Pepper Potts Calls

Natasha left in the end. No matter how reluctant Xia Yu was to see her go, he knew there was nothing he could do. He could only pray that time would pass quickly, that the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier would arrive soon, that S.H.I.E.L.D. would disband soon, and that the Avengers would become independent. Then they could be together every day. But there were still seven years to go. Seven years! The events of Iron Man hadn't even begun yet. Xia Yu was heartsick, pining, living each day as if it were a year, and pulling out his hair one strand at a time. He was afraid he'd end up with Nick Fury's hairstyle sooner or later.

More than two full months passed without Natasha coming back. She did call at irregular intervals, though the calls weren't very long. Xia Yu knew she was on a mission, and there wasn't much he could do. Nick Fury hadn't come by once either. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. had some major operation underway. Pepper Potts, on the other hand, had come by twice. They had originally agreed that she'd come every week, since she used to visit New York weekly for work, but now she only came once a month. Tony Stark's headquarters and home were both in Los Angeles, on the opposite coast of the United States from New York.

Although she'd only visited twice, Xia Yu's Nine Yang Divine Skill Internal Energy had grown deeper by the day. During her acupuncture sessions, he'd indirectly used it to help cure quite a few of her minor ailments. Her skin had improved too, and her smiles grew more and more radiant with each visit. Xia Yu figured it was because Tony Stark, that playboy, was looking at her more and more flirtatiously. Those two shameless dogs! Unable to have what he wanted, Xia Yu could only curse them silently.

"Mission complete. Reward: 5,000 points and one system lottery draw." Tmall's voice rang out again. Xia Yu deftly completed the draw, whose outcome was a foregone conclusion.

"Congratulations, Master, you have obtained the Dugu Nine Swords." Xia Yu wasn't surprised in the slightest. He felt that the system was proceeding step by step according to his needs.

"Tmall, I feel like everything I'm given is based on what I need. Doesn't that make the shop pretty pointless?" Xia Yu complained.

"That's how it works, Master. In the early stages, I'll make sensible use of lottery rewards and points to provide you with essential items and skills, such as weapons, physical conditioning, and Internal Energy. They're all optimal choices. Later on, please choose the skills you need based on your own fighting habits and style. The system will change accordingly," Tmall said.

Xia Yu nodded in understanding. It was like the beginner phase of a game: only after getting familiar with his class could he develop his own style. At that thought, he hurriedly loaded the Dugu Nine Swords and began checking his current status.

Nine Yang Divine Skill: A comprehensive inner cultivation method that boosted attack, defense, and agility, restored health and mana, and even came with a protective shield. It felt like an insanely powerful passive skill.

Lingbo Weibu: The original story said that after mastering the Nine Yang Divine Skill, one's Qinggong and movement techniques surpassed even the most exquisite Qinggong in the world. But Xia Yu felt Lingbo Weibu wasn't included, because the idea behind Qinggong was to jump high, leap far, and fall slowly. As the name implied, it was a skill that made the body lighter. Xia Yu understood it as using Internal Energy to counter Earth's gravity, with the Nine Yang Divine Skill's Internal Energy simply being more effective for that. Lingbo Weibu was a footwork technique used to dodge attacks and accelerate in a straight line.

Dugu Nine Swords: A skill based on defeating fixed moves with no fixed moves of its own. The scientific explanation was that it was a sword-fighting art, a compilation of various sword techniques. It was actually a very modern theory of martial arts, but using it with Internal Energy allowed for more variations.

Yijin Jing: The foundation, which improved the body's adaptability to martial arts systems.

Life and Death Talisman: Clearly intended to bridge the gap between missions. It couldn't control plot characters, so for now it could barely serve as a ranged hidden weapon.

"Tmall, given my current situation and points, see if there's anything that suits me," Xia Yu said, looking at his 25,455 points, earned from mission rewards, points gained during missions, and treating other people.

"Certainly, Master. Given your current situation, I recommend the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill." As Tmall spoke, it brought up the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill's interface for Xia Yu.

Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill (system-enhanced version): The supreme guardian divine skill of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. It has thirteen levels, and its external palm power is fierce and formidable. Each mastered level grants the strength of one dragon and one elephant. After mastering all thirteen levels, the physical body alone possesses the tremendous strength of thirteen dragons and thirteen elephants. A dragon and an elephant each possess a thousand jin of strength. Price: 104,000 points.

"So each level adds a ton of strength? Damn, wouldn't that mean thirteen tons after mastering it?" Xia Yu exclaimed. But then he thought of how Spider-Man could effortlessly stop a speeding bus right after his debut, and how Iron Man's Mark III could toss cars around for fun. Compared to that, this much strength didn't seem like much.

"Wait, Tmall, this costs over a hundred thousand points. How the hell am I supposed to learn it? I'm nowhere near having enough. Can I pay in installments?" Xia Yu had just noticed the zeros after the points.

"Installment payments aren't supported, but you can purchase it by level. You can buy the first three levels now and purchase the rest gradually when you have enough points."

"Then let's do it." Xia Yu clicked without hesitation. Sure enough, there was an option to purchase it in stages. He bought levels one through three of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill for 24,000 points, leaving him with just 1,455 of the points he'd only just acquired.

Xia Yu was quick to confirm the load, but he'd forgotten that this was an external skill that required his body to be transformed. Once again, he experienced pain that reached deep into his soul. Every muscle and bone in his body was torn apart and rebuilt countless times. Twenty minutes later, Xia Yu lay on the floor like a dead dog again, with the floor just as much of a mess as last time.

Once again, Tmall kindly reminded him, "Master, I suggest you clean yourself up first. Although I don't have..."

"Get lost!!!!!"

Once again, Xia Yu lay on the bed and lit a post-coital cigarette, though this time it was after practicing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. He began recalling all the Marvel movies, their plots playing out one after another in his mind. He had to connect their storylines and strengthen himself while changing the plot as little as possible, making a smooth transition to the time of the Snap. But he had to make sure he didn't disappear when the Snap happened, because he needed to ensure Natasha survived. As for what came after that, since he didn't know, he wouldn't think too much about it. He would get stronger and just do it.

It was already November 2007. Tony Stark would be kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2008. Xia Yu didn't know which month, but the movie had been released in May, so he believed the timing wouldn't be too far off. Tony Stark spent three months in the cave, and Xia Yu was definitely going to take part in his fight with Iron Monger, Obadiah Stane. Should he find a way to get into S.H.I.E.L.D. first? Black Widow's figure appeared before Xia Yu's eyes again.

There didn't seem to be much worth getting involved with before the Avengers began. He'd better stay away from the Hulk for now; he really couldn't afford to mess with him at the moment. Thor was difficult too. Asgard's waters ran too deep. Someone of unknown origin like him absolutely had to stay away from Odin and Ancient One early on. Those two were definitely major powers who were no weaker than Thanos, and might even surpass him. At the very least, Thanos without the Infinity Stones was definitely no match for either of them. For now, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark didn't seem to leave him any other choice.

The classic Nokia ringtone interrupted Xia Yu's thoughts. He picked up his phone and grinned. Speak of the devil—Pepper Potts was calling.

"Hello, Miss Potts. If I'm not mistaken, it should be midnight now. I'm not accepting any appointments at this hour," Xia Yu said, feigning surprise.

"Oh, Xia, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I need your help. Could you come to Los Angeles?" Pepper Potts asked.

"What's wrong, Miss Potts? Are you sick? You don't sound like it. Why would I need to go to Los Angeles? You know I never make house calls," Xia Yu said unhurriedly.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking. It's my boss. You know I've been getting treatment from you lately, and the results have been excellent. So my boss would like you to become his personal physician. That's what this is about. If possible, we'd need you to come to Los Angeles. My boss needs to interview you. Um... yes, I hope you don't mind. My boss's position is a little unusual. Yes, he needs to interview you," Pepper Potts said cautiously.

Xia Yu nearly clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing aloud. He'd just been thinking about Tony Stark, and now the man had practically delivered himself to his doorstep. But he still pretended to be angry on the phone. "Miss Potts, I don't live in isolation from the world. I watch TV and read the papers too. I know who your boss is, but I'm not interested in becoming anyone's personal physician. And I strongly object to an interview, because I don't particularly need this job, even if the other party is the president." With that, Xia Yu hung up.

Xia Yu was gambling on the fact that Tony Stark was a very proud man. Working for him for money wouldn't make Xia Yu his friend. He needed to maintain a good relationship with the plot characters, not an employer-employee relationship. And when dealing with someone like Tony Stark, especially Tony Stark as he was now, giving him a hard slap in the face might leave a deeper impression on him.