Undercurrents

"So, you admit your identity?" Coulson asked with a meaningful look.

"No, I'm just a traveler who happened to arrive in this world. If it weren't for Tony's warm invitation, I wouldn't have come here at all." Fang Bie flatly denied such a claim.

The difference between him coming to this world on his own versus being invited is significant; it is the difference between a guest and an intruder.

"Right, I'm the one who invited him!" Seeing that Fang Bie had already admitted it, Tony naturally had nothing more to say and readily agreed in a straightforward manner.

The two sides stared at each other calmly, neither showing any sign of weakness.

"Very well. I hope you won't do anything to harm the Earth. This is my business card; if you have any questions, you can call my number!"

Unexpectedly to both of them, Coulson really was just there to assess the situation. After handing over his business card, he left without looking back, taking his team of agents with him and leaving three people sitting on the sofa in confusion.

"Why did you suddenly reveal your identity and background?" Yinsen asked, puzzled. They had clearly agreed beforehand to try their best not to disclose Fang Bie's origins, yet he was the first to break this rule.

"What did I say? I didn't say anything at all!" Fang Bie gave a cheeky smile, which made Yinsen realize what he meant.

Everyone here is a smart person; sometimes, things don't need to be spelled out so clearly.

The fact that the two of them knew Fang Bie's origins didn't mean others did, and besides, human imagination is limitless. Fang Bie had merely admitted to being a visitor from another place, but he hadn't revealed any of his actual secrets.

At most, it would just add a file with his name and photo to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database; everything else would remain blank.

Even if Fang Bie hadn't said anything, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have classified his identity as top secret anyway. From the moment he returned with Tony, he understood that he had already entered the sights of this massive organization.

"It's just a report and a warning. Don't worry about these annoying agents. As long as Stark Industries doesn't collapse, they won't dare to cause you any trouble!" Tony, for his part, was quite open-minded about it.

After hoodwinking Obadiah Stane with a few words, he still held control over the entirety of Stark Industries. However, because he had been betrayed, he didn't trust anyone in the company.

Anyone who knew about the company's operations could potentially be the one who wanted him dead. Tony even decided that until he truly found the mole or possessed enough ability to protect himself, he would not attend any dangerous meetings or engage in nonsense with the company's shareholders.

But this led to another problem, the one Fang Bie and the others had heard Pepper Potts talking about earlier.

In just a few short days, because of what Tony Stark said at the press conference, the stock of the entire Stark Industries had plummeted like a cliff.

Even Fang Bie, who didn't know much about the situation, knew that once the Nasdaq index fell to a very dangerous line, Tony's entire company would fall apart as a result.

After all, for a company that started in the military industry, stopping the production of weapons meant that half of their industrial chain would be directly severed.

Of course, Stark Industries was a true commercial empire. Beyond weapons, they were involved in mobile phones, home appliances, ships, steel machinery manufacturing, and various daily necessities, but even so, it couldn't alleviate their current crisis.

Several days had passed. Yinsen was accompanying Tony in the laboratory, just as they had in the cave, continuing to construct the robot they had envisioned.

The robot was called Mark I, a name Tony had given it. Under the extensive adjustments in the laboratory, this robot had long since lost its bloated, semi-finished shape, becoming light and sturdy instead.

It was no longer made of rough, welded steel, but reinforced with armor made of high-density Vibranium. In terms of impact resistance alone, the two were not even in the same league.

Fang Bie, meanwhile, was still lying on the sofa, constantly browsing documents and watching TV shows to strengthen his learning ability.

It must be said that this tool was truly a marvel for learning. Fang Bie didn't deliberately try to memorize those words, but in just a few days of reading, he was already able to read the information on these words very quickly.

He was also able to engage in some simple English conversations and do basic writing. In fact, one only needs to master 3,000 English words to carry on daily conversations in the United States.

Mastering 30,000 words is basically enough to travel through the country without any obstacles. The number of words he had mastered was already approaching 10,000, and even without the assistance of the translation device, he already possessed the ability to converse with the other two.

"Tony, Stark Industries' stock has plunged by 46.7%. If you don't come out and explain, I'm afraid many of our businesses will be directly shut down!" Pepper was standing outside his laboratory, shouting anxiously.

"No need. Obie told me to have some peace and quiet for a few days. I haven't even left the house; isn't that quiet enough?" Tony didn't put down the arc welding equipment in his hand, instead saying this in a tone that sounded slightly innocent.

"That's not the problem, and you know it! If you don't come out to confirm that you haven't gone missing or been kidnapped again, I'm afraid the stock will plummet once more. If the shareholders start making a scene, we're finished!" Pepper said with some urgency.

"Don't worry. We are the major shareholders of the company. Before their voting rights exceed ours, no one can go against my decisions!" Tony shook his head. He held a patent for an invention that could shock the world; as long as it was fully realized, it wouldn't be difficult to put Stark Industries at the top of the world.

"But..." Pepper was still very anxious, but as a personal secretary, she had no means to restrict Tony.

She also couldn't stand Fang Bie, who was sitting on the sofa continuing to learn English. She always thought these two guys were parasites living off Tony. At least Dr. Yinsen was somewhat useful and could assist Tony in some less dangerous experiments.

As for Fang Bie, he was just a guy who did nothing all day long, holding a translator and spouting nonsense in front of the TV.

She huffed and placed a fast-food meal in front of him. "Takeout Tony ordered for you! You'd better behave yourselves. If Tony keeps going like this, I can't guarantee that Mr. Stane won't throw you out!"

With that, she clicked away from the villa in her high heels, leaving Fang Bie staring at the TV in a daze.

Fang Bie certainly wasn't shocked by what she said. The reason he kept staying in this villa was because of Tony's request.

As someone who had truly experienced the MC world, it was impossible for Tony not to be shocked by that world, its physical rules that were completely different from this one, and the ability to build with blocks as if he were a creator god.

If he didn't need to deal with the affairs of this world and find the person who framed him, he would have long since gone back with Fang Bie to continue developing in that world.