The New Avengers Base

"Do you remember that guy I asked you to keep an eye on?"

Leo suddenly looked at Tony as he spoke.

"Scott Lang stole money from Vista Company, then returned it to the people who had been scammed. His stealing skills are pretty good, and Vista's Security System isn't bad either. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to break into it."

"But no matter how you look at it, he's still just a thief. He doesn't seem to be anything special."

Tony asked with some confusion.

"It's nothing. But he could be an opportunity, and I rather like him."

Leo smiled and said no more.

"He'll be released from prison the day after tomorrow. I have to say, he performed quite well while he was in prison."

Tony also said nothing more, merely replying to Leo.

Leo looked around the building. Although the entire place was still powered, there were already very few staff members left.

"Has everyone else already moved to the new base?"

Leo asked curiously. He hadn't paid much attention to these matters recently. He had already helped S.H.I.E.L.D. enough; they could handle what came next themselves.

"Yeah. Hill, Falcon, Rhodey, and the others are all at the new base. Dr. Zhao Hailun has joined us too. But who knows where Nick Fury has gone? He seems to be investigating the other S.H.I.E.L.D. branches, and none of us can find him."

Tony continued, "So you're not planning to take a look? This place will be sealed off soon."

Construction of the new base had begun three years ago. With modern technology, it had actually reached this level in only three years.

Of course, the place had originally been an abandoned warehouse belonging to Stark Industries, so it already had some basic infrastructure.

"I'll go take a look tomorrow. Wanda and Pietro need a lot of training. They can become part of our reserve forces, and all of you have already seen what they can do."

Leo smiled. "So why are you researching Iron Man Armor here instead of keeping Pepper company?"

"The facilities at the new base aren't fully complete yet. The main construction is finished, but we're still improving everything. There's too much left to do, and it's quieter here."

Tony swirled the cup in his hand. "Pepper hasn't been in a very good mood lately. I think it's better for us to calm down separately for a while."

"I've never seen anyone else feel the way Pepper does about you, Tony. You really should make your own judgment about this."

Leo looked at Tony. Tony understood what he meant; he was simply unwilling to accept it.

Or perhaps Tony was worried that he couldn't give anyone a better promise. Deep down, he was even somewhat lost about the future.

Too much had happened over the years. Everything that had occurred had left Tony unable to properly rest or think.

The anxiety in his heart could only be eased when he was designing another suit of armor. That was also why Tony was unwilling to simply stay together with Pepper.

Although the two had long since moved in together, and Tony had practically handed his entire company over to Pepper, in the eyes of the outside world, they had long been an inseparable couple.

But legally, he had never given Pepper a real status.

Even now, the two of them still had arguments and periods of cold war from time to time. Recently, those arguments had even become more frequent.

It seemed that their relationship had fallen into an increasingly awkward situation, and might even collapse.

The two of them had realized this as well, which was why they had reduced the time and opportunities they spent together even further, seemingly trying to drag out this stalemate indefinitely.

Hearing Leo's words, Tony couldn't help frowning. He still had no good way to resolve the matter, with most of his thoughts bound up in one suit of armor after another.

"Perhaps you should help Pepper shoulder some of the pressure. Stark Industries is responsible for more and more matters now, and Pepper can't possibly have enough energy to handle them all alone."

Leo spoke with some concern.

"You still have a lot of the Beck Stone you left here last time. I gave some of it to Pepper. The effect it has on the body is incredible; her overall condition has improved a lot."

Tony spoke with some emotion. At least the last time he had seen her, Pepper's body had been greatly strengthened, and her mental state had been excellent.

But over the past couple of days, Pepper seemed to have complained about this as well. The better her body became, the more energy she had, so the amount of time she spent handling matters each day had increased greatly.

Pepper's sleep had now been reduced to four and a half hours a day. The rest of the time, she was either dealing with problems or on her way to deal with them.

Stark Industries was enormous, and Pepper had too many things to take care of.

Although this was still better than Stark, who often went entire nights without sleeping, it was somewhat unbearable for a woman.

Looking at Tony, who was avoiding his relationship, Leo shook his head. "All right, get some rest. I'll head back first."

"See you later."

Tony remained seated, raising his cup slightly as he spoke.

Leo smiled faintly. Although he was sitting on the sofa, the next second he vanished on the spot.

It wasn't until several seconds after Leo had left that Tony, whose thoughts had been churning, finally realized what had happened.

"Damn, he still hasn't told me who the murderer is!"

Tony's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. Leo's few words had completely disrupted his thoughts and feelings. It seemed tonight would be another sleepless night.

As for Leo, he had already returned to Black Prison Tower.

Although sleep was no longer that important to Leo, it was a habit he had maintained for decades, and he wasn't about to change it so easily.

Besides, Leo felt that thinking nonstop affected his mood too much. Letting his mind go blank from time to time made him feel better.

Soon, dawn arrived. The streets of New York became lively once more. As for Black Prison, it remained unchanged. Inside the group's tower, someone was present at every position around the clock.

Wanda and Pietro also got up one after another. Standing on the upper floors, they watched everything happening on the streets of Queens, curious about it all. After all, this was their first time in the United States.

When the two turned around again, Leo was already standing behind them.

"Are you ready to leave?"

Leo looked at the two of them, who were dressed and ready to go.

"Are we not having breakfast?" Pietro raised his hand and asked.

The lavish and delicious breakfasts they had eaten in China had made Pietro look forward to the morning meal immensely.

"Coffee, cereal with milk, toast, and fried eggs. To be honest, I've been here so long, but I still don't really like the breakfasts here."

Leo shrugged as he looked at them.

Wanda and Pietro exchanged glances, then turned to Leo at the same time.

"Why don't we go to a Chinese Restaurant?"