"Mr. Smith isn't a murderer. He's a hero!"
This was a press conference deliberately organized by Hydra, starring Adam Smith—the Red Swordsman, who had made a stunning appearance on the streets of Manhattan the previous night.
The murders on Wall Street had taken place in full view of everyone. There was no way to quietly erase their impact; they had to openly whitewash it.
After Alexander Pierce revealed the "Superhero Creation Plan" to the other Hydra higher-ups, it sparked considerable interest. Following a round of wrangling, they decided to invest a certain amount of resources in Adam Smith.
At the press conference, human rights lawyer Ben Colson delivered an impassioned speech that stunned everyone.
The reporters erupted into an uproar, repeatedly pressing their shutters as flashes flickered wildly.
Yet the expressions of a group of special guests at the back of the venue were extremely grim. They all cast furious looks at the lawyer on stage and Adam Smith, who was watching the spectacle.
They were the New York police, including Manhattan officers who had participated in the battle that day.
The only reason they could restrain themselves from rushing up to arrest him was naturally because a Hydra big shot had spoken to City Hall, while a legally operating security company stood guard at the venue with loaded weapons.
"Yes, I believe Mr. Smith is a hero beyond all doubt!" Ben Colson emphasized once again, his expression solemn and his tone sincere, as though he were stating an eternal truth.
Adam Smith could not help turning to look at him, slightly surprised.
Since when was I this amazing?
Ben Colson happened to turn his head, and their eyes met. He gave Adam a reassuring look.
Don't panic. Let me spin this for you!
"Perhaps no one knows why Mr. Smith killed those people on Wall Street." Ben Colson pressed the remote in his hand, and an image appeared on the screen behind him.
The image showed a graceful blonde woman.
"This is Mrs. Smith... no, I should say she used to be."
The photo shifted left, and a dense list of male names suddenly appeared in the blank space on the right. Every name came with a link. Clicking one revealed that man's information, as well as intimate videos of him and Mrs. Smith.
The flashes exploded again. Every camera lens turned toward the screen and zoomed in.
For a time, traffic on numerous television stations and portal websites across America soared.
They were actually showing them this? Then... they were definitely interested!
The regulators temporarily went blind, and every shot was broadcast without reservation.
Ben Colson was highly experienced. After attracting enough traffic, he minimized the video windows and continued displaying information about the men to prove its authenticity.
"Unbelievable. Simply unimaginable." Colson said in an exaggerated tone, "Over the past eight years, this former Mrs. Smith developed no fewer than one hundred and sixty-four regular lovers."
"Except for one fixed week every month, she had intimate relations with different men almost every day."
"Yet none of them was her lawful husband!"
Although he had already taken his revenge, seeing those images still brought back painful memories for Adam Smith, and his face darkened.
That expression was spread by the media.
The men in front of their screens could not help sympathizing with him. This guy had it rough!
"At first, she made an effort to avoid Mr. Smith. Later, she simply brought men home, even doing it right in front of Mr. Smith..."
"Wow..." A wave of hushed gasps rose from the venue.
The men looked at Adam Smith with even greater sympathy.
"Among the people Mr. Smith killed on Wall Street were his colleagues, his superiors, and his boss. Every single one of them had slept with his ex-wife in Mr. Smith's own home!"
"But in order to keep his job and give his child a complete family, Mr. Smith endured it again and again for eight years, even though the child was not his."
After those words spread, many men in front of their screens fell silent. They stopped paying attention to the erotic footage and instead found themselves empathizing with the same kind of suffering.
"I only want to ask everyone one question: was this fair?"
Ben Colson struggled to suppress his grief and indignation, tears seeming to glimmer in the corners of his eyes.
"That's right, Mr. Smith killed people and violated federal law. But please do not forget: the Stars and Stripes protect even those who burn them, and the United States Constitution grants citizens the right to take up arms and resist when their rights are violated!"
As for the outcome of that resistance, it depended on whose weapons were more advanced.
A friendly reminder from arms dealers: to protect yourselves and your families, remember to upgrade your weapons regularly!
"Today, Mr. Smith will turn himself in to the New York police. But please rest assured, we will join forces with America's ten leading law firms to form a defense team—not only to defend Mr. Smith's rights, but also to let the many male compatriots who have endured the same experiences see justice again."
"Mr. Smith is a hero—a hero who could endure no longer and was forced to take up arms against the corrupt custom of sexual openness!"
"Remember, America's greatness came from the courage of the people of Boston, from the gunshots at Lexington—not from women's increasingly open sewers!"
That final line sent America's men into a frenzy and made the women jump in outrage, especially the feminist fighters. It practically blew up their lungs.
In the blink of an eye, portal websites were flooded with abuse from women, while television station complaint lines were overwhelmed by their calls.
"Fuck you! This is undermining gender equality!"
"Why can men sleep around, but women can't?"
"Idiotic men, you crawled out of sewers yourselves!"
Thus began a war between men and women across America, but what did that have to do with Adam Smith?
The press conference was an unprecedented success. It not only explained Adam Smith's motive for killing to the entire country, but also successfully drove a wedge between men and women, causing people to forget the nature of the killings.
What followed would be nothing more than a routine criminal defense. With such a luxurious legal team, Adam Smith would not need to say a single word to win the jury's sympathy—after all, there could be plenty of Hydra members on the jury.
"Wow, that guy is really pitiful."
In a luxurious Malibu villa, Tony Stark watched the entire press conference.
After defeating Obadiah the previous night, Tony had become very curious about the suddenly appearing Adam Smith. Once he investigated Adam's background, even a notorious playboy like him could not help admiring the late Mrs. Smith.
"What?" Pepper Potts leaned over with a tablet in her hands and teased him with a smile. "Are you reminiscing about the good old days?"
Tony gave an awkward smile, somewhat regretting confessing his feelings too early.
"The board meeting is tomorrow. A new major shareholder will attend, so you should think about the company's future direction. Otherwise, Stark Industries will be declaring bankruptcy soon enough."
Pepper Potts held the tablet directly in front of Tony. Tony glanced at the steep red line on the stock chart and shrugged.
"Looks like after I disappeared for over three months, they've forgotten I'm a genius."
Pepper Potts rolled her eyes and continued reporting his schedule. "Also, there's an agent from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement..."
Pepper lowered her head to look at it again before continuing, "and Logistics Division who has arranged to meet you tomorrow."
"Annoying government spooks!" Tony curled his lip.
The press conference had a huge impact. Unlike the many men who sympathized with Adam Smith, Police Captain George Stacy, who lived in Queens, was exceptionally furious.
"Bastards! This is a desecration of the law!"
The noise disturbed the little girl in the room. The blonde girl pushed open the door and spoke timidly. "Daddy..."
George hurriedly forced out an ugly smile and crouched down to comfort his daughter. "Gwen, Daddy just... had something stuck in his throat, so he needed to shout a few times."
As he spoke, he put on a show and coughed twice.
"See? Daddy feels much better now." George stroked his daughter's head and smiled. "You're going to a new school tomorrow, so you need to go to bed early tonight!"
George Stacy had originally been a Manhattan police captain. He was fearless in battle, tough in his methods, and deeply respected by his colleagues. He had been a top candidate for the next precinct chief.
Yet now, he had been transferred laterally to serve as captain in Queens.
No one cared about the colleagues Adam Smith had hacked to death, and the injured officers would probably soon lose their relief funds as well.
Now, all the men in America cared about was fairness for Adam Smith. But who would care about fairness for those dead and wounded officers?
Fairness should not be like this!
George, his expression dark, failed to notice a black videotape appearing on the coffee table in the living room.
This book is currently in its first trial recommendation round. Brothers, please help me out by dropping in and scrolling through it a couple of times every day to keep the follow-up reading rate up! Many thanks!
As for bonus chapters, I'm writing a little extra every day, but there's currently a mandatory premium-release rule. The book can go premium at 150,000 words and can be delayed only until 200,000 words. I'm writing around 5,000 words a day now, so at the latest, I'll be forced to go premium by the 20th.
But the follower base is too small, so the first-day subscription numbers definitely won't be high. I can only delay it for another couple of days and try to get another trial recommendation round, maybe even a category-wide featured recommendation.
I promise that when it goes premium, I'll upload all the chapters I've stockpiled by writing extra these days, without holding back a single one.
So please help keep the follow-up reading rate up, otherwise the recommendation will be canceled. Sob sob~
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