American Comics: Tales of Cultivator

American Comics: Tales of a Cultivator

Chapter 175: Cocktail Party, Bishop

(A little known fact is that Pennsylvania Avenue is also a location for official parades and civilian protests!)

Tang Song drove his sports car along Pennsylvania Avenue towards the White House. At this time, there weren't many people on Pennsylvania Avenue.

It seemed there weren't any significant demonstration marches today. It looked like those environmentalists, animal protectionists, and anti-racism activists weren't making much noise.

Tang Song clicked his tongue, feeling a little regretful.

He had been in this world for over three years, but he hadn't yet seen a demonstration march in the Federation. It should be quite interesting.

However, he could arrange for someone to organize a demonstration march later. The reason? Protecting rare extraterrestrial life forms? Supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage? Tang Song glanced at Rogue beside him, or perhaps, opposing Mutant discrimination? Organizing such a demonstration against Mutant discrimination could be an opportunity to gain some goodwill from Magneto and the Mutants.

As for the Mutant race, apart from a few powerful individuals, Tang Song didn't pay much attention to many of them.

Mutants' abilities originated from the X-Gene within their bodies. In the Marvel World, where black technology was everywhere, cloning and replicating this gene wasn't difficult.

If Tang Song remembered correctly, in the original plot, Colonel Stryker from the Department of Defense had achieved many research results.

Later on, there was even an antidote developed to suppress Mutant abilities, as well as Sentinels.

Compared to the strength displayed by individual Mutants, Sentinels, which combined various Mutant abilities, could even be said to be no less formidable than Tony Stark's Iron Suit / Armor.

Speaking of which, who was the scientist who developed the Sentinels?

Tang Song was very interested in Sentinels, but he thought for a long time and still couldn't remember who the developer of the Sentinels was.

It wasn't that his memory was bad, but rather that when he was on Earth, he hadn't paid attention to this area at all.

He'd have someone look into it later. Tang Song thought as he drove his sports car. The car got closer and closer to the White House.

Along the way, the pedestrians on Pennsylvania Avenue became fewer and fewer, and large numbers of police cars appeared on both sides.

There was a Riot Police Vehicle every ten meters or so, and Federal Police officers with police dogs patrolled back and forth on the avenue. It looked like half the street was under martial law.

When they saw Tang Song's sports car, many patrolling Police Officers cast scrutinizing gazes.

However, a luxury car worth several million was the best pass, and Tang Song directly placed the Invitation in front of the sports car's windshield, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Rogue, sitting in the front passenger seat, looked at the dense rows of Federal Police on both sides, nervously gripping her seatbelt tightly.

She turned her head to look at Tang Song, wanting to ask him where he was going and what kind of cocktail party would have such a large security presence.

As the sports car got closer to the White House, the On-duty Police Officers on the roadside had been replaced by fully armed National Guard.

The Federation's National Guard is actually more accurately described as state militia.

Each state has its own National Guard, which is under the command of the Governor, while the National Guard in Washington can only be mobilized by the President.

Rogue looked at the dozens of tons of active tanks parked on the sides of the road and the fully armed National Guard Soldiers holding assault rifles, and suddenly had an urge to jump out of the car.

She just wanted to come along for a free buffet. Otherwise, could she just not eat this meal?

"The cocktail party you mentioned is here?"

Looking at the White House, which was within reach, Rogue even suspected that Tang Song was going to drive the car into the White House.

Fortunately, Tang Song seemed to consider her nerves, turned the steering wheel, and drove the car towards the Hotel diagonally opposite the White House.

Rogue looked at the solemn Blair House in front of her, then turned her head to look at the White House, which was within reach, diagonally opposite.

Her mouth formed an O shape, and she looked at Tang Song with an expression of disbelief on her face.

"If the location on the Invitation is correct, it should be here!"

Tang Song took out the Invitation he had casually thrown into the storage compartment and checked the address on the Invitation.

"1651-1653 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.! The address is correct! Let's go!"

Tang Song directly parked the sports car at the Entrance of Blair House!

At the Entrance of Blair House, seven or eight Security Personnel wearing black suits and earpieces, looking extremely professional, were checking the Invitations of the Guests attending the cocktail party and conducting a simple routine inspection.

When Tang Song parked the sports car in the parking spot at the State Guest House Entrance, Hawkeye, who was standing at the entrance and directing the security work, noticed Tang Song.

He signaled to several S.H.I.E.L.D. Security Personnel and walked towards Tang Song's sports car himself.

"Are you sure the cocktail party is here? They won't kick us out, will they?" Rogue looked at the Black-clothed Bodyguard walking towards them, nervously gripping Tang Song's arm tightly.

As Hawkeye, dressed in a black suit, wearing an earpiece, and looking like a professional Bodyguard, walked up to the sports car, Rogue's grip on Tang Song's hand tightened even more.

"Mr. Tang, long time no see!"

Hawkeye Barton walked up to the sports car and greeted Tang Song.

He and Tang Song were old acquaintances. Back on the cruise ship, if Boss Tang hadn't mediated, he would have been tied up by Magneto and thrown In the Sea to feed the sharks.

"Agent Barton, is S.H.I.E.L.D. responsible for the security work this time? Isn't this the Secret Service's job?"

Tang Song got out of the sports car, greeted Hawkeye, looked at the Security Personnel at the Entrance, and asked curiously.

"The President is still across the street. We are only responsible for the personal safety of the King of Wakanda!" Hawkeye gestured towards the White House diagonally opposite and explained to Tang Song.

Tang Song walked to the front passenger seat and opened the car door for Rogue. Rogue linked her arm through his and got out of the car.

"Mr. Tang, I'll accompany you inside!"

Hawkeye led the way, taking Tang Song and Rogue towards the Hotel Gate.

At this moment, a stretched Lincoln sedan stopped directly in front of the Hotel.

A graceful and noble Middle-aged Man, clearly in a high position, slowly walked out surrounded by several beauties.

This slightly old-fashioned Lincoln sedan wasn't very expensive, but the identity of the Middle-aged Man before them was someone many people would never be able to curry favor with in their entire lives.

"He is David Rockefeller, the current head of the Rockefeller family..."

Hawkeye introduced the man's identity to Tang Song while vigilantly observing Tang Song's expression and action.

Because of this security work, he had studied the guest list for this cocktail party and circled several unstable factors.

Tang Song, this magnate of the Underworld and the underworld emperor of New York, was naturally at the top of the list.

This was also the reason why Hawkeye had been following Tang Song closely.

If Tang Song made any move that could be detrimental to the Guests, it would be convenient to stop him immediately.

"David Rockefeller? Didn't they say he's over ninety years old? How is he so young?"

Rogue, who had been intimidated by the scene and followed Tang Song timidly and silently, couldn't help but ask in doubt when she heard Hawkeye introduce the Middle-aged Man's identity.

"Because he has money!" Tang Song watched as several Security Personnel in black suits bowed respectfully to the Middle-aged Man and his entourage, and then specifically dispatched someone to lead him into the Hotel.

"In the Federation, as long as you have money, you can achieve many wishes, including eternal youth!" Tang Song smiled and looked down at Rogue, explaining to her.

"After you have money, you'll find that there aren't many troubles that bother you. If there are, it's just that you don't have enough money!"

Rogue nodded, half-understanding, then asked with a mix of envy and suspicion, "Eternal youth? Can that be achieved with the current technological level?"

No girl didn't want to stay young forever, even if she was a high school girl.

"In the underground Black Market, a set of cosmetics made from vampire heart blood costs only two hundred thousand US dollars. Applying it once a day can guarantee your appearance won't change for three to five years!"

"Vampires? You're joking with me again. That's something from urban legend. How could it really exist!"

Rogue pouted in disappointment. Tang Song shook his head and smiled, not explaining further.

This cosmetic, named Blood Bloom, which contained vampire heart blood, was the latest product from Hive Laboratory.

As he said, a box of cosmetics selling for two hundred thousand US dollars could maintain a person's appearance for three to five years.

But one box of Blood Bloom could only last a month at most.

Two hundred thousand US dollars a month... for rich people, the maintenance cost they spent on their body each month was more than that amount.

Limited by raw materials, Hive Laboratory only released three hundred sets of Blood Bloom cosmetics into the Black Market each month.

Each time, within two minutes, all three hundred sets of Blood Bloom were snatched up.

If it weren't for the limitation of raw materials, the popularity of this cosmetic in the underground Black Market alone would be enough to make Hive Laboratory's research funding self-sufficient.

Rogue thought Tang Song was joking with her, but Hawkeye beside them looked at Tang Song thoughtfully.

He knew Tang Song's true identity. This kind of thing, Tang Song clearly wasn't joking about.

Cosmetics made from vampire heart blood, he silently made a note of it.

Hawkeye accompanied Tang Song and Rogue as they stepped through the Hotel's main gate and entered the Hall of Blair House.

Inside the Hotel, a group of elegantly dressed men and women gathered together, greeting each other with incredibly refined words and extremely hypocritical tones.

From a distance, Tang Song saw the Black Person fat Elder standing in the center of the Hall, surrounded by a dozen chubby old men, like stars surrounding the moon, desperately flattering him.

Clearly, he was the main figure of this cocktail party, T'Chaka, the King of Wakanda.

Surrounding him were the top consortium heads from the Federation's upper echelon. Among this group, Tang Song also saw Pepper Potts, who was squeezed into the outermost circle.

Clearly, to these true consortiums of the Federation, while Stark Industries was developing rapidly and worth taking seriously,

Compared to these old-established consortiums, Stark Industries still fell short of being true consortiums.

In the Federation, a true consortium, in addition to achieving a near-monopoly effect in a certain industry, must also be involved in other industry fields, weaving itself into a vast network covering the Federation. Most importantly, a consortium must have its own bank and insurance business, tying themselves to the Federation's economy and public welfare.

They were truly too big to fail in the Federation. If they collapsed, it would be almost equivalent to the entire Federation's economy and public welfare having problems.

In this regard, Stark Industries was still far behind. It was only recently that Stark Industries ventured into the energy industry that these arrogant consortiums started to take it more seriously.

As for Oscorp, Tang Song didn't see any acquaintances in the Cocktail Party Hall besides Pepper Potts.

Clearly, Norman Osborn hadn't received an Invitation.

On the other hand, Tang Song didn't think his net worth was qualified to receive this Invitation.

Looking at Hawkeye, who was following closely beside him, Tang Song gave him a subtle glance.

Tang Song had no interest in these cocktail party social events. He came this time purely to watch the show.

He was just about to take Rogue to the buffet area of the cocktail party to get something to eat when an Elder wearing a black clergy robe saw Tang Song, his eyes lit up, and he strode towards him.

"Hello, Tang, I heard West mention you. I didn't expect to see you here!"

The Elder warmly shook hands with Tang Song.

"Excuse me, you are?"

Tang Song looked at the enthusiastic Elder. From his attire, this person was clearly also from The Church, but he really didn't recognize him.

"This is Bishop Hyde, the Bishop of the Federation's Great Church!" Hawkeye introduced from the side.

"Hello, Bishop Hyde!" Tang Song subtly sized up the Elder before him, whose hair and beard were white, and who bore some resemblance to Santa Claus.

Bishop Hyde laughed heartily, "Just call me Hyde. West and Weyland have both mentioned you to me!"

"You are also..." Hearing the Elder mention Weyland's name, Tang Song's heart jolted. Was this still The Church? It was practically a branch of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood.

So, Hydra's practice of occupying the magpie's nest had a legacy.

"Our world should not end like this!" Bishop Hyde said the slogan/motto of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood to Tang Song in a deliberately mysterious manner.

At the same time, he glanced at Hawkeye, who was dressed as security, "There's nothing for you here. I'll accompany Tang!"

Hawkeye glanced at Tang Song and silently withdrew.

Bishop Hyde eagerly led Tang Song into the slightly ostentatious Hall. He smiled and introduced the identities of the elegantly dressed men and women to Tang Song and Rogue.

"Bishop Hyde, why are there so many of 'our people' within The Church?"

Rogue held a tray, picking up the free delicacies from the buffet area. Expensive foie gras and black caviar piled up on a large plate.

Tang Song held a champagne and stood in the Corner chatting with Bishop Hyde. Tang Song asked Bishop Hyde about his doubt.

Hyde smiled and asked in return, "Do you think God is an earthling or an alien?"

God is definitely an earthling...

Tang Song was about to blurt it out, but then he thought about it. Jesus was indeed an earthling, but God might not be.

Thinking about Odin and Asgard, it was possible that God was indeed an alien race.

"The purpose of our Sacred Shield Brotherhood is to prevent alien invasion. He is one of them. For us, a slumbering God who doesn't perform miracles is a good God!"

In the Corner of the cocktail party, a bishop wearing a clergy robe casually uttered the most blasphemous words.

If someone who believed in Catholicism heard this, it would be enough to shatter their faith.

"Render unto God the things that are God's, and unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's!" Tang Song understood. "Render unto God the things that are God's, and unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. This sentence is very philosophical!" Hyde savored the words, nodded in agreement, and said:

"God should be enshrined high on the cross. He doesn't need to bother with worldly matters!"

(end of chapter)