Lane Group Tower, Safe House
On the main screen, the satellite afterglow image of "Prism Dome's" destruction had just faded, and new coordinates were being marked.
TCRI's large biopharmaceutical complex in Pennsylvania, this was not an illegal factory or secret lab, but a legitimate large factory, and one of TCRI's model factories.
Hawk's fingers tapped on the keyboard, preparing to plan the next strike.
This strike would be personally carried out by Hawk!
The targets and nature of the missions were planned according to different strategic objectives.
Striking TCRI's secret labs was only to steal their research results and all data, while striking their overt factories was to make money and reap profits!
At eleven o'clock that night, Hawk flew from New York to Pennsylvania in just ten minutes; the distance between them was very short.
A remote small city in Pennsylvania.
Hawk's figure stopped high in the air.
He observed the large factory located on the outskirts of this small city. The factory was brightly lit, with vast production areas, research and development centers, and warehousing logistics connected, like a city that never sleeps.
This was one of TCRI's important pillars of public business, and also a significant cover and money-laundering channel for its massive illegal income.
"The stock price even rose a bit." Hawk looked at TCRI's closing stock price displayed on his phone and nodded with satisfaction.
The fact that Shredder could bring TCRI to where it was today indicated that the company had some real technical prowess, not to mention the added benefit of alien technology.
Their business could just fill the gap in the Lane Group's biotechnology sector.
As the saying goes: high-end business warfare often uses the most primitive methods.
The bold get rich, the timid starve.
Life and death are trivial; if you're not happy, just do it.
Just then, an encrypted communication request came through his miniature bone-conduction earpiece.
"Emilia."
Hawk frowned slightly but immediately connected.
"Hawk, I couldn't reach you all afternoon." Emilia's voice carried a hint of anxiety through the encrypted channel. "Things felt a bit off today. Following your intelligence, I heavily shorted TCRI's stock, but the unrealized loss is already close to ten million dollars!"
Hawk was still observing the factory. He had anticipated the loss, because based on TCRI's current situation, shorting would inevitably lead to losses!
But as a qualified capitalist, the necessary procedures still had to be followed. His voice was as steady as ever: "Explain."
"Market confidence is much more resilient than we estimated!" Emilia spoke quickly. "The negative financial information you gave them, to be honest, was relatively insignificant. On the contrary, they just announced 'positive results' for a Phase II clinical trial of a new immune enhancer. The stock price rose instead of falling, and the short pressure is immense."
Hawk, however, was unconcerned, saying, "Only ten million dollars. Relax, Emilia, it's still far from a margin call."
Emilia: "..."
Are all rich people so reckless?
Only ten million dollars.
"My dear young master, look, can you tell me your investment strategy? I'll help you sort it out."
Emilia suddenly felt that Hawk might have a new love. Could there be a new beautiful professor at Columbia?
So he wanted to find an opportunity to get rid of her to make room. If these fifty million dollars were lost, Hawk would at most be criticized by public opinion, but she, would she be encased in concrete and sunk into the Hudson River?
"Emilia, it's fine!" Hawk said very patiently. "I'm being frank with you, I have inside information. TCRI will run into trouble, probably tonight. I'm going to devour this piece of meat, so don't worry unnecessarily."
"Inside information? Trouble tonight?"
Emilia hesitated.
Hawk, high in the air, glanced at his watch and added, "It's 11:30 PM now. The trouble time will probably be between midnight and 1 AM."
Emilia on the other end twitched her lips, feeling it was a bit absurd: "That precise?"
If anyone else had said that, she would have just smiled. There were always people in the market claiming to have inside information.
But these words came from Hawk, and considering Hawk's identity...
"Then... aren't you afraid the SEC will come after you?"
"SEC?" Hawk was amused: "Beautiful Ms. Emilia, how many divisions does the SEC have?"
Emilia: "..."
Alright, the life of the powerful, she really didn't understand.
"I told you, relax. It will fall so fast you won't have time to cover your shorts, you'll just watch your account explode. Keep your short positions, even... add leverage. Get ready to harvest."
The communication was silent for a few seconds. Emilia took a deep breath, as if trying to draw strength from Hawk's absolute confidence: "...You'd better be right, Hawk."
"I never make mistakes in these matters."
After ending the call, his gaze refocused on the Pennsylvania factory below. But this time, his original precise deployment was overturned; that method was too slow, too gentle, not impactful enough!
What he wanted was a disaster that would make the whole world hold its breath on the midnight news! A hellfire capable of instantly evaporating half of TCRI's market value!
A cruder, more visually impactful plan formed in his mind.
Time: 00:30.
Hawk's gaze on the Pennsylvania factory confirmed the factory blueprints he had previously obtained. After a final confirmation of the strike location, his figure suddenly ascended, shooting straight into the sky...
The moonlight and city lights spread out beneath him, the TCRI factory like an exquisite sand table model.
Hawk's body paused slightly in mid-air, then plunged downwards like a meteor!
His superhuman body tore through the air, emitting a dull shriek!
The target was the factory's core, a massive cluster of bioreactors and an adjacent high-risk chemical storage area!
He precisely avoided the office areas and personnel dormitories at the factory's edge; mass casualties of unrelated personnel would attract unnecessary deep investigations. He concentrated the destructive force on the production core.
The moment he approached the factory building—Boom!!!
Hawk's Level 1 flight could only reach subsonic speeds, but flying from top to bottom, using gravity for acceleration, he could reach Mach 3!
Hawk, with the brutal force of Mach 3, like a human armor-piercing projectile, violently smashed through the outermost sturdy alloy roof!
The immense shockwave instantly shattered all glass within a hundred-meter radius, and twisted metal fragments shot out like a storm!
Surveillance footage violently shook at this moment, capturing a blurred figure, enveloped in smoke and sparks, crashing into the factory interior!
Landing in the core area, Hawk's feet stomped on the twisted metal floor, sending sparks flying.
The piercing alarm finally blared madly, and panicked figures appeared in the distance.
"The capitalists are here to harvest!"