Mandarin

After discovering that Zhang Tong might be the legendary Mandarin, Alex was unable to process it for a while and could only leave with Crystal. Even after returning to the Floating Temple, images of Zhang Tong as both a young man and an old man still flashed through Alex’s mind, mixed with the Mandarin’s appearance from the movies, turning his thoughts into a complete mess.

Inside the Floating Temple, Emma was busy organizing something. When she saw Alex suddenly appear, she was about to greet him when she noticed that something was wrong with his expression. She asked worriedly, "What’s wrong, Alex?" As she spoke, Emma turned to look at Crystal beside him, her eyes full of inquiry.

Crystal was equally confused. She gave a bitter smile and shook her head, indicating that she did not know either.

Alex had already snapped out of it upon hearing Emma’s voice. He raised his head and looked at her, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he said absentmindedly, "Today, I ran into an old friend."

Emma froze at that, then immediately understood. Having stood through thick and thin with Alex for so many years, she naturally understood the deeper meaning behind his words. After a moment’s thought, she carefully asked, "Who?"

"Someone I met in China. We have a bit of a grudge." After the initial shock, Alex had mostly recovered. He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head helplessly. "Now that he has mastered his divine arts, I’m afraid he’ll come looking for trouble with me."

Emma gently brushed back the golden hair by her ear, her delicate brows knitting slightly. After pondering for a while, she asked, "Is he very powerful? What abilities does he have?"

"Ten Rings. He possesses ten rings, each with a different ability!" Alex did not know much about the Mandarin. All he knew were the ten rings on his hands. But Alex did know a little about Zhang Tong, so after finishing his sentence, he hurriedly added, "Oh, right. He also knows mysterious Eastern magic. Well, he should be incredibly powerful by now!"

Thinking of Eastern magic, Alex could not help but think of the Ancient One he had encountered in that mysterious valley.

"Rings?" Emma was slightly startled by Alex’s words, then laughed softly. Looking at him, she casually said, "Just take them from him. You have the ability, after all."

At first, Alex did not understand what she meant. Only when Emma pointed at the steel balls flying around him did realization dawn on him. Erik’s ability was to control metal. Aside from certain special rings, such as jade thumb rings, most rings contained metal. As it happened, every ring on the Mandarin’s hand gleamed with a metallic luster. Alex had noticed it before.

With that thought, Alex could no longer sit still. He used Teleportation and returned to the original location.

"Huh? He’s gone?" Alex looked around in surprise. The trees nearby had been cut off at waist height, with fallen trunks scattered everywhere. The place was a complete mess, as though it had just suffered a brutal ravaging. Yet there was no trace of Zhang Tong, or rather, the Mandarin.

After searching for a long time, Alex found nothing. Apart from that devastated patch of forest, there was no other clue.

When Alex returned to the Floating Temple dejectedly, Emma thought something had happened and looked worried. Once she understood what had occurred, Emma smiled indifferently and turned to comfort him. "With how much he hates you, he’ll definitely show up again."

Alex immediately came to his senses and began to laugh.

There were several people who liked Alex, but the one who truly understood him was Emma. Seeing him smile so happily, Emma could not help asking, "Are those Ten Rings really that powerful?" Based on what she knew of Alex, there was only one reason he was so eager to meet the Mandarin: Alex had set his sights on those ten rings.

Since Emma had seen through him, Alex did not mind. He nodded and said with a serious expression, "Very powerful!" In truth, Alex did not know just how powerful the ten rings were. But from what little he knew, the reason the Mandarin held such an important position in Marvel was precisely because of the ten rings on his hands.

Alex did not have to wait long. Just three days later, news came from New York.

"What happened?!" Alex glared grimly at Remy beside him. The former Tarzan, now a Hollywood superstar, wore an extremely unpleasant expression.

Before outsiders, Remy was a superstar. But before Alex, he was merely a member of the X-Men. Although he had a famous title, Gambit, he still had to be utterly respectful before Alex.

Remy bowed his head, his expression somewhat despondent. "I’m sorry. I failed to protect Mr. Stark."

Alex snorted and turned to look once more at Howard, who lay unconscious in the hospital bed. His black eyes were filled with killing intent. "Do you know who did it?"

"He said his name was Mandarin!" Remy lowered his head. Thinking of that man who had suddenly appeared, his body could not help trembling slightly, and a trace of fear flashed across his handsome face.

Alex naturally noticed Remy’s expression. His brows furrowed slightly, but after thinking about it, he did not pay it much attention. He subconsciously repeated, "Mandarin? The Mandarin!" Mid-sentence, Alex suddenly realized something, and his face filled with delight.

"Mandarin, Mandarin." Hearing Alex’s exclamation, Remy instinctively raised his head and spoke in confusion.

Alex had no time to pay attention to him. Whether it was the Mandarin or Mandarin, he grabbed Remy by the shoulder and demanded fiercely, "What else did he say?" Clearly, the Mandarin had targeted Howard only to take revenge, or rather, to draw Alex out.

Remy was startled by Alex. Struggling cautiously, he hurriedly said, "I don’t know…"

Before Remy could say more than a few words, Howard’s voice rang out, weak but filled with undisguised fury.

"That bastard said… he’d come for you…" As he spoke, Howard suddenly began coughing, as though something were lodged in his throat. He had to use all his strength to force out the deep, ringing words, "To settle the score!"

Seeing Howard awake, Alex no longer had the mind to think about the Mandarin. He hurried to the bedside and asked worriedly, "Howard, are you all right?"

"I won’t die!" The redness brought to Howard’s face by his coughing quickly faded, leaving him deathly pale and devoid of vitality. Only his eyes seemed even brighter, like searchlights. "Alex, you have to avenge me. Teach him a vicious lesson!" Howard’s life had always gone smoothly. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? Whenever he recalled that man’s contemptuous gaze, rage surged into his head!

Alex looked at Howard with a mixture of amusement and helplessness, then nodded. "Don’t worry. I’ll make him regret it!"

Howard nodded in satisfaction, then added worriedly, "But Alex, you need to be careful too." After taking a light breath, Howard broke into another fit of coughing. Only after a long while did he continue, "He can fire some kind of ray. It looked like the Disintegration Ray from those novels. You absolutely must not let your guard down…"

"I know. Just get some rest!" Seeing that Howard did not seem ready to stop, Alex felt both amused and deeply moved. He lightly patted Howard’s shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "By the time you wake up, I’ll probably have brought him back."

Howard was slightly stunned, then laughed. "All right. I’ll wait!"