[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman":3,"chapter-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-428":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1721934,2198,"Chapter 428 428 — A Cannibal’s Patron","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-428",428,"\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patreon - Twilight_scribe1\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fragmentary warning made little sense to Henry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't understand what Charlie was referring to, nor why the situation required such caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the confused expression on the young man's face, Charlie finally seemed satisfied and explained further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know what America's old money elites, the really old ones, care about most when they reach a certain age?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't bother guessing. I'll tell you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Health.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A group of wealthy people who lived through World War II have all experienced sudden, rapid health deterioration around the same time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They've gathered here on the West Coast, hoping to obtain medical treatment using the resources on the island.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Some of them even want to receive the Embrace from vampires and become one of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlie continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's precisely because these old-money families suddenly showed up—and they're desperate—that the Mystikos vampires have grown more arrogant lately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Their behavior has become even more brazen than before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So before you make any decisions involving the Mystikos Sect, you should remember that these old-money figures might step in—either to complicate matters or openly support the vampires.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now you see why I suggested dragging young Stark into this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was a lot to process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry needed a moment to think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were only vampires, creatures that could never step into the light, the solution would be simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drag them into the sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Problem solved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No need to worry about disposing of the bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once those old-money elites entered the equation—especially dying ones desperate for survival—anything could happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People on the verge of death could make terrifying decisions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlie had also mentioned \"the island.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be that island?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The legendary place whose resources were whispered about in certain circles?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it secretly controlled by vampires?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trouble piling on top of trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Henry's conflicted expression, Charlie chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thinking about declining the invitation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Or planning to reject whatever they propose?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry glanced at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You're saying that won't work?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It will work,\" Charlie said. \"Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't meet them. Don't cooperate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But like I said, they'll keep pestering you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You'll need to withstand the pressure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The best solution is to redirect their attention.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throw Tony Stark under the bus?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlie's repeated hints sparked a suspicion in Henry's mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They're not part of the High Table, are they?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlie's smile didn't change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he leaned back in his chair, no longer leaning forward across the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked up his whiskey coffee and took a slow sip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blocking his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blocking the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Message received.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discussion over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry immediately understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coming to the Continental for information had likely been predicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlie's reaction clearly signaled that the topic was closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry wasn't foolish enough to keep pressing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, everything Charlie had said probably contained a degree of manipulation anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the direction of those hints, the real target seemed to be Tony Stark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry himself was merely collateral damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that was the case…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony Stark absolutely deserved to know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why should Henry carry this problem alone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This confirmed something Henry had suspected for a while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Getting close to famous figures in the Marvel world inevitably dragged you into their karmic disasters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony Stark clearly had far more trouble surrounding him than Henry had previously imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, it was a miracle Stark survived until 2008 before building the first Iron Man suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All those eccentric habits later?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably developed from years of stress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony Stark's personality issues had nothing to do with Henry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry wasn't his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no obligation to teach the billionaire playboy how to behave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing his espresso, Henry simply nodded politely and left the Continental.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Places like that remained shelters for the dark underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannibals' territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never somewhere you could truly rely on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recognizing that fact, Henry adjusted his thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From now on, any information the Continental possessed about him should be assumed to be known by the vampires as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His \"steel body\" mutant ability wasn't exactly secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone with resources could discover that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But linking Henry Brown to \"The Tinkerer\"?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very few people knew that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even inside the Los Angeles Continental, it wasn't common knowledge yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tinkerer had disappeared for quite some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only lingering trouble was the money he'd taken from that Black crime boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Money the FBI had been watching closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though whether they still cared now was unclear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other than that…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There weren't many real weaknesses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Stark Industries behind him, even if someone exposed the Tinkerer's identity to the FBI, Henry wasn't afraid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stark's legal team would bury the case in paperwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry kept no diaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No secret ledgers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No illegal funds sitting in banks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing stored in Gary's apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without physical evidence, even the IRS couldn't accuse him of tax evasion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the authorities didn't fabricate evidence, they couldn't legally touch him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry had deliberately spent time studying California law, tax law, and relevant federal statutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cleaning up his traces had been worth the effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if prosecutors ever fabricated charges?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would be even better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stark's lawyers would turn the case into prosecutorial misconduct, permanently poisoning any future investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Information leaking from the Continental wasn't a major threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry's real weakness was still the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His girlfriend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The future Oscar winner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Charlize Theron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there was no need to assume the worst immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Preparation was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, nothing had started yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn't even met the vampires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knew how things would unfold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry drove to the Hollywood Kid Supercomputer Service Center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This facility also housed the server rooms for Stark Pictures' rentable editing suites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were twenty editing rooms available for external studios.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After months of market adoption, every room was now running at full capacity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some wealthy productions had purchased the editing software outright and tried using high-performance commercial computers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But most of them eventually came back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The software was identical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The workflow identical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But here, the computing power was backed by a supercomputer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rendering speed could easily be twice as fast as commercial machines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given that difference, the choice was obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Studios preferred Stark's facility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me know what should I do\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>",1088,"2026-06-06T15:31:22.542Z",1,"novelbin.me","c3533f394cafd1fedb1d9c26fb9090cfe9591cf69099264177707b90f03d9a89","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-429","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-427",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmarvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-cover.jpg"]