Chapter 272 Post-War Situation

Two days have passed since the Battle of New York.

The NYPD special task force is busy with post-war reconstruction efforts. The entire Manhattan area suffered severe damage during the battle, with property losses estimated to exceed several billion dollars, and the impact on the global economy could reach several hundred billion dollars.

Comparable to the property damage is the casualty count.

Incredibly, the latter was surprisingly low, with the number of deaths and injuries not exceeding a hundred, which is considered a miracle compared to the scale of the battle.

This was largely thanks to Batman warning before the battle and Cyborg citywide broadcast just minutes before it commenced.

As a participant in this major event, Anton was idly lying around at home.

Eddie and Phil, employees of the Daily Bugle, were extremely busy covering various aspects of the New York battle.

As Batman designated official media, the Daily Bugle stood out in all its reporting, consistently receiving applause, thanks to Batman fans, the Justice League fans, and the citizens of New York.

Batman rarely appears, and since people can't find him, they direct their applause to those associated with him.

As a result, Anton, the owner of the Daily Bugle and the only member of the Justice League who could appear in public at will, and Batman designated spokesperson, saw his online profile refreshed to include the term "hero."

Anton gained many new followers on social media, even surpassing Tony Stark, whose fan count dramatically dropped due to the chaos of the New York battle.

Meanwhile, the Old Man and John are hopelessly addicted to their vacation, seeing New York in ruins and their company operations limited, they decided to extend their holiday, planning not to return home for at least ten days.

It is also worth mentioning that the punishment for S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers is still undecided.

However, Anton heard from John Kler that Coulson and Nick Fury, both wrapped up like mummies and in wheelchairs, made a difficult return to the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters and joined Maria Hill for a meeting with the World Security Council, which ended without agreement in the first round of discussions.

Anton could imagine Coulson and Fury, all bandaged up and in wheelchairs, only able to move their mouths but helplessly comedic.

John Kler did not reveal what was discussed in this meeting, but it was evidently not anything good.

Additionally, Kler mentioned that there might be something that requires Anton involvement, but he was vague about the details.

Anton didn't mind.

After all, he was sure that S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers would face misfortune, not dying but definitely losing a significant amount of power.

That was enough.

From now on, the Avengers and the Justice League are no longer rivals; the former completely lost their reputation in this battle and are no longer worthy to be mentioned alongside the Justice League.

Due to various reasons and unlike the original storyline, Thor did not join the Avengers but simply collaborated in the battle.

Thus, Captain America, as the only Avenger who didn't lose control, received much praise.

But this was personal praise for Captain America, unrelated to the Avengers.

Significantly, after the battle, another person, Harry Osborn, spoke out online revealing some details of the battle and announced his withdrawal from the Avengers.

As a member of the Avengers controlled mentally, he, along with Tony Stark and a few others, were taken away after the battle in New York.

Of course, he and Tony Stark, unlike the others, could afford the bail.

With huge bail amounts paid by OsCorp and Stark Industries, the two only spent one night in jail before being taken away the next morning.

And the person who bailed out Harry Osborn was none other than Norman Osborn.

Norman reappearance caught considerable public attention.

OsCorp was ecstatic.

Harry, as the chairman of OsCorp, had a negative impact in this battle that could affect OsCorp.

Before they figured out how to handle it, Norman Osborn, the former chairman who had been missing for nearly a year, immediately took charge and curbed any signs of internal division with a forceful approach, revealing some details about Batman and the Justice League, instantly gaining the support of all shareholders.

Stark Group wasn't so lucky this time.

Fortunately, Pepper Potts, who is quite capable, insisted on bailing out Tony first, synchronizing their actions with those of the Osborn Company.

Thus, among those arrested from the Avengers, only Black Widow, Hawkeye, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman, the four unlucky ones of the Avengers, remained.

It is estimated that they will have to stay in prison and eat jail food until the World Security Council and SHIELD reach a conclusion.

Anton pondered for a moment, dismissed the flurry of thoughts, and smiled, focusing on the main issue.

For him, everything was looking good now.

Constantine fan value was also close to the redemption figure.

Despite the impact of the Battle of New York affecting the number of moviegoers to some extent, New York, after all, is just one city in a country, and fluctuations in viewership numbers did affect the box office, but it wasn't a decisive factor.

Currently, Constantine fan value has reached 28.7 million, only a little over a million away from being redeemable.

As his first magical side hero, Anton was quite looking forward to John Constantine appearance.

Furthermore, the movie 'Batman vs Superman' has officially entered the shooting stage in Hollywood studios, unaffected by the Battle of New York.

New York and Los Angeles, these two siblings, one in the west and one in the east, though frequently featured in movies and TV shows, rarely see each other.

If one gets beaten, the other would probably be overjoyed.

Therefore, Anton was not surprised by the normal progression of the movie.

Of course, the end of the Battle of New York was not only good news externally for Anton but also brought him actual benefits.

Internally within the system.

Batman fan value had broken through 140 million.

Cyborg was next with 78 million.

Wonder Woman was second to last, just staying at 50 million.

Green Arrow had the least fan value, but it was also a considerable 38 million.

Each of these members had made astounding gains.

After the Battle of New York, the system issued justice values reached an impressive 20 million, setting a new historical record after the Transformers and the Hoover Dam incidents.

Currently, Anton justice value balance: 25 million.

It was 20 million less than the 45 million before the battle, but compared to the kingdom come Armor that was redeemed, spending 20 million for a kingdom come Armor was considered a good deal.

In the Battle of New York, Anton personally experienced the power of the kingdom come Armor.

Although it couldn't be said to be oppressively powerful, it was capable of holding its own against most strong opponents, and for those ordinary foes, it could easily suppress them.

This upgrade significantly boosted Batman combat effectiveness, also avoiding any future embarrassment of Batman being underpowered.

Ring, ring, ring!

While contemplating, Anton received a phone call from John Kler.

"Mr. Kler, is there something you need?"

Anton picked up his phone in surprise and answered, "I thought you were busy stabbing SHIELD in the back."

"The stabbing is almost done, and the World Security Council final ruling on SHIELD and the Avengers is nearly settled. You'll hear some good news soon, but I can't spoil your surprise right now, so I can't tell you about it."

Kler said, "The reason I'm calling you is because of another matter."