"Boss, congratulations. You've officially become the dream guy of every woman in America."
Ulde placed the documents on Zod's desk.
Zod lifted his head. Ulde's tight office skirt hugged her curvy hips to the very edge, and her long, straight legs looked almost blindingly pale under the lights.
Seeing Ulde maintain a purely businesslike expression, Zod shrugged. He could hear the hidden meaning in her words.
"Boss, aren't you going to explain why you suddenly put on a War Machine and ran out to play hero?" Ulde couldn't help asking. She didn't approve of him taking that kind of risk either.
"Relax, Ulde. I'm not going to gamble with my life," Zod said.
Ulde's lips moved as if she wanted to say more, but in the end she didn't.
"I don't want to have to switch bosses," she could only say.
…
The Los Angeles branch was completed a little over five months later. Zod moved there directly and treated it as the headquarters.
The Washington, D.C. location wasn't abandoned, though. It became a branch office. Not that Blade Technology Industries had many employees anyway.
There was good news, however. Because Tony Stark had been missing for too long, he'd basically been presumed dead. Stark Industries' stock price kept sliding. Obadiah tried every method he could, but he still couldn't hold it up. Stark Industries employees felt their future was bleak, and Blade Technology Industries chose this moment to poach people. As a result, almost half of Stark Industries' weapons division was on the verge of being dug out and taken away.
A small portion stayed because Obadiah noticed in time and raised salaries and benefits. Plus, they were old employees with real attachment to Stark Industries. Anyway, even without Tony Stark, Stark Industries could still make money producing weapons off its existing weapons patents.
With Stark Industries' weapons division added in, Blade Technology Industries gained wings like a tiger. On top of that, the sturdy, durable "Russian-brand" weapons designed and produced by the Vanko father and son also came into play. In the arms industry, Blade Technology Industries officially entered the field and began fighting for the conventional weapons market too.
For Hammer Industries, that was terrible news. Blade Technology Industries and Stark Industries were both moving in on the conventional market and the heavy weapons market. Hammer Industries, which used to survive by picking up the scraps Stark Industries didn't want, now had no business at all.
After all, even an idiot knew which company's weapons to choose.
Zod didn't care about Hammer Industries' workers. What he wanted was Hammer Industries' production lines. But Justin Hammer wasn't miserable enough yet, so he probably wouldn't sell. Zod could wait.
Wanda and Quicksilver could hardly believe the life they were living now.
In America, even if Washington, D.C. wasn't an economic powerhouse like New York, it was still far better than Sokovia, especially since Zod had arranged for them to attend a private school.
Public schools in America were "freedom education." Study if you want, don't if you don't. Even if you studied seriously, you still wouldn't learn much. That was why most American citizens and non-citizens ended up with no more than a high-school level education. Only private schools provided elite education. This was designed to widen the wealth gap even further, ensuring the lower class wouldn't become smart or capable enough to shake the rich class and capitalists.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the educational standards of American private schools were stricter and more advanced than most schools in Rabbit Country. This was a place where you could truly learn something.
Wanda knew today's life hadn't come easily, even though she didn't know what the "cost" was yet. But Wanda, mature beyond her years, understood one thing clearly: there was no such thing as a free lunch. Every gift fate gave had already been priced in secret, and she still didn't know what price she would have to pay.
Quicksilver fell into the noise and entertainment of the big city quickly. He learned to play video games, went clubbing, drank, even street raced, messing with Washington, D.C. cops for fun.
Today at school, Wanda heard classmates discussing Dark Knight, Zod Heath, and all that. Curious, she asked, and learned that Zod Heath had actually become a hero. Yesterday, he even helped Brooklyn police subdue a group of violent bank robbers. These kids from wealthy or middle-class families, aside from a small minority, mostly admired what Zod Heath did.
That steel armor that could fly and move like a ghost would probably become a memory they'd never forget. Compared to the Batman, Superman, and Justice League comics that DC was currently selling like crazy (yes, the Marvel world has DC comics for sale, and the DC world also has Marvel as a comic company), Zod Heath was a real-life superhero.
After listening, Wanda went to buy a copy of the Daily Planet after school and saw that huge, high-definition cover photo of Zod Heath.
"The New Century's super genius and superhero, the knight who guards the dark."
The headline was outrageous, but the Daily Planet's sales were already rapidly catching up to the Daily Bugle and the Daily News. Zod Heath had ignited most people's obsession and hype around the topic of superheroes. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was the hottest figure in global news right now.
It was just a pity he refused all reporter interviews. Ulde also helped Zod block a long line of young models and the like who kept showing up at the door.
Wanda felt a flutter in her chest. She touched Zod Heath's photo and made up her mind.
…
In the new Los Angeles lab, Zod didn't set up all those flashy gimmicks. He only installed a strength tester at the entrance. As long as you applied 100100 tons of force, you could open the alloy door.
Behind that door was his newest work: the Dark Knight armor.
The cape on its back looked incredibly cool. Zod wasn't going to use any "cape fighting style." He added it purely to show off. But then Zod remembered there was an even cooler way.
For example, Strike Freedom's DRAGOON remote weapon system.
After a round of research and modifications, Zod transformed the Dark Knight's cape into eight blade-like floating cannons. Normally, they connected to the Dark Knight's back and could also function as thrusters. When he needed them, he linked to them with psychic power and controlled them. These floating cannons fired high-energy laser cannons with terrifying power, and they also had a rapid-fire plasma cannon mode. They could sustain combat for ten hours before needing to return to the Dark Knight armor to replenish energy.
Of course, these floating cannons also had a slashing mode. Once activated, they became high-frequency blades. Under Zod's psychic control, it was basically an eight-sword style. If Zod forged two more blades for himself, that would be a never-before-seen ten-sword style. But only Zod, with his super brain, could pull off "one mind, eight uses" or "one mind, ten uses." Nobody else could.
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