Chapter 175: Tony Stark’s Investigation
The impact of the Manhattan incident was still spreading.
The most direct effect was the economic loss.
Buildings were damaged, parts of the commercial districts were destroyed, and some people had been displaced. Because of the two warbands, casualties had been effectively controlled, making it a medium-scale urban disaster.
Even so, the economic losses were still enormous.
In 2006, Manhattan's GDP was around 450 to 480 billion dollars, about 1.3 billion dollars per day.
Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, high-end commerce, tourism, and the service industry had all come to a halt, and no one knew how many days it would take before they could recover.
Even if a temporary partial recovery was possible, the direct daily losses would still be astronomical.
At the same time, there was also the impact on the financial industry: short-term volatility in U.S. stocks, interrupted operations at financial institutions, corporate risk avoidance, and indirect financial losses.
Added together, these would exceed 100 billion dollars.
For comparison, the terrorist attack back then had caused roughly 220 billion dollars in losses to the United States, while Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused 125 billion dollars in damage.
Aside from the economy, there was also the negative impact on public sentiment.
Why had those monsters suddenly descended upon Manhattan?
Was America safe?
As the topic exploded online, many experts analyzed the live footage from the scene, along with large numbers of photos taken by residents on their phones during the chaos, and had basically concluded that those monsters were the legendary demons.
A race of creatures from legend actually existed.
Did the U.S. government know?
Had it hidden this from the public?
At the same time, people were also wondering whether the Manhattan incident had been caused by some government experiment.
This was not Americans making wild guesses.
Historically, the government had done far too many similar things, such as injecting HIV into Black communities, making people drink irradiated tap water, making people live in irradiated zones after nuclear tests, and many others too numerous to count.
Why did so many conspiracy theories grow in America?
It was not because people were bored. On the contrary, it was because the credibility of the U.S. government was far too low, low to an outrageous degree.
America could guide public opinion and suppress public opinion, but at the same time, there were also people who pursued the truth and made it public.
For example, the hacker organization Rising Tide, which Skye had once joined.
Its purpose was to uncover some of the truths hidden by the U.S. government.
One could only say that if the U.S. government refused to act human, then it should not expect the American people to treat it like one.
...
On this day, a large number of industrial machines appeared in Times Square, Manhattan. With funding in place, postwar restoration work had already begun.
At the same time, aside from the workers involved in restoration, another group of people had half taken over Manhattan.
These people came from different agencies. After a series of arguments and negotiations, they had jointly taken control of Manhattan.
They all hoped to search Manhattan and collect something that could answer their questions.
Unfortunately, they could not find a single hair.
For current human technology, magic was simply unsolvable.
Although George Stacy was the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, in front of those departments working together, the weight of his position was pitifully low.
The one backing him was the mayor of New York.
The order George received was to cooperate with these departments. George was very dissatisfied with this, but in the end, there was nothing he could do.
George had a sense of responsibility, but he was not pedantic. On the contrary, he was very smart. Otherwise, he would not have been able to become Police Commissioner at his age.
So, within the scope of his duties, he cooperated as much as possible.
At an intersection in Times Square, in front of a closed restaurant, George stood beside a police car in his uniform.
Watching his subordinates busy at work, he was relatively idle now, unlike the past few days.
It was not that he disliked sitting in an office. His police office had simply been destroyed.
He was very unlucky.
Fortunately, the compensation came from congressional funding. They could take the chance to replace some old equipment as well, which was one of the few things George was happy about.
"Don't they look like a herd of bulls in heat?"
At that moment, a voice sounded beside George's ear. George instinctively turned his head, and when he saw who had come, he could not help freezing for a moment.
Because it was Tony Stark.
Several bodyguards followed behind him. One of them was a little chubby and looked serious and solemn, though in truth, he seemed somewhat simple and honest.
"Mr. Stark?"
George did not like Tony Stark, because the man was a playboy, and coincidentally, George had a very beautiful daughter.
But this same playboy had taken the initiative to lead the establishment of a relief fund after the Manhattan incident.
Because of that, many citizens in Manhattan who had lost their homes and suffered heavy property damage received compensation.
As a result, this playboy's reputation had actually improved quite a bit.
Even George's impression of him had changed.
At the same time, Tony Stark was a billionaire the NYPD rather liked, because he donated money to the New York Police Department every year.
Among NYPD VIPs, he was a VIP of VIPs.
"Commissioner George."
Tony wore an expensive suit and sunglasses. Although it was a scorching hot day, George's emotional intelligence was high enough not to ask whether he was hot.
He was only curious as to why a billionaire like Tony had suddenly appeared here.
"Is Mr. Stark here for an event?"
What kind of event?
Naturally, an event to show his face and improve his public image. Since Tony had donated so much money, how could he not personally appear and earn some goodwill?
George did not dislike this kind of thing, as long as the money was really donated.
But to George's surprise, Tony shook his head and stated his purpose directly.
"No. I came to see you, Commissioner George."
"I watched what happened that night, and I truly admire that you were able to stand on the front line and protect the civilians. You and those police officers are heroes."
"But what I want to understand more is those heroes."
Hearing this, George frowned. "My postwar report shouldn't be difficult for someone with Mr. Stark's background to obtain, should it?"
As one of the few people who had directly interacted and spoken with the Astartes and Raven, George had been questioned before.
That time had been quite a large scene, with the heads of multiple joint agencies participating in the interview.
A formal interview like that would usually leave behind video footage and recorded data.
"Yeah, I've seen it. But what they wanted to ask and what I want to ask are different."
Tony waved his finger with a look of disdain.
Seeing George's puzzled expression, Tony asked what seemed to be the simplest question.
"Commissioner George, did they ever communicate by radio?"
That question made George fall silent for a moment. His eyes flickered, and in the end, he shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. It was too chaotic at the time. I'm not sure."
"Thank you, Commissioner George. I like you."
George's vague answer did not anger Tony. His expression remained normal, and after leaving those words behind, he turned and walked away.
George had no intention of giving him that answer.
So he used those vague, uncertain words to refuse telling Tony.
Unfortunately, Tony had already obtained the answer he wanted.
...
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