The Unrestrained Demon

Pepper wanted to quietly ask Tony about it, but when she saw his brows tightly furrowed, as though he were pondering something important.

So Pepper held herself back and did not interrupt him.

However, she could tell that after Tony had gotten acquainted with Coulson and Harvey Anberaka and secretly discussed who knew what with them.

Tony's personality and behavior had changed somewhat.

Because she had taken care of Tony for many years and handled all sorts of matters for him.

Tony had often told her his thoughts and requests in the past.

Pepper considered herself to know Tony very well, but now Tony had some things he could not immediately explain to her.

And Tony's conversation with Harvey Anberaka just now had sounded like only a few brief sentences.

She had found it utterly baffling, yet Tony and Harvey Anberaka both knew exactly what they had been discussing.

It made Tony's thoughts feel increasingly impossible for her to grasp.

Clearly, she and Tony had spent more than a decade together and knew each other extremely well, yet for some reason, Tony now felt somewhat unfamiliar to her.

She could not understand what exactly Tony spent all day thinking about.

At that moment, the sound of rapidly spinning helicopter blades came from outside.

Pepper heard the sound and knew Coulson had arrived. Given Tony's personality, he would definitely ask her to avoid them.

"I'm full. You go ahead and get to work."

So Pepper stood up on her own initiative and watched Tony's reaction. Deep in her eyes was a trace of anticipation, hoping Tony would tell her she did not need to leave.

Even if she merely stayed to pour them coffee, it would be enough as long as she did not have to avoid them.

"Mm, go back to your room and rest for a while."

"We have some things to discuss."

"No matter what sounds you hear, don't come downstairs, and don't look."

"You can only come down after receiving my message."

But after Tony heard the sound and came back to himself, he nodded.

"Okay..."

Although Pepper had expected Tony's reaction, she was still somewhat disappointed. She agreed and went upstairs.

Tony had too many things to think about right now, so he had no time to pay attention to Pepper's feelings.

Jarvis directly displayed the situation with the helicopter.

Not only had Coulson come, but there were also some faces Tony Stark did not recognize.

"Jarvis, open the door for them and guide them to me."

Seeing the group, Tony stood up and spoke.

"Yes, sir."

Upon receiving the instruction, Jarvis immediately opened the front door.

This time, it was not just Coulson and Nick Fury who had come. Natasha and several other agents had come as well.

After entering through the door, they quickly arrived at the dining room under Jarvis's guidance, carrying a huge box.

When Nick Fury and the others entered, they glanced at Harvey Anberaka, who was dining elegantly.

"Tony Stark, Howard's son."

"I never expected you to one day remember that your father might have left behind some belongings."

Nick Fury glanced at Natasha, then walked over to Tony Stark and spoke.

"It sounds like you know exactly what my father's belongings mean?"

Now that they were formally meeting, Tony Stark spoke after hearing Nick Fury's words.

"Of course. Your father was once a super genius."

"And he worked closely with both the military and S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So his belongings became military secrets and have been kept by S.H.I.E.L.D. all this time."

"I had planned to find a chance to give them to you and have a proper talk with you, to see whether you could discover anything from them."

"I never expected you to remember them on your own. Like father, like son."

Now that they were formally meeting, Nick Fury no longer spoke as cautiously as he had during the video call and said it directly.

"There's no need for the flattery. Just give me my father's belongings."

Seeing that Nick Fury's attitude had changed somewhat, Tony Stark's eyes flickered. He had no intention of talking further and spoke bluntly.

"Of course I can give them to you, but you must study them under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance."

Nick Fury did not refuse, but merely stated his condition.

"That wasn't your attitude just now."

"So are you saying that if I throw you out, I won't get my father's belongings?"

Tony Stark raised a brow.

"Tony Stark, I don't want to do this either, but you need to understand that we have our reasons."

"We need to ensure that whatever you discover next does not leak."

Nick Fury said.

As soon as Nick Fury said that, a series of irritating clicks of the tongue came from nearby.

"You're sending people to monitor me, and you even sent this crazy woman to watch over me."

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. means when it says it bears me no ill will?"

Harvey ate as he looked at Natasha, who stood five meters away from him, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, we do not wish to do this either. We simply judged that you are one of the people who knows about this."

"And your assets may pose some threat to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"So we need to ensure that you will not leak any secrets either, and we need you to sign an agreement with us."

"In the future, whenever your assets undergo a major transfer, it must be reviewed by us."

"As long as you sign it, we can let you leave at any time."

Nick Fury turned around and looked at Harvey as he spoke.

"My money has to be monitored by you in the future before I can leave?"

"Should I thank you for your generosity as well?"

Harvey smiled when he heard that.

"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, you understand the black market, and the wealth you possess could pose a threat to us."

"So, in order for us not to interfere with one another, this is work we must do."

Natasha stared at Harvey Anberaka as she spoke.

"And if I refuse?"

Harvey asked in return.

"I hope you won't make things difficult for us. Otherwise, we can only use other methods to make you agree."

Natasha directly pulled out a gun, her face solemn as she spoke.

"When words fail, you intend to use force?"

Harvey's smile vanished. His gaze became calm, and his voice turned cold.

The moment his words fell, the agents saw Harvey Anberaka vanish from where he stood.

"Then why don't you tell me what you intend to do if I refuse?"

Harvey gripped Natasha's throat with his left hand and lifted her into the air as he spoke coldly.

Harvey seized Natasha's gun-holding arm with his right hand and snapped it with a crack.

"Ugh... Aah!!"

The immense pain made Natasha scream as cold sweat poured down her face.

Other than Coulson, every agent immediately drew a gun and aimed it at Harvey Anberaka.

But in an instant, cracking sounds filled the dining hall. Every handgun shattered into powder and scattered across the floor, while the hands holding them were twisted and broken as well.

The agonizing pain made the other agents and Nick Fury groan, their eyes filled with horror.

"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, please stop."

Seeing this, Coulson hurriedly spoke.

"When you found that words failed, you planned to use force."

"Now that you've found force won't work either, you intend to negotiate with words again?"

Harvey did not stop. With a casual throw, Natasha's body flew away like a rag doll and slammed heavily into the wall.

With a crack and a bang, horrifying spiderweb fractures spread across it.

"Puh—!"

The impact sent Natasha's insides churning. Overwhelming pain struck her, and she could not stop herself from coughing up a mouthful of blood.

"Urgh...!!"

Natasha felt as though every bone in her body had cracked. Unable to move, she let out faint cries of pain.

"Does it hurt?"

"The first time you came to test me, you even shot at me, forcing me to act so you could see whether I possessed extraordinary strength."

"If I did, you wanted to recruit me into your Avengers Initiative?"

"Did your stupid little brain never consider that if I truly possessed power—"

"Then because you deliberately shot at me, I might simply kill you?"

Harvey crossed more than ten meters in a single step and arrived before Natasha. Looking down at her pain-twisted face, his gaze was as indifferent as if he were looking at an insignificant insect.

At that moment, Harvey appeared to everyone like a terrifying demon beyond all restraint, and his words sent an icy chill through everyone present.

Tony Stark knew Harvey Anberaka was extremely frightening.

Because Harvey Anberaka had merely treated him casually, yet Tony's physical condition had improved tremendously.

And Harvey Anberaka had called that method nothing more than a minor trick.

But only after seeing it with his own eyes did Tony Stark realize just how terrifying Harvey Anberaka truly was.

This was not something ordinary human weaponry could possibly handle. Even if he put on the Iron Man armor, he would likely be nothing more than a toy before Harvey Anberaka.

"Harvey Anberaka, let's talk this out."

Nick Fury endured the intense pain, raised his still-uninjured left hand, and spoke submissively.

"Talk this out?"

"You want to say that Earth may encounter aliens in the future."

"That Natasha is an old woman who has undergone genetic modification, one of the few people on Earth with relatively strong physical qualities?"

"That if she dies, it would be a loss for Earth?"

"Never mind whether trash like her dying would make any difference."

"What does your loss have to do with me?"

Harvey sat directly on Natasha's barely conscious back and looked at Nick Fury calmly as he spoke.

"..."

Nick Fury fell silent after Harvey exposed his thoughts so directly.

"Didn't I tell you just now? If I can't afford to provoke you, can't I at least avoid you?"

"You made me unhappy, and I got to curse at you a few times. That should have settled things evenly."

"As long as you don't bother me, I can't be bothered to deal with you."

"But now it seems your utterly foolish arrogance has made you dissatisfied with that, and you want to use your authority to suppress me."

Seeing Nick Fury's silence, Harvey spoke indifferently.

"..."

Nick Fury realized that he could not restrain Harvey Anberaka with morality at all, and for a moment, he did not know what to do.

It was indeed because of his arrogance. He had believed he could make Harvey Anberaka, this young asian billionaire, sign the agreement, and only then would they truly coexist peacefully.

But he had never considered that Harvey Anberaka's confidence in daring to threaten them came from more than just money.

"I advise you to abandon that thought. Otherwise, I'll crush every bone in your body one by one and let you experience what pain truly is."

Harvey looked at Nick Fury without shifting his gaze, yet suddenly issued a warning.

That warning made Natasha's hand, which had been reaching toward her thigh, freeze. Despair filled her beautiful eyes.

This man was simply a demon, powerful and cruel.

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