"I almost believe the story you've made up," Stark said. "If I remember correctly, this 'Eternal Life Factor' was just something we concocted, wasn't it?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you remember? Behind this is a significant event in the historical development of the two great families of Stark and Osborne!"
After this, Stark listened with a confused expression as Shiller told a new version of the history of the Stark and Osborn families.
In Shiller's background story, Old Stark and Old Osborn had once embarked on an epic adventure to combat vampires during their youth.
It all began with a story of Howard's one-night romantic encounter with a female vampire...
After hearing the story, Stark was flabbergasted. He said, "So you're saying, Howard slept with a female vampire and then, out of curiosity, stole her blood. He conducted research and found this factor..."
"And then, due to his limitations in biological knowledge, he approached Old Osborne for collaboration. Together, they confirmed the existence of this factor and even fully analyzed its structure."
"Eventually, the research was leaked, discovered by the Vampire Tribes, who pursued and killed them, resulting in the loss of most data. Norman and I are simply recovering this lost information?????"
"Uh…" Stark seemed to choke up.
However, Steve was nodding in agreement. He said, "This story sounds very plausible, even more so than Howard's Hovercar Company. The most reasonable part is your father's affair with the female vampire. Shiller, I must admit, I almost thought you knew Howard."
"Stop talking nonsense. This is a story told by Old Stark's son, Little Stark, it has nothing to do with me."
"I…" Stark was about to retort when Steve spoke. "Indeed, I think the story should go like this: Little Stark, who was once a weapons dealer, had a change of heart and was tormented by the ruthless massacres of humans by vampires. He found clues in his father's legacy, then voluntarily sought out Norman for collaboration. They unearthed the research of their predecessors…"
"Yes, the Stark family has always considered the fate of humanity their responsibility. Every Stark is concerned with national matters and the welfare of the people. What a touching story!"
Shiller said in an exaggerated tone, "The relay of wisdom between a father and a son across generations, the inheritance of the same wisdom, even the embodiment of great character!"
Stark was shocked and remained silent for a long time. Finally, he touched his nose and said, "Okay, but I hope you delete the part about my sleepless nights. Even if I was having sleepless nights, I wouldn't be thinking about Howard."
Steve walked over, patted Stark's shoulder and said, "If you're not satisfied with that part, we can arrange for you to have a female vampire…"
"No need!" Stark shouted. Then, looking somewhat suspicious, he asked, "JARVIS, Pepper isn't on the communication link, is she?"
"No, sir. But she might join at any moment."
"Then let's drop that part," Stark immediately said.
"So why are we making up this kind of story?" Peter asked, finding the convoluted scheme somewhat hard to understand.
Shiller pointed to the information on the table and said, "The vampires have always had different factions within them. Now, humans have presented a persuasive scientific discovery asserting that a particular faction might be nobler than others. What do you think they will do?"
"But they may not necessarily accept the results of human research, right? Regardless of whether we made it up or not, they can outright deny it…"
"What if I tell them that whichever faction accepts this research first, we will proclaim, based on our investigations, that all members of that faction are direct descendants of Cain, that their blood contains massive quantities of the 'Eternal Life Factor,' and that they are true royals among vampires?"
Steve pondered it for a moment and then said, "That's indeed a good way to create strife among them. There are always power struggles among the different factions of vampires. To surpass the other factions, they would naturally be looking for proof to validate their legitimacy, and the question of lineage is indeed compelling evidence."
"In order to secure more advantages for their faction and prove their divine right of kingship, plenty of vampires will voluntarily support this bat lineage theory."
Steve's gaze fell onto the documents on the table. He said, "The vampires have been fighting amongst themselves for years and have yet to produce any proof of their superior lineage. But now, humans are providing them with this opportunity."
"In essence, they don't care about the nobility of their origin, as long as they are nobler than others."
"Exploitation always exists," said Shiller, also looking at the documents, "but if they lack a legitimate reason to exploit other vampires, then we'll give them one."
"They want to infect us physically, transforming more humans into vampires, increasing their tribe's numbers, infiltrating human society, and then manipulating the entire human race…"
Shiller's voice was calm and monotone, which somehow made it all the more chilling to the others present.
"So we will infect them mentally, presenting them with centuries of human flaws: divine rights, dynastic legitimacy, pureblood supremacy…Humans have been fighting amongst themselves forever. Compared to us, the internal strife among vampires is child's play," Shiller continued.
"Establish an exploitative pyramid, block all opportunities for advancement, dictate that birth determines everything, and ensure there is no hope for change."
"If they don't plan to develop in this way, then we can certainly help them."
"Pureblood vampires are nobler than the others. They will exploit other vampires. But these other vampires need to live too, so they will have to find another group to exploit, a group even lower than they are…"
"Who will they exploit?" Peter asked.
"Only vampires transformed from humans," Shiller answered, his voice turning cold.
"This exploitation will be far more brutal than the exploitation within their tribe."
"So when all humans can see how vampires transformed from humans are miserably exploited within their vampire tribe, they will no longer harbor any illusions about survival after transformation. It might be better to end it all once and for all rather than being transformed into a vampire and living in unimaginable pain," Shiller said with a shudder.
"Once there is no more fresh blood being offered, or there is too little of it, their society will become completely closed."
"At this point, with no massive lower class to exploit, the original middle class will fall to the bottom."
"Because the quantity of the middle class is too small, and the higher class is reluctant to lessen their exploitation or lower their standard of living, the exploitation suffered by every middle class individual will become increasingly severe until they can no longer survive..."
"So one day..." Steve's voice trailed off. Shiller interjected, with an ambiguous tone, "the exploited will need some ideological weapons for guidance."
Stark was silent for a moment. He said, "My weapons may destroy the crown of the tree, but you are burning their roots."
"As I once said, sometimes, words are stronger than fists."