American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

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Following the direction of the sound, Tony Stark saw a silent figure in the corner of the room.

"you?"

He frowned as he looked at the figure that had appeared in the room.

As Tony Stark watched what was happening, the figure in the corner slowly emerged, and then the expression on his face changed from initial confusion to terror.

"dad?".

The figure that appeared around the corner was practically his own father, Howard.

Just one glance at Howard's pale face, a face that, like his body encased in metal, clearly left a deep impression on Tony Stark. If it weren't for the fact that half of his face still showed some familiar features, Tony Stark might have mistaken him for someone else.

After a long while, he finally spoke, asking in a hoarse voice.

Why did you become like this? What happened?

A host of questions arose in Tony Stark's mind; he wanted to know what had happened to Howard while he was in a coma after the car accident.

Chapter 759 The Invention of Television

Positive world, high-speed land-based express delivery.

Amidst the roar of the train, Xu Fu looked out from around the corner, silently shifting his gaze away from the station in the middle of the lake, a place that seemed to be receding into the distance.

The journey from Salt Lake City to our final destination, San Francisco, took less than a day. The train ran on tracks in the Saki area, and even inside the carriage, Xu Fu could still feel the train swaying.

The land route is the most important part of the route across the continent, and also the most difficult part to lay.

In the past, the shortest journey from New York to San Francisco took six months.

Once the railway is completed, this route will only take seven days.

In the era before modern machines, these two railways were connected by human labor and simple tools, cutting through the mountains.

The blood and tears of the Chinese workers are stained on every single railway post.

However, this part was deliberately omitted, and none of them were invited to the completion ceremony.

They also did not appear in the famous photograph of the "east-west" steam locomotives converging.

When the golden steel spikes symbolizing the successful merging of the two sections of the railroad were driven into the tracks, their employers abandoned them, leaving them to fend for themselves. The Central Pacific Railroad even refused to transport them back to San Francisco, forcing them to walk back, resulting in many starving or being killed along the way.

It has been said that "under every sleeper of the American railway lies the body of an Irish worker."

But the truth is, it wasn't just Irish workers, but probably many other Chinese workers, who were lying under the sleepers of the Pacific Railway.

Xu Fu was somewhat silent during the landline phone call to San Francisco.

The land line was built more than 60 years ago, and most of the workers who participated in its construction have long since passed away, yet the Pacific Railroad's trains still run day and night on the railways they built.

...

The train journey from Salt Lake City to San Francisco takes 19 hours.

"Ugh!"

Upon disembarking from the train, Xu Fu's mood, which had been somewhat subdued before, returned to its previous pattern.

After all, his purpose in going to San Francisco was not to explore railroad history.

This trip had an unusually large number of passengers because it was the final stop on the route.

Many of the vagrants who had climbed onto the carriages also got off the train and looked around at their new surroundings.

As Xu Fu exited San Francisco train station, he quickly spotted someone in the crowd holding a sign with his name on it.

The man, dressed in a slightly bulky suit that accentuated his already thin frame, wore a white bowler hat and held up a sign, constantly watching the crowds coming and going in front of the station.

"Mr. Xu Fu?"

Noticing that Xu Fu's gaze was fixed on the sign in his hand, the man immediately stepped forward and asked in an uncertain tone.

"that's me."

Xu Fu nodded, acknowledging his identity, and greeted the person standing in front of him.

“Mr. John Daly”.

Upon hearing Xu Fu pronounce his name accurately, John Daly immediately knew that this was the client he had been waiting for.

He hurriedly put away the "Put Away" sign, forced a smile, and replied, "You can just call me John."

"Ever since I received Mr. Xu Fu's letter three days ago about his plans to come to San Francisco, I've been waiting at the train station..."

"Sorry, the sandstorm caused the delay."

“I’ve heard about the dust storm. I heard that the whole of New York is covered in yellow sand.”

As a private investigator, John Daly was quite well-informed, even though he heard very little about the dust storm that was happening in New York City.

As he said this, John Daly reached out and took the briefcase from Xu Fu.

"I'll do it myself. There's a lot of stuff in the box, and I'm afraid you won't be able to carry it."

However, the latter slightly withdrew his hand to avoid John Daly's outstretched arm.

"Can't hold it anymore?"

Upon hearing Xu Fu's denial, John Daly raised his eyebrows slightly under his top hat, examining the bulky briefcase in front of him with disbelief.

“Mr. Xu Fu, you don’t need to look at my thin appearance. In fact, before becoming a private investigator, I worked for the San Francisco Police Department. My power is greater than you can imagine.”

While doing this, John Daly deliberately raised his arms, striking a bodybuilder's pose.

Xu Fu smiled at this point.

Seeing that his client was unwilling to let him leave, John Daly did not force himself to snatch the suitcase from the other party again.

They led Xu Fu to the car, which looked a bit old, and waited for him to get in.

At this point, John Daly increased the throttle and headed towards the city.

The train station is about 40 minutes from downtown. Although there is a streetcar nearby, San Francisco’s complex traffic situation is something that even locals may not be able to figure out.

Furthermore, as a major client, John Daly would never allow Xu Fu to ride the streetcar alone into downtown San Francisco.

"...For some time now, Fello-Fassworth has been staying in his company and rarely goes out. Even when he does go out, it's always to the factory, nothing special."

After driving to downtown San Francisco, John Daly began reporting his findings to Xu Fu.

Private detectives have a long history, and the most famous in the United States is the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, founded by Alan Pinker.

Even the word "private detective," which is often used in English to refer to private detectives, represents Pinkerton's logo—a wide-open eye and the slogan "Always awake, never asleep."

Of course, Allen Pinker's greatest fame comes from the story of Lincoln traveling by train to Washington for his inauguration on the eve of the Civil War. When the train passed through Baltimore, Pinkerton detectives successfully uncovered a local plot to assassinate the president.

Lincoln was very impressed with them, and during the war, the president's train was guarded by Pinkerton detectives. He also instructed Alan Pinkerton to establish the famous Secret Service, which, in addition to protecting the president and other key members of the government, was directly involved in military intelligence and counterintelligence activities.

These two functions were later separated; the former still exists today, while the latter was the precursor to the CIA and FBI.

...

Influenced by detective comics, bounty hunters emerged during the Great Depression, although the vast majority of them were mediocre, and many were simply unemployed vagrants.

Chapter 760 Fatal Confusion

Private investigators with extensive investigative experience like John Daly are a minority.

John Daly's mention of Fello Fasworth was also key to Xu Fu's journey to San Francisco.

Two years ago, in the second year after the Great Depression began, the American government granted Ferro Farnsworth a patent certificate, giving him all the patents for the legal use of television.

However, Fello-Farnsworth's later life did not become smoother as a result of owning the television patent.

On the contrary, he suffered for this patent his entire life.

Today, although Fellowes holds the patent for television, the only manufacturer of that era interested in making televisions seems to be interested in the doomed mechanical television, and apart from American Radio, almost no one appreciates Fellowes's invention.

As for American Radio Corporation, Xu Fu was not worried that the company would have any problems because of his meeting with Ferro Farnsworth.

This is because American Radio Corporation never attempted to obtain a legitimate television patent from Ferro Farnsworth.

...

After hearing about Fello Farnsworth's situation from John Daly, Xu Fu did not hesitate to go find another person.

Standing in front of John Daly's address, he reached out and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock -

"Who is that?"

When there was a knock on the door, a slightly tired voice came from inside.

Kacha.

Then came a series of hurried footsteps.

The door to the room opened, and a man wearing glasses and with a high forehead appeared at the entrance. He looked at Xu Fu and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"Is that Mr. Fellowesworth?"

Looking at the person coming out of the room, Xu Fu organized the information he had obtained from John Daly and introduced himself: "I am Xu Fu, owner of the New York Messenger Daily and the machine factory. The purpose of my visit is to ask you to acquire a television patent..."