American comics: Becoming the god of technology from Osborn

Chapter 61: Is this prosperous age what you wish for?
"Is this... Times Square?"

Bucky stared blankly at the towering buildings and dazzling neon lights in front of him, his eyes full of surprise.

“It’s completely different from before.”

"Didn't you come to Times Square when you were doing The Winter Soldier?"

Next to him, Harry looked at him strangely and asked.

"No, I will only be awakened when I am on an assassination mission. In order to avoid being discovered, the mission location is usually chosen in a relatively desolate place. After completing the mission, I will return to freezing immediately and have no chance to observe changes in the outside world."

Bucky shook his head.

"Besides, given my mental state at that time, I would not be interested in anything other than the mission objective."

"That's why I brought you out to see the world now, Bucky. You've become yourself again. You should take a good look at the results of your desperate fight for this country decades ago."

Harry patted his shoulder in comfort.

"Believe me, America today will definitely surprise you."

But for some reason, even though he said warm words, there was always an indescribable meaning in his tone.

Bucky had a feeling that Harry was hiding something, but he didn't dwell on it. He was immersed in the earth-shaking changes that were taking place in New York.

The busy commercial streets, the towering skyscrapers all around, and the large electronic display screens that always broadcast clear images, which seemed like alien technology in the 1940s.

Looking at this extremely prosperous scene, Bucky felt that the countless bloody battles he had experienced with Steve in the past were all worth it at this moment.

Isn’t this the peace they dreamed of during the war?
boom!
At this moment, an explosion was heard from the other end of the street, accompanied by screams from the surrounding crowd.

What’s interesting is that although the faces of the people around were filled with undisguised fear, their movements as they fled were extremely orderly, and in the blink of an eye the entire street was deserted.

"Why do you always have to ruin my life, Spider-Man!"

A man wearing a yellow tight uniform and a pair of mechanical gloves on his hands rushed out of a department store.

While roaring angrily, he continuously emitted shock waves with his gloves, wantonly destroying the surrounding environment.

"Because you tried to shatter a jewelry store's glass case and steal their jewelry? Horror, I won't let you do whatever you want!"

At this moment, a red and blue figure swung out from the department store. It was Spider-Man.

Immediately afterwards, the two men started a fierce fight. The terrifying shock wave was powerful, and the huge Times Square became bumpy in an instant.

Harry and Bucky are far away from the two people fighting and will not be affected.

For a moment, Buggy felt as if he was back on the battlefield with the roar of artillery fire.

"What's going on? Where are the police?"

Bucky looked at this inexplicable battle with a puzzled look on his face.

"Once the fight is over, the police will show up."

Harry said with a normal expression.

"Don't worry, similar incidents happen almost every week and people are used to it."

"Once a week?"

Bucky looked at Harry in disbelief.

"Oh, sorry, my words may be a little exaggerated."

Harry corrected, "It should happen at least three times a week, and each time different faces appear, and both sides change." "In the past decade or so, superpower criminals and high-tech criminals have appeared more and more frequently. The police are unable to fight them, so a large number of superheroes have been born, just like the masked man in a tights who swings with spider silk. He is Spider-Man."

"I'm going to go over and help."

Buggy looked at the battlefield where the destruction was getting bigger and bigger, and he couldn't sit still anymore. The sense of justice in his heart made him unable to turn a blind eye to what was happening before his eyes.

"Don't worry, do you know who the person who is destroying the surroundings crazily is?"

Harry stopped Bucky.

"I don't care who he is."

"Listen to what I have to say before you make any judgment."

Harry pointed at Thriller and introduced him, "The man in the yellow uniform calls himself Thriller. His real name is Herman Schultz. He has a history of thefts. The pair of gloves that can release powerful shock waves were made by him alone after he escaped from prison."

"You want to say he's a tech genius? He has a smart mind but he always wants to infringe on the interests of others. He's just a rotten person."

After listening to this, Bucky said that he still wasn't very interested.

"No, what I want to say is that he obviously has a smart mind but no company is willing to hire him, so he was eventually forced to take the path of crime."

Harry shook his head calmly.

"He dropped out of high school because his family was not well-off and he couldn't even get a letter of recommendation, so he could only do the lowest level of work. He didn't want his abilities to be buried, so he could only use crime as a way to show himself."

"That can't be true. Even in our time, technical talents were the most valued, regardless of whether they had diplomas or certificates."

Bucky didn't believe it.

"Oh, you know nothing about this era, Bucky."

Harry let out a chuckle.

"The Horror Fist can release a shockwave powerful enough to collapse a house, but he has never hurt anyone during his criminal activities. That is not a coincidence. He is consciously reducing the output power of the shockwave. He does not want to hurt others from the bottom of his heart."

Hearing this, Bucky suddenly remembered that the horrific destruction only began after the crowd around had dispersed, and no one was injured in the previously shattered wall.

At this moment, he fell into deep thought.

"Is today's society unable to accommodate even one truly talented person? What kind of American dream is this?"

Bucky thought it was ridiculous that the man who could develop the shockwave gloves couldn't even find a decent job.

"No, this may just be a special case."

Bucky couldn't believe that he had risked his life and fought with all his might to realize the American dream of a society where all men are created equal, but now he had become a joke.

"Do you really think that Horror is just that special case? No, he is just a small microcosm of it."

Harry said calmly.

"Even within the Osborne Group, we have experienced the tragedy of Dr. Connors and the oppression of Max Dillon. Although I have prevented these things from happening again since I took over, the facts that have already happened will not change."

"Bucky, what I want to tell you is that class stratification is just the most acceptable change in America today."

Racial discrimination, legalization of marijuana, school shootings, political coercion of LGBT, and continuous foreign wars...

"More than 70 years ago, when you risked your life on the battlefield, did you ever imagine that this country would become what it is today?"

(End of this chapter)