The next morning, Peter was awakened by the persistent ringing of his phone.
The caller was none other than Tony, who had been busy all night explaining the events of the previous evening to the Military and S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Peter! It's me! Tony!"
Tony's voice came through the phone, sounding slightly exhausted yet incredibly excited.
"I've already questioned the Military for you, and just as you expected, they were definitely involved in what happened last night!"
"Oh?" Peter perked up a bit. "Tell me, what exactly went down?"
As a former arms dealer, this was likely Tony's first time having the chance to act so tough in front of the Military. Consequently, his retelling of yesterday's events was exceptionally vivid:
"How else could it go?"
"Those old fogies tried to make excuses at first, saying it was a misunderstanding, that I wasn't showing them enough respect, and all that."
"Guess how I responded? I just threw my coffee right at them! Then I pointed at his nose and told him, 'Believe it or not, I'll blow this place sky-high right now!'"
"Even if I don't do it, The Punisher will be coming next."
"When that happens, every single one of you won't be able to run!"
"The old man's face turned green on the spot when he heard that! He's a damn Vice Admiral!"
"He used to brag to me every day about how many battles he won in Vietnam. I used to think he was so impressive! I didn't expect him to be like this!"
"Seeing that they were already cowering, I just played the recording of you tearing the iron monger apart by hand."
"Then I told them, 'If you're not afraid of death, keep playing your bureaucratic games with me.'"
"See if The Punisher is as easy to talk to as I am the next time he meets you!"
Because Tony's storytelling was so animated, Peter could easily imagine him acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's majesty. For a moment, he couldn't help but find it amusing.
"And then?"
"Then they completely fell in line!" Tony said unhurriedly, taking a large bite out of a cheeseburger Pepper had brought him.
"They started explaining that this whole thing was a complete misunderstanding."
"They admitted they were guiding Obadiah and the Sinister Six's actions from behind the scenes, but their goal wasn't to kill you."
"Instead, they hoped you could help them solve a big problem."
"They even said they knew their actions might have been a bit reckless and hoped you could forgive them."
Hearing this "explanation," Peter couldn't help but let out a sneer.
"Know they were wrong? I think they know they're about to die!"
"Do those old geezers really think I'm an idiot? Is this how they ask people for help?"
It was only because Peter was strong enough that those old geezers hadn't succeeded.
If Gwen had gone alone yesterday, she might have been sliced into countless pieces by now and sent to various Military laboratories for a new round of super soldier serum research.
Peter's reaction was perfectly to Tony's taste. He couldn't help but slap his thigh in delight, causing Pepper beside him to cry out in pain and then glare at him fiercely.
Wait? It seems I slapped the wrong thigh... Realizing this, Tony first gave Pepper a flirtatious smile before speaking again.
"You're absolutely right. Jarvis, help me record that. Next time I'll use that line to shut those old geezers up and see how they react!"
After the joke, Tony turned a bit more serious. "But seriously, Peter, from the footage they provided, I did discover a formidable big guy."
"According to my estimation, they indeed intended to mass-produce your power to restrain or even solve this big guy."
"But after realizing you weren't as simple as they imagined, those old geezers changed their plan to cooperating with you."
"Big guy?"
Peter narrowed his eyes, and the image of a muscular green giant instinctively surfaced in his mind—the Hulk, or rather, Bruce Banner.
"That's right, a big guy all in green, over four meters tall."
"In the footage, he can even swing a tank with one hand! And he remains unscathed even when facing large-scale explosions."
"The people in the Military call this guy... Hulk."
Hearing the name, Peter thought to himself, 'Just as I thought.'
At this thought, Peter couldn't help but get a little excited.
Speaking of which, since he had transmigrated, he hadn't yet felt what it was like to go all out with his combat power.
Perhaps this time, facing the Hulk, he could recklessly enjoy the fun of battle.
As for whether he would be unable to beat the Hulk... that wasn't much of a problem. With the horse talisman and his massive amount of Chakra, he could wear the Hulk down until he had no moves left.
If all else failed, he still had the horse talisman!
While the horse talisman probably wouldn't instantly 'cure' the Hulk's condition, as long as it caused the Hulk persona to recede and let Banner's persona take charge, the crisis would naturally be easily resolved.
While Peter was thinking about the Hulk, Tony suddenly changed his tone and began to advise Peter, perhaps because he saw someone.
"Peter, saying this might make you feel uncomfortable, but as a friend, I feel I must say it."
"Since we live in this country, sometimes we have to turn a blind eye."
"After all, if we really push them too far, it won't be good for anyone."
"If you were just a lone wolf, you could indeed kill indiscriminately without regard for consequences and then just leave."
"But if you still have family, friends, partners, and the like, then I suggest you quit while you're ahead."
"I've cooperated with them for many years, and I know a thing or two about their methods."
"Having them fear your power and be wary of collateral damage like they are now is already the best way to coexist."
"If you really push them to a dead end where they have to drop all pretenses with you, you won't want to see that outcome."
Hearing Tony say this, Peter didn't feel impatient as Tony had imagined.
Instead, he showed a somewhat gratified smile.
Again, he wasn't the green youth from the original story, so he knew very well that Tony was truly considering his interests by saying this.
He also truly considered him a friend.
With this in mind, Peter deliberately stayed silent for a while before displaying a bit of the 'art of language':
"Alright, Tony, for your sake, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones regarding previous events and help them deal with the trouble named Hulk."
"But as compensation, I demand high-level clearance to learn about secret operations, as well as absolute authority when handling certain special events in the future."
"Furthermore, if they ever dare to scheme against me or my family and friends again, don't blame me for flipping the table... Once it comes to that, I guarantee no one will have a good time!"