On Guard
On the other side, inside the Osborn Group's industrial base.
After Wei Xiuming went to the highest-security mechanical laboratory, Nick Fury did not leave. Instead, he wandered around the office area and found the security director of the industrial park, who was also a high-ranking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D..
The agent was in his office, giving orders over a walkie-talkie. His subordinates were conducting a thorough inspection of the industrial base to prevent secondary disasters caused by damage to pipes and cables from the previous earthquake.
If any unfortunate individuals are injured in that relatively minor earthquake, they should be identified and taken to the hospital promptly.
Upon seeing the highest-ranking official inspecting the work, he immediately stood up and saluted, and with lightning speed used the mouse to switch the screen on a certain monitor.
Although he only has one eye, Nick Fury can clearly see that the monitor, separate from the surveillance screen, is playing My Little Pony.
"Sir... Sir!" The agent realized he'd been caught slacking off and was incredibly nervous, feeling like he was watching a scene in Fate where Shirou Emiya and Sakura Matou were replenishing mana, and his mother just happened to walk into his house with a bunch of relatives without even knocking.
Nick Fury frowned, not paying much attention to that, and instead asked, "What has been going on with Dr. Clark lately?"
The agent breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, opened his personal office computer, unplugged the network cable, pulled out a triple-encrypted file, and then moved aside.
Black Eggplant leaned closer to the monitor, looking at the detailed schedule in front of him that recorded Wei Xiuming's whereabouts. It included what time Wei Xiuming got up, what he ate for breakfast, what time he entered the laboratory, and when he met with the technicians. Everything was recorded clearly, even when and how he went out and when he returned.
Looking at the few outing records above, Nick Fury compared them with the information in his mind and found that Wei Xiuming's departure from the Osborn Group industrial base was all related to him, and judging from the speed of the means of transportation, he was not delayed on his way back.
After reading it, Black Eggplant didn't offer any comments, but instead asked the agent, "Who has met with Dr. Clark recently, besides people from the Osborn Group?"
The agent immediately replied, "General Ross of the Air Force has placed an order with Dr. Clark for some high-powered weapons, preferably individual weapons."
"General Ross did not reveal who the enemy was, but Dr. Clark provided him with a batch of rudimentary Mechanical Exoskeleton and White Noise Wave Cannon."
After the agent finished reporting, Black Eggplant finally felt relieved about Wei Xiuming. He gave him a few brief words of advice and then hurriedly left.
After Nick Fury left, the agent took out his phone and made a call, "Sir, Nick Fury just asked me about Dr. Clark's recent movements."
"How did you answer?"
"As you instructed, the fabricated information fooled him," the agent whispered. "And I sent out all the agents. Even if Nick Fury wanted to verify it with someone else, unless he went to some remote corner, he would only run into our people."
"Well done, Hail Hydra!"
"Hail Hydra!" the agent replied, then hung up the phone, plugged his office computer back into the network, and while directing the agents' operations, lazily watched My Little Pony.
It was as if nothing had happened.
After leaving the industrial park, Black Eggplant's next destination was 10880 Malibu Street, Tony Stark's seaside villa.
The day after regaining consciousness, Young Master Stark, wrapped up like a mummy, held a press conference and announced the closure of Stark Industries' military division. Ignoring the uproar and stock market turmoil caused by his announcement, he went straight back to his villa to recuperate.
After parking the Quinjet at a distance, Nick Fury walked to the villa's entrance and rang the doorbell.
According to Black Eggplant's plan, he could take advantage of Tony Stark's absence, use technical means to hack into the villa's access control system, and then rely on his racial talent to hide in the shadows, creating an initial sense of mystery.
However, due to health reasons, Tony Stark has recently become a homebody, so this trick is no longer possible.
Pepper Potts opened the door; she had met with Nick Fury several times while Tony Stark was in a coma in the hospital.
"Pepper Potts, take our guests back. I don't want to see any outsiders right now." Even though he was injured, Tony Stark was restless. He had the AI J.A.R.V.I.S. broadcast his words, and then, while drinking chlorophyll liquid, he completed the upgrade of the new Mark series armor on the 3D projection device.
Despite his arrogance, Tony Stark is an excellent learner. The Iron Monger armor created by Obadiah, the Worms mimic, provided him with considerable inspiration. Although it didn't meet his aesthetic standards for armor, the young master began to enhance the Iron Man suit's firepower.
However, this suit of armor was not included in the Mark series; instead, it was named War Machine... This was a gift he gave to his friend Colonel Rhodes, and also a way to appease the military's covetousness of his Iron Man suit.
"Tony, yes..." Pepper Potts wanted to respond, but suddenly forgot Nick Fury's department name.
"Strategic Homeland Defense, Counterattack and Logistics Agency," Nick Fury rattled off his agency's long and cumbersome name, then added, "You can just call it S.H.I.E.L.D.."
"Tony Stark, I need you to build a weapons system." After introducing himself, Black Eggplant said loudly, "S.H.I.E.L.D.. is a department your father established, and it holds some gifts he left you. I think you should be interested."
Setting down the beverage that had made him wince, Tony Stark stood up and went upstairs, saying, "I've already announced the closure of Stark Industries' defense division. You'll have to deal with that... There's a genius at Osborn Group; you can talk to him."
The full name of S.H.I.E.L.D.. sounds like a government agency, and Tony Stark wouldn't bother dealing with them. After giving up the huge pie of military products, the Osborn Group probably got the biggest slice of the pie.
"I came to you because of him." Even though he couldn't see anyone, Black Eggplant still said, "He's an unstable factor, and I need you to develop a weapon specifically for him... According to him, that's your specialty."
"What weapons do you want me to develop?" Tony Stark asked as he came down to the first floor. "The Jaeger you sent that night was quite impressive. I still haven't figured out the principles behind its power system, and I can't develop Iron Man suit with comparable performance in a short time." The young master readily admitted the other party's technological superiority.
"That suit was Kent Clark's creation, and he was the one who wore it in battle that night." A glint flashed in the Black Eggplant's single eye. "However, it wasn't the suit's power, but Kent Clark's own ability. He possesses superhuman strength, and I need you to develop weapons with him as the hypothetical enemy."
"A superpowered person? What are Kent Clark's abilities?"
"Superhuman intelligence and physical abilities several times greater, advanced intelligence reserves, and the ability to control electromagnetism and induce earthquakes."