Chapter 58: Target: Afghanistan

Several days had passed since that night, yet the atmosphere of sadness still hung over New York.

As Cohen had predicted, the crematorium had been running non-stop for days, thick smoke billowing into the air.

Cohen was overwhelmed.

Emma Church had been packed to the brim for days, filled with people seeking atonement.

Overwhelmed and unable to cope, he resorted to issuing private indulgences on behalf of God.

He wasn't doing it for money, but to comfort the terrified people.

The hellish scene of that day had scared everyone. Many of the faithful were asking if God had abandoned the land.

Cohen reassured them: "Don't worry, God will not abandon His faithful followers!"

He raised the Bible and proclaimed loudly: "The Bible is here, God is here!"

Everyone shouted in unison with him: "The Bible is here, God is here!"

The reputation of Emma Church skyrocketed.

Amid the busyness, Cohen still managed to send Wade off.

Though Wade was badly injured, the Brotherhood's healing pool had already taken care of his external wounds.

David had managed to contact Smith, the broker for the mutation lab.

Cohen, David, and Vanessa said their goodbyes together.

Wade stared at Vanessa with wide eyes, affectionately: "Vanessa, you have to wait for me. I'll come back.

Don't mess around with other men. I don't want to come out and find you pregnant with someone else's child!"

Vanessa's eyes welled up with tears, and she punched his chest: "You bastard! Don't you dare die in there!"

Wade dramatically clutched his chest: "Oh, you hit me so hard! You're practically murdering your own husband..."

Behind them, Cohen and David rolled their eyes.

Cough cough!

Cohen cleared his throat: "Alright, no more nonsense. When you come out in a few months, you can talk for three days and three nights if you want!"

Wade snorted: "When I come out, it won't just be talking for three days and three nights!"

Cohen rolled his eyes, glanced at Smith not far away: "Go on, don't keep him waiting."

Wade pulled Cohen aside: "Are you sure that healing pool can't save me?"

"Of course, it's only for external injuries.

Don't worry, I've told you a hundred times, you won't die!

Didn't Vanessa say she would love you no matter what you turn into? What are you afraid of?"

Wade was speechless, grinding his teeth: "I swear, if I grow a third eye on my forehead, I'll kill you!"

Cohen waved him off: "Alright, alright, you said it. Remember to hide the signal transmitter well. Once you mutate, if the signal goes off, I'll rush in to save you."

At this, Wade gritted his teeth: "You know they'll strip us down and search us, and you still want me to bring the signal transmitter? Where should I hide it?"

Cohen gave him a meaningful glance downward: "I think you've hidden it pretty well."

"F*ck!"

Wade left, and just as he got into Smith's car, Cohen received a notification—his bank account had received a commission fee: $3,000.

Well, Smith really was a man of his word.

Cohen smiled at Vanessa: "Let's go, I promised Wade I'd take care of you, so come home with me tonight."

...

When the three returned to Emma Church, they found someone waiting quietly at the door.

A man and a woman, one fat and one thin.

As soon as Cohen saw them, he knew what he had been expecting had finally happened.

But what puzzled him was why Pepper and Happy had come to find him?

Cohen invited Pepper to sit in the backyard.

Pepper nervously twisted her fingers: "Father... I... You..."

Cohen waved his hand: "Is something wrong with Stark?"

Pepper was startled: "H-how did you know?"

Cohen shrugged: "Otherwise, why would you come looking for me?"

Pepper suppressed her nervousness: "You... are Iron Man?"

Cohen didn't directly answer: "Besides you, who else did Stark tell?"

"No one!"

Pepper immediately said: "He didn't tell anyone, not even me!"

She paused: "When he left, he suddenly came to me, handed me an envelope, and said if anything happened to him, I should open it.

I only just found out about this."

Cohen nodded. It seemed Stark's lips had remained sealed.

But so soon, had he already considered himself as a backup?

"Then why did you come to me? Or rather, what did Stark want you to do?"

Pepper suddenly had tears in her eyes: "Please, please save him!"

"First tell me what happened?"

Pepper recounted everything, which matched what he had remembered.

Though this information was still classified, it wouldn't be long before the whole world knew.

Cohen frowned: "I don't even know where he is, how can I save him?"

Smack!

Pepper threw out a card in his hand: "There's fifty million dollars in here, consider it a reward."

Cohen's eyelid twitched: "It's not about the money, I really don't know how to find him..."

Smack!

Another card.

"A total of one hundred million dollars, you just have to promise to try your best with the mission. As for the outcome, leave it to God!"

Cohen: ...

Tsk, I'm only doing this because I feel sorry for you!

After sending Pepper away, he began to prepare.

In fact, even if it wasn't to save Stark, he had been planning to go on a long trip recently to verify some of his hypotheses.

There were things at home that had to be arranged.

Emma Church would be overseen by David, who wasn't fit for fieldwork, along with Wade's girlfriend Vanessa, selling indulgences and managing daily activities—no big issues there.

Meanwhile, David would continue to provide him with intelligence support.

Fox and the others would keep running the Brotherhood.

The Nine Spiders and Erica, Alexandra, hadn't been making moves lately; the Hand was facing a major blow, and things were tense.

Though Alexandra had moved some assets overnight, she had only managed to transfer a few million dollars so far.

With this money, along with the Brotherhood's liquidity, Cohen invested it all into Stark Industries' stock market.

Cohen had also founded a pharmaceutical company named Future, just waiting for the funding to roll in, which would allow him to hire Dr. Karen, who was researching vampire blood.

When the time came, they would research the Brotherhood's healing pool formula and launch a new drug—that would be sure, to be an instant hit.

Instant recovery from almost fatal injuries overnight? This would completely revolutionize human medical understanding!

It was easy to predict that a massive medical empire would rise from this.

Just before leaving, Cohen finally received a treasure he had long been waiting for—

Vibranium soft armor.

The same one Kingpin wore.

Made by weaving fine strands of vibranium with other high-tech fibers.

Though it didn't offer the same protection as a full vibranium steel plate, it still outperformed the best heavy bulletproof vests on the market.

Thanks to Kingpin's massive physique, after the modification, Cohen not only received a vibranium vest but also vibranium pants.

Combined with his own defensive attributes, even charging into a battlefield of exploding gunfire would hardly faze him!

Besides saving Stark and making money, he could also conveniently upgrade his gear.

Terrorists were definitely his target, and on top of that...

Speaking of which, did the US military in Afghanistan have any guilt?

(End of Chapter)