Chapter 76: The Meteorite from Outer Space

Seeing Clark completely unaware of the past nine years, Murdock patiently began to enlighten him.

First was Hawkeye, which was the easiest to explain, as there had been no news of him since he left New York nine years ago.

The Avengers group chat still existed, and everyone only knew he was alive through occasional holiday greetings, without knowing his circumstances.

Then there was Hank Pym.

Although Clark's experiment had an accident, it was overall considered a success. After all, from the experiment's goal, he successfully revived Hank Pym!

After waking up, Pym delved deeper into quantum realm research, not only to rescue his wife but also to save Clark and Mindy.

Now, Pym had handed over his company to his disciple to manage, focusing entirely on quantum realm research, even establishing a large research institution near his residence.

Even his Marsha fitness club didn't close down; under Hope's management, it became more prosperous than before.

As for Clark's Nirvana Film, managed by Nalan Bai, it was in perfect order, especially after Pym, a heavyweight figure, helped her breakthrough, the business was booming.

Using Clark's scripts and development plans, Nalan Bai turned a company with a few tens of millions in startup capital into a giant with a market value of several billion, becoming a global leader in the animation and film industry.

Her legendary experience was enough for Clark to write a metropolitan transformation-themed novel.

"Clap! Clap!..."

After hearing Murdock's narration, Clark finally understood his current situation, tapping the table lightly with his fingers, lost in deep thought.

Because he successfully saved Hank Pym, everything had developed in a good direction over these nine years.

And now, in April 2008, the plot of "Iron Man 1" was about to officially begin.

He had a bold guess about the true cause of the experimental accident.

"Clark, where do you plan to go first?" Murdock asked at this moment: "If you're going to see Dr. Pym or Nirvana Film, you can take my car, or should I first go to our Hand headquarters?"

Clark's thoughts were pulled back to reality by Murdock's words, and he said calmly: "Let's go see Uncle Pym first. I still need to think about how to face Nalan Bai."

Clark was somewhat apprehensive about meeting Nalan Bai.

It wasn't that Clark was afraid of her, but rather he felt guilty.

After all, her father had taught him everything he knew, and he had promised to take care of Nalan Bai.

But what happened? Since sending Nalan Rong and his family on the plane, he hadn't appeared in front of Nalan Bai, and the one time he did, it was to ask for her help.

Even though she agreed to help without hesitation, he had originally promised to return within three years, but now, nine years had passed, and he felt he had gone too far.

Compared to that, facing Hank Pym didn't carry the same psychological burden.

Since a blind man can't get a driver's license, as the leader of the Hand, Murdock had his own personal driver.

After the three of them got in the car, Murdock first instructed the driver to head to the Hand's headquarters, then explained to Clark: "Yesterday, I just got a meteorite, and I'm not sure if it's anything special, but I thought Dr. Pym might be interested, so I thought of bringing it over."

Looking at the car, it was even worse than the one Hawkeye's brother, Barney, used to practice drifting. Clark couldn't help asking with some curiosity: "It seems the Hand's financial situation isn't very optimistic, is it?"

Murdock could only respond with a bitter smile: "I shouldn't complain to you, but since you asked, I'm not afraid of your ridicule..."

Finally finding someone to confide in, Murdock immediately began pouring out his grievances to Clark.

Both involved in the mafia, Murdock's life was exceptionally tough.

The reason was simple: he was a good person.

A good person struggling in a field not suited for good people to thrive, managing to keep his principles intact was already remarkable. His various bottom lines also meant that the Hand's lower-ranking members' welfare and treatment got worse and worse, almost to the point of widespread complaints.

Logically, people follow you for some benefit, right?

But what Murdock could offer was not what those societal figures wanted!

He was only able to maintain support through his own formidable strength, occasional help from the Punisher to maintain authority, and a handful of loyal subordinates.

Especially recently, Hell's Kitchen saw the rise of a person claiming to be Kingpin, emerging like a storm, and many forces originally affiliated with the Hand, driven by interests, switched sides to Kingpin's camp, making Murdock feel overwhelmed.

"Speaking of which, I really envy your ability to make money." After venting, Murdock changed the subject: "Nirvana Film's development to this point, Miss Bai said it was all according to the development plan you set up back then. Even your novel has brought you wealth no less than 500 million, all of which is now with Dr. Pym."

Shaking his head, Murdock couldn't help but sigh: "Compared to that, I really feel useless."

Hearing Murdock mention Clark's novel, Mindy suddenly perked up: "Clark, are you planning to continue writing the next one?"

"Of course!" Clark grinned: "For the second book, I plan to write a Western fantasy story. The protagonist is a strong little boy named Linley Baruch. Once, Linley saw a dragon in the mountains, but that dragon made him feel very uncomfortable."

Mindy immediately asked with interest: "Was it an evil dragon?"

Clark shook his head slightly: "The dragon wasn't evil, but Linley didn't like it. In his view, the dragon was too ugly. Dry and scaly, not plump at all..."

As they spoke, the car stopped, and Murdock timely interrupted Clark's rambling: "We've arrived at the Hand's headquarters."

The Hand's current headquarters was a skyscraper over fifty stories tall. Murdock, Clark, Mindy, and Murdock's driver, a party of four, took the elevator to the top floor, to Murdock's office.

Murdock pointed to a glass container on the central coffee table and said: "That's the meteorite I'm going to give to Dr. Pym."

Although they were several meters away from the glass container, for Clark's current eyesight, such a distance was as if it didn't exist.

Through the container, he clearly saw a strangely shaped rock inside, with a core that emitted a faint purple glow, resembling amethyst but more enchanting.

The most eye-catching part was the black substance at the center above the purple crystal, shaped like a chrysanthemum, looking like it was made of asphalt but exuding a faint sense of life.

"Ah!"

Just as Clark's attention was captivated by the meteorite, a scream suddenly came from Murdock behind him.