Chapter 245: Two Furys

Los Angeles in November occasionally sees heavy rain, with a noticeable chill. On days without rain, temperatures rise from around ten degrees Celsius to twenty, making it perhaps the most difficult climate for dressing appropriately.

You need to add a jacket when going out in the morning, but by noon you'll strip down to just a short-sleeved shirt. Often, people only realize they've lost their jacket when they start shivering from the cold in the evening.

However, this time of year is precisely the pre-award season warm-up for Los Angeles, which harbors Hollywood ambitions. Male and female stars eager to compete for awards begin frequenting various banquets to increase their exposure.

But this year, no matter whose exposure it was, it was overshadowed by a young star: River Phoenix.

Yet no one feels jealous, because it was a life exchanged for it. On October 31, this young Venice Film Festival Best Actor died suddenly from a drug overdose.

The comedy-drama film "This Thing Called Love," which was supposed to have a nationwide release this autumn, had its release plans canceled due to the star's disgraceful death.

Consequently, this film, which only had a limited release in some cities, has been listed as one of the candidates for the least profitable film of '93.

The reason it couldn't ride a wave of Hollywood-style commercial frenzy on the actor's sudden death is that the film's open ending was meant to give hope, but now that hope is gone. A bittersweet film ended up becoming more bitter than sweet due to the real-life actor.

Had the film's tone or genre been different, or had the actor died in a different way, perhaps the film's commercial outcome would have been different.

But the image of him collapsing right in front of a bar and being taken away by an ambulance was seen by too many people. Even if the production company joined forces with the media to try to whitewash it, they wouldn't know where to start.

A movie ending that looked toward a bright future, while in reality the actor killed himself with drugs. For the film, this was a slap in the face; how much box office could one expect? So Paramount simply dumped the film directly onto video release.

But the turmoil stirred up behind the scenes by this event was no less than in Hollywood, and perhaps even greater.

At least when Black Nick Fury returned to his apartment and saw One-Eyed White Nick Fury, he was quite surprised. "Oh oh oh, who is this? Isn't this the big busy man, Nicholas Joseph Fury?"

"Son, use less of that tone. At least I didn't let you grow up in the slums."

"Call me Max Jason. I'm not used to hearing you call me 'Son,' at least let the name Mother gave me still have a trace in this world. Save the gratitude for another day. Let me guess, what's the reason you came to the West Coast? The Joker, right?"

"Knowing too much intelligence above your clearance level is not a good thing," Bai Furui warned.

The young Black Fury sneered, "Was this something I wanted to actively inquire about? So many people were making a huge fuss investigating such news; even if I didn't want to know, I knew."

Bai Furui didn't continue to press, but instead turned his head and asked, "Who made the move on River Phoenix's death?"

Black Fury stated bluntly, "I don't know. Every organization that ever kidnapped him and privately interrogated him about Joker intelligence is a suspect. Including the ones behind you and me."

"But it's also possible that too many people were doing the same thing, asking the same questions. But even though he himself denied it, the matter was never clarified."

"And regarding those who came knocking, he didn't know how to stop them or accuse them. The immense psychological pressure made him more dependent on drugs; he might have just eaten himself to death."

"To put it plainly, it wasn't one person who made the move. Everyone is the murderer. By the way, is that Joker really that tricky? Why are so many people looking for him, even operating on the premise of destroying him?"

Bai Furui answered by dodging the heavy and focusing on the light, "The Joker's situation is not just tricky; at this stage, we cannot find a way to deal with him."

"No matter how strong a mutant's power is, there are means to counter it. But regarding his intelligence, we know too little to achieve effective countermeasures."

"That's fear," Black Fury said mockingly.

"Preparing response plans for known or unknown threats is precisely our duty as people like us. Dealing with things after they happen is the army's job. And waiting should not be our attitude."

Regarding Bai Furui's words, Black Fury dismissed them, saying, "Stop the preaching, old man. I don't want to listen to you pour out decades' worth of unsaid words in one go today."

"I'm dying, kid."

"Ha, that news is worth a drink. Do you want one? Beer? Whiskey?" As he spoke, Black Fury walked toward his refrigerator.

"I'm serious."

The hand opening the fridge paused for a moment, but in the end, Black Fury still took out two bottles of beer from inside and placed them in front of this biological father whom he rarely saw. He asked, "What's going on? Is there a problem with the Infinity Formula?"

Opening the beer in front of him himself and taking a huge, hard gulp, Bai Furui then said, "It seems you know more than I imagined."

"I have eyes, I have ears, I will find the answers myself. You don't still think I'm a child who knows nothing just because my parents didn't say it, do you? What exactly is wrong with you?"

"If you're so good at finding answers, why do you still need to ask me?" Bai Furui countered.

"Because I need different sources to verify my thoughts."

"Ha, a smart choice."

"So what's going on with you?"

Taking another sip of beer, Bai Furui said, "Since you can know about the Infinity Formula, would you not covet its function of maintaining life and youth? Would those old money types afraid of death be exceptions?"

No matter how much they package themselves, intelligence operatives are ultimately not the masters of the system; at best, they are just the biggest parasites.

They can indeed use intelligence gaps to mislead decision-makers and thus carry out their own will. But they cannot hide the essence that once they lose the power given by others, they are good for nothing.

So when those who grant power speak, could Nick Fury refuse?

The young black man, who also understood the system and power structure, was not surprised by such a situation and said, "Even if you hand over the formula, it's not like you won't be able to use it yourself."

"The formula is a small matter; the key is the raw materials."

"Raw materials?" Black Fury finally realized the situation might be different from what he imagined.

Bai Furui said, "Rather than not handing it over, or choosing who can use it and who cannot, it's better to let everyone who asks use it. Once the raw materials are exhausted, there will be no need to consider who is qualified and who is not. Right?"

"And then you can take a wave of people with you at this opportunity. You're serious?"

(End of Chapter)