January 1, 2014, New Year's Day. Yesterday, a major event occurred; Captain America Steve Rogers donned that old military uniform and entered the White House, where he was warmly received by the President, though it is said that the two parted on bad terms, and the President, who seemed to have just received a surprise a few days ago, flew into a rage when faced with questions from the media.
No one knew what Captain America had discussed with the President, so everyone offered their own fervent speculations, but the media was mostly unperturbed because when Steve walked out of the White House, he publicly announced and issued an invitation to the media. Today, he would hold a press conference at a park in western New York, and all the Avengers would attend this press conference.
If Captain America alone could arouse such great interest from the media, then the appearance of all the Avengers would surely trigger a frenzy. But the surprises were far from over; Steve mentioned in public that the news to be announced at the press conference was related to the Dragon King! Instantly, this news sparked a wave of frenzy.
During the Battle of New York, the Dragon King appeared in the public eye for the first time, and his debut was already stunning, as he could not only go head-to-head with the mythical Thunder God Thor, and although he lost, that scene of "Dragon and Thunder, dividing the sky into two colors" was deeply imprinted in everyone's hearts, not to mention that it was ultimately the Dragon King who sent the nuke that should have fallen into the city into the space portal, directly ending the Battle of New York.
The group of subordinates led by the Dragon King at that time also shone brilliantly in the battle against the aliens. Judging by this, the Dragon King's popularity at that time was not low, nor could it have been low. But it couldn't be helped that the Avengers were considered the favored sons of the United States, so they had the upper hand in the publicity process from the start.
It wasn't until this Dark Invasion that the Dragon King, who had initially not shown up, appeared in the nick of time at a critical moment, directly saving half the city and the lives of many. This time, even the publicity couldn't suppress him, because he had even saved the Avengers as well. While Hong Fei was busy with personal matters, he had no idea how popular he was outside.
He was now the most powerful and high-traffic superstar in the World; it was no exaggeration to say that any news featuring the Dragon King, even if it was clickbait, could earn a decent amount of traffic. If he were to debut, he could immediately rank first among the many lead actors.
The direct result of this was that by the afternoon of the day the news was received, many people had flooded into this park that had survived the war; among them were not only media reporters but also ordinary people who came to join in the excitement.
Don't think that foreigners don't like to join in the excitement; this is human curiosity by nature, unless they aren't human, or the person who said that isn't human. Before it was even dark, people had already crowded outside the park, and when New Year's Eve arrived, everyone simply gathered together and celebrated the New Year in a lively manner.
The next day, after Steve and the other Avengers arrived by car, they suddenly discovered that they couldn't get in. Tony took off his sunglasses and complained: "I told you long ago not to mention the Dragon King."
Steve said helplessly: "I just wanted more people to pay attention to this matter; I didn't expect so many people to come to the scene. They shouldn't all be reporters, right?"
"Of course not. Have you ever seen a reporter flipping burgers?" Barton glanced at the food vendor nearby and sighed.
"Good thing I came prepared."
Tony flashed a smug grin. As if on cue, a quinjet descended from the sky. The crowd erupted into chaos, surging forward in excitement.
Tony raised his voice, cutting through the noise.
"Stay back! This is the main stage now. If you need a better view, feel free to stand on my car."
"That's the only way to go," someone muttered.
Within moments, the crowd had packed tightly around the quinjet, leaving no space to breathe. Camera flashes exploded like stars, blinding everyone with their intensity.
Steve stepped forward, microphone in hand. He cleared his throat.
"Please, everyone—quiet down."
The crowd continued to buzz, ignoring him.
Steve's frown deepened. His voice grew firmer, more commanding. Gradually, the noise subsided until silence fell over the gathering.
Facing the sea of expectant eyes, Steve took a steadying breath and began.
Public speaking was a skill he'd honed over the years, though natural talent played its part. He recounted the Battle of New York two years prior and the recently concluded Dark Invasion.
His words weren't groundbreaking, but he delivered them with a sincerity that gripped the audience. Their expressions shifted from curiosity to solemnity as he spoke.
"This is our suffering—and the world's suffering. As an Avenger, I failed to fulfill my responsibilities. For that, I feel deeply ashamed."
A voice shouted from the crowd, "No! You're the best!"
Cheers erupted, echoing the sentiment. Steve's eyes glistened with emotion. Tony and the others shared the same heartfelt reaction.
Recognition meant everything, especially for those who bore the weight of protecting the world.
When the cheers died down, Steve continued. "Thank you for your support. My comrades and I are deeply moved. But we can't turn a blind eye to the ruins of this city—or to London, far across the ocean. If disaster strikes again, we must do more than fight. We must help those who suffer."
Now he'd reached the heart of the matter. The crowd leaned in, hanging on his every word. Reporters held their breath, pens poised.
"A few days ago, we held a discussion—not just the Avengers, but also the Dragon King."
A collective gasp swept through the crowd before silence returned.
"We've decided to establish a 'Superpower Foundation'—a joint effort by the Avengers, the Dragon King, and his team."
Eyes widened. Mouths opened.
Steve pressed on, his voice rising.
"And we've allocated 17 billion U.S. dollars, starting today! These funds will be invested in rebuilding London and New York."
The crowd erupted. The noise was deafening, a tidal wave of shock and elation.
Amidst a clamor that rose to the skies, the loudest and most obvious sounds were the cheers of citizens and reporters alike—or their tears of joy. Aid had come before, from nations around the world, but this was something entirely new.
But compared to a huge super-city and a population of millions, this aid was actually not sufficient when divided up. But people knew they couldn't use this as a reason to demand more from the outside World; not everyone was as shameless as those people in the White House. And it wasn't other countries that should have taken the initiative to take responsibility, but the Federal Government.
Did the Federal Government do anything? Of course they did, but they did far from enough, and were even annoying everywhere. Compared to the deeply ingrained distrust people had for politicians, the aid from superheroes was obviously more likely to fill their hearts with hope.
Steve didn't keep asking everyone to be quiet; firstly, he knew everyone couldn't calm down now, and secondly, it was only until he personally saw these people that he knew how much they needed help, and it was only at this moment that he understood what Hong Fei's move could really bring to these people. Hope! Light! A spark!
Adding all kinds of flowery words together would definitely not seem excessive. After a long time, people finally quieted down one by one, looking at Steve with expectant eyes. Steve took a breath secretly and then said: "The shameful thing is that although this aid fund was raised in our name, in fact, they all came from the Dragon King."
Another gasp.
"The Dragon King and his team members total ten people, and there are seven Avengers, one billion each, for a total of 17 billion. This is the confirmed number. At first, the Dragon King was unwilling to let us disclose the facts, but after discussion with my teammates, we decided that we still need to tell everyone the truth. After all, people who have truly done good deeds should not be buried! We will all join the Superpower Foundation. From now on, the Superpower Foundation will not only provide aid to the people of New York and London, but will also do its best and use every possibility in the future to continue helping people in need around the World, especially…"
Not far from the park, on top of an apartment building. Hong Fei stood with his arms crossed, watching silently.
Coulson stood beside him, casting curious and puzzled glances from time to time. It wasn't until he heard Steve tell the truth that he finally couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Hong, why are you unwilling to show your face? People's worship of the Dragon King has reached its peak now. Thunder God Thor's support rate is not even one-third of yours. If you appear, it will be of much more obvious help to the work of the Superpower Foundation in the future."
The Dragon King is too strong; this is a consensus. At the same time, this time, the Dragon King has also won the hearts of the people too much.
Even excluding the above two points, the personal image alone is enough for the Dragon King to stand out from the crowd of heroes: whether it is that iron armor with a red background, white eyes, and yellow dragon patterns, or his fighting stance, or even with the end of the Dark Invasion, even a look he gave at the camera while wearing the iron armor, or an action accidentally captured, is almost being praised to the heavens by people.
Not to mention that now a whole set of trump cards has been gathered? With the Dragon King's appearance, the Superpower Foundation would reach its peak the moment it was unveiled. In the short term, whatever he wanted to do would naturally be unobstructed.
Otherwise, the tens of millions of people in the two cities and the hundreds of millions or even billions of people who empathize with this would not let off anyone who dared to make things difficult for him. However, Hong Fei remained stern throughout. Facing Coulson's inquiry, he only replied faintly.
"I don't deserve it."