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Ryan gently stroked the white fox beside him, its nine tails draped over him, his eyes thoughtful.
Was it because of his spider genes, belonging to the same bestial lineage?
Yingnan walked up to Ryan and, looking at him surrounded by the marvelous creatures, smiled and said:
"Marvelous creatures choose to follow a ruler they deem worthy of their trust. The last time they chose to follow was the Divine Dragon, but it seems they have now found a 'King' even more worthy to follow..."
"And this also means our choice wasn't wrong. You are indeed worthy of our trust."
Ryan did not comment on this.
After all, he truly harbored no ill will towards Ta Lo Village or these marvelous creatures.
So, it seemed quite normal for them to cling to his leg.
Compared to humans, Ryan was much gentler with these simple-minded 'little ones'.
Looking at them, his tone softened: "Little ones, since you've chosen to follow me, I promise to give you a broader, freer multiverse. You might even become the first bridge connecting this 'multiversal' World..."
Watching Ryan, who was far gentler with these magical creatures than he was with them, the four members of the S.P.E.A.R. were speechless. They exchanged glances, a trace of relief and smiles appearing on their faces.
After all, how bad could someone who likes small animals really be?
Six months later...
Half a year ago, Earth experienced several major events in succession.
First was the global incident involving the cosmic parasite Skrulls, and then the 'Clash of Two Gods' that affected several nations and even led to the fall of one country!
Following that was the zombie crisis, which was resolved by the Spider Family and the Avengers from another Universe before the disaster could fully unfold.
In that zombie crisis event, Wakanda lost ninety percent of its population due to the fall of its capital!
Therefore, after the event concluded, the new King of Wakanda, T'Challa, announced that the capital, Golden City, would be officially renamed Night City, to commemorate the late King T'Chaka and the citizens who perished!
Furthermore, because Wakanda lost ninety percent of its population, the new King T'Challa felt that Wakanda would no longer have the strength to independently guard the Vibranium within its borders. Thus, he decided to donate half of the Vibranium to the Spider-Family free of charge, as thanks for Spider Monarch saving Wakanda's remaining people!
Spider Monarch, representing the Spider-Family, accepted T'Challa's voluntary gift and, logically, announced that his Parker Industries would proceed with Vibranium mining cooperation with Night City!
That's right. Ryan stopped pretending entirely. He laid his cards on the table!
"I, the leader of the Spider Family, the World's number one Superhero 'Spider Monarch', am actually the helmsman of Parker Industries, Ryan Parker!"
Although, before this, that circle of high-level officials on Earth already knew this news.
But the vast majority of ordinary people didn't!
So, once this news broke, it quickly swept across the entire internet, and the market value of Parker Industries skyrocketed like a Rocket!
It even eventually surpassed Tony Stark's Stark Industries to become the company with the highest market capitalization in the World!
That's the power of celebrity effect!
However, Ryan didn't pay much attention to his company's increased value. After all, his company was no longer limited to one Universe. In his eyes, money was truly just a number now.
What he cared more about now was the influence of Parker Industries and, under that influence, the other valuable things besides money that it could bring him!
Such as... power and trust!
Ryan ignored the fact that his real name was constantly trending and began his other strategic moves.
First, he pushed the former mayor of New York City, Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, into the position of President of America.
After all, the President and Vice President had 'unfortunately' perished during alien invasion.
And a country cannot go a day without a President, right?
So, as the nation's protector, Ryan recommending a responsible new President was perfectly reasonable, right?
He simply had Eddie conduct an exclusive interview with him, then had the Daily Bugle publish the news of his support for Kingpin. Kingpin's approval rating immediately soared past 90%!
The other candidates combined didn't even reach 10%!
Thus, Kingpin easily won the election for the new President!
That's the power of celebrity effect!
And his father Ben Parker's Daily Bugle, just like his Parker Industries, saw its influence skyrocket like a Rocket the day after he revealed his identity. It was now the most authoritative news agency in America!
However, the first reform policy Kingpin enacted after taking office was something no one expected.
That was... the Marvelous Creature Protection Act.
What was the Marvelous Creature Protection Act? Starting from New York, after this act was passed, some marvelous creatures, different from all Earth's existing lifeforms, would begin to appear within America.
These marvelous creatures would enjoy the same civil rights as humans in America. If you hunted or killed one, there wouldn't even be a trial—it would be the death penalty!
That's right. The death penalty, abolished in most American states, was reinstated across the board because of this Marvelous Creature Protection Act!
Naturally, in a country like America, full of idiots, there would be protests against this.
So, the day after the act passed, a large group of idiots took to the streets in fifty states, holding banners and shouting slogans like 'Human lives matter too, why should damn murderers be valued more than our precious human lives?'!
In response, after taking office, Kingpin directly ordered local anti-terrorism SWAT teams to beat these protesters senseless with batons!
Finally, all these people were sentenced by the federal courts to 10-50 years in prison, with no possibility of bail!
As for their final destination, they weren't sent to federal prisons for comfortable living. Instead, they were all thrown into Wakanda's Night City to serve as free labor mining Vibranium!
Regarding this extreme policy, some people were initially panicked, thinking America was about to undergo a drastic change.
The World's number one Superhero had gone mad, stopped pretending, started acting like God, and was implementing hegemony!
But after the Marvelous Creature Protection Act was passed and officially implemented, they realized that for ordinary people who weren't idiots, this policy seemed to have no impact at all!
On the contrary, once those marvelous creatures actually appeared on the streets of New York...
The citizens of New York were the first to benefit!
Because these exotic creatures were not terrifying beasts. On the contrary, they were truly marvelous creatures capable of distinguishing good from evil!
They walked the streets of New York, not only not attacking ordinary people but also protecting them from harm by evildoers!
For example, you're walking through a necessary alley when suddenly a guy with a knife or gun jumps out to rob you...
Just as you fall into despair, suddenly a lion bigger than a car jumps out, swallows the thug in one bite, and then kindly licks you with its big tongue to calm you down!
For example, you're at a bar, and someone with ill intentions, when you're not paying attention or are away, adds some drugs substance to your drink that would lead to your downfall...
At that moment, you'd find a nine-tailed white fox with emerald green eyes blocking your path. From its beautiful big eyes, you'd see the entire process of your drink being spiked and the miserable life you'd lead after drinking it and falling. You'd suddenly wake up, startled, and ultimately walk a different, perfect life than the one you would have had after drinking that cup!
Even Chief Stacy of the New York Police Department held a press conference announcing the cooperation between the NYPD and the marvelous creatures, thanking them for their help in solving multiple cold cases, capturing several superhuman criminals, and busting multiple criminal hideouts in New York, etc.!
It was only then that the citizens of New York realized these were not the vicious beasts disrespecting their human rights as the protesters claimed. These were clearly auspicious blessings from the God!
Ah, no, not from the God—they were auspicious blessings brought back for them by their hero, Spider Monarch Ryan Parker!
Feeling guilty for previously misunderstanding their hero Ryan, New York residents began vigorously promoting the benefits brought by the marvelous creatures online!
They even started a trend on Youtube, Tiktok of taking photos with marvelous creatures in New York!
This made the marvelous creatures, within just one month, transform from feared and even disliked vicious beasts into beloved 'celebrities' everyone hoped to encounter!
Even other states in America, and other countries, began demanding why the act hadn't been implemented in their states yet, why their countries didn't have a Marvelous Creature Protection Act!
Regarding all this, Ryan just stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of Parker Tower, quietly watching:
"I said the marvelous creatures would be the first step in realizing my multiversal plan. Now that the first step is firmly in place, it's time for the second step..."