Driving the SUV, Daisy followed the man into downtown Los Angeles. After several turns, she saw him park outside an apartment building, quickly get out, and enter the building with a bag, indicating he lived there.
Daisy waited for almost an hour before seeing the man come out again, having changed his clothes, carrying a black garbage bag. He went to the alley behind the building, threw the bag into a dumpster, and then returned to the apartment building.
"Looks like he lives here," Daisy confirmed, nodding to herself.
She checked the car's navigation system, marked the location on the touchscreen, and then drove away.
"Bastard, I won't let you off!" she muttered to herself as she drove. "You will pay for what you've done!"
Returning home, she immediately found her drawing board and drew a baseball cap on it. Then, mimicking the way the Magician spread terror in "The Dark City," she marked several red X's on the board.
In the past, Murphy was her idol. Now, the Magician had become her faith.
Daisy believed that with a meticulous plan, she could create chaos in Los Angeles just like the Magician.
The first step was crucial. She didn't plan to act covertly like the beach beating incident before. Such secretive actions wouldn't cause widespread chaos.
She needed an explosive effect and choosing the right location to strike was key.
Having just commanded a victorious campaign on IMDb, Daisy was full of confidence, certain she could achieve this.
She placed the drawing board in the center of her living room and walked to the wall behind the sofa, which featured a large poster of the Magician.
Running her hand slowly over the Magician's image, she said, "Since you can't come out, let me bring chaos in your place."
Over the next few days, Daisy visited the apartment where the man with the red baseball cap lived nearly every day, gradually figuring out his routine. She also noticed that online attacks against Murphy and accusations of him slandering the Catholic Church had resurfaced, likely connected to the man with the red baseball cap.
However, Daisy was biding her time, knowing that as a woman, she needed a stronger physique to cause real chaos. She frequented both the gun club and the fitness club even more and added some gym equipment at home.
As May came to an end, "The Dark City" was entering its fifth weekend in North American theaters and facing competition from Sony Columbia Pictures' "White House Down," a major blockbuster directed by Roland Emmerich with a production cost of $150 million. Despite the competition, "The Dark City" achieved its fifth consecutive weekend at the top of the box office, earning $24 million and leading the North American box office.
Including the $16 million earned during the four weekdays before the weekend, "The Dark City" brought in $30 million over the past seven days, bringing its total North American box office to $662.1 million.
With this, "The Dark City" surpassed "Titanic's" $658.67 million to become the second-highest-grossing film in North American box office history.
Murphy broke James Cameron's monopoly on the top two spots on the North American box office charts, prompting numerous American media outlets to sing his praises once again.
The latest issue of "Time" magazine even featured Murphy on the cover.
"As Hollywood's top director, Murphy Stanton has the qualities of a god or an empire builder. He is both a pop culture expert and the director Hollywood's increasingly homogenized film industry desperately needs!"
Other media outlets' praise was no less effusive than "Time."
"Murphy Stanton is God's favored child!"
"Only James Cameron stands before Murphy Stanton now!"
"From the birth of the film industry, no director has ever established a commercial appeal stronger than Hollywood's biggest stars, like Murphy Stanton."
Many North American media outlets were quick to declare: In an era when James Cameron's output is sparse, Murphy Stanton is the true king of commercial cinema!
It's no exaggeration to say that "The Dark City" has sparked a craze in North America that has transcended cinema to become a cultural phenomenon.
Murphy knew that the North American box office for "The Dark City" would not be an issue. The key now was the global box office. Only with strong performance in overseas markets could "The Dark City" quickly surpass the $2 billion mark worldwide.
The North American population is limited; the combined population of the US and Canada is about 350 million. Including immigrants and ticket-buying undocumented immigrants, the market is at most 400 million people. A $700 million box office is almost the ceiling, as not everyone in North America likes Murphy and "The Dark City." No film can achieve that.
Fortunately, "The Dark City" performed well overseas.
In the past, Murphy's films generally performed better domestically than abroad, even if the overseas box office numbers were higher, they were not by much, contrary to the trend of Hollywood blockbusters.
This is largely due to the film's genre and Murphy's personal style.
However, after years of hard work, Murphy had reached the pinnacle of the Hollywood director circle. The global appeal of a top Hollywood director is enormous. "The Dark City" broke away from previous patterns and received a warm reception overseas.
Outside North America, from Latin America to Europe, from the Middle East to the Far East, from Australia to Russia, mainstream media in many countries were filled with information about "The Dark City."
"The Dark City and its director, Murphy Stanton, are breaking records. This film has topped box office charts in every release country, creating a unique phenomenon where parents take their children to watch, and young people take their elders to share the experience. It transcends language, culture, and religious barriers, sparking a viewing craze worldwide."
"Just sit on the subway, and you can hear people around you talking about the film, discussing Chris Dane, the crazy Magician, and Murphy Stanton's exploration of chaos, law, and human rights in the movie."
Even overseas, "The Dark City" transcended the realm of cinema to become a cultural or social phenomenon.
Despite European directors' envious criticism, claiming "The Dark City" lacks artistic value and is filled with sentimental melodrama, the film's momentum remains unstoppable.
Their opinions hardly affect the mainstream audience. What kind of films do most people enjoy? The answer is evident without asking.
Even European mainstream media, seeing the increasingly long ticket lines and soaring box office numbers, can only offer praise.
"Murphy Stanton is becoming the leader of global cultural trends!"
"Even though 2013 has just begun, we can confirm that no one is more influential than Murphy Stanton. Wherever he is, it becomes the world's focus and center. Anything he says or does easily captures public attention and headlines."
With such global acclaim, "The Dark City's" overseas box office reached $1.2 billion, bringing its worldwide total to $1.8628 billion!
All of this is far from over. The film has been in theaters for only five weeks. Although its weekday box office may drop below $2 million in the new week, it still has a long run ahead in North America and globally.
On this Memorial Day Monday, North America's public holiday, Archbishop Marques Costello held a press conference.
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