Return to New York, Tony Comes Calling

"By the way, I found that place you asked me to look into, but the defenses there are extremely tight. I couldn't go any deeper without alerting anyone."

Hong Fei perked up instantly. "Where is it?"

"Three hundred and twenty li north of us. It's another castle, but bigger—looks more like a military fortress."

Sokovia, located in Eastern Europe, was a barren, mountainous, and volatile landlocked country. Still, compared to the chaotic battlefields of the Middle East, it was mostly peaceful most of the time.

Solkove harbored a faction of Hydra, led by Baron Strucker.

After a moment's thought, Hong Fei said, "Leave them alone for now. Just keep remote surveillance. Pick two people to stay behind."

Frank replied immediately, "Then let Number Four and Number Five stay. They don't have any family left."

"Alright. I'll leave some funds behind. They can take care of a few extra things while they're at it."

As they talked, Hong Fei's phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the number, Hong Fei broke into a grin. He put on a mask, and his voice turned rough and low. "Tony Stark, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I'd be better if you hadn't stabbed me in the shoulder."

Tony's tone was icy, but Hong Fei acted as if he hadn't noticed.

"Your timing's perfect. I was just about to ask you—why haven't I seen my money after a whole day?"

Tony clenched his fist unconsciously, grinding his teeth. "Give me back my armor, and I'll add another hundred million."

Hong Fei shook his head at once. "First, I don't know anything about any armor. Second, if you want to renegotiate our deal, I can come find you in person. We'll sit down and talk it over slowly. How about that?"

"I'm afraid you wouldn't dare to come!"

Hong Fei: "Three days from now, at your villa. What do you say?"

There was a sudden silence on the line. A moment later, Hong Fei hung up.

At the Long Island villa, Tony, who had failed to trace the call, froze for a second before slamming the table in fury.

A long while later, Hong Fei called again. "I really don't want to lay a hand on a mature, beautiful woman. You understand how I feel, right?"

Tony: "You'll see the money tomorrow."

Putting down the phone, Hong Fei shook his head with a light laugh.

Frank: "I'm starting to think you're more like those terrorists I've seen..."

"Pah!" Hong Fei stood up and walked out as he spoke. "I'll bet you anything that when you're old, you'll be covered in red fur."

At the top of the castle, gazing out at the shimmering lake and the snow-capped peaks in the distance, Hong Fei let out a deep breath.

The crudely built Mark I Armor wasn't much use to Hong Fei anyway. Tony's offer of a hundred million far exceeded its actual value, but the math wasn't that simple.

He had no interest in developing armor himself, but in Obadiah's hands, that thing could spawn an Iron Monger. That meant it had a certain universal significance. In simple terms, using the Mark I as a blueprint and adding an Arc Reactor, others might not be able to create Iron Man's armor, but developing lower-tier suits was entirely possible.

To Tony, it was worth a hundred million. To someone else, it might be priceless.

The real reason Hong Fei didn't want the armor was that his physical body could be continuously strengthened. A suit might push his defense to unimaginable heights in an instant, but once it was breached, his fragile flesh would doom him in a heartbeat.

And if he relied on armor long-term, that hard shell would subtly erode his pursuit of skills like dodging and deflection. That was a step backward.

Of course, he wouldn't be stubborn when the moment called for it. But for now, there was no need.

Besides, he had already sent the Mark I away during his second trip into Afghanistan. Only the Arc Reactor data was still in his hands.

The big business Hong Fei was after wouldn't be limited to one man, even if that man would one day become the famous Iron Man.

The next day, Hong Fei checked his account. A nine-digit number starting with eight was a sight that lifted his spirits.

Five billion came from Obadiah. The other three billion was the payment from Hong Fei's deal with Tony for taking out the traitor Obadiah. The latter had been handled through multiple electronic bond transfers—Frank's handiwork.

After picking up his passport, Hong Fei and the others scattered across Europe, returning to New York from different countries.

When he got home, Frank and the others hadn't arrived yet. Hong Fei first finished the paperwork with a few tenants who were moving out, then sat behind the counter of the first-floor bookstore as usual, browsing the web.

He was reading the latest local news from New York.

Tony Stark's return was obviously the biggest story, still plastered on the front page. The photo of him with a bandaged shoulder made him look a bit more serious and a little less reckless.

Mexicans and the Russian Mafia had clashed, but when the police arrived, they suddenly stopped fighting and turned on the cops instead. That left seven officers dead and over a dozen injured—the biggest gang case of the year so far.

Other than that, New York was fairly quiet.

In the afternoon, Frank and the others arrived one by one. Hong Fei assigned them the vacated rooms, calmed Frank down, and then waited quietly for his guest.

At dusk, the streets swelled with people, including kids in school uniforms.

"Hey! Sir, you're finally back!"

Peter burst through the bookstore door with his backpack, his face beaming.

Hong Fei looked up with a smile. "Just got in today. How've you been?"

"Great, sir! I got an A in every subject. Want to see?" Peter's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Sure."

Hearing that, Peter spun his backpack around, unzipped it, and quickly pulled out a report card.

Hong Fei took it and read it carefully, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Peter saw his smile from the side and was momentarily so excited he could barely contain himself.

"Very good, Peter. I think this is something to be proud of. As a reward, you can pick any books from the store for free today—no limit on how many!"

"Thank you, sir!" Peter shouted, his eyes sparkling. He dropped his backpack and turned to dive into the rows upon rows of bookshelves.

Hong Fei tucked his report card into the backpack and set it aside. Just as he looked up, he saw a sleek sports car pull up at the entrance.

The door opened, and Tony, dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses, strode in with an arrogant swagger.

He walked up to the counter, acting as if he hadn't seen Hong Fei's beaming face, and looked around as he said, "Hey, hey, anyone here? Why isn't anyone welcoming me? Don't think I won't buy this place out tomorrow."

Hong Fei had to stand up, his smile turning into a helpless expression. "Mr. Stark, I'm right here."

Tony slowly turned his head, lowering his sunglasses slightly. "Sorry, it's too dark in here. Didn't see you."

Hong Fei, staying in character, gave an embarrassed smile. "Welcome, Mr. Stark."

"Cut the crap. Got any booze?"

Hong Fei pointed at the car outside.

Tony stared at him without blinking.

Hong Fei bent down and pulled a bottle of brandy from under the counter. Tony snatched it directly, frowned at the label, and said, "You drink this?"

Hong Fei shrugged. "I don't drink. Someone gave it to me when I was buying groceries at the supermarket."

Tony twisted off the cap, took a small sip, then recapped the bottle and tossed it into the trash can.

He turned around and snapped his fingers casually. "Close up. Let's go!"

"Wait, Mr. Stark. I still have a guest."

Tony turned to look at the empty bookstore. After a few seconds, he said, "Are you kidding me?"

Just then, Peter, clutching a few new books in his arms, spoke up in a young voice, "Sir, just these."

Tony was startled and quickly looked down at the kid beside him.

"Whoa, sorry. I really didn't see you there."

Peter ignored him.

Hong Fei crouched down to help Peter put the new books into his backpack and said, "Remember to keep some distance when you're reading, or you'll end up nearsighted."

"I'll remember." Peter slung his backpack on. "I'm going home now. I'll come back tomorrow. Thank you!"

With that, he turned and walked right past Tony, leaving without looking back.

Tony: "Your kid? Doesn't look like it. And he didn't even recognize me. Did he not know who I was?"