Wu Chen had turned down a monthly salary of 100,000, but a million a month took him by surprise.
Still, he refused. After all, he had not set up his stall to make money, but to lay the groundwork for the next stage of his plan.
He knew that in his heart, but he still put on a serious expression.
Wu Chen's face was solemn as he refused in righteous terms. "Thank you very much for the offer, Mr. Stark! But I started making food so more people could enjoy delicious food, not for the sake of any one person."
"So I'm very sorry, but I can't accept your offer!"
The diners around them cheered as soon as Wu Chen finished.
After all, if Wu Chen agreed, they would no longer get to eat such delicious Krabby Patties.
Tony watched the scene, and the anger he had felt softened.
He's someone who truly loves food!
And the food he loves is hamburgers, just like me!
Tony's favorable impression of him immediately grew.
The next day, for the sake of the delicious Krabby Patties, Tony disregarded his status and stood in line with Happy to buy four delicious Krabby Patties with cheese.
On the third day, which was today, Tony finally ran out of patience with the daily clamor of standing in line and the feeling of being a performing monkey while people watched him. After making his purchase, he went straight to Wu Chen. "Hey, buddy, how about we make a deal?!"
Seeing Wu Chen's puzzled expression, Tony explained what he had in mind.
He would upgrade Wu Chen's food cart for free, turning it into a custom, drivable mobile food truck loaded with all kinds of high-tech equipment.
The whole package would cost at least several million. After all, Tony Stark would be building it himself, using all kinds of top-quality materials and advanced technology.
What Wu Chen had to give in return was simple: save Tony four delicious Krabby Patties with cheese every day.
Wu Chen agreed.
Of the three food-related items he had put together over the previous two days, the Food Truck was the weakest. It was just an ordinary, somewhat sturdier Food Truck, and at most it looked nicer and was a little easier to use.
Now he could both improve Tony Stark's impression of him and get his Food Truck upgraded, so Wu Chen had no reason to refuse.
Or rather, if he refused, Tony Stark would become suspicious of him.
Wu Chen's true body had achieved an important goal in advancing his relationship with Tony Stark, and his clone, Minato Namikaze, was not to be outdone. He was working hard to steer S.H.I.E.L.D., hoping they would take him along when they investigated the situation.
Minato Namikaze looked gravely at Black Widow, Natasha, and said, "We can confirm it now. That force operating in the shadows has reached New York and begun to act."
"They must have already taken control of New York's gangs. That's why those gang members are conducting such a blanket search!"
Natasha looked puzzled upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words. "Then why did you stop us from secretly arranging for people to protect Times Square? And where exactly in Times Square is the seal you mentioned? Why haven't we found any trace of it?"
Minato Namikaze glanced at Natasha, feeling that she was trying to trick him. "Are you really stupid, or are you pretending? If you arrange for people to protect Times Square, won't the criminals all over New York know that the seal they're looking for is right there?"
"That's why I said we'd arrange it secretly!" Natasha's pretty face reddened slightly. "If we did it secretly, they shouldn't find out, right?"
Minato Namikaze gave a disdainful smile. "Arrange it secretly? Where in this world do truly secret things exist? Besides, there are problems within S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, and you think you can keep a secret..."
Over the past few days, whenever Wu Chen played Minato Namikaze, he had deliberately or inadvertently hinted that there were problems within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Naturally, he did this to draw Hydra out, then send Obito over to bring the whole nest of Hydra under his control.
But for some reason, not a single Hydra member had approached him, even now.
By rights, Hydra should have approached him for certain and done something like kill him to silence him if they failed to buy him off. Yet so far, nothing at all had happened.
So today, Minato Namikaze had pointed it out directly, intending to give the Hydra moles inside S.H.I.E.L.D. a good jolt.
Hmm~ If that jolts them enough, maybe everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. will come, apart from a few people!
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was essentially a nest of snakes now.
Minato Namikaze's hint made Natasha falter, but she quickly returned to normal. "Then where exactly is the seal? Why can't we find it? Can you tell us that?"
Hearing her question, Minato Namikaze glanced at Natasha and nodded. "The seal needs Chakra to activate. You don't have Chakra, so naturally you can't find it."
"As for where the seal is, the answer is simple. All of Times Square is the seal!"
"To be precise, Times Square was built on top of the seal."
"Ah, well..." Natasha stared at Minato Namikaze in shock.
Minato Namikaze curled his lip. "The Nine-Tails is that big. How could the seal possibly be tiny? You people should use your brains and think about it."