Chapter 125: Boss Tang Returns to New York, Raccoon City
The child's shouting startled many people in the cabin.
Fox rubbed her eyes groggily, calling out drowsily.
"Boss, are we there?"
"It's okay, go back to sleep!" Tang Song stroked her hair, his large hand sliding down her back to pat her gently.
Fox murmured softly, burying her head in Tang Song's embrace, and closed her eyes.
Tang Song turned his head to look out the window. White clouds streaked across the horizon, and the gold-and-red Iron Armor and Federal Fighter Jet had both disappeared.
"I really saw him, that Iron Man! I've seen him on TV! Boohoo..."
A parent's scolding, accompanied by the child's defiant crying and arguing, came from one side of the cabin.
Tang Song's palm gently patted, sliding over Fox's smooth back. He then reached into the high slit of her skirt. "Tony Stark!" Tang Song watched this goose that laid golden eggs disappear into the sea of clouds, privately savoring the warm, moist sensation in his palm.
.........
"J.A.R.V.I.S.!"
Inside the gold-and-red Iron Armor, Tony Stark looked at the data stream appearing on the screen before him.
"Sir!" A steady voice sounded in Tony Stark's ear.
"Increase speed, shake off that F22 behind us!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Federal F22 Fighter Jet pilot who had been chasing Tony Stark suddenly discovered that the gold-and-red figure ahead was simultaneously spraying blue flames from both hands and feet, and its speed sharply increased.
In the blink of an eye, the gold-and-red figure disappeared before him.
"Damn it!"
Although he had already increased the Fighter Jet's speed to the maximum, the F22 Fighter Jet pilot could still only watch helplessly as the gold-and-red figure disappeared.
.........
The Argentina Airbus 310 slowly landed at the New York Airport. After the plane came to a stop under the command of the guidance vehicle, the gangway was lowered.
An Argentina Airlines flight attendant opened the cabin hatch. After opening the hatch, the scene that met her eyes made her expression freeze.
Before her, a line of black luxury Mercedes-Benz cars was parked on the side of the runway. In front of each Mercedes-Benz car stood a White Big man wearing a black suit.
These people wore sunglasses, stood with their hands clasped and white gloves on, staring straight ahead without glancing sideways.
The plane announced disembarkation, and Boss Tang, who was sitting in first class, had already arrived at the hatch under the guidance of another flight attendant.
"Hello, excuse me, the people picking me up are here!"
Seeing the flight attendant standing frozen at the hatch entrance, blocking the hatch, Tang Song, dressed in a pure white suit, spoke to her politely.
"Oh, oh, hello, I'm sorry..."
The flight attendant somewhat flusteredly made way for Tang Song, watching him disembark the plane surrounded by a group of Bodyguards.
She watched from afar, seeing a short-haired Big man with silver-white hair standing in front of a stretched Rolls-Royce, opening the car door for him. Only after the Asian and his female companion got into the car did the short-haired Big man close the car door and get into the driver's seat himself.
A motorcade consisting of seven black Mercedes-Benz cars surrounding a Rolls-Royce slowly drove away from the airport under the gaze of the crowd inside the plane.
"Mickey, are the airport regulations in New York different from London? Can private cars drive onto the runway?"
The white young man looked through the plane window, watching the line of luxury cars drive away, then the belated shuttle bus, and turned his head to look at his companion beside him.
Black Mickey stood up and adjusted his blue tie. Listening to the plane's announcement, he took his luggage from the overhead compartment, looked down at him, and said, "Airport regulations are the same all over the world. But if you have enough power and influence, your car can drive directly into the White House!"
"Let's go. I contacted a rental car company. Although it's not a Mercedes-Benz, I won't let you take the bus!"
.........
The partition between the front and back of the Rolls-Royce was lowered. Lane reported on the changes in New York during this period while driving.
Tang Song rested his head on the leather seat, his fingers twirling the bone bead in his hand, listening to Lane's report.
During the time he was not in New York, Lane had almost turned New York into his exclusive territory.
Currently, his influence extends across various industries in New York.
Among the grey businesses in New York, the most profitable ones, casinos and smuggling, are 60% under his control.
Not just New York, but San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia...
Under Lane's management, Tang Song's influence tentacles have gradually spread to major cities throughout the Federation.
In the world's casino city, Las Vegas, the gambling hall left by Kingpin, which Fox took over with the Brotherhood of Assassins, has now developed into a comprehensive casino.
In terms of legitimate business, Tang Group's subsidiaries are currently involved in architecture, shipping, finance, import and export trade, mining...
It is worth mentioning that during the time Kane led people to work as Mercenaries for the UN Forces in East Africa, killing two birds with one stone, taking advantage of the stalemate between Wakanda and the UN Forces.
They helped the anti-government forces of a small East African country successfully take power. For this, Tang Group's mining company obtained the mining rights for a Diamond Mine in this small country for ten years.
Not counting Tang Song's own stock investment in many corporations like Osborn, Stark, Hammer Industries, etc.
Just the current size of Tang Group alone makes it a group company with a market value exceeding one billion.
"How are the preparations for The Hive Laboratory coming along?"
"Boss, the completion progress for Raccoon City has reached one-third! The main architecture is already finished!"
"The Hive is still under construction. According to the schedule, it will be fully completed in another two months! As per your instructions, Boss, we have already prepared a floor in advance for Professor Connors as a Laboratory, which is currently in use..."
"Mhm!" Boss Tang reached out and took a mixed cocktail from Fox's hand, took a sip, and asked:
"What was Norman Osborn's reaction when Connors and those Researchers left with the project?"
"As you instructed, we provided Norman Osborn with two doses of antiviral serum to treat the transcriptional gene virus! Mr. Norman stood with us on the Board of Directors vote to divest the project and cast a 'yes' vote!"
Lane reported on the work to Boss Tang while driving.
"What about the other directors? Did they cause any trouble?" Tang Song twirled the wine glass in his hand.
Among the projects at Oscorp that Tang Song invested in, there's the big prize of the Longevity Potion.
Divesting several projects, putting aside everything else, those aging old fellows on the Oscorp Board of Directors definitely wouldn't agree.
"During the time you were away, there was an outbreak of influenza in New York, and both Mr. Solomon and Mr. Yasa unfortunately passed away!" Lane said. "Miss Skye attended their funerals on your behalf. Their families, due to excessive grief, sold their shares in Oscorp. Currently, on the Oscorp Board of Directors, you are the second major shareholder!"
"Well done! You've worked hard during this time, Lane!"
Tang Song raised his wine glass in a toast towards Lane, who was looking in the rearview mirror.
"Boss, this is what I should do. You entrusted the matters in New York to me before you left, and I cannot fail your trust!"
Lane looked at Boss Tang through the rearview mirror, expressing his sincerity.
"Oh, right, Boss, before you arrived, Frank and I discussed it and specially prepared a gift for you! To welcome you back!"
"Oh?" Tang Song handed the wine glass to Fox beside him, crossed his hands, and became interested. "A gift! What kind of gift?"
"The werewolves who appeared at the Dock and colluded with that group of vampires, we found them!
The Werewolf Leader among them mentioned something called Perfect Blood. According to him, possessing Perfect Blood allows one to fuse with any gene to strengthen oneself, fearing neither disease nor guns or blades.
It should be the key to the Blood God's artificial Daywalker that you mentioned back then.
That group of werewolves has all been captured and are currently imprisoned underground in Raccoon City. How do you want to deal with them?"
"Don't go back to the Manor first, go to Raccoon City!"
After hearing Lane's introduction to Perfect Blood, Tang Song suddenly leaned forward, his two overlapping thumbs pausing.
The phrase "can fuse with any gene to strengthen oneself" made Tang Song think of his own concept regarding God-Demon Transformation.
Especially since his Five Yin Pouch happened to contain half a vat of King Ghidorah's flesh and blood cells.
"Yes, Boss!"
Lane used the communicator to inform the front car to change the route, and the motorcade drove towards the suburbs outside New York City!
.........
The Federation has a large territory area, is vast and sparsely populated, with uneven population distribution. Most of the population is concentrated in major cities.
Many small towns are scattered across the wilderness like sesame seeds. Sometimes, driving on the highway for a whole day might not even reach one.
In the Federation, where road trips are popular, many people mysteriously disappear during their travels. Art imitates life.
This is also the reason why road horror films have a large market in the Federation's cinemas.
......
Some small towns in the Federation are even smaller than a village, with only dozens of households and a Police Department with no more than three Police Officers.
Raccoon City is certainly not like that. This cultural tourism project supported by the New York State Government is no more than thirty miles from the New York City Area, a not-too-near, not-too-far distance.
According to Tang Song's plan, this small town can accommodate at least twenty thousand people.
The construction site is bustling with activity, with over twenty Engineering Teams working simultaneously.
Most of the workers are construction workers under Tang Group.
There are also several hundred workers who are clearly Asian, with two large characters "China Construction" written on their vests! They were all hired by Lane from within China with high salaries, not just because of their work efficiency.
Another part of the reason is that the blueprint/diagram for Raccoon City provided by Boss Tang involves a lot of Eastern Feng Shui principles, which the Federation's construction workers only have a superficial understanding of.
Like the waterways, Boss Tang requires that living water flows throughout the entire small town of Raccoon City according to the blueprint/diagram requirements, similar to the layout within Tang Manor.
It can even reach the extent where fish can swim in the gaps between the pebbles under people's feet.
According to the Boss's intention, the entire Raccoon City is to be arranged as a massive magic array. If relying solely on Federation workers, not only would the construction period be extended, but the East-West culture gap alone would delay the entire project by at least half a year.
Therefore, after consulting with Boss Tang, Lane spent heavily to directly bring in a batch of workers from within China.
Food and accommodation are provided. Ordinary laborers are paid five hundred US Dollars a day. Designers and Engineers who have worked on such projects, like landscape design, can earn a daily salary of one thousand US Dollars.
Therefore, Lane is confident that the construction of Raccoon City can be completed within two months.
One must know, this is not building one or two housing developments, this is building a small town.
Dozens of tower cranes, hundreds of excavators, hundreds of engineering vehicles, and nearly a thousand people working simultaneously. The entire construction site is dusty and bustling with activity.
This is only a portion of the people visible. Including the workers who work at night, the total number of people on the entire construction site adds up to several thousand.
So far, one-third of the construction period has passed. From materials to labor, Boss Tang has already spent seven hundred million US Dollars.
A motorcade of eight luxury cars drove into the construction site. Many workers who were busy working stopped what they were doing and looked over.
Tang Song looked outside through the car window, his divine sense sweeping over the location and foundation of the planned houses in Raccoon City as they passed by.
The car drove all the way to the center of the small town. Only after confirming that these workers were indeed constructing precisely according to the blueprint/diagram did Tang Song confidently withdraw his divine sense.
"How is the housing allocation in the small town?"
"Currently, the five hundred houses built in the initial phase have been allocated to the families of the Paper Soldiers and frontline armed security personnel. We plan to build another fifteen hundred to two thousand houses in the small town later, to be allocated to the company's current employees!"
Lane reported to Boss Tang on the group's internal housing allocation plan for Raccoon City.
"Supporting facilities must keep up in the later stages!" Tang Song lightly patted Fox's thigh with his right hand.
For Boss Tang, who is an Easterner to the core, a sense of home and country is inevitable. In the perception of Easterners, houses are almost synonymous with home.
In an international metropolis like New York, housing prices are naturally ridiculously high. One could say living in New York is not easy.
Tang Song pays his Subordinates a decent salary, but he doesn't want the people who risk their lives for him to be tied down by a pile of rebar and concrete for their entire lives.
The Raccoon City plan is to build at least two thousand independent European-style small courtyards, prioritizing the housing issues for the families of Paper Soldiers, as well as frontline Mercenaries and armed security.
Furthermore, in the later stages, Raccoon City will also build thirty-six thirty-story apartment buildings, provided free of charge to the growing number of Tang Group employees and their families.
As for the issue of work and commuting in the later stages, on one hand, Boss Tang will relocate some of Tang Group's legitimate businesses in New York City from the disaster-prone New York City Area to Raccoon City.
Additionally, Boss Tang, as a City Councilor of New York City, plans to propose to the City Government the construction of a subway line from New York City to Raccoon City.
For this, Boss Tang is willing to generously donate fifty million US Dollars to the New York City Government as initial project funding.
"Currently, we have reached agreements with two hospitals and two private high schools! They are willing to open branch campuses in Raccoon City! Also, several large supermarkets like Walmart, people from the group are currently negotiating with them!"
The motorcade stopped in the very center of Raccoon City, in front of a building whose skeleton had just been erected.
Compared to the almost undefended construction site on the periphery, around this building, which still had scaffolding erected,
over a dozen armed security personnel patrolling back and forth with guns indicated how much Boss Tang valued this place.
(End of chapter)