Chapter 5010: Advance to York, Advance (Forty-Six)

It rained on the day of the press conference. The rain in Advance York City was different from that in Gotham. The night before, unmatched thunder and torrential rain fell together, soaking the entire city. The next morning, after finally catching a glimpse of Gotham's gloom, the sun peeked out and everything sparkled in the light.

Thick clouds blocked most of the sunlight, but the temperature did not drop much. On the contrary, the moisture rising from the ground made everyone feel sticky. Wearing a suit in this weather was practically a punishment. Yet, the entrance to the Revival Alliance headquarters remained crowded with reporters in suits and leather shoes.

The Revival Alliance invited only a few reporters—only official correspondents from national and local major newspapers had press passes. But this did not mean that some tabloids and paparazzi could not stake out the entrance to capture the appearance of important figures. Their target today, however, was not the central figure of the event, Thor the Thunder God or Loki. The world always focuses on Wall Street, and Wall Street is interested in Tony Stark.

Recently, Tony Stark was exposed as having mental issues, causing noticeable fluctuations in Stark Group's stock price, though it has recently stabilized somewhat. However, due to Stark's long absence from public view, the current trend remains unfavorable, and the related interest groups are anxious.

But Tony Stark is after all not an ordinary boss; if he wants to conceal his whereabouts, no one can find him. Although it was normal for him to previously disappear into a lab for ten days or half a month, now he is urgently needed to come out and steady people's minds, so he cannot keep hiding. After all, every second he delays coming out is real money flowing down the drain.

Countless eyes stared at the entrance of the Revival Alliance headquarters, everyone anxiously waiting for news. Tony Stark could not possibly miss such a major event; he will surely appear.

A car slowly pulled up to the headquarters entrance. Reporters anxiously looked over, but only saw the figure of Thomas Wayne. He is one of the investors in the Revival Alliance, so he had to attend such an occasion. Although he is not the Stark they most wanted to see, such a big shot naturally deserves an interview.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne. May I ask if you are aware of Mr. Stark's recent situation? Is the news that he suffers from a mental illness true?"

"May I ask whether the mental illness that Mr. Stark suffers from affects his inventive ability? What do you think?"

"May I ask how the competitive relationship between Stark and Wayne Enterprises will change? Do you have any expectations regarding this?"

Thomas kept a stern face and answered nothing. The bodyguards quickly cleared a path, and he briskly walked inside.

Just as the reporters surged toward the entrance, another car arrived. Leather shoes stepped on the rain-soaked red carpet, and beneath the sunglasses, blue eyes flashed with a glint. The moment he stepped out of the car, the crowd seemed to explode, the shockwave intensely strong.

"Mr. Stark! You finally agreed to appear. May I ask about the earlier reports concerning your mental illness..."

"Shh..." Iron Man made a silencing gesture, "Now is not a good time for interviews. After the press conference ends, you will know."

After saying that, the bodyguards also cleared a path for him, and he strode into the headquarters lobby, disappearing from the reporters' sight.

At the same time, on the roof of the lobby, two figures stood on the edge of the rooftop looking down. Spider-Man Bruce wore his costume, while the original Amazing Spider-Man wore a suit.

"I believe you," Peter said, "I do not think it is because you provoked him that he attacked you. This Tony Stark is very dangerous."

"It's all in the past," Spider-Man said, "I am now worried that he might cause some trouble at the press conference. I do not believe he has truly completely given up managing Stark Industries; he must still want to do something."

"You are right, we need to keep an eye on him," Peter said, "He could easily not show up, but he came anyway, possibly with some purpose."

"Thomas told me yesterday that Stark Industries has been quiet for a long time, and around the day before yesterday, that is, when we decided to hold the press conference, they made some moves in business."

"Not surprising," Peter said, "Stark will not abandon the Revival Alliance; he must have planted eyes here. We all know that everything we do is known to him crystal clear."

"That's terrifying," Spider-Man said, frowning, "This means the entire Revival Alliance has no secrets at all."

"I heard that the Anquan Force has already hired someone, a very powerful electronic life. No matter how strong Tony's technology is, in this aspect he cannot possibly be more professional than electronic life, and perhaps it will improve soon."

"Too late," Spider-Man said, shaking his head, "Today's press conference will definitely go wrong. I'll go check the evacuation map again."

After saying that, he turned and walked toward the door of the rooftop, Peter gazing at his silhouette. This young Bruce Wayne has indeed made considerable progress; the civil war is not entirely a bad thing, at least it will allow young heroes like him to grow quickly.

Peter lowered his gaze to his palm, where a flash of magic light appeared. He has already become quite accustomed to being a mage, but he still follows the principle he had as Spider-Man: never abuse superpowers unnecessarily. After all, the danger and destructive power of magic far exceed those of spider abilities, so he must be even more cautious.

Peter also felt somewhat uneasy in his heart. He understands that the Revival Alliance must have made preparations, but he does not know the specific details, nor could he have anticipated that the Iron Man, who has been hidden for many days, appearing here, is intending to do what. He needs more information.

Peter directly walked to the other side of the rooftop and flew down, then landed on a balcony on the second floor. He knocked on the window, and Shiler, who was lowering his head to adjust his tie, looked back and nodded at him.

When the window opened, the humid air surged in together with Peter. Fortunately, the Amazing Spider-Man is somewhat mature; if it were the Peter from the central universe, or another little Spider-Man, the dialogue box would have already filled the room before the person even entered.

"Professor," Peter shouted, "I just saw Iron Man at the entrance, the one from our universe."

"He indeed appeared." Shiler continued adjusting his tie in front of the mirror, first straightening the slightly askew Windsor knot, then beginning to clip the tie clip.

"Bruce just told me that Stark Industries has made some moves, right after we decided to hold the press conference. This shows that there is indeed someone in the Revival Alliance leaking information to him."

"Not necessarily a person," Shiler said, lightly shaking his head, "Stark himself is an elder of the Revival Alliance and has the technology; it is entirely normal for him to have left some backdoors in the headquarters. Jarvis has already been investigating."

"But the press conference is about to start; even if we find something out, it will be too late." Peter sighed, sat down on the chair beside him, "I only hope nothing else goes wrong."

"You know this is impossible." Shiler finished adjusting his tie, tugged at the hem of his clothes, turned around, and looked at Peter, saying, "Once something happens, you only need to evacuate the reporters."

Peter steadied his heart; since Shiler said that, he must have already prepared for what might happen today and has countermeasures, so as long as we ensure the safety of ordinary people, that will be enough.

"I could ask..." Peter, although still very eager to ask about the specific plan, but thinking that it might lead to a leak, he still gave up.

Ten minutes before the press conference began, all personnel had already taken their seats, each wearing a suit and leather shoes, with work badges around their necks. But Shiler did not sit with the Revival Alliance staff; he came to the press section.

The reporters also only assumed he was a reporter from another outlet, after all Shiler does not look like a superhero, nor like an agent. Although he seems overly refined, saying he is a reporter is still plausible.

Shiler had no filming equipment in his hand, which is also normal. Reporters and photographers are different; many times reporters are not responsible for filming work, only for asking questions and recording, while photography has dedicated photographers.

When Shiler sat down, Eddie, who was lowering his head to write something, looked up and then froze.

"How did you get here?"

"And you?" Shiler countered.

"I am a proper reporter." Eddie pulled out his reporter ID, "Although not from this universe," he said, "I sensed that something would happen today, so I came. You should be too."

Shiler did not answer, and Eddie just said to himself, "I can't think of why they are holding a press reception. If it is to clear Thor's name, this face-to-face approach is not good enough."

"According to your view, how should it be done?"

"One of the principles of public opinion is to bully the weak with the strong," Eddie said without reservation, "As long as you control more media than the opposition, then conducting a one-sided public opinion bombardment with a unified message is the better choice. The Revival Alliance can influence too many official media outlets; we only need all media personnel to uniformly release information, and the public opinion direction will quickly be reversed."

"But holding a press conference, letting Thor face reporters directly, once something goes wrong, reporters will have solid evidence in their hands, and it will not be so easy for them to retract." Eddie is well-versed in this, after all, when one has no evidence, listening to official dispatch is to avoid trouble for oneself, but when one has evidence, it is not necessarily whose trouble it is.

"Superheroes are uncontrollable," he continued, "They do not understand the stakes in the public opinion arena, and prefer to follow their feelings. Even if you let them memorize their scripts in advance, they might not recite them. If they accidentally say one wrong sentence, caught by reporters with a handle, the cost to clear the public opinion afterward would be too high. I truly do not understand why they would choose to do this."

"There is a reason for this," Shiler said, "You only see the game on the public opinion field; perhaps there are other factors as well."

"Precisely because I know this is not just a game on the public opinion field, I came here," Eddie said, "I do not think I understand better than the Revival Alliance's professionals. Since they chose to do this, there must be this necessity. I fear that causing trouble is actually their goal. I do not want this matter to blow up too much."

"Why?" Shiler asked.

"I have considered moving here," Eddie said, lowering his eyes, "In my original universe, the situation was very bad, making a living was already a problem. The opponent of Venom is also strong; if I cannot stabilize myself and improve my strength, it would be too dangerous."

"It seems you have communicated," Shiler said, looking at him.

Eddie nodded: "After that day, we shared memories. I believe we are temporarily not suited to return; it is better to stay here to rest and recuperate. Once we have adjusted well, the opponents in the original universe will no longer be a threat."

"The Revival Alliance will also be willing to let me stay," Eddie said, "They actually lack personnel and also want to recruit superheroes from other universes. If I can help them solve some problems at the press conference, future cooperation will be easier to discuss."

Shiler nodded, understanding Eddie's purpose. He wants to stay, so naturally he needs to demonstrate his strength, at least also to show his attitude. In this occasion, saying safety is safe, after all, so many superheroes are present; for Eddie and Venom, who still lack strength, it will not be too dangerous, but there is also room for them to show themselves. It does not necessarily have to be about force; Eddie also has accomplishments in the professional field of journalism, which counts as a decent credential.

Just as he thought of this, Shiler saw a woman walk over from the side and sit down right beside him. Shiler lifted his eyes and saw a head of dark, dense black hair and a pair of slightly cunning green eyes.