Godfather Kyle

Ever since the Demon Card appeared that morning, New York had completely erupted. Almost everyone was discussing the subject, or being pestered at home by the older generation to tell stories of the old days.

For a time, it was as if a wind from the past had swept through New York once more, stirring memories of World War II and the legend known as the Symbol of Peace.

Kyle. A legendary major general, a godlike hero, the man who had practically ended World War II single-handedly!

Once they understood the connection between the Demon Card and the legendary Kyle, countless New Yorkers poured into the streets like mad, hoping to find their idol. Yet once they got outside, they suddenly realized that aside from the Demon Card, there were no further clues proving Kyle had returned, nor was there any information revealing his location.

Even so, as the only news related to Kyle in over sixty years, countless media outlets swiftly rushed out additional newspapers and magazines, spreading the information beyond New York and overseas through online platforms.

Most new media headlines read: "The Legend Returns?"

The accompanying image was a color photograph from when Kyle had been a major—a blond-haired young man in the Venom Suit, holding a longsword. A huge question mark had been stamped over it to signify the uncertainty of the news.

Compared with the noisy uproar outside, Tony’s villa remained exceptionally quiet, no different from usual.

Jarvis and Vis had broadcast the Demon Card footage across all of New York, yet they had specifically overlooked their own villa. As a result, Tony, who had been holed up in the basement making Iron Man Armor, knew nothing about it.

Kyle, meanwhile, was in the second-floor guest room, doing as he usually did—going online when he wanted, sleeping when he wanted, leisurely and completely unhurried.

Since he had returned, people outside would learn of it sooner or later. Showing the Demon Card was not particularly high-profile.

Or rather, once his identity was exposed, his very existence made keeping a low profile impossible.

By releasing the Demon Card while remaining at Tony’s house, Kyle’s meaning was obvious—I’m too lazy to seek out my old acquaintances one by one. If you have the ability, use your own means to find me.

Kyle’s previous disguise had relied only on a hood and sunglasses, and he had indirectly revealed that he was somewhere in New York. If the Karl family members did not even possess that much skill in finding someone, they would have completely failed the cultivation he had given them when he created the family.

"Still, I feel like I sensed the presence of a card somewhere not far outside the villa… Was that an illusion, or did someone from the family find me this quickly?" Kyle muttered to himself, his gaze falling outside the window. He did not see anyone else.

At that moment, on the rooftop of a building across the street from Tony’s villa.

Red Ten, dressed in a black suit, stood there facing the cold high-altitude wind, looking down at the luxurious duplex villa some five hundred meters away.

Red Ten had learned about the appearance of the Demon Card long ago. Though he had been wildly excited, he still chose to follow the plan and finish the assassination mission at hand.

Every twenty years, the Karl family secretly recruited a group of children as new card disciples. Of the previous generation of card disciples, only elite card disciples who advanced to Black Tier could remain at the base. The rest would leave on their own to establish family branches or forces around the world.

Rob was a third-generation card disciple who had inherited the card disciple name Red Ten. His grandfather, a first-generation card disciple, had spent an enormous amount of family contribution points to send him into the Karl family as a child.

Within the Karl family, one could continually gain abilities, evolve beyond the ordinary, and explore immortality. No card disciple wanted to leave the main base, which was like a holy land.

"If the Patriarch has truly returned, then this is the perfect chance to complete the mission flawlessly in New York and show what I can do!" Red Ten took a deep breath and pulled a photograph from his pocket.

It had been taken from a candid angle and was rather blurry. Tony obscured part of it as well, so all that could be made out was that the target was a silver-haired young man wearing a hood and sunglasses.

Red Ten’s eyes turned cold. With a slight wave of his hand, a tiny blade flew from his suit sleeve and accurately pinned the photograph to an iron railing.

By evening, the sun had set and night slowly descended. Lights came on one by one across New York.

Tony, still in the villa’s basement, suddenly received a message. When he opened it, he was surprised to discover that his uncle Stanny had arranged a dinner party in his name—and had not sent him an invitation.

"What is this supposed to mean? Has he decided I won’t go?"

Tony frowned slightly, called to Jarvis, and prepared to change clothes before driving straight to the venue.

But after taking only a few steps, Tony stopped. He glanced upstairs and instructed, "Jarvis, go call Mr. Karr and ask whether he wants to come to the dinner party with me. We haven’t had dinner yet, anyway."

Jarvis immediately relayed the message. Hearing it, Kyle rubbed his chin in mild surprise. "Go to a dinner party?"

If he went to the party now, things would probably really explode later. But what did that matter…

Kyle did whatever he pleased and had no intention of worrying too much about it. He agreed at once.

Ten minutes later.

Tony chose a silver supercar and drove it to the garage entrance. Kyle, dressed in a fitted black tailcoat, opened the door and got into the back seat.

"Mr. Karr, do you still need sunglasses at night?" Tony asked in surprise as he looked at Kyle through the rearview mirror.

"I have a scar near my eye." Kyle shrugged.

Tony curled his lips, deciding that Kyle was just like him—fond of putting on airs and acting cool. He floored the accelerator and drove the sports car out of the underground garage.

Outside the villa.

Red Ten, who had been waiting outside for a chance to act, froze when he saw the sports car carrying Tony and Kyle leave. He swept his eyes around, quickly unlocked a motorcycle, and chased after them at full speed.

In downtown New York, at an upscale gala.

A crowd of media personnel held cameras and microphones aloft, packed tightly along both sides of the gala entrance. Stanny smiled warmly as he enthusiastically welcomed every distinguished guest who arrived.

Just then, a silver sports car pulled up brightly before the entrance. Tony calmly opened the door and stepped out.

"Oh my god, it’s Tony Stark!"

More than a dozen reporters cried out. As Stanny’s expression darkened slightly behind the scenes, they swarmed forward, surrounding Tony like stars around the moon and following him inside.

Kyle shook his head to himself from the back seat. Tony truly was a weapon for drawing fire. He casually opened the rear door and stepped out. Everyone’s attention was fixed on Tony, and no one even noticed him.

"Mr. Stark, we hope you can answer a few questions."

The media relentlessly pursued him. Tony assumed they were going to ask about the shutdown of the weapons manufacturing division again and had not wanted to respond. Unexpectedly, several reporters wore fanatical expressions as they rapidly blurted out their questions:

"A Demon Card featuring your godfather appeared on every platform this morning. Could you tell us what you think of your godfather?"

"Mr. Stark, have you seen your godfather in recent years or recently?"

"Godfather Kyle has been retired for so long. Is he planning to return to the public eye?"

"Huh???"

Faced with those questions, Tony froze. He stood there, staring in disbelief at the gathered reporters. "My godfather—appeared?!"