"The philosophy of our Hudson Group is to make human life better, so the medicines we develop have always followed this direction."
At the Carl Group's new product launch event, Carl stood on stage with a smile, holding a microphone as he introduced and promoted the product according to the script Jack had prepared in advance.
Due to the remarkable effects of the new product and its affordable price, as soon as Carl finished his introduction, the journalists below were instantly fired up and began scrambling to ask about the details.
Carl responded to each question calmly and professionally.
"Boss, the effect is amazing. Now that the press conference is over, there should be plenty of coverage about our company and products by tomorrow. Once we gain that attention, we'll have established a solid foothold in New York."
At the end of the event, a brown-haired man in his thirties approached Carl with visible excitement.
This man was none other than Jack, the person responsible for the entire company's operations.
Carl patted Jack on the shoulder with a smile and said:
"It's all thanks to you. You've worked hard during this time."
"It's nothing. If you hadn't saved me back then, I'd probably be rotting in some back alley by now—and my family wouldn't be living nearly as well."
Jack replied seriously.
Years ago, after graduating, Jack had returned to his homeland, Sokovia, to start a business. With the knowledge he'd gained and his natural business acumen, he gradually built something from the ground up.
But as his business grew more successful, he also made enemies.
Unable to defeat him through normal business means, his rivals resorted to underhanded tactics—forcing him into bankruptcy and dragging his still-studying younger brother into heavy gambling debt.
Just when Jack's family was about to collapse under the weight of those debts, Carl appeared—not only solving all the problems, but also wiping out the enemies who had conspired against him.
Since then, Jack had thrown himself into running Carl's business empire as a way of repaying him for saving both his life and his family.
Of course, watching the company grow under his management also brought him a deep sense of satisfaction.
"You should also take care of your health," Carl reminded him. "If there's nothing urgent, try taking more of the enhanced version of the Power Pill. You might not be into martial arts, but it'll still do wonders for your physical condition."
Jack nodded as Carl offered the advice and turned to leave.
At the time, Carl had saved Jack mainly because he needed a management expert—but Jack's abilities turned out to be far more impressive than expected.
Thanks to Jack's skillful operations and leadership, the Carl Group rose to become a top enterprise in Sokovia within just three years.
Even the best product can fail without proper management. A good wine still needs marketing, or else it stays hidden in a deep alley.
"There is a new task, please open the panel and view it in the taskbar."
As soon as he got in the car, Carl suddenly heard a mission prompt, so he opened the panel to check.
Since arriving in New York yesterday, aside from the side mission to save Dr. Ethan, several other side missions had popped up—and the frequency was far higher than back in Sokovia.
Things like stopping a thief, rescuing a small animal, etc., were all extremely simple tasks. The rewards were basically useless to him, so he didn't bother with them. After some time, these side quests would just disappear.
"New main mission!"
When Carl opened the panel to check the task, his eyes suddenly lit up. This time, it wasn't just another insignificant side mission, but a main mission—one that could unlock a new world.
He immediately tapped on the newly added main task and carefully read through it.
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Main Mission: Grow Hudson Enterprises
Junior Level: Make Hudson Group a first-class business in New York.
Intermediate Level: Raise Hudson Group to rival the Stark Group at its peak.
Advanced Level: Turn Hudson Group into an enterprise that vastly surpasses the Stark Group at its peak.
Mission Reward: A new small world, with different initial identities and talents based on degree of completion.
---
"I knew it—there's never an easy main mission."
Seeing the contents of the new main quest, Carl couldn't help but rub his forehead.
As a martial arts master, his strongest skills were in combat and infiltration—like when he sneaked into the Hydra base and sabotaged their operations.
But this kind of emotionally driven and business-oriented mission? That was his weak spot. And yet, that's exactly what this main task required.
The first main mission after his time travel had been to fall in love with Wanda and marry her. It took him three years and real emotional investment to complete that one.
Now, the second main mission was asking him to run a company—that sounded even harder than taking on the Chitauri solo.
To become a first-class company in New York might be achievable within a few years, thanks to Jack's management skills.
But to rise to the level of the Stark Group?
Sure, his profits from pharmaceuticals were high, but could selling medicine really compete with arms and energy tech?
Then again, it wasn't completely impossible. Ruthless drug lords made enormous profits too—if done right. Still, Stark Industries had been around for over a century, and covered everything from aerospace and military to medical and security technologies—all extremely lucrative industries.
At its peak, Tony's estimated net worth was two to four hundred billion U.S. dollars.
And the mission required him not just to match that—but to surpass it.
"What kind of monster-level company is this mission asking me to build?"
But Carl quickly shook his head and pushed those thoughts aside.
"No… I can't think about this the traditional way."
He calmed his mind, setting aside the stress of growing Hudson Enterprises and reconsidered the situation.
Business management wasn't his specialty. If he invested all his time and energy into the company, he probably wouldn't even reach advanced completion by the time Thanos landed.
"Maybe… to achieve advanced completion, I need to take a different path."
Slowly, Carl began formulating a new idea in his mind. Jack could continue to operate the company's daily affairs. What Carl needed to do was use his strengths to indirectly accelerate the company's growth—through unconventional means.
Once he calmed down, Carl realized there was no need to rush the second main task. After all, he still had plenty of room to grow in the first world.
What he needed most now was to increase his strength. With greater power, he'd gain more resources—resources that could be leveraged to speed up his company's rise.
This second main mission may seem like a test of management, but that was just on the surface.
The strength of the Stark Group didn't stem from the business acumen of Howard and Tony—it came from their inventions and technological genius.
Carl, unlike the Starks, didn't have the gift of invention—but he had something they didn't: access to a small world, overwhelming strength, and knowledge of secrets no one else knew.
With the right moves, this mission might not be as impossible as it first seemed.