This Time, Only Three Things Matter

After hanging up on Sabre, Lin Hao fell into deep thought.

Ever since joining S.P.E.A.R. ten years ago and gaining a certain amount of power, Lin Hao had taken an interest in Xu Wenwu and Jia Ying.

The Marvel cinematic world clearly showed that Xu Wenwu had lived for over a thousand years, while Jia Ying possessed formidable regenerative abilities. Even after her organs were removed, her blood drained, and her body torn apart by horses, she could still piece herself back together and survive.

Director Lin wasn't one for pretense. He wanted that!

Ever since discovering fifteen years ago that he was in the Marvel cinematic world, everything Lin Hao had done had been for the sake of surviving Director Thanos's arrival. That was his highest priority at this stage.

Little Devil had given him a chance to change his fate, but "randomness" was far too unreliable. Lin Hao could only do everything he could to gather "Essence of Grievance," hoping that one day he might pull something like the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir or the Jade Tablet of Creation. Failing that, perhaps a demon passport, Hong Tai Lang's frying pan, or even a four-dimensional pocket would do—he could hide inside it to save his life.

At worst, he could get an Anywhere Door, head to Morag ahead of time to seize the Power Stone, then hide in the alternate dimension opened by Little Devil. Keeping Director Thanos from gathering all six Stones was also an option.

That was why, once Lin Hao had gained some strength and control over some resources, he had been eager to come to America. On one hand, it would make it easier to stir up trouble and harvest "Essence of Grievance." On the other, he could try to find the Space Stone stored by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Although the Space Stone was under Odin's watch, Lin Hao could simply wait for him to die of old age before taking it. After personally using the Holy Spear once, Lin Hao had gained even more confidence. Perhaps now, he no longer needed to wait.

Surviving Director Thanos's arrival was Lin Hao's first goal. His second goal was naturally immortality.

With resources from countless worlds at his disposal, Lin Hao had long been thinking about immortality. Besides, there were so many long-lived species in the Marvel world. Living only a mere century would inevitably leave him dissatisfied.

It would naturally be best if Little Devil could quickly pull treasures such as the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir or Jade Pool Peaches. After all, unless one possessed a racial talent, every method of immortality in the Marvel world came at a certain cost. The immortality of Eastern culture suited Lin Hao's tastes better.

But randomness was too difficult to control, so Lin Hao had no choice but to make additional preparations. It was merely an idle move.

Xu Wenwu and Jia Ying were among the easiest opportunities for attaining immortality, and compared to other methods, the price was relatively low.

Both were of Chinese descent, and S.P.E.A.R.'s intelligence network happened to be useful here.

Lin Hao changed into tactical gear, restored his original build, put on a black metal mask, and boarded a Wakandan aircraft modified with technology from the One Piece World and Dragon Ball World.

The modified aircraft could now exceed Earth's gravitational pull and enter low Earth orbit at maximum speed. Unfortunately, it was still far from capable of interstellar travel, let alone spatial jump technology.

Neither Lin Hao nor S.P.E.A.R. possessed a star map. On the other hand, Nick Fury, who had recruited the Skrulls and had Captain Marvel as outside support, definitely had one.

All that could be said was that S.H.I.E.L.D. was, after all, one of Marvel's favored sons. Nick Fury had encountered far too many fortuitous opportunities, and the foundation in his hands exceeded even that of S.P.E.A.R., which had two thousand years of history.

Although Zhang Heng had experienced the Celestials incident and passed down a god-slaying weapon like the Holy Spear to future generations, he still lacked advanced aerospace technology. Unlike "Black Nick Fury," who had never even left home before stumbling upon a ship full of refugee aliens and becoming rich overnight.

Spaceships, star maps—he had whatever he wanted.

Yet Nick Fury had possessed these crucial technologies for more than a decade and had never considered leading human civilization into the stars or expanding humanity's living space. He only wanted to "protect" Earth, deal with extraterrestrial threats, and preserve the world order established by America.

All you needed to do was work obediently, and the masters would protect everyone from aliens.

As for those who got caught up in incidents and died... well, when did people not die in this world?

As long as the liberal order remained intact, America would remain great forever!

Lin Hao had no intention of indulging these "liberal elites." His third goal was to try to help his own people reach the sea of stars after achieving the first two goals.

When poor, cultivate oneself; when prosperous, benefit the world.

Lin Hao wasn't that great, but he didn't mind doing something within his power. Otherwise, after obtaining immortality, was he supposed to spend every day playing in the water with beautiful women?

He would get tired of it!

In another world, he wouldn't dare boast so shamelessly. Humanity knew nothing about outer space, after all. But the Marvel universe was filled with civilizations, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.

Lin Hao currently lacked only three things: personal strength, long-distance travel technology, and an accurate star map.

If any stumbling blocks appeared while he pursued those three goals—such as S.H.I.E.L.D., or America—then he would flatten them!

With those thoughts in mind, the aircraft activated stealth mode, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and flew toward Afghanistan.

Lin Hao had a Vivre Card belonging to Tony Stark, made from a strand of hair he had plucked from Tony's head at the banquet that day.

He had not come to save anyone. He had come only to find someone.

After the aircraft arrived in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Lin Hao slowed down and flew low along the direction indicated by the Vivre Card, spreading out his Observation Haki as he went.

After spending some time searching, he finally locked onto Tony Stark's location in a mountainous region.

Holding an Azure Dragon Crescent Blade forged from vibranium, Lin Hao jumped from the aircraft.

After copying part of Whitebeard's memories, Lin Hao had learned some of Whitebeard's blade techniques. He wasn't used to using a naginata, and Azure Dragon Crescent Blade suited his aesthetics better.

Rather than charging into the dark cave where Tony Stark was being held, Lin Hao walked toward the camp in the valley.

"Who are you?"

"Stop!"

"Open fire!"

The armed men spotted Lin Hao strolling toward them and immediately began shouting in various languages.

An invisible shockwave swept through the area, and every last lackey collapsed.

Lin Hao casually entered the tent at the center of the camp and found the bald man in charge.

He didn't wait for the man to wake up naturally, nor did he waste time looking for water to splash on his head. Instead, he swung his blade at the bald man's arm.

The blade flashed, and the arm came off, smoother than Dove chocolate.

The agonizing pain jolted the bald man awake. The moment he opened his eyes and saw the black metal mask, terror filled his face.

"G-Great Demon Lord!"

"Looks like I have some reputation." A cold voice came from behind the metal mask. "Then don't waste my time. Tell me Xu Wenwu's whereabouts, and I can give you a quick death."

The bald man's expression changed drastically, partly from pain and partly from fear.

He never could have imagined that kidnapping Tony Stark would bring this murderous god here.

The title "Great Demon Lord" had far more than "some reputation" throughout the areas covered by S.P.E.A.R. To organizations like theirs that operated in the shadows, he was practically a deranged serial killer!

Although the Ten Rings Gang was an international organization, its leader, Xu Wenwu, was Chinese. Most of the elders who had served the organization for a thousand years possessed Chinese bloodlines. Those elders would select one or two descendants from their own families to join the gang and inherit their power and wealth, so the upper ranks of the Ten Rings Gang inevitably carried a strong Chinese flavor.

Besides, Xu Wenwu did not die. Who among the gang members would dare discriminate based on skin color?

This gang had been passed down for a thousand years and was deeply entrenched throughout East and Southeast Asia. It could not possibly abandon those regions. Thus, in recent years, conflicts with the growing S.P.E.A.R. had become inevitable, and the name "Great Demon Lord" naturally spread through the Ten Rings Gang.

Lin Hao never showed mercy toward scum like this. Moreover, to harvest more "Essence of Grievance," his methods were always brutal.

To his enemies, the "Great Demon Lord" was naturally a monster. But to his colleagues at S.P.E.A.R., he was a dependable leader—just one who made people emotionally collapse rather easily.

"N-No... I don't know!" Faced with a deranged killer, the bald man could barely speak coherently. "We haven't seen the boss in years!"

"Every branch is operating independently now. Everyone is waiting for the boss to return. We know how strong he is. No one dares rebel."

"I-I was just making a little extra money here..."

The bald man began to cry. He had clearly kidnapped an American, so why had he provoked the Great Demon Lord?

Lin Hao carefully observed his expression. Seeing that the man truly did not know Xu Wenwu's whereabouts, he could only swing his blade and grant him a quick death.

The bald man's large head rolled across the dirt. In his final moments of consciousness, he saw the Great Demon Lord turn and leave, yet spare his subordinates.

Damn it! Why didn't the lackeys have to die?

Did being the boss mean he deserved to be discriminated against?

In truth, Lin Hao knew that this trip would most likely yield nothing. He had only come with the faint hope that it might.

Just as he was about to jump back onto the aircraft, gunfire and the terrified cries of armed men came from the dark cave nearby.

Lin Hao had controlled the direction of his Conqueror's Haki earlier, so it had not affected the people inside the cave.

Several armed men who had narrowly escaped death hurried out of the cave and stared behind them in horror.

A moment later, a rough-looking suit of armor burst out. Compared to the one in the movie, this armor moved more smoothly and had a slimmer frame.

Tony Stark, piloting the armor, was followed by Yinsen, who carried a submachine gun. Perhaps Tony had built the armor more quickly this time, and Lin Hao had happened to arrive at just the right moment, so Yinsen had not sacrificed himself to buy time.

The two groups reached the cave entrance one after another, only to suddenly feel that the valley was strangely quiet.

Then they realized in astonishment that everyone in the valley had collapsed.

Naturally, their gazes converged on Lin Hao, who wore the black metal mask.

"You are..." Tony Stark froze for a moment, then eagerly asked, "Did you come to save me?"

As a famous American figure and a genius inventor, Tony was certain that after his disappearance, many people would be working to rescue him.

Lin Hao fell silent. He quietly calculated the time and realized that only two months had passed since Tony's kidnapping, far shorter than the three months in the original story.

Seeing the clearly superior armor on Tony's body, then recalling what he had seen through Will Fortson's perspective, Lin Hao suddenly understood.

So it was because Tony had already practiced building armor once, allowing him to greatly speed things up this time.

But Tony Stark couldn't go back now!

Lin Hao didn't care what model of armor Tony used to escape. He only cared about when Tony escaped.

So a wave of Conqueror's Haki swept out.

Both groups at the cave entrance collapsed at the same time.

Once that was done, Lin Hao took out a Den Den Mushi and called Sabre.

"I'm giving you an opportunity for field duty. Come to Afghanistan and lock Tony Stark up for another month!"

"Huh?" Sabre was dumbfounded.

"You don't want it?" Lin Hao asked.

"I do!" Sabre immediately replied. "I want it!"

Who cared who it was? He had finally gotten the chance to return to action. If he didn't seize it now, he would truly be transferred to desk duty in the future.

"Good. Wait for my message before letting him go." Satisfied, Lin Hao hung up.

Stark Industries' stock price had not yet hit rock bottom, and Lin Hao had not begun buying in at the bottom. How could he let Tony return now?

Whether he made money or not didn't matter. He couldn't lose the title of "S.P.E.A.R.'s stock market god"!

After refreshing the page just now, he had actually made it onto the new book rankings!

It was only rank ninety-nine, but he was still a little excited~