History Takes Another Step Forward

Could this Violet girl be a hardcore shut-in? Luo Xia had a rather ominous premonition.

Just as he was thinking this, a loud bang echoed through the room. The door to the interrogation room was kicked open, and Tony, ignoring Coulson's attempts to stop him, stormed in clutching a stack of documents.

Before Luo Xia could even process what was happening, he heard Tony say to Coulson, "You think Luo Xia's identity is suspicious? These are the U.S. citizenship documents I just helped him process. Now, take that watch off him, or I'll be speaking directly to your superiors."

Luo Xia wore an expression of utter despair upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, Luo Xia. A friend of Tony Stark will never be leashed like a dog," Tony declared to Luo Xia with righteous indignation.

Luo Xia really didn't know what to say; Tony was being a great friend, but it would have been so much better if he'd walked in five minutes earlier.

Although Tony was incredibly loyal and had used his money to solve Luo Xia's identity issues, Luo Xia had already spent AllSpark energy to modify the tracking watch—how could he possibly return it to Coulson? Luo Xia only had three slots for activating robots, and each one was precious beyond measure.

In the end, Luo Xia could only put on a show of not wanting to make things difficult for his friend, deciding to keep the watch, provided that Coulson guaranteed all harmful functions would be removed, leaving only the basic tracking feature. Though, for Luo Xia, that meant nothing anyway.

Tony was still a bit dissatisfied, but since Luo Xia himself had agreed, he couldn't say much more.

On the flight back to the United States, Tony was still quite disgruntled as he said to Luo Xia, "Luo Xia, you really didn't have to do that. That S.H.I.E.L.D. outfit has absolutely no influence over me."

"It's fine. I wasn't planning on doing anything out of line anyway. Sometimes, compromising a little with government agencies like that can actually get them to provide some help. There's a Chinese saying: 'Give a peach, receive a plum in return.' Look, S.H.I.E.L.D. even gave me an external liaison position. From now on, if they want to contact you, they have to go through me first. It saves you the trouble of them constantly showing up at your door."

"But, isn't this too much of a burden for you?" Tony asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Don't you worry about that. The pay for this liaison job isn't bad—three thousand dollars a month," Luo Xia said with a smile.

"Three thousand dollars is peanuts. I'm hiring you as a technical consultant for Stark Industries, with an annual salary of one million," Tony said with great extravagance.

Luo Xia did not refuse the offer; there were still many things he needed to rely on Stark Industries for, otherwise, even finding the nuclear materials to manufacture the Energy Activators would be difficult.

A few hours later, the plane landed smoothly at the New York airport. After being scolded by his assistant Pepper, Tony turned to her and said, "Pepper, I'm calling a press conference."

Luo Xia knew exactly what Tony was planning the moment he heard it. Having survived his brush with death in Afghanistan, Tony had finally grown up a little. At the same time, the Chitauri invasion was drawing closer.

Just like the phrase he had heard countless times in his past life, time was running out for Luo Xia.

Pepper was efficient. Luo Xia and Tony had landed in the morning, and by the time they finished lunch, the press conference was already prepared.

At Stark Tower, the site of the press conference, Tony had just announced the permanent closure of Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division, sparking a frenzy of frantic questioning from the reporters.

Stark Industries had started as an arms dealer, and weapons sales accounted for the vast majority of the company's revenue. Now that it was being shut down, bankruptcy was a distinct possibility at any moment.

This was a massive conglomerate worth tens, if not hundreds, of billions; its instability could even affect the entire U.S. economy.

However, Tony didn't care about any of that; as soon as he finished his announcement, he declared the press conference over.

Such impulsive behavior would naturally leave many dissatisfied, and none were more affected than the shareholders of Stark Industries. Aside from Tony, the largest shareholder was Obadiah Stane, an old friend and partner of Tony's father.

Luo Xia stayed quietly in a corner of the venue, disguised as a staff member, completely inconspicuous. Seeing the dark expression on Obadiah Stane's face, he knew Tony had made a massive mistake once again.

Luo Xia didn't plan on saying anything about Obadiah Stane. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water; Luo Xia was just an outsider, while to Tony, Obadiah Stane was like a father figure, a very close elder. Warning Tony now would only yield the opposite effect.

Furthermore, Luo Xia didn't define himself as Tony's servant. He was merely cooperating with Tony for the time being, each getting what they needed.

After the press conference, Tony dove headfirst into his lab with great enthusiasm. Seeing Luo Xia appear, Tony didn't stop his work, simply saying, "Luo Xia, the palladium you wanted is in the safe over there. Jarvis, help Luo Xia open the safe."

"Certainly, sir."

The intelligent butler developed by Tony replied politely, and then Luo Xia watched as a section of the lab wall split open to reveal a hidden door, exposing a black briefcase.

Luo Xia opened it to find pieces of refined palladium neatly packed inside.

In this world, only someone like Tony would hand over refined nuclear materials without hesitation, never asking what Luo Xia intended to do with them.

"Then I shall take my leave. Contact me if you need any help, Tony. By the way, I strongly urge you to find a skilled surgeon to remove the shrapnel from your chest. Carrying that thing around won't do you any good," Luo Xia said to Tony.

"Don't worry, I'll find a solution before the palladium kills me," Tony said confidently.

Luo Xia could only offer a polite smile before leaving Stark Tower with the palladium.

He was now a technical consultant for Stark Industries, but in this country, he was still just a homeless outsider. For Luo Xia, the first thing he needed to do was find a safe place to stay, then manufacture all the palladium in the case into Energy Activators to increase his total AllSpark energy as quickly as possible.

Sitting in a taxi, weaving through the bustling metropolis, Luo Xia looked at the overwhelming prosperity and wondered how much would remain after the Chitauri descended.

New York was destined to be a city of disasters; nearly ninety percent of the world-ending events in the Marvel universe occurred here. The ordinary people living in this city lived in ignorance, waiting for the day disaster would strike. Then, amidst helpless screams, they would wait for the arrival of superheroes, eventually becoming the survivors interviewed by reporters after the catastrophe.

If they were unlucky, they would simply become the casualty figures in the news reports.

No matter how many joyful moments there were in the movies, it could not hide this bloody reality.

Without realizing it, the scenery outside the car window shifted from towering skyscrapers to low, dilapidated buildings. Not far from the most prosperous parts of New York, this was a place called Hell's Kitchen.