Marvel: I do Business with Daenerys Targaryen

Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, also known as the Chicago Cathedral of the Holy Name.

As the name suggests, this is a cathedral presided over by a bishop—not just any bishop, but a Cardinal, also known as a Prince of the Church.

Under the watchful eyes of Chicago's many elites, the Cardinal performed a baptism by water for Mike and Carol.

As the father, Josh maintained a solemn expression on the surface, but inwardly he was rather indifferent.

Though posing as a devout believer, due to numerous church scandals in later generations, Josh held little affection for Catholicism.

If it weren't for the Church's substantial influence in the Western world, Josh wouldn't bother with such hollow formalities.

The baptism process was somewhat lengthy but proceeded very smoothly.

Even the Cardinal dared not slack off when faced with a crowd composed of virtually all of Chicago's elite.

After the ceremony, the gathering moved to Josh's estate.

The women clustered in the courtyard, fussing over the children, while the men gathered in the drawing room.

There weren't many people—just over twenty—but each one was a heavyweight from the major family enterprises of the Chicago financial group.

Josh had met most of them before, having attended several Leibler family banquets and various charity galas in the past.

These financial magnates had already heard of Josh, the young upstart who had risen rapidly in recent years.

Plus, John Leibler had already briefed them all in advance.

So, naturally, there would be no foolish posturing or humiliation—no one at this level was an idiot.

"Gentlemen, the distinguished young man by my side needs no introduction. Let us welcome Josh into our ranks!" John Leibler said loudly to everyone beside Josh.

Everyone stood up warmly and applauded heartily, welcoming Josh's official entry into the financial group.

"I'm honored to be among you all. I won't bore you with too many words—let's get straight to the point," Josh raised his hands slightly, interrupting the applause, and said, "I believe Mr. Leibler has already told you about my intention to buy into Continental Bank. I deeply appreciate your support. But what I think you all care about most is the situation in Europe."

The deal with Continental Bank had actually been settled before the gathering. What Josh wanted to discuss now was the plan to head to Europe and make a fortune together.

"There's no doubt that the war in Europe is basically over. Our formidable army already controls most of the continent. After the ravages of war, Europe is in shambles and desperately needs rebuilding. Every industry is hoping for our help… I'm sure none of you would refuse to lend a hand to our European brethren, right?" Josh said with a meaningful smile.

Everyone present smiled knowingly.

They were going to Europe to "help," of course—not to "invade."

Naturally, after helping, collecting a little reward was only fair.

"Let's just say I've been lucky. At the end of the war, I provided some small assistance to our brave army and made a few friends among the ruling classes of Britain, France, Austria, and others. But I'm just one man—providing aid to our European friends is more than I can manage alone. So in the future, I'll need all of your support…"

Josh then gave everyone a detailed briefing on the European situation, highlighting his power base there, stirring their interest and reinforcing their regard for him.

With that, Josh was officially part of the core of the Chicago financial group.

The group also finalized a plan to head to Europe after Christmas, led by Josh, to go on a gold rush.

If you didn't take this opportunity to plow through Europe, could you even call yourself a capitalist?

After the party, Wilfred Malick once again paid a visit on behalf of the Council on Nine.

"You guys really are slow. A few more days and I would've gone back to Europe!" Josh said to Malick in the study.

"Sigh, it's a few troublemakers holding things up. Especially Calvin Chadwick—he was extremely opposed to you rejoining the council!" Malick replied with a helpless tone, seizing the chance to badmouth Chadwick.

"Oh? Because of Whitney? Just over a woman, and he treats me like an enemy? The head of Isodyne sure doesn't have much breadth of mind," Josh said, raising an eyebrow. He knew Malick was trying to stir things up, but also knew the man wouldn't fabricate things out of thin air.

Calvin Chadwick? Heh. I'll remember that name.

"Who says not? Fortunately, you recently became a core member of the Chicago financial group and took over Schmidt's forces. That really impressed the old fogies. Otherwise, if it was just my word, this might not have gone through," Malick said with emotion.

"So, they agreed?" Josh asked.

"Of course. They've arranged for you to meet in New York and officially attend the club meeting. But be careful—they've also caught wind of your European gold rush plan, and they want a slice of the pie," Malick warned. "Those old guys are scheming—you better watch yourself!"

"What, they gonna eat me alive? Or you think I'm scared?" Josh sneered.

"I know you're not scared. And once you reclaim your seat, they won't dare confront you directly—it'd violate council rules. But they might play dirty. Using regular business tactics to steal your gains—that's what they're best at," Malick said with a hint.

When Hydra was first formed, they swore no infighting among council members.

This infighting ban mostly referred to violent methods—like assassinations.

Do whatever you want externally, but within the council, violence was forbidden, or all others would band against the offender.

It ensured the organization's survival and protected its leaders. After all, a group racked by internal strife wouldn't last long.

Of course, if you could do it discreetly without getting caught, that was another matter but if you were exposed—expect the whole table to flip on you.

That's exactly why Schmidt was abandoned by the council—he broke that rule.

But the infighting ban clearly didn't cover legitimate business competition.

The Malick family had been ruined in the past by other families using just such business tricks.

But would Josh, with his "cheat code," fear business tactics?

Try me—I'll crush you with technological superiority!

A few days later, Josh and Malick headed to New York.

As with joining the Chicago group, after a short gathering, Josh donned the iconic Hydra insignia and officially became a member of the organization.

Hydra may seem mysterious and grand on the surface but once you really joined, you'd see that under normal circumstances, it was not much different from a regular business club.

Other than each member having to contribute some funds annually for joint projects, and sharing important intelligence and political resources, the rest was highly independent.

Aside from the council members, their individual forces rarely interacted without orders.

It was precisely this loose structure that made the organization so hard to eradicate.

And for Josh, that wasn't exactly good news.

This mode of collaboration could help him grow his industry quickly—but also made his ambition to fully control Hydra much harder to realize.

Fortunately, Josh was young—he could wait.

As Malick had warned earlier, the council did want in on the Europe trip.

In fact, the council had always planned to carve up postwar Europe. Josh's emergence and the reintegration of Hydra's European branch simply made it more convenient.

But aside from those regular operations, Josh, newly seated on the council, also witnessed another side of Hydra—and got involved in a major affair.

"Now that the war is basically over, it's no longer appropriate for little Roosevelt to remain in that position. With his temperament, it won't be long before he starts targeting us!" At the club meeting, after discussing Josh and Europe, interim council leader Thomas Gloucester raised a new issue—startling Josh.

Damn. Hydra was living up to its name—truly hardcore.

Little Roosevelt? That meant the one in the White House.

Previously there had been Theodore Roosevelt, and now it was Franklin D. Roosevelt—distant cousins.

Hence, the elder was called "Old Roosevelt," and the current one "Little Roosevelt."

This just happened to be an election year, and they were right in the thick of it.

Clearly, the council planned to interfere and make sure Roosevelt didn't get re-elected.

"That won't be easy, will it? He's at the height of his popularity right now!" Josh said cautiously. As a major capitalist, Josh didn't want Roosevelt to stay president. Too long a term and too much power—bad for any tycoon or financial group.

And Roosevelt had both.

In the original timeline, Roosevelt still won this election, and by a landslide but just a few months after the victory, right before the war ended—he conveniently died.

Whether that was coincidence, Josh couldn't say but now he was sure—if Roosevelt won again and then died, something was definitely up and it might involve him.

Yikes… thrilling just to think about it.

This Hydra—definitely the right move.

"Heh. Josh Kane, now that you're part of the council, you'd better get used to how we do things. So what if he gets elected? Plenty of presidents have been elected, and just as many have had accidents. What's one more?" said Calvin Chadwick across from Josh, with a provocative look.

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