Chapter 1409: News, Misfortune, Human Nature
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tony had been staying in Stark Tower in New York recently.
“Sir, the news you asked me to watch out for has appeared,” Jarvis notified him.
Tony paused in looking for information, then rubbed his forehead. “Let’s have a look.”
A virtual screen appeared, showing a TV studio where three hosts and a guest were engaged in a debate.
“Batman and his comrades protected us. They fought those monsters,” said a male host excitedly; he looked like he was about to jump to his feet.
On the other hand, the female guest, who was in her forties, had tears on her face. “Protected? My son is dead, and my daughter is in the hospital. They didn’t die at the hands of the monsters you mentioned, but were buried under a wall which collapsed. Then, that man in armor left without looking at my children.”
The male host was stumped for a moment, but still shook his head. “Collateral damage can’t be avoided in an emergency situation. It wasn’t deliberate. Can a superhero foresee the future?”
The female guest said, “But he just left. He didn’t even try to help my kids. He just let them scream under the wall.”
Another female anchor said sympathetically, “That’s terrible. Maybe it was just an accident.”
The female guest: “What? Is their help a gift? I can’t refuse it, and I have to thank them for my dead son?”
The male host: “It was an emergency. That superhero might not have noticed your child.”
The female guest said, “Rubbish. I begged him to save my children, but it was as if he didn’t hear me. He just left. I swear, I asked for help, but he didn’t listen.”
She broke down with a pained expression.
In the studio, the two female hosts quickly consoled her with sad expressions.
The male host had an awkward expression and seemed lost for words.
Tony narrowed his eyes at this farce on the screen and suddenly said, “Jarvis, look into this woman.”
Less than 30 seconds later, Jarvis replied, “It’s basically true: Her six-year-old son died, and her three-year-old daughter has a head injury. The medical records more or less concur with her verbal account.”
Tony pondered for a moment. “What about her bank account? Any sudden increase in funds?”
Jarvis said, “No, but a charity fund started paying extra for her daughter’s treatment the day before yesterday. She has also booked the best brain surgeon in New York to operate on her daughter.”
Tony asked, “What about that charity fund?”
Jarvis said, “It has been around for many years. This time, it is providing financial aid to 37 families. There doesn’t appear to be anything unusual.”
Tony shook his head inwardly. It was too easy to tamper with something like this.
This angry and sad mother just needed to say something provocative at the right moment to get the job done.
This mother wasn’t a professional actress; she was just an ordinary white-collar worker.
Her performance on TV… was flawless.
No matter the reasons, nobody could deny that she had just lost her son and that her daughter was still lying in the hospital with a serious injury.
Tony sighed. “What meticulous planning. They really chose the right person.”
What hurt the most? The truth.
As long as the female guest was telling the truth, she was a powerless victim.
No matter what Batman’s supporters said, a large number of people would sympathize with her.
Like the three hosts, some people would express sympathy and then shut up about Batman.
Some might dispute it, but might then feel that they had gone overboard.
After thinking for a moment, Tony sent Batman a message: There’s news. Are you sure you should keep silent as planned?
A moment later, Batman just replied, “I’m sure.”
Tony snorted. “Pretending to be cool again. Maybe you’re hiding at home right now and scratching your head.”
That being said, he no longer cared about public opinion, and instead went ahead with his own plan.
Apart from helping with the foundation, Luke didn’t ask Tony to take concrete part in any other operation. He just told Tony not to take action too early to avoid alerting the enemy.
They each did their own thing.
Luke was too lazy to tell Tony about his intent, while Tony had his own ideas; there was no need to stick together.
Getting used to operating alongside the tycoon certainly wasn’t anything great.
Tony might mock Batman, but Luke actually wasn’t too worried.
Batman’s predicament had always had to do with his identity as Batman.
Luke would stand up for what was right, but he definitely wouldn’t accept a “moral trial.”
The superhero that the female guest was talking about was Angel.
After the news came out, he asked Angel what happened.
Generally speaking, the female guest was right.
But whether she really didn’t know or was deliberately hiding it, there were a lot of key details missing from her recount.
For example, she didn’t mention at all that Angel had broken the wall while battling the test subjects, and was still locked in battle right up until she left.
So, there was no way that Angel could have attended to her plea for help at all.
It wasn’t entirely Angel’s fault.
Luke’s order was to kill as many test subjects as possible, not to help civilians.
Angel wasn’t in her normal state, and she didn’t have high EQ under Luke’s control.
Luke couldn’t order her to rescue civilians at any time, which would clash with the order to kill the test subjects, resulting in her not performing either task well.
Secondly, the test subjects had already been next door.
If Angel hadn’t appeared to kill them, who knew if that family might have been the next victims.
This incident wasn’t due to Angel’s negligence.
Of the various safety rules which Luke had instilled in her, there was also one about paying attention to the safety of civilians.
But it was the test subjects who had chosen the battlefield that night, not Luke and the others.
It wasn’t like Luke and the others could sit on the sidelines and watch the test subjects kill everyone in the building before they stepped forward; as long as they entered a building to save lives, an outcome like this was inevitable.
The more actions you took, the more you were bound to make mistakes.
If Luke and the others had chosen not to show up, it wouldn’t be their problem if the family died, nor would any survivor come out to stir things up.
Luke was already mentally prepared for this. Tony felt that Luke would be depressed and overthink it.
This was human nature.
Some people were noble, and some were despicable.
Some people were grateful, and some were ungrateful.
Some were reasonable, and some only thought about themselves.
You would run into all sorts sooner or later, and it had nothing to do with whether society was good or bad.
There were all kinds of people in society, and it didn’t matter who you disappointed or pleased.
Luke never took Batman fans seriously, because he knew how unreliable fans could be.