Safe Return

Clint and Stark watched Mike form hand seals. The former silently memorized Mike's movements, while the latter could not help asking, "What are you doing, some kind of religious ritual?"

Clint had wanted to ask the same thing, but found it hard to speak up. When Mike killed the second agent just now, Clint had instinctively shifted his gun muzzle a few degrees toward Mike.

"So perceptive. He actually noticed."

Mike said nothing, but Clint could sense that Mike had become a little more polite toward him.

Politeness meant distance.

On the contrary, Stark and Mike, who often mocked and provoked each other, got along like old acquaintances.

Mike focused on forming hand seals and had no time to pay Stark any attention.

But Stark soon got his answer. He stared in astonishment at the four "Mikes" who had suddenly appeared beside Mike.

They were identical!

Stark's eyes widened, and he could not help reaching out to poke Mike.

"Quit it!" x5!

All five Mikes spoke in unison.

So far, there had been no problem that the Hidden Mist Technique combined with the Silent Killing Technique could not solve. In most cases, Zabuza's taijutsu and swordsmanship alone were enough.

So his other ninjutsu was basically useless.

Since he was not using the Hidden Mist Technique but still wanted to deal with the enemy quickly, the Water Clone Technique was a good choice.

Actually, controlling the range of the Hidden Mist Technique was simple. Mike was just too lazy to explain.

"Another new ability!" Clint was secretly shocked.

The enemies had been divided into six squads: the original body, four Water Clones, and Clint made exactly six.

Clint felt a little awkward. After all, the safe house was no longer safe, and Mike was taking on most of the enemies.

But he did not have a cloning technique, so what could he do?

Mike flashed out of the monitoring room and began a bloody roll call of the enemies.

Muffled groans and brief screams began ringing out simultaneously from different parts of the safe house.

Stark swallowed as he watched Mike appear and vanish like a ghost. Some enemy squads were wiped out before they even noticed Mike, dying with their eyes still open.

"Ah!"

Stark saw one of the "Mikes" get shot and cried out despite himself, deeply worried.

Then he saw "Mike" suddenly collapse into a puddle of liquid.

"Whew..."

Stark let out a sigh of relief.

The one who killed the Water Clone was one of the enemy's minor leaders, whose combat ability surpassed the others. He had spotted the Water Clone in advance, used crossfire to seal off its routes, and forced it out of hiding with a grenade.

The Water Clone possessed only ten percent of the original body's strength, but being able to kill one meant the enemy truly had some skill.

However, when the original body and the remaining Water Clones arrived, having only some skill was not enough.

Very soon, the minor leader's subordinates were all wiped out, and Mike pinned him beneath his foot.

"Don't think you'll get any intelligence out of me."

The minor leader's face twisted viciously as he bit down hard, crushing the chloride poison hidden in his teeth.

That was clearly the old Hydra style.

"Psycho. Who wants your intelligence? You're overthinking it!"

Not long afterward, Clint also dealt with his enemies without a scratch. His face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

Mike smiled faintly and asked, "What, acquaintances?"

Clint had no intention of hiding it. "They're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stationed in various Middle Eastern countries."

Clint felt the issue was extremely serious and immediately reported directly to Nick Fury in private.

After hearing it, Nick was silent for only a moment before instructing Clint to prioritize escorting Tony Stark.

He was not an idiot. Having worked in S.H.I.E.L.D. for so many years, he had noticed that something was wrong within the organization.

The problem was that the more he investigated, the more he discovered how tangled and serious the situation was. Until he found a way to root out the festering sore in one stroke, Nick Fury did not intend to alert the enemy.

With corpses piled throughout the safe house and the stench of blood choking the air, they simply woke Yinsen and left.

Sure enough, all the cars had been damaged. Their tires had been riddled with bullets, and every S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle had hidden tracking devices installed. The people they could not trust now were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people.

Fortunately, none of them were the type to follow rules rigidly. They found a van outside the safe house, and after Clint fiddled with it for a while, it started up and carried the four of them aimlessly around the capital.

As the capital of a country, most of Kabul was not even as good as an ordinary county town in China. The streets were dilapidated, and the people looked lifeless.

They found a secluded place and spent several incredibly boring hours there. No one wanted to talk, nor did they have the energy to. Mike contributed the food he had stored in his space.

It was not until Colonel Rhodey contacted them and said the private jet was about to arrive.

An hour later, the battered van carrying Tony Stark drove into Bagram Air Base.

After more than ten hours of flight, the plane landed at Fort Drum Army Base.

Having showered and changed into clean clothes, Stark slowly walked down the plane. Pepper was waiting below, while Happy stood expressionlessly beside the extended Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Stark said, "Your eyes are red. Missing your lost boss?"

Mike slapped his forehead.

That opening line again.

He had rescued him nearly two months early. Could she not say something new for once?

Pepper stepped forward and gently hugged Mike.

"Thank you, Mr. Tang. Thank you so much."

"You really don't need to thank me. I was paid to do the job..."

Mike suspected Pepper had taken the opportunity to wipe her tears on his clothes, but he had no proof.

Still, the system notified him that the commission was complete. Considering the Soul Energy and Destiny Energy that had floated out, he could endure it even if she had wiped snot on him.

"Hey, hey, why are you hugging him? I'm the one who needs a hug."

Pepper hugged Yinsen as well. She had heard everything Yinsen had done for Tony. He was also Stark's lifesaver.

"Thank you..."

"That hug made me feel everything I did was worthwhile, beautiful lady," Yinsen said, gentlemanly as ever.

When it was Clint's turn, Pepper politely shook his hand.

Clint said, "..."

He had not expected one, but why was he the only one who got a handshake? Did a married middle-aged man not deserve a hug?!

Stark got into the luxurious Rolls-Royce and waved at Mike. "Get in. What are you standing there for?"

Mike said, "So what if it's a Rolls-Royce? I'm going home. There's a woman waiting for me at home too."

Stark said, "Does this look like a place with taxis?"

Mike said, "Uh..."

The Rolls-Royce's interior was enormous, and its leather seats were incredibly soft. Even with five people including the driver, it was not cramped at all.

Happy asked, "Where to, sir?"

Pepper said, "The hospital, Happy."

Stark refused. "No. I'm fine. If you don't believe me, ask Yinsen. He's a highly skilled doctor."

Yinsen said, "It won't worsen for the time being, but..."

"No buts!" Stark said impatiently. "I was locked up for more than a month. Right now, I only want to do two things: eat a cheeseburger, and the other thing..."

Before he finished, Mike's eyes lit up, and he pulled a laptop out of his space.

Stark said, "..."

He was too powerless to even complain.

Seeing Mike pull out a laptop from thin air, Pepper jumped in fright.

Stark said helplessly, "This miser wants to short Stark Group stock."

Pepper said, "Your return will stimulate the Group's stock price to rise. Shorting it would be..."

Stark rubbed his nose. "That involves the other thing I mentioned. Help me arrange a press conference, Pepper."

"A press conference?"

"Yes."

"What exactly are you announcing?"

"Drive. Let's get something to eat first." Stark asked Mike what he wanted to eat.

Mike curled his lip. "I don't want a cheeseburger."

"Then what do you want to eat?"

After thinking for a moment, Mike rapidly recited in Chinese, "Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, braised duck, braised young chicken, braised gosling, marinated pork, marinated duck, soy sauce chicken, cured meat..."

Without saying a word, Stark pulled out his tablet. "JARVIS, what did he say?"

JARVIS replied in a mechanical voice, "According to the search results, this is a Chinese dish-name list, containing 204 famous Chinese delicacies."

Stark said, "Uh..."

The cheeseburger suddenly did not seem so appetizing anymore.