William stood in the center of the underground garage, an Audi car key in his left hand and a taxi key in his right.
One was a ticket to high society, the other a pass to Hell's Kitchen.
He felt like a player who had just left the Novice Village and simultaneously accepted two main quests: 'Business Empire' and 'Dark Knight', and neither line could be deleted.
He pulled out the phone he specifically used to contact the Moon Knight Group, found the only contact, with a simple and direct note: [Moon Knight Employee (Three-person Shift)].
Before making the call, he engaged in some devout mental preparation.
"It's best if Stephen answers, I can handle him with afternoon tea and donuts."
"Mark is also fine, I'll just talk money and equipment directly."
"Please, not Jack. Communicating with that guy is harder than negotiating a business deal with a silent lamb."
He pressed the dial button.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered, so long that William thought the other party was in an internal meeting, discussing whether to block their boss.
"Speak."
One word, hoarse, brief.
Carrying a coldness from the streets.
It's over.
Murphy's Law never deceives me; what you fear most comes true.
William immediately switched to his most professional insurance consultant mode, even adopting a bit of an HR director's cordiality.
"Good morning! Jack, right? I'm William, your... uh, business consultant. I have good news for you, the company's new car for you has arrived, top configuration, absolutely beyond your imagination!"
"Come to the third basement level of Stark Tower to pick it up, and while you're at it, shall we talk about employee benefits?"
Silence on the other end of the line.
William could even hear the hiss of the current; he suspected Jack was physically contemplating whether or not to come over.
The call was suddenly cut off.
William held his phone, feeling like he had just made a scam call announcing a lottery win.
Alright, at least he's coming.
Less than ten minutes later.
William hadn't even had a chance to properly admire his new Audi when a figure emerged from the shadows of the garage entrance.
Jack Lockley.
He hadn't driven, he seemed to have seeped out of the darkness, wearing an ordinary jacket and a low-brimmed baseball cap.
The whole person blended into the surroundings, yet carried an incongruous sense of danger.
"Did you walk here?"
William couldn't help but ask.
This was Manhattan; it would take at least half an hour to walk from anywhere, wouldn't it?
Jack didn't answer; his attention was completely drawn to the yellow taxi.
William cleared his throat, walked over, and like a top salesperson at a 4S dealership, opened the taxi's back door.
"Please see, the Moon Knight Group custom-edition urban commuter vehicle, codenamed 'Silent Lamb'. Low-key exterior, with hidden depths inside."
Jack walked around the car.
His fingers glided across the car window; the deep black glass left no fingerprints.
He sat in the driver's seat, hands on the steering wheel, as if making first contact with a Beast.
William got into the passenger seat and began his product introduction.
"Happy, Mr. Stark's bodyguard, personally supervised it. The body is a titanium alloy frame, covered externally with composite armor mixed with tungsten carbide, the windows are one-way bulletproof, blended with Kevlar and a thin layer of pseudo-Vibranium plating..."
"Of course, when you get a chance, you can go to Wakanda to get some real Vibranium; remember to save some for me..."
As he spoke, he reached under the dashboard and pressed a button; a cover slid open, revealing a row of touch buttons.
"This one, high-viscosity graphene lubricant; those chasing you will experience what 'silky smooth' chain rear-end collisions are like."
"This one, covering smoke screen; physical mosaic, protecting privacy, everyone's responsibility."
"This one, directional short-range electromagnetic pulse; specially designed to cure all kinds of high-beam bullies and electronic device addiction."
"And this one,"
William pointed to the last sharp triangular symbol.
"Non-lethal alloy spikes hidden within the wheels. Remember, Mr. Stark emphasizes that we should love peace, so this thing will only puncture tires, not harm the innocent."
"Of course, you can modify it yourself."
Jack, without a word, reached out his finger, ready to lightly touch the button with the lightning symbol.
"Don't!"
William jumped in fright.
"This thing doesn't have a friendly-fire identification system! All the lights in the entire garage would go out!"
Jack's finger paused in mid-air, then retracted.
William let out a sigh of relief, feeling his heart on a roller coaster.
He took out the new phone and car key Happy had given him and handed them over.
"This is the new communication device, encrypted. And this is the car's main control panel. Most importantly,"
William's expression became serious.
"When you change shifts, press this software on the phone. I need to know who is 'driving' right now: Stephen, Mark, or you. This is related to the determination of liability for insurance claims, and also... performance appraisal."
Jack took the key and phone, weighing them in his hand.
"How have things been recently?"
William tried to initiate a friendly boss-employee conversation.
"Is business going smoothly? Have you encountered any difficult 'clients'?"
Jack finally spoke; he looked straight ahead, his face under the brim of his hat unreadable.
"The streets are dirty."
"So they need to be cleaned up."
William immediately responded.
"Now you have better tools."
Jack said nothing more.
He started the car.
Vroom—
The engine's sound was not the roar of an ordinary taxi.
It was a low, Beast-like growl of awakening.
William, sensing the moment, opened the car door and got out.
Jack didn't look at him, just skillfully shifted gears and turned the steering wheel.
This priceless super taxi, like a yellow bolt of lightning, silently glided into the ramp leading to the surface, merging into New York's never-ending traffic flow.
William stood in place, looking at the empty parking spot.
He felt like an arms dealer who had just completed a deal capable of altering the ecological balance of all New York.
He let out a long breath and turned to walk towards his black Audi.
Life, oh life, is just that simple and unpretentious.
And boring.
Just as he opened the car door, ready to get in and experience the luxury of capitalism, his personal phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out and saw a system notification.
[Peter Parker Claim Application]
[Customer Name: Peter Parker]
[Insurance Type: Scientific Exploration Safety Assurance (Upgraded Edition)]
[Incident Summary: Attacked by a genetically modified spider specimen during a visit to an Oscorp laboratory, resulting in a bite.]
[Preliminary Diagnosis: Acute systemic allergic reaction, accompanied by high fever, muscle spasms, and an unknown rapid genetic sequence recombination phenomenon.]
[Claim Request: Application for 'Emergency Medical Assistance' and 'Superpower Awakening Observation and Guidance' services.]
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