Chapter 13, "Iron Man 3" Begins (Part 1)
A sudden cold snap caused the temperature in the northern United States to drop by nearly 20 degrees Celsius overnight. This remote farm in Montana was almost covered by heavy snow and turned into a desert. A world of ice and snow covered in silver.
The farm went from being almost isolated to completely isolated from the world as the roads were covered in heavy snow. Although they have technical support from another world, for the sake of confidentiality and safety, Wang Qiu and the others can only obtain some news from the outside world through intermittent satellite TV and radio broadcasts - in such a deserted place , naturally there will be no Internet, not even mobile phone signal.
At this moment, Wang Qiu, Ma Tong, Political Commissar Guo and others were staying in the farm hut that was almost buried in the heavy snow, sitting around a newly acquired Japanese kotatsu stove, turning the kerosene stove on to the maximum. Then while eating hot hot pot, I watched various news on TV.
Although half a year has passed since the spectacular Battle of New York, the major media are still reporting a series of bad news about chaos and collapse from time to time, as well as news about all kinds of bizarre superpower crimes. The entire United States, and even the entire world, is in turmoil.
In addition, the global financial turmoil caused by the alien war in New York and the nuclear explosion in Manhattan still continues to this day - Wall Street, the heart of the world's finance, is still a nuclear pollution zone. Although it is said that Manhattan Island has been initially eliminated from nuclear radiation thanks to black technology urgently invented by a certain super scientist. New York State government departments have vowed to declare that the radiation levels in New York no longer pose a threat to ordinary people's health and that they can fully invest in reconstruction work. But in fact, let alone those pampered and noble conglomerate bosses, even the white-collar executives of major financial companies dare not come back to work here, and would rather carry out "remote control" in other cities.
In the same way, since even Wall Street is gone, all kinds of futures indexes, stock market conditions and foreign exchange transactions are all in chaos. Some of these banks failed to back up their data, and their computers were destroyed in the nuclear explosion. As a result, even their accounts are now ruined. What followed naturally was a massive economic crisis and a series of bankruptcies, closures and unemployment, making the White House even more anxious.
Don’t forget, the United States in the Marvel world is far more powerful than the United States in the real world, and New York is also the true global economic barometer and financial center. Now that this center has been taken away by the alien army and the earth's nuclear bomb, the resulting global economic turmoil is naturally conceivable.
On the other hand, various tragic situations of radiation sickness are also emerging among more and more New Yorkers. To be honest, the 5,000-ton tactical nuclear weapon ordered to be launched by the World Security Council will not cause such serious nuclear pollution. The amount of remaining nuclear material has been almost washed away after several heavy rains. But the problem is, in downtown Manhattan, New York, in a research institute not far from the center of the explosion, there is actually an experimental nuclear reactor stored in it, as well as a large number of nuclear material fuel rods stored in lead tanks!
As a result, when a tactical nuclear weapon explodes, it is equivalent to triggering an extra-large "dirty bomb", which lifts a large amount of radioactive material out of the reactor and then ejects it into the air, causing a dust pollution with nuclear radioactivity. , resulting in catastrophic ecological damage.
People who are injured by nuclear radiation will not feel anything at first, but after a period of time, the skin and organs of people who are seriously injured will begin to fester, and the functions of various parts of the body will be lost one after another, and finally they will become like a pile of Death like rotten flesh; even a sub-class radiation sickness patient will develop cancer within a few years to a few months. Although it is slower, it will be equally painful all the way to death.
Of course, in the Marvel world where technology has reached abnormal levels of development, radiation sickness is no longer an incurable disease, but at least the poor are still unable to cure it.
What makes the citizens of New York even more sad and angry is that in the face of an astonishing number of claims, major financial and insurance companies either went bankrupt or invariably raised the "war exemption" clause and refused to bear all losses. As a result, tens of thousands of New Yorkers lost their homes and jobs at the same time, became homeless, and suffered from radiation sickness. However, they could not afford medical bills and could only wait to die in pain and despair.
——The United States in the Marvel world is the same as the United States in another world. There is no free medical care or universal health insurance. The companies that provided commercial medical insurance either went bankrupt during the New York War, or they used the "war exemption" clause to default on their debts.
Obviously, no one in the world is willing to die. Desperate people raised signs and banners and organized a march to Washington. However, they were brutally suppressed by tanks, armored vehicles and armed helicopters, while the news media They unanimously denounced them as a mob.
"...This is the greatest advantage of American democracy and market economy! After something goes wrong, no one will ever be found to take responsibility. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's population continues to decline, and no one will say that this is the fault of democracy and freedom. . The per capita food supply in India, a major democratic country, is actually lower than that of China during its three-year difficult period, and even lower than that of North Korea, where people are said to be in dire straits. No one would ever say that a famine is occurring in India.
Because under the conditions of American liberal democracy and market economy, dying of hunger is your own problem, not the government’s fault. You will never find anyone who can take responsibility, or who is willing to take responsibility for it. Since you voted for the president, it's your own fault even if you starve to death.
In short, it is just to demonstrate in a socialist country, or even to engage in excessive behavior during the demonstration, because the government has responsibilities to all citizens. In a capitalist country, going to the streets to work and get bread is an act of making a lot of trouble, because the government has absolutely no responsibility. You can only stay at home quietly and commit suicide instead of going to the streets to cause trouble with the government. The government has no obligation to keep you alive. ”
In this regard, Political Commissar Guo commented in a harsh tone, "...This will greatly improve the stability and unity of society, won't it?"
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In addition to the aftermath of the New York War, other scenes that are more familiar to travelers have also appeared on TV news this winter. For example, a mysterious guy who dressed like an ancient Chinese but led a group of Arab religious armed terrorists, calling himself the "Mandarin", began to frequently invade the television network system and insert and release various propaganda to vent anti-American sentiments. video.
At the same time, a series of bombings began to occur across the United States. In addition, a series of kidnappings and beheadings against Americans broke out in the Middle East. In the troubled Marvel world, bombings and terrorist killings themselves are not the same. Not surprising, after all, mushroom clouds rise even in New York. The problem is that the "Mandarin" claimed responsibility for this, claiming that this was his declaration of war against the United States of America. So it became a hot news topic for a while.
Various media outlets have different opinions on the true identity of the "Mandarin", the forces behind the scenes, and his means of invading TV channels.
In addition, an arms group called AIM Corporation has also appeared frequently on economic and financial programs. It is said that it has received large orders from the military.
Of course, for the time-travelers who have already watched all the Marvel series of movies, the truth of all this is obvious
"...Although the directional blasting of the Stark Industries Building we conducted in New York changed the trajectory of many things. But the plot of "Avengers 1" is still completely over, and we will enter "Iron Man 3" next. ...No! We have already entered the plot of "Iron Man 3".
Wang Qiu sighed and said, "...If the plot remains unchanged at all, then on Christmas Eve this year, Aldrich Killian, the boss of AIM and the creator of 'The Mandarin', will drive a weapon Helicopters, blast Tony Stark's beach house with rockets."
"...Speaking of which, Tony's villa on the coast of Malibu, California, has a lot of good stuff! There are at least dozens of Iron Man suits alone! I wonder if I can take advantage of the villa this time If there is a chance of being bombed, how about getting a few sets out from under the ruins to play with?”
The one-legged female man Tang Mary licked her lips and said with sparkling eyes, "...Last time in Manhattan, New York, although I got the Ark reactor and alien personal equipment, I couldn't get a set of Iron Man. The battle suit is really a bit regretful!”
"...and the big villain in "Iron Man 3", Aldridge. The 'Extremis Virus' created by Killian is also quite interesting. It can not only regenerate severed limbs, but also make living people breathe fire. ! It can even heat your palm to the point where it can melt steel! ”
Uncle Chen Ping also echoed with interest, "...It's really hard to understand how this is done! We humans should be organic bodies instead of metal robots, right? And after the heat is over, we can actually change back! This It’s like turning humans into small Godzillas! Why don’t we take a look at it? Well, it doesn’t feel right to inject the virus into living people and turn them into bombs..."
"...Yes, yes! In the Marvel world, there are so many good things of all kinds!"
Ma Tong, who entered this world later, also shook his head and said, "...For example, the eternally youthful black widow Natasha, her anti-aging technology is very eye-catching! She is clearly in her sixties or seventies. She is an old lady, and she has been flirting with so many superheroes all year round..."
She stroked her face and said with great yearning, "...It would be great if I could get this thing..." Looking at these three guys, Wang Qiu and Political Commissar Guo looked at them as if they didn't know what the world was up to. They exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "...Oh, how naive! These things you are talking about are not products in the supermarket that we can choose at will. Do you think that in this Marvel world where there are many powerful people and many shady things, we can do whatever we want easily? [Super Time Stop] It’s not omnipotent!”