Seven days after the Battle of New York. Cypress Hills Cemetery.
Compared to Shamila, whose face was etched with sorrow, Luca's expression seemed much calmer.
Since his father, Hermann, was of half-Chinese descent, Luca ultimately chose to bury him here in Cypress Hills Cemetery, a place rumored to have good feng shui and the final resting place of many notable Chinese figures.
Guests came and went, paying their respects, but Luca just stared blankly at the tombstone.
A heavy, mournful atmosphere permeated the air.
Perhaps out of sympathy for the young boy, even guests who were close friends of Luca's parents chose not to disturb him. Only occasionally would someone nod in his direction as they stepped forward to lay flowers.
However, Luca's thoughts were not on the funeral.
Although no official numbers had been released for the Battle of New York, the actual death toll was significant. Even in this high-end cemetery, many other families were holding funerals at the same time.
After all, Chitauri weapons didn't discriminate between rich and poor.
A week had passed, and on the surface, things seemed to have quieted down.
But in reality, New York—especially Midtown and Uptown Manhattan—was still a chaotic mess.
Street protests, prayers organized by politicians and non-profits, disinfection and reconstruction of disaster zones, treatment of the wounded, burial of the dead... various aftermath issues surrounding the Battle of New York were ongoing.
Reality was far from the movies where everything was happily ever after once the heroes repelled the enemies.
In fact, the most "absurd" thing happening these days was the debate over reconstruction and compensation.
The core point of contention—dominating TV media, street protests, and congressional hearings—was whether this event should be classified as "War Damage," "Natural Disaster," or "Terrorist Attack."
Yes, seven days later, they were still arguing over basic definitions.
The military pushed hard to define the Chitauri invasion as an "Alien War," aiming to expand their influence via the Defense Production Act. Although the Department of Defense would have to shoulder some compensation costs, under emergency protocols, the military could also take full control of all alien tech wreckage.
A faction of capital led by insurance giants and bankers wanted to define the invasion as an "Alien Terrorist Attack." After all, since 2001, terrorist attacks had been excluded from coverage by the entire insurance industry.
While avoiding liability, this definition would also give them grounds to refuse government requests to provide low-interest loans to small businesses and individuals, directing funds instead to "healthy lending" for large corporations.
The government's stance was more complex. Both federal and state governments wanted to define the event as a "Natural Disaster," which would help calm the public, win over voters, and secure international aid.
However, according to the Stafford Act, the federal government covers 90% of reconstruction costs for national-level natural disasters, but only 75% for state-level ones. The New York State government and the Federal government were deadlocked on this.
In short: Congress, the military, intelligence agencies, capital, and even the news media...
Everyone wanted to pass the buck, gain political clout, or get their hands on alien wreckage.
Whether they were involved in the Battle of New York or not, everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
Aside from the initial disaster relief, the first aid to arrive actually came from Stark Industries' private funds and international assistance.
As for the rest... even individuals and shady small groups were focusing their efforts on smuggling alien weapons.
Actually, news had already broken about people using alien weapons to rob banks in the past few days.
Well, even Luca himself had secretly stashed some Chitauri weapons.
Later, he might toss these weapons to the company's R&D department to see if they could reverse-engineer any useful tech.
Every arms company was doing this. As long as they didn't flaunt it or use the weapons publicly, even S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't bother them.
The problem was that the company's R&D department had been led by his father, Hermann. Without him, it was hard to say how competent the department still was.
Moreover, Luca didn't have the authority to call the shots in the company yet. All of that would have to wait.
"Master Luca..."
Seeing Luca staring blankly at the tombstone, Shamila hesitated several times before finally whispering a reminder.
Luca snapped back to reality, took two steps forward, and laid down the flowers in his hand.
His father's death brought a tinge of sadness due to the atmosphere, but fundamentally, Luca was more concerned about his own future.
Just as Luca placed the flowers and was about to stand up...
A raspy, breathless, and grating voice came from behind him, completely out of place.
"Heh~ Luca! I'm so hurt that you didn't even notify me about something as big as my brother-in-law's funeral."
Everyone, including Luca, turned to look.
A middle-aged man in a black suit with slightly messy hair was walking toward them.
His features bore a roughly 30% resemblance to Luca's mother, Gina.
But compared to Gina's decisive, elite demeanor, this man slouched slightly. His posture was stiff, his steps unsteady. Even though his clothes were clearly chosen with care, he gave off the vibe of a monkey dressed in human clothes.
Especially his face—pale and sickly, with sunken eyes that were unfocused yet filled with greed, like a rat from the sewers that hadn't eaten in a long time.
"Who is that?"
"I think that's Ms. Aurantius's younger brother? I saw him at the company once."
"Never heard of him before."
Guests who had started to leave stopped in their tracks, whispering among themselves.
A few close friends of the Aurantius family wanted to intervene but were held back by others.
Of course, not everyone was just watching for the drama.
Although the newcomer seemed hostile, hearing the whispers suggested this was a family matter for the Aurantiuss. It wasn't easy for outsiders to step in rashly.
As the man in the suit approached...
Luca's nose twitched, and a look of deep disgust flashed in his eyes.
Luca had seen too many people like this in his past life. He knew the type all too well.
Of course, he didn't need his past life's knowledge. Although the original host was young and didn't know everything about this man, his memories contained the basics.
Dragan Aurantius.
Gina's younger brother. Luca's uncle.
A hopeless gambling addict!