Chapter Eighteen: Commission

Meng Zu had no objection to Happy investigating him. When he accepted jobs at the Continental Hotel, he investigated the targets too.

Although the United States claimed to respect personal privacy, that was really just a joke. As long as you had Franklin, personal privacy was laid bare in the open. Anything you could not uncover only meant the other party had more influence and more money than you did.

As Tony's driver and bodyguard for many years, Happy naturally had his own connections and resources. Finding out everything Meng Zu had on the surface was not difficult at all.

Pepper said, "Mr. Meng Zu, if you can find Tony, we will pay you five million dollars as a reward."

"Finding Stark among terrorists will not be easy. This job carries considerable risk. If I accept your commission, you will need to pay one hundred thousand dollars upfront as a deposit. Of course, if the mission succeeds, that money will count toward the five million reward. If it fails, I will not return the deposit. What do you think, Ms. Pepper?"

"Fine!" Pepper agreed without even thinking. One hundred thousand dollars was nothing to her. As long as there was even a shred of hope of finding Tony, she would have agreed even if Meng Zu had asked for a million-dollar deposit. Naturally, the money would come from Tony Stark's account. As the assistant responsible for Tony's life and work, Pepper had that much authority.

Rich people really are different. Meng Zu silently gave Pepper a thumbs-up.

After thinking for a moment, Meng Zu said, "Ms. Pepper, the reward for locating Mr. Stark after he has been kidnapped by terrorists is five million dollars. If I can bring Mr. Stark back safely, how much can you pay?"

Pepper did not answer immediately. Instead, she considered it carefully. Locating Tony after he had been kidnapped by terrorists and bringing Tony back from the terrorists were two entirely different levels of danger.

Pepper had originally planned to hand the rescue over to the U.S. military if Meng Zu truly found Tony's whereabouts. But that would take time. If the terrorists sensed something was wrong, Tony might lose his life. Who knew what kind of deranged things those terrorists might do?

Now that Meng Zu had said this, Pepper wanted Tony rescued as soon as possible. She looked solemnly at Meng Zu and said, "Mr. Meng Zu, you should understand how difficult it would be to rescue Tony from the terrorists. Doing so could anger them and put Tony in even greater danger."

"Ms. Pepper, I understand what you mean. I will judge the situation as it develops. Of course, if I attempt to rescue Mr. Stark, I will put his safety first. If the risk is too great, I promise I absolutely will not take the risk of rescuing him."

Seeing Meng Zu make that promise, Pepper said, "If you can truly bring Tony back safely, we will pay you ten million dollars."

"Then I accept the commission. Xiao Hai, print out the contract." Seeing the newly generated contract mission in the system, Meng Zu was overjoyed.

Contract Mission: Mission One: Find Tony Stark, who has been kidnapped by terrorists, and inform Pepper Potts of his whereabouts. Contract Points: 500.

Mission Two: Safely bring Tony Stark, who has been kidnapped by terrorists, back to New York. Contract Points: 1000.

(Choose one of the two missions. They cannot overlap.)

When Pepper had said she would pay him five million dollars for finding Tony, the system had generated Mission One. The unprecedented 500 Contract Points had startled Meng Zu. Why was that? Could it be because Tony Stark would become Iron Man in the future, so the reward was 500 Contract Points?

That gave Meng Zu an idea. Perhaps contract missions related to Marvel superheroes offered far more Contract Points. To test it, he had proposed the commission to rescue Tony Stark to Pepper.

Once he saw the new mission appear, Meng Zu confirmed it. Whenever the system generated a contract mission related to a Marvel superhero, the greater the difficulty, the higher the Contract Points.

Damn it, I missed out big time. Just as Meng Zu was rejoicing, he suddenly remembered Peter Parker, whom he had met yesterday. If he had followed Peter last night and waited for him to ask for help saving Ben Parker, the Contract Points would definitely have been substantial.

Once the contract had been printed, Pepper signed it directly. Somewhat anxiously, she asked, "Mr. Meng Zu, can you come by in an hour at the earliest?"

Meng Zu naturally understood Pepper's feelings. He nodded. "Yes."

"Then in one hour, Mr. Meng Zu, come to Stark Tower. We will wait for you there!"

"Alright. See you in an hour, Ms. Pepper."

After Pepper and Happy left, Yang Hai said excitedly, "Rich people really are something else, Brother Zu. Just finding out where Tony Stark is earns five million dollars. If you can bring Tony Stark back, it becomes ten million dollars."

Smack!

"Shut up!" Uncle Yang slapped the back of Yang Hai's head, glared fiercely at him, then looked seriously at Meng Zu. "Zu, you really should not have accepted this commission. Terrorists are all lunatics. Even when the U.S. military deals with them, they prepare in advance before taking action."

"Since Tony Stark was kidnapped by terrorists while under military protection, the military must have searched for him too. Yet they still have not found him, which means Tony Stark was taken to the terrorists' main base."

"You have been a mercenary for several years now. You have always decided your own contract missions, and I will not interfere with your decisions. I know you are highly capable. Even your father and I cannot compare to you. But if you go there alone this time, it will be easy for them to spot you. Then you will be in danger. My advice is that once you get there, just go through the motions."

Meng Zu could hear Uncle Yang trying to dissuade him from searching for Tony Stark, but he did not mind. He understood that Uncle Yang was worried about his safety and smiled. "Uncle Yang, don't worry. I will definitely put my own safety first. You have seen it these past few years. I have always come back safely. If it truly cannot be done, I will just give up the commission."

"Mm. As long as you know what you are doing."

"Then I'll head out first. I still need to prepare some things at home."

After watching Meng Zu leave, Yang Hai asked, "Dad, since this commission is so dangerous, why don't you go with Brother Zu? You could help him that way."

Uncle Yang looked at Yang Hai irritably. "What do you know? I'm old, and my skills have declined long ago. If Zu goes alone, even if he runs into danger, he can basically escape safely. If I go with him, I will only become a burden and put Zu in danger instead. Zu understands that too, which is why he is going alone."