Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"Yes, because of the news brought by Hedgehog Carl, various countries have opened up the conditions for building a batch of space exploration equipment, and various private laboratories have joined in space exploration, including the military. This company has military investment, but Ross was sent elsewhere by you, so the military can only contact you, after all, you also have a part in this matter..."

Ash slammed the report down, looking somewhat annoyed, and said, "How could there be a part for me? What kind of person do you take me for!"

Anderson realized there was a misunderstanding in his words, turned to a page of the report in Ash's hand, pointed to the shareholder names, and said, "You really are on it. You were one of the earliest investors in this company, and even with the continuous dilution of the original shares, you are still a member of the board of directors, although you have never been there..."

Ash looked at his name in the board of directors, thinking to himself that he hadn't invested in any of these things. In the tech world, Ash Solar relied entirely on Stark, Constantine on Ivan Vanko, and as for Geralt the Hunter, he could just stick to using his antiques for hand-to-hand combat—what more could he ask for…

It wasn't until Ash saw the company's CEO that he realized he had indeed made an investment, and for that investment, Ash had offered an irresistible price.

The investment target was Lord Doom, the young Viktor von Doom who, back then, was still quite naive and used ATS armor and exoskeleton equipment to beg Ash for his freedom.

It seems the Fantastic Four project has already begun; I wonder how far it has progressed.

Thinking about Doom's appearance, he has the demeanor of a majestic god. It should be a classic story of a super genius who doesn't understand physics. It can't be a plot like that of a terrible movie like Fantastic Four 2015.

Ash put away the report, but still had to take a look. After all, the Fantastic Four had caused quite a stir. Besides, Ash was more interested in whether the Invisible Woman had dumped Doom and run off with Reed when he was in trouble.

The gossip we heard while watching the movie is about to become a reality; Ash's gossip has already filled the initial furnace.

Ash stood at his designated jump window and said to Anderson, "Hold all operations at the base for now. Call in anyone who can fight. We might have to conduct a containment operation later, a very dangerous one..."

Anderson watched Ash jump out of the window. Before he could even finish speaking, Ash had vanished.

Thinking about the vast number of soldiers he had to deal with in the base, all of whom had lost their ability to fight, including Frank, where was he going to find manpower?

Besides, with two ATS exoskeleton armors blocking Ash's office door, he needs to find a way out first. He can't just jump off the building like Ash did; his body can only withstand one attempt.

Anderson tried pushing the ATS exoskeleton armor, but gave up on the idea. The ATS could only be deactivated by fixed commands or remote control when damaged.

But since the personnel and armor are intact, there was no alarm, so the remote protocol couldn't be triggered. The designers of the NBC armor never imagined there would be a way to achieve an effect through line of sight.

After his attempts failed, Anderson made a phone call to ask for help from others.

"This is Anderson. Connect to Abomination. I need him to move some things. What's been taken? By whom? Ash! Forget it, get someone else who can use ATS armor to the director's office. I'm not trying to blow up Ash, and I don't need to bring ammunition! Even if you wanted to, you couldn't!"

Chapter 283: The Young and Slightly Green Doom

Ash's connection with Abomination was also planned. Since he had already established his persona of not being able to act rashly before the battle, he had to play that role.

Besides, Abomination is no longer the green-bodied creature he once was after training; he has reverted to Bronsky's human form, though he is a bit short, only 1.7 meters tall.

Hulk can be trained to return to Banner or merge with Banner, so there's no reason why he can't hate him.

Under the combined tutelage of Ash and Ego, the abhorrent personality was completely subdued, able to appear and disappear at Bronsky's command without any personality contamination, and would not become like Banhausen.

So much so that now, Bronsky is like Ash's bodyguard, following him closely.

"Sir, do we really not need to bring weapons?"

Bronsky kept checking on the mission's progress. Ever since he got his own set of weapons, Ash had even given his weapon, the cannon barrel (a new weapon, a heavy hammer forged from metal, though the Abomination called it a cannon barrel), a huge bonus that made the Abomination even happier.

After smashing the entire frontal armor of a tank with a hammer, someone confidently claimed to have seen the Abomination hugging its 'cannon barrel' even while sleeping.

"No need, we're just checking some military investments. There's no danger right now, nothing for the time being..."

Upon hearing Ash's words, Bronsky averted his gaze from the residence; his beloved cannon barrel would be separated from him for a while.

Seeing Bronsky's subtle movements, Ash laughed and said, "Can you beat the Hulk right now?"

At the mention of Hulk, Bronsky instantly became interested, puffed out his chest with a hint of pride, and said, "In a fight, Abomination won't lose to anyone..."

Perhaps, it would be a fatal blow for Ego as well, but Ash couldn't afford to damage Bronsky's confidence, so he could only pat Bronsky on the shoulder.

For Ash, the pat on the shoulder was a consolation to Bronsky, but Bronsky saw it as a sign that his performance was valued.

In the military and police systems of Europe and America, there is a tradition of patting someone on the shoulder. Usually, the superior will call you in, ask about your recent situation and ideals, and then give you a task or goal. As long as you can complete it, promotion and salary increase are basically a sure thing.

This kind of attention is usually given in the form of a pat on the shoulder and a task assigned. In Bronsky's view, the task—to defeat the Hulk—is already set, and Ash's pat on the shoulder has been completed; all that's left is for him to finish it.

Full of confidence and joy, Bronsky thought about the wonderful life of promotion and salary increase, and increased his training volume in the Abomination form.

But who could have imagined that Ash's actions were purely for comfort? Ash was constantly watching Ariandel's painted world, while Hulk in the icy wilderness was fighting the sky, the earth, and the air, only to be beaten by the Knights of Millwood.

Hulk is currently being trained by Knight Commander Millwood and is highly regarded by him. Hulk is now able to fight, hunt, and live alongside Knight Commander Millwood.

Seeing Bronsky's boundless enthusiasm, Ash didn't dampen his confidence. After all, they'd have to see how things went after the game.

Bronsky drove Ash to Doom Industries. Bronsky looked at the thirty-foot-tall statue standing in front of the angular building and scoffed indifferently.

Ash did not stop Bronsky's actions. In Ash's view, Doom's high-profile behavior was indeed an excessive display of himself. Even the flamboyant Stark only put a Stark Industries logo on his own building.

Doom's high-profile behavior will inevitably put him under greater pressure, and he may even be falsely accused or charged with wrongdoing.

As a military investigator, Ash successfully ascended to the top floor of the Doom Industries building.

Ash stopped the secretary from making the announcement and pushed open the door to Doom's office. Bronsky then stood outside the door to block any unauthorized personnel.

Doom was in a bad state at the moment. The irritability and anxiety caused by prolonged sleep deprivation made him not even look at the person who came in, and he shouted, "Get out! You are not allowed to come in without my permission!"

"Really? I can't either?"

The sound, which Doom had never heard before, startled him awake. He quickly pulled his hand away and tucked the books off the table under it.

Seeing Ash's expression, Doom breathed a sigh of relief, but also said with some surprise, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ash, I didn't know it was you."

"It's alright. I'm not here today to ask you for stock dividends. I'm just here on behalf of the military to ask what exactly went wrong with your experiment?"

Ash sat opposite Doom, waiting for an explanation. After all, no matter how lenient Ash's attitude was, Doom had caused the military's investment to suffer losses, and he needed to give the military an explanation.

Looking at the military investigation report that Ash had laid out, Doom braced his elbows on the table, his fingers running through his hair. The pressure made him completely disregard his current image, presenting his worst state to Ash.

Doom haphazardly ruffled his hair, making a mess of his hairstyle, then picked up a glass from the table and took a big gulp. Ash noticed that the liquid inside was amber-colored.

Suppressing his distress with alcohol, Doom said, "We were hit by a cosmic ray storm. The detectors that were originally on board by the military were burned up and destroyed in the storm..."

If sunspot activity could trigger Earth's 2012, let alone something like this happening in space, Doom's statement could indeed serve as an explanation.

But pointing to a line in the investigation report, which Doom could see clearly, he asked, "But you didn't mention in the report that you also funded another private research team to go into space with you..."

"Sir, these... these are all unspoken rules... after all, the launch platform and space station still have a considerable surplus of payload capacity..."

Doom explained, somewhat embarrassed. He felt a special kind of gratitude towards Ash, even though Ash was only there as an investigator. But explaining things to Ash using unspoken rules made Doom feel like he had let Ash down.

Ash reached out his hand, stopping Doom from explaining. He understood what Doom meant.

Take private satellite launches as an example. The satellite is handed over to a space center with launch capabilities. The space center will not immediately assemble a rocket for launch. The rocket's carrying capacity still has a large amount of spare capacity. Usually, the space center will wait for some time to gather other launch plans and launch all the satellites into space at the same time.

Doom is currently using this surplus to do some of his own things. But if nothing goes wrong, everyone just pretends not to see it. But as soon as something does go wrong, everyone asks, "Why did you do this?"

The responsibility fell on Doom, and when things went wrong, he was left speechless and unable to defend himself.

Ash stopped Doom from explaining; he was just there to make a formality, and the military's plans would depend on the Pentagon's decision.

But now Ash has something more important to ask Doom; he has discovered the mutation of Doom's body.

Doom's body has begun to show signs of metallicity; his fingernails have turned metallic, and part of Doom's irritability stems from this change.

"What's wrong with your body? Is this change caused by cosmic rays?"

Ash's question made Doom withdraw his hands and pull down his sleeves in an attempt to conceal his mutated body.

Ash clapped her hands to attract Doom's attention and said, "Alright, stop hiding it. You know I have another identity. I'm the professional when it comes to this kind of thing. Tell me..."

Doom then remembered that Ash was not only a military investigator, but also the head of the Control Bureau, who was theoretically in charge of all supernatural events.

Whether it was out of trust in Ash or something else, Doom recounted in detail the entire course of events from the very beginning.

Doom is persuaded by his college rival Reed to join the space program, who claims that studying cosmic ray storms will reveal the secrets of the origin of life.

In the cosmic ray storm, he will obtain a wealth of data, unlock the secrets of human genetic inheritance, and use it to benefit all of humanity.

Doom conditionally supported Reed's plan, allowing him to accompany him on this space mission.

But who could have imagined that they would all be exposed to radiation during the storm? The unexpected radiation storm left Doom with no time to activate his protective gear, and the military equipment was destroyed in the storm.

Ash was shocked by Doom's explanation. How could this kid, who had built such a big company, still be so naive?

Ash sighed and slammed his hand on the table, startling Doom out of his rambling.

"Doom, tell me, when will the next sunspot occur?"

"Uh... Oh! That depends on the level of danger. The most recent event that could affect Earth will be in about two weeks. The radiation levels won't be very high, but it will be enough to cause auroras at the poles..."

Doom hurriedly turned on his computer and, with the help of the observation data, quickly provided Ash with an answer.

After giving his conclusion, Doom looked at Ash blankly and asked, "Is there a problem? Does the military have another launch plan? I can provide the latest equipment, but it will take time to assemble..."

Seeing Doom's expression, Ash couldn't help but cover her eyes. How could he be so stupid...

"Doom, who handles the group's affairs for you? Are you only responsible for these research tasks?"

Doom pointed to a photo of himself and another woman on the table and said, "Susan is in charge. I still need to control the research direction and the operation of the equipment..."

"Doom, didn't you ever consider that if you can determine the timing of a solar storm in your head, there might be others who can't calculate the exact timing of a ray storm?"

"You mean..."

Doom then realized that ever since he discovered the problem with his body, he had locked himself here, constantly searching for a solution.

If Ash hadn't arrived, Doom might have stayed in that office indefinitely.

"Doom, who told you to agree to Reed's plan? My college rival isn't someone you can just ask for to go to space with a few conditions now..."

“It was…it was Susan. Susan convinced me to agree to Reed’s plan. Susan’s brother is in Reed’s team, and I just…”

Ash interrupted Doom's explanation again, which sounded rather abrupt this time.

Ash asked, "So where is Susan now?"

"Susan? Susan should be out there; she's in charge of the company's affairs..."

Doom couldn't continue. Since Ash was already sitting in front of him, there was no reason why Susan wouldn't show up. Even if there were guards outside, there should still be internal communication.

Doom pressed the phone on the table and asked, "Jennifer, where is Susan now?"

“Mr. Doom, Miss Susan has reserved two seats at Peak Restaurant in the name of the group, and she should be there now…”

The assistant couldn't continue speaking at this point. She couldn't try to guess what her superior was thinking; she only needed to give the most crucial information.

Doom was acting somewhat frantically, frantically operating the computer. Ash couldn't stand it anymore and snatched the computer from Doom's hands.

"I have access to all traffic surveillance systems, you can have it..."

Ash entered commands in the background and logged into a system that absolutely did not exist before handing the computer over to Doom.

Doom quickly switched the traffic camera to the area next to the Peak restaurant, and the surveillance footage rapidly rewound.