Tony Stark Has Gone Missing!

Moving was not difficult.

That very day, Skye helped them find a suitable house: two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, not far from Old Wang's rented studio apartment.

Robbie somehow persuaded Gabe, then returned to the repair shop and worked overtime to fix Skye's battered old truck. He replaced the brake pads and tires with the best ones for free, then told the shop owner he was taking some time off and would get in touch later.

Early the next morning, the four of them set off for New York in two vehicles.

Robbie had not actually planned to stay in New York for very long.

Mr. Wang had said that one month would be enough for Gabe to gain the ability to protect himself.

They could come back after a month. Gabe still had school, after all!

Skye chuckled when she heard Robbie's plan.

Once you got on Old Wang's war chariot, you wanted to get off halfway through? Did you think it was a kindergarten school bus, or a city bus that stopped at every station?

Young man, you were far too naive.

The moment you got on, Old Wang welded the doors shut.

For thirty million dollars' worth of Essence Wine, you had packaged up yourself and your brother and sold yourselves!

The mighty Ghost Rider was really cheap...

Old Wang had said that Captain America's shield alone cost at least fifty million dollars in materials. Its true value was impossible to estimate. Add Captain America himself, and the total value had to be in the hundreds of millions, at least.

Robbie, forget Captain America. You weren't even worth one of his shields. How did you end up this way...

Since Old Wang was driving, Skye opened her laptop and went online to see whether she could find some work and earn some money. Her wallet was truly empty this time. Three years of hard work had vanished just like that. Old Wang, you had to compensate me with Essence Wine. I'm going to squeeze every drop of your essence dry...

Suddenly, a news report caught Skye's attention.

Today's top headline: The chairman of Stark Industries, an important military partner; a genius among geniuses; a top-ten fixture on both the Forbes rich list and celebrity list for ten consecutive years; a collector of fashionable girls and rising actresses; a self-centered lunatic; an arrogant egomaniac; an unmarried bachelor—had been attacked by terrorists in Afghanistan and was missing.

Stark Industries' stock price had plunged by 22.34 percent, and capital was fleeing in droves.

Skye froze instantly. She slammed the laptop and let out a cry, feeling like she wanted to die.

The Stark Industries stock price that Old Wang had always told her to watch had fallen for the second time since the company went public—and it had crashed through the floor.

When had it fallen the first time?

When its founder, Howard Stark, had died in a car accident!

Old Wang had said it several times: whenever it fell, buy like crazy. It was a guaranteed profit.

Skye believed that. Old Wang just looked like a trustworthy guy.

The problem was, she had no money in her pockets...

Wasn't Old Wang's Essence Wine worth one million dollars per drop?

What if...

She persuaded him to sell some?

As for customers?

S.H.I.E.L.D. would be a good one. Or those billionaire and ten-billionaire tycoons who were old, sickly, and only had a few years left to live!

After arriving at their destination in a red sports car, they transferred to a Quinjet. Coulson and Melinda soon arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters.

Without stopping to rest, they immediately went to the director's office. Coulson placed the materials they had compiled overnight on the desk and began a report that lasted ten minutes.

Besides Egghead, Black Widow, who was also involved in this matter, was present as well.

Her complexion was rosy, clearly showing that she had recovered well from her injuries. Thanks to the essence Old Wang had fed into her... ahem, True Qi.

Egghead remained quiet throughout.

He listened, thought, and analyzed.

Hydra's appearance was no surprise. What Kunlun Iron Fist had revealed about the Winter Soldier's identity did surprise him, even prompting a chain of speculation:

If the Winter Soldier really was Sergeant Barnes, and if he had survived falling off that cliff after Hydra's enhancement experiments, then could Captain America, whose physique had been even stronger, have survived as well?

The thought flashed through Egghead's mind, but he did not dwell on it.

When Captain America had gone missing, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, had organized many searches. They found nothing—not even Captain America's aircraft.

He was probably already dead. Otherwise, he could not possibly have failed to return.

Of course, he might also have lost his memory, like the male and female leads in Korean idol dramas.

Perhaps they should send someone to thoroughly investigate the area near where Captain America had disappeared.

The Winter Soldier's strength had surprised Egghead somewhat. He had most likely undergone physical enhancement experiments similar to those of Red Skull and Captain America. His combat performance was no worse than Captain America's back then, but he was not impossible to deal with.

What truly concerned Egghead was Kunlun Iron Fist.

Strange. He seemed to have heard that name somewhere before...

Egghead kept more secrets than anyone else in the world, but his memory was ultimately limited. So he stored more extensive and detailed information inside a tiny black cube.

This cube, smaller than a three-by-three Rubik's Cube, employed the S.H.I.E.L.D. Technology Department's most cutting-edge technology:

The most advanced intelligent system, the hardest metal casing, the most unbreakable encryption system, the largest-capacity storage device, and level-ten clearance.

It was a toolbox.

Nick Fury's personal toolbox.

"K'un-Lun. Iron Fist!" Egghead enunciated clearly, black lips framing white teeth.

The small black cube immediately began an intelligent search, pulling up every piece of information related to "K'un-Lun" and "Iron Fist."

"K'un-Lun, home of the gods... not it!"

"K'un-Lun, Feng Ge novel... not it!"

"K'un-Lun, Chinese character designation... not it!"

"K'un-Lun, an organization existing only in legend... yes, this is it!"

"Iron Fist, describing a hard fist... not it!"

"Iron Fist, a film... not it!"

"Iron Fist, one of K'un-Lun's seven immortal weapons in legend... yes, this is it!"

Egghead reviewed them one by one.

At first, he was calm.

Then he became calmer and calmer, calm to a frightening degree.

Vague legends, firsthand accounts from certain people, records left by those in the know...

All the information was torn apart and kneaded together in his mind.

A powerful and mysterious organization gradually took shape.

K'un-Lun, an immortal realm no one could find;

Iron Fist, a legacy possessing mysterious power, connected to a divine dragon called Shou-Lao and passed down through generations.

"Qi," this mysterious Eastern power, could grant ordinary people superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and senses. It could even heal wounds and bring the dead back to life. The mysterious person who had defeated the Winter Soldier completely matched that description.

If so, was that man really K'un-Lun's Iron Fist?

No, there were other possibilities.

K'un-Lun did not have only Iron Fist, just as Kung Fu Panda did not have only pandas.

Nor was Iron Fist the only one who could use qi.

According to intelligence S.H.I.E.L.D. had gathered over the decades, quite a few people were connected to qi.

For example, Shang-Chi.

For example, the Hand's Five Fingers.

What was their relationship with Iron Fist?

What was their relationship with K'un-Lun?

Egghead closed his eyes, then opened them more than ten seconds later.

"We can't let the K'un-Lun Iron Fist lead go cold. He still has the Darkhold."

Egghead's single eye fixed on Natasha. "Agent Romanoff, you have had contact with Iron Fist and understand him better. You will investigate. Pay special attention to the Hand, as well as Chinese people who know kung fu. Coulson, May, hand all relevant materials over to Agent Romanoff."

The Hand?

Director, how did your train of thought work? How had you linked this to the Hand?

Natasha was helpless, but she naturally had to obey the director's orders.

"Shouldn't our priority now be dealing with Hydra? Agent Romanoff is our best agent. She is the most suitable person to deal with Hydra. You can leave the investigation into K'un-Lun Iron Fist to me." Coulson volunteered.

"I will deal with Hydra personally."

Egghead gave a brief explanation, then said, "Coulson, May, you have something more important to do... Tony Stark has gone missing."