Oak Environmental Technology Company

Still under Coulson's arrangements, Tony drove off alone first, while Oaks and Yinsen appeared at the Benevolence Society headquarters.

"What a magical place..."

Dr. Yinsen had changed out of his hospital gown. He now wore a casual suit, with a Benevolence Society emblem pinned to his chest.

That was right. As New York's most famous environmental organization, the Benevolence Society's emblem had been personally designed by Oaks—

It depicted Goose hugging an acorn, surrounded by a ring of green mistletoe representing Druids and nature.

And Goose had completely let herself go—her territory now included the Treehouse at the Benevolence Society headquarters, as well as the entire Little Rainforest.

Moreover, quite a few rescued pets had been released into the Little Rainforest. Goose had even led Coco and Moco to successfully become the kings of cats and dogs...

That made her the empress dowager, then. At the same time, she also managed all the other small animals besides cats and dogs.

Such as Hamster, who had been brought in first.

The Benevolence Society was now flush with cash, and under the leadership of the three "overlords," the rescued animals were well-behaved and polite. So they were all free-range, with a dedicated pet cafeteria at mealtimes.

The pets could be adopted, or remotely adopted—this was one of Oaks's wild ideas.

For animal lovers whose circumstances did not permit it, who lacked the energy, whose families would not allow pets, who could not keep one while attending school, and so on, they could adopt a pet of their choice through the Benevolence Society.

With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technical support, every pet was tracked and monitored around the clock. Whenever their owners wanted to see them, they could connect to the animals' live feeds or come to the Benevolence Society headquarters to give them a good petting.

All they needed to pay was the pets' modest food expenses, and they could enjoy the service until they were able to take the animals home, or... their interest faded.

Still, many people had commented that they envied the pets' natural living environment and wanted to take the pets home while moving in here themselves.

"So, I rejected every one of those clever people—the president doesn't get treatment like this."

Oaks was introducing the Benevolence Society to Dr. Yinsen, and the latter finally understood just how enviable it was to recuperate at the organization's headquarters.

"Your members... many of them probably joined because of a headquarters like this too, right?"

Yinsen's expression was strange. He understood very well how beneficial such a wonderful environment was to one's health, but were that many people really devoted to charity?

The world had changed too quickly. I spent a few months squatting in a cave, and when I came out, I no longer recognized it.

"There are some, but our benefits really are quite good too. After all, we're not short on money for the time being."

Oaks had finally reached the point where he could utter these sinful capitalist lines without batting an eye:

"We even received a commendation from the Mayor of New York. I heard they originally wanted to name me an honorary citizen of New York, but when they learned I was of mixed Chinese and Celtic descent, they changed it to awarding a collective honor to the Benevolence Society instead—

Come to think of it, more than ninety percent of the Benevolence Society is Black and Latino."

"..."

Dr. Yinsen bared his teeth. "So the world is still the way I understood it."

"It is enough to do our own part well."

Oaks did not care in the slightest about such nonsense. Still, now that he had finally poached the outstanding physicist Dr. Yinsen from Tony, he had to make something of it.

So, seemingly casually, he asked:

"Dr. Yinsen, what are your plans from here on?"

"Plans..." Dr. Yinsen paused slightly. Clearly, from the moment he had awakened until now, he had not considered that question.

"My plans, my life, should have ended when I helped Tony escape that cave. Things are like this now... and I truly don't know what to do with myself."

He spread his hands and shook his head with a bitter smile.

"The reason I was captured was because they valued my knowledge and my ability to speak multiple languages. But compared to Tony, I'm just an ordinary person... As I am now, I would only hold Tony back."

"You are far from ordinary, Dr. Yinsen."

How could Dr. Yinsen, whom the Ten Rings had taken an interest in, who had attended the New Century Celebration in Bern, Switzerland, and, more importantly, who could keep up with Tony's train of thought, be an ordinary scientist?

Did he remember Dr. Wu, the Chinese medical expert he had introduced to a drunken Tony in Bern?

That man was the surgical master who later removed the shrapnel from Tony's chest. Before him, no one could perform such a surgery, and no one dared to!

Though Dr. Yinsen always modestly claimed that he only held a bachelor's degree in medicine, the fact that he was friends with such a medical giant showed just how capable he was himself!

"Since you have nothing to do for now, Doctor, I have an idea I'd like you to advise me on. How about it?"

"Oh?"

Yinsen grew curious.

In his eyes, although he had never heard of the young Dr. Lin before him due to their different fields, he had clearly seen the relationship between the man and Tony Stark.

Anyone whom Tony, who had described himself as having "nothing at all," considered a friend could not be a simple person.

In Afghanistan and at the hospital, this man had demonstrated his power twice—once indirectly, once directly—and it far exceeded Yinsen's scientific understanding.

And a charitable organization like the Benevolence Society was something Yinsen had never dared imagine before.

This was a truly good person.

"Dr. Oaks, please go on. Though the advice I can offer may be limited."

"It's like this. I want to establish a technology company."

Oaks organized his thoughts before speaking slowly:

"As you can see, what the Benevolence Society does brings tangible benefits to human society, and the most important support behind it is my biotechnology."

Dr. Yinsen nodded. With his discerning eye, he could naturally see just how broad the prospects of Oaks's biotechnology were.

"But the Benevolence Society is, after all, a charitable organization. I don't want it to become a for-profit technology company. Even if it merely looks like one, it would greatly affect its future development."

Oaks's words made Yinsen nod slowly.

"Indeed, there is such a risk. So you mean to separate research and development, profit-making, and charitable work, using the technology company to fund the Benevolence Society's social welfare efforts?"

Oaks nodded. What Yinsen had said was only part of it. More importantly, this arrangement would allow his research results to be registered under the technology company, preventing S.H.I.E.L.D. from getting involved.

After all, the Benevolence Society could now be considered a subordinate organization of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was fine to hand out a few benefits normally, but if something special emerged later, it would be difficult if either S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra wanted to take something away.

"It really is a good idea."

Yinsen understood part of Oaks's thinking. If they waited until the envious people came crawling out, it would be too late.

There were many, many brain-dead idiots who believed that doing charity meant offering up everything you had.

"Then does the company have a name?"

"'Oak Environmental Technology Company.' It will focus on environmental technology, including research and development in biology, chemistry, physics, the atmosphere, oceans, geology, and even agriculture. The Benevolence Society will handle promotion."

Oaks smiled and extended his right hand to Dr. Yinsen.

"Dr. Yinsen, would you like to come help me and change the world together?"