Chapter 1183: Enjoying the Show and Running Into Little Peter Again
Luke had already probed Jessica’s mind twice, and she wasn’t guarded against him at all.
After hearing the news today, he remembered that he hadn’t checked on the female detective lately. The effects of the previous treatment might be wearing off soon; he should do a third mind probe tomorrow night.
He would be able to get information on her and Matt’s opponents, and prevent her from charging into a trap and getting herself killed.
If she were with anyone else, he wouldn’t be too worried. After all, Jessica wasn’t weak; if she ran, the ninjas from the Hand would find it hard to stop her.
But with Matt, even the best person would be beaten black and blue.
One just had to think about how many times the guy had been beaten up recently to know how bad his luck was; any teammates he had would be pulled down with him.
…
After another two peaceful days, Selina asked Luke a question after work. “Can we go to the Stark Expo tonight?”
Luke, who was driving, didn’t think much of it. “Sure, we haven’t checked out the booths in a while. Maybe there’s something fun.”
Selina had a strange expression on her face. “You didn’t see the news?”
Luke asked, “What news?”
Selina sighed and played a video on her phone.
“Hammer Industries is about to launch a life-changing new product… Iron Patriot and the Iron Soldiers will become America’s strongest line of defense and protect everyone…”
Luke glanced at his phone and saw Dustin’s cheap cousin Justin Hammer marketing his products in what looked like a promo video.
When the video ended, Selina put her phone away. “At half past seven tonight, Hammer Industries will hold a new product launch in the main exhibition hall at Stark Expo.”
Luke thought for a moment, then frowned.
Just because someone was called Iron Man didn’t mean he was Wang Jinxi[1].
By the same logic, just because Hammer Industries rode the trend and gave their products the names “Iron XX” didn’t mean that Justin Hammer was a big man.
This dumb*ass CEO was forever a little unreliable.
But he had a powerful father and a powerful grandfather who had made a lot of connections with the military brass in the Department of Defense decades ago. Although Justin himself was a little useless, he could still get some military orders.
Stark Industries had always gotten the lion’s share of the market, tacitly leaving the rest of the pie to other weapons companies.
Justin was like a dog who had been happily eating Tony’s unwanted leftovers all these years.
Luke was a little intrigued by this news.
At the previous hearing, Tony had played a video of this company’s test run, which had turned its employee into a paraplegic. Who knew what the show would be like this time?
Witnessing it live once in a while wasn’t bad.
Thinking that, he asked Selina, “We don’t need to fight the crowd, do we? We can watch from a little further away. What snacks do you want?”
Selina immediately beamed. “Then, why don’t we take dinner with us? I remember there’s a metal service platform above the main venue. Nobody will go up there.”
Luke said, “Okay, then it’s settled.”
The service thoroughfares were guarded by security guards or patrol officers during the expo. Otherwise, it would be a problem if terrorists got up there and picked people off from on high.
Whether it was Stark Industries security or NYPD patrol officers, Luke and Selina could easily pass as “allies.”
The service platform wasn’t spacious, and was just enough for two people and a dog to sit comfortably and watch the news conference.
So, they went home to train and make snacks, and then headed straight for Flushing at seven.
There were much fewer people at the venue today than during the opening ceremony, when Tony had almost been taken down.
It seemed that everybody knew how “good” Justin was, and knew it wouldn’t be very flashy.
People were scattered throughout the main exhibition hall in just twos and threes; it wasn’t crowded at all.
Standing on the stairs which led up to the hall, Luke and Selina raised their heads to look at the round glass-and-metal structure.
Luke said, “Don’t tell me it’s half-empty inside?”
Selina said, “The air’s better with less people. Won’t our food taste better?”
Luke thought it made sense. In any case, whatever Justin Hammer’s press conference turned into, it wouldn’t have anything to do with them.
Instead, Luke and Selina paid a little more attention to Tony Stark’s press conference.
Cosmic Cube now had more than ten billion in Stark Industries shares, and Jenny could attend the board meetings every year.
Selina had a 5% share in Cosmic Cube, so she was a minor shareholder.
Of course, Selina wasn’t very interested in her shares and assets.
In her own words, she would never be able to spend all that money in her life. It was boring to watch the numbers change every day.
Who knew, Stark’s stock price might plummet again one day; her heart wouldn’t hurt if she didn’t know the figures.
Luke wondered if a certain tycoon would feel ashamed of his willfulness if he heard that.
While they were chatting, Luke suddenly grabbed a boy who ran past him.
The 3- or 4-year-old kid was wearing an Iron Man plastic helmet and a red plastic glove on his left hand; there was even a white LED ring in the palm of the glove. He was also making shooting noises, like he was imagining attacking bad guys.
When Luke picked him up, he subconsciously still tried to run on his short legs.
Only after a while did he realize that he wasn’t going anywhere. Puzzled, he turned his head and saw Luke and Selina smiling.
“Peter, did Uncle Ben bring you here?” Luke looked at the kid and felt like laughing.
The little head in the helmet nodded twice. “Yup. He and May brought me to see Iron Man.”
Luke and Selina couldn’t help but look at each other. Would Justin cry if he heard that?
The helmet turned left and right, as if the boy was sizing up Luke and Selina. “Hey, who are you?”
They couldn’t help but laugh.
It had been almost a year since they last met, and this little guy had only been two years old back then; it would be strange if he remembered them.
At that moment, someone shouted behind them, “Peter, are you being naughty again? Didn’t I tell you not to run around… Ah, Luke? Selina?”
Luke turned around with Peter in his arms and smiled. “Hey, May, long time no see. You’re still as enchanting as ever.”
He put Peter down and hugged May.
He had planned to let go, but May kissed him warmly and said, “If I knew you were in New York, I would’ve invited you over.”
Luke smiled in embarrassment.
[1] A Chinese socialist icon known as “Iron man” Wang