Superman

"This is... Mr. John Stillman?"

Howard, who has been in and out of the Pentagon all the year round and occasionally attended White House banquets, recognized the man in the photo at a glance.

The opponent is the right-hand man next to the president, John Stillman, who served as the chief of staff of the White House.

The seat he sits in is known as the "Second President" and "White House Gatekeeper". It can be said that he is one of the politicians closest to the center of power in Washington, DC.

"Who is the other guy? It's still a man—is there something wrong with Stillman's sexual orientation? This is big news!"

Howard always has the extraordinary talent to be able to crook anything to the lower body.

"But in politics, it shouldn't count as much. As far as I know, Hoover of the FBI is still bisexual."

"Luke, you know, those high-powered big people, they call themselves high-class people, but they are actually very low-class."

"Please don't take yourself out when you satirize them with harsh language."

Glancing at Howard, who was gradually getting out of the subject, Luke got up and walked to the wine cabinet, taking out a high-end whiskey that had come in from Stark's mansion.

"As the boss of Stark Industries, a strong arms tycoon... Howard, don't forget, you are also a member of the upper class full of nasty people."

"And, to some extent, you are still the backbone!"

Dangdang!

The ice cube hit the wall of the cup with a crisp sound.

The amber liquid was injected, rippling waves.

"Would you like a drink?"

Luke turned his head and asked.

"Use my collection to entertain me, you can really do business! No wonder the budget committee people have a headache when they see you!"

Howard was not forgiving, but he was very honest, and reached out to take the glass of whiskey.

"By the way, why did you notice Stillman?"

The Iron Man father was a little confused. In his impression, the Superman Lieutenant General was not very interested in politics, especially the politicians who played power.

Otherwise, the previous president showed soliciting intentions, and he does not need to refuse so quickly.

Luke took a sip of the cold liquid, his eyes flashed, and he whispered softly: "According to the six-dimensional space theory, the distance between you and any stranger you want to contact will not exceed six people."

"That is to say, in theory, you can get to know every stranger in the world by going through at most six intermediaries."

Howard squinted his eyes and curled his lips. "It sounds like a nonsense statement, but it's really interesting. Its logical trap is that no one knows who the six strangers are, and it lacks the conditions for specifying the target, so you can force it. Go round."

He lifted his chin and made an evaluation.

"Howard, why do you always fail to grasp the point?"

Luke reluctantly shook his head, pointed his finger at another man on the photo, and said, "I just want to say that if you want to explore a person's true identity and political position, you can start with his social circle, who he knows, The close relationship with someone, to some extent, represents his class and position."

"John Stillman is the president's confidant on the surface, the gatekeeper of the White House, and the second-largest figure in Washington's privileges, but he met a vampire in private, and the two stayed for a long time."

"vampire?"

Howard's voice increased several degrees.

He was deeply impressed by this.

"Yes. According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation, the person who met with Stillman was called Guettaro."

Luke pushed past the information on the table and said meaningfully: "The pure-blood descendant of Duke Dracula is also one of the powers of the North American Continental Vampire Council."

"It may sound incredible, but those nocturnal creatures that walk in the dark and dare not face the sun directly. They have a social system and power structure similar to humans."

"The Vampire Council, roughly equivalent to the Cabinet of the White House, has tremendous power and can mobilize family resources at any time."

"The White House chief of staff colluded with the Vampire Council..."

Under Howard's fine tasting, he seemed to have a taste.

"I heard you say before that vampires call themselves a longevity species. In their eyes, humans may only be a short part of a long life."

"So, Stillman wants to live longer?"

Thinking about it, vampires are the most attractive bargaining chip for mankind, and there is only the legendary immortality.

Everyone is afraid of death and hopes that cruel time can be merciful to his men.

"Not all right. Vampires will also age, but it is much slower than humans, far from reaching the point of immortality."

Luke corrected Howard's misconceptions and then continued: "As for Stillman's private contact with the Vampire Council, I started to think that it was an exchange of benefits, just like you."

"But with the in-depth investigation of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, I found that it is not that simple."

Having said this, Luke paused, looked at Howard, who was smitten, and asked with a smile: "Have you heard of the Hagui tribe?"

"Is it some kind of underground group that worships vampires?"

Howard thought for a few seconds, combined with the literal meaning, and gave the correct answer.

"That was true for the predecessor. Human beings are very complex creatures. Sometimes they need a specific image as a spiritual support."

Luke raised his glass, stared at the amber liquid, and said faintly: "The more empty the heart is, the more spiritual support is needed-but this is only normal belief, which belongs to personal freedom and there is no problem."

"When it comes to worship, that's another matter."

"There are money worship, male organ worship, and the most common idol worship in the world-all kinds."

"People always like to attach a certain strong desire or need to something specific."

"The Hagui tribe is a group of people who pursue immortality, immortality, young body, and fresh vitality... Later, they gradually developed into a group of people who worshiped vampires, wanted to become vampires, and even considered themselves slaves to vampires. Humans are low-level creatures."

"Oh, sad short-sighted guy."

There was a look of contempt on Howard's face.

In terms of his insight and pride, he naturally didn't look at him like these guys.

To be more precise, he thinks that because his heart is not strong enough, he gives up thinking about himself and gives this power to others-all can be classified as idiots.

of course--

Except for personal beliefs, that is not to mention worship.

Howard himself is not a pious Christian.

"I didn't expect Stillman to be a hag, who worships vampires secretly. He graduated from Duke University's law school. I thought that a law student should be more sensible than normal people."

"Don't just label people casually. Before I met you, I also felt that MIT's geniuses were probably the kind of nerds who were not close to women. I also think that scientists are always serious and rigid."

Luke's rebuttal left Howard speechless.

He tried Bailing's harsh and poisonous tongue, and placed it in front of the opponent, which seemed to be useless.

"After I left Washington, D.C., Stillman began to communicate with the Vampire Council. Before that, he did not show the slightest abnormality."

Luke opened up the vampire council's information, which was relatively simple, not as detailed as the White House chief of staff John Stillman.

From this point, we can see that the agents and agents of SHIELD may be okay when facing ordinary people.

But to deal with creatures like vampires, it seemed a little under-sighted.

"Actually, it's not just Stillman. From the information I have on hand and the results of the investigation, it is possible that one-third of the members of Congress are all Hagui tribes or have close contacts with them.

Luke told a shocking fact.

This is equivalent to the upper level of the national power pyramid, almost completely infiltrating the vampires.

Aware of the seriousness, Howard finally reduced his cynical and frivolous expression.

"The vampires of the North American continent seem to be a little better developed than Europe."

He took a sip of whiskey and expressed doubts.

"The situation on the two sides is different. The pure-blood descendants of Grand Duke Dracula know more about unity. They are closely connected with human society, while the situation in Europe is more chaotic."

Luke briefly introduced two sentences.

"In addition, the New York Sanctuary's attack on dark creatures is not strong, and this gives the Vampire Council a chance to survive."

Over the years, the penetration of pure-blood descendants into business and politics has been considerable.

At its peak, half of the top of Wall Street's large financial institutions were members of the Hagui tribe.

Therefore, Wall Street elites are called "vampires."

To explain it literally, it's actually correct.

"Howard, remember Kang the Conqueror I mentioned?"

Closing the data in his hand, a sharp light flashed across Luke's eyes.

Howard, who was sitting opposite, frowned, frowned and asked, "That guy who can travel through time and space and pretend to be historical celebrities everywhere?"

"Yes. I first thought that if Kang, the conqueror, were to choose a leader with high enough status and high enough power, he would probably set his sights on the Soviet Union."

Luke tapped his finger on the side of the wine glass and said softly: "If you really do this and turn yourself into the one in the Kremlin, even if he wants to start World War III, it may not be a problem."

"However, after I returned to New York and Washington, D.C., I saw the chief of staff colluding with the vampire council, and saw the simple and simple Mr. President... I couldn't help but come up with another idea."

"Suppose Kang the Conqueror is not in the Soviet Union, but-in the White House?"