On a weekend in early October, Peter woke up in the morning and checked around. After confirming there was no new information from either the magical or the technological side, he briefly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and got out of bed. In the living room, Uncle Ben, who was taking a break, was watching television, which was broadcasting the latest and most trending news.
"Dario Agger, the CEO of Roxxon Energy Corporation, stated in an interview that cutting America's electricity prices in half would not bring any practical benefit to the American people. He claimed that because electricity costs drop, other related living costs will rise significantly, and it is highly likely to actually increase the cost of living for Americans. Therefore, he calls upon Mr. Stark to halt this irrational price war."
Uncle Ben, not understanding what the host was talking about, looked toward Peter, who could be considered half a party to the matter. "How could cutting electricity prices in half be a bad thing?"
"Because drilling and extracting oil takes time for the volume to scale up. Furthermore, in the long run, the cost of coal-generated power is actually lower than oil-generated power. Just because that country of Svartalfheim has abundant oil reserves doesn't mean it has abundant coal reserves. One way or another..."
Halfway through his explanation, Peter noticed that Uncle Ben still looked completely bewildered, so he switched to a different analogy. "To put it simply, before they've even made any money, Stark started cutting prices."
In essence, Tony doing this was purely to spite people. As industrial gold, oil's greatest utility was, of course, not for power generation. Various chemical products across all walks of life were heavily dependent on oil, while power generation was actually a minor fraction.
This was exactly why it was the Roxxon-Stark War and not some Mobil-Stark or Shell-Stark war. We have so much oil and can set up so many production lines, so why should we fight an electricity price war with Stark?
Wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?
Only Roxxon, because they intended to launch a stock acquisition of Stark Industries, would release news to blur the electricity price war into an "energy war," causing Stark's stock market to take a dive. The other oil giants were simply waiting on the sidelines to reap massive profits, while only Roxxon insisted on challenging Stark directly, not only putting out news but also genuinely making a heavy push into the oil-to-electricity industry.
Tony's attitude was that he was targeting precisely them. Worst case scenario, he would install Arc Reactors across the entire nation and drag the electricity prices down, just to see who would ruin whom when the time came. Either way, he would still turn a profit.
Uncle Ben didn't understand, but he did know that last month's expenses had decreased by quite a bit, and they might continue to decrease going forward.
"Whatever, cheaper electricity is a good thing anyway. I haven't seen any other downsides so far, so let those big shots fight it out. By the way, kid, what are your plans for going out today?"
Seeing Peter leaving with a bag, Uncle Ben realized that he was definitely not going out for Avenger-related duties, so he inquired out of curiosity. Peter thought about what he was about to do for a moment, and then gave Uncle Ben a direct reply: "Going to a church to do volunteer work, most likely."
Yes, volunteering at a church was exactly what Peter was going to do today. To be more accurate, he was just visiting an old friend. When he showed up at the doors of the Hell's Kitchen church with his backpack, Matt was sitting there, having already waited for a long time.
"I thought you'd already be inside."
Peter glanced at the church. A church operating inside Hell's Kitchen was naturally not well-maintained. Aside from Matt, it was said that only Fisk had ever donated money here. Matt adjusted his glasses, remained silent for a moment, and then stood up while leaning on his blind cane. "I haven't been to a church in a long time, Parker. I haven't prayed in a long time either. Do you believe in God?"
"Depends on the situation. During major holidays when I have to go into a church with Aunt May, I believe in God. Other than that, no."
Matt was amused by Peter's words, then he stood straight and drew a cross over his chest. "I didn't believe in religion for a very long time either. I lost my sight, my father died because he refused to throw a fight, and I was taken in by someone, luckily managing to graduate from law school and become a lawyer. For a very long time, I felt that a so-called God simply didn't exist, so I didn't practice religion."
Peter seemed to understand something, so he asked in return, "What about now?"
"Sometimes I still doubt whether God exists, but my mindset has changed. I believe that religion, at least for me, is necessary. For a very long time after I became Daredevil, I would come here, pouring my heart out to the priest as a guilty penitent. You and I both know how much of our work cannot see the light of day, how many secrets we need to bury in our hearts, and how many things we simply can't share with anyone else."
Precisely because of this, Matt Murdock became a Christian—not for the faith, but for confession and confiding. He needed a place where he could speak of what he had seen and heard, and more importantly, he needed a person to judge his rights and wrongs. He might not necessarily agree with the other party's views, but Matt needed such an outlet.
"The priest here has been very good to me. In fact, he counts as half a foster father to me... and he is a highly dedicated, responsible priest. Whether it is a good person or a bad person, he will listen to their confession without a single ounce of prejudice. No matter what kind of threats or bribes he faces, he will never leak anyone else's confession. Furthermore, every time I come to the church, I gain a sense of serenity."
For Matt, whose hearing was exceptionally sharp, it was far too easy for him to focus on all kinds of auditory details. This peaceful place made him feel it was incredibly rare and precious. He finished sharing this with Peter with a smile, then his tone shifted.
"But I haven't confessed in a long time."
Peter didn't ask why, so Matt began to explain on his own: "I've been contemplating a question these past few days: why did the Hand, why did the Beast set their sights on me? I came to a conclusion: the reason they targeted me is that I truly can fall into corruption. I am enjoying the violence unleashed during combat with enemies, and I enjoy the simple pleasure of beating them up. I feel... I have lost myself within the so-called fight against crime. I began to forget why I became Daredevil."
"And the fact that I haven't come to the church for a long time is excellent proof. I haven't confessed to the priest in ages."
After listening to Matt's self-account, Peter asked a question in response.
"Then is it the religion you truly believe in, or is it this priest?"
Faced with this question, Matt revealed a smile and shook his head. Then, with a teasing tone, he patted Peter on the shoulder. "Let's go, young man. You wouldn't want to know just how many things need cleaning in an old church."
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