Rob hung up with Silverman and immediately dialed Cassius, voice cracking with disbelief. "Bro—Green Lantern is still climbing and it's basically done in theaters. Warner wants to straight-up pay us to do more dates with Jackie!"
Cassius froze for a second when he picked up.
Helping Zodiac had been pure respect for Jackie and the movie's real message. He hadn't expected anything extra—definitely not a surprise boost to his own film's late run.
He opened his phone, scrolled the latest industry updates and social chatter, and finally got it.
It was classic crossover magic—like those old-school cameos where they drop a pop star or athlete into a movie just to pull in outside fans.
Pure capitalist math at its finest.
While Cassius was out hyping Jackie, Jackie's longtime fans and action junkies discovered him. A bunch of them finished the roadshow, then went straight to theaters to catch Green Lantern.
And Green Lantern's core audience—young people—barely overlapped with Jackie's older crowd. The two films were feeding each other perfectly.
"It's not just me," Cassius told Rob. "It's luck, and Jackie's movie is genuinely solid. As long as he's cool with more dates, I'm in."
"Got it! I'm on both teams right now!" Rob sounded like he was already sprinting.
Over the next two weeks they added two more joint interviews and a packed college campus Q&A.
The conversation moved past the individual movies and into bigger stuff—how action films had evolved, what it's like being in Hollywood, and movies as cultural bridges.
Cassius brought the fresh next-gen perspective. Jackie held nothing back, sharing decades of hard-won lessons and scars.
Green Lantern's North American total kept doing something almost unheard of: it kept rising in its final weeks.
Zodiac's U.S. run also smashed through every low expectation the distributor had set. For a non-English film with a heavy cultural mission, it was a quiet success story.
Because of the Jackie-and-Cassius team-up, mainstream outlets and social media suddenly lit up with real conversations about repatriating looted artifacts and protecting heritage.
On the flight back to L.A. after the final stop, Jackie leaned over and clapped Cassius on the shoulder, voice thick with emotion. "Kid, I owe you big. Not just for the tickets—for making sure more people actually heard the story we wanted to tell. Never thought this old face would still get to ride a young star's wave like this."
"Brother Jackie, don't even say that," Cassius replied quickly. "I learned more from you in these two weeks than I have in years. My own movie got a surprise boost too—this was a win for both of us."
"Hahaha! That's fate, and that's talent!" Jackie laughed loud. "When both sides win, it means you're standing in the right spot and people believe what you say. That's rarer than any box-office number."
The plane cut through the clouds.
Cassius closed his eyes.
On his panel, the line "Jackie Chan-Style Action-Comedy Performance Essence" sat quietly under his skills.
Even after all this time together, no new skill orbs had dropped. These things were ridiculously rare.
Still, every conversation had deepened his understanding. The orb's knowledge was slowly melting into his instincts, becoming part of how he moved and thought on camera.
The second they landed, Cassius and Jackie headed straight back to Beverly Hills.
The moment Cassius pulled up to the gate, his phone buzzed.
Rob: Green Lantern: Rise of the Azure Dragon has officially exited wide release worldwide.
Global box office: $718 million.
The weird late surge had already become a mini-legend among analysts. Fans even gave the upward curve its own name inside the movie's universe:
Dragon Rises.
Warner and DC's offices felt like Christmas all over again.
Seven hundred and eighteen million dollars for a superhero movie? That was straight-up impressive.
Greg Silverman called Cassius personally, warmer than he'd ever been. "Cass, final numbers are in—outstanding work. You proved we made the right call. The whole team is proud as hell."
Rob summoned Cassius to his office the same afternoon.
The decor hadn't changed much since last time.
Except now, right next to Henry Cavill's giant framed photo, there was a massive new one of Cassius in full Green Lantern gear dominating the entrance wall.
After the last jump-scare, Cassius was ready.
Still, the sheer size of it made him pause.
Green Lantern's monster run meant his base pay and backend cleared without a hitch.
The $3 million fixed fee was locked.
But the real money came from the box-office points. Thanks to Rob's hard negotiating and Cassius's late surge, the escalators kicked in after $650 million. Even so, he only pulled 1.2 percent of global net.
Nowhere near the 40 percent the real A-listers got, but still life-changing.
Rob had already run the final math.
After every deduction, audit, taxes, and his own commission, the number Rob slid across the desk was clean:
$2,720,000 wired straight into Cassius's new private asset account.
Two million seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
Add what he'd already banked from 2 Broke Girls and he was sitting on over $3 million cash.
Almost twenty million RMB.
In one single year.
Cassius stared at the number like it might vanish.
Rob punched the air. "You are officially a multi-millionaire now, bro! Next contract starts at five million plus points minimum!"
"Easy, tiger." Cassius laughed, but the knot in his chest finally loosened.
Real financial breathing room changed everything. No more scraping by. No more survival stress. He could finally chase roles for the art, not just the paycheck.
A few days later the money hit the account.
Cassius and Jackie met at the lawyer's office handling the sale.
Signatures. Documents. Notary stamps.
Everything went smooth as silk.
Jackie's legal team had optimized every tax angle and title transfer like pros.
"Money came through right on time!" Jackie signed with a flourish and grinned at Cassius. "First big movie and you're already buying your own house with the earnings—solid move."
"All thanks to you, Brother Jackie, for giving me such a perfect opportunity."
Cassius signed his stack too.
Jackie took an old wooden key box from his assistant and handed it over. "There you go—keys to the new place. Spares and gate cards are inside. House is officially yours. Do whatever you want with it."
"Pool needs regular cleaning or it'll grow algae. Alarm code's coming from my assistant later!"
Cassius took the box. It felt heavy in the best way.
Owning property in Beverly Hills had been the dream for every actor grinding in Hollywood.
He'd just checked that box the exact week Green Lantern left theaters.
"Thank you, Brother Jackie." The words came out thick with real gratitude.
If it hadn't been for Jackie's friendship price, he probably would've needed another monster hit before he could afford it.
"Stop with the thanks already." Jackie clapped his shoulder. "The impact you gave Zodiac goes way beyond money. When those artifacts finally come home, you'll have a piece of that credit too."
Cassius felt his chest swell with pride.
While he was still buzzing from owning his first mansion, Jackie had already zoomed out to the bigger cultural picture.
As they stepped out of the law office, a few waiting media outlets caught them perfectly.
Jackie threw an arm around Cassius's shoulders and beamed for the cameras.
That night the entertainment sites ran the headline:
"Cassius Buys Jackie Chan's Former Beverly Hills Mansion—Next-Gen Star Takes the Torch."
Comment sections exploded with fans celebrating and random people going, "This is how fast stars make money? Normal people work lifetimes and still can't afford a house here."
Cassius didn't pay any of it any mind.
He drove alone back to 1705 Green Acres Drive.
Slid the key into the lock.
Stepped inside his own living room.
Late afternoon sun poured through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. The faint smell of fresh cleaning still lingered—Jackie had already sent a crew through.
He walked to the glass and looked out over the manicured lawn and the city lights starting to twinkle in the distance.
His bank account still had $320,000 left after the purchase.
His phone buzzed.
Rob: Just got the official Warner email. They're throwing an internal victory party for Green Lantern. Silverman personally requested you be there.
Cassius smiled.
"I'll be there."
No way he was missing a closed-door Warner party packed with execs and cast.
More attribute orbs? Maybe even another skill orb?
He wasn't about to pass that up.
The Warner victory bash felt even classier than the kickoff event.
No red carpet. No media.
Just the top executives, core producers, main cast, and their managers.
It was less a Hollywood circus and more like a real family celebration.