Hell's Kitchen was on fire.
The huge explosion caused multiple deaths.
When John heard the news, well, he knew about it that same day.
After all, his home was high enough, and with such a large fire, it wasn't like he was blind.
However, he didn't know the specific reason. Anyway, it wasn't a place he was in charge of.
It seems the work for Silver Hand Fashion Architecture will increase.
By the next day, news reports showed the fire was even more severe.
It even implicated several surrounding apartments, which were also reduced to charcoal.
Many people survived the New York War, thinking the disaster was over, but they didn't expect a new nightmare to begin.
A huge fire burned away the hopes of many. Even if they survived, the fire took away all their belongings.
This incident quickly attracted attention from all sectors.
Suddenly, a photo went viral.
Daredevil, wearing a dark red suit, was photographed below the exploded building.
At this moment, the flames of public opinion rushed towards Matt.
John looked at the photo on the TV and clicked his tongue in wonder. "Looks like Matt is going to be the scapegoat."
Just as he expected, the public opinion caused by the explosion surged towards Matt.
Daredevil went from being the Guardian of Hell's Kitchen to a suspect potentially responsible for the explosion.
At the same time, another inconspicuous piece of news reached John through Dax.
Wilson Fisk was assassinated.
While exercising in the gym, Fisk was attacked by assassins sent by rival gangs from within the prison.
It was speculated that this was because others in prison learned that Fisk had leaked information to the FBI, leading to malicious intent.
This incident made Fisk's situation dangerous, and the FBI had just tasted the sweetness of cooperation.
Naturally, they didn't want Fisk to die in prison, so he was granted the opportunity for external monitoring.
He was transferred from prison to a hotel under twenty-four-hour surveillance by the FBI.
If he behaved well, there might even be a possibility of seeing the light of day again.
Why did Dax know so much?
Because he was one of the FBI agents assigned to surveillance, staying at the same hotel with Fisk every day.
It must be said that Fisk's plan was good, but it went awry from the start.
One can only say that Fisk was unlucky.
Ray was very nervous about this precious asset.
His superior also approved putting Fisk up in a four-star hotel.
A prisoner's treatment was better than that of a normal citizen. If there hadn't just been news of a major explosion, the hotel lobby would probably be surrounded by protesting crowds.
Dax asked what to do, wondering if he should use his authority to get rid of the person directly.
Given Dax's current identity, if he were willing to play dirty, he could add lethal poison to Fisk's food at any time.
However, the FBI weren't fools. If he did that, Dax would be found out within a week.
John wouldn't make such an unprofitable deal, sacrificing Dax for a criminal.
He told Dax to continue monitoring as instructed by the FBI.
When Fisk was no longer valuable, they would just throw him back.
Dax promised he would complete the mission, so John stopped inquiring about Fisk's affairs.
***
Just like that, some time passed.
During this period, the news from Hell's Kitchen gradually died down. Apart from the first few days when some celebrities spoke up to boost their good reputation, there were no further practical actions.
They were just people from a poor district; who would care if they were homeless or begging?
Matt came to see John once. He told John that the explosion was not an accident.
He had found out the identity of the man in the hoodie; he was someone who lost an arm after being injured in the New York War.
But when Matt was tracking him that night, he clearly sensed that the person had both arms intact and didn't seem disabled at all.
And after using a certain serum, the person's body temperature rose sharply, and finally, the room exploded.
Matt was standing downstairs and dodged the worst of it, but he wasn't completely unharmed.
His ears bled due to the stimulation of the explosion's sound waves at close range. His hearing was damaged and required rest to recover.
Coincidentally, Daredevil had been put in the spotlight these past few days, so he returned to his identity as a lawyer to continue investigating the explosion case.
This kind of thing could only be investigated by him.
Dax was monitoring Fisk at the hotel.
Ivan was tinkering with the Fighter Armor.
Things hadn't become serious enough to require the Avengers to step in.
Everything began to return to normal, as if the explosion and Fisk's release had disappeared.
John wanted to skip work, but Hattie's hand of justice caught him and dragged him back.
"Who's coming over this time?" John leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling with a deep sigh.
Seeing him like this, Hattie felt somewhat helpless about her unmotivated boss.
Especially since this boss was also the founder of the Second Alliance.
Other Second Alliance members were either fighting lawsuits and investigating the explosion or under twenty-four-hour surveillance of a prisoner by the FBI, and some were in the laboratory researching technology all night.
Only John seemed like an outsider every day.
At most, he would go to the medical department to check on the Regeneration Cradle and incidentally ask Dr. Helen if she knew Nagini.
With the boss not striving, the assistant was sad. How many years would it take to surpass Stark Industries and become the richest?
Hattie picked up her tablet and looked at it. "You have an appointment."
An appointment?
John glanced at Hattie. As expected, it was probably Hattie who had accepted it for him.
This appointment seemed important.
When he saw the person who arrived, John observed the man's silver-grey suit for a while.
He gave Hattie a look.
Hattie rolled her eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Wick," the man curled his lips into a confident smile that could charm women and extended his hand for an enthusiastic handshake with John. "Aldrich Killian."
Killian smiled. "I am very grateful to your father. He gave me everything I have now. All of A.I.M.'s current achievements are thanks to his help."
Hearing this, John remembered that apart from Taran Industries, his dad's most controlling company was A.I.M.
A.I.M. is a technology company, similar to Pym Technologies.
The difference is that Pym Technologies was not founded by John's father, while A.I.M. exists almost entirely because of his father's investment.
Because of this, most of the shares in A.I.M. are in Watson Wick's hands.
The person in front of him was the company's CEO and also a member of the research team.
They are dedicated to researching electricity and genetics.
Killian's visit also came with a purpose.
After sitting down, he said, "I heard that Mr. Wick visited Pym Technologies some time ago."
A hint of deep meaning flashed in Killian's eyes as he asked, "I wonder if there was anything about us that Mr. Wick was dissatisfied with?"
Dissatisfied?
John glanced at Killian's eyes and said lightly, "Nothing to be dissatisfied with, just visiting a company where I hold shares."
"Oh?" Killian said with a seemingly joking tone, "I thought it was because Mr. Wick was dissatisfied with the projects we are currently researching, so he wanted to change companies for research."
"What project?" John hadn't carefully studied the companies under his dad.
Killian looked at him deeply and said, "Ultimate Creature."
Ultimate Creature?
John's expression remained unchanged upon hearing the name.
This guy lowered his stance as soon as he arrived; he must have an agenda. Might as well listen.
As expected.
Killian stared intently at John and continued on his own, "Mr. Watson Wick is our company's major shareholder. He has already seen the results of the Ultimate Creature, but just as we were preparing for further discussion, Mr. Watson Wick disappeared, so we could only postpone it."
He took out three spherical objects from his pocket and placed them on the table.
The spheres lit up, and a recording of that meeting appeared as a projection in the office.
In the video, Killian was talking about the Ultimate Creature project.
John saw a familiar figure.
He was sitting at the head of the table, his left hand propped against his cheek, his right hand tapping occasionally on the mahogany table.
His father, Watson Wick.
His father, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, had aged a bit from his younger days.
Wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, and he had become increasingly steady.
Even without speaking, he exuded the aura of a superior who commanded respect without anger.
When John went to Hogwarts at the age of eleven, his father was just a small financial manager and a very unreliable person.
After so many years, his father had transformed from a financial manager into a formidable figure.
"Mr. Wick, my team has developed a little gadget. I call this the Ultimate Creature." Killian in the video was speaking eloquently.
He was trying to impress Watson Wick, and for this, he even presented the research results of the Ultimate Creature.
It was a bottle of liquid. Injecting it into the body could achieve genetic upgrading.
It had the name Extremis Virus.
His father in the video picked up a bottle, but he didn't express his opinion on the project, only saying he would consider it.
The meeting ended, and the video disappeared simultaneously.
John noticed that his dad had not put the bottle of serum down before leaving.
He looked at Killian again, already understanding the other party's intention.
***********
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