You're Still Alive?

Whiplash went rolling a full two turns from the sudden kick.

The whip that should have killed Iron Man also struck the ground without any accuracy.

While Whiplash was scrambling to get back up, Captain America picked up Tony's suitcase.

"If you've got any other tricks up your sleeve, use them now!"

As he spoke, he tossed the suitcase to Tony.

The moment his portable armor landed before him, Tony's face lit up with delight.

He opened the case and pressed both hands into it.

The armor instantly spread from his hands across his body at high speed.

By the time Whiplash got back on his feet, his enemy was no longer the disheveled Tony Stark.

It was the supremely confident Iron Man, alongside an equally confident Captain America!

And then there was...

An ordinary Kryptonian who didn't want Iron Man stealing the spotlight!

Just as Iron Man was about to face off against Whiplash, Heisenberg finally stood up.

He clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the drinkers who had been absorbed in the fight.

"Is he... the Nightclub owner?"

"So it's him!"

"They say he took out Kingpin!"

"He even took over Kingpin's enforcers. Those bastards are fighting over turf for him now!"

"But why does he dare step out?"

"Even if he took out Kingpin, that doesn't mean he's qualified to face an enemy like that, right? That's Iron Man's opponent—look at those lightning bolts!"

"Still, he really does look arrogant, wearing nothing but pajamas!"

"Yeah, what a shame he's wearing pajamas!"

The girls wiped at the corners of their mouths. Heisenberg's half-exposed muscles were simply too tempting.

After drawing the attention of most of the room, Heisenberg addressed everyone present.

"Those injured in my establishment, call the hospital. I'll cover the medical bills.

Those causing trouble in my establishment, I'll deal with those assholes.

Tony, you caused me trouble, so compensate me for my floor and sofa as soon as possible.

And you...!"

Heisenberg shot Whiplash an annoyed look.

"You managed to track down Tony's whereabouts. That's impressive. But didn't you check whose territory this was?"

"You, what the—"

Boom!

Before Whiplash could finish, a casual slap from Heisenberg had already smashed into his face.

There were too many guests around, so Heisenberg didn't blow Whiplash apart.

He merely slapped his head around twice.

The next instant, Whiplash—whose mouth and nose were now facing behind him—crashed to the ground.

A second later, cheers erupted from everyone around them!

"Ahhh, that was so cool!"

"How was that so easy?!"

"How strong is he?!"

"So this is Heisenberg, the big shot who took out Kingpin?"

"Don't provoke him. I doubt even Iron Man could take that slap!"

"With his bare hands, oh my God!"

There was probably far too much alcohol in the guests' systems.

Not only were they unafraid, they enthusiastically discussed what had just happened.

Someone had clearly called the police already, and officers would soon arrive to investigate the Nightclub.

Yet, fueled by alcohol, the customers sat back down and continued drinking while excitedly recounting what they had seen.

Other than the unfortunate injured people being sent to the hospital, everyone else drank without a care.

Even with Whiplash's corpse lying right beside them.

New York residents, indeed!

As for Heisenberg, after taking out Whiplash, his eyes quietly flashed red.

The crude reactor in Whiplash's chest instantly shattered.

The reactor Whiplash wore was far too rudimentary, with radiation leaking everywhere. Heisenberg had no intention of letting all his customers get cancer.

Afterward, he brought Tony, Captain America, along with the freeloading Coulson and Happy, up to the penthouse villa.

The five men lay on lounge chairs, basking in the midnight starlight as though they were sunbathing.

The chef team, having prepared in advance, was holding an open-air barbecue by the swimming pool.

That was also why the sound of Tony smacking his lips kept ringing out.

As he ate, Tony complained.

"Can't we have some burgers? I like those better!"

"Heh, I like grilled meat!"

Heisenberg replied casually as he tossed an entire chicken wing into his mouth and crunched it apart.

His wild, utterly mannerless way of eating should have disgusted Coulson, who had received a gentleman's education.

But in reality...

Coulson only felt that it looked incredibly appetizing.

In Heisenberg's words: "When chewing bones feels about the same as chewing fat, trust me, meat with the bones still in it is when carnivorous food tastes best."

After swallowing the chicken wing, Heisenberg smiled faintly and teased Tony.

"How does it feel?"

"How does what feel? Nearly getting killed?"

"No, no, how does it feel to be saved by your uncle?"

Heisenberg said with a grin, nearly making Tony spray out his grilled meat.

A moment later, Tony swallowed the meat and took a sip of wine before immediately cursing.

"You're taking advantage of me!"

"Hahaha, I wasn't talking about me. I meant your Uncle Rogers!"

Laughing, Heisenberg pointed at Captain America.

That made Tony look at Rogers in confusion.

After considering it for a moment, he turned back around.

"A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? I'm not close with them, but this guy does look kind of familiar..."

"Yeah, just familiar. After all, he was wearing a mask in all the photos he left behind!"

With that, Heisenberg tossed a bottle of beer to Rogers.

"At a time like this, aren't you going to introduce yourself to your little nephew?"

"Uh, aliens have heard of me too?"

"I read comics after coming to Earth. The famous Captain America, Germany's most feared enemy, and your father's best friend, Tony!"

Heisenberg watched Tony's expression with great interest. The guy was so stunned that he even stopped chewing his meat.

"Captain America!" Tony asked blankly. "You're not dead yet?"

"I..."

For some reason, Rogers suddenly wanted to punch Tony.

Perhaps realizing he had misspoken, Tony rubbed his beard and asked again.

"You're actually still alive. Then do you know Aunt Peggy married someone else?"

"I...!!!"

Veins bulged on Rogers's forehead.

And Iron Man was still muttering away.

"Or are you a playboy like my dad? You've stayed this young all this time, yet you never thought about being with Aunt Peggy?

I really feel like Aunt Peggy got the short end of the stick. She even held me when I was little!"

"Hahaha, I suddenly kind of like that mouth of yours, hahaha!"

Heisenberg laughed heartily at that, and the atmosphere among the five improved quite a bit after all those twists and turns.

Downstairs, Barbara from S.H.I.E.L.D. was negotiating with the NCPD. No matter what, someone had died in Heisenberg's nightclub, and many people had recorded videos of Heisenberg killing someone.

However, Barbara and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elites easily ruled the matter as forced self-defense during a home invasion.

Just like that, Heisenberg naturally avoided the hassle of being questioned.

That was the point of Heisenberg making use of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It was also why Heisenberg needed territory and subordinates of his own.

Trouble did not stay away just because you were strong.

On the contrary, the stronger you were, the more trouble came looking for you.

You could kill one person, two people, countless people.

But you could not just keep slaughtering without end.

Once Heisenberg's men built him a legal department comparable to Kingpin's in the future, Heisenberg's life would become even more convenient.

Of course, after S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with the trouble, they naturally took Whiplash and his crude armor away...

Meanwhile, the Three-Winged Building welcomed a new guest.

This was a special guest who put every agent on high alert!

The instant the plane landed at the S.H.I.E.L.D. airfield.

Countless agents tightened their grips on their guns.

They were all capable operatives, but they understood even better what their opponent was.

If something really happened to that guy, they could only fill the gap with their lives. There was no other way!

Fortunately... Agent Natasha was reliable.

Banner, dressed in tattered clothes, stepped off the plane and looked at the agents around him, who seemed to have come to welcome him.

"Heh, I'm truly honored. Such a grand reception just for me!"

"This is just an accident!"

Natasha immediately explained.

She was somewhat puzzled as well. They knew she was bringing Hulk back, so why were there so many agents here who might provoke him?

But then an agent stepped forward and explained.

"Agent Natasha, and our new consultant, Mr. Bruce Banner, we apologize for giving you the wrong impression.

Iron Man Tony Stark was attacked at the Nightclub of Kryptonian Elder Heisenberg. Captain America was involved as well, and Heisenberg killed someone again. That is the reason we have gathered and gone on alert!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Natasha and Banner exchanged a rare glance.

Judging from Bruce's look of pained disbelief, he probably thought S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with scenes like this every day!

"You people... really have it rough!"

Bruce Banner sighed.

Natasha merely shook her head.

"Things will be much better with you around, but for now, let's stay out of their mess. Come with me to see the Director."

"I'll follow your lead."

As they spoke, the two passed through the alert agents and headed all the way to Nick Fury's office.

Upon seeing Nick Fury himself, Natasha was about to speak when Nick suddenly raised a finger to his lips.

Seeing that, Natasha promptly fell silent. Only then did Nick Fury speak in as low a voice as possible.

"His hearing is extremely good, so we must not mention his name while we talk!

The Intelligence Department believes he will not monitor all of New York twenty-four hours a day, but if we mention his name, he may have some kind of special awareness."

"Careful enough. So then, tell me about what happened tonight?" Natasha said.

Nick nodded, but he did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Bruce Banner and extended his right hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Banner.

Believe me, you'll find that we are different from certain generals!"

"I hope so."

Banner nodded noncommittally, then sat down on a nearby sofa and listened to the conversation between Black Widow and the One-Eyed Man.

"Our plan to bring Tony in ran into a few complications, so we had no choice but to take this route—using the attacker codenamed Whiplash to establish contact with Tony Stark.

The plan is currently progressing steadily. Coulson and Captain Rogers have made sufficient progress in their relationships with Tony and him."

"Wait!"

Banner suddenly interrupted with a question.

"The 'him' you're talking about—is he... the one I was brought in to guard against?"

"That's right!" Natasha confirmed with a nod.

Banner immediately became dissatisfied.

"So your real goal isn't to take action against him at all. You want to trick him into your hands, just like you did me!

Especially now that you have both me and him, you can use him to keep me in check, and use me to keep him in check!

You really have this all planned out perfectly!"

"So, Dr. Banner, did you want me to gather every resource we had to kill him before he committed any evil?

"Or do you enjoy being treated like this by us?"

Nick Fury shot back!

As his words fell, Banner calmly sat back down on the sofa.

"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, I was only joking with you."

Banner waved a hand, a sheepish smile appearing on his face as he continued.

"After all, the trouble I've caused in this regard is far greater than anything he has. So I can accept your methods—but can he?"

"Please don't use the word 'methods'!"

Nick Fury said sternly.

"Earth sincerely welcomes the arrival of extraterrestrial visitors. As a department directly under the United Nations, S.H.I.E.L.D. is extending an invitation to him as humanity's representative. That is perfectly reasonable."

"All right. At least you're more honest than that general. You really do intend to make use of both him and me, but at least you understand restraint instead of mindlessly craving Hulk's power!"

Banner said helplessly.

Ever since he had agreed to Natasha's invitation, he had already guessed what his future circumstances would be like.

No matter what, his current situation was far better than he had originally expected.

For a moment, he even found himself feeling a little grateful to Heisenberg.

If not for Heisenberg—a man so powerful that everyone feared him—there was no telling whether he would have received the treatment he had now.