Southern Nevada, Lincoln county.
It was a top-secret U.S. military base, which was ostensibly used for secretly developing and testing Air Force aircrafts, while carrying out other research projects behind the scenes.
Because of the air traffic control and the fact that it was a restricted area, the outside world often made up all kinds of strange anecdotes.
For example, many people claimed to have seen UFOs.
It was also believed that an alien corpse was kept in this military base.
Every newly elected President of the United States would come and visit.
Yes, this was the place that would later be known as 'Area 51'.
"General, the soldiers are very happy to see you. They regard you as an idol, just like a celebrity in Hollywood! They want to take a picture with you and shake your hand!"
A military official said with excitement.
"I'll be in Las Vegas for a while, and when I get a chance, I'll be ... participating in these fun events."
With his standard business smile, Luke took a special tour of the military base with a sense of curiosity.
As a result, no alien remains were found, and no frozen Cybertronians were detected.
He had to say; this was somewhat disappointing.
The mysterious 'Area 51' was really used as a bomb and artillery test area.
After the end of World War II, it was abandoned and later selected by Lockheed's Skunk Works as a test site for the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, with a 7,000-meter runway built specifically for it.
After the veil of mystery was lifted, Area 51, which had caused so much controversy, appeared to be so plain and ordinary.
"According to Nick Fury's habit of building safe houses all over the world, this is a good place."
Luke looked around and finalized his ideas.
Then, he was in the midst of a crowd of either adoring or admiring eyes.
The tall and straight figure rose to the sky, causing a great burst of air in the atmosphere.
"Superman!"
Below were the excited American soldiers.
'Area 51' was only 130 kilometers away from downtown Las Vegas. With Luke's speed, he could be there in a matter of seconds.
Bang!
There was a shadow passing over the clouds; the rolling wave of air emitted an explosive sound.
The dark red cape whipped up with the strong gust of wind, and Luke landed steadily on the tarmac of the Flamingo Hotel.
"Alessandro, you look a little nervous. What happened?"
Luke pushed open the tempered glass door and saw Alessandro, the hotel owner, city council member, and mafia boss, with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
The Italian man's forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes were wary, and there was a hint of worry.
"General, you're finally back."
Alessandro looked like he had seen a savior. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, wiping away the oily sweat.
"Mr. Stark, who came with you, has been missing for two days."
Luke raised an eyebrow. It was a bit of a surprise to him that something would happen to Howard, that kind of guy.
As a result of the last Essex Biotech assassination, the latter became even more vigilant and took his portable armor with him wherever he went.
As for the Mark 1 armor, it was kept in the basement of the Stark mansion.
If someone wanted to attack Howard, whether it was a sneak attack or a personal visit, the process wouldn't be easy.
"Is it kidnapping or something else?"
Luke's calm voice quickly calmed Alessandro's anxious mood.
"Neither."
The Mafia boss struggled to organize the words, and he looked like he had some doubts about what to say.
"2 days ago, Mr. Stark entered a newly opened hotel and never came out again."
"I was worried that something had happened to Mr. Stark, so I sent a few people to look for him."
"However, after they stepped through the doors of the hotel, it was as if they had disappeared."
Luke listened patiently and took the elevator to his room.
"What's the name of the hotel?"
He raised the key question.
"Hotel Inferno."
Alessandro replied.
Luke thought about it and approached the sofa.
He was just suspicious before, but now he was basically sure.
Howard's disappearance must have been caused by the old Lord of Hell, Mephisto.
It's just that, why was that old devil after Iron Man's father?
Although it's said that Howard was an uncompromising capitalist...
In order to gain wealth, his hands were covered in blood -- after all, arms dealers were selling death.
But the soul of a person didn't carry a lot of weight just because he did good or evil.
The weight of the soul depended on the firmness of one's will, a strong spirit, or some kind of passionate belief.
"When did this hotel appear?"
Luke collected his thoughts and calmly asked.
This wasn't the first time he had dealt with the old devil.
In other universes, in order to help Stephen Strange win the Sorcerer Supreme position, he fought with Mephisto.
The old devil was still no match for Superman in hell, let alone now, in the human world.
"Uh, I don't remember exactly. I think ... it was a week ago, or two weeks ago."
Luke looked at Alessandro, who seemed to have been affected by some strange power, and his memory was all messed up.
Obviously, this was also Mephisto's doing.
'Did this guy move Hell to Las Vegas?'
Luke lifted up his eyes, looked through many obstacles, and saw the dark tower towering into the clouds.
The shape was obviously so peculiar, with smoke and flames billowing out.
But the pedestrians passing by were oblivious, and instead, were unwittingly attracted to join the long queue.
'The more we meet, the more we get to know each other.'
Luke's mouth curled up in a small arc, and he smiled lightly, "If you've been beaten once, there would always be a second time."
...
...
Mephisto, with a silver cane, stood at the top of Hotel Inferno.
With a condescending gaze that looked down on all beings, he looked down at the crowd of beings below.
The long queue outside had blocked the traffic along the street.
But people kept joining in as if they were possessed.
"Too tempting, too satisfying!"
Mephisto took a deep breath. The city that lied beneath his feet was home to 1.7 million people.
To the old devil, this was 1.7 million delicious souls, and it also had a huge and incalculable value.
'They all voluntarily offered their souls to me.'
Mephisto's lips smiled in triumph. He didn't get those human souls by means of coercion or extortion.
Every guest who walked into Hotel Inferno exchanged their souls for chips and signed a contract.
'I didn't violate the Sorcerer Supreme's rules. Even if the Ancient One came here, their souls would be marked and will fall into Hell, sooner or later.'
Thinking of that, the smile on Mephisto's face grew wider and wider.
He felt a little annoyed that he didn't think of this method earlier.
In the old devil's long lifetime, he kept looking for people who had a hard time fulfilling their desires, who were ambitious, or were extremely desperate and easily fooled.
Then, he sold Hell's insurance to them.
The devil had to use a lot of words to persuade the person to sign the contract.
Describing how slow the process was and how long it took was unspeakable.
In the past, the old devil liked to play such games- watching those human beings getting seduced by their own greed, tyranny, and malice with his own eyes.
Watching them kill each other for money, power, or women, and finally falling into Hell with regret, resentment, and fear.
Mephisto enjoyed tasting the complexity and distortion of human nature and regarded it as a glass of richly flavored wine.
However, playing the same game for so long would inevitably feel boring.
'It's time to change the game.'
Mephistopheles poured himself a glass of red wine. The scarlet liquid rippled in circles.
Ring ring! Ring ring!
The ear-splitting phone call interrupted the old devil's personal time.
"Mundus, I hope it's really an emergency. Otherwise, I will throw you into the ninth level of Hell, where you will be eaten by evil spirits that have been starving for thousands of years."
In the gentlest tone, Mephisto spoke of the worst possible punishment.
The casino manager, Mundus, shuddered, and a heavy dose of fear appeared on his flesh-covered face.
The demons in hell knew that Mephisto had always been merciless to those who didn't do their jobs properly.
"There's a human! He's winning all the time! He won a lot of chips!"
There was a hint of panic in Mundus's voice.
"Hachem can't keep up!"
Mephisto frowned slightly. Hachem was the champion of the World Poker Competition in his lifetime, especially in Texas Hold'em. He could be called the King of Gambling.
Of course, he was able to possess such a high level of skill because of his contract with the old devil.
The young gambling king, Hachem, who was on the rise, died in a car accident, and his soul smoothly fell into Mephisto's hands.
Now the enslaved Hachem's soul was put to good use by the old devil in the poker area of the casino as a stabilizing presence.
There were many human souls like Hashem's in Mephisto's hands.
In his casino, it was impossible for anyone to win all the time.
"Trash! You guy's let a human act cocky in Hotel Inferno?!"
Mephisto cursed and directly hung up the phone.
Then, a dark flame rose up and revealed the scene of the casino on the 12th floor --
At the Texas Hold'em table, two men sat opposite each other, surrounded by a large group of semi-transparent shadows.
'Hachem is actually the best in Texas Hold'em.'
Mephisto's brow furrowed even more.
He couldn't figure out how Hachem could have lost in the game he had pride in.
The old devil caught a glimpse of his opponent's chips, which had piled up into several small hills.
Obviously, he had been winning and never lost.
"I'm sorry, my cards are still better than yours."
The young man sitting across the table from Hachem spread his cards and once again won a pile of chips of various colors, branded with a picture of a ram-horned devil.
"It looks like you're having a bad day. Lady Luck lifted her skirt for me and raised her middle finger for you."