Chapter 4810

Under normal circumstances, finance and industry can indeed complement each other; it's not a case of one having to die. But the problem is that many people in finance don't just want to make money—they want to use financial means to control the country. Or put another way, financiers eventually have no choice but to use financial means to control the country; otherwise, they will inevitably be swallowed by bubbles, with no exceptions.

In this situation, whoever engages in industry becomes their enemy. Because if a country isn't sufficiently financialized, their power diminishes, and they might even be overtaken by bubbles. Faced with a life-or-death crisis, they will try every means to erode the nation's industrial base in pursuit of complete financialization.

Under these circumstances, Stark Industries will be a thorn in their side, a pain in their flesh. If Stark doesn't die, they cannot sleep at night.

As everyone knows, New York has long been the domain of Jewish financial conglomerates. Most of the wealthy notables here have myriad ties to Jewish families. They form a very tight-knit whole, especially when dealing with external enemies.

"So, you dislike this place because the people here always gang up against you?" Ethan asked.

Stark shook his head and said: "After recounting the history of the Stark family, I must also speak of my father, Howard Stark. You don't know much about him, but if it were Steve, he would say Howard was a pure businessman."

"That sounds alright," Dr. Banner said.

"The key isn't 'pure,' but 'businessman.'" Stark said somewhat helplessly, "Based on my earlier description, you might assume the Stark family is steadfastly pure and upright. But quite the opposite—my father successfully infiltrated the financial conglomerate, even thriving there. In his final years before death, he was busy socializing with them and rarely came home."

"Oh, I see," Peter nodded and said, "No wonder he bought a house here—to blend in, right?"

"Exactly. Even before I was born, they had already bought a house here. And during my childhood, they spent great effort trying to integrate into the community. This process was not pleasant. As I said, they never liked the Starks."

The others now fully understood. Don't be fooled—the Stark family may also be old money, but when they moved into this community, they were outsiders, and even considered enemies of this financial clique.

To do business, Howard exerted great effort to assimilate into them, but it certainly wasn't smooth at first. And as Howard's son, Tony, would inevitably face rejection as well.

Adults can easily tell this is just for business, and assume no one would quarrel over money—but children don't think that way. From young Tony Stark's perspective, his parents forced him to live in a place that utterly unwelcomed him, and insisted he socialize with these people. This must have left him with a very bad impression.

"So now..."

"Because I don't particularly like this place, I deliberately neglect cleaning the house. This makes the whole area look ugly. They've been dissatisfied with me for a long time, so today they came knocking."

Ethan opened his mouth. He wanted to say Stark's behavior was a bit childish. Because he dislikes the community, he deliberately lets his old house fall into disrepair to annoy his neighbors—this is nothing short of a child throwing a tantrum.

But then he thought: Stark also has the means to do this. Even a super mansion is nothing to him; he can let it rot if he wants. Discussing cost-effectiveness with him is pointless.

"So today we came to..."

Upon mentioning this, Stark finally brightened a little. He curled the corner of his mouth and said enthusiastically: "I heard there are houses for sale in this community. I think our dear Dr. Shiler should have a beautiful home in the scenic Long Island Hamptons."

Peter couldn't help but roll his eyes. This is as obvious as daylight. Just to retaliate against this community's people, Stark even wants to drag Shiler over to be their neighbor. True, they're not too friendly to you, but is it really worth this?

"This is actually a plan I've thought long and hard about," Stark said, "First, the Hamptons indeed have many beautiful estates. I'm confident I can persuade the estate owners to sell their mansions. These properties are absolutely fine and would meet Shiler's needs. The price may be high, but he should be able to afford it."

"Second, this place isn't just desirable to humans. In fact, many aliens are already planning to buy homes here, especially those politicians from the Interstellar Council. Though they won't cause big movements on Earth, gathering like this might still give S. H. I. E. L. D. a headache. But throw Shiler into the mix, and everyone will have to worry about him."

"Finally, my dear neighbors have suffered from hereditary mental illness for generations and need a skilled physician to treat them. Shiler is always eager to help, and I believe he would greatly enjoy living here. Isn't that right?"

"You're almost convincing me," Peter couldn't help but exclaim, "Although I always think you're doing this just for that last point, I have to admit it's also a good choice."

"It's the best choice," Stark emphasized.

"Understandable," Dr. Banner said, "But given how your house looks now, Shiler probably wouldn't want to buy it..."

"So I need to clean this place up," Stark said.

"You're not tricking us into coming over to do work, are you?" Ethan said somewhat helplessly, "You're so rich—can't you just hire a cleaner?"

"You've misunderstood," Stark said, "I'm not so stingy as to refuse spending this money and make my friends work. I just have a better idea... oh, they're here."

As Stark finished speaking, several people saw several cars parked outside the gate. Besides police cars, there were also several expensive vehicles, and a large crowd came walking over in a rush.

"Watch my signal later and act accordingly," Stark said.

Leading the group were several people in suits and leather shoes, but at first glance they weren't rich—they were lawyers. Police flanked both sides, while only the few in the middle wearing shirts and cashmere vests looked like wealthy people.

"From head to toe, pure old-money style," Peter exclaimed, whispering to Stark, "I've never seen you dress like this."

"Because that would be stupid," Stark said, "Constantly pretending to be relaxed really makes you look like a lunatic—don't imitate them."

Peter glanced down at his own clothes: a hoodie with the Guardians of the Galaxy logo paired with jeans. Dr. Banner wore similar casual attire. Ethan wore a relatively formal suit, as he had just gotten off work. Stark wore a casual suit.

As the group approached, Stark directly put on his sunglasses, walked over, and opened the gate. These people walked in without caution, then were nearly choked by the rising dust.

"Cough cough cough... Stark, what are you doing... cough cough cough..."

"Let me see who this is, little Emily. You're not Adel's lackey, are you?" Stark said with a sneer, "What should I call you? Mrs. Mason? Or perhaps Mrs. Pross?"

The leading woman, wearing a high-necked cashmere sweater and a light beige bodycon skirt, covered her mouth with a tissue and coughed violently, glaring fiercely at Stark, then said: "Mrs. Aves, thank you."

"My goodness, how did you marry such a fallen wretch?" Stark seemed genuinely shocked and bewildered, "You wouldn't really have... at the graduation party... did he drug you??"

Peter quickly tugged him, for the gaze of that Mrs. Aves already looked like she wanted to kill. Stark then turned to another person and said: "Who are you again? That football team idiot Nock? The one who overdosed on drugs at the middle school graduation dance..."

"Shut up! Damn Stark!" the tall man shouted, "If you don't shut your mouth, you'll get out of the community!"

Stark wasn't angry at all. He even seemed pleased, saying: "Reuniting with old friends is truly a joy. Where are your people? Why only you two? Did the others starve to death from lack of money?"

Ethan also tugged Stark. Stark rolled his eyes but still said: "You brought so many police to my house—what's the occasion?"

"Sorry, sir," a lawyer stepped forward, "According to the East Hampton Green Maple Leaf Community Covenant, you have not fulfilled the community's requirements for house repairs and lawn maintenance. We previously issued you a 30-day rectification notice, but you did not comply. After a community vote, we have the right to auction your house..."

"Don't say these unrealistic things," Stark appeared completely indifferent, "Just tell me what you actually want to do."

"I must emphasize, we indeed can..."

"You cannot," Stark said, "I have more than twenty mechs in this house's basement. They only obey my commands. Buy this house and you won't have to worry about them sneaking into your bedroom at night to play lullabies, will you?"

"If the house is auctioned off, you must vacate as required..."

"I can move them out, but no one can guarantee their autonomous cruise systems will function properly," Stark shrugged.

The lawyer seemed equally helpless, so he turned pleadingly to the two wealthy individuals. The woman still glared fiercely at Stark and said: "Clean up this damn pile of trash of a house, Stark! There's a major highway less than a kilometer away—how will passersby see us?!"

"No problem," Stark readily agreed, "But the cleaning costs must be covered by you."

The man stared wide-eyed at Stark, as if unable to comprehend how he could be so shameless. Stark spread his hands and said: "You're worried my house harms the community's image, but I'm not. Since I don't live here, and no one will say 'Oh, look, Stark's old house is so ugly, so he must be a fool,' why should I spend my own money cleaning it?"

The two were clearly speechless. Stark continued: "Whoever benefits should pay. It's that simple."

They still wanted to say something, but Stark interrupted, beating them to the punch: "Think it over—I might only come back here once in recent years. If you don't let me sign the cleaning access permit, my weeds might just spread onto the road."

The two were so angry they rolled their eyes, but in the end could only call to hire a cleaning company. Because Stark's house is well-located, its ugliness is highly visible. Besides, this area is on higher ground, and from the nearby beach, half of it can see this house—it's literally an eyesore. If not cleaned, it will affect the entire community and even all of East Hampton.

They also know Stark's character well—this guy takes the soft path, not the hard. If you cross him, he can stay away for ten years. As for going to Stark Industries to find him, don't joke—they can't even see the parking lot guard.