Purple Man

"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"

In the brightly lit casino hall, Tony Stark stared blankly at the poker cards on the table, his mind completely empty. He shook his head and looked around in confusion, only to discover that everyone around him was excitedly shouting something at him in perfect unison!

Tony shook his head again and finally made out what they were yelling: "Take it off! Take it off..."

"Why do they want me to take off my clothes?"

Tony blinked in bewilderment. A moment later, everything suddenly came back to him. He jerked his head up and glared at the smug Bert Wang across from him, gritting his teeth. He had been set up by this brat!

The whole thing was simple. Tony Stark had brought Bert Wang and Becky to a casino in Atlantic City. At first, they had not played against each other. They had merely placed bets and played dice, pai gow, and the like.

As a regular at casinos, Tony could tell at a glance that Wang Bert was a novice with little experience. So, he found an opportunity to play Texas Hold'em with Wang Bert alone!

Tony Stark won the first three rounds easily, but starting with the fourth, he kept losing and never won another hand. Even when he used Jarvis's analysis functions later on, it made no difference—analyzing the other man's facial expressions, his hole cards, what cards he might draw, and so on.

Normally, Tony would not cheat in a casino. It was not like he lacked money, and using it once in a while was harmless enough. He just had not expected that even with cheating, he still could not beat someone who was obviously just a beginner.

How could Tony accept that? Like a gambler with bloodshot eyes, he kept raising the stakes and gambling again and again, determined to beat his opponent!

This was not about money, but pride. He could lose anything except his pride, because he was Tony Stark! Then, just like those gamblers who refused to admit defeat and tried to win their losses back only to lose everything, Tony lost completely as well. Of course, he had not lost his fortune, but a condition he absolutely could not accept!

Take off his clothes and run one lap around the outside of the casino! If he really did that, Tony would probably be too ashamed to face anyone ever again. By tomorrow, newspapers across America would be printing his "charming" body!

Countless people in America were interested in his body, such as the gamblers around him. That was why they were shouting so loudly!

"You're not a beginner!"

Tony said through clenched teeth. Earlier, when he had been blinded by his losses, he had not noticed. But now that he had calmed down, how could he not realize that the brat across from him had played him?

Tony felt humiliated. He had actually fallen for such a simple scheme!

"I really am just a beginner. I've played Texas Hold'em online, but not much in real life!"

Bert Wang said calmly. He was not lying. He really was a beginner, but what did that matter? He could see Tony's hole cards whenever he wanted, and even knew what card would be dealt next. If he could still lose like that, he would eat every card in the deck! Tony asked again, "You cheated, didn't you?"

"We may know each other, but don't go making baseless accusations. Otherwise, I'll still sue you for defamation!"

Bert Wang smiled. "With cheating, if you don't get caught, it doesn't count!"

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

Tony grew even more irritated, wanting nothing more than to punch the other man in the nose. Bert Wang's smugness, as well as Becky's admiration beside him, made him extremely unhappy.

Tony folded his cards and said, "Double what I lost today, and forget the condition!"

"I'll return everything you lost today, then give you another five million. Take off your clothes!"

Bert Wang sneered. Trying to compete with me in money? Dream on!

The gamblers went wild, shouting loudly, "Off! Off! Off..."

Tony was both embarrassed and furious. He glanced around, but before he could do anything, Bert Wang said, "Tony, if you try to run, I'll have the people here strip you naked. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to!"

"Very happy!"

Becky was the one who shouted that. The other gamblers cheered loudly as well, clearly eager to experience what it felt like to strip a billionaire.

Tony's face turned the color of pig liver. Being stripped was already unbearable enough, let alone being stripped by a bunch of men. Who knew whether someone might take the opportunity to grope him? No, he had said that wrong. Someone definitely would take the opportunity to grope him, and they might even pull something off as a souvenir! Thinking of those horrifying consequences, Tony chose the sensible option. He gritted his teeth and said, "Change the condition. I can agree to do one thing for you. In this world, there are very few things Tony Stark can't do!"

Though he was conceding, his tone remained arrogant. That was Tony Stark!

If Bert Wang refused, he could always call the police and say someone was kidnapping him! In this country, no one could force him to do something he did not want to do!

Bert Wang looked at Tony. Just as Tony was beginning to feel nervous, he nodded. "Fine."

Tony let out a huge sigh of relief, but the gamblers booed. They had thought they were going to get a good show, but that was it? Bert Wang pushed the chips forward and shouted, "These chips are yours! Whoever grabs them gets them!"

The surroundings abruptly fell silent. There were millions of dollars in chips there, and he was just giving them away?

The next moment, all the gamblers lunged at the table with red eyes. The people in front managed to grab handfuls of chips, but before they could celebrate, those behind them mercilessly attacked them to seize the chips in their hands! Thus, a massive chaos and brawl began!

Bert Wang, Tony, and the startled Becky hurried out of the chaotic circle. Tony looked at it all excitedly and whistled. "Congratulations, Bert. You've already inherited fifty percent of my skills. Also, starting today, you'll be blacklisted by every casino in Atlantic City!"

"I don't care. I don't even like gambling!"

Bert Wang shrugged casually. Tony immediately froze. An old hand like him had actually lost to a newcomer like this. It was simply too humiliating! Bert Wang put an arm around Becky and said to Tony, "Come on, let's go to the hotel. We still have a condition to discuss!"

Tony said unhappily, "Let's talk in the car. I don't want to stay here overnight. I hate this place."

"Fine, get in!"

Inside the white Audi convertible, Bert Wang said to Tony, "Tony, I need a secretary lately. Give me your secretary, Miss Pepper Potts."

"You want to steal my Little Pepper?"

Tony immediately refused. "No. Pick another condition!"

Bert Wang asked, "Really not possible? She's only a secretary with you, but with me, she can be the President!"

"No, absolutely not!"

Tony glared at Bert Wang in displeasure. This guy actually wanted to poach his employee? Without Little Pepper, he would not even remember what his Social Security number was! "Not possible? Then I'll change the condition!"

Bert Wang did not care too much, since he was only interested in Little Pepper's work ability. He said, "Do you know about Vampires?"

Tony scoffed loudly. "Kid, stop watching so many movies. Where would Vampires come from in this world?"

"Just assume they exist."

Bert Wang shrugged. "Vampires are afraid of the Ultraviolet rays in sunlight, so unless they wrap themselves up like dumplings, they can't act during the day!"

Tony said impatiently, "Are you trying to educate me on Vampire basics? Please, you're standing in front of a man who knows everything!"

Bert Wang sneered. "Then did you know you would lose gambling tonight?"

Tony's face immediately darkened. He said irritably, "Hurry up and tell me the condition. Stop wasting time!"

"I want you to design something that lets Vampires move around in daylight like ordinary people!"

Bert Wang said, "Simply put, design something that blocks Ultraviolet rays, but it can't make people look strange. It would be even better if no one could notice it at all."

Tony thought for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "That isn't difficult to make, but why do you need something like that?"

Bert Wang looked surprised. "It isn't difficult? As far as I know, Vampires have studied this for hundreds of years without figuring it out!"

Tony said arrogantly, "I don't know whether Vampires exist, but there is only one Tony Stark in this world. I can design something like that in three days!"

"Then design it and let me see!"

Bert Wang said, "Oh, and the Patent rights must belong to me, because I want to mass-produce it. Name your price."

Tony asked, "I can give you the Patent rights, but I want to know exactly how you cheated."

Bert Wang smiled. "I have X-ray vision. I knew what cards you had!"

"You think I'd believe that?"

Tony was dismissive. Did this guy know what his IQ was? He was actually trying to fool him with something only children would believe? He had stopped believing such nonsense when he was three—no, two! Bert Wang smiled, took out an unopened deck of cards, and had Tony draw several. After Tony did, Bert Wang pointed at them one by one. "Seven of diamonds, eight of spades, nine of hearts. Right?"

Tony was somewhat surprised. He set down the cards, took out his wallet, and asked, "I still don't believe it. How much money is inside?"

Bert Wang glanced at it and complained, "Not a single bill. Seriously, why buy a wallet if you don't put money in it?"

"It was a gift from Little Pepper. Uh, that's not the point. You really can see through things? Hey, wait, have you peeked at my body?"

Tony suddenly thought of something and covered himself below the waist as he shouted. Bert Wang gave him the middle finger, opened the door, and got out. Turning around, he called, "Bring me the product in three days!"

"No problem. When the time comes, I'll have Little... Wait, you brat, are you interested in Little Pepper because you peeked at her?"

Like a furious lion, Tony bared his fangs and roared at Bert Wang. Bert Wang could not be bothered with him. He slammed the car door shut and strode toward his own sports car! "Kid, explain yourself!"

Tony stood on his seat and shouted at Bert Wang as he got into his sports car. Bert Wang flashed him another middle finger, started the car, and sped away with Becky like a bolt of lightning, leaving Tony behind to breathe exhaust fumes!

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Tony coughed repeatedly and hurried out of the car to avoid the fumes. Staring viciously in the direction Bert Wang had gone, he thought, That bastard, I won't let him off! No, I have to figure out a way to prevent X-ray vision. But what's the principle behind his vision? Can eyes turn into X-rays? That isn't scientific at all!

That night, Bert Wang was resting when he suddenly received a call from James. James said excitedly, "Blood God, we found Kilgrave!"

"What?"

Bert Wang, who had still been somewhat annoyed, immediately threw back the covers and said, "Where is he?"

James said, "He's shopping with that Jessica Jones. I've been watching him the whole time."

"You didn't get close to him, did you?"

Bert Wang asked while getting dressed. James hurriedly said, "No, no. I stayed far away. There's no way he could notice me!"

Bert Wang said excitedly, "Good. Keep watching him. I'll take a helicopter over right away. Also, get someone to prepare several Biochemical Suits and Tranquilizer Guns. We'll need them soon!"

"Yes, Blood God!"

James nodded repeatedly. He knew very well that a great merit was about to fall into his hands! Bert Wang's movements woke Becky. She turned over, barely opened her eyes, and asked tiredly, "Bert, where are you going?"

"I have something to do. Tomorrow, someone will take you to meet Director Katherine!"

After leaving those words behind, Bert Wang immediately went out. Kilgrave was so important that how could he have any interest in dealing with Becky? Who was Kilgrave? He was the main villain from the TV series "Jessica Jones." He liked to wear purple clothes and was also called the Purple Man! Kilgrave possessed an almost heaven-defying ability—he could use a virus to control others in the television version. Once under his control, whatever he told you to do, you would do! If he told you to ram your head into a wall, you would keep doing it until you died. If he told you to pull a gun and kill someone at a specific time, you would do exactly that. It was utterly terrifying! However, while Kilgrave could control people, he himself was no different from an ordinary person. This was different from Jessica Jones. Jessica Jones was a super-strong woman and a future Super Hero!

Furthermore, Kilgrave's control over people had a time limit. Bert Wang could not remember the exact duration, but it should have been within twelve hours. Once that time passed, the control would wear off!

Bert Wang desperately wanted Kilgrave's ability, so he had immediately sent James to find him. James had not disappointed him, finding the target in such a short time! If I can transfer that virus onto myself, things will be much more convenient from now on!

Bert Wang's heart surged with excitement. He contacted the hotel to arrange a helicopter and returned to New York as quickly as possible.

Atlantic City was only a little over a hundred kilometers from New York, so Bert Wang soon arrived at the restaurant where James was waiting!

"Blood God, they're eating at that restaurant over there!"

James pointed toward the Pasta Restaurant across the street and said hesitantly, "Blood God, that guy is a little strange!"

Bert Wang asked, "What kind of strange?"

"This restaurant was originally closed, but he only said one sentence and the owner opened up to let him in. He even called the chef and staff back specifically to make him a late-night meal!"

James said, "Money could probably make something like that happen too, but I didn't see him pay anything. Come to think of it, he seemed not to have paid for anything he bought earlier, either!"

"People like him don't need money to buy things!"

Bert Wang sneered inwardly. He was so conspicuous that even without Jessica Jones, James could have found him easily.

Such a powerful ability was being used to eat without paying. What a waste. He would gladly take it for himself!