Superman

"This is...Mr. John Stillman?"

Howard, who has been in and out of the Pentagon all year round and occasionally attended White House banquets, recognized the man in the photo at a glance.

The other party is the president’s right-hand man, John Stillman, who serves as the White House Chief of Staff.

The seat he sits in is known as the "Second President" and the "Gatekeeper of the White House". He can be said to be one of the politicians closest to the center of power in Washington, DC.

"Who is the other guy? It's a man - is there something wrong with Stillman's sexual orientation? That's big news!"

Howard always has the extraordinary talent of being able to bend everything to his lower body.

"But in the political world, it's probably nothing. As far as I know, Hoover of the FBI was bisexual."

"Luke, you know, those powerful people, they think they are high-class people, but they are actually very low-class."

"Please don't take it out on yourself when you use harsh words to ridicule them."

Glancing at Howard who was gradually getting off topic, Luke stood up and walked to the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of high-end whiskey brought from the Stark mansion.

"As the boss of Stark Industries, an arms tycoon with a profound background... Howard, don't forget, you are also a member of the upper class society full of low-class people."

"And, to a certain extent, you are still the backbone!"

Dang Dang Dang!

The ice cubes hit the wall of the cup, making a crisp sound.

The amber liquid was injected, creating ripples in circles.

"Would you like a drink?"

Luke turned around and asked.

"Entertain me with my collection, you are really good at business! No wonder the people in the budget committee have a headache when they see you!"

Howard's mouth was unforgiving, but his body was honest. He reached out and took the glass of whiskey.

"By the way, why did you notice Stillman?"

Iron Man's father is a little confused. In his impression, Superman is not very interested in politics, especially politicians who play tricks on power.

Otherwise, if the president showed his solicitation before, there would be no need for him to reject it so quickly.

Luke took a sip of the cold liquid, his eyes flashed, and he said softly: "According to the six-dimensional space theory, the distance between you and any stranger you want to contact will not exceed six people."

"That is to say, in theory, you only need to go through six intermediaries at most to get to know every stranger in the world."

Howard narrowed his eyes and curled his lips and said: "It sounds like a very nonsense statement, but it is indeed interesting. Its logical trap is that no one knows who the six strangers are, and they lack the conditions to designate targets, so they can force

Round it down."

He lifted his chin and commented.

"Howard, why do you always miss the point?"

Luke shook his head helplessly, pointed at another man in the photo, and said: "I just want to say that if you want to explore a person's true identity and political stance, you can start from his social circle. Who does he know?

Whoever you have a close relationship with will, to some extent, represent his class and position."

"On the surface, John Stillman is the president's confidant, the gatekeeper of the White House, and the privileged number two in Washington, but secretly he met a vampire and the two stayed together for a long time."

"vampire?"

Howard's voice rose a few notches.

He was impressed by this.

"Yes. According to SHIELD's investigation, the person who met Stillman is called Getaro."

Luke pushed the information on the table over and said meaningfully: "A pure-blood descendant of Archduke Dracula, and one of the leaders of the Vampire Council in North America."

"It may sound incredible, but those nocturnal creatures who walk in the darkness and dare not face the sun have a social system and power structure similar to humans."

"The Vampire Council is roughly equivalent to the cabinet of the White House. It has great power and can mobilize the family's resources at any time."

"The White House Chief of Staff colluded with the Vampire Council..."

Howard tasted it carefully and seemed to get a taste of it.

"I heard you say before that vampires claim to be immortals. In their eyes, humans may be just a short part of a long life."

"So Stillman wants to live longer?"

After thinking about it, the most tempting bargaining chip that vampires have for humans is the legendary immortality.

Everyone is afraid of death and hopes that the cruel time will be merciful to them.

"That's not entirely true. Vampires also age, but much slower than humans. They are far from immortal."

Luke corrected Howard's misunderstanding and then continued: "As for Stillman's private contact with the Vampire Council, I began to think, like you, that it was an exchange of interests."

"But as Agents of SHIELD conducted an in-depth investigation, I found that it was not that simple."

Having said this, Luke paused, looked at Howard who was interested, and asked with a smile: "Have you ever heard of the 'Hagui Clan'?"

"Is it some kind of underground group that worships vampires?"

Howard thought for a few seconds, combined the literal meaning, and gave the correct answer.

"This is indeed the case with the predecessor. Human beings are very complex creatures, and they sometimes need a specific image as a spiritual support."

Luke raised his glass, stared at the amber liquid, and said lightly: "The emptier you are, the more spiritual support you need - but this is just a belief within the normal range, which belongs to personal freedom, and there is no problem."

"But when it comes to worship, that's another story."

"There is money worship in the world, male organ worship, and the most common idol worship - all kinds of things."

"People always like to attach a strong desire or need to something specific."

"The Hagui tribe is a group of people who pursue immortality, immortality, youthful bodies, and fresh vitality... and later gradually developed into worshiping vampires, wanting to become vampires, and even thinking that they were slaves of vampires.

,Humans are inferior creatures.”

"Ah, what a sad, short-sighted guy."

Howard had a look of contempt on his face.

With his knowledge and pride, he naturally looks down on guys like these.

To be more precise, he believes that because he is not strong enough in his heart, he gives up his own thinking and gives this power to others - he can be classified as a fool.

certainly--

Except for personal beliefs, which cannot be called worship.

Howard himself is not a devout Christian.

"I didn't expect Stillman to be a ghost and secretly worship vampires. He graduated from Duke University's law school. I thought those who studied law should be more rational than normal people."

"Don't label people casually. Before I met you, I thought the geniuses at MIT were probably the kind of nerds who weren't close to women. I also thought scientists always had a serious and stereotyped image."

Luke's retort left Howard speechless.

His harsh and venomous tongue, which has always been tried and tested, seems to have no effect when placed in front of the other party.

"After I left Washington, D.C., Stillman began to have contact with the Vampire Council. Before that, he did not show any abnormality."

Luke opened the information on Getaro of the Vampire Council. The content was relatively simple and not as detailed as White House Chief of Staff John Stillman.

From this we can see that SHIELD agents and detectives may be okay when dealing with ordinary people.

But when dealing with creatures like vampires, it seems a bit inadequate.

"Actually, it's not just Stillman. Judging from the information I have and the results of the investigation, there may be one-third of the members of Congress who are members of the Hagui tribe, or who have close contacts with them."

Luke tells a shocking truth.

This is equivalent to the fact that the upper levels of the state power pyramid are almost completely infiltrated by vampires.

Howard realized the seriousness and finally restrained his cynical and frivolous expression.

"Vampires in North America seem to be developing better than those in Europe."

He took a sip of whiskey and expressed doubts.

"The situations on both sides are different. The pure-blooded descendants of Archduke Dracula know better about unity. They have very close ties with human society, while the situation in Europe is relatively chaotic."

Luke gave a brief introduction.

"In addition, the New York Sanctuary's attack on dark creatures is not very strong, which gives the Vampire Council a chance to survive."

Over the years, pure-blood descendants have penetrated the business and political circles to a considerable extent.

At its peak, half of the top executives of large financial institutions on Wall Street were members of the Hagui clan.

Therefore, Wall Street elites are called "vampires".

Interpreted in a literal sense, it is actually correct.

"Howard, do you still remember Kang the Conqueror I mentioned?"

Closing the document in his hand, Luke's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

Howard, who was sitting across from him, felt a little chilled. He frowned and asked, "That guy who can travel through time and space and impersonate historical celebrities everywhere?"

"That's right. I first thought that if Kang the Conqueror wanted to choose a leader with a high enough status and powerful enough power, he would probably set his sights on the Soviet Union."

Luke tapped his fingers on the side of the wine glass and whispered: "If you really do this and turn yourself into the Kremlin guy, even if he wants to provoke World War III, it might not be a problem."

"However, after I returned to New York and Washington, D.C., I saw the chief of staff colluding with the Vampire Council, and saw the reclusive president... I couldn't help but have another idea."

"What if Kang the Conqueror was not in the Soviet Union, but - in the White House?"