Three Phone Calls

"Yes, Dr. Clark already knew about it online before dinner. He wrote an algorithm that keeps searching for keywords on the internet and grabbing information that interests him; after the news of General Ross's men fighting Hulk at the University of Virginia was uploaded to the internet, it was captured by his algorithm in almost a second—according to Dr. Clark's complaint, the weapons in General Ross's men's hands were even developed and sold to them by him."

Half-awake and half-asleep, Coulson's words lacked logic, but he still tried to say what he knew, "Then Dr. Clark gathered some mechanical and electronic engineering technicians from the industrial base and took them into his private laboratory, seemingly to work through the night on a targeted weapon, which is still not finished."

"What weapon?" Nick Fury breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Wei Xiuming had already begun preparing a countermeasure.

"It's unclear. Before Dr. Clark assembled the team, there wasn't even a single blueprint for what he needed to build," Coulson said. "But he indicated that it was a weapon with immense power."

After hanging up the phone, Nick Fury kept repeating two words: "Hulk, Abomination."

This is one of the messages left by Coulson in a parallel universe. It was the devastating impact of their great war that caused Lieutenant General Thaddeus Ross to fade into obscurity and retire to the background. Until the era when superheroes began to take center stage, the United States government at the time was wary of this uncontrollable and powerful force, so it invited this veteran out of retirement and gave him the position of Secretary of State, specifically in charge of superhero affairs.

Then Nick Fury took out his phone, dialed a number, and said directly after the other party answered, "I'm looking for someone."

"I'm just a doctor. If you're looking for someone, you've dialed the wrong number." The voice on the other end sounded displeased.

Nick Fury ignored the other man's explanation and continued, "That man's name is Franski. He was seriously injured earlier today." "There's another patient, I performed his surgery, and he's still in the hospital undergoing further examinations. Given his healing abilities, he should be discharged tomorrow." The doctor's voice suddenly lowered. "I secretly kept some samples of his blood, muscle, and bone fragments. Would you like me to send them to you?"

Nick Fury said, "Keep those things for now, I'll have someone pick them up in a few days—is there anything else?"

"General Ross said it would give the patient a new and powerful strength, a strength that could rival the one who seriously injured him." The doctor's voice suddenly grew louder. "I already told you, you've dialed the wrong number. I'm not a fitness coach, and I don't know what kind of medicine you're taking to quickly build muscle!"

Then there was the sound of two people talking. The man talking to Nick Fury was complaining to someone who looked like a colleague that some careless fitness instructor had probably written down the wrong numbers when exchanging phone numbers with a student, and the call had ended up going to him.

Then he hung up the phone.

Listening to the dial tone, Nick Fury roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter, and had a general idea of how Franski had become Abomination, but—

"Besides the Super Soldier Serum, General Ross is researching some other projects."

The feeling of things being out of his control was terrible. Nick Fury got up and paced around before making another call—to Tony Stark.

The young master wasn't a subordinate who had to answer his calls outside of work hours, nor was he a doctor working late into the night. He dialed twice before the other end finally answered.

"One-Eyed Bald Hero, a genius's mind needs plenty of rest to function properly. Staying up late will cause hair loss, and I need a thick head of hair to style into a handsome look to flirt with women—oh, no, once women see my handsome face, they'll definitely pounce on me."

The moment he opened his mouth, the young master launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks at Nick Fury; he was utterly fed up with these politicians.

Because of the problem with the Monarch of Latovinia, he spent his days in the Pentagon studying the Monarch who dared to defy the United States and promote "democracy and democracy," and was deeply impressed by the intelligence of politicians.

He always held himself in high esteem, believing that his scientific talent was unparalleled and that only a handful of people could share common interests with him, while the rest were just ordinary people with insufficient intelligence—but the stupidity of those politicians exceeded his imagination.

In his words, if he were to study brain transplant surgery for a period of time and exchange the brain of a gorilla with those of these politicians, the politician with the gorilla brain would definitely be smarter than the original.

If you're bored at work, the only reasons are usually two: insufficient pay and incompetent colleagues (bosses). Dealing with those politicians is incredibly exhausting for Tony Stark, so he has to sleep in late to recharge. Black Eggplant calls at this time, he'll definitely be furious.

"How's your research on your New Element going? According to the medical report sent by Agent Romanoff, your condition is getting worse." Black Eggplant ignored Tony Stark and instead expressed concern for his health.

Glancing at the black lines extending from the Arc Reactor in his chest to the rest of his body—not yet life-threatening, but already horrifying enough— Tony Stark evaded the topic. "If those military folks hadn't dragged me into being a technical advisor for their nefarious plan, it would probably be finished by now—and when are you going to bring Coulson back? This Agent Romanoff overseeing me doesn't get along with me."

Previously, Coulson was in charge of supervising Tony Stark. Although he couldn't keep up with the young master's pace on high-tech topics, he was kind and his innate ability to gain favor made him get along very well with Tony Stark. The two injured players could chat quite a bit about music appreciation and other things.

Then, with the return of Wei Xiuming, Coulson was transferred to the Osborn Industries Base to continue his recuperation, and he was replaced by Agent Natasha Agent Romanoff, codenamed Black Widow.

Upon first seeing the redhead, Tony Stark no longer felt annoyed by the departure of his good friend; his playboy nature led him to strike up a conversation with Natasha, and then...

Then Natasha let Tony Stark know that her codename "Black Widow" was truly fitting.

"If your purpose in calling me is simply to inquire about my health, I am very grateful, but please choose a different time next time. Getting enough sleep is more important to me than mere greetings."