Afternoon, Stark Tower.
[Detected that the host was delighted after eating something delicious. Pleasure Points +100]
"Ahh, that felt good~"
Yu Xian patted his stomach, a satisfied expression on his face.
Y Squad, who had stayed behind to mooch food and drinks off Tony, was enjoying dessert after the meal.
Exquisite tiramisu, layers upon layers of cream and biscuits, and a plate of lemon ice cream...
"Say, with your lazy personality, you actually wanted to become a savior?
That doesn't sound like the Yu Xian I know.
Were you plotting something shady behind everyone's backs again?
For someone who never gets up early without profit to be putting in this much effort,
it had to be something very important, right?"
Tony watched the various videos about the Winter Lord flooding his phone and could not help asking Yu Xian, who was eating ice cream and watching a show beside him.
"Heh, of course there was a reason. I..."
"I know, I know, I know! Someone finally asked!"
Catalina, who had long been unable to hold herself back and was bursting with the urge to complain, chattered away with honeyed words, spilling Yu Xian's entire plan.
Tony, Pepper, Yinsen, and the others all perked up their ears and listened.
"You have no idea how devious the captain can be..."
As it turned out,
the Winter Lord in the news videos Tony had watched was not Yu Xian at all,
but a fake played by the witch Medea through the illusion magic of the Age of Gods Magecraft System.
Of course, part of it was real—Yu Xian flying through the sky.
Through Catalina's account,
Tony and the other two gradually learned of Yu Xian's scheme,
—a plan to recruit a hacker girl.
The protagonist of this story, Skye, was twenty years old and female.
She had been passed from one orphanage to another since childhood, living in as many as twenty-three of them.
At twelve, she taught herself programming at the Brooklyn Public Library.
At fifteen, she hacked into New York's power grid to "get back at" the orphanage for its frequent blackouts.
That was the first time she used "Rising Tide" as her hacker alias.
Now, she drove a modified RV across North America,
making a living by selling fake identities and cracking security systems.
She was currently active in the Brooklyn slums.
To bring her under his command, Yu Xian had personally stepped in, using his identity as the Winter Lord as bait.
He repeatedly exposed his whereabouts online and had Medea use illusions to impersonate him,
carrying out various rescue operations throughout Brooklyn in his place.
Fortunately, the witch Medea's innate skill, Age of Gods Magecraft, could cast ice magic, making it no problem for her to act in Yu Xian's stead.
As he listened to the blonde girl's account, Yu Xian secretly glanced at Medea.
Seeing no unusual expression on her face,
he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She was still very easy to talk to at the moment.
Perhaps in their eyes, he merely wanted to slack off,
did not want to work, and had therefore pushed the tasks of saving people and punishing evildoers onto Medea as a perfect tool.
What they did not understand was that he was helping Medea find a reason to live.
Since there was such a massive wound in her heart,
it could not possibly be healed all at once. He could only use the various orders he gave her, bit by bit,
to make her feel needed, gradually breaking through her solid psychological defenses.
Slacking off was indeed what he wanted, but this was the true reason he had devised the stand-in plan.
When Yu Xian saw the look on Tony's face that said, "Just as I thought," he knew Tony had misunderstood.
Without explaining, Yu Xian silently considered whether there were any flaws in the plan and whether it needed adjustment.
The girl's explanation continued.
After Medea acted, she would leave behind some flaws and traces at the scene,
then have Cat Group, led by Fatty from the intelligence division, casually provide the girl with hints and guidance time and again.
With those clues,
if someone possessed excellent hacking skills and conducted a thorough investigation,
they would be able to find a faint trail leading directly to an abandoned factory in Brooklyn.
And there,
Yu Xian had placed a barrel full of documents burned beyond recognition.
However, a tiny bit of information had been preserved inside.
That information was the address of Y Squad's Waterside Villa, north of Manhattan beside the Hudson River.
As long as Skye found that note
and followed the address, a road of no return would be waiting for her.
As for the plan after that...
Hearing this, Tony and the others were instantly stunned.
"Damn, Yu Xian, you were really going all out now?
She was just one person. Was she really worth all this trouble?
If it were me, I would have just gone up and invited her directly.
If she refused, that just meant the price had not been negotiated properly.
There was nothing in this world that money could not settle.
And if there was, it only meant you had not offered enough."
There was something Tony did not say aloud.
Could this guy have been traumatized because Yinsen rejected his earlier invitation, only for him to watch me invite Yinsen into Stark Industries afterward?
No, no. With this guy's personality, he wouldn't care about such a trivial thing.
Probably?
Catalina stared intently at Yu Xian without saying a word.
The girl blinked her large eyes rapidly, her gaze constantly moving between Medea and Tony's group.
She signaled to him with her eyes.
The blonde girl's exact meaning was, "Captain, this involves Sister Medea's ability secrets from here on out. Can I say it?"
Yu Xian noticed the girl's look and immediately understood. It was such a small matter. Tony was family, so there was nothing to worry about.
Yu Xian nodded and personally spoke up. "The rest of my plan is..."
Flap! Flap!
A white owl fluttered in through the window and entered everyone's sight.
It was White Phoenix, one of Yu Xian's three chief intelligence officers.
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! (Hello, everyone!)
White Phoenix flew onto the coffee table across from everyone, crossed his feet, folded his wings over his chest, and bowed slightly as he greeted Tony and the others like an elegant gentleman.
Amid Tony and the others' amazed looks, White Phoenix conveyed the reason for his visit to Yu Xian.
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! (Master, the protagonist is in position. She has obtained the most important intelligence.)
"Mm, she had already set out?"
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! (Yes. She should arrive at Master's base in about an hour.)
At that, Yu Xian's eyes lit up. He said apologetically to Tony and the others, "Sorry, everyone. Our protagonist is ready.
It was time for me to build her a stage for her performance. Tony, until next time!
When I come next time, we'll talk properly."
"Fine.
But next time, bring this girl you value so much with you. I want to see for myself who could possibly be so charming that even Yu Xian would go to such lengths to get her."
"Haha, definitely!"
"Medea, Catalina, let's go!"
A flash of light from a magic circle swept through the lounge, and Yu Xian, the two women, and the owl vanished completely before Tony and the others.
Tony looked at the now-empty spot and silently sighed.
"Teleportation circles really are useful!"
An hour later,
outside Y Squad's Waterside Villa,
a battered modified RV slowly came to a stop.
The door opened, and a petite girl jumped out.
She wore a faded black leather jacket, ripped jeans, and heavily worn black combat boots.
The girl vigilantly scanned her surroundings. After confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary,
she pulled a crumpled note from her backpack and checked the address again.
"Waterside Villa?"
"This is where the 'Winter Lord' lives?"
Before you continue