Demanding an Explanation

I stay in the office with a large glass bowl containing a whole bag of potato chips, and a big can of Otaku happy water beside me.

Henry was completely in a "slacking off" mode, swishing around in his chair while munching on potato chips.

The view through the glasses shows the progress of the remaining ten tasks.

The only family that flew out was the one we dealt with this morning.

The rest of the people are still in North America. Some are heading towards Yukon and Alaska, but most are heading south into the United States.

Some people went to the East Coast, such as New York United States, while others went to Texas and other places in the southern United States. However, the majority of them went to Detroit, Chicago, and other places in the central United States.

It's easy to understand why these people are reluctant to leave North America. They've come all the way from Russia, so how could they be willing to leave so easily? Besides, international airfares are expensive, and they may not have enough savings to afford the journey.

If they really had that kind of savings to run around in, they would have left Russia long ago and wouldn't have had to wait for the Snake Shield people to come and rescue them.

John Garrett did give them a settlement allowance when he brought them over.

Everyone assumed they'd be enjoying life in Toronto, Canada, so most people spent their money on new household appliances. Now that they're fleeing, not many have any spare cash.

Interestingly, no one came over to the West Coast. It was as if they knew who had done these things.

As Henry was pondering whose task to pick next, someone burst into his office, leaving his plump secretary outside no time to announce his arrival.

All that could be heard was a loud thud as two hands slammed heavily onto the solid wood table. Henry, who had just turned away from the desk and couldn't see anyone, had to tiptoe and slowly turn the chair back to face him.

Henry already knew who it was, but he still feigned surprise. "Hey, boss, good day. You seem a bit irritable today, how about a Coke to cool you down?"

Tony Stark slammed his hands on the desk, snorting heavily, like a raging bull.

Behind him was his Bodyguards, Happy Hogan. Actually, quite a few people had come with Tony Stark, but Happy Hogan had driven them all away, including Julianne Williams, the black, chubby secretary to the CEO of Stark Studios.

Once the office was cleared out, Happy Hogan tactfully left and closed the office door behind him.

Henry feigned a pitiful fear, squeezing his legs together and clutching his arms in front of him as if grasping at the glass bowl of potato chips as a lifeline. He asked anxiously, "What are you going to do to me? My chrysanthemums aren't for sale, not even if you're Tony Stark."

Stop making that disgusting face of yours. What have you been up to lately?!

"Hmm, looks like you caught me slacking off at work."

That's not what I meant!

"No, then I don't know which one you're referring to. This is all I can tell you." Henry made a strange expression. "Whatever you heard, it's true."

"Haha." Henry, caught up in the fun, pulled the chair around again.

"You admit it!"

Henry, munching on potato chips, said, "Tsk tsk tsk, the point is, how much of it you've heard. I don't think anyone would lie to you with such easily debunkable lies. But what they haven't said, do you know any of that?"

Tony Stark said angrily, "Does it matter? No matter what the cause was, what you're doing is ruining your future, betraying my trust, and even affecting Stark Industries."

"What If...? it hadn't gotten to this point, I wouldn't have heard about it at all. Luckily, someone told me before things completely spiraled out of control. If you stop now, things can still be resolved."

"Hehe." Henry stopped spinning around, poured himself a glass of Otaku happy water, and downed it in one gulp. "That felt good!" he exclaimed. Then he said, "Since you have such concerns, I'll resign. Anyway, the contract was one I could sign and leave as I pleased."

Henry's "what's the use" attitude wasn't seen as responsible by others, but rather as throwing a tantrum. This made Tony Stark even angrier.

When his emotions crossed a certain threshold, the eldest son of the Stark Family felt disappointment. He said, "I thought we were friends. When something like this happens, you can't even talk to me about it, instead you resort to this self- Destroy method. Is that really okay?"

"Hehe, we've been together for so long, I won't say hurtful things like 'We can't even be considered friends.' Are we friends? Yes, of course we are, and I think so too. But don't you think my approach is the best to avoid putting my friend in a difficult position?"

Tony Stark slammed his fist on the table and said, "What kind of best is this! Even if you just leave, those people's suspicions won't be dispelled."

"I don't even want to ask you how you managed to travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Toronto in such a short time. Can you guarantee that the accident you staged will never be discovered? What will you do then?"

Henry replied nonchalantly, "That's my own problem. And tell me, why did I even stay at Stark Studios?"

"Back then—" Tony Stark suddenly choked, his eyes wide, unable to utter a word. He had an answer in his mind: Henry had agreed to join Stark Studios to pursue a minor actress.

But his pursuit failed, so he's remained single. If that's the case, why is he still staying at Stark Studios? It doesn't fit that jerk's personality at all!

The inconsistencies in the logical flow of his memory caused Tony Stark to fall silent.

Henry shook his head, making a smug, pouty face. "Poor kid, you've even forgotten. Then let me ask you again, do you remember your father's enemy?"

"The killer is Bucky Barnes. So what? I still don't know who the mastermind is."

"Do you think this will end up like the downfall of the Arden Family? Did I force everyone to dismantle that family? Of course not, everyone just saw an opportunity and rushed in. I won't take the blame for anyone who tries to make me the mastermind."

Henry sucked his finger as he said, "Anyway, I've got the most important information for you. As for who's behind this, you'll have to find out by finding that MIA war hero."

"I'm not a cop or the FBI, so I can't help with that kind of thing. On the West Coast, all you need next is an informant. That's something even a dog could do."

"For me, there's no reason to stay; the most important task is complete. To avoid causing trouble for everyone..."

My leaving is a perfectly normal choice, isn't it?

Sensing some memory lapses and illogical statements, Tony Stark pressed, "Why have you stayed? With your rotten character, I don't think friendship is the right answer."

"That doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Henry held onto the glass bowl of potato chips, picking up Otaku happy water in one hand.

They prepared to leave.

With a crunch of potato chips in his mouth, Henry muttered, "To be honest, I've wanted to leave for a long time. I find it unbelievable that I've stayed until now."

"You want to continue with all that messy stuff? They're just people who took care of you when you were little, maybe their status is a little special, is it really necessary to go through all this? Did they abuse you before—fuck!"