bioinnovel Chapter 432 [3 Chapters Combined] Invading District 3
Chapter 432 [3 Chapters Combined] Invading District 3
The dimensional barrier rippled violently after Riley's figure entered. It then quickly became transparent and vanished without a trace.
Tony, Peter, and Max stood there, looking at each other in silence, processing the sudden influx of information that had overwhelmed them.
After a moment, Tony slowly lowered his arms, his expression beneath the mask complex and unreadable.
He first switched the internal communication channel: "Jarvis, connect to Happy's private line, highest level of encryption."
A few seconds later, the communication was established.
Before Tony could even speak, Happy Hogan's concerned and slightly anxious voice came through his ear: "Tony?! Thank God you're alright! You have no idea, the news is full of reports about Times Square! Mr. Obadiah couldn't get in touch with you and was worried sick! By the way, where's Peter? And, with something this big happening, shouldn't Mr. Riley…"
"Thanks to Tollelli, we're all safe."
Tony interrupted him, speaking very quickly.
"Listen, Happy, I need you to assemble a completely reliable private recycling team with the strictest confidentiality agreements and get them to Times Square immediately. The goal is to take every single piece of Iron Monger's stuff, even the smallest fragment, back to Stark Tower and store it in the isolation chamber of Lab 7."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings from behind his visor—neon lights distorted in the smoke, shattered screens flickered with short-circuit sparks, and the massive wreckage of the Iron Monger lay half-buried in overturned paving stones and car debris, like a dismembered mechanical behemoth. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning metal and the acidic fumes of smelling metal.
After a brief moment of thought, Tony added, "Also, when you arrive, if S.H.I.E.L.D., the FBI, the NYPD, or civilian scrap metal workers start their collection work before you, try to avoid conflict with them."
"Find their manager, be polite, and say that Stark Industries takes full responsibility for this 'accident caused by the runaway test subject' and is willing to bear all the on-site cleanup work and subsequent environmental remediation costs. At the same time, we are willing to pay them a substantial 'cooperation and confidentiality fee' to ensure that all debris is handled by our professional team to avoid secondary pollution or technology leakage."
"Oh? But that would cost a lot of money..."
"Money is not a problem. The bill will go directly into my personal account, but it needs to be fast, the attitude needs to be good, and the stance needs to be firm."
"I understand, boss."
Upon hearing Tony's words and confirming that the other party was not joking, Happy's voice immediately became professional and serious.
"I'll gather people right away, they'll be there within twenty minutes."
"Very good. Also, please inform Pepper that she needs to work overtime later... Jarvis, immediately activate the 'City Incident Damage Assessment Protocol.' Scan Times Square and the surrounding three blocks to calculate all property damage caused by tonight's battle."
"Sir, what is the specific scope?"
"Building structural damage, shop destruction, vehicle total loss, public facility damage... all of these generate preliminary reports and compensation budgets."
"Execution in progress, sir. Preliminary scans indicate that the direct economic losses in the core combat zone are estimated to be..."
"That's enough. Send the report directly to Pepper's work computer; she knows what to do."
Tony paused slightly. On the other end of the communication channel, despite no words interrupting him, Tony realized from the change in his breathing that Happy had quietly switched to Obadiah. Reassured that he was no longer alone, Tony felt a surge of warmth in his heart and his tone became noticeably more relaxed as he continued, enunciating each word clearly.
He spoke slowly and deliberately to the elder, mentor, and partner who had been listening silently, and who now had to face the storm together:
"Obi, I'll have to trouble you with the next step... Draft a public notice in the name of the 'Stark Relief Fund' and link it to the corresponding website's claims system. Make a public statement informing all New York City residents that we will provide full compensation and repair services to all innocent citizens and businesses that suffered property damage in tonight's events. There will be no upper limit, no complicated procedures, and we will get the money and urgently needed aid to them as quickly as possible."
It's worth mentioning in the conversation...
In the current timeline, due to the appearance of Riley Parker, a time traveler, and a series of butterfly effects, the world line has already shifted significantly.
Let alone the Battle of New York in the original comics, which brought together a host of heroes including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, which hasn't even happened yet...
With Banner, Thor, Tony, and Steve joining District 13 in succession...
With only "Black Widow" and "Hawkeye" remaining from the original six members, it remains a huge unknown whether Nick Fury will still propose the "Avengers" plan.
Therefore, Tony, who had just escaped the terrorists' hideout and hadn't even settled on the title of "Iron Man," naturally didn't have enough influence to establish a deep partnership with the government and jointly create a professional agency like the "Department for Damage Control" (DODC), which would be officially authorized and uniformly responsible for the post-war cleanup, damage assessment, and compensation of superhero incidents.
So, witnessing firsthand tonight what terrible disaster could happen if his own work fell into the hands of bad people, undoubtedly served as a wake-up call for Tony, who had been living a smooth-sailing life since returning to New York City and had become somewhat complacent!
For this reason, he must ensure that all the remains of the Iron Monger are recovered and that they do not fall into the black market or fall into the hands of other ambitious individuals or terrorist organizations, so as to become the seeds for the creation of the next "Iron Monger" or even a more terrible threat.
The subsequent details regarding proactive loss assessment and large-scale compensation were largely the result of Riley's subtle influence.
Tony still vividly remembers one night, not long after he returned to New York City, when he was busy building the Mark II.
Riley once posed a pointed question to him in a half-joking, half-serious tone.
"Hey Tony, it's a great idea that you want to use your power to make the world a better place... But before you officially step into the ranks of 'superheroes,' I'd like you to imagine this first."
"If a 'superhero' like me, in a moment of desperation while chasing a villain, grabbed a brand-new truck belonging to a father who had just finished handing over property and whose loan wasn't yet paid off, and threw it at the enemy like a toy… the enemy would nimbly dodge it, but the truck would smash right through a small street-front restaurant that three families had pooled their money to buy. The subsequent violent explosion would also damage the small apartment above the restaurant, which might have been the result of someone working hard their whole life to barely afford…"
Riley paused, looked into Tony's eyes, his smile fading, his tone becoming meaningful: "Tell me, what about those ordinary citizens who lost their livelihoods, had their homes destroyed, couldn't find work, and could only watch helplessly as they slowly walked towards the execution line? Would they be more grateful to us for 'stopping the bad guys,' or would they see my picture on the front page of the news and slowly feel a mixture of despair, anger, and hatred—'Why me?! What kind of hero is this?!'"
"If these emotions accumulate, will they, or their children, one day feel that... using unconventional means to obtain 'compensation' or 'power' is understandable?"
"After all, in the eyes of outsiders, these glamorous 'superheroes' are actually the 'villains' who ruined their families and caused their deaths. Don't you think so?"
This question gave Tony a great deal of shock and inspiration at the time.
He suddenly realized why the New York City police, under the leadership of Sergeant Stacy, were considered diligent compared to police forces in other cities. Yet, until the advent of "Spider-Man," New York City's crime rate actually increased rather than decreased due to the active enforcement of the law.
He also seemed to understand why, as Riley's finances improved, instead of pursuing a more luxurious lifestyle or continuing to invest and earn more money, he preferred to quietly invest in building non-profit community centers, low-cost clinics, and vocational training schools in relatively poor and high-crime neighborhoods in New York. He even directly purchased some old apartment buildings, carried out safety renovations and refurbishments, and rented them to low-income families at extremely low rents.
Even the low-cost power grid jointly built by Stark Industries and the Osborn Corporation was facilitated and facilitated by Riley.
That's not about showing off, nor can it be simply summarized as being kind-hearted or soft-hearted.
That is clearly a more far-sighted form of "preventive construction"!
It was Riley who, subtly and through various details, mitigated the potential "collateral damage" of superhero activities. This was done to fundamentally reduce the likelihood of people resorting to extremes due to despair and injustice.
So Tony, who silently took notes of the conversation that day, has now chosen to put these ideas into practice.
This hastily drafted plan may not be perfect, but it is undoubtedly an important start.
After giving all these instructions, Tony finally turned his attention back to what was in front of him.
"Peter, Max, we have to go. Happy and the others will be here soon. If we stay here, we'll only create opportunities for the unscrupulous media to smear our image and interfere with their work after they take pictures of us."
Upon hearing this, Peter turned to look at Max and found that Max seemed to have slightly recovered from his self-blame because of Tony's responsible instructions earlier, and was staring at Tony in a daze.
Clearly, Tony's actions stand in stark contrast to Max's perception of capitalists who would stop at nothing for profit!
This also made Max, who had risen from humble beginnings to his current state, realize for the first time...
It turns out that in this cold world, there really are people who mend and patch things up to offer a touch of warmth!
“Max,” Peter said softly, “come with us back to Stark Tower. It’s safe there, and… I think Mr. Stark needs your help to find out what happened tonight, how the mastermind controlled you. It’s important; it might help us find the mastermind and prevent something like this from happening to anyone else.”
That last sentence touched Max.
He suddenly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
Atonement...
make up……
Provide clues to help Riley and Tony find the real culprit...
This seems to be the only thing he can do now, and the only thing he has to do.
He nodded vigorously, his voice hoarse but clearer: "Okay... I'll go with you. I'll tell you everything I know."
……
The story has two parts, on the other side...
……
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Just as Riley had guessed, almost as soon as Riley left District 13, the mastermind's invasion of District 13 began.
But, to the surprise of the mastermind...
The opponent's initial plan was to use magic to transform their body into a wisp of smoke that blended into the night, attempting to penetrate the seemingly ordinary concrete walls of District 13 silently through magical means.
However, just as this dark green smoke was about to touch the wall surface, a sudden change occurred.
The previously unchanging surface of the wall suddenly rippled with a chilling ripple that was imperceptible to the naked eye but enough to make the spellcaster's soul tremble.
Countless fine, golden runes emerged on the surface of the wall, forming a precise and vast network.
This is not a simple physical barrier, but a meticulously woven, constantly active, complex magical defense array!
After a brief observation, the mastermind could clearly "sense" that the core logic of this magic circle was not simply "blocking".
Once it detects malicious magical energy attempting to violently breach District 13 or traverse space, it will immediately take two actions.
First, the offensive energy, several times stronger than the intensity of the attack, is reflected back along the same path, causing the intruder to suffer the consequences.
Secondly, and most troublesomely, it will activate the highest level of intrusion alarm the moment the automatic counterattack is triggered! It will send the intruder's coordinates, energy characteristics, and even possible magic style analysis directly to the preset receiver.
Without a doubt, that troublesome black demon is definitely one of the primary recipients!
This forced the mastermind behind the invasion of District 13, who had thought he could easily infiltrate the district as long as Riley was not around, to transform back into human form from his smoky state under the threat of the magic circle, gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath.
"Damn it, it's watertight... It's one thing for a mere mortal to possess such immense brute strength, but how come they also have such profound mastery of magic... And is it just my imagination? It seems like Asgardian magic is incorporated into this defensive array? It's as if they knew I was going to invade and deliberately targeted me!"
As he spoke, the mastermind's gaze swept across the area, finally settling on the entrance to the secret passage known to very few and used only by internal personnel in extreme circumstances.
Conventional magical infiltration routes are completely blocked, and physical breakthroughs are even worse in a place like District 13.
It seems the only solution is to focus on "identity".
Time was precious, and the opportunity was rare. The mastermind had no time to think, and immediately channeled the magic once more. A dark green, misty energy materialized out of thin air, quickly enveloping the mastermind's entire body, then writhing, shaping, and solidifying…
In just a few breaths, a figure dressed in a jet-black streamlined battle suit with a unique spider symbol on the chest and white light emanating from the eye sockets of the mask appeared in front of the passage entrance.
That's what Riley looked like wearing the Symbiote suit.
He even deliberately simulated the slightly flowing texture on the surface of the symbiote suit.
After completing the disguise, "Fake Riley" examined his new appearance while trying to recall all the information he could gather about Riley's behavior patterns since arriving in Midgard. He used this information as a reference to continuously adjust the details of his disguise.
Then, "Fake Riley" walked with his head held high and a relaxed gait, as if "mission accomplished, a safe return," toward the authentication area of the secret passage.
The certification process went surprisingly smoothly.
Under the influence of that mysterious magical energy, the scanning and authentication system of District 13 seemed to recognize the identity information of the "fake Riley." Just as the "fake Riley" approached, the heavy concrete wall silently slid open, revealing a softly lit internal passage.
This allowed "Fake Riley" to breathe a sigh of relief, and he then stepped inside, continuing downwards along the passage.
Although doing so would obviously take much longer than the original plan, especially since it was impossible to penetrate the walls and track the target's energy fluctuations to find the target of this operation smoothly through layers of obstacles.
But, as long as I can sneak in, with this disguise, I should be able to get close to my target by asking anyone for directions...
However, "Fake Riley" had just left the passage and walked less than ten meters into District 13 when he turned a corner and bumped into a petite figure.
"Hey! Riley!"
Originally, because Riley and the others were busy saving the world, Uncle Dragon was also studying the Joseph Society with Snake, and even Tru was going back to the island to visit his mother... As a result, Jade was left alone in District 13 to accompany her father and listen to his rambling lectures. She seemed a little uninterested, but her eyes lit up the moment she saw the "fake Riley".
Shouting loudly, he practically jumped over, his face beaming with a bright smile, and threw himself into "Fake Riley's" arms.
"You're back! District 13 seems unusually lively today, is something wrong?"
"Fake Riley" felt a pang of anxiety, but reacted swiftly. He reached out to catch the little cutie who had jumped into his arms, and mimicked the slightly lazy yet reliable tone of Riley he had learned from searching the memories of lone District 13 agents before the intrusion, replying with a smile, "It's nothing, just a little trouble... Jade, what are you doing here? Didn't Uncle Dragon see you doing your homework?"
He even tried to raise his hand, trying to imitate the gesture Riley occasionally made, to ruffle Xiaoyu's hair as a sign of affection.
But when Xiaoyu heard the answer "fake Riley," she deftly tilted her head, seemingly by chance, and dodged the hand.
His smile remained unchanged as he cheerfully continued, "I finished my homework a long time ago! Uncle Long is helping Dad out; it seems he's found some incredible artifact again. I heard it's related to a new demon. Do you want to go check it out, Riley?"
"Haha, I think I'll pass. It's better to leave professional matters to professionals. Besides, there's still some cleanup work to do after I've just resolved that little problem."
Xiaoyu's straightforwardness, including her mention of words like "devil" and "artifacts," did indeed pique "Fake Riley's" interest.
However, considering the main objective of this operation, and the fact that the real Riley could return to District 13 at any time, it is possible that he will return at any time.
"Fake Riley" could only suppress the curiosity welling up inside him, shrug, and put on a helpless look as if he really wanted to go but reality wouldn't allow it.
"I see, that's such a pity..."
As soon as Xiaoyu finished speaking, she lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected.
She even sensibly broke free from "Fake Riley's" embrace, only grabbing "Fake Riley's" wrist with her hand. As she gently shook it, as if afraid of being overheard by her father or Uncle Long, she deliberately lowered her voice, pleading with "Fake Riley" with a strong sense of expectation and coquetry.
"Hey Riley! You haven't played with me in ages! After school tomorrow, could you come with me to that super-huge maze area that just opened at Deer Park? Everyone else in my class has been there, but I haven't! Please!"
"Fake Riley" had no suspicions and just wanted to get rid of this unexpected child as quickly as possible. While Xiaoyu shook his wrist, he casually agreed, "Tomorrow? Okay, no questions asked..."
Just then, Xiaoyu suddenly looked up.
The smile that had been on his face had vanished completely. In its place was a sharp, piercing gaze. And then, with a sudden, unexpected force, he gripped "Fake Riley's" wrist and delivered a judo throw over his shoulder!
Before "Fake Riley" could finish speaking, he was suddenly thrown into a dizzying spin, his vision rapidly shifting from the ceiling of the passageway to the cold ground!
"boom--!"
The force of the over-the-shoulder throw far exceeded "Fake Riley's" expectations.
Clearly, what "fake Riley" didn't know was...
Because of Riley's protective nature, when the first batch of second-generation super soldier serum was produced, it was distributed to those around him first.
Xiaoyu was one of them.
This resulted in Jade, who appeared to be only an eleven-year-old child, possessing a powerful strength comparable to Steve Rogers hidden beneath her petite frame!
Furthermore, influenced by Riley, Jade's understanding of martial arts shifted from simply showing off to real combat skills. She never slacked off again while learning martial arts from Uncle Jackie.
In this way, the power that the Super Soldier Serum gave Jade, combined with the exquisite power-generating techniques she learned from "Superman" Uncle Jackie Chan, immediately produced an amazing effect where one plus one is greater than two!
So much so that when Xiaoyu suddenly exerted her strength and slammed the "fake Riley" hard onto the floor, it not only produced a dull thud.
The simulated symbiotic battle suit, which formed a black camouflage suit, fluctuated violently, emitting a faint sound similar to cracking glass!