bioinnovel Chapter 448 [3 Chapters Combined] The Value of a Top-Tier Support
Chapter 448 [3 Chapters Combined] The Value of a Top-Tier Support
"The Global Times, which we've bribed in advance, along with several other compliant media outlets, and our paid 'friends' in Congress and city halls, will begin to feel 'doubt' and start speaking out for 'justice' as rational and objective observers!"
"I've already thought of the titles: Hero or Assassin? Spider-Man Attacks Tony Stark! Ideological Conflict? Interest Conflict? Exploring the Meaning Behind Spider-Man's Assassination Attempt on Tony Stark! Uncontrolled Superpowers: When Vigilantes Turn Their Spears on Tech Giants..."
His voice grew louder and louder, tinged with a morbid excitement.
"We must relentlessly and repeatedly shove the 'fact' that 'Spider-Man discovered a threat and conspiracy, and thus decided to assassinate Tony Stark' into the ears and minds of every New Yorker and every American, at the top of our lungs!"
"We must utterly shatter that ridiculous facade! We'll transform him from an 'untouchable, unquestionable moral exemplar' into 'a dangerous, mentally unstable social menace! We'll drag him down from his pedestal and plunge him into the mire of conspiracy theories and fear! Just like we've done countless times before!'"
He slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise echoing throughout the conference room.
"More importantly, we must tear apart that damned alliance between him and the Starks, the one that has repeatedly thwarted us!"
"We all know Stark's arrogant nature. After being assassinated by that wall-climbing worm, he'll inevitably become suspicious of this ally, and might even turn against him!"
"When this fragile alliance crumbles, and Spider-Man's protection is gone..."
"I'd like to see what gives Stark the audacity to challenge us veterans!"
Old Roger straightened up, his chest heaving violently, his eyes burning with a desperate, frenzied light, as if he could already see the illusion of victory.
"Since Spider-Man is Stark's unpredictable 'trump card,' let's make that trump card blow up his own hand!"
"Since Spider-Man is a 'monster' we can't defeat with money, law, or public opinion, then let's use even dirtier, more unscrupulous rules to drag him into the quagmire we know so well!"
"Unless he has absolutely no attachment or concern for this country, he will gradually lose his space to survive in the face of public suspicion, media judgment, and betrayal by allies!"
"Ultimately, the very people they fought so hard to protect were slowly driven to their doom, like medieval witches facing public execution!"
He surveyed the deathly silent conference room, his gaze sweeping over the pale faces, his tone chilling and resolute.
"So, gentlemen, do you understand now? We're going to have a tough time until the plan succeeds. The stock price might fall further, Stark might release more dirt on us, and protesters might even be making a scene downstairs, staging demonstrations to further amplify the impact of this."
As he spoke, he pointed out the window. His old face, flushed with emotion, now radiated the youthful vigor of his younger days.
"But gentlemen! Put your hearts back in your throats! As long as we get through these toughest days, as long as our 'artists' perform well..."
That terrifying, expectant smile reappeared on his face.
"We will see..."
"Before that foolish Stark brat tries to completely annihilate us..."
"Before those ridiculous signs held up by that rabble downstairs are torn to shreds by the rain..."
The explosive news of "Spider-Man's attempted assassination" will sweep through New York like a plague, becoming the sole headline for all media outlets!
"Stark will live in constant fear, Spider-Man will be utterly disgraced! And we... we will sound the charge against him, and emerge victorious!"
After Roger finished speaking, silence followed.
A suffocating silence that lasted for a full minute.
Then, the first round of applause rang out.
It's Brandon Hawke.
His face still bore the lingering fear, but his eyes had already ignited the same frenzied gambler's flame.
He was fed up with his assets shrinking and with becoming a laughing stock.
Thornton's plan, though extreme, is the only way to immediately "retaliate" against Tony and potentially bring a glimmer of hope to the current situation.
So he stood up first and clapped his hands vigorously until they were red.
Immediately afterwards, the red-faced representative of Aldrich Industries also stood up.
Although his hands were trembling slightly, his applause was equally loud, as if he wanted to use his voice to dispel the fear in his heart.
"Let's do it! Let's teach that arrogant bastard a lesson he'll never forget!"
More and more people stood up, and the applause went from sparse to enthusiastic, eventually becoming a continuous roar.
Everyone's face showed either a desperate resolve or a hysterical echo of someone driven to the brink.
They saw the enormous benefits if the plan succeeded—a shift in focus, disintegration of the enemy, and an opportunity to regroup or even launch a counterattack.
As for the risks?
What are the consequences of failure?
Faced with the impending bankruptcy crisis, everything seems bearable now.
Moreover, it was Roger Thornton who proposed the plan; he was the mastermind and bore the greatest risk and responsibility.
If the plan succeeds, everyone will share the fruits of victory, and everyone will be happy.
But what if it fails...
Many people's eyes flickered, and they had already begun to plan how to sever ties with Roger Sr. and shift the blame to Roger Sr. personally, or even to the "artist" he mentioned, so that they could absolve themselves of all responsibility.
As Roger Sr. said, in the face of interests, so-called alliances are as fragile as a piece of paper that can be torn apart with a breath.
Especially those capitalists who have long since abandoned their conscience and are only focused on pursuing more profits.
The meeting room was filled with a fanatical, hypocritical, and self-serving atmosphere of "unity."
However, no one noticed, or rather, no one had the ability to notice...
Standing at the center of attention, Roger Thornton, seemingly encouraged by the support of the crowd and appearing even more spirited (or perhaps manic), lowered his eyelids to conceal a fleeting, inhuman, dark green glint in his eyes.
A subtle, yet deeply meaningful, cold smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
That smile held neither the gambler's fervor nor the satisfaction of revenge...
There was only a condescending, as if observing ants fighting... playful mockery.
Meanwhile, from a perspective that is extremely difficult for ordinary people to perceive with the naked eye, a faint, almost imperceptible, dark green magic, like the finest poisonous smoke, is quietly swirling around the aging Roger Thornton.
The magic was extremely subtle, yet it perfectly synchronized with the obviously abnormal sense of superiority in his eyes at that moment.
If Riley were present, or if anyone else were skilled in magic, they would have noticed that the distorted energy emanating from old Roger was exactly the same as the magical energy that had once controlled Max and Kopler.
However, the magic cast on old Roger, rather than forcibly seizing control of his body, was more like the magic used to control Max. It cleverly integrated into the host's own desires and obsessions, catalyzing and amplifying the fuel called "greed" and "fear," burning it into destructive "madness."
Although this approach is clearly less effective at controlling the "victim" than forceful possession, it carries the risk of losing control and resisting.
The advantage, however, is that this method allows Amora to roughly determine the "victim's" course of action without being physically present at the scene, thus maximizing Amora's own safety and secrecy.
Of course, regardless of the method of casting...
Without a doubt, Roger, who seemed to have the upper hand in this fragile alliance, was nothing more than a pawn in Amora's hands.
Along with the ripples stirred up by a pebble casually dropped by the enchantress Amora in one corner of this vast chessboard, they are quietly gathering into a vortex pointing towards an even darker abyss.
In her eyes, human greed, fear, hypocrisy, and madness are always the perfect ingredients for brewing the most wonderful dramas.
The real storm is brewing rapidly beneath this facade of unity and covert control.
However, despite all her careful planning, Amora overlooked one crucial detail...
If it were a typical Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially in the current timeline, where Hydra hasn't surfaced yet and Black Egg is busy being the Riddler and has hardly done anything human, would that be a cinematic universe?
Therefore, her schemes and tricks can indeed achieve their maximum effect.
But in this universe, just as there is light and darkness, and as there is black braised egg and boiled egg, there exists a top-tier support skill with extremely high value.
Look, here it is...
"boom--!!!"
While energy giants were indulging in their "grand plans" of dividing up Stark Industries and eliminating Spider-Man.
The floor-to-ceiling window, a symbol of their power and luxury, was transformed into a shimmering waterfall cascading inwards by a directional explosive device.
In an instant, howling winds and the deafening roar of the helicopter swept over.
The first to step into this chaotic place were a pair of gleaming leather shoes. They clattered softly on the shards of glass scattered on the ground.
The next second, Sheriff Black appeared at the breach, wearing his oversized trench coat with a touch of old-fashioned detective style and with his stern face.
Incidentally, under Riley's influence, Sheriff Black, after being injected with the second-generation super soldier serum and having his physique greatly enhanced, didn't even use a zipline when he stormed into the meeting.
After a quick estimate of the distance, Sheriff Black leaped from the hovering helicopter door and landed with the grace of a superhero, entering the expensive top-floor conference room with ease.
"Don't move! District 13 investigation—!"
As Sheriff Black entered, a large number of District 13 agents who had been waiting for a long time poured in like ghosts, swiftly and orderly, at the sound of a loud shout.
In just a few breaths, these heavily armed agents occupied all the key positions in the conference room. The dark muzzles of their guns formed a crossfire network with no blind spots, radiating a powerful and chilling sense of oppression.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I hope we haven't disturbed your 'planning for the future' mood... Of course, as you can see, I brought homemade invitations to this gathering, which are a bit too hot to handle."
Sheriff Black turned up his collar, casually dusted off non-existent dust, and scanned the conference table with precise eyes, taking in every face that looked shocked, angry, or panicked by the sudden turn of events.
Finally, his gaze lingered for half a second longer on Roger, who looked somewhat dazed, with a hint of barely perceptible struggle and emptiness in the depths of his eyes, before casually looking away.
"Furthermore, under the Federal Criminal Procedure Act and Section 7 of the Special Action Regulations for the 13th District, we have the right to terminate this unlawful assembly that is about to endanger national economic security and the personal safety of innocent citizens."
"Who do you think you are?!"
Carlson was the first to recover from his shock, and driven by a mix of fear and anger, he roared with a flushed face.
"This is trespassing! My lawyer..."
"Mr. Carlson, save your breath. Everything we've done is perfectly legal and justified..."
Sheriff Blake's tone was relaxed, even slightly teasing.
He strolled leisurely to one side of the conference room, picked up a small cake from a table laden with various snacks, and examined it with considerable ease.
It was as if, to him, what lay before him was not a tense arrest scene, but rather a boring social gathering.
"Or, to put it more directly... our District 13 is 'the law'."
When Sheriff Blake spoke again, his imposing aura, though not angry, made the others, who had wanted to protest and struggle, immediately lower their heads like frightened ostriches, afraid of attracting Sheriff Blake's attention!
"To be honest, I'm actually here to save you... because you have no idea how much trouble your plot will cause if it succeeds."
With that, Sheriff Black snapped his fingers.
The agents, understanding each other perfectly, quickly retrieved nanoscale audio and video recording devices from various hidden corners of the conference room.
On the tablet screen, the encrypted folder that had just been transferred was displayed in a split-screen format.
The next second, the clearly spoken recording played back through the conference room's audio system, echoing in everyone's ears.
Just minutes ago, these same bigwigs were making those shady remarks with no restraint about how to harm Spider-Man and Tony!
"Let me introduce myself to you."
Blake held up the tablet, as if showcasing a product he was proud of, and deliberately waved it at the crowd.
"This is the latest nanoscale synchronous audio and video recording device created by Dr. Otto. It's highly concealed, has excellent anti-interference capabilities, and boasts remarkably long battery life. And now, with irrefutable evidence and synchronized audio and video... I think even your formidable legal teams, with their impressive track records, would find it difficult to pull off that charade of distorting the truth when faced with such overwhelming evidence, wouldn't they?"
"What...! I protest! This is completely unacceptable as evidence! This is entrapment!"
As soon as Sheriff Blake finished speaking, a huge uproar erupted among the already uneasy group of energy giants.
Willoughby was the first to lose his temper and stand up. His voice became particularly sharp and piercing due to anger and fear. He pointed at Sheriff Black and roared in impotent rage.
"This is all a trap you set! A complete snare! It's illegal! The court will never accept evidence obtained through such inducement!"
Unfortunately, what this gentleman clearly didn't know was...
Perhaps Sheriff Black is indeed a mild-mannered, kind-hearted man.
However, the fact that Sheriff Black has been able to serve as the highest authority in a mysterious organization with a high status for so many years means that he is definitely not someone who can be easily manipulated.
Not to mention that after spending so much time with Riley, the seemingly unchanged boiled egg has gradually become cunning and ruthless under the law of "one is influenced by one's company."
"Illegal? Good heavens, you actually care about that? I'm truly touched..."
Therefore, upon hearing the accusation, Sheriff Black reacted as if he had heard an extremely funny joke, covering his face with both hands and shouting in an exaggerated manner.
Then, he tilted his head slightly, and the relaxed expression on his face turned into a pure, slightly sarcastic inquiry.
"Mr. Willoughby, it seems you prefer to resolve the current issue through reasoning... Well then, let's sort things out."
"First, is the information published by Stark Industries true? The answer is clearly 'yes'."
"Secondly, were these crimes committed by you through planting industrial spies or by using some shady channels and based on your personal subjective will? The answer is: 'Yes.'"
"Finally, after this information was exposed, did District 13, Mr. Stark himself, or even Spider-Man, proactively send any of you a complete 'guide' inviting you to plan crimes based on it, or use it as leverage to blackmail you? The answer is: no."
He walked to the huge conference table, his fingers tracing the smooth surface, his voice steady and clear, carrying an unsettling sense of calm analysis.
"What we did was, after Mr. Stark decided to publicly expose the dirty secrets that the public had been unaware of, to the public, based on a scientific analysis of your past behavior patterns, to legally deploy technical surveillance in one of the locations where you were most likely to gather and discuss your 'grand plan'."
"From the outcome, we successfully anticipated your criminal intent and the illegal steps you might take, and arrived in advance to 'wait.' Legally speaking, this constitutes monitoring and evidence collection regarding preparatory acts with a high probability of criminal activity, which is a law enforcement action in accordance with legal procedures. As for blaming…"
Blake paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Roger, whose struggle was becoming increasingly evident. His tone became even more meaningful.
"You've become so accustomed to trampling on the law that it's incredibly easy to guess your logic."
"Just like sharks that smell blood, they will definitely gather in that direction. All we did was place a high-definition waterproof camera in the shark's inevitable path."
At that moment, an agent quickly walked up to Blake, whispered a few words to him, and handed him another device that displayed complex energy waveform analysis.
Blake glanced at the abnormal energy readings on the screen and compared them with Roger's physiological indicators, nodded, and showed an "I knew it" expression on his face.
After the invasion of District 13, Riley, having learned his lesson, immediately worked through the night to upgrade District 13 with a new set of magical defense equipment.
Therefore, with thorough preparations and no fear of being mind-controlled, Sheriff Black dared to lead District 13 agents to so blatantly infiltrate the enemy's headquarters.
Upon entering the conference room, he immediately sensed something was wrong with old Roger thanks to the new equipment provided by Riley.
"To be honest, I've never really understood..."
Sheriff Black spoke again, as if continuing a casual conversation interrupted by an unrelated charge, but his gaze was sharply fixed on Roger, who was sweating profusely.
"In movies, TV dramas, and novels, especially crime dramas, the protagonists clearly know the villains' identities and understand they'll resort to underhanded tactics. Why do they always wait until the villains start acting, causing actual damage, even killing people or blowing up buildings, before making their arrest? Is it for dramatic plot twists, or to showcase the protagonist's brilliant and heroic rescue at a crucial moment?"
He walked toward Roger, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
Roger's breathing became rapid as a result, his eyes filled with a fierce struggle, his lips moved but he could not utter a coherent sound.
"See, it turns out that there was really no need to waste so much time..."
Sheriff Black stood beside Roger, his voice not loud, yet piercing everyone's eardrums like an ice pick.
"All you need to do is spread some shady truths, then patiently wait, and you'll see guilty villains jump into the cage one by one... Compared to passively waiting for events to happen, this approach is clearly much more efficient and safer, isn't it?"
"Low cost, controllable risk, complete chain of evidence, and social harm is eliminated completely in its nascent stage. Most importantly... it can prevent a real tragedy from happening. Instead of, as Mr. Tony originally planned, waiting for you to fight a few rounds in the business world, waiting for your conspiracy to unfold step by step, waiting for your carefully prepared conspiracy to actually harm someone, and then using your enormous legal and financial power to fight back."
"That's too slow, and if we make a mistake even once, we won't be able to protect anything."
"And after spending a lot of time with one of my friends, I also started to hate this kind of 'gamble' where the effort and the reward are clearly disproportionate."
He leaned slightly forward, speaking to Roger who was almost collapsing, as if addressing everyone.
"Therefore, before the news even spread, I suggested to Mr. Tony... the best way to deal with a group of 'man-eating sharks' that have already shown clear criminal intent and the ability to carry it out is not to set up expensive shark nets in the waters where they swim, or to wait until they bite someone before chasing them. Instead, the moment they gather in large numbers and open their mouths to expose their threat, we should use swift and decisive measures to completely incapacitate them!"
"You...you have no right...you can't..."
Upon hearing Sheriff Black's words, Carlson, while amazed by the man's meticulousness, understood that under the "special attention" of the official organization, their tricks would have no chance to be used.
But Carlson, still unwilling to accept defeat, stammered and tried to protest.
"I'm sorry, quite the opposite. Our District 13 was established specifically to stop large-scale crimes. Naturally, we have the authority to prevent foreseeable major crimes."
Blake straightened up, his smile quickly vanishing, replaced by a cold, businesslike tone.
"Incidentally, in cases involving threats of supernatural forces (such as crimes that may be manipulated by magic or other means, or simply committed using superpowers), critical national strategic assets, and employed personnel (such as the legitimate police officer Spider-Man), District 13 has the authority to act first and report later."
"This point is clearly stipulated in the supplementary provisions of the newly introduced Paranormal Events Response and Security Act last month. Do you want me to show it to you?"