overseas expansion and user experience optimization. Once she finishes filming, she will communicate with you in detail."

Mark’s eyes flickered, and he pressed further: "She didn’t mention any specific new plans? For example, has she thought about expanding Facebook’s film and television cooperation field? Or... incubating a few more tech projects similar to Facebook?"

He had actually always minded the matter of Microsoft’s investment. Back then, Irene had decisively rejected Microsoft’s 300 million USD capital injection, and he had been quite critical of it privately, feeling that it was a rare financing opportunity.

But before he could convey his objections to Irene, Microsoft had suddenly conceded to a 5% equity stake and increased the investment directly to 500 million. Of course, he got more money, but deep down, he had a feeling of "being bypassed," which left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Especially now, he vaguely sensed that Irene was laying out even grander projects, yet she remained tight-lipped with him.

Chen Shiyu understood. He had long heard about Mark’s close relationship with Microsoft.

Irene’s plan to acquire Marvel was highly classified. Not to mention Mark, even within the core team of Future World Pictures, only a few people knew, so naturally, he could not tell him the truth.

He calmly changed the subject: "Irene’s planning has always been long-term, but for now, the focus is still on Facebook’s stable development. For this IPO, her two good friends, Britney Spears and Edward Nelson, each subscribed to 30 million USD worth of shares. Coupled with the pursuit from institutional investors, the stock price exploded immediately after opening and has now stabilized at 38 USD, with the market value exceeding 40 billion USD."