In the eyes of the general public, the Joker organization was already a collapsing building, like a grasshopper after autumn, not long for this world.
The overwhelming tide of online public opinion washed over them, severely impacting the normal operation of the Joker Community.
Besides the over one hundred thousand people who deleted their accounts, even those who stayed behind to wait and see had all hidden in their shells, not daring to be as arrogant as before.
Some people logged into the community but never dared to speak, only checking the latest intel to decide whether to delete their accounts.
And some cowards didn't even dare to log into their community accounts, terrified of giving the government leverage and having them show up at their door to give them a christmas gift.
The Joker Community's daily active users dropped to less than one-tenth of its peak. All sections of the community were deserted; a post could go half a day without a single reply.
However, at this moment, a mysterious community account suddenly began to attack the community's network. Chloe, far away in New York, immediately detected it and began to counter-attack.
But after a few exchanges, Chloe realized this opponent was no simple matter. She immediately notified Jason.
Jason hadn't been up for long and was enjoying breakfast in the dining room.
"BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ!"
The phone on the table suddenly vibrated wildly. He quickly pulled his sunglasses from his pocket and put them on.
Chloe's exquisite face appeared on the screen. "Sir! The community network is under attack."
Hearing this, Jason immediately frowned.
It had been months since the Joker Community was established. It had been attacked many times during that period, but most attacks were just the whims of some hackers, all casually eliminated by Chloe.
Chloe never needed to report these minor issues to Jason. Today was the first time she had ever reported a network attack on the community.
Jason asked, "Is the attacker good?"
Chloe: "Very good! Their computing power is at the supercomputer level."
A supercomputer?
Could it be the US government making a move?
A trace of anger instantly ignited in Jason's heart.
Just yesterday, Tony Stark announced he was Iron Man, and today the government attacks the Joker Community.
Is the government treating Iron Man as God?
Are they that fucking confident Iron Man can get rid of me?
"Wait!" Chloe suddenly said. "The attack has paused. He's talking to me."
Jason asked, "What did he say?"
Chloe: "He... wants to meet you. The location is the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, at 11 PM."
Jason opened Google on his phone, checked, and cursed, "Fucking eleven o'clock? The place is closed! What the fuck is the point of going? Who the hell is this guy?"
A moment later, Chloe said, "No reply. The attacker has left."
Heh, interesting.
Attacking the community network just to arrange a meeting with me... This person's identity must be extremely sensitive.
A sensitive identity plus supercomputer-level processing power... there aren't many options that fit the bill.
Tony Stark?
The US government, or another country's government?
Jason wasn't from Los Angeles, and he had even fewer connections here. He thought hard for a long time but had no real leads.
"Sir, what's your plan?"
"The plan? I'll know if they're a man or a ghost when I see them," Jason said, his eyes narrowing.
Although his injuries hadn't fully healed, the great thing about energy absorption was that even someone that's not fully healed could release over ninety percent of the superpower's might.
Looking at all of Los Angeles, the only one who could pose a threat to Jason was Tony.
But Tony had already fought him. Jason knew his weaknesses like the back of his hand. If they fought again, Jason was 99% confident he would win.
"Right, when do they arrive?"
Chloe said, "Their flight is at 10 AM tomorrow. Estimated arrival is 5 PM tomorrow."
"Alright then. I'll go meet this mysterious person alone."
*
Later that night, a disguised Jason took a taxi to the Griffith Observatory.
Although he wasn't afraid of any potential enemy, doing advance recon was still necessary.
Being bold and being suicidal were two completely different things.
The weather was nice today, and the Griffith Observatory was packed with tourists, seemingly unaffected by the events of the past few days.
Perhaps the appearance of Iron Man had made these ordinary citizens feel at ease.
Jason followed the crowded throng into the observatory, thinking.
Have fun, relax all you want. In a few more days, you won't have the chance.
*
Jason wandered around the Griffith Observatory, disguised as an ordinary tourist.
With Chloe's guidance, he carefully scouted every corner of the observatory but didn't find anything unusual.
After the observatory closed at ten, Jason didn't rush to leave. Instead, he hid nearby to monitor the entrance.
Finally, at 10:45 PM, a black Rolls-Royce drove straight into the observatory.
Jason remained hidden. He waited until 11:00 PM sharp and didn't see a second car.
Hmph. Looks like this mysterious person is pretty sincere.
Jason left his cover and flew into the air. At the observatory's best viewing spot, a dining table had been set up. A fat, big-eared bald man was sitting at the table, waiting.
Jason slowly descended, startling the surrounding bodyguards, who subconsciously drew their pistols.
The bald man stood up, waved his hand, and the bodyguards quickly holstered their guns and left.
"Jason Walter! I've heard so much about you!" The bald man laughed heartily and strode forward.
"You are..." Jason found him somewhat familiar but couldn't quite place him.
"Obadiah Stane. Stark Industries' former CEO... former director."
Jason instantly remembered. Wasn't this the main villain from Iron Man?
Instead of figuring out how to fuckin' kill Tony, what the fuck is this guy doing meeting me in the middle of the night?
Obadiah acted very warmly. He personally pulled out Jason's chair and gestured for him to sit.
Bodyguards walked over with high-class food containers, placing one exquisite dish after another on the table.
After sitting down, Jason asked suspiciously, "I get 'former CEO', but what's this 'former director' business?"
Obadiah shook his head, a pained look on his face. "Tony and I had a... disagreement. He kicked me out of Stark Industries."
"Oh..." Jason lifted his wine glass, sniffed it, and smiled. "Since you asked me here for a meeting, you must have something to discuss. So, I suggest you tell me the truth."
Obadiah's face stiffened, and he stared blankly at Jason.
The man sitting opposite him wasn't some greenhorn fresh out of college. He was the helmsman of the largest terrorist organization in the world.
Lying to him was pointless.
After a moment's hesitation, Obadiah sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll be honest. Tony and I have had a complete fallout."
"The reason?"
"I wanted to take sole control of Stark Industries, so a few months ago I allied with the board to kick him out of the company."
"But I didn't expect that a few months later, the company would run into trouble. Tony used the opportunity to leverage his military connections, retake the company, and revoke all my positions."
"And then..."
Obadiah frowned, as if the next words were hard to say.
Jason picked up his wine glass, took a shallow sip, and said, "Spit it out. We're all bad guys here. Nothing to be embarrassed about."
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
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