"It's been nearly half a month already. How much longer are we supposed to wait here?"
Tony Stark stood at the edge of Sky City, gazing into the endless waters of the distant Atlantic Ocean, looking thoroughly impatient.
For someone as impatient as him, this kind of aimless waiting was practically as unbearable as prison.
More importantly, because they had entered a state of combat readiness, all outsiders were forbidden from approaching the city's core area. He had no way to visit the enormous library filled with mysterious knowledge.
Coulson sighed helplessly. "Sorry, don't ask me. I don't know either. In fact, I may be the least respected S.H.I.E.L.D. director in its entire history. The International Security Council treats me like a servant, ordering me around whenever they please. If I hadn't spent the most time in contact with Allen, they would probably have been desperate to replace me already."
"Is your relationship with those people really that bad?"
Iron Man was clearly hearing these internal secrets for the first time, and an interested expression immediately appeared on his face.
In truth, he had always wanted to know how S.H.I.E.L.D. operated internally, as well as how it handled the conflicts among the world's five most powerful countries and ensured it would not become a tool of political struggle.
"It's far worse than merely bad.
"You must know, during his tenure, Director Nick Fury promoted a system of hierarchy and secrecy, and often abused his authority to divert funding.
"So the International Security Council had always held an attitude of distrust toward him, yet had no choice but to entrust him with important responsibilities.
"After all, he truly did prevent many disasters and kept Earth safe from the threats of mysterious powers and aliens for a time.
"But ever since the