The Prince's Revenge

Arbitrator Tower - Top Floor Conference Room

A holographic projection unfolded on the conference table, with dozens of red dots flashing on a global map, each representing an unusual activity by Dimensional Demon God follower. Chen Tian stood in front of the projection, his hands resting on the edge of the table, his brows furrowed.

"In the past 72 hours, the frequency of believers' activity has decreased by nearly 80%." 2B held a tactical tablet in his hand. "Since the Dongjin incident and the 'Twin Dragons' of Kamar-Taj, they have gone even deeper into hiding."

Tony leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping on the table, the holographic light reflecting on his tired face. "From now on, the operation to eliminate the cultists will be your responsibility, kid. The 'Watcher' platform and the 'F.R.I.D.A.Y.' project have already kept me very busy."

"No problem, but," Chen Tian straightened up, jokingly laughing, "Tony, you need to get some rest. You've been working at a high intensity for almost 72 hours. Yinsen even came to me to complain. I bet he's already asking Pepper to let him go back to Stark Industries."

"We have no choice. JARVIS's computing power is barely enough to keep our system running. After the Watcher Platform goes online, we'll need a dedicated AI to handle it." Tony rubbed his temples. "And F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s underlying architecture still needs optimization, firstly to avoid overload under high-intensity computing, and secondly to avoid the situation you mentioned earlier."

Chen Tian nodded. "Alright, take good care of yourself, after all, health is the foundation of everything."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Ha, well said, was it a great man from the Dragon Country who said that?"

"Yes, a great leader." Chen Tian smiled. "By the way, Tony, if you're really too busy, I can recommend a very capable scientist to you."

"Impressive? Is there anyone more impressive than the genius Tony Stark?" Tony arrogantly raised his chin.

"Yes, yes, you're the best," Chen Tian coaxed Tony like a child. "But she's not bad either, especially with her country's technology, which might be able to upgrade a lot of our equipment."

Tony became interested. "She? Not He? A woman?"

Chen Tian nodded, then swiped his right hand across the holographic projection, which transformed into the continent where the Haji Black ancestors lived. After a few taps, a map of the country was enlarged.

"Black Continent? Wakanda? Isn't that just an agricultural country?" Tony, somewhat surprised.

"That's just what they show to others. Their technological level is very high, emmmm, you could say they're the most technologically advanced country in the world, because one of their specialties is Vibranium," Chen Tian replied.

Tony jumped up from his chair. "Wait, wait... what did you say? Vibranium?" He gestured exaggeratedly. "The kind Captain America uses in his little round shield?"

Chen Tian slowly twirled the holographic projection in his hand, a 3D map of Wakanda rotating gently on the conference table. "To correct you, it's not 'that kind,' but a vein of purer, native Vibranium."

With a flick of his finger, the projection immediately displayed a vein of ore shimmering with purple light deep underground. "According to intelligence, Wakanda has over ten thousand tons of Vibranium reserves buried beneath its surface."

"Ten thousand tons?!" Tony's voice nearly cracked. "Damn it, those cavemen dancing in grass skirts actually possess this kind of treasure?"

He was skeptical. "That doesn't make sense. If there really were that much Vibranium, Wakanda would have already—"

"They were torn to shreds long ago by Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D.., and governments around the world?" Chen Tian continued, "That's why they chose to disguise themselves as agricultural countries."

Tony's expression turned dangerously excited. "JARVIS, immediately retrieve all satellite images of Wakanda and re-analyze them using quantum scanning mode."

"It's already being processed, Sir," came the AI's response from the ceiling. "But there's a problem... our satellites can't capture clear images of Wakanda at all."

Chen Tian and 2B exchanged a glance, and 2B calmly explained, "Wakanda possesses holographic camouflage field technology; the scenes observed from the outside are all projections modified by algorithms."

"How did you know that?" Tony asked, puzzled.

Chen Tian lightly swiped his finger across the holographic projection, and the image switched to a file clearly marked with the name 'Eric Stevens,' next to which was a photo of a cold-looking black man with ambition and indifference in his eyes.

"This Haji Black, with his stylish haircut, was once a member of the Wakanda royal family," Chen Tian said, pointing to the photo. "His father is Prince N'Jobu, the younger brother of the current King T'Chaka."

Tony squinted, scrutinizing the photo. "So? Royal infighting?"

Chen Tian shook his head, "It needs to be even more melodramatic." He pulled up N'Jobu's photo, "N'Jobu was sent to the United States on a spy mission to monitor the international community's threats to Wakanda."

"However, love can be blinding. During his infiltration, N'Jobu fell in love with a woman and fathered Eric Stevens." Chen Tian looked at Tony, spreading his hands. "Because of this, N'Jobu violated Wakanda's policy of prohibiting contact with the outside world, and both father and son were exiled for a long period."

"A generous gift of crabs." Tony exclaimed, his mouth agape in disbelief. "Wait a minute... you mean these guys who own tens of thousands of tons of Vibranium and have decades of world-leading technology actually exiled a prince just because he fell in love with a foreign woman?"

He rolled his eyes. "This is even more old-fashioned than the medieval Catholic Church!"

Chen Tian chuckled, "The most exciting part is yet to come. After witnessing the oppression of Haji Black worldwide, N'Jobu attempts to change the status quo by force. He secretly contacts arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, leaks information about Wakanda's Vibranium, and assists him in stealing 0.25 tons of Vibranium, intending to manufacture weapons to support the oppressed."

As he spoke, he projected a photo of Ulysses grinning and showing off his gold teeth onto the projector.

Tony grew increasingly interested, plopped down on the sofa, and pulled a small blueberry snack from his pocket. "Ha, our Prince N'Jobu is actually a liberation Warrior! That's an interesting story. And then what?"

Chen Tian sat down on the sofa, snatched his blueberry snacks, and said, "The result? The result is that the arms dealers showed no sportsmanship. Klaue detonated a border bomb during the theft of Vibranium, causing casualties among Wakanda's military and civilians, and provoking the royal family's wrath."

As he spoke, he gave Tony a meaningful look.

Tony snatched his snacks back. "Hey! What's with that look? Stark Industries hasn't sold weapons in ages, okay?" He then grabbed a small snack, popped it into his mouth, and handed it to Chen Tian. "I'll let you have one, but... okay, have two."

Chen Tian shrugged, took a small snack, and continued, "The Wakanda royal family's fury naturally led them to find the culprit. Thus, N'Jobu's espionage activities were exposed by Zuri, another Wakanda spy. King T'Chaka personally went to the United States to arrest N'Jobu. During the ensuing struggle, N'Jobu attempted to shoot Zuri but was mistakenly killed by T'Chaka."

Chen Tian chuckled as he finished speaking, "And all of this was witnessed by Stevens. King T'Chaka did not bury his brother's body, only taking Zuri with him, leaving young Eric abandoned in United States."

"The death of N'Jobu became the root of Eric's lifelong hatred. He witnessed his father being abandoned by the royal family and then killed when he was young. So this high-achieving student, who graduated from the Annapolis University at the age of 19 and later earned a master's and doctoral degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined the US military special forces and participated in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was known as 'Killmonger' because of his killings."

Tony slapped his thigh, scattering blueberry snacks all over the floor. "A generous gift of crabs! Isn't this the Black Continent version of Hamlet?" He waved his arms exaggeratedly. "An exiled prince, a murderer of his father, a grand revenge plan—all that's missing is a ghost wandering the castle!"

Chen Tian laughed heartily, "Yes, this is Shakespeare's large-scale stage play, the Haji Black version."

Tony took a deep breath and sat back down. "So, what does this have to do with what we were talking about before?"

Chen Tian then pulled up two more photos, one of a young Black man and woman.

"It's nothing. I was just telling you how I know Wakanda is a high-tech country, but," Chen Tian pointed to the man and woman in the photo, "These two guys are the ones who are relevant to us."

"Prince T'Challa, the current Crown Prince of Wakanda," Chen Tian pointed at the black man, "A PhD in Political Science from Niujing University, fluent in seven languages, and extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Unlike his father, he has an open-minded personality and is very willing to accept new things."

"Princess Shuri, Prince T'Challa's half-sister," Chen Tian winked at Tony, "This is the new helper I've prepared for you."

"Her? She looks like she's only a teenager," Tony said dismissively.

"Tony, don't judge other people's abilities by their age. Take you, for example. You designed circuit boards at age 4, built a V8 motorcycle engine at age 6, and graduated from MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering at age 17 with dual master's degrees in physics and engineering," Chen Tian said helplessly to Tony.

Upon hearing about his illustrious career, Tony pointed at Chen Tian with a smug grin, "Kid, I'm so glad you know so much about my resume. Tonight, Uncle Tony is going to fill your arcade with all your favorite figurines and games."

Chen Tian pursed his lips, giving him a 'I can't do anything with you' look. "Tony, Uncle Tony." He deliberately dragged out the words, then quickly became serious. "Shuri is a genius. She was born in '93 and is now 20 years old, but when she was eleven, she hacked into the Pentagon's core computer and left behind..."

Chen Tian waved his hand, and it transformed into a text message: "Black Panther Girl, I was here."

"Wait, what did you say?" Tony jumped to his feet. "The 'Black Panther Girl' hacker who crippled the Pentagon's network for three days in 2004 is her?"

Chen Tian nodded. "Not only that, she is also the director of the Wakanda Technology Bureau. Half of the civilian technology currently used in Wakanda is her creation, and she has also upgraded the equipment of the Wakanda army."

Tony's expression shifted from shock to excitement. "I want to see this genius! Now! Right now!"

Chen Tian waved his hand, his expression no longer so serious, but rather... profound.

No rush.

"What do you mean by not being in a hurry?" Tony asked, puzzled.

"Because the current ruler of Wakanda is still that stubborn old man, T'Chaka, who never cooperates with outsiders, not even Arbitrators."

Chen Tian shrugged. "That old guy is extremely feudal and stubborn, so even if we cooperate with him, our cooperation could be terminated at any time because he might renege on his promise. So..."

Chen Tian turned his gaze to Eric Stevens. "They need a coup to bring the enlightened T'Challa to power, and Eric's revenge will be the spark."

"Shit!" Tony yelled, "You're doing it again? You said the same thing last time, and S.H.I.E.L.D.. and the United Nations Security Council were gone, and Washington District was almost destroyed! Kid! What are you planning now?!"

Chen Tian waved his hand with a smile, "No, no, this time it's purely about letting them fight their own battles. We'll just step in when the time is right. Although I quite like Eric, his ideas are very extreme. He wants to use Wakanda's technology to dominate the world, which goes against the principles of us Arbitrators."

"Damn it," Tony said, somewhat incredulous at Chen Tian's words, "You better be sure this time is different from last time. Wakanda is a country!"

"I know, I know, I really don't have any designs on Wakanda. I just want to make sure the Arbitrators have enough allies." Chen Tian said helplessly. This time, he really didn't intend to plot anything.

"However, you could try to get in touch with Prince T'Challa, perhaps by creating a chance encounter?"

Tony scratched his head in frustration. "Damn it, you want me to be a political broker? I'm an engineer!" He suddenly paused, looking at Chen Tian suspiciously. "Wait... you don't even know T'Challa's schedule...?"

2B silently activated the holographic projection. In the image, T'Challa was standing in front of the Africa Exhibition the British Museum, with members of the Royal Guard disguised as tourists beside him. The upper right corner of the projection displayed real-time weather information: 'London, cloudy, 6°C'.

"Coincidentally," Chen Tian said with an innocent smile, "Prince T'Challa will be visiting the Imperial College London Quantum Physics Laboratory tomorrow morning at 10 a. m.—the one you donated to build."

Tony's eyes widened. "You even included my charity project in your plans?"

"This is called strategic planning." Chen Tian tapped the table, and a gold-embossed invitation rose from it. "Perfect timing, the academy is awarding you the 'Outstanding Scientist of the Century' medal tomorrow."

Tony stared at his own picture on the invitation. "I turned down this award ten years ago!"

"So this time they were smarter," Chen Tian blinked, "They just set up the awards ceremony stage right at the lab entrance."

With that, he tucked the invitation into Tony's breast pocket, then patted it down. "Go on, Tony. Don't lose your composure as the Arbitrators and socialite."

"Okay, okay," Tony said helplessly, pulling out the invitation and glancing at it. "They printed my picture really ugly. What about yours?"

Chen Tian sighed, "Me? Of course I have to go and eliminate the remnants of the demon god's followers."