Li Chuan on Duty

"Boss, are we just letting him go?"

On the way back to Building Eight, Li San looked puzzled. In his opinion, they should have killed that agent outright and made an example of him.

Li Chuan smiled.

"Let him go. Hydra has plenty of agents. If we kill one, who knows how many more will come after him? It's better to let him take a message back to Garrett and throw off his train of thought."

What he had said earlier had never truly mentioned Hydra, nor had he torn through that final layer of pretense. There had only been a few veiled hints.

The goal was to make Garrett suspicious and unable to figure out his background, so that he would not dare act rashly for the time being.

As for later, once his strength had risen, even if Garrett did not come looking for him, he would find Garrett himself and eliminate this hidden danger for good.

"So when you said you knew Tony Stark, that was also a lie?"

Li San scratched his head.

Li Chuan laughed.

"Not entirely. I don't know him yet, but that'll be different after a while. How is the investigation into Obadiah Stane going?"

"I've already instructed the intelligence team to investigate. It'll probably take a few more days."

They had arrived at the door. After making his report, Li San withdrew.

"Looks like I'll still have to find a way to get the Mind Stone someday and use it to strengthen Wanda and Pietro's abilities."

As he quietly lay back down on the bed, Li Chuan made his decision in secret.

Originally, he had been conflicted about whether to use the Mind Stone to enhance Wanda and Pietro's powers, because he felt that Wanda preferred living like an ordinary person.

But now it seemed that, in the dangerous world of Marvel, having at least some ability to protect oneself was still extremely important.

Although he had continually increased the level of protection around Wanda, there was always a chance something could go wrong. If anything truly happened, regret would come too late.

And if Wanda and Pietro had their abilities enhanced by the Mind Stone, then at least small fry like Hydra would no longer be able to threaten them.

He did not need Wanda and Pietro to help him fight. As long as they had enough ability to protect themselves when danger arose, that was enough.

"Darling!"

As if sensing that Li Chuan had returned to bed, Wanda murmured softly and wrapped herself around him like an octopus again.

"That Hydra agent completely ruined my sleep."

After all, he was a martial artist. His stamina, endurance, and recovery far surpassed those of ordinary people. Seeing how tightly Wanda was holding him, Li Chuan simply pulled up the blanket and turned passive into active.

A moment later, one of Wanda's hands sticking out from beneath the blanket suddenly clenched the bedsheet tightly.

At the same time, Grant, limping unsteadily, carried a bag of bread and milk out of the interrogation room and returned to his Chevrolet in the parking lot.

Without hesitation, he slammed down the gas pedal and sped away.

This infiltration mission had been the biggest failure of his career as an agent. Especially when the other side had actually given him milk and bread before sending him off—it was simply the greatest humiliation.

"Even you failed. It seems Li Chuan has been hiding quite a lot in the shadows."

Inside the Hydra Base, Garrett looked at the bruised and badly injured Grant, a grave expression appearing on his face.

Grant was the most capable and most powerful agent he had cultivated so far.

"He said he knows Tony Stark too. Could he have some connection to Nick Fury?"

Grant began to analyze the situation.

"But the files show that the two of them have never had any contact."

"Truth or not, even if he does know Stark, he shouldn't have any connection to Nick Fury. As far as I know, Nick Fury hasn't approached Tony Stark yet.

Forget it. Until we figure out his true background, don't make a move against him for now."

After pondering for a moment, Garrett frowned and made his decision.

Based on Li Chuan's words, he could not determine whether Li Chuan truly knew his identity or was merely bluffing them, nor could he tell what other trump cards Li Chuan had concealed.

The Power Pill would indeed be somewhat helpful to his Deathlok Program, but it was not especially important. It could be set aside for now.

Besides, he was currently trying to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence and connections to obtain the incomplete Super Soldier Serum from General Ross. That was the real priority.

The next day, when the first ray of sunlight fell across Li Chuan's face through the window, he slowly opened his eyes.

As a martial artist, he had never been in the habit of sleeping in.

He got up and drew the curtains to keep the sunlight from waking the still-sleeping Wanda, then quietly left the bedroom.

Yesterday, she had taken a plane, ridden in a car, helped organize their new home, and then been tormented by Li Chuan for a long time in the middle of the night. Wanda's body was not as strong as Li Chuan's, so he had no intention of waking her that morning.

After washing up, he prepared two breakfasts in the kitchen of their new home. Once he finished his own portion, he left Wanda's in the warmer with a note attached.

When it came to cooking, Li Chuan was actually far better than Wanda.

Not only could he make Western food, but he could also prepare many authentic Chinese dishes. It was just that, after transmigrating, his identity had been extremely wealthy, so there had been no need for him to cook for himself.

But things were different now. Since they were married and had a home, it should naturally feel like a home. They could not just spend money to buy every meal.

After breakfast, he arrived at the residential complex's open-air parking lot, where Xiao Liu was already waiting for him in the car.

"Boss, today's schedule is as follows: at nine thirty, you'll meet with all the employees of the new company and give a speech. At ten thirty, there'll be a press conference. At two in the afternoon, there's a..."

The car pulled away. As Xiao Liu drove, he briefed Li Chuan on today's itinerary.

As chairman of Li Group, Li Chuan spent most of his time cultivating and improving his strength, rarely involving himself in company affairs.

The company's research was entrusted to Dr. Smith. Jack handled publicity, production, sales, and so on. Xiao Wu took care of the work in the shadows, while Uncle Li coordinated everything.

Still, there were special occasions when he had to make an appearance.

For example, charity events, press conferences that required the chairman's presence, and important award ceremonies.

Now that the new company had been established in New York and two new products were being launched, he would probably need to devote much of his attention to this over the next week or two.

As for the side mission to rescue Dr. Ethan, there was no rush.

First, if he remembered correctly, Tony had spent more than two months from the time he was kidnapped to the time he escaped. Only a few days had passed so far, so there was still plenty of time.

Second, this was not Sokovia. The New York intelligence team had only just been established, and it would take time to thoroughly investigate Obadiah Stane.

So the preliminary plan was to first establish the new company in New York, then complete the side mission to obtain the Palm Sage Technique, and finally cultivate in the Minor World to continue increasing his strength.