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"Travel the World?" Lionel didn't understand Makima's meaning.
Makima gave Purple Man an order:
"From now on, head west. You cannot use any tools, you cannot stop, you cannot communicate with others or use your abilities. I truly hope you can travel the World."
Purple Man's body received the command and, without hesitation, walked out of the cafe. Upon reaching the sidewalk, Purple Man's body identified a direction and began walking west. Pedestrians and cars on the road seemed not to notice him as he simply continued heading west.
"Will he really just keep walking?"
Jessica was shocked by what was happening before her eyes. In a single day, she had encountered two superpowered individuals who could control others, and one of them had absolutely suppressed and controlled the other.
"As I said, he will keep heading west. Even death cannot stop him," Makima said indifferently.
Jessica scratched her hair, still feeling it was too unbelievable, but she still said:
"That's exactly what should happen to a scumbag like him!"
"Are you all superpowered individuals? I've never met another superpowered person like myself since I was little. I didn't expect to meet two today, even though the first one I met was a scumbag."
Perhaps it was because Makima and Lionel saved Jessica, or perhaps it was the joy of finally meeting her own kind, but she seemed very familiar.
Lionel said, "More or less."
With Jessica as a third wheel, Lionel found it inconvenient to discuss Annabelle with Makima, so the conversation shifted to Jessica.
"Are you also a superpowered individual?"
"Of course, I'm super strong and I can fly. I just don't have heat vision, otherwise I'd be like Superman."
Jessica had no intention of hiding her superpowers, after all, no one would believe her if she talked about Superman or anything like that.
Jessica chatted enthusiastically for a few sentences, then slowly realized she might be a third wheel. She scratched her hair, pulled out a business card, and handed it over.
"I'm a private detective. This is my business card. You can contact me for anything."
"What a coincidence, I run an agency and sometimes work as a private detective, so we could be considered colleagues."
Lionel also handed over a business card.
After Jessica left, Lionel checked the time and said to Makima:
"It's getting late. The movie starts in half an hour, let's go."
"Alright!"
The Makima who had just judged Purple Man disappeared, returning to her girl-next-door appearance.
Purple Man walked step by step on the sidewalk, his expression extremely focused, as if he were carrying out a divine command, completing the greatest task in the World.
Purple Man, passing through an intersection, showed no intention of stopping for the traffic light. Disregarding oncoming cars, he walked directly across the road.
"Beep—!"
Fortunately, Purple Man was hit by a car and sent flying. He didn't stay on the road after being thrown; he managed to stand up, reorient himself, and continued walking west.
The injuries he sustained would be left for his powerful self-healing ability to recover.
The driver was stunned. It was his first time seeing such an introverted person; he was hit and flew, then stood up and walked away without a word.
Purple Man's heart had already begun to despair. His body was completely out of his control; he couldn't speak, and he couldn't even move his eyes.
Most importantly, his body was like an idiot, only knowing how to walk forward, completely disregarding his surroundings. When he crossed the road just now, he directly crashed into an oncoming car, and after being hit and thrown, he didn't even lie down, he just stood up and continued walking.
Although his physical fitness and recovery ability were much stronger than ordinary people, he would definitely die on the road if this continued.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Fuck that bitch!"
---
At the Stark Industries press conference, the long-missing Tony Stark simply sat on the stage, and the reporters below were already in an uproar, with camera shutters and flashes going off nonstop.
The sudden return of Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark, who had been missing for three months, along with the bruises and cuts on Tony Stark's face and his bandaged shoulder, was definitely a World-shattering big news story.
Tony Stark sat on the press conference stage, taking a big bite of a cheeseburger. Grease seeped from the wrapper, staining the blue suit he had acquired from the Military. It wasn't a perfect fit, but he was too lazy to change.
The flashes below kept exploding in front of his eyes, like the lingering afterimages of artillery fire in the desert. Ethan's shadow, from before his death, appeared before him again.
Picking up the microphone, Tony Stark began his press conference.
"I saw young people being killed with my own eyes..." His voice, amplified, filled the hall. His right hand unconsciously pressed his chest, where his second heart, a blue light, faintly shone through his shirt fabric. "They were killed with the weapons I intended to protect them with."
Obadiah Stane's face on the stage was somewhat stiff. How could that bastard Stark tell the media about such things!
The flashes and shutter clicks became even more frequent. All the reporters anticipated a major news story.
Tony Stark then spoke a lot about responsibility and society, leaving the reporters puzzled.
"Effective immediately, as the CEO of Stark Industries, I announce that Stark Industries will permanently close its weapons manufacturing division."
Tony Stark's voice echoed throughout the venue. For a moment, dead silence became the main theme, followed by an explosion of sound from the reporters, as if to burst the entire hall.
Reporters pointed their microphones like spears at Tony Stark, wanting to press for more details, but Tony Stark paid no attention. He wrapped up his finished cheeseburger and tossed it towards a distant trash can on the press stage, missing.
"Looks like I need a good rest. My aim has gone down!"
With a jest, Tony Stark no longer bothered with the reporters at the press conference, turned, and left with a flourish.
Tony Stark left with a flourish, but many important figures couldn't sit still.
Stark Industries was the U.S.'s largest Military industrial enterprise. Although other large companies like Hammer Technology and Osborn Group also cooperated with the Military, it was almost impossible to fill the role Stark Industries played in Military industry.
Stark Industries occupied 37% of the core share of the Department of Defense's weapon systems, and its technological penetration was far beyond external imagination. This was why Tony Stark held such a high position within the Military.
Even Hammer Technology could reach its current level by imitating Stark Industries, or rather, by making inferior imitations. Whenever Stark developed a new type of weapon, Hammer Technology would always produce a similar-looking imitation in the shortest possible time, though the quality was questionable.
Although Osborn Group's strength was considerable, its main focus was on the biomedical field, and it did not have an advantage in Military industry. It simply couldn't fill the void left by the absence of Stark Industries. More critically, the elder Osborn was critically ill, and it was uncertain whether Osborn Group could even survive.
"FUCK! Did Stark go crazy after being bombed in Afghanistan?!"
Obadiah Stane's face instantly darkened. His current countermeasure was only this:
"Tony's mental state is unstable after the kidnapping trauma and he needs treatment. Closing the weapons department is just Tony's 'temporary suggestion'; the company has not yet approved it!"
He could only try to stabilize the media first to prevent the company's shares, which had just started to recover, from plummeting again.