Godslayer in the Marvel Universe

Chapter 57 In the Name of the Father

Just then, Lucius's secretary suddenly called.

Lucius listened for a moment, then looked up at Bruce: "Ang wants to see you now."

Bruce's eye twitched incessantly.

Ten minutes later, in the conference room next door, Bruce and Lucius sat at one side of a long table, while Ang sat at the other.

Incidentally, this typical negotiation table is ten meters long.

"What do you want to do, Mr. Ang!" Bruce rested his elbows on the table, his hands in a gesture similar to clasping hands together, his fingertips touching his pointed nose. Interestingly, the guy opposite him made the exact same gesture, and even their suits were very similar in style.

If there hadn't been only one person on the other side, Lucius, watching from the sidelines, would have felt like his boss was looking in a mirror.

Lucius suddenly felt that he was completely superfluous in this father-son situation.

Ang spoke up: "Mr. Wayne, I know your concerns. You've developed a nuclear fusion reactor that doesn't require mineral energy, but you're afraid it will send Gotham City to its doom. I can promise you—all you need to do is dilute your shares proportionally to me, and I'll inject three billion in liquidity into the group and seal your reactor. That way, Wayne Enterprises will continue to operate normally, and you'll have new funds to continue your research games."

generous!

These terms are too good to be true!

Even Lucius, an outsider, was captivated by the news.

This wasn't an acquisition offer from a business competitor at all; it was a massive, substantial support.

Wayne Group's financial woes are about to be exposed, and a sharp drop in its stock price is imminent. This sudden injection of capital is nothing short of a white knight act.

Unexpectedly, Bruce remained unmoved. His lips, hidden behind his fingers, trembled mercilessly as he uttered a few words: "So, what's the price?"

"It's nothing, all I want is respect and an apology!" Ang paused for a moment: "An apology to a woman surnamed An who died many years ago."

It is a noble and righteous path, and as a son of man, Ang's request is reasonable and justifiable.

Unfortunately, Bruce's mind was preoccupied with other things.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ang, I don't know what you're talking about."

Ang lowered his hands and stood up. The way he placed his hands on the table exuded an imposing and authoritative aura.

"OK! Negotiations have broken down! Anyway, Mr. Wayne is the kind of person who would rather trust women than himself. I'm not surprised by your stupidity and stubbornness. Since the head of Wayne Group has expressed absolute distrust of me, I have no intention of playing the villain. So, effective immediately, I will liquidate all my Wayne Group stock."

Ang's decisive departure surprised Bruce and his companion.

Bruce remained calm: "Thank you for your support. I hope the Wayne Group stock didn't cause you too much loss. Mr. Fox, please see him out."

As Lucius Fox approached, Ang suddenly said, "Mr. Fox, I'm very happy with my house and car in Gotham. Are you interested in parting with them? I'll buy them at market price. If you don't mind, I'd also like a bill from when I was seven years old until now."

In modern society, everything is recorded by computers.

Just as Bruce could easily uncover Catwoman's past, Angle, once he possessed sufficient power and wealth, could similarly easily trace the source of his funds.

The atmosphere was cold, freezing cold.

It needs to be cut.

Lucius thought to himself, feeling the cold gaze from behind him: "As you wish, Mr. Ang."

As Ang stepped out of the door and it slammed shut behind him, Lucius turned and stared intently at Bruce.

"I'm just an employee, and I don't intend to question your decision, Mr. Wayne. But I must remind you, what you're doing is not a good idea. Even if he doesn't short Wayne Group, other Wall Street bigwigs will swarm in."

Bruce paused for a few seconds: "I have good reason to suspect that Ang killed Black Mask."

"The person who takes down [Black Mask] can be called a hero."

"Punishing criminals is the responsibility of judges and juries; my job is only to bring them to court."

Lucius fell silent.

This is not just a private matter between father and son, but a dispute over principles and morals.

Bruce Wayne would rather die than accept a man who kills indiscriminately as his heir. In his eyes, anyone who resorts to vigilante justice is an executioner.

Undoubtedly, Bruce was a great man, but unfortunately, he was destined to be admired, while his ideas could not become universal values ​​accepted by everyone.

Lucius sighed: "Let's talk about the new gadgets I've been tinkering with in the Secret Science Department."

He led Bruce into the company's secret warehouse...

On the other side, just after leaving Wayne Tower, Ang got into his Rolls-Royce and saw Miss Black Canary sitting in the back holding a laptop.

Diana's eyes sparkled, and she gave her a flirtatious wink: "Failed?"

Ang shrugged: "As expected."

Sarah, sitting in the front row, turned around: "So, shall we proceed as planned?"

Ang nodded: "There's no other way. If I don't do it, plenty of others will. Why not benefit myself instead of others?"

Even if Ang didn't intentionally target his "wild father," a large number of Wall Street giants had already been eyeing Wayne Group, whose financial situation had recently deteriorated. Ang's sudden withdrawal of investment, selling his Wayne Group shares, and instead shorting the stock was undoubtedly the most brutal starting gun.

Wayne Group's stock price plummeted almost instantly, dropping 30% in one afternoon.

Just as Ang was leading the charge against Wayne Enterprises, by sheer bad luck, the very next morning, the infamous Bane, along with his men, stormed into the Gotham City Stock Exchange.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

Bain, leading a dozen or so thugs, brazenly killed the guards at the entrance, stormed into the crowded exchange hall, casually dispatched a few stock traders he didn't like, and then unleashed a burst of bullets at the stock trading screens overhead. The screens shattered, sparks flying everywhere.

The stockbrokers at the exchange were all stunned.

A trader, trembling, looked at the menacing Bain and said, "This is a stock exchange; there's no cash for you to rob!"

"I know."

Bain wanted far more than just money.

A hacker forcibly accessed the exchange's operating system from an internal line and used the fingerprints Catwoman obtained from Bruce Wayne's safe when she pretended to steal the pearl necklace to pull off a big heist in Bruce's place.

No one knows what these thugs did, risking their lives, being hunted by hundreds of police officers, and storming into the stock exchange. Even with Batman personally joining the hunt, they gained no useful intelligence until the sun rose on the third day.

Lucius knocked on the door of Mr. Batman's house.

"Mr. Wayne, someone stole your electronic signature and fingerprint, using all your shares in Wayne Group as collateral to speculate on stocks for you. To outsiders, it appears that your futures investment yesterday was a complete failure. And all your shares will be seized by the bank today as collateral."

Bruce Wayne was completely stunned: "You mean...?"

"Unless sufficient evidence can be found later to prove that this was a scam, I regret to inform you that you are bankrupt."

From billionaire to pauper, life is full of ups and downs.

It took Bruce a while to recover, just then his phone rang.

Lucius glanced at the caller ID: "It's Ang. I suggest you answer it."

Bruce answered the phone silently and put it on speakerphone.

"Mr. Ang, are you here to deliver a victory declaration?"

Ang's voice came through the phone: "Mr. Wayne, I confess, I did indeed participate in the attack on Wayne Group's stock yesterday. But my conditions remain unchanged; I only need an apology..."

If it were someone else, Bruce might have been able to handle even the threat of bankruptcy with ease.

For Ang?

No!

An annoyed Bruce interrupted Ang: "Come on, stop with your act."

"No, no, no! I swear in my father's name—I have no connection with Bane, nor have I ever supported Dagate. If I break this oath, may my father be struck by lightning, torn apart by six horses, die a horrible death, and never be reincarnated in hell!"

(End of this chapter)