Investing in Stark

During World War II in 1942, Europe was engulfed in flames. With war clouds already gathering, President Roosevelt ordered a top-secret project codenamed "Operation Rebirth" to prevent excessive American casualties once the war began. Thus began the secret research into the so-called "Super Soldier" program.

As a genetic and biopharmaceutical company, Umbrella was also invited to participate in the "Super Soldier" program. The scientist they sent was the virologist William Birkin. Another scientist in the field of viruses was Tang Tian's fiancée, Alexia. The T-Veronica Virus had been successfully developed under her hands, and, as expected, fifteen years later she would awaken at the Antarctica Base and return to the world with Superman's power.

The new Stark Expo hosted by Howard Stark was about to begin. As both a competitor and partner, Howard Stark had sent an invitation to Tang Tian, Umbrella's chairman. Tang Tian had not wanted to go after seeing the invitation. Before an arms dealer who had once built an interstellar civilization, an expo that had not even successfully invented magnetic levitation technology was hardly worth seeing. Now, with the help of the Red Queen, an A.I. Artificial Intelligence beyond this world, Tang Tian's research would progress very quickly. Unfortunately, Skynet and VIKI were not available yet, so he could only go to other movie worlds and seize them himself.

Still, he needed to attend the expo to maintain a good relationship with Howard Stark. Tang Tian made up his mind that after this, he would obtain samples and research data for the Super Soldier Serum, then secretly mass-produce super soldiers. He had no interest in the rest of World War II. He could leave those thankless tasks to Captain America. He still needed to travel to other movies to plunder advanced technology and various genes. Since he had only just begun to develop, he should keep a low profile and quietly make his fortune.

"Steve Rogers." At the sound of the army recruitment officer's voice, the skinny, sickly Rogers, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward to enlist once again. After reviewing the information on Rogers's family and physical condition, the officer bluntly sent Rogers packing, saying that his body completely failed to meet enlistment requirements.

"The flames of war continue to ravage Europe, but reinforcements are already on the way. Every strong young man is fully prepared, ready at any time to defend his homeland." Accompanied by music and black-and-white footage, an old-fashioned theater was screening a black-and-white film. Having suffered another setback, Rogers had come to watch what was both a movie and a wartime mobilization film.

"Even little Timmy is doing his part, collecting scrap metal to provide more supplies for the brave soldiers fighting at the front. Good job, Timmy!" As the footage showed Timmy picking up scrap metal and the narration played, a harsh voice suddenly rang out. "Who cares about that? Hurry up and play the movie already." "Show some respect," Rogers said quietly. Whether out of disdain or because he had not heard him, the man who wanted to watch the movie ignored Rogers, a weakling with a combat power of only five.

"Enough, stop playing this. Where's the movie? Hurry up and show it." The impatient man began shouting. Though it left the moviegoers speechless, no one stepped forward.

"Shut up." Having been frustrated by his failed enlistment, Rogers directly said something suicidal. The result was outside the theater.

Bang! Bang! Bang! In the alley outside the theater, Rogers paid the price for his reckless words. The man's fists never left Rogers's head. In the end, Rogers's good friend, the future Winter Soldier—James Barnes—arrived and drove the man away with a few blows. Then he told Rogers that he had become a sergeant in the 107th Infantry Regiment and would be leaving for England tomorrow, before inviting Rogers to the Stark Expo that evening.

That night, the Stark Expo was ablaze with lights and revelry. Howard Stark was at the height of his success, and military higher-ups and social elites all wanted to win him over. Howard's Stark Industries could be called the world's largest arms dealer; even Umbrella could not compare.

"Welcome to the Hall of Modern Marvels. World of Tomorrow. A stronger world, a more perfect world!" A car drove directly to the entrance of the exhibition hall, and Tang Tian stepped out. Along the way, many military personnel and businessmen greeted him.

Tang Tian looked at Rogers and smiled warmly. Then Albert Wesker and three Black bodyguards stood guard around Tang Tian. Wesker had not yet gained the G-virus's superhuman abilities, but he would soon enough. Chronicle and Lucy were the keys to increasing the strength of Tang Tian's subordinates.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Howard Stark." Tang Tian did not even glance at the red car. Setting aside the experimental results, the fact that magnetic levitation cars had been invented during World War II, even imperfect ones, showed just how advanced this world's black technology was.

"Gentlemen and ladies, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your cars would leave the ground while driving?" After wiping off the lipstick left by kissing a woman, Howard proudly introduced his invention. The women behind him cooperated with his speech and removed the wheels from the red car, leaving four devices in their place to support it from the ground.

"Thank you, ladies, for your cooperation. Now let me tell everyone that with Stark's anti-gravity technology, all of this is possible." Howard pushed the lever and demonstrated Stark's anti-gravity technology, but it failed after floating for only a short while.

"Heh, I said in a few years, didn't I?" As expected, Howard's foresight defused the awkward scene.

"Howard, well done. Your anti-gravity technology will push the entire world a huge step forward." After the expo ended, Howard was drinking with military officials when Tang Tian approached with a glass in hand and smiled. "It seems your pharmaceutical business is doing even better than your arms business now. Anti-gravity technology is good, but it requires massive investments that cannot be recovered for the time being. Medicine, on the other hand, is what people need most right now." Howard looked at Tang Tian thoughtfully. This was normal. During World War II, the environment and warfare caused medicine sales to soar. In a single year, pharmaceutical revenue in the United States reached 90 billion dollars, Europe reached 200 billion dollars, and Asia reached a staggering 250 billion dollars. Since Europe and Asia were the battlefields of World War II, Howard said Tang Tian's pharmaceutical business was doing better.

"Just because others won't invest in you doesn't mean I won't." Tang Tian looked at the thoughtful Howard. "You mean..." Howard's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"These are concepts and materials for humanoid mechs and new energy. I believe you can develop comparable technology. I'll invest 100 billion dollars in you every year, as long as you develop what I've described." Tang Tian took from his briefcase materials on energy batteries and powered armor that Umbrella spies had partially copied from Hydra. He had come prepared, intending to accelerate the development of Iron Man armor and new energy, then have Howard's son, Tony Stark, improve them into something even more perfect.

"A genius idea. An excellent design concept. I never expected you to be a genius scientist as well." Howard stared at the documents and said in amazement.

"All right, we can continue our cooperation when the opportunity arises. Goodbye." Seeing that he had achieved his intended goal, Tang Tian left directly. Howard was so immersed in the wildly imaginative materials that he did not even notice Tang Tian's departure. Once the Super Soldier project's experiments were over and he had plundered advanced technology, Tang Tian would consider traveling to movie worlds to seize more technology. That was the fastest way to grow stronger.

The Captain America plot will continue slowly. Once the protagonist gets what he needs, the plundering of movie worlds will begin immediately. Chronicle, Terminator, The Matrix, and I, Robot are all places that must be plundered. The author has worked very hard, so please show your support. That is also the author's motivation.

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