Chapter 134: The Jack Family Kidnapped

Damn. What a mess.

Michael suddenly felt a sense of existential despair.

"By the way, was she a virgin last night?"

"Does that matter?"

Hmm. It matters a lot, doesn't it? As the protagonist with an invincible golden body, how could I settle for someone else's leftovers? Right?

Keisha: "I told you long ago that sex is merely a base desire. Only when you can look past it with a clear heart can you truly be called a god."

Don't lie to me. That guy called Thor is still dating an Earthling. *Thor: The Dark World* is about to happen, and that Malekith fellow and his Dark Elves will soon be invading Asgard.

Forget it. If I go looking for Black Widow now, she’ll probably just mock me for being immature.

This isn't China; this is the United States, a country where caring about a woman's virtue is considered a character flaw. Fair enough. If the women themselves don't care, why should a grown man make such a fuss? It’s not exactly suave. Since she chose to walk away, it means the matter is over. There's no need to dwell on it; doing so might only cause her distress.

Natasha sat alone in her room, quietly reflecting on her life. Did this event truly not affect her? The answer was no. On the contrary, she cared deeply—after all, it was her first time. But she had to act cool and detached; otherwise, the "super-diva" image she had cultivated for so long would crumble. Compared to her virtue, her reputation was clearly more important, right? Besides, looking at Michael, it was obvious he hadn't moved on from Gwen. Stepping in now wouldn't be good for anyone. The Avengers initiative, which everyone had worked so hard to build, was finally gaining momentum; she didn't want to turn the whole city into a circus over a few emotional entanglements.

...

"Can we really rely on a handful of people to protect the Earth? A few freaks and an alien—can we really entrust the planet to them? ..."

Yes, a new round of public opinion warfare had begun. Politicians were stepping forward to attack the Avengers, delivering impassioned speeches to sway the hearts and minds of the public. Consequently, voices opposing the Avengers grew louder, and Tony was swamped dealing with the fallout.

This was the fate of an Avengers team without Nick Fury. Because they weren't under government control, the U.S. government would never allow such power to exist; they would do everything in their power to nip it in the bud. To them, the Avengers were the black sheep in the flock—slipping out of their control and potentially threatening to replace them.

How can one allow others to snore beside one's own bed?

Therefore, to them, either the Avengers didn't exist, or they obeyed their orders.

After much deliberation, Michael established a new company on an island he had purchased, naming it the Umbrella Corporation. The company had no outside shares; it was entirely Michael's personal property. After its founding, he gradually transferred the assets of Angel International into this new entity. Everything inside the Angel International headquarters was moved to the island, as Michael decided to conduct his research there from now on.

This naturally drew the attention of the other two shareholders, but Harry only had revenge on his mind and didn't care at all. Vanessa couldn't hold the line alone; she couldn't change Michael's decisions by herself, so she began secretly gathering evidence in an attempt to overthrow him. She wasn't fighting alone, however; the politicians who opposed the Avengers began supporting her actions from the shadows.

This caused Michael a lot of trouble, so he chose to resign as the CEO of Angel International, regaining his freedom. Since he held shares in Angel International, he would still profit regardless of who controlled the company. Furthermore, with Vanessa—the smallest shareholder—taking over as CEO, it wasn't as if she could actually challenge Michael or Harry. One could say this strategic retreat was handled quite brilliantly by Michael. The assets he needed had already been transferred to Umbrella; Angel International was no longer that important.

Currently, Umbrella was involved in industries including pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, smartphones, Avengers Pictures, live streaming, video, e-commerce, logistics, gaming, music, and anime—steering clear of the military-industrial complex. The island, serving as the headquarters, was dubbed "Twilight Island" by Michael.

On the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Michael invited Tony and Captain America—the two most popular figures of the Avengers—to cut the ribbon, successfully putting the Umbrella Corporation on the map. From the outside, Twilight Island looked classical, reminiscent of a medieval cathedral, with an air of high-end sophistication, but stepping inside revealed it to be packed with cutting-edge technology. At the very center of the island was a core made of Vibranium, which would allow the island to fly into the sky without falling apart under the stress of gravity. Michael intended to launch the island into the heavens, making it the only sky island on Earth.

The Red Queen appeared behind him. "Sir, someone sent you an email. I think you need to see this."

Michael frowned. What could be more important than his creation of such a spectacular island? This child was becoming less and less sensible. "Open it and let's see." Trusting the Red Queen, Michael decided to take a look.

Upon opening the file, he saw a group of police officers surrounding a villa. Michael frowned. Wasn't that Jack's house? Had those politicians truly abandoned all morality and started targeting the families of superheroes?

"Something's wrong."

The group of police officers in tactical gear quickly stormed in, subdued Jack's family, and loaded them into police vehicles. The cars sped off, leaving the city and heading toward the coast. They put Jack's family onto a ship and then returned to the city.

Michael immediately called George.

"You brat, you dare show your face to me? Do you know how heartbroken Gwen is because of you? Don't think I won't blow your head off!"

"Please calm down, Mr. George. May I ask if your SWAT team has conducted any operations recently?"

George paused, realizing something was amiss. "SWAT operations are confidential. I can't tell an outsider like you."

Michael said immediately, "They kidnapped Jack's family and took them to the coast. Do you know about this?"

"What?" George was stunned. That was impossible; how could the SWAT team engage in kidnapping? "Impossible. The SWAT team hasn't had any operations lately."

"Go check. A group of people dressed in SWAT gear kidnapped Jack's family. The video has been sent to me."

"I'm on it."

George definitely wanted to crack Michael's skull open, but as a police captain, he knew how to prioritize. Soon, George discovered that the SWAT team had indeed gone out on a mission without his knowledge, and the orders had come from his own account.

How could this be? He had been eating dinner at home; when had he issued such an order? But after checking all the logs, it was indeed his signature on the orders. George quickly realized that someone had hijacked the SWAT team to commit a crime, and given the meticulous planning, this wasn't something that had happened overnight.

He called Michael back immediately, telling him not to panic. But how could Michael not panic? Jack dying was one thing, but Martha could not die. In this world, Martha was his most important person, bar none. Without Martha's devoted care, there would be no Michael today.