A few days later, all of New York seemed to have recovered from this trauma. After all, life must go on; even if you suffered endless hardships a moment ago, the next moment you still have to hustle for tomorrow. In this regard, almost no one is an exception.
Countless construction crews have now appeared in the once-bustling Times Square. They need to repair what was once New York's most prosperous area in the shortest time possible, a task that is undeniably difficult. However, they are still working hard, if for nothing else, then for the incredibly generous pay.
It wasn't just the US Government paying them; several large corporations also offered handsome rewards. For instance, Corona invested a large sum of money in the reconstruction work here, the price of which was a piece of land on the edge of Times Square. A brand-new skyscraper would be built here, and of course, it would be under the name of the Corona Group.
Not only Corona, but Stark and Osborn did the same. They are all big sharks in the capitalist World, with no reason to give up such a good opportunity to expand their capital interests.
The massive destruction of Times Square provided an opportunity for many, including not only these capitalist financial giants but also the Mutant Special Task Force, which had been watching for an opportunity.
They were not capable of participating in a battle of that magnitude; after all, they were still just children who had barely reached adulthood. But that didn't mean they were of no use at all. In fact, after this disaster, they played a very significant role.
Rescuing the injured and trapped, controlling the spread of accidental disasters, and even treating those critically injured and dying. Rogue seized the best opportunity. They intervened in the post-disaster rescue work at the first opportunity and, through their own efforts, gained the recognition of most people in New York.
Many people saw their contributions and were grateful for everything they did. Not everyone can rush into a sea of fire regardless of everything, nor can everyone risk the danger of further collapse to rescue lives buried deep under the ruins. Even fewer have the ability to bring someone on the brink of death back to this World.
Although some still used their status as Mutants to stir up trouble, saying these Mutants were just using their abilities to score points, such claims became ridiculous and absurd in the face of these young Mutants' ages.
Regardless of whether what they did was dangerous or not, these ridiculous reasons could not become an excuse to attack them. After all, they are just a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-old children; being able to do this much is in itself a good deed worthy of everyone's recognition.
Some wanted to cause trouble and interfere with these young people's actions. But beneath the seemingly calm waves of New York now was a massive powder keg; the citizens of the entire New York City were suppressing a surge of anger. Anyone who dared to play with fire near this powder keg would pay a heavy enough price.
The boiling crowds of protesters and the overflowing detention centers proved that now was definitely not a suitable time to cause trouble in New York. Therefore, many restless people pulled back their hands at this time, and for this period, New York was strangely quiet. Even the gangs that had always been restless fell silent.
Of course, a large part of the reason was certainly that New Yorkers had started stuffing guns into their bags even when just going for a walk.
Robbery? Don't be ridiculous. Nowadays, even theft could lead to loss of life. Many restless fellows have already paid a bloody price, and many who walked this path no longer have a future. These were the most painful times for the gangs.
And this no longer had anything to do with Zhou Yi. He was now busy with other things—something very important for the Corona Group.
.
The Stark Tech Expo, an old tradition left behind by Tony's late father, Howard Stark. Stark Enterprises has an old habit of showcasing their formidable technological power to the entire World at such traditional large-scale events. As the scale of the enterprise grew larger and larger, this Tech Expo was no longer just a technical showcase for the Stark family.
Large corporations promote their new technologies and concepts at such grand events, while small companies or research institutions bring their own technologies here to seek suitable investors. This expo has become increasingly diversified; it can almost be said that it has become a platform for the World's tech companies to show off their strength.
Whether you are in Military technology or civilian technology, as long as you can step onto this platform and have a place at the Stark Tech Expo, you can basically guarantee that you won't have to worry about funding issues for the next twenty years.
Because this is not only a place for large corporations to show off technology, but also a place for the wealthy to pick the geese that lay golden eggs. Almost all investors in the World will turn their gaze toward Stark's Tech Expo during this time. There are even some high-ranking Military officials holding Military procurement rights, customers that even large enterprises like Stark would covet.
In short, the Stark Tech Expo is definitely a grand event, and at the same time, it's an opportunity for both Tony Stark and Zhou Yi.
Stark Enterprises had just completed its transformation; as Tony said, they dropped their original weapons development department and officially transitioned from an arms company to an energy development company. This meant he had to deal with some very troublesome enemies—for example, General Electric. The energy Domain is not that easy to enter, and the strikes from those established companies were enough to give Stark a hard time.
This was also the reason Tony was holding this expo. He needed to launch his product at this expo: the arc reactor, a new type of energy that is clean, safe, and cheap enough. Undoubtedly, this new type of energy would definitely impact the traditional energy industry, but Stark didn't care. Because Tony felt it was time for the unchanging landscape of the energy Domain to undergo a bit of change.
For Zhou Yi, this was also an opportunity to make the Corona Group famous. As a newly reorganized and reconstructed company, Corona inevitably still carried many shadows of Umbrella. Now, what Zhou Yi had to do was eliminate the lingering impression of Umbrella in people's minds and let Corona appear before the public with a sufficiently independent new image.
And this... required the Corona Group to present a brand-new, era-defining technological product that could serve as its representative.
Fortunately, Zhou Yi was not short of such things. What remained was the issue of the entry ticket.
Ordinary people or companies wanting to enter would need to go through layer after layer of review within Stark Enterprises, but for Zhou Yi, it only required a phone call.
"Hello, pal. I'm very busy right now. If you don't have something very, very important, I suggest you call me back next time!" Tony's voice quickly came through the phone, and hearing this tone, Zhou Yi was certain the guy had holed himself up in the lab again.
As the successor to Stark, Tony, like his father, was also a genius inventor. They both had a quirk: when they started working, they completely ignored everyone else. Just as Tony complained about his father when he was a Child, saying he didn't care about his affairs at all, once Tony started working, he didn't care about anyone either.
Zhou Yi knew about this quirk of his, so he didn't bother wasting words with him and spoke directly.
"Tony, I want a booth at the Stark Tech Expo."
"Damn it, wait!" A series of clattering sounds rang out. Presumably, even if Tony was just making juice, something must have gone wrong.
After a while, Tony's voice came through again. "What did you say? You said you want a booth?"
"Of course. Did you think I don't have anything worth exhibiting?" Zhou Yi smiled playfully. If he brought out the things he held, even someone like Tony would be startled.
"If it's the old stuff from Umbrella, I suggest you don't bring it out. Of course, if it's that nanometal you have, I think that would be normal. But wouldn't that expose your identity?"
Tony was quite thoughtful; since Zhou Yi was unwilling to expose his identity, he naturally didn't want to violate his original intention because of himself.
"Don't worry, I have more than just nanometal. Remember what I told you once?" Thinking about what he was going to bring out, Zhou Yi couldn't wait to tease his pal; after all, this was the biggest investment he had missed over the years.
"What did you say?" Facing Zhou Yi's question, Tony seemed very puzzled. "You've told me many things, pal? But I can only remember a few of them. After all, you know, most of what you tell me is nonsense!"
"Alright, let's go over it again. Remember that party in Bern? Yes, the one where Yin Sen was also present."
"Oh, I remember now. I was drunk that day, and there seemed to be a beautiful girl next to me. Oh, and I remember Hogan was there too!"
"Of course he was there. At that time, he still had that ridiculous slicked-back hair! I'm talking about that night. Do you remember what I told you in the elevator?"
"What did you say?" Tony scratched his head and then indicated he couldn't remember anything else. Other than that beautiful girl, he had no impression. "Alright, pal. I admit I don't remember what on earth you said that day. Just tell me already; I don't believe this has anything to do with today's matter!"
"Of course it does. Let me tell you, pal. That day, we took the girls into the elevator. Then a guy named Aldrich Killian squeezed in. He pitched us his newly established research studio."
"Killian, what a mediocre name. And the result? I don't recall having any interaction with this person?" Tony curled his lip, having a bad premonition.
"Of course, you stood him up. You let him blow in the cold wind on the rooftop while you took a girl to have fun." Zhou Yi chuckled, a sound that didn't feel so comfortable to Tony. Knowing Zhou Yi, he knew he had definitely missed something. "But I wasn't as bad as you. I went up and chatted with him, and then I found a pretty good investment direction."
"Don't tell me that guy brought you some kind of surprise? pal, that's harder than winning the jackpot!"
"Absolutely!" Zhou Yi heard Tony's annoyance and naturally laughed even more happily. "He gave me a huge surprise, and it wasn't just Mr. Killian!"
"Don't tell me I missed something again?" Hearing this opening, Tony knew he must have messed up again. And soon, Zhou Yi gave him the answer.
"Exactly, pal. The girl you took away that night, that geneticist. You played with her and then ignored her. But she unexpectedly joined Killian's lab later and pushed forward a very promising technology. Now, Tony, I can harvest the fruits."
PS: Uh, the next update is at four o'clock.