When Anqiluo woke up that morning, Number Six had already prepared breakfast, and under Number One's lead, the main hall had been cleaned spotless.
After his conversation with Matt Murdock the night before, Anqiluo decided not to send the women away for now. They all seemed a little unstable mentally. At the very least, staying here would keep them safe.
As for the future, he'd deal with it later.
After eating, Anqiluo opened the church doors like a proper business owner.
Well, the doors were open. If no one showed up, that wasn't his problem.
He hadn't expected any visitors.
He was wrong.
Standing outside was a bald Russian.
"Alexei! Don't you have anything better to do?" Anqiluo said, half annoyed, half amused. "You're a gang boss. Why are you here every day? Aren't you worried someone's going to take you out on the street?"
"Heh." Alexei grinned foolishly, which only made Anqiluo more speechless. "Not worried. Everyone in Hell's Kitchen knows the priest is protecting me now. Nobody dares touch me."
Anqiluo stepped aside to let him in.
He knew that dumb act was probably fake. A ruthless arms dealer wouldn't survive long acting like an idiot. Still, there was something oddly convincing about it.
And besides, the man had paid. No reason to turn him away.
"So," Anqiluo said after Alexei sat down, raising an eyebrow, "no one dares touch you?"
"Yeah. Your reputation's spreading fast in Hell's Kitchen…"
Before they could keep talking, a loud, irritating voice came from outside.
"Happy, make a note. Once we buy this place, replace the door with an automatic one. It's ugly. And those statues out front? Swap them out for something like The Thinker. Honestly, I'm starting to regret coming here. What's so special about this dump?"
Anqiluo looked toward the entrance.
A sharply dressed man swaggered in, his tie loose and crooked, sunglasses perched on his nose, and a smug little goatee under it. Behind him followed a capable-looking blonde woman in her thirties, who shot Anqiluo an apologetic look.
There was also a heavyset man who looked like a bodyguard. Judging by his build, though, even Alexei could probably beat him.
Number One's expression darkened.
This place was her home, her belief. Hearing someone talk like that made her visibly upset.
Even if the guy looked rich.
The flashy man immediately noticed her. "Wow. Now that's a beautiful woman. Want to grab dinner sometime? Why the look? Don't tell me you don't recognize me. I'm Tony Stark. One of the richest men in the world. Have I not been on camera enough lately?"
Number One didn't react. She just stared at him coldly, expressionless.
Tony got nothing out of it.
To be fair, Anqiluo had liked Iron Man in the movies. But this version of Tony clearly hadn't become that yet. He was still the same arrogant playboy everyone wanted to punch.
Right now, Anqiluo really wanted to break his legs and throw him out.
"Hey. Hey. Hey." Anqiluo's tone turned sharp. "I know you, Stark. What are you doing here? Thinking of confessing to all the women you've slept with and dumped?"
That landed exactly where it hurt.
Even Pepper's expression stiffened. She couldn't argue with it. Cleaning up after Tony's flings was part of her job, and it wasn't exactly pleasant.
It was like being handed a mess and told to deal with it.
Tony, however, didn't seem embarrassed. He turned to Anqiluo. "Wow, Anqiluo Rocks. Finally meeting you in person. You know me, but you might not know that you trashed me in an online game the other day. Lucky for you, I'm generous. I'm not holding it against you. I heard you want fifty million for this church? Fine. I'll take it. But the deal includes that beautiful lady."
If he'd come here politely, Anqiluo might have actually sold the place.
Not anymore.
Still, Anqiluo was surprised. The guy he argued with online was Tony Stark? He'd thought it was just some random trash talker.
And Tony had actually tracked him down in real life?
Anqiluo's expression went cold. He stopped Alexei, who was already getting ready to stand up and "have a talk" with Tony.
"Stark," he said, voice dripping with mockery, "do you really think money lets you do whatever you want?"
Tony caught the tone immediately and frowned. "What can't money solve? If something can't be fixed, it just means you don't have enough. Sorry, but yeah, money can do whatever it wants."
He shrugged casually.
Anqiluo forced himself not to hit him. Instead, he waved his hand and pulled out a gold coin from his space inventory, holding it up.
It looked like he had conjured it out of thin air.
"Nice trick," Tony said. Then he turned to his bodyguard. "Happy, make a note. Tip the magician an extra dollar later. My treat."
Anqiluo gave him a cold look.
Then, with a thought, the coin in his hand began to multiply.
Coins started pouring out like a fountain.
Everyone froze.
This wasn't a trick.
In seconds, the number of coins far exceeded what anyone could possibly hide on their body.
Number One and the others stared in awe. Gold appearing from nothing.
A miracle.
Anqiluo didn't stop.
The coins kept pouring out, spreading across the floor, rising higher and higher, covering everyone's feet.
Still rising.
"What is this? Some kind of new tech? Advanced projection?" Tony exclaimed. But as he felt the weight under his feet, his expression shifted.
This was real.
Happy stepped forward cautiously, ready to intervene.
Anqiluo pointed at him. "I know you, Happy. Don't move."
At the same time, his other hand sent a stream of coins straight at him.
Happy tried to block them, but it was pointless. The coins fell faster than he could react.
In moments, he was buried.
Anqiluo's storage was maxed out with gold. If he emptied it all, he could bury the entire street.
This was what it meant to crush someone with money.
When the gold finally reached everyone's chest, Anqiluo stopped.
Not because he ran out.
Because he didn't want the building to collapse under the weight.
After all, Stark had just offered fifty million for the place.
It would be a waste if it fell apart now.