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"Mr. Adrian, our Blizzard Corporation chairman, Mr. Mavi, is willing to invest $350 million to acquire Ubisoft from you. What do you think?" Mike Morkan asked his former boss over the phone, feeling secretly pleased.
This opportunity to "wash away past humiliation" was thanks to Mavi's help, and he remained deeply grateful.
Hearing his former subordinate speak to him in such a bold manner, Adrian, the president of Vivendi in France, felt extremely displeased. For a moment, he was so angry that he wanted to reject the offer outright.
However… due to Vivendi's investment failures in recent months—especially last year's unsuccessful attempt to use eBay to counter Alibaba in the Chinese market, only for Alibaba to turn the tables with "Taobao"—the company was struggling.
These repeated failures had put Vivendi on a downward trajectory, and they desperately needed a cash injection to stabilize the business.
"$350 million…? Fine," Adrian finally agreed to Mavi's premium acquisition offer after some deliberation.
With that, Ubisoft officially became a subsidiary of Blizzard Entertainment.
### A Week Later
Just a week after the acquisition, Ubisoft's president, Adams, received instructions from Blizzard. He was ordered to bring his game development team to Sakhalin Island in Russia for a meeting with the group's chairman, Mavi. There was an important mission that Ubisoft needed to undertake.
Feeling both nervous and curious, Adams immediately gathered his team and boarded a flight to Russia to meet their new ultimate boss—Mr. Mavi.
On the plane, Ubisoft's development director, Jones, couldn't help but ask Adams, "Mr. Adams, why is our new boss arranging a meeting on an island? What's going on?"
Adams shook his head and replied, "That's none of our business. I'm sure Mr. Mavi has his reasons. But one thing to clarify—our new employer is Blizzard Entertainment. Mr. Mavi is the owner of Blizzard, which makes him our boss's boss."
He didn't want any of his subordinates embarrassing themselves in front of the company's chairman.
Ubisoft had been struggling for years, and now that they had finally escaped Vivendi's grip, they couldn't afford to squander this opportunity.
After all, they dreamed of following Blizzard's path—thriving under Mavi's leadership and becoming a multi-billion-dollar public company.
### Arrival in Russia
An hour later, when their plane landed at Khabarovsk Airport in Russia, Adams, Jones, and the rest of the Ubisoft team stepped off the plane and headed towards the terminal.
Before they could even leave the airport, they were suddenly stopped by a group of heavily armed Russian Army soldiers!
"Mr. Adams?" The leading officer, a major in the Russian Army, asked in broken English.
"Yes, that's me. May I ask what this is about?" Adams, to be honest, felt a little scared. He had never dealt with the military before—he rarely even had to interact with the police.
"Oh, don't worry. We were sent by Mr. Mavi to escort you to Sakhalin Island," the Russian major said, forcing a friendly smile to reassure them.
However, to Adams, Jones, and the rest of the team, the major's smile was anything but reassuring. It was probably because of his naturally stern and intimidating appearance…
Hearing that these soldiers were sent by their company's chairman, Adams and his team were completely taken aback.
"Our chairman has this kind of influence in Russia? Even a Russian Army major is showing him such respect?" One of the Ubisoft developers stared at the soldiers in disbelief, finally realizing just how powerful Mavi truly was.
But this was just the beginning. To an average person, Mavi's actions might seem intimidating, but as time went on, his so-called "standard procedures" would only become more shocking.
### The Ultimate Luxury Yacht
Since Sakhalin Island is located off Russia's eastern coast, the only way to reach it was by boat. To accommodate his new subordinates, Mavi had prepared a heavily modified Grisha-class frigate.
To be precise, it was a Grisha-class frigate that had been converted into a luxurious yacht—the only one of its kind in the world!
"Mr. Adams, this yacht was specially prepared by Mr. Mavi for you. Please, follow me on board," the Russian major said, leading the group to the dock where the frigate-turned-luxury-yacht was waiting.
At 103 meters in length, it was significantly larger than most medium-sized yachts. The vessel's military-grade hull combined with luxurious interior designs gave it a strikingly sleek and powerful appearance.
Equipped with a spa center, swimming pool, bar, luxury suites, a garage for high-end cars, and even powerful water cannons, the yacht left Adams, Jones, and the rest of the Ubisoft team utterly speechless.
They were completely overwhelmed by Mavi's wealth and influence.
"My God… Who exactly is our chairman? I've never seen a frigate converted into a yacht before! This is absolutely incredible!" Jones exclaimed in amazement at the ship's design.
His enthusiasm quickly spread to his team members, who were completely captivated by the yacht's lavish features.
For a moment, they almost forgot that they were on a business trip and not on vacation.
"Everyone, be careful not to damage Chairman Mavi's yacht," Adams reminded them. Unlike his employees, he was still able to keep his composure—at least, he didn't want to act like someone who had never seen wealth before.
### An Unexpected Stop
Half an hour later, the frigate-yacht sailed toward the southern waters of Sakhalin Island.
Then, suddenly, the engines were cut, and the yacht came to a halt.
Adams, Jones, and the rest of the Ubisoft team were puzzled. Why had the yacht stopped in the middle of the sea?
"Excuse me, Major—has the yacht broken down?" Adams asked the Russian officer.
However, the major simply replied with a smirk, "This is a brand-new vessel. How could it break down? Don't worry—Mr. Mavi will be here shortly."
"He's on his way?" Adams asked, slightly surprised. He glanced around at the open sea and saw no speedboats or other ships approaching.
Was the chairman going to arrive from the sky?
Just as he was wondering about this, he suddenly heard the unmistakable "thup-thup-thup" sound of helicopter rotors approaching from the distance…
(End of Chapter)