Aetheris patted her small hand, feeling its coldness. His anger flared even stronger. No matter who tried to assassinate him or force his woman to live in fear, he would never let them get away.
Even if he had to hunt them to the ends of the earth, he would drag them out one by one, take them to the high seas, and subject them to death by a thousand cuts - 3,600 slices, feeding their remains to the fish.
Nova asked cautiously,"Who was that person? Why did he try to assassinate us?"
Aetheris shook his head coldly. He hadn't been here long since crossing over and had not done anything to draw heaven's wrath or earn widespread resentment. His only true enemy, Victor, had already perished. He couldn't think of anyone else who would bear such hatred. Still, he wasn't entirely sure what had happened before he arrived.
When Cyclops came later, he would have to borrow a couple of men to investigate exactly whom Tony Stark might have offended. These ordinary people posed no lethal threat to him, but they were like flies if they didn't bite, they still disgusted.
Within five minutes, several fully armed New York patrol officers arrived.
The NYPD was well-trained. Two surveyed the scene, while two maintained order. One of those checking the scene pressed a hand against the gunman's pulse. It had already stopped. His expression changed, and he turned to his colleague.
"Call an ambulance immediately, and notify command as well. There's been a homicide in Central Park. Requesting backup."
This was no joke. As a landmark of New York, Central Park always had police on duty, much like tourist attractions back home had their own police stations.
The officers who came were all burly white men. After all, in Manhattan, there wasn't much space for Black people to survive, no matter the profession. Most positions were dominated by whites.
Seeing the police arrive, Nova finally breathed a sigh of relief. After spending so much time in her own country, where police gave people a strong sense of security, now in America, the sight of armed police gave her even more reassurance.
After all, who hadn't seen videos of American cops riddling Black men with bullets?
A white officer walked over and asked,"Who dialed 911?"
A young white man pushed his glasses up his nose, raised his arm, and said,"It was me. I made the call."
The officer replied,"Tell me what happened at the time. What exactly went on here?"
The young man glanced at Aetheris and Nova, who both appeared calm, unsure whether he should say anything.
The officer was puzzled why he kept looking at the Asian woman beside him. She was indeed very beautiful, but there was no reason to focus on her like that especially with a hint of fear in his eyes.
Noticing that the surrounding crowd had already been dispersed, Aetheris removed his glasses. The white officer's eyes immediately lit up.
"Mr. Tony Stark?!"
Aetheris nodded, signaling him not to make a fuss. After all, as a famous entrepreneur and superhero, his presence would cause a huge sensation. Especially here, in a tourist hotspot with fans from all over the world, chaos would erupt, and he would once again have to flee the scene.
The young man's eyes widened in disbelief. No wonder he had thought Aetheris looked familiar but couldn't place him. Once he saw him without glasses, he realized this was his idol.
Ignoring the police, the young man rushed over, pulled a pen and notebook from his backpack, and, holding them tightly to his chest, said excitedly,"Mr. Stark, I'm your fan! Please give me your autograph!"
Aetheris took the notebook and pen with approachable ease. As he prepared to sign on the title page, he asked,"What's your name?"
"Robert. Robert Downey."
…?
Aetheris looked up at him. Other than sharing a name with the actor who played Iron Man, this Robert had nothing in common with him. He was plain-looking, the kind of person who screamed "bookworm" at first glance.
So Aetheris wrote:"Wishing Robert Downey success in work and progress in study. With regards, Tony Stark."
Robert treated it like a priceless treasure, carefully tucking the notebook away. He shook Aetheris's hand and said,"Mr. Stark, I even started an online fan club for you. I'm the head of it."
Surprised to hear he had a fan club, Aetheris grew curious."What fan club? Where is it? What's it called?"
Robert proudly pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses."I borrowed the name of a famous snack from back home. It makes us feel closer to you—Snail Rice Noodles. What do you think? Doesn't it sound down-to-earth?"
He waited eagerly for Aetheris's response. Aetheris's smile faded, and he said calmly,"Mr. Robert, this is a crime scene. As an ordinary bystander, you should leave at once. Goodbye."
Without waiting for Robert's reaction, he turned and walked toward the nearby officers.
Robert stood frozen, confused by what had just happened. Why did Mr. Stark's face suddenly change after hearing the name of his fan club, as if he were displeased?
That couldn't be right. He had racked his brains, spent ages discussing it with other fans, even consulting people from back home in the group. They had assured him that snail rice noodles were hugely popular there, with countless influencers promoting them.
The name was catchy and meaningful. So why wasn't Mr. Stark satisfied?
Meanwhile, Nova was laughing so hard she could hardly stand. The tension from the assassination attempt was completely shattered by Aetheris's fan. It was like watching a horror movie with "Little Apple" as the background music not scary at all.
The white officer watched Aetheris approach and nodded respectfully. In Manhattan, who didn't know Tony Stark? He was one of its most iconic figures. If Central Park was the landmark of Manhattan and New York, then Tony Stark was the living landmark of Manhattan.
Aetheris extended his hand first and shook with the officer."I'm Tony Stark. Thank you for your hard work."
The officer quickly replied,"It's nothing. Just serving the people. Please tell me what happened so I can report to my superiors."
The incident was straightforward. Aetheris had no need to hide anything. This was clearly an organized, premeditated personal attack. However, the victim's identity could not be traced, as he wasn't in America's population database.
Therefore, this was still a foreign-related assassination case.
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09