Eastern Europe, Sokovia.
This is a very small country. Rather than calling it a country, it is better to say that it is a small political system formed by a few small towns united together.
It's mountainous, barren and unstable, bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Because it is too poor and has no natural resources to exploit, it has not attracted the covetousness of powerful countries.
I am poor and I am justified. As long as I am poor enough, neighboring countries will avoid me. This is probably the truth.
When the Avengers' fighter planes appeared over the country of Sokovia, there was not even a radio warning, not to mention the Air Force fighter planes coming to chase them away.
No matter what the airspace is, you can fly wherever you want, it doesn’t matter!
The Avengers' fighter planes hovered in the sky for a long time, and finally failed to find the airport. They had to find a relatively spacious and flat square near the outskirts of the city to land. Fortunately, this fighter plane takes off and lands vertically. If it were a jet plane, I'm afraid they would have to parachute.
As the plane landed, a puff of smoke rose from the ground, creating a cloud of dust.
There were many local residents in the square. When the plane landed, they had already hid far away, pointing and talking in the distance. The children were beside the adults, holding their parents' legs and looking timidly this way. Some brave little guys even ran to the square to get a closer look at this magical big iron bird.
As the door of the fighter plane opened, the ramp slowly popped up, and the Avengers filed out of the fighter plane under the leadership of Steve. In anticipation of the possibility of a fight, the Avengers were all armed and wearing battle robes.
The children who came closer seemed to be frightened, and ran back in a swarm, hiding behind the adults, under the protection of their parents, causing a group of elders to laugh. They didn't seem to worry at all that the Avengers would use force against them. Anyway, they were a bunch of poor people and had nothing worth grabbing.
"This is really a peaceful and peaceful country. It can be seen that the people are very friendly." Steve looked around and a smile appeared on his face. He smiled and waved to the children, then turned to look at Scott behind him, "Scott, do you have any clues?"
Scott held a tablet, frowned, and walked around, "The coordinates are here, but there are fluctuations in the reality gem everywhere, and I can't accurately locate it."
"Well, it looks like we still need to find where the gems are. Then this is another huge project. I hope the locals can help us reduce the amount of the project."
When dealing with the locals, Natasha, who has the strongest affinity, must of course take the lead.
No man can refuse a red-haired beauty with an exquisite face, especially when her eyes are moving, a smile is on her lips, and she is begging softly.
In just a few words, Natasha coaxed the old men in the group into forgetting their last names, and rushed to reveal all the secrets she knew.
Soon, Natasha left with the information she wanted, and all these lickers got was a blowing kiss and a beautiful memory worth bragging about for a lifetime.
"This city is not big. No outsiders have appeared recently, and no one has heard of any accidents. No one has picked up any gems, and no one has moved away due to a sudden windfall. By the way, there is only one jewelry store in this city. We also run a gem recycling business, maybe we can go there and have a look first. But the jewelry store is on the other side of the city, and we need to go through the entire city."
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's set off. I hope everything goes well."
Everyone took some candies to send away the children who were gathered around them again, and then strode towards the center of the city.
The municipal construction here is very backward. Most of the buildings and streets are left over from the old era. The architectural style is simple, mostly old-fashioned reinforced concrete structures. The colors are old and gray, and there are not many modern elements.
The streets are relatively narrow, with few trees planted on both sides and few street trees. The alleys and streets are also somewhat dirty.
Most of the buildings on both sides of the street are two or three-story buildings, and many of them are old houses that are in disrepair and have peeling walls. The windows are often closed and locked, revealing a sense of vicissitudes of time.
In the corners of the city, you can often see several well-preserved ancient buildings. These buildings are usually small castles made of bluestones. Walking among them gives you a sense of the intertwining of history and time.
The entire city's infrastructure is relatively weak, and public transportation is also relatively backward, with only a few buses.
But as you get closer to the city center, everything gradually becomes different.
The most obvious thing is that there are more high-rise buildings, the streets have become wider, the cityscape is much cleaner and tidier, and there are more private vehicles.
"Sure enough, even in the poorest countries, there are still rich people." Steve couldn't help but sigh a few words.
"This is not good news for us." Clint said thoughtfully: "After the poor get the gems, they will definitely cash it in as quickly as possible to improve the living conditions of themselves and their families, but the rich Once you get the gem, there’s a good chance you’ll keep it in your collection.”
"In other words, the Reality Stone is probably in the hands of a rich man in this city?"
"The most likely possibility is that it is in the hands of the city's rulers. If we don't see real-life gems at the gem recycling merchants, we may have to visit the mayor of this city. Of course, the same goes for those councillors. It cannot be ignored.”
"What if they refuse to admit it?" Scott asked tentatively.
Steve said without hesitation: "Although I don't want to use illegal means, the Reality Stone has never belonged to them, and I have no psychological burden in taking the stone from their hands."
"That would be great." Scott smiled and nodded, "Actually, I just released some nano-monitors given to me by Professor Hulk and went to monitor all the officials and wealthy businessmen in the city. "
"What?" Steve was startled and exclaimed, "Are you engaging in group surveillance and eavesdropping?"
"This is the fastest way!" Scott shrugged, "Do you have any better way?"
"Scott is right. When we were at S.H.I.E.L.D., we did a lot of surveillance and eavesdropping activities. In fact, strictly speaking, the US government is the organization best at doing this. So, Steve, you don't need to care too much about these things." Natasha was afraid that Steve would be stubborn and insisted on talking about personal privacy rights, so she hurriedly persuaded him.
"I..." Steve hesitated, and finally waved his hands in frustration, "Okay, I'm not that silly and sweet. I know that the government has many dark sides, but...forget it, still What are you talking about? Let’s put the overall situation first!”
After everyone reached a consensus, Scott became even more unscrupulous. The technological level of the Avengers is completely different from Sokovia's technology. It is a complete crushing and cannot be detected at all. Even if the political and business figures in Sokovia knew that they were being monitored, they would not be able to see, find or hide from them.
Youdao is afraid of what comes, the Avengers gained nothing from the jewelry recycler.
Although he has a monopoly on the jewelry recycling business in this city, in fact this jewelry recycler is just a small businessman. He has never seen really expensive jewelry at all, and his appreciation ability is very questionable. If he really sees real gems, It’s impossible not to be unimpressed by this perfect rare treasure.
And in front of senior agents like Natasha and Clint, no one can lie and deceive them.
"Well, it seems we can only wait for the results from Scott. So what should we do now? Wait?"
Just as a few people were discussing whether to find a place to taste local delicacies, a black extended Lincoln parked in front of a few people. A well-dressed man exuding an elite atmosphere got out of the car and spoke to Shi very politely. Tiff saluted slightly and said enthusiastically:
"Welcome President Rogers to Sokovia!"
"Mayor Hanas sent me to greet you. I would like to invite you and your friends to the mayor's residence."
"Mayor Hanas has invited all political and business people in the city to prepare a grand welcome party for President Rogers. Please enjoy it."
Steve was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he had mistaken himself for the wrong person, thinking that he was the Steve Rogers of this world. He had no habit of pretending to be someone else, so he immediately explained:
"I'm not President Rogers, I am..." He was speechless mid-sentence. He didn't know how to explain to the other party, so he had to say, "I am Captain America Steve Rogers."
Fortunately, the other party also misunderstood his words and said with a smile:
"I see!"
"Although the United States is no longer here, Mr. Rogers is still a world-famous superhero, the Magnetic Field Warrior, and Captain America."
"No matter how you appear in Sokovia, you are our most respected guest."
Everyone immediately understood that this was because they were afraid of the force value of magnetic field warrior Steve Rogers. They didn't know what a super master like him wanted to do when he came to his own territory, so they treated him politely. Whether he wants to test the purpose of everyone's coming, or wants to win over a powerful warrior to provide sufficient survival guarantee for his family, or simply wants to hug a thick leg, there is no doubt that he is expressing goodwill.
Steve had never liked this kind of upper-class social activities. After hearing this, he hesitated and planned to refuse. However, Natasha came over and whispered in his ear: "We just need to find the Reality Stone. All the political and business people will come to the party tonight. It is a good opportunity to investigate."
Steve thought it right, so he agreed.
"Well, thank you Mayor Hanas for your kindness."
The visitor smiled and opened the back door of the car, respectfully asked Steve and his party to get into the car, and then acted as the driver himself, taking everyone to the mayor's residence.
When the vehicle slowly drove to the door of the mayor's official residence, Mayor Hanas had already been waiting there for a long time.
Although he has a rotten belly, he is wearing a dark suit with a plaid tie, a neat hairstyle and a neatly trimmed beard, making him look dignified and friendly. The setting sun cast soft light on his carefully groomed face, which made him appear friendly. It was obviously carefully designed by a professional stylist to deceive voters.
Behind Mayor Hanas, there were several middle-aged and elderly men and women, all dressed in formal attire, waiting with serious faces. They should be other government officials in the official residence, or some leaders in the business community.
As soon as the car door opened, Mayor Hanas greeted him warmly, stretched out his hands to Steve who had just got off the car from a distance, and said hello to him with a smile:
"Welcome to our city, sir, you will soon find that it is really nice here."
"Thank you for your warm invitation, Mr. Mayor." Steve replied politely.
Although Steve hates this hypocritical upper-class social model, he is actually very good at dealing with these people because he was specially trained to deceive wealthy people into donating money.
After the two exchanged a few polite words, Steve also introduced the companion behind him to Mayor Hanas. At the same time, he also got to know several celebrities behind him, all of whom were representatives from various fields.
After the two parties exchanged a few polite words, Mayor Hanas took the initiative to open the door of the official residence for him and guided everyone into the spacious and bright living room.
According to social customs, it is after the party in the evening that it is time to talk about business. Now this kind of sitting and talking is usually just showing goodwill to each other and talking nonsense.
But Steve was impatient to talk nonsense with a group of politicians, so after making it clear that he came here with no ill intentions, he took the initiative to change the topic to the purpose of the trip.
"Mayor Hanas, we are here to find a red gemstone. Its shape is perfect and unforgettable at first sight. We don't have a photo of the gemstone, but I can draw it for you. This gemstone is very important to us. It is very important. If you can help us find the gems, we will be very grateful and willing to give generous rewards. Whether it is financial or other aspects, you can provide it."
After Steve finished speaking, he brought a pen and paper, drew the reality gems, and handed them to them.
I have to say that in order to become a cartoonist, Steve worked hard as an artist. His painting skills are very exquisite, and the realistic gems he painted have both form and spirit, and they are already 70-80% like.
Perhaps the conditions Steve promised were too generous. Everyone, including Mayor Hanas, came over very eagerly and stretched their necks to see the gems that would make "President Rogers" come here to look for them. What is it like.
However, it is a pity that after seeing it, everyone shook their heads in disappointment and claimed that they had never seen this beautiful gem.
