Seeing Karl keeping him in suspense again, Eric O'Grady had no choice but to hurry after him.
The two moved as fast as they could and arrived outside a towering skyscraper. They shot straight upward and reached the thirty-second floor.
Iron Man was still inside.
Apparently, he had already noticed the movement outside, because his relaxed voice soon drifted out.
"Since you're already here, come inside and have a seat. Hovering around outside must be tiring."
Karl was about to enter, but Eric hesitated.
Putting aside the fact that neither of them had much of a relationship with Iron Man, with enemies currently plotting against Earth, Eric could not even be sure whether the Iron Man in front of them was genuine.
"Relax. He's real. I guarantee it."
Karl's confidence left Eric completely bewildered.
"What kind of eyes do you have? I can't see a damn thing, but you take one look and somehow understand everything. It's bizarre."
"Whatever. If you say he's real, then he's real. But if something goes wrong, you're taking responsibility."
After what had happened with the fake Hope van Dyne, Eric could hardly be blamed for being cautious.
Karl did not necessarily think that was a bad thing.
At least it would keep Eric constantly alert and prevent him from letting his guard down.
The moment they entered the building, a blast of cold air washed over them.
"No way. That guy actually lives in this empty place? It's kind of creepy."
"This looks less like a home and more like a laboratory."
Everything around them was dull gray and covered in what looked like steel plating, almost as though the entire place had been fortified against something.
"Don't touch anything."
Eric curiously reached toward one of the walls, only for Karl to immediately stop him.
After entering the elevator, they quickly reached the floor where Iron Man was waiting.
"Well, this is a rare visit!"
"But if I had to guess, you came here because of what happened earlier, didn't you?"
Karl was somewhat puzzled.
Iron Man had barely shown himself for a long time.
How did he already know something had happened?
"I came here because I need your help."
Iron Man had already prepared iced Americanos for both of them.
Karl nodded slightly in thanks.
Eric, on the other hand, immediately took a sip.
It tasted excellent.
He nodded approvingly.
"I don't know whether you've heard about the situation with the Skrulls, but they've already started making their move. S.H.I.E.L.D. still doesn't know about it, so—"
Karl had not even finished speaking when a tremendous bang came from outside.
A piercing red alert immediately sounded throughout the room.
Karl was particularly sensitive to sounds, making the alarm even more grating to his ears.
"Someone broke in?"
Iron Man silently nodded.
Special security devices had been installed throughout the entire building.
If anyone forced their way inside, all of the security systems would immediately connect to the network and alert him.
Karl and Iron Man rushed out.
Eric started after them, but then stopped.
He still could not forget the iced Americano he had just tasted.
It really was excellent.
Those were some top-tier coffee beans!
"This coffee…"
Eric turned around, tilted his head back, and drained the entire cup.
By the time he caught up again, Iron Man was leading Karl into another spacious room.
Inside were dozens of sophisticated surveillance monitors packed densely together.
"It's Entrance Thirty."
One of the entrances had been outlined in red.
Karl silently nodded.
To his surprise, Ultron had already found them.
And behind Ultron were numerous figures dressed in black cloaks.
Iron Man had not yet figured out exactly who they were.
"If I'm not mistaken, they should be Skrulls…"
Iron Man frowned.
This was bad.
"Skrulls?"
"Ultron has gotten mixed up with the Skrulls?"
"That makes this a lot harder."
With that, Iron Man turned around.
Eric hurried after him.
The entire reason they had come here was to clarify the situation and secure his help.
"There's something I need to make clear."
"The reason I came here this time was to ask whether you'd be willing to help us."
As Karl spoke, Eric quickly nodded.
After finishing the iced Americano, however, his stomach suddenly felt strangely empty.
He was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"What the hell did you put in that iced Americano? Why is it hitting me this hard? My stomach feels awful!"
Karl helplessly shook his head.
There had been so much ice in that drink.
Apparently, Eric's stomach simply could not handle it.
"Do I even have a choice?"
"You already brought the enemy straight to my doorstep!"
Iron Man led them quickly down to Basement Level One.
By now, the intruders had already reached the thirtieth floor.
The three quietly entered an underground passage, but even that was not necessarily their safest option.
"If they dared come directly through the entrance, that means they've probably brought enough people to surround this building from every direction."
Below them was an extravagant vehicle that looked almost like a small warship.
Eric could not help staring.
"Why are you so damn rich?"
Iron Man had already climbed into the driver's seat.
He waved at them, signaling for them to get in.
No matter what happened, he needed to take precautions.
The first priority was getting them out of there.
"This building isn't safe anymore. Come with me. We need somewhere else to hide."
Karl did not ask any questions.
He simply got into the vehicle.
Eric was still suspicious.
"You haven't even investigated anything properly, and you're just getting into his car?"
"Aren't you worried that he might be—"
Before Eric could finish, the vehicle started.
"If you're going to keep talking nonsense, you can stay behind!"
Ultron and his forces were already approaching.
They were only a few hundred meters away.
Eric immediately jumped into the vehicle.
A moment later, they sped away.
By the time Ultron reached the spot where the vehicle had been parked, all he found was a cloud of exhaust.
Furious, he violently swung one hand aside.
"Useless idiots!"
"Send people after them immediately!"
"Surround this entire building!"
"Search the place and see whether they left behind any important clues!"
Ultron knew there was no way to stop them now, but frustration still burned inside him.
Those people had escaped right under his nose.
How was that possible?
Even he found it surprising.
"Did someone warn them?"
"Or do we have a mole among us?"
The suspicion suddenly occurred to Ultron.
Dotilt, who was commanding the troops, immediately took offense.
His people had contributed manpower and technology, only for them to arrive here and find nothing.
And now Ultron had immediately turned around and started suspecting them.
Dotilt's expression stiffened.
"If you couldn't catch them, just admit that you weren't capable of doing it."
"Why immediately start suspecting your own side?"
"These are our brothers."
"We share the same objective of destroying Earth."
"I absolutely refuse to believe that there's a traitor among us!"
(End of Chapter)
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