Typhon Estate was unusually quiet that afternoon, the calm atmosphere broken only by the sound of a television playing in the background. On the screen, the ever-dramatic voice of Daily Bugle owner J. Jonah Jameson boomed through the room as he delivered his latest broadcast with his usual over-the-top enthusiasm.
"That's incredible!" Jameson shouted, slamming a hand on his desk as if the news itself demanded applause. "Yesterday, our honorable members of the Justice League paid a special visit to the children at New York's pediatric hospital! These heroes are the conscience of this city. With their care and encouragement, those brave little patients will surely recover faster!"
He leaned toward the camera as his voice rose even higher. "In this chaotic era, it's hard to imagine what life in New York would look like without them protecting us!"
Ethan Voss watched the broadcast with a strange expression.
To be fair, he really had sent money to the Daily Bugle.
And not just a little.
The payment had been generous enough that even Ethan felt a little embarrassed thinking about it. The praise pouring from Jameson's mouth was so shamelessly exaggerated that Ethan felt his ears heating up.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the remote and switched the channel.
Coincidentally, the new program displayed a live interview with someone he hadn't seen in a while.
Tony Stark.
A reporter held a microphone toward Stark as cameras flashed around them.
"Mr. Stark," the reporter asked, "the New York City government has officially filed a lawsuit demanding that Stark Industries pay for the reconstruction costs following the mech armor incident during the recent battle."
She glanced down at her notes before continuing.
"The estimated damages could reach several billion dollars. What's your response?"
Stark rolled his eyes so dramatically that even the reporters around him laughed.
"This entire situation is completely illogical," he said flatly.
"First of all, let's clarify something. I'm also a victim here. The entire disaster was caused by Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko. If anything, I should be receiving compensation."
He spread his hands as if explaining something obvious.
"In fact, if I hadn't shown up early enough to stop them, New York would have suffered far worse damage. I'm the one who protected the city. If anything, the city should be thanking me."
The reporters immediately erupted with questions, but Stark continued talking without hesitation.
"Second," he added with a dismissive wave, "even if I were willing to fund part of the reconstruction out of humanitarian goodwill, I would never cooperate with the New York government."
His tone turned sharp.
"You can't even imagine the absurdity of this situation. They filed a lawsuit demanding billions of dollars from me, yet they haven't even produced a proper list of damages."
"That's not a legal claim," Stark said bluntly. "That's extortion."
He adjusted his sunglasses and leaned slightly toward the reporters.
"I will never yield to a government that behaves this greedily and irrationally. If they want to push this issue further, I'll take the case all the way to the federal level."
He paused dramatically.
"Let the entire country see what the New York City government is really like."
The moment those words left his mouth, the reporters exploded into excited chatter.
Cameras flashed nonstop while journalists shouted questions from every direction.
Ethan could already imagine tomorrow's newspaper headlines forming in real time.
Stark: Is the U.S. Government Greedy and Absurd?
Breaking News! Tony Stark Plans to Escalate Case to Federal Authorities!
The Untold Conflict Between the New York Government and Billionaire Stark!
Ethan leaned back in his chair with a faint smile.
It seemed Mayor George was under tremendous pressure right now.
Maybe I should send him a few boxes of lotus seed mooncakes tomorrow.
Demanding compensation from Stark Industries had actually been part of Ethan's plan from the beginning.
The goal had never been about the money itself.
Instead, the strategy was meant to drag Stark Industries into the chaos surrounding Hammer Industries. Once Stark became involved in the conflict, competitors attempting to acquire Hammer Industries would face enormous pressure.
That would allow Ethan to swoop in and purchase the company at an absurdly low price.
Originally, that had been the entire plan.
However, the situation had evolved in an even better direction.
The U.S. government had quietly entered the game.
Even more interestingly, their involvement had produced results hundreds of times better than Ethan originally imagined.
Government investigators had privately linked the disappearance of a massive quantity of weapons from Hammer Industries to the ongoing acquisition attempts.
In simple terms, anyone who wanted to purchase Hammer Industries would also be responsible for helping the government recover the missing weapons.
When Ethan learned about this development, he immediately realized the outcome.
He had already won.
After all, those missing weapons were currently sitting safely inside his Divine Kingdom.
Of course, bringing them out immediately would be extremely suspicious.
That was why Ethan had already devised an even more entertaining plan.
He didn't just want to acquire Hammer Industries cheaply.
He also didn't want to pay for it himself.
The disappearance of such a large arsenal was a political disaster.
If Justin Hammer were still sane, he would be panicking right now. Unfortunately for the company, Hammer had already lost his mind inside Ryker's Island prison.
Hammer Industries was essentially collapsing.
No one within the company had the authority or ability to handle the crisis.
That meant responsibility would inevitably shift toward government regulatory departments and the task force responsible for recovering the weapons.
And when political pressure started flying, plenty of people would get hit.
Let the bullets fly a little longer, Ethan thought calmly.
Eventually those bullets will take down quite a few targets.
When the situation reached its peak, he could appear like a savior offering a solution. By then, the desperate officials would practically beg him to take over the company.
And once he introduced the right "proposal," the U.S. government might even end up paying for the acquisition themselves.
Just as Ethan was enjoying the thought, a knock sounded at the office door.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in," he said.
The door opened, and Natalie stepped inside.
She was wearing a fitted black business suit and gold-rimmed glasses that gave her an elegant, professional appearance. The outfit accentuated the mature charm of her figure, while the calm intelligence in her eyes created the impression of a patient wife waiting late at night for her husband to return home.
Ethan couldn't help clicking his tongue in admiration.
"What one man likes," he muttered quietly to himself, "everyone else ends up liking too."
If he didn't know exactly how dangerous she was, resisting someone like her would be nearly impossible.
Many times before, Ethan had wondered if he could simply take advantage of the situation—strip away her loyalty and turn her into nothing more than a convenient fling.
But each time the thought surfaced, he dismissed it.
He didn't want her to fall in love with someone she absolutely shouldn't.
Ethan still believed he had a conscience.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Did they arrive?"
Natalie had gone to the airport earlier to pick someone up.
The passengers were agents connected to Madame Ophelia Sarkissian—one of Hydra's influential figures.
Of course, Natalie herself was only responsible for the airport pickup. She wasn't involved in any of the follow-up operations.
She had done this kind of task many times before, although usually with business partners rather than secret operatives.
This strange arrangement was simply one of Ethan's peculiar habits.
He was genuinely curious how she would react one day if she discovered that she had unknowingly escorted Hydra agents countless times.
"There were nine people total," Natalie reported in her slightly husky voice. "Six men and three women. Five of them appeared to be bodyguards."
She paused briefly while recalling the details.
"The remaining four seemed to follow the orders of a very old woman. They were carrying a large amount of heavy luggage and refused to let our staff handle it. Their behavior was… unusual."
"I arranged for them to stay at a luxury hotel near the Typhon Building. Is there anything else you need?"
"No additional instructions," Ethan replied.
He leaned back in his chair and studied her quietly for a moment before suddenly speaking again.
"Natalie, you've been doing excellent work recently. I'm very satisfied."
She blinked slightly in surprise.
"I trust you completely now," Ethan continued. "To be honest, keeping you as a personal secretary feels like a waste of your abilities."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'd like to invite you deeper into my world. Would you be interested?"
Natalie's expression brightened immediately.
"Really? That's wonderful. Thank you!"
A strange smile slowly formed on Ethan's lips.
"I have a mysterious client who ordered a special psychotropic drug from me," he said calmly. "Unfortunately, that bastard decided to delay the final payment."
His tone turned cold.
"I'd love to kill him, but there's a small problem."
Ethan frowned slightly.
"I don't know where he is."
"I only know his name," he continued slowly. "Something like Dreykov… or maybe Drevin. I'm not entirely sure."
"But I do know he's probably Russian. Possibly Ukrainian."
Ethan tapped the desk lightly.
"I've already hired a team of investigators to track him down. What I need now is a liaison officer between them and me."
He looked directly at her.
"Do you think you're qualified for that position?"
Natalie froze where she stood.
For several seconds she didn't answer.
"Natalie," Ethan said gently, "you're capable of this."
"Yes, boss."
She suddenly snapped out of her daze.
"Yes, boss!"
"Good."
Ethan nodded calmly.
"As the liaison officer, if the investigators discover anything important, you only need to inform me immediately."
"Yes… yes, sir," she replied.
Her smile looked noticeably stiff.
"If there's nothing else," she added quickly, "I'll return to work now."
"Go ahead."
After she left the office, Ethan's smile slowly widened.
Investigators?
There weren't any investigators.
Not a single one.
They wanted to locate the Red Room without investing manpower or resources.
So the only logical solution was to mobilize employee enthusiasm.
If the imaginary investigation made no progress within half a month, Ethan could simply create another excuse to send her to Russia personally.
Then we'll see whether you can handle it.
.....
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