Two hours later.
Tony slowly woke up to find himself trapped in a layer of white, solid substance.
With a forceful pull of his arms, the bath wax that had solidified around his body shattered instantly.
Just then, a mocking voice rang in his ear.
"Dear Miss Tony, the surgery was a success! Congratulations on being a girl now!"
"?!?!" Tony's eyes widened in shock. He immediately sat up in the bathtub and quickly reached his hands underwater.
"Phew~" Tony breathed a sigh of relief after touching the familiar lump.
He turned around and glared at Richard, who was squatting by the bathtub. " Richard little brat! What did you do..."
Tony's expression changed drastically as he saw the Arc Reactor being tossed around in Richard's hands.
He hurriedly touched his chest, only to be shocked to find that the spot where the Arc Reactor had been installed was now completely smooth.
Tony quickly looked down at his chest.
"It's gone..."
He touched it again and again in disbelief, until the newly formed skin on the wound turned bright red.
"Stop rubbing! You're rubbing your skin off!" Richard said, both amused and exasperated.
He first placed the Arc Reactor by the pool, then tossed the towel from his shoulder over to it.
"Quickly wipe it clean and come up!"
After saying that, he got up and walked out of the medical room.
Tony reached out and took the towel, then stood up from the bathtub.
He hastily wiped away the remaining bath wax and water stains from his upper body, picked up the Arc Reactor from the side of the bathtub, and stepped out of the tub.
" Richard, wait for me!"
Tony wrapped himself in a towel and hurriedly chased after him.
Top floor office.
Tony sat opposite Richard, touched his Men's Nano Combat Suit, and looked around the office.
" Richard, is this Flying Fortress yours?"
Richard leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and nodded smugly, saying, "I guess so~"
Tony's face lit up with envy, and he said with eager anticipation, "Do you have the blueprints? Sell me a copy!"
Richard crossed his fingers over his chest and said nonchalantly, "No problem, but the price needs to be discussed with my Commander Hill."
"Leave the negotiations to Pepper," Tony shrugged. "She'll contact you."
Speaking of Pepper, Tony suddenly remembered that he had been brought here by Richard without informing her.
So he said urgently, " Pepper..."
"I've already notified her," Richard replied.
"That's good..." Tony's tense mood immediately relaxed.
He straightened his back and looked at Richard behind his desk. "Besides Vasily Carl, who else?"
Richard sat up, stared into Tony's eyes, and asked seriously, " Tony, are you sure you won't let Wrath control your brain again?"
"I'm sure!" Tony answered solemnly.
"OK!" Richard opened a drawer, took out a document, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.
"The answer you're looking for..."
Tony picked up the document and opened it...
Alexander Pierce, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.., secretary-general of the World Security Council, and secret leader of HYDRA...
Upon seeing the words "Director of S.H.I.E.L.D..", he couldn't help but frown. " Director of S.H.I.E.L.D..?! Are you sure you haven't made a mistake, Richard?"
" Alexander Pierce ..." Richard chuckled, "He's a legendary figure who climbed his way up from a lowly undercover agent to the head of a rival organization!"
"Fuck!" Tony exclaimed in shock, "This world is insane!"
Richard tapped the table, reminding him, " Tony, never underestimate Alexander Pierce. He was one of the teenage recruits who joined S.H.I.E.L.D.. in its early days!"
"The person who recruited him might be your father..."
Tony continued reading the contents of the document:
Project Paperclip... recruiting former Nazi scientists to serve the United States...
"Hmph..." He couldn't help but chuckle, "As arrogant as ever, Howard Stark..."
He continued reading the documents:
Recruit and promote Nick Fury...
Tony looked puzzled and said, "So... that Nick Fury was actually recruited and trained by him personally?!"
Richard shrugged and said, "As it turns out, Alexander Pierce had a very good eye!"
Tony frowned. "But I remember you saying that Nick Fury wasn't HYDRA..."
"There's nothing strange about it..." Richard said with a smile, " Alexander Pierce considered himself a true member of S.H.I.E.L.D.., which is why he was able to climb up to the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.."
Do you remember John Garrett?
Tony thought for a moment and said, "Is it... that HYDRA, nicknamed ' Clairvoyant '?"
"Yes!" Richard nodded. "His situation is very similar to Alexander Pierce's; both were members of HYDRA, but that didn't stop him from risking his life for S.H.I.E.L.D. ..."
" Tony, there's a memorial wall at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Academy, revered as the 'Wall of Valor'..."
"Engraved on it are the names of all the agents, scientists, and staff who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of S.H.I.E.L.D.. S.H.I.E.L.D. its inception!"
"Guess how many of those names belong to HYDRA members...?"
Tony's expression became somewhat complicated. "I don't know..."
"I don't know either..." Richard said, shrugging.
Tony nodded silently; the hatred and resentment he had felt towards HYDRA due to his parents' death had vanished...
He continued reading the documents:
Anim Zola, a S.H.I.E.L.D.. consultant, former Nazi scientist, HYDRA member, exists as an AI on S.H.I.E.L.D..'s secret servers...
Upon seeing this, Tony couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, revealing a surprised expression. "This Anim Zola..."
"Arnim Zola was a typical mad scientist... I even think his talent was no less than that of Mr. Howard Stark!" Richard exclaimed. "During World War II, he used the Cosmic Cube to design and create energy weapons..."
"If he had been loyal to that failed art student instead of the Red Skull, the outcome of World War II might have been completely different..."
" The Cosmic Cube research data he left behind S.H.I.E.L.D.. still hasn't fully grasped..."
"In addition, his improvements to the Super Soldier Serum and the development of biomechanical fusion technology have created the Winter Soldier, whose strength is no less than Captain America's..."
"Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer in 1972. Before he died, he frantically uploaded his consciousness into a giant computer, continuing to live as an AI..."
"Even so, he still created a Zola Algorithm..."
" Zola Algorithm?" Tony frowned slightly; he had never heard of such an algorithm before.
Richard nodded and said, " The Zola Algorithm uses the logical premise that 'a person's fate is determined by their history.' It calculates the probability of a person becoming a 'threat' in the future by analyzing a person's big data, such as government files, financial transactions, social media, medical records, and educational background..."