"He's still as willful as ever!"
Standing next to Artoria, Pepper also spoke with a smile. Knowing Tony's temperament, they both laughed. Tony Stark didn't accept any compromises; he always liked to take unconventional paths. But the one with the biggest headache right now wasn't Artoria or the others, but Director Nick, who was watching the live broadcast in a dark room. He had originally planned to have Tony stay hidden for a while, then send someone to contact him and bring him into the team to quietly solve the world's hidden crises.
With Tony's stunt, the whole world now knew he was Iron Man. Tony was no longer suited for a hidden identity. He was too famous to act covertly. This situation gave Nick a massive headache, but it also reminded him of that valiant woman.
"Director, we..."
"Come back, Special Agent Phil."
"Yes, Director."
Hearing his subordinate's voice, Nick didn't hesitate to tell Phil to return. Tony was no longer suitable for covert operations. They could only temporarily give up on contacting him and test him privately later.
"Howard, both you and your son are big trouble."
"I really wish that girl would join the team too, but those two are watching her too closely."
Nick watched the spirited Tony on the live broadcast and thought of the low-key girl, Artoria. Why was there such a huge difference between two children raised by the same parents? Or was it as he suspected—that Tony was adopted? But when Tony was born, Nick had personally found the Doctor; how could there be a mistake? He couldn't figure it out.
"The one standing there should have been you, my child!"
In a small, dilapidated house in Russia, a drunken old man watched Tony on the video, his eyes filled with sadness and self-reproach. If he hadn't been greedy and tried to monopolize the Arc Reactor technology, he wouldn't have been deported, and his child wouldn't be suffering here with him. He had failed his child.
"Father, don't be sad."
Seeing his father like this, Anton Vanko felt deep pain. His eyes were full of hatred for the Tony in the video. He now wished he could immediately kill everyone with the surname 'Stark'.
"What's wrong, Artoria?"
Artoria, who had been chatting and laughing, suddenly stopped. Pepper asked in confusion.
"It's nothing. Just like a mosquito, that's all."
Coming back to her senses, Artoria spoke to Pepper with a smile. The ahoge on her head swayed slowly, as if it were saying something to her. The two continued chatting. Artoria had already expressed her support for Tony's decision and wouldn't be attending the party he organized. After saying goodbye to Pepper, Artoria walked back instead of calling a car; she felt something drawing her in.
"The world has begun to fall into chaos. You must hurry, child."
Hearing a very kind voice, Artoria turned to look. An old man with a very familiar face was smiling at her, but he vanished in the next instant. The scenery around Artoria also changed; she was already in the car returning to the Base. She couldn't understand what had just happened, but those words kept echoing in her mind: 'You must hurry.'
"I need to hurry and increase my strength."
Artoria murmured to herself, and the voice in her head disappeared.
While Artoria was returning to the Base, the military on the other side was making significant moves. It looked like they were preparing for something big, getting ready to fight some massive entity. But none of this had much to do with Artoria for now. She only hoped to increase her strength in a short amount of time.
In another university, an inconspicuous youth found a briefcase in a compartment. He remembered clearly that it was his father's briefcase. On that night, he had lost both his parents and went to live with Uncle Ben and Aunt Mei. Although money was tight, it was very warm, making up for his childhood lack of parents. However, he had always cared about his parents' whereabouts and their work. He even speculated that their Deaths were closely related to their work, but he had no important clues.
"Connors?"
With trepidation, Peter Parker opened the briefcase and saw a piece of paper in a hidden compartment. It had a strange formula on it, and with the name on the back, he figured this man named Connors must be related to his parents. After searching online, he discovered that he was actually a high-level executive at the company owned by his good friend Harry Osborn's father—Dr. Connors. But to avoid causing trouble for his friend, he decided to use his own skills to enter the company and find Dr. Connors.
To ask about the cause of his parents' Death. Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate and began using his clever brain to plan how to sneak into the company to find Dr. Connors.
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