Chapter Fifty: The Doom Consortium

“Father?” Gu Chongyan was stunned as he looked at Father Langdon sitting on the sofa.

“You’re back?” Father Langdon smiled, glancing at the bags and parcels in Gu Chongyan’s arms, and chuckled, “Why did you buy so many things? Do you still have enough pocket money?”

Gu Chongyan snapped out of it. “No real reason, I just felt like buying something. I still have some pocket money left, thank you, Father. Did you want to see me about something?”

“Come, have a seat.” Father Langdon’s smile took on a mysterious curve as he beckoned him over.

Though puzzled, Gu Chongyan set his parcels aside and sat down on the sofa as instructed.

Then, Father Langdon produced a document from behind his back and handed it to him.

Gu Chongyan’s eye twitched. What kind of day was this? Just earlier, Nick Fury had handed him a document, and now, back at home, Father Langdon was giving him another.

Despite his inner complaints, Gu Chongyan still reached out and took the document. On the cover, bold letters immediately caught his eye: “Doom Corporation.”

Doom Corporation?

Seeing those words, Gu Chongyan was taken aback. Wasn’t this the company founded by Victor Von Doom, Doctor Doom himself?

Doctor Doom was one of the most renowned—and formidable—villains in the Marvel universe, born in the fictional Eastern European nation of Latveria, his mother a Romani witch.

His mother’s soul was taken by the archdemon Mephisto in her quest for magical power, and so from a young age Doom dedicated himself to freeing her soul from Mephisto’s grasp.

He perfectly fused science with sorcery, and even if reduced to ashes in hell, could rise anew.

Just how powerful was Doctor Doom? He began without any superpowers, but through study and fate, mastered enormous magical knowledge—enough to rival Doctor Strange.

Disfigured in an experiment, he donned a metal mask, and developed armor and advanced technology to rival even Iron Man’s.

But it wasn’t just his mastery of magic and technology—Doom was a born leader, a brilliant strategist, and a shrewd businessman.

After graduating from Empire State University, he founded Doom Corporation, which grew into a business titan rivaling giants like Stark Industries and Oscorp.

Later, he lost everything by sponsoring the Fantastic Four’s space expedition, leading to bankruptcy. But Doom was not defeated—instead, wielding both magic and technology, he returned to Latveria, seized supreme power, and turned his homeland into a world power.

Setting aside his enmity with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, and other heroes, Doom’s life story was nothing short of epic.

If nothing else, the fact that he could serve as the nemesis of so many of Marvel’s most popular heroes spoke volumes about his extraordinary nature.

Clearly, this was before Doom’s most fateful investment—he was not yet the infamous supervillain, but the leader of a vast corporation.

And the document in Gu Chongyan’s hands was, in fact, an internship offer.

“What’s this?” Gu Chongyan looked at Father Langdon in confusion, not understanding his intent.

Father Langdon’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he grinned, “Well, what do you think? Aren’t you happy?”

“Huh?” Gu Chongyan was even more bewildered. Happy about what?

Fortunately, Father Langdon soon explained everything.

With enthusiasm, he said, “You once said you were interested in finance and insisted on interning at a Midtown Circle financial company. Who would’ve guessed that company was just a front for the mob? Thankfully, the police uncovered and arrested them in time. Otherwise, if anything had happened to you, I’d never have forgiven myself.”

“But now that Midtown Circle Financial has closed, you can’t continue your internship. So I’ve been looking for opportunities to place you in another finance company.”

“I thought about it, and Hell’s Kitchen is still too chaotic. If you really care about finance, you should go to Wall Street.”

“So I contacted some old friends, and they recommended a few companies. Doom Corporation seemed good to me—their founder is still young and ambitious.”

“They need both official staff and interns, and they’re very welcoming to people from all walks of life.”

“The scale of their operation is far beyond what Midtown Circle Financial ever had. You should be able to learn a lot there. So, are you satisfied?”

Faced with Father Langdon’s expectant gaze, Gu Chongyan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably, feeling as if a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his mind.

He alone knew that his supposed interest in finance and desire for an internship at Midtown Circle was just an excuse to seek out the Dragonbone. The talk of social practice was just a cover.

In fact, the company’s collapse had been his doing.

But Father Langdon knew none of this, and genuinely believed Gu Chongyan was passionate about finance.

No wonder Father Langdon had been so busy after the Battle of Liberty Island. At first, Gu Chongyan thought it was because the church was flooded with people seeking solace in the aftermath. But now it was clear—the priest had been running around trying to arrange a new internship for him.

Under such hopeful eyes, how could Gu Chongyan say he’d lost interest in finance and didn’t want to go?

He even had to force a smile and exclaim with feigned excitement, “This is wonderful, Father. Thank you—I don’t even know what to say. Thank you, thank you.”

Seeing Gu Chongyan’s ‘excitement,’ Father Langdon was deeply gratified, his smile gentle and kind.

“All right, all right, no need to be so polite. As long as you’re happy, all my running around was worth it.”

What else could Gu Chongyan say? Glancing at the offer in his hand, he couldn’t help but marvel at Father Langdon’s knack for picking companies.

He had chosen Midtown Circle, which was destined to go under. Now, Father Langdon had picked Doom Corporation, which—nine times out of ten—would meet the same fate.

It seemed he had some kind of jinx; wherever he went, bankruptcy followed.

But perhaps this was for the best. Once Doom Corporation collapsed, he’d have an excuse to claim he was disillusioned with finance, and Father Langdon wouldn’t have to keep searching for internships on his behalf.

At least, when he went to Midtown Circle, he’d had the Dragonbone to look for, so it hadn’t been completely dull. Now, as an intern at Doom Corporation, he feared boredom might truly finish him off.

If only he hadn’t used finance as an excuse to get into Midtown Circle, he wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament now.

But it was too late—the die was cast, the rice was cooked, and regret was useless now.