Reward

The car that drove into the manor did not stop in front of the main building. Instead, it went around to the back and parked in front of a tin factory that ruined the manor's beautiful scenery.

Henry got off the bus and looked at the factory, which resembled a grotesque Frankenstein's monster, with pieces growing from the east and west. There was no standard for height, and even the paint on the metal sheets varied in color from new to old.

This rudimentary contraption made Henry think for a moment that he had stumbled upon some third-world country. However, the factory's Roll-up Shutter was quite advanced, operating quickly and with remarkably low noise.

When the Roll-up Shutter was fully closed, the interior was not as dark and smelly as I had imagined; instead, it was bright and clean. One section was a laboratory area with various mechanical equipment, while a smaller section contained various fitness equipment and a standard boxing ring.

Except for a few lab work areas that were a bit messy, the rest of the place was so clean it didn't look like a man's territory.

Tony Stark, who had brought the men, was wearing a sleeveless vest, twelve-ounce boxing gloves, and a hood. He was fighting back and forth with his Bodyguards boss, Happy Hogan, in the ring.

Upon seeing Henry walk in, the two men who were fighting stopped. An assistant immediately helped wipe their sweat and offered them water, as wearing boxing gloves made these things inconvenient.

Tony Stark, standing on the ring with one foot on the ropes, looked at the newly arrived guests below and said, "Come on up, shall we have a round?"

"I don't box, and I don't like fighting." A sport where one punch can kill instantly—all you can think about is how to hold back; how could that be fun?

Tony Stark had his boxing gloves removed, saying, "I thought you'd use your fearlessness of being shot to learn how to teach others a lesson."

"Why bother? If you get used to solving problems with violence, you'll just become a street thug. Because this kind of shallow violence is the only method they know how to use. There are always better ways to solve problems."

"For example?"

"Someone once taught me that the best tactic for me is to grab a high-capacity submachine gun, charge headlong towards the enemy, and when you get close enough, use the submachine gun to mow them down; there won't be any survivors."

"Hey, who just said violence can't solve problems?"

"But you can deal with the person who caused the problem. What I don't agree with is just beating them up." Do you know how troublesome it is for a Kryptonian to know exactly how to let someone win?

So either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly. It's just that many things don't require going to such extremes, so there are more situations where we don't do them.

Rubbing his temples, Tony Stark muttered to himself, "Talking to this kind of person too much makes me feel stupid. Just bear with it, bear with it."

Henry didn't care whether Tony Stark was having an existential crisis, and instead asked, "What do you want with me so early in the morning?"

"Early in the morning?" Tony Stark glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost lunchtime.

In the end, he gave up arguing with this guy with such a bizarre way of thinking. After getting off the ring and changing out of his sweat-soaked clothes, he said, "Come on, follow me."

The cleanup of the sports field was naturally handled by others. Tony Stark led his men to another old, single-story building with high ceilings next to the main house.

While the exterior has an old-fashioned look, the interior is a modern garage with a high level of technology. Judging from the layout and the condition of the vehicles, calling it a car museum might be more appropriate.

Inside, almost all the cars are high-priced antiques. These vehicles were already quite valuable when they were purchased.

It would be even more expensive today.

Porsche and Ferrari are considered lower-end brands; many of them are actually racing cars used on the track. I don't know if they were retired and moved here, or if they're just the same models with different paint jobs.

Given the Stark Family's prestige, they probably wouldn't stoop to using the same car model to stage an accident. It's more likely they'd just bring the race car over directly.

So, is this meant to show off?

Tony Stark said, "All the cars here are still drivable; they're from the old man's collection. I find your old car particularly annoying, and it's time to replace it. Take whichever one you like and drive it away. It'll save me the trouble of figuring out what to do with it."

"An old car?" Henry glanced sideways at the young master who spoke. "My Cadillac is younger than most of the cars here. What's with that junkyard attitude you're giving me? And what are you up to by giving me things for no reason?"

"It's a reward from Titanic. With a return on investment several times over, it wouldn't be right for me not to give something in return. No wonder so many people want to strike it rich in Hollywood. Do you think I should increase my investment?"

Henry scoffed at the young master's statement, saying, "Let me give you two figures. Hollywood's total box office revenue in North America in 1997 was approximately $6 billion."

"This depends on the number of screenings and seats available in cinemas per day, and there probably won't be much growth. Moreover, there's a limit to how many screenings there will be, and there are differences in ticket sales between weekdays and holidays, and between daytime and evening, so the possibility of approaching that limit is not high."

"However, about 310 films were released in theaters that year, with an average production and marketing cost of about 59.7 million yuan. That is, the total production cost plus publicity and distribution expenses was about 18.5 billion yuan."

"In other words, Hollywood can only recoup about one-third of its costs through movie theaters alone. The rest needs to be recovered through videotapes, the rental market, and other channels, which have long payback periods. Or it can be through additional merchandise."

"Losing money is the norm; only a lucky few can make a fortune like winning the lottery. If you expect to see movies like Titanic every day, you'll end up like those bankrupt gamblers, begging on the streets."

Tony Stark, feeling like he'd been doused with cold water, glared angrily at the man he'd summoned. How many times had he wanted to strangle him now?

We'll go back and officially launch the project to use special armor-piercing rounds against highly defensive individuals; we can't fool people with just empty ideas.

Completely disregarding the young master's thoughts, Henry walked around looking at cars, making sarcastic remarks. "Besides, all I need for a car is four wheels, and it should be able to run when I step on the gas."

"Driving my old Cadillac on the street, I don't have to worry about others scratching it, nor do I have to worry about being targeted. Even if I had all the cars here, would I dare drive any of them on the road?"

"Don't you think life is filled with these meaningless worries? It's just—oh my god! Why is there this Monster here?"

Stunned, Henry stood frozen in front of a car, unable to move for a long time.

This is a specially modified black Mercedes-Benz W31type G4, a six-wheeled Monster with a 24-cylinder engine. The driver's cabin follows the stylish design of the same brand's 540K, featuring a four-seat convertible design.

It is 25 feet long and 8 feet wide, making it a size larger than the original W31.

Most importantly, the Mercedes-Benz propeller emblem on the front of the car has been replaced with a six-clawed octopus skull – the symbol of Hydra!

Don't say that Hydra is a secret organization that ordinary people couldn't possibly know about. In fact, World War II in this world, Hydra was Captain America's greatest enemy, and its symbol was as widely known as the number 5 in the alphabet.

Henry's dumbfounded and speechless look made Tony Stark feel a great sense of relief and satisfaction. He said triumphantly, "Want this car? I said you can pick whatever you want here, and I really mean it. Just say you want it."