Azeroth Tower

Pfft!

Old Wang had just taken a small sip of Essence Wine and nearly spat it out.

Tony, it wasn’t that you lacked social awareness—you were fucking doing it on purpose!

Egghead stared deeply at Tony, his meaning obvious:

Kid, that was too much. Do you really think S.H.I.E.L.D. can’t handle you? Do you know how many Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. there are in Stark Industries?

Tony kept his eyes straight ahead, looking at the screen opposite him as though he hadn’t been the one to say that.

None of the three spoke. The atmosphere was somewhat strange.

Egghead suddenly felt a little regretful. He really shouldn’t have put these two together. One was proud on the surface and proud to the bone; the other was gentle on the surface and even prouder to the bone. Neither gave him any face. Was it really appropriate for them to treat him like this?

I’m the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

After pondering for half a minute, Egghead decided to leave Tony hanging for now and discuss serious matters with Master Wang.

Those injections were life-saving medicine, capable of bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. back from the dead. Nothing could go wrong with them.

To protect those things, he had summoned both Black Widow and Hawkeye. From now on, no matter which leader he negotiated with, he would have to bring them along—and the Quinjet as well.

Just as he was about to speak, Tony suddenly frowned, pulled out his phone, and said, "How about this? I don’t want the fee, as long as you let me research a few things."

Egghead suddenly had a bad feeling. What exactly was this guy trying to do by changing his mind so abruptly?

He wanted to research something? There really weren’t many things in S.H.I.E.L.D. that could catch Tony’s eye.

"What things?" Egghead asked.

"The Sky Carrier, the mysterious 084 items in the secret bases, the energy weapons seized from Hydra during World War II, and…"

Tony waved his phone. "The Cosmic Cube!"

A login interface filled the screen, with all sorts of images flashing past.

There were images of the Sky Carrier, mysterious 084 items, and of course the most important and alluring one: a cube emitting a faint blue glow.

The Cosmic Cube—the most important and precious treasure in S.H.I.E.L.D., without equal.

It was being studied in a separate secret base, for which an entire building had been specially constructed. Its security classification was extremely high, yet Tony had somehow discovered it.

Egghead: "…"

Old Wang: "…"

This guy had silently hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewall!

No.

More precisely, J.A.R.V.I.S. had hacked it. Tony had not even needed to do it himself.

Before J.A.R.V.I.S., S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewall was like a sheet of paper, easily pierced.

Egghead once again thanked his race and skin color. Otherwise, his face would either have turned green or red by now.

He really wanted to go to the Science and Technology Division right away and ask what that bunch was even good for. So many world-class cybersecurity experts had jointly developed that firewall, yet it could not even stop someone else’s intelligent program—and they still had not discovered the breach!

"Well? Let me help you research it. Free of charge."

Tony slightly raised his chin as he glanced at Egghead, maintaining a lofty posture. "J.A.R.V.I.S., tell me S.H.I.E.L.D.’s research progress."

J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voice sounded from the phone.

"Sir, I have reviewed all research materials. Most of the research has no value. The most valuable portions came from Dr. Zola during World War II, as well as your father, Howard Stark."

"Your father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders and the head of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science and Technology Division. He oversaw the Cosmic Cube research program and was the foremost authority in this field."

"The new element he discovered was an isotope of the Cosmic Cube. This remains the greatest research achievement concerning the Cosmic Cube to date…"

Egghead was left dumbfounded by those words.

He knew all of the earlier parts, but not that final piece.

When Howard had been in charge, he had only been an ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He had barely met Howard a few times and knew little about him.

He had read every file in the organization related to Howard, yet he had never seen anything about research into Tesseract Isotopes. Even the results of the Super Soldier Serum research seemed to be unknown to most people. Howard had kept everything secret.

That old man had been no simple man. He had always been extremely cautious.

Fortunately, that had been the case. Otherwise, all those research results would have belonged to Hydra, and S.H.I.E.L.D. would not exist as it did today.

It was just a pity that Howard had ultimately died at Hydra’s hands.

Tony still didn’t know about that. Should he tell him?

Come to think of it, I never gave him the information Howard left behind. How did he manage to develop a palladium substitute? Could someone have been meddling behind the scenes?

"Since my father left, your research into the Cosmic Cube has made no progress at all. Are you sure you still want them to continue researching it?"

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Tony’s mouth. "Well? Hand it over to me. I don’t want payment, and I’ll give you a copy of every research result."

"…You can only research it at S.H.I.E.L.D." Egghead snorted.

The reason he had wanted Tony as a consultant in the first place was because he valued Tony’s research abilities.

He had originally planned to have Tony help redesign the Sky Carrier, further improve Howard’s antigravity technology, as well as its visual camouflage and amphibious capabilities, use a large Arc Reactor as its power source, and improve its current weapons systems—the stronger, the better.

Hydra had intended to use the Sky Carrier to carry out Project Insight and eliminate anyone who might threaten Hydra, but he was different.

The shadows of the Skrulls and Kree had always loomed over him. Whether it was the Quinjet, the Sky Carrier, or anything else, all of it was meant to guard against aliens, though it still seemed far from enough.

So, once Tony finished with the Sky Carrier, he had intended to let him research the Cosmic Cube, just as they had during World War II, to develop new weapons that might be even more powerful than those of the Skrulls and Kree.

Since Tony already knew about it, he might as well let him research it ahead of schedule.

Still, there was a difference between taking the initiative and being forced into it. He was so pissed…

After thinking it over, Old Wang decided not to mention having Fitz participate in the research.

First, Fitz was truly busy. The Quantum Brain alone would take him years to study, while the unique metal ores and other materials from World of Warcraft would be enough to occupy him for several lifetimes.

Second, Fitz’s abilities certainly could not compare to Tony’s. Giving something like the Cosmic Cube to Fitz would not yield anything worthwhile. It would be a complete waste of time.

Third, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewall could not stop Tony, and it could not stop Skye either. Research all you want. When the time came, he could simply enjoy the results directly. That was what Mr. Lu Xun had called "appropriationism."

Well, that didn’t seem to be a compliment…

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Fine. Your research equipment is too outdated, so I’ll provide a set for free." Tony was still quite generous, though that generosity made Egghead rather uncomfortable. He always felt Tony was showing off.

His face darkened. "Mr. Stark, you may leave."

Tony shrugged and went downstairs.

This was S.H.I.E.L.D., after all. He could not exactly summon the Mark 5 from the sports car in the underground parking garage. He had to leave the director some dignity.

Of course, the main reason was that after the previous incident, the Department of Defense had done an excellent job with air defense. Avoiding comprehensive surveillance was genuinely difficult, and there was no need to make trouble for himself.

He was actually very curious about the Cosmic Cube his father had researched for decades and wanted to see it immediately, but Pepper ‘Little Chili’ Potts was still waiting for him at the Washington D.C. villa. It was time to go home.

Only after Tony left did Egghead look at Old Wang. "Master Wang, did you bring the goods?"

"The Resurrection Serum you asked for."

Old Wang took a safe from the Heart of Azeroth and opened it. Inside were a full one hundred Resurrection Serum injections.

Egghead quickly took it. Looking at those lovely injections was like seeing hope itself.

He forcibly resisted the urge to count them on the spot, quickly closed the case, and decided that once Master Wang left, he would lock it in the safest vault. Even if the entire building collapsed, the Resurrection Serum would remain perfectly unharmed.

He would set it to Level 10 clearance. One injection issued, one injection used. None could be wasted.

He carefully calculated that it would not take that many to win over leaders from various countries. A third would be enough.

The rest would become S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most important asset after the Sky Carrier. If an important agent like Coulson or Natasha died in the future, they could be revived with it.

After all, they were agents. No one could guarantee that every mission would end safely.

He had heard that this stuff worked even better on kung fu masters. Perhaps he should buy more Essence Wine from Master Wang.

Daredevil and the others were still S.H.I.E.L.D.’s special consultants, and their monthly salaries had not been reduced. Yet they had not gone to Feuerstein Base to train agents for quite some time. He needed to urge them along.

"Master Wang, you’ve helped me tremendously."

Egghead spoke with great sincerity. "Once the situation stabilizes, I will fulfill my promise."

He looked at Old Wang, his meaning obvious:

The deal’s done. Neither of us is excited anymore, so why are you still here? Are you planning to stay for dinner?

"Director Fury, there’s one more matter I need your help with…"

Old Wang looked at Egghead, a broad smile appearing on his face.

"What is it?" Egghead asked.

Old Wang spoke of nothing more than things like "address," "how much," "what’s our relationship," and "I trust you."

At that moment, Egghead smiled.

The two traded words back and forth, and the office filled with cheerful air.

It was only a small matter, and they quickly reached an agreement.

Old Wang had originally intended to bring up another matter, but after careful thought, he decided that now was not the time. He would wait until Egghead finished his international dealings.

He opened a door directly back to The Laboratory.

Looking around, the place was desolate.

San Juan was too far from that disaster-prone place, New York. If he had been an ordinary person who knew the plot, he would probably have been delighted to hide away and wait ten years to test his luck, perhaps becoming one of the half who survived.

But Old Wang had no interest in avoiding the whirlpool of war. He wanted to get closer, then take control of the situation.

Tony’s Stark Tower was under construction. Old Wang felt it was necessary for him to build one too.

The Azeroth Group was a major company, after all. How could it not have a proper headquarters?

Chinatown was a good option. Old Wang was confident he could secure the land and construction approvals, so he planned to find a location there and build the headquarters. Future jobs could be directed toward Chinese Americans and compatriots from his homeland, which would also help ease employment pressure in a country with such a large population.

The company building Tony’s tower was a major corporation from his homeland, one of the world’s best. One of its project teams was based at Azeroth Laboratory. The first phase of the project had just ended, and the second phase was underway.

Old Wang contacted them directly through the project manager and negotiated with the company’s upper management.

For a project this large, total investment would absolutely exceed one billion dollars. Once completed, it would inevitably become the company’s showcase project. Naturally, upper management took it very seriously. Coupled with Old Wang’s Chinese heritage, they promised on the spot that as long as the money was in place, the people would be in place.

Projects like this usually took four or five years from site selection to completion.

But as long as he found a way, the pace could certainly be accelerated.

According to Old Wang’s plans, the company headquarters would also become its largest research base. Important research that was not too dangerous would be conducted there, while more dangerous work would remain at the current laboratory.

Aside from setting the general direction, Old Wang decided to leave the specific work to Skye. Daredevil and his best friend would handle the legal matters, while Elektra could easily serve as the head of security.

With matters temporarily settled, even Gordon surprisingly stopped coming by to bother him. Old Wang happily enjoyed the peace.

Egghead’s international dealings would probably continue for some time, perhaps even months. Old Wang simply sent Daredevil and the others out to seize Hydra’s assets.

With the memories of Sitwell and Garrett, unregistered accounts, secret bases, and the like quickly fell into Old Wang’s hands. A large number of Hydra members would soon undergo brainwashing and become his people.

Old Wang’s total assets were also growing at an astonishing rate.

The wealthy people visible to the public were not the truly wealthy ones.

Although Tony ranked high on the Forbes Rich List, there were many hidden billionaires in this world who were far wealthier than him.

Hydra controlled many major figures in politics, the military, and business. It had countless companies under its name, and its total assets were an unknown multiple of Stark Industries’ worth.

S.H.I.E.L.D. moved quickly and had plenty of manpower, so Old Wang could not outcompete them. Still, he could drink some of the soup. Tens of billions in pocket money was no problem. His assets kept expanding, soon surpassing Tony’s by more than just a fraction.

One day, as Old Wang and Skye were calculating exactly how much property they currently possessed, Fitz’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

"Boss, the Brain Mapping and Memory Upload of the Five Fingers of The Hand are complete!"

Old Wang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Uh, it took longer than expected. The Brain Mapping encountered strange interference."

Fitz pointed at the waveforms on the screen and explained, "This interference came from a special energy fluctuation, originating inside the human body, mainly in the brain. Based on my research, it should be something akin to mental power. Though I’d rather use the term ‘brainwaves,’ even if their brainwaves are far too strong."

Old Wang nodded.

Brain Mapping was an extremely precise method and was indeed easily affected by mental power.

Ordinary people had weak mental power, so the impact was minor. But the Five Fingers had lived for over a thousand years. Though their repeated deaths and resurrections had affected their mental power, leaving them unable to reach the level of mind control or telekinesis, they were still far beyond ordinary people.

If compared to magic, Brain Mapping was like "mind reading" or "Mind Steal." It was affected by the mental strength of both caster and target, which made it easy to understand.

"All the memories are here."

Shock still lingered on Fitz’s face. "Their memories are unbelievably vast, and the contents are too incredible. I just browsed Alexandra’s memories and actually saw Beethoven, Mozart, and Newton! I got to meet ancient people this way!"

"Don’t browse too much, or you’ll be easily influenced." Old Wang gave a stern warning.

"Uh, I know. A person’s appetite is limited. Eating too much at once can make you stuffed, or even kill you." Fitz struggled for a while before coming up with a somewhat inappropriate analogy.

"You’ll know when you’re full. But if you immerse yourself in someone else’s memories, it can be hard to pull yourself out. That’s even more dangerous."

Old Wang shook his head. "Archive all memories. Set permission levels and time limits. Eliminate all non-research browsing… Use keyword indexing to divide the memories into smaller portions, and only allow one portion to be viewed at a time."

"Yes, Boss." Fitz hurriedly agreed.

Old Wang picked up the helmet and began browsing Madame Gao’s memories.

More than a thousand years of long life held far too many events. Old Wang had no interest whatsoever in those joys and pains.

Many secrets were hidden within them, such as Madame Gao’s secret assets and bank account passwords. He could leave those for his subordinates to review slowly and extract everything. By then, his total assets would at least multiply several times over.

With the Five Fingers fallen, their subordinates would inevitably divide their wealth and power. But there would always be some things those people did not know. Even if he acquired only one-tenth of the Five Fingers’ wealth, it would be enough to propel Old Wang to the upper ranks of the Forbes Rich List—

Though he had no interest in that.

Old Wang directly searched for "K’un-Lun," looking through the oldest memories.

Mysterious K’un-Lun unfolded before Old Wang like a scroll painting filled with the weight of history.