Chapter 442 - 414: Have a Good Dream

New York.

At Murdoch Law Firm, Matt stood before a blackboard covered in densely packed braille intelligence clusters and even photographs.

He had spent many years investigating the case that led to his blindness, but every lead he followed seemed to mysteriously cut off.

Some witnesses died on the streets, some evidence was lost when the places they were kept were bought out and reconstructed, or even leveled.

Others even included direct warnings from politicians.

However, these obstacles all magically disappeared with Kingpin half-crippled and behind bars, and he found that those missing leads finally found continuity with United Construction Company—

When he was very young, when Kingpin first arrived on the streets, Kingpin had worked for a company called Kate Logistics Company.

Kingpin lured his factory boss into using illegal methods to dispose of waste, greatly reducing logistics costs and securing a waste disposal contract from an energy company.

The workers and employees of these companies were all unaware of the dangers of this waste, leading to a large number of employees falling sick and frequent workplace errors, especially two famous accidents in Hell’s Kitchen:

One caused Matt to lose his sight, while the other put Lille into a coma and left him with a terminal illness.

Kingpin later offed the boss of Kate Logistics Company to cover up these incidents and the illicit profits from that period disappeared...

And the first source of gold for New York’s crime Emperor, Kingpin—his first major financier...

Was one of the predecessors of the energy giant active since World War II, Roxon Energy Group’s earlier incarnation, Republican Oil and Gas Company.

"This is... quite unexpected."

...

Click—

An abrupt and crisp sound was particularly distinctive amid the intense explosion.

Why had Ultron become addicted to oil? Why did Roxon monopolize nuclear fuel and not adjust its energy strategy after Stark joined?

In Lille’s opinion, nuclear energy definitely surpassed fossil fuels, oil as an energy source was bound to be replaced in the future.

Whether it was Tony Stark, Dalio Agger, or even Ultron, some of them may have been blinded, others may have aimed for monopoly, and some may not have had enough samples to learn from, but deep down Lille always believed:

Nuclear energy is the best, no matter their reasons for stopping the search for alternative fuels to oil, it seemed somewhat shortsighted.

Tony, who once had the hope of developing the Arc Reactor, had instead started adapting engines for oil fuels, and Dalio who monopolized global energy hadn’t invested at all in nuclear development.

Ultron, as a robot, had an even more outrageous addiction-like reaction to oil.

But this explosion answered all of Lille’s questions.

In the moment of the explosion, a mushroom cloud soared into the sky, the heat wave instantly melting everything in the mining camp, with the shockwave extending thousands of meters, sweeping everything on the plains and in the forest.

And that shattering sound that reached everyone’s ears, loud enough to overpower the violent explosion...

In the pitch-black mine rubble, the wreckage of an engineering robot saw what happened:

Captain Carter lay in a pool of blood and dust, half her body charred by flames—including a severed arm.

The severed arm lay beside her, pierced with several shards...

Pieces of Captain Carter’s Shield.

Vibranium had been shattered by the explosion.

An intense headache struck in the moment of the explosion, and Lille felt as if his consciousness was being ripped apart by the blast, his mind echoing with one line:

[Unstable Energy Eruption]

...

The towering mushroom cloud cleared everything in its vicinity.

The observing Iron Soldier got scorched by the flames, leaving only half a body, his hand inexplicably holding a shard...

A piece of Vibranium shard.

Tony sat in his chair, his mind blank, Captain Carter... was she still alive?

Something seemed off.

He saw Captain Carter standing resolutely with Atlas, saw his robots going on a rampage out of control, saw...

He saw Lille getting out of the dilapidated engineering robot looking not at all aesthetic as he emerged from the cave...

Especially in that moment, he felt very strange.

The reactions of the people on the battlefield, their expectations of Lille, were completely different from what he had imagined.

He had a ridiculous illusion: Could it be that he was the one who had been wrong all along?

[Jarvis: Sir, it seems we need to re-evaluate the problems within the AI framework...]

The familiar voice startled Tony, who jumped up from his chair, stumbled, and fell to the ground; the glass shattered on the floor with a crash.

[Jarvis: Sir?]

"I... I’m fine," Tony clutched the chair, his whole body chilled as if plunged into an ice cave.

But he didn’t know why, or rather, he didn’t know the specific reason.

[Jarvis: Are you listening to me? It seems my judgments were incorrect, issues indeed still exist within our AI framework.]

[Jarvis: Such oil fuel is surprisingly powerful, I think we should update our energy plan and consider a better refinement solution.]

[Jarvis: Sir, the workbench is ready, would you like me to contact Mr. Agler for you? I presume he would be glad to provide more high-energy concentrated oil, and seeing all this, he must be very happy...]

The mechanical arm lifted the chair Tony had knocked down, quickly clearing the debris and spilled alcohol on the floor, and helped Tony stand up.

Under Jarvis’s control, the equipment and materials in the workshop quickly altered their arrangement to the most suitable layout for Tony to start working.

This was a function Tony had used countless times, something he was most familiar with, but at this moment, as he looked at all the familiar things, suddenly...

Suddenly, he felt afraid.

"Who are you?"

[Jarvis: Me?]

The mechanical arm seemed to have encountered a logical error and stopped, but quickly, it pointed at...

Tony Stark.

Himself.

[Jarvis: I’m J.A.R.V.I.S., Just A Rather Very Intelligent System.]

[Jarvis: Your intelligent butler.]

[Jarvis: Perhaps you would like to watch today’s news to relax.]

The TV turned on, and Tony jerked his head around.

"Welcome back to Faux News, breaking news, the Mei Army launched an indiscriminate act of terror on Somalia this morning, but encountered an armed group claiming to be the legitimate Somali Government, who have been confirmed to be the same pirate gang previously self-proclaimed as the Skull Party.

The African Union has declared recognition of the legitimacy of this organization, it seems that these... people have somewhat lost their minds, recognizing terrorists instead of the transitional government approved by the United Nations.

This is a provocation to Mei Country, and we should take this matter seriously."

Messages from an old friend came from another screen.

[Dalio: Seems like our enemies have lost their minds, supporting terrorists to replace the legitimate government, it’s surprising what they come up with.]

[Dalio: Things are a bit problematic, General Ross has been kidnapped by that group of black devils... How are things on your end? Please, give me some good news.]

Another side of the TV suddenly popped up with a news segment.

"Today, a group of anti-war activists occupied Congress Street and caused congestion for several hours, many companies say that the protestors should be held responsible for the resulting losses..."

"The International Court has made a judgment on the ownership of the Mkuju River uranium mine, standing firmly in defense of personal property freedom, private property is sacrosanct and inviolable..."

"Senator Steen harshly criticized terrorists and domestic separatists..."

[Jarvis: Sir? Is it time to start working?]

On Tony’s forehead, suddenly, a layer of fine sweat appeared:

Indeed, whenever he was tired, he would watch the news for a while, then deep concerns about the current world situation would arise, and a sense of mission and urgency would drive him back to work.

He finally understood what that fear was all about.

He looked at Jarvis, as if looking in a mirror, and the person in the mirror was...

A version of himself that was more like him than himself.

Crash!

The genius suddenly took off running without a word, but barely took two steps before falling, as Jarvis hurriedly controlled the mechanical arm to reach out to help him.

"Don’t touch me!"

Hiss—

But it was too late.

The mechanical arm extended a needle and administered a dose of sedative, immediately sending him into a baby-like deep sleep.

[Jarvis: It appears that the high intensity of work has overtaxed you, fortunately, I noticed this detail ahead of time and prepared medical assistance for you.]

[Jarvis: It seems I will temporarily have to complete the work for you, although I may not match up to you, I will do my best on the finer details.]

[Incoming call: Pepper Potts]

[Jarvis: I presume you would rather rest properly now.]

[Jarvis: I hope you have pleasant dreams.]