Oil primarily serves two purposes: as fuel and as a chemical material.
In this World, Roxxon Petroleum has monopolized almost the entire U.S. oil industry, which is also the main raw material that Osborn still needs to import—though Harry has been importing from abroad, supporting quite a few of Norman's allies.
Industrial products such as plastics, rubber, and pharmaceuticals all require petroleum-based products for production, though this portion of usage is actually not as high as oil used for energy.
And I have to say, Dreykov's little Widows really have some skills; they said the oil supply and the stock market would be volatile, and they really did pull off something big.
The moment Dreykov pressed the button, several famous oil fields around the World exploded, which just happened to help them reduce excess capacity, and the subsequent firefighting and rescue efforts could promote another wave of Osborn's robotic labor.
With the promotion of nuclear fusion energy, these oil companies were already not as well-off as before, and now with the explosions, prices will definitely rise slightly, but this will only push consumers who are still using petroleum-based fuels toward Osborn.
Electric cars, electric planes, electric ships, etc.—the benchmarks for these industries are now all Osborn. Using nuclear fusion power is much cheaper than burning oil. With nuclear fusion technology, the market was already leaning toward electric power, and now this process is moving even faster.
But if they don't raise prices, they'll just have to swallow the loss. Is that even possible?
Harry had actually asked Felicia to stockpile some oil before the incident; this explosion has an impact on Osborn, but it's very limited.
As for the stock market, it would be better if those traditional companies all died out. This blow will make matters worse for many companies, but those close to Osborn will survive, and the days that were already getting better and better have just seen another major takeoff.
As for the disappearance of the sovereignty of small, war-torn countries, it just so happens to allow the Oscorp to take advantage of the situation. Harry has been working on this for a long time.
Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, South Asia, Southeast Asia—as a company, he can enter these places at will.
The Black Widow's actions will indeed have a major impact on the World, but it is the old World that is being affected.
The rapid expiration of the old World will instead allow the new World to thrive. Harry couldn't do it himself, but having someone do it for him is truly wonderful.
Now that illegal organizations like HYDRA and the Red Room have all breathed their last, the only things left to deal with are those old, legal forces that have been hindering Osborn's development.
The leaders of HYDRA and Dreykov have been taken to the International Military Tribunal by Hammer Agents, and their final trial will take place in a few days.
Harry is not worried about anyone coming to break them out of prison—whether it's the Black Widow or HYDRA, they currently have neither the funds nor the manpower. The only people who could break them out would be other factions.
If other factions, such as a company like Roxxon, come to break them out, that would just be asking for trouble, and Harry could raid them in the name of counter-terrorism.
Now Harry needs to start dealing with the Inhumans issue.
In this World, the origin of HYDRA was to rescue Hive, who is far away on an alien planet, but its development did not rely on some obscure alien.
Incomplete legends and various alien artifacts allowed them to cloak their actions in a veil of sanctity. One only needs to lift this veil, and the mystery of HYDRA will collapse on its own. Even if there are still some exiled HYDRA members, they won't pose a threat.
Concepts like conquering the World and enslaving other races, while evil, can serve as goals and tools to unite people into a terrorist organization, but finding an alien father for themselves? An organization with such a reason as its goal can hardly be considered a threat.
Thinking of this, Harry connected to Coulson's team.
"Coulson, how is the preparation going?"
"Very well, although it would be better if you hadn't sent this bastard over."
Everyone on Coulson's team stared intently at Ward, who was wearing the gp armor.
This HYDRA member had very complicated feelings, especially since the way Skye looked at him was unbearable.
But what could he do? He really was a liar and a murderer, and this gp armor actually gave him a sense of stability.
Wearing the gp armor, all his vital signs were monitored; in the true sense of the word, he had no privacy at all.
But unlike being in prison, he accepted Hammer's orders. In a sense, this feeling was like atonement—when he killed those HYDRA members according to orders, it felt even better than using drugs.
Fitz said, "So you've become a'slave soldier' now? Were you brainwashed? Or were you deceived by HYDRA? Just like..."
"He is a HYDRA member, a murderer, a spy, a psychopath, Fitz. That is who he really is. Don't be fooled by him again."
Coulson interrupted Fitz.
Fitz still wanted to make excuses for Ward, "But HYDRA is proficient in these things, we all know that! I mean, maybe he was like that too, controlled by some command..."
In the TV show, among Coulson's team, Fitz was the last to accept this fact.
But ironically, in the original work, he was also the one most severely hurt by Ward, both mentally and physically.
"He is just a criminal, Fitz. You don't need to make excuses for him," Skye said while checking her computer.
Simmons also looked at Fitz, telling him with her eyes: You must accept this fact.
Throughout the entire discussion, Ward said nothing—the gp armor restricted their speech; they could only speak at appropriate times, and it also required mechanical review.
But the more these punishments and restrictions were applied, the more comfortable he felt, and he executed orders without hesitation.
Most people who put on the gp armor had this mentality; the more cruel the treatment, the more it gave them a feeling of atonement.
Harry said, "Agent, don't you think this measure is appropriate? The abolitionists and the death penalty proponents have rarely reached a consensus on this matter. Besides, aren't you lacking such a capable operative?"
The abolitionists believed that this armor gave these people a chance to atone, while the death penalty proponents were convinced because these cannon fodder would be prioritized for the highest-mortality missions. Compared to just executing them, they could still be of some use.
Even if they made contributions, they would not be awarded medals. Putting on this armor would be a permanent prison until they died in battle.
Of course, there was also active promotion by the Bishop Group, and the public supporting both viewpoints felt this was an excellent compromise.
"'Prison will accompany them, this armor is the new cell, until death?' That's not a bad slogan." Coulson didn't have any opinion on this approach, he was just genuinely unhappy with Ward.
"Let's talk business."
Coulson said, "Mr. Johnson is very interested in the meeting, but his mental state is not very good."
Calvin Johnson, Skye's father.
His mental state certainly couldn't be good. Because his wife was dismembered, he was already on the verge of a breakdown, not to mention that he later sewed his wife's body back together piece by piece.
Anyone in his position would go crazy.
In order to take revenge on HYDRA, he also invented a strange reagent and injected it into his own body. It's a miracle he didn't die.
"That's good, I'll go over and talk to him myself."
The Inhumans matter still needs to be handled by myself to gain some leverage and prepare for the next step.
Hearing this, Coulson on the other end of the phone paused, "This might be a bit difficult. He only wants to have contact with me. Raina said that Johnson only agreed to contact me because he thought I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent."
Harry was stunned for a moment: Johnson was avoiding him.
Thinking about it, it seems normal. Johnson came out to find Skye under the instructions of Skye's mother, Jiaying, and Jiaying is full of distrust and hostility toward humans because of the experiments HYDRA conducted on her.
The identity of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent is almost universally reviled, and only this identity could make Karl lower his guard.
As for why he didn't suspect that Karl was just a lone psychopath, he lacked the ability to discern this information.
Moreover, he desperately wanted to reunite with Skye, and this emotion made it difficult for him to remain rational.
"Then forget it, but if someone behind him invites you—"
"Report immediately, I understand, Boss."
Harry smiled and said, "That's good, Agent."
Hanging up the phone, since the Inhumans side still needs some warming up, he can focus on preparing for next week's United Nations meeting. This meeting was initiated by some small African countries regarding the chaos caused by the Red Room in Africa.
A small country that appears very backward to the outside World, Wakanda, will have King T'Chaka speak at the meeting.
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