Election Day

Seeing everyone around him freeze, Kingpin was taken aback. At that moment, Wang Bert stepped out and said, "Kingpin, I have some bad news for you. Your wife and son are dead."

"What?"

Kingpin froze, then flew into a rage. "Iron Man, did you kill my wife and son?"

"Definitely not. If I wanted to kill someone, I’d kill you. Why would I kill your wife and son?"

Wang Bert spread his hands, then snapped his fingers. A screen of light appeared beside him, showing Kingpin’s wife and son being hunted by assassins.

Kingpin could not help walking over to the screen. Just then, the assassins caught up with his wife and son and plunged their knives into them. Watching their bodies fall, Kingpin clenched his fists and roared with bloodshot eyes, "Iron Man, why didn’t you save them?"

"Our agreement was that I’d protect them after you died."

Wang Bert said indifferently, "You’re not dead yet, so I have no obligation to protect them."

"That’s right. You have no obligation. I’m the one who had the obligation, and I failed to protect them."

Kingpin dropped to his knees before the screen, his face filled with pain and regret.

Wang Bert continued, "Also, I came back from the future, so I can’t alter history lightly."

"Back from the future?"

Kingpin was stunned. At that moment, the screen showed Kingpin returning home, kneeling before his wife and son’s corpses, wailing in grief.

Kingpin was shocked and heartbroken. A moment later, the Kingpin on the screen suddenly grew larger and pounded the floor with all his strength, turning the house into ruins.

Kingpin was greatly alarmed. Turning to Wang Bert, he asked, "Why did I become so large? Did I suddenly awaken as a mutant?"

Wang Bert said, "Sorry, you’re not a mutant. You grew larger because you began worshipping the Doomsday Master and became His envoy, Gluttony. As for why you worshipped Him, I think it had something to do with your wife and son. Most likely, the Doomsday Master promised to revive them."

"For them, I can destroy everything, including this world."

Kingpin looked at Wang Bert and asked, "Iron Man, did you come back to kill me?"

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of returning to the past. I came to make a deal with you."

Wang Bert held out his hand. The souls of Kingpin’s wife and son lay sleeping in his palm. Kingpin was stunned and asked, "Those are their souls?"

"That’s right. With their souls, I can revive them at any time."

Wang Bert said, "My terms are the same as the Doomsday Master’s. You work for me, and I’ll revive your wife and son. Which side you choose is up to you."

Kingpin said decisively, "I choose your side."

Wang Bert smiled and asked, "You think that highly of me?"

"You can even travel through time. How could the Doomsday Master possibly be your match?"

Kingpin said, "Besides, I have no desire to destroy the world. I’m an underground emperor, not a lunatic."

"Anyone who wants to destroy the world is a lunatic."

Wang Bert wholeheartedly agreed. "Good. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down. I’ll definitely fulfill what I promised you."

"What do you need me to do?"

Kingpin rose from the floor, wiped away his tears, and asked in a deep voice. At that moment, he became the formidable underground emperor once more.

"It’s simple. Help me drive this gem into the Doomsday Master’s body. Also, to keep the Doomsday Master from discovering it, I’ll hide the gem inside your soul."

Wang Bert took out a gem with a muted glow and said—this was a special gem he had created with hundreds of millions of dollars. Its function would be explained later.

"No problem."

Kingpin nodded readily. "But I’m not good at acting. I’m not confident I can fool the Doomsday Master."

"Even if you were good at acting, you couldn’t fool Him. There’s only one way to deceive the Doomsday Master: seal your memories. Also, I’ll place a Time Loop on you. Once the mission is complete, you’ll return to your current state."

Wang Bert said, "I’m one of the good guys. I won’t casually sacrifice others."

A good guy who sells contraband and steals and launders money? Kingpin secretly mocked. He said, "I believe you."

"Very good."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction and sent the gem into Kingpin’s soul. Then, he set up a complex Time Magic array on Kingpin.

A moment later, Wang Bert withdrew his finger and said, "All right, everything’s settled. Kingpin, your memories will awaken at the crucial moment. When that happens, don’t let me down."

"Fine."

Kingpin nodded, then hesitated before saying, "Iron Man, can you help me go legitimate? If you can, I’m willing to give you most of my wealth."

Kingpin had wanted to go legitimate before, but circumstances had not allowed it. After experiencing the death of his wife and son this time, he finally made up his mind. He wanted to leave the gangs and live as an ordinary man.

"Going legitimate isn’t difficult, but you’ll have to hide your identity and live somewhere in the countryside."

Wang Bert said, "Otherwise, no matter how clean you become, it won’t matter. Those gangs will never let you go. There are simply too many lives on your hands."

"As long as my family is by my side, what does it matter if it’s the countryside?"

Kingpin said openly, "I think I’d make a very good farmer."

"If you truly want that, I’ll help make your wish come true."

Wang Bert snapped his fingers, ending the Time Loop. Kingpin lost his memories and returned to the earlier point in time. Without the slightest sign of anything being wrong, he instructed his men, "Ship this batch of goods to South America…"

Wang Bert did not listen any further. He vanished without a sound, then activated his time watch and returned to the point in time from which he had traveled.

Wang Bert thought to himself, The preparations are basically complete. Now, all that’s left is to wait for Election Day.

At the same time, Original Sin in Hell muttered, "The Seven Deadly Sins are complete. Now, all that’s left is to wait for Election Day. Iron Man, this time, I absolutely will not lose again."

Several days later, Election Day arrived.

That day, countless voters across America took to the streets and lined up to vote. At the same time, the seven Original Sin Envoys made their final preparations, some nervous, some excited.

At a waterworks in God’s City, Greed twisted open a faucet, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it. Then he said excitedly, "Water laced with poison gas is delicious."

Angel scoffed. "You think I haven’t drunk it? It tastes exactly the same as normal water. If it didn’t, your poisoning of the water would have been discovered long ago."

"You don’t understand. What I’m drinking isn’t water. It’s death."

Although Greed had been openly and covertly fighting Black King these past few days, he had not taken it out on Angel. He said, "In another hour, this water will kill millions of lives in God’s City. Just thinking about it makes me so excited that I want to sing at the top of my lungs."

"You really are a demon."

Angel snorted and asked, "Why did you have me stay? Shouldn’t Wrath have stayed here to work with you?"

"For the greater good, and to show Pride my sincerity."

Greed smiled, then plucked out an eye and tossed it into the air. The eye rapidly swelled into a screen of light, where Black King and Wrath were busy at a communications bureau.

Greed asked, "Pride, are you ready on your end?"

"Ready. In one hour, the entire city’s network will go down at once, including phone signals, the internet, and everything else."

Black King nodded. "Of course, it won’t stay hidden for long. Greed, I hope your poison gas isn’t some shoddy counterfeit."

"Don’t worry. In just five minutes, God’s City will become Hell."

Greed said confidently, "By the way, once you cut off the network, return here immediately. No one knows how quickly Iron Man can arrive."

"I know. Hmph, it’d be even better if Iron Man came. With the four of us working together, we might be able to kill him."

Black King said coldly. He hated Wang Bert to the bone. Not only had the other man taken his White Queen, but he had also ground his dignity into the dirt.

To kill Iron Man, Black King was willing to pay any price.

Greed shook his head. "It’s better not to create unnecessary complications. As long as we hold out for five minutes, God will descend and finish off Iron Man and this world for good."

"Death like that would be letting Iron Man off too easily."

Black King shook his head and cut off the communication. Then he checked his watch. Fifty-nine minutes remained.

Tokyo. It was night. The rejuvenated Yashida Ichirō stood on a high platform, drinking tea as he admired the city’s nightscape. He sighed, "This is the last time I’ll see Tokyo at night. To be honest, I’m a little reluctant to leave it behind."

"I’m reluctant to leave New York’s nightscape too. It’s all that damned Iron Man’s fault."

General Anthony cursed irritably. If not for Iron Man, he would be in the American military headquarters right now, waiting for the new president to be elected.

"No, we should thank Iron Man. Without him, how could we have immortality and such immense power? My friend, power and influence aren’t important. What matters is staying alive."

Yashida Ichirō smiled. "Life is more important than anything."

"Perhaps."

General Anthony shook his head and asked, "There won’t be any problems with your arrangements, right?"

"No problems."

Yashida Ichirō smiled. "In one hour, every loudspeaker in Tokyo will simultaneously play the Sound of Death. Then, those humans will go mad and slaughter each other. Within half an hour, Tokyo will become a city of death."

"Isn’t half an hour a little too long? Iron Man can reach Tokyo with a single thought."

General Anthony said.

"Don’t worry, that’s only one of the measures. I’ve also placed large numbers of Poison Gas Bombs and explosives throughout Tokyo. As long as I press the button, they’ll all explode like fireworks."

Yashida Ichirō said, "Also, I’ve already taken control of Tokyo’s communications. In one hour, all networks will be cut off."

"That’s good."

General Anthony gazed in the direction of New York and muttered, "Richard, Iron Man, you want to be president? Dream on! Today will be the day you die!"

New York. Kingpin asked his subordinate, "Is everything ready?"

"It’s all ready. In one hour, those thugs will start a riot and wildly destroy everything in New York. Also, we bribed the prison guards. When the time comes, the prisoners will be released."

The subordinate nodded, then asked hesitantly, "Kingpin, what exactly are you trying to do? Why are you emptying your fortune to destroy New York?"

"You don’t need to ask so many questions. I’ll bear whatever consequences there are myself."

Kingpin said coldly. The subordinate hurriedly lowered his head and did not dare ask more. Over the past few days, Kingpin had become even more brutal than before. More than a dozen people had died at his hands for saying the wrong thing.

Kingpin took out a pocket watch from his coat and opened it. Inside was a photo of his wife and son. He muttered, "For you, I can spare nothing."

In Hell, Original Sin was rapidly developing Evil Believers throughout America. However, He did not have them act immediately—when God’s City and Tokyo launched their attacks, He would send out these Evil Believers to divide Iron Man’s attention.

Original Sin sneered to Himself, An election? You won’t have to go through all that trouble in the future, because you won’t have a future.

At the Mutant Affairs Department, Professor Charles, the Security Team, the X-Men, the Mutant Affairs Department, and the newly joined Brotherhood gathered in the plaza to listen to Iron Man Wang Bert speak.

"I know you must all have many questions right now…"

Wang Bert said slowly. At that moment, Wade shouted, "We have no questions! Iron Man, whatever you tell us to do, we’ll do."

Everyone was speechless. That bootlicking was way too obvious, wasn’t it? He was at least a famous powerhouse. Couldn’t he have a little integrity? Under everyone’s contemptuous gazes, Wade felt no shame at all. What the hell do you people know? Do you think I became a CEO just because I’m handsome? "Wade, say another word and I’ll sew your mouth shut."

Wang Bert snapped impatiently, then continued, "The reason I gathered you here is that the Doomsday Master is preparing to destroy God’s City and Tokyo. We must stop them. Otherwise, the Doomsday Master will destroy the world!"

"What? The Doomsday Master is going to destroy God’s City and Tokyo?"

The crowd erupted in shock. They knew Wang Bert must have gathered them for something major, but they had not expected it to be this major.

Wang Bert asked, "Don’t worry, everything is under control. I only have one question: are you willing to follow me and protect the world?"

"Of course we are!"

All the mutants shouted at once. Iron Man was the Mutant Savior, not to mention that he was now protecting the world.

"Very good. Next, we’ll assign the missions."

Wang Bert nodded in satisfaction. "Wade, lead the Security Team and act with me. Wolverine is excluded."

"Yes, BOSS!"

Wade and the Security Team shouted together. Wolverine looked baffled. Why the hell was he excluded?

Then Wang Bert turned to the professor and said, "Professor Charles, lead Wolverine, the Mutant Guardians, and the X-Men to Tokyo in the island nation. Stop Jealousy and Sloth. Any problems?"

"No problem. We’ll stop them."

The professor nodded. Wolverine could not help asking, "Why am I going to Tokyo?"

"Because there’s an old acquaintance of yours there."

Wang Bert said. He definitely was not hoping to see whether Wolverine and Mariko would spark something. He was not that wicked.

"An old acquaintance?"

Wolverine scratched his head. He had indeed been to the island nation during World War II, but that had been decades ago. Were any old acquaintances still alive? "Quicksilver Pietro."

Wang Bert called out, "You’ll lead the mutants of the Mutant Mutual Aid Society and replace the Guardians in protecting America. Any problems? My Iron Man Armor will stay behind to help you."