"I never thought there'd be someone in New York even more high-profile than me."
On the other side, Tony had just finished tuning Jarvis and testing its functions. After telling Jarvis to switch to the news channel, he happened to see the moment Killian stole the spotlight, and he could not help complaining.
"Sir, according to available records, you have indeed kept a relatively low profile for quite some time."
"There is also an incoming military weapons development request. Would you like to review it?"
After hearing Tony's remark, Jarvis replied in its mechanical electronic voice.
"Pull it up. Let that guy handle the spotlight."
"After all, I'm a low-key kind of person."
Hearing that there was a military order, Tony thought for a moment and still chose to open it. Compared to showing off, he felt he preferred developing weapons.
And if Killian had been there to witness this scene, he probably would have been even more shocked.
Because of Baymax's appearance, Jarvis had been born earlier than in the original storyline, and its intelligence level had also improved much more noticeably.
The only difference was that Tony would never go around publicly bragging the way Killian did about Jarvis being artificial intelligence.
With something like AI, the best approach was to develop it quietly in secret.
Tony was flamboyant, but when it came to truly important things, he still knew what mattered.
...
On the other side, unlike the reactions of the other forces,
Killian, the man at the center of it all, was currently strolling through the streets of Washington.
He used to be cautious, but now things were different. With two ace bodyguards protecting him, as long as he had not soul-jumped into 2008, he was not afraid of anything.
And after walking around, Killian had gotten a good look at the prosperity of a major city. The technology might not be as advanced as the future, but the lively atmosphere and entertainment were still everywhere in the streets and alleys.
From time to time, there were wandering singers performing in the plazas, while all kinds of career-minded men in suits continuously handed out business cards with flattering smiles, trying to drum up more work for themselves.
At one point, when he passed a remote alley, a few blonde blue-eyed women even tried to drag Killian inside.
But before they could get anywhere near him, they were blocked by two walls of muscle.
Killian naturally had no interest in such mediocre women. He waved a hand and continued walking with his guards.
"You damn cripple, this is all you managed to beg for this month?"
"Damn it, I'd make more money renting out your spot than this. Do you really think I'm running a charity here?"
"Beat him!"
Just as Killian continued on, voices suddenly rang out from an alley not far away. And after that shout, it was replaced by the pleading of children.
"Please, Boss Hanni, stop hitting Brother Seven! Next month, next month we'll definitely bring in more for you!"
"Please, Boss!"
...
The begging rose one after another. Killian had not wanted to involve himself in this sort of nonsense, but he still found himself stopping and walking toward the alley. Then, after turning the corner and looking inside...
Good grief. Disabled adults, disabled children, and several grown men beating them with fists and kicks.
"Number One, Number Two, cripple them."
For a moment, Killian's temper flared, and he directly gave the order to the bodyguards beside him.
The instant his words fell, the gang members several meters away, who had still been preparing to continue the beating, only felt darkness flash before their eyes. In a single strike each, their spines were broken, and they collapsed unconscious.
"This is their money. Take it."
"Judging by the looks of it, they're local thugs. I had my men cripple them, but there's no guarantee they won't come after you again. Take this money and move to another city."
After having his men gather up the cash from the fallen thugs, Killian also took out the thousand dollars in cash he had on him and handed it to the man on the ground, who was shielding a group of children in his arms.
"This..."
After hearing Killian's words, the man wanted to refuse. But when he looked at his younger brothers and sisters, then at the gang members lying nearby, he knew that the ones who had come to collect today were only a small part of the gang. If the gang boss found out that his men had gone down here, he himself would not matter, but his younger siblings absolutely would not be spared.
And yet... no matter how big the world was, even with this money, where could they go?
The only ones still left here besides him were all very young. And he himself was crippled. Carrying all of them along, if he left a city like this, then in any small place, they might not even survive. Starving to death would be the only ending waiting for them.
"Sir, I know this is an outrageous request."
"But please, I beg you, can you give me a chance? I can do anything for you, as long as you can take in my younger brothers and sisters."
"I'm a veteran. I may have lost a leg, but believe me, as long as you agree, my loyalty will never be less than anyone else's."
After hesitating for a while, the man on the ground finally gritted his teeth and started begging Killian while repeatedly slamming his head into the ground.
He knew this was one of the few chances he had left.
This winter, the cold and the sickness among his younger siblings in their miserable shelter had already forced him to exhaust every method he had.
The reason he had not paid the gang this time was because he had spent everything on medicine for them.
If there was another round like this, then when the next cold season came, he doubted even he himself would make it through.
To outsiders, this season symbolized peace, beauty, and family reunion.
But for people like them, who lived by wandering and begging on the streets, it was a desperate struggle just to survive.
"..."
Watching the blood already covering the ground after only a few seconds, and the children desperately crying and tugging at the man, trying to stop him from bowing any further,
Killian had to admit that, in the end, he was still soft-hearted.
"You said you can do anything for me?"
After narrowing his eyes slightly, Killian crouched down, stopped the man from continuing to bang his head, and asked in a serious tone.
"Yes. Anything."
"As long as you can give my brothers and sisters a place to live and let them survive in good health, then I swear I will never disobey any of your orders, even if I have to stand before God or Satan himself."
When he said the final words, the man stared at Killian with an exceptionally firm gaze.
For a moment, Killian felt as if he were looking into the same eyes the Blackwatch soldiers had shown him the moment they were born.
(End of Chapter)
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