Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 5805 - 4828: Home Alone (8)

Generally speaking, finance and industry can indeed complement each other, and it’s not necessary for one to die. But the problem is that many people in finance not only want to make money but also seek to control the country through financial means. Or rather, when financiers reach the end, they can only choose to control the country through financial means; otherwise, they will inevitably be swallowed by the bubble, without exception.

In this situation, whoever engages in industry is their enemy. Because if a country is not sufficiently financialized, the power they hold will decrease, and they might also be caught up by the bubble. Amidst this life-and-death crisis, they will do everything possible to erode the industrial base of this country to achieve complete financialization.

In this scenario, the Stark Group becomes a thorn in their side. As long as Stark survives, they find no peace.

And as is well known, New York has always been the domain of the Jewish consortium. Most of the top-notch tycoons here have intricate connections with the Jewish family. They are a very tight-knit whole, especially when it comes to dealing with external enemies.

"So, is it because the people here always unite against you, and that’s why you don’t like it here?" Ethan asked.

Stark shook his head and said, "After talking about the history of the Stark Family, we must discuss my father, Howard Stark. You don’t know much about him, but if it were Steve, he would say Howard is a pure businessman."

"That doesn’t sound too bad," Dr. Banner said.

"The key isn’t ’pure,’ but ’businessman,’" Stark said with some helplessness. "From my previous description, you might think the Stark Family is unwavering in its integrity. But quite the opposite, my father successfully mingled into the financial consortium, even thriving among them. In his final years before his death, he was busy socializing with them and rarely came home."

"Oh, I get it." Peter nodded, "No wonder he bought the house here, just to blend in, right?"

"Exactly. Before I was even born, they had already bought a house here. And during my childhood, they spent a lot of effort to integrate into the community. The process wasn’t pleasant. As I said before, they never liked Stark."

The others now completely understood. Despite the Stark Family being considered old money, when they moved to this community, they were outsiders, and even enemies of these consortia.

To do business, Howard put in significant effort to integrate among them, but it certainly wouldn’t have been smooth initially. As Howard’s son, Tony was also likely to face exclusion.

Adults can easily distinguish that it’s just for business and feel that no one turns down money, but kids don’t see it that way. From young Stark’s perspective, it was as if his parents insisted on taking him to live in a place that didn’t welcome him, and his parents insisted on socializing with these people. This must have left a very bad impression on him.

"And now..."

"Because I don’t like it here, I deliberately don’t tidy up the house. This makes the entire community look very ugly. They’ve been dissatisfied with me for a long time, so that’s why they came knocking today."

Ethan opened his mouth. He wanted to say that Stark’s actions were a bit childish. Because of his bad impression of this community, he intentionally let his old house become shabby and outdated to disgust his neighbors, which was almost like a child sulking.

But he thought about it, and Stark had such a capital. Even a super mansion didn’t mean much to him; he could let it waste away if he wanted to. Talking about cost-effectiveness with him was meaningless.

"So we came today for..."

Upon mentioning this, Stark finally brightened a bit. He smirked and enthusiastically said, "I heard there’s a house for sale in this community. I think our dear Doctor Schiller should have a beautiful house in the scenic Long Island Hamptons District."

Peter couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It was like Sima Zhao’s heart was known to all—the intention was so obvious. Just to retaliate against this community, Stark even thought about bringing Schiller over to be their neighbor. Sure, they aren’t exactly friendly to you, but do they really deserve this?

"This has actually been my plan for a long time," Stark said, "First, Hampton does indeed have many beautiful estates. I am confident in persuading the estate owners to sell their mansions. These houses are absolutely fine and can meet Schiller’s needs. Although the price is high, he should afford it."

"Secondly, this place isn’t only appealing to humans. In fact, many aliens are planning to buy houses here. Especially those interstellar council politicians. Even though these people aren’t causing any big incidents on Earth, gathering in this way will inevitably bother S.H.I.E.L.D. But with Schiller thrown into it, everyone would be troubled by Schiller."

"Lastly, my dear neighbors, with their several-generations inherited mental illnesses, need a proficient doctor to consult. Schiller is always willing to help, and I believe he would very much enjoy living in such an environment. Don’t you think?"

"You’ve almost convinced me," Peter couldn’t help but sigh, "Although I always felt you aimed for the last point, I must admit it’s also a good choice."

"It is the best choice," Stark emphasized.

"Understandable," Dr. Banner said, "But looking at how your house appears now, Schiller likely wouldn’t want to buy it..."

"That’s why I plan to clean it up," Stark said.

"You didn’t trick us into coming here to do the work, did you?" Ethan said helplessly, "You’re so wealthy, can’t you hire a cleaner?"

"You misunderstood," Stark said, "I wouldn’t be stingy about the money, nor would I tire my friends. I just have a better way... oh, they’re here."

As soon as Stark finished speaking, a few people saw several cars parked outside the door. Besides police cars, there were also several very expensive cars, and a big crowd hustling over in this direction.

"Watch my signals later," Stark said.

Leading the way were a few people in suits, but it was obvious they weren’t wealthy, they were lawyers. The police guards were on either side, and only those few wearing shirts and cashmere vests in the middle looked like wealthy individuals.

"From head to toe, they’re old money style," Peter sighed and said softly to Stark, "I’ve never seen you wear like that."

"Because that’s too silly," Stark said, "Pretending to be relaxed all the time really makes you look like a lunatic, don’t follow them."

Peter looked down at his own clothes: a hoodie with the Guardians of the Galaxy logo and jeans. Dr. Banner was dressed casually, like himself. Ethan was wearing a more formal suit because he had just got off work. Stark was in a casual suit.

When the group approached, Stark put on sunglasses and went over to open the door. They walked in without any defense, then were nearly choked by the rising dust.

"Cough cough cough... Stark, what the hell... cough cough cough..."

"Let me see who this is, Little Emily. Aren’t you that Ade’s sidekick?" Stark immediately mocked, "What should I call you? Mrs. Machin? Or is it Mrs. Pross?"

The woman leading, wearing a high-neck cashmere sweater and a light beige pencil skirt, covered her mouth with a tissue, coughing violently and glaring viciously at Stark, then said, "Mrs. Avers, thank you."

"My goodness, how did you marry such a down-and-out loser?" Stark seemed genuinely shocked and confused, "You didn’t actually... at the graduation party... did he drug you???"

Peter quickly pulled on him because Mrs. Avers’s eyes already looked murderous. Stark turned to another person and said, "And who are you? That idiot Nochi from the football team? The one who overdosed at the middle school graduation prom..."

"Shut up! Damn Stark!" the tall man shouted, "If you don’t shut your mouth, you’re out of the community!"

Stark wasn’t angry at all. He even said happily, "It’s such a joy to reunite with old friends. Where’s your group? How come it’s just you two? Did the others not earn enough and starve to death?"

Ethan also pulled on Stark. Stark rolled his eyes, but still said, "Why have you brought so many cops to my house, what’s up?"

"Apologies, sir," one of the lawyers stepped forward, "According to the East Hampton Green Maple County community covenant, you failed to perform the required house repairs and lawn maintenance specified by the community. We previously issued a 30-day rectification notice, which you did not comply with. After a community vote, we have the right to auction your house..."

"Don’t talk about those unrealistic things," Stark seemed utterly unconcerned, "just say what you really want."

"I must emphasize, we indeed can..."

"No, you can’t," Stark said, "I have more than twenty mechas stored in the basement of this house. They only follow my orders. Aren’t you afraid that if you buy this house, they’ll come to your bedside at night to sing you lullabies?"

"If the house is auctioned off, you must clear out as required..."

"I can move them, but no one can guarantee their auto-pilot systems will work properly," Stark shrugged.

The lawyer seemed to be out of options and glanced helplessly at the two wealthy individuals. That woman still glared at Stark viciously and said, "Clean up your pile of crap of a house, Stark! There’s a major road less than a kilometer from here, how do you expect passersby to see us?!"

"No problem," Stark agreed very quickly, "but you’ll have to pay the cleaning bill."

The man widened his eyes at Stark, seemingly not knowing how he could be so shameless. Stark spread his hands and said, "It’s you who worry my house tarnishes the community image, I’m not worried. Because I don’t live here, no one will say, ’Oh, look, since Stark’s old house is so ugly, he must be an idiot too.’ So why should I pay to clean it up?"

The two were obviously at a loss for words. Stark continued, "Whoever benefits should pay. It’s as simple as that."

Before they could say anything, Stark interrupted and got ahead of them, saying, "Think carefully, I might only come back this once in the next few years. If you don’t let me sign the cleaning access permit, my weeds might very well spread to the road."

They rolled their eyes in irritation, but ultimately had to call a cleaning company. Because of this house’s excellent location, its ugliness is likewise highly conspicuous. To make matters worse, this elevated area allows more than half the beach nearby to see it, seriously impacting the cityscape. If left untended, it would affect not just the entire community but all of East Hampton.

And they knew Stark very well; this guy only responds to a soft approach, not a hard one. If you clash with him, he really won’t come for a decade. As for going to Stark Group to find him, don’t even joke about it, they wouldn’t even see the parking lot security.