Marvel Salted Fish Kryptonian

Alex was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did you go and track it down?"

"Because I'm involved in this, it's normal for me to want to know what happens next."

"You didn't ask Howard?"

"I'm an adult now and don't need a nominal father to take care of me."

With a soft sigh, Alex said, "Okay, go ahead."

Tony Stark continued: "I have asked the LAPD, and they insisted that the case and all the evidence were handed over to the FBI. But the FBI Los Angeles branch insisted that they did not take over the case and did not even have relevant records.

"I even asked people who attended the party that day, but no one talked about the incident, as if nothing had happened. So I started to investigate the matter.

"But the difficulty and resistance are greater than I imagined. The main reason is that I don't have good means to force those who know the inside story to tell me what I want to know.

"Then I thought about what happened that day. One of the gunmen said he wanted to give everyone a warning. That's why they chose to act in such a public place. They also knew there were many people they couldn't afford to touch.

"So I think, instead of trying to figure out who's behind this, I should find someone who understands the 'warnings' and ask them directly what's going on. Right?"

"So that's why you came to me?" Alex said with a wry smile, "I still say the same thing. Ask Howard. That's the right thing to do."

"I don't want to, so." Tony Stark pointed at the person in front of him, and his meaning was very clear.

Alex Hart downed the whiskey in his glass in one gulp, then refilled it for himself, saying, "You are also qualified to know, so it's not taboo for me to tell you.

"But once I leave this room today, I won't admit to saying anything. If you intend to implicate me, I will simply say that this is just a delusion born of a genius. I hope everyone won't go that far."

Tony Stark pretended to zip up his mouth and said, "I just want to know what's going on behind this."

Alex moistened his throat and said, "There's an island off the coast of California where some wealthy people have secret fun. Because those activities may not comply with state laws, everyone tacitly keeps silent."

"You mean like the red couch in Hollywood?"

"Maybe even wilder," Alex said, but at the same time denied: "Don't think I've ever been to the island and seen the world. You know, although they will extend the invitation, the choice of whether to go or not is still in your hands."

Tony Stark was puzzled and asked, "No matter how wild it is, there are still different ways to play it. But if there is no island, will these capable people stop playing it?"

"Don't think that Silver Fun is the only theme on the island, Tony. In fact, the island also offers many special medical services that you won't find in regular medical institutions."

This reminder gave Tony Stark a lot of insight. Often, what hinders medical development and achievement isn't technical issues, but ethical ones.

Realizing this, Tony developed an inexplicable aversion to this so-called island.

Alex, of course, noticed the change in the young man's expression and admonished him, "Don't think this kind of thing is a bad thing. Existence is justified. Just like profanity, it's impossible to truly ban it. If one day, you or someone close to you needs it, you'll be thankful the island exists."

"So what does this have to do with the warning?" Giving up on investigating the underlying issues, Tony Stark directly asked about the part that was most relevant to him.

Alex said, "Since those services are unaffordable for ordinary people, why let so many irrelevant people know about them? Do you think those poor people who can barely support themselves can afford such huge expenses that they may not be able to earn in their entire lives?

"If these poor people knew about this, there would be only two things they would do. One is to demand the same service for free, the other is to deny it to anyone.

"You don't think this is a good thing. As the old saying goes, they never ask what they have done for their country, but only what their country has given them."

"So, the dead man was a big mouth?" Tony asked.

"That's right. He let too many unscreened people know about this. The host didn't want things to get out of control without him seeing them. So they wanted to silence them and warn others at the same time."

Chapter 84: Height determines vision

"Who's the host?" Tony Stark asked.

Alex said honestly, "At my level, I have no way of knowing their identities. But there are two people who are vying to be the external facade."

"Who?"

"A little fellow named Epstein, and a Nico named Puff Daddy."

"A... Nico?" Tony was shocked.

"Ah, yes, things in this world are so incredible. A Nico who has used dirty tricks to control a lot of Hollywood resources thinks that he can be on equal footing with us."

“I remember that guy was…”

"A rising rapper. He's got brains, but no self-awareness."

Tony asked, "So, the killer is one of these two people?"

"No, no, no, the killer's relationship with the island is just simple employment. Including those people you guessed to be fake FBI, I think they are from the aftermath team."

"Which assassin organization is so powerful? The CIA?"

"Maybe the CIA has a secret operation, I don't know. But I suspect that there's only one organization on the West Coast capable of using a fake FBI identity to conceal the truth."

"Which one?"

"The Continental. Have you ever heard of that name, Tony?"

"No, I haven't. How can I find them?"

"Why bother looking for them, Tony? They're just tools. Even if you go and ask for an account, as long as you can pay the price, the people who offended you will be gone the next day, but the entire organization will still be there. You can't eliminate them unless you just want to vent your anger."

"Is there no one taking care of these things?" Tony said angrily.

Alex, however, drank his wine and spoke the truth: "That's also part of America. Just like the Earth we live on, there's no way to keep only the daytime part and let the nighttime part disappear forever."

Tony Stark remained silent for a moment. After finishing his whiskey, he asked, "There's one more thing I want to know."

"Ask. But I can't guarantee an answer."

"Is Howard…my father involved in these businesses?"

"I don't know if you're worried about him having a stake, or if you're surprised he doesn't have a stake in such a big business. I won't ask you which you're feeling. But I can say the answer to this question is no."

"you sure?"

"Let me put it this way, Tony. These businesses have been around for a long time. Howard is a genius, and he's used his genius to gain the support of the military. But he's not qualified to get involved in these businesses."

After Alex finished speaking, he continued, "I hope this answer doesn't offend you, but this is the truth. Howard is a smart man and has accumulated considerable wealth, but it's not enough to be on par with those people.

"Perhaps after you take over, and another three or five generations develop, you can maintain the current prosperous situation of Stark Industries, or even do better. By then, you won't have to sign up. The Stark family will naturally enter the level of that group."

"Who are they?" Tony asked again.

Alex raised his glass and replied, “Whether you’ve heard of these names or not, the Red Shoes, the White Shirts, the Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Skull and Bones Society at Yale, old money, blue blood aristocracy, or Hydra, etc.

"Some survive today, some are lost in history, and some are simply hidden. But they are all just a small group within a larger group, a gathering of a small number of people.

"The great group had no name, no rallies, no oaths, and so on. When you reach that height, your eyes will naturally see those sights."

"That's disgusting. They don't think anyone should be proud to join them," Tony criticized.

"Of course, not everyone is interested in such behavior. So they can only hide under the surface and cannot become a formal force or organization. This is the only thing to be thankful for." Alex followed Tony's words.

The two wanted to continue talking when the servant of the villa knocked on the door and said, "Master Tony, dinner is ready."

Alex finished his drink and said, "I've pretty much told you everything I know. If you want to know anything else, you'll have to find the answer yourself. I don't know anything more."

"Okay. I specially hired the chef for today's French meal. I hope his cooking skills won't disappoint us."

"Let's go and try it."

Henry and the others had already taken their seats at the table. Since they were two men, no one stood up to greet them before they sat down.

When Katharine Hepburn saw Tony coming back, she immediately laughed happily and said, "Little Tony, where did you meet this friend? He doesn't look like someone the Starks would know."

The words that concealed a knife behind a smile made Tony Stark not know how to respond.

Henry smiled and said, "How should I put it? Perhaps our initial meeting wasn't very friendly. Catherine, do you want to hear that?"

"Oh, that's not friendly. It's more worth listening to this way, isn't it." Although Katherine was answering, her eyes were looking at the bewildered Tony Stark.

Being teased, Tony could only point at Henry and said, "You, don't say anything." Then he turned to the servants in the villa and said, "And you, hurry up and serve the food."

"Haha, I'm becoming more and more interested in knowing things that can embarrass the men of the Stark family." Catherine smiled happily.

Tony Stark said stubbornly, "Those things weren't interesting at all, and I was the one protecting him. Otherwise, he would have been finished long ago."

"Oh, little Henry, is that really the case?" Catherine looked at the other party and asked.

Henry spread his hands and said, "That's right, just as Mr. Stark said."

It's a taboo to talk too much with someone you're not close to. If you're not close enough and you're constantly trying to undermine someone, you'll only create an enemy. Henry didn't want to offend this person. Little did he know, his attitude only made Tony Stark's rage rise.

Fortunately, before the young master could find any words to refute, the waiter from the chef team had already served the aperitif, indicating that the meal had officially begun.

Tony drank the aperitif in one gulp, then shook the glass and asked someone to pour it again.

The cold wine calmed him down a bit. Then he said, "I know you're still trying to say that if we don't do anything, those gunmen will eventually leave. But before that, who knows about this kind of thing?"

"OK, I roughly understand. But what about the gunman? Little Tony, do you want to explain it to me?" Catherine asked with a forced smile.

"Oh, damn." Tony Stockton felt like a thorn in his side after he had let the cat out of the bag.

He had two versions of his explanation to the outside world. To his own people, he always said he was just passing through and looking for a place to hide, but he never told anyone that he had confronted the killer head-on. To the outside world, he claimed to have killed countless people, but everyone assumed it was just bragging. Who knew it was the truth...

Chapter 85 Questions and Answers at the Table

There is no taboo against talking while eating in Western cuisine, or rather, the slow pace of serving food is designed to allow people to enjoy the food more, as well as to chat and bond during the meal.

Under the pressure of Katharine Hepburn, Tony Stark reluctantly told the story of his acquaintance with Henry.

Catherine, who had just finished eating a spear of asparagus, said, "So, the first time you two met, little Tony and that guy were really humiliated by Henry."

"No, I didn't. It's that person who is embarrassed, it has nothing to do with me." Tony Stark tried to defend himself.

"What about Henry? Can you really solve such a complicated problem in an instant?"

In response to the question, Henry smiled and said, "Of course not. Even the smartest mathematicians need tools to calculate the answer. How could I possibly know it just by looking at it?"

"Then you are...?"

"As long as someone is full of confidence and speaks nonsense with a straight face, those who lack self-confidence will involuntarily believe their nonsense. That's why so many people love to watch movies. Otherwise, there would be so many illogical plots or shots that violate physical phenomena."

"Well, that sounds like a filmmaker. If you don't believe your film will be a hit, how are you going to convince the film companies and the audience to buy tickets to the theater?"

Tony, finally finding a chance to interrupt, retorted, "But that's not scientific at all." In fact, even now, he was doubting Henry's original answer. Was it really just a random guess? It was clearly the same answer as his...

Catherine criticized, "Tony, we're talking about the movie channel, not the Discovery Channel. If everything had to be scientific, George Lucas's Star Wars would be doomed."

Tony muttered, "It's not scientific anyway."

"So when we met for the second time, little Tony was really so rude. He ate as soon as he saw food on the table." No matter what others said, Catherine could always jump out of her original perspective and comment on something with a clear eye.

Tony Stark protested, "I sponsored that chef team out of my own pocket, and I paid for the ingredients as well. Why can't I eat dishes made with that food?"

Nodding in agreement without hesitation, Henry also said, "Yes, yes, of course. But at least you have to show your identity and let people know that the boss is here. Otherwise, who would know if the person stealing other people's food is a homeless person or someone else."

After refuting his argument, Henry turned to Catherine and asked, "Are all Stark men like this? No matter where they go, they assume everyone knows them. This symptom of excessive self-confidence seems incurable."

"Yes, this is already a terminal illness, and it's a family hereditary disease. I sincerely hope that their next generation will see improvement." Catherine said along the way.

Then he asked, "By the way, Henry, I know about your third meeting with Tony. You followed him around and shot him. What happened before that? Why did you show up in such a wet and messy state?"

Just because Tony hadn't asked the question didn't mean he didn't want to know. So when Catherine asked, he remained silent, wanting to hear what Henry had to say.

Henry briefly described how he and Justin met again, and then the fat boy threw his cell phone into the swimming pool and asked someone to pick it up.

After listening, Tony was the first to speak: "This is why you don't want to save people. Because that fat guy offended you first."

Henry explained, "I have to say, I didn't know the target of the shooters until I finally realized that Josh Hilton was the fat guy. Before that, the person was a person and the name was a name. I didn't connect the two."

"If I give you a second chance, will you save someone?" Tony asked.

"I still can't." Henry said with a rare serious expression, "Let's not talk about the bodyguard work for the banquet company. Just dealing with drunks or high guys. Dealing with those with guns is not my job.

"Besides, I've already quit. I'm just an unarmed passerby at the party. My priority is protecting myself, not cleaning up the mess for those rich guys."

"But you still helped little Tony, didn't you?" Katherine said.

Tony Stark said dissatisfiedly, "I'm protecting him. If it weren't for the fact that he'd have an extra gun, and he wasn't like a novice who'd just emptied his gun, I wouldn't have brought him along if he hadn't had one more person to mentally intimidate those gunmen."

"Yes, yes, that's it." Henry said sarcastically.

Unfortunately, the American didn't understand this tone, and Henry didn't want to explain anything, so he let Tony brag about how brave he was.

Henry was just seriously struggling with the asparagus on the plate, which was the main course of the day, and then he made some casual comments to help Tony brag about his own performance.

Considering that Katharine Hepburn was already 84 years old, the dishes Tony ordered were the best combination after discussion between the chef and nutritionist.

There are meat dishes, but the portions are smaller and stewed until they are soft enough to suit the taste of the elderly.

Alex Hart and his wife are at the age where they pursue healthy eating, so they certainly have no complaints about this meal.

The two young men, however, were equally relishing their meal. Henry's table manners were even better than Tony's, a wealthy young man. He even chatted with the waiter in French, praising the food.