I sparked a mysterious resurgence in Marvel.

Chapter 73 The Wriggling Insect Shadow

"Stark Industries stock plummeted...that's really good news!"

The plunge in Stark Industries stock was undoubtedly good news for Arlin, who was shorting Stark Industries stock.

This means that Erin will have a large sum of US dollars coming in.

With this joyful feeling, Erin began meditating again.

······

The Abbott Refrigeration Company's cold storage facility, which had been reduced to ruins by the explosion.

"Hmph..."

A figure wearing a top hat, humming a light tune, stepped into the moonlight, crossed the police cordon, and swaggered into the ruins of the explosion.

Suddenly, his lighthearted melody faltered, and he paused in his steps.

Although the slight anomaly quickly subsided and his steps became light again, his face, hidden in the shadows, held a hint of surprise and... delight.

"hehe."

"The aura of an evil god? That good-for-nothing Abbott actually attracted the attention of an evil god in New York and even survived a sacrifice."

"This is truly... a miracle!"

"However, the fact that the evil god's gaze could penetrate the sanctuary's barrier and fall into New York suggests that the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj really have encountered trouble, just as the rumors have said."

"That's wonderful news."

Before the surprise on his face had faded, the face hidden in the shadows suddenly twisted into anger.

"But such a good start was ruined by a bunch of ordinary people, and he even lost his life at their hands. He's a complete waste. How could I have been so blind to pick such a piece of trash like you from among so many people?"

He wasn't angry that Abbott was killed, but rather that after Abbott's death, the altar was no longer nourished by blood and resentment, which hindered the growth of the insect egg he was hiding beneath the altar.

Despite his gloomy expression, the man in the top hat still extended his cane and pressed it down heavily from where the altar had been.

boom!

Instantly, an invisible ripple was released from the staff and quickly spread deep underground.

As the ripples vibrated, a cracking sound suddenly came from the surface of a blood-red insect egg located deep underground.

next second.

A wriggling, pitch-black insect-like shadow burst out of its shell.

After hearing the sound of the insect egg breaking.

An undisguised joy flashed across the face of the figure on the ground.

Just as he was about to collect the spider egg that had been placed under the altar.

Suddenly, a thin tentacle shot out from the ground and pierced the heart of the man in the top hat.

The man looked down at his wound, showing no fear, but instead grinning wildly.

"Touch of Shadows? To be able to master this level of magic right after birth... Is this some kind of mutation caused by being corrupted by the aura of an evil god? This is truly... amazing."

Crimson blood flowed from his wound, quickly staining the dark tentacle and spreading towards the ground beneath it.

Instantly, the vegetation within a radius of tens of meters withered and died as if it had encountered a deadly poison.

next second.

A spiritual entity emerged from the man's body, following the Dark Touch he held firmly in his hand, and directly disappeared into the ground, into the dark insect shadow deep underground.

······

Early the next morning.

Erin was still eating breakfast when Pepper arrived with a bunch of people.

"This is······"

Seeing Erin's somewhat puzzled expression, Pepper took the initiative to introduce the slightly overweight man next to her, who was wearing a blue helmet and looked a bit greasy.

"This is Mr. Tam, Stark Industries' best engineering supervisor. He led the construction of Tony's laboratory and other projects. He will also be in charge of the renovation and construction of your basement laboratory."

The greasy man, who had been solemnly introduced by Pepper, nodded to Erin and then asked, "Mr. Erin, may I go in and have a look at your basement? Although Ms. Pepper has sent me the BOSS's design drawings, I would like to have a look at the basement before construction begins so that I can better plan the construction scheme."

"Of course, no problem."

After opening the door and welcoming Tam and one of his assistants into the house, Tam observed the layout of the first floor walls and, having a general idea of ​​what was going on, went straight to the basement.

The moment Tam walked from the narrow passageway into the basement, he frowned.

He immediately said to Erin, "Mr. Erin, as far as I know, there are several high-precision, large pieces of equipment in your soon-to-be-built laboratory that are inconvenient to disassemble. In order to better move those pieces of equipment, could I modify your staircase?"

Erin nodded affirmatively and said, "Yes!"

Tam breathed a sigh of relief after Erin agreed.

Stepping down the corridor, the bright and spacious basement caught Tam's eye.

"Huh, have you already emptied and tidied up the basement?" Pepper, who was following behind Erin, asked with some surprise.

Erin nodded upon hearing this and said, "Since we're setting up a lab, I naturally need to clean up all that clutter."

In fact, the clutter that was originally piled up in the basement was moved by the little monster to an empty storage room on the second floor.

After speaking to Pepper, Erin turned to Tam and asked, "How long will it take to complete the lab?"

Upon hearing this, Tam estimated the timeframe and gave a specific timeframe.

"Including equipment installation, it will take me seven days."

Seven days?

Ailin said knowingly, "I'll set up a seven-day access restriction for you later. Then you can bring your people to work..."

After giving Tam some instructions.

Erin and Pepper then left the basement.

After stepping out of the basement, Erin looked at the somewhat haggard Pepper and asked curiously, "Aunt Pepper, how come you have time to bother with such a small matter? I thought you should be extremely busy right now, especially since Tony Stark announced at a press conference yesterday that he would be closing Stark Industries' weapons development department."

"Don't mention him to me," Pepper said, pressing a hand to her temple, clearly annoyed. "I don't want to hear his name right now."

Pepper had thought that finding Tony would alleviate the dire situation Stark Industries was facing, but before she could even celebrate her hard-won return, Tony dropped a bombshell on her at a press conference.

It's worth noting that Tony hadn't shared any information with her before the press conference.

This caused Pepper to be overwhelmed by what followed, and he even had to face questioning from Stark Industries shareholders such as Obadiah.

Tony, on the other hand, simply packed up and retreated to his villa, becoming a hands-off manager.

Pepper was absolutely fed up with this kind of life.

(End of this chapter)