At the edge of the Multiverse, a Dark Star-Vortex Dimension silently rotates.
Richard appeared out of dimension with a 'whoosh'.
He formed a hand seal and softly shouted, "Withdraw!"
The vast stellar vortex dimension suddenly paused, then shrank at an incredibly rapid pace.
Not long after, Richard raised his hand and summoned the Star Vortex dimension, which had shrunk to the size of a marble, into his palm.
"It's a success!"
Looking at the obsidian marble lying in his palm, resembling a speckled gold, Richard had an idea. He conjured a thin red string and threaded it through the marble.
He casually hung the new 'necklace' around his neck, glanced around briefly, then tore open a portal and left.
Three months later.
California, Seaside Villa.
'Squeak!'
A screeching sound rang out as Tony opened the car door and got out.
He walked to the back seat, bent down, took out a bouquet of flowers, and walked into the house with a smile.
In the living room, Wanda sat on the sofa, with a laptop on the coffee table.
She stared intently at the computer screen, her brow slightly furrowed, occasionally typing out a few words as if she were chatting with someone.
Just then, Tony pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Wanda, he perked up and called out, "Hey, Wanda, look what I brought you!"
Wanda was startled by the sound. She hurriedly looked up and, after recognizing Tony, quickly closed her laptop.
"Uncle Tony, what brings you back at this hour?!"
Tony glanced at the closed laptop and said casually, "It's the weekend, I'm resting."
Wanda said doubtfully, "But Aunt Pepper said yesterday that you would be busy with experiments today..."
Tony shrugged. "I should be more careful."
As he spoke, he walked to the sofa, bent down, and handed the flowers to Wanda.
Wanda accepted the flowers, gently inhaled their fragrant aroma, and smiled brightly.
"It smells so good, Tony Uncle Tony."
Tony sat down next to Wanda, crossed his legs, and asked, "Where's Pietro? I haven't seen him."
Wanda wrinkled her nose slightly and said unhappily, " Pietro is playing video games in his room. I called him for breakfast this morning, but he didn't come out."
"Uncle Tony, you should teach him a lesson!"
"Lately, Pietro has been playing games a bit too much!"
Tony frowned. "He didn't even eat breakfast? He must have stayed up all night last night."
"It seems I need to have a serious talk with Pietro."
After saying that, he got up and went upstairs.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Tony suddenly turned around and asked, "By the way, what do you want for lunch? How about Chinese Cuisine?"
'Smack!'
Wanda slammed her laptop shut again, grabbed the bouquet of flowers lying to the side, and said with a forced smile, "No problem, I like Chinese Cuisine, especially Sweet and Sour Pork..."
Tony nodded and smiled, "Wow, it seems I need to tell the chef to make an extra serving right away."
After saying that, he turned and went upstairs.
Wanda craned her neck, staring intently at the stairs, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Tony's footsteps growing fainter and fainter.
"Phew~~~"
She tossed the flowers in her arms aside, turned on her computer again, and her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out a line of letters.
"Aaaaaah! You scared me to death!"
"Uncle Tony almost... just a hair's breadth away from spotting me!"
A secret chat group.
Poor Little Wanda ~
I feel sorry for you.
+1
"To be honest, isn't your Uncle Tony being a bit too nosy?!"
"Sisters, not everyone can accept that their daughter is in love with a married man..."
"So what if he's married? I'm not going to marry him!"
"Those two words above are incorrect. As far as I know, Lord Richard is not yet married."
"That's right! As long as Richard doesn't get married, we all have a chance!"
Does anyone have the latest news and photos of Richard?
"I have it, Yvette! Hehehe, this is a private photo of Lord Richard that I obtained by bribing Lord Xiao Bai!"
"Please send this!"
"Please send +1!"
"Please send +2!"
At the corner on the second floor, Tony listened to the faint sound of keyboard typing coming from downstairs and sighed with a worried expression.
" Jarvis, help me think of something! Wanda is still deliberately avoiding me!"
Jarvis: "Sir, perhaps you should have a good talk with Miss Wanda?"
Tony, his face tense, said, "Talk? Talk about what?! Talk about how to help her actively pursue... His Majesty?!"
Jarvis: "... Sir, I must remind you that although Miss Wanda's body is currently eighteen years old, her actual age is only thirteen."
"Furthermore, data analysis concludes that Miss Wanda's feelings for Richard are 80% admiration and adoration, and less than 10% love."
Tony said with a dark face, "Even one percent, I won't agree! Humph!!!"
After saying that, he stormed off angrily toward Pietro's room.
Jarvis added timidly, "Sir, according to the data analysis, Richard has not fallen in love with Miss Wanda."
Tony roared, "You saying that makes me even angrier!"
"My Wanda is so cute, why doesn't that bastard Richard like her?!"
Jarvis: "... Sir, Richard likes Miss Wanda very much, but this liking is not mixed with love."
"..."
" Jarvis ~~"
"How are things going between you and Victoria lately?"
Jarvis: "Not bad... not bad, sir."
"Yesterday, High Priestess Strucker said that he has a lot more to deal with lately and hopes that I can create an artificial intelligence specifically for the Order Order help manage the affairs of the various departments."
"If you don't want Victoria to be sent to the Order, you'd better come up with a safe way to resolve the issues between Wanda and me as soon as possible..."
Jarvis: "Sir...?!"
"I'm not joking, Jarvis ~~~"
Jarvis: "... I, I'll try, sir."
"Very good, I'll leave this matter to you."
At this moment, Tony had already arrived outside Pietro's room.
He approached the door and listened intently; the faint sounds of intense gunfire could be heard coming from inside.
" Newman! Watch the three o'clock position on the right!"
"Cover me! Pietro, cover me!"
"Fuck! I got headshot! The other guy's aim was too good!"
"Brothers, those bastards on the other side definitely fired! I was hiding behind cover and didn't even peek out, and their Barrett still managed to headshot me!"
"Fuck! Report these cheaters!"
Tony took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Bang bang bang!"
Pietro's impatient voice rang out. " Wanda, I've said it three times already, I'm not eating, I'm not eating, I'm not eating!"
Tony: "It's me, Pietro. Open the door."
"Uncle Tony?!" Pietro was clearly startled. He said urgently, "Hey guys, I have to get out of here!"
Then, a series of hurried footsteps sounded, and the door was suddenly pulled open.
Pietro, sporting a messy, unkempt hairstyle, appeared before Tony.
"Hi, Uncle Tony, good morning... uh, good morning."
Tony glanced at him; he looked alright, but the smudged eye discharge told him that Pietro hadn't slept all night and hadn't even washed up in the morning.
" Pietro, I think we need to have a serious talk."
Pietro was a little confused. He scratched his messy hair and asked doubtfully, "Talk, what are we talking about?"
Tony grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into the room.
Regarding "going to bed early and waking up early, being addicted to games, and respecting family members, etc..."
'Bang!'
The door was closed.
A moment later, Pietro's incredulous scream echoed through the room.
"Oh my god! Uncle Tony, what kind of game is this?!"
"Holographic virtual game"
"Full... holographic virtual reality?! Uncle Tony, I want to play! I really want to play!"
"So, I'm inspired to go to bed early and wake up early..."
"I promise I'll go to bed at 10 p. m. every night!"
"That addiction to games..."
"I promise I'll only play for one... two hours a day!"
"What about respecting family members?"
"I'll go downstairs and apologize to my sister right away!"
"Very well, Pietro, remember your promise."
'Bang!' The door opened.
Pietro rushed out of the room and ran quickly towards the stairs.
'Ta-da~'
The footsteps descending the stairs were hurried and numerous.
Soon, his apology came.
"I'm sorry, little sister, I shouldn't have yelled at you this morning! I apologize for my rudeness!"
" Pietro?! Are you alright?! Are you running a fever?!"
"I don't have a fever, Wanda. I'm apologizing!"
"... That's strange, you've actually learned to apologize."
So, can you forgive me?
"Alright, alright, since you're so sincere, call me 'sister,' and I'll forgive you."
" Wanda Maximoff, don't go too far!"
"Huh?! Say that again if you dare..."
"I... I'm sorry, sister! Sister!"
"Oh, my dear little brother, Wanda forgives you."
"You... you're despicable!"
'Ta-da~'
Furious, Pietro ran back to his room and slammed the door shut.
"Uncle Tony, I've apologized, and Wanda has accepted it."
Tony chuckled, patted Pietro on the shoulder, and handed him the holographic virtual reality glasses.
"Good job, kid. Remember, two hours every day."
"Yes!" Pietro excitedly took the glasses and couldn't wait to put them on his head.
"Holy crap! This is so realistic! Uncle Tony, you're a god to Player all over the world!"
"This time I'm choosing the assassin! Watch me strike with deadly precision and vanish in an instant! Hahahaha~"
Tony looked at Pietro, who was completely absorbed in the game, shook his head with a wry smile, and turned to leave.
Before leaving, she thoughtfully closed the door for him.
Jarvis: "Sir, based on my deduction, it's highly unlikely that Master Pietro will keep his promise to play for only two hours."
Tony chuckled smugly, "I know, that's why the holographic glasses will automatically shut down after two hours."
Jarvis:...
Just then, the cell phone rang.
Tony took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and answered.
"Hey, Rhodes, what do you want?"
Rhodes asked urgently, " Tony, where are you now?"
Tony raised an eyebrow, then switched to holding the phone in his right hand while drawing in the air with his left.
" Stark Industries headquarters."
"Your voice sounds a bit impatient, buddy."
A crimson Portal opened, and Tony stepped inside.
'Sizzle~'
The static was fleeting, Rhodes said urgently from the other end of the phone, "I'm coming to find you right away."
After saying that, the call ended.
Tony casually placed his phone on the lab bar, picked up a bottle of Whiskey, and poured himself a glass.
He had just picked up his glass and taken a sip when he quickly put it down again.
" Jarvis, notify Jincheng to reserve a table for Chinese Cuisine."
Jarvis: "Yes, sir."
Tony seemed to remember something and quickly added, "Oh, right, tell them to make an extra serving of Sweet and Sour Pork."
Jarvis: "Yes, sir."
Tony then picked up his glass again and took a sip.
At that moment, a crimson Portal opened.
Rhodes, dressed in the uniform of US Air Force colonel, walked out.
Upon seeing Tony, he immediately exclaimed urgently, " Tony! We're in trouble!"
Tony raised an eyebrow, took another sip of his drink, and asked, "What trouble?"
Rhodes strode to the bar, picked up the bottle of Whiskey, poured himself a glass, and downed it in one gulp.
He put down his glass, took a deep breath, and said, "At 9:35 a. m., President Ellis was attacked by an unknown assailant in his White House office."
Tony, seated in his high chair, asked calmly, "What does the president's attack have to do with us?"
Rhodes turned to look at him, his expression turning grave. "Because I found this at the scene of the attack!"
He stretched out his right hand, and a blush slowly rose to his palm.
Tony jumped off the bar stool and walked over to Rhodes.
"Crimson... Mana?!"
Rhodes nodded. "Yes!"
Tony frowned and asked, "Was it the Order that made this?!"
Rhodes shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I don't know, but since this was left at the scene, there must have been members of the Order among the attackers."
Tony picked up the phone on the bar and dialed Strucker's number.
"Sir, has the Order recently devised a mission to assassinate the United States president?"
"An attack on the United States president?" Strucker asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Rhodes told me that the United States president was attacked in his White House office this morning, and he later found residual Crimson Mana at the scene."
Strucker asked, "Is Matthew Ellis dead?"
Tony turned to look at Rhodes.
Rhodes immediately replied, " High Priestess, President Ellis is not dead, but he is seriously injured."
"The attack on Matthew Ellis has nothing to do with the Order," Strucker said directly. " The Master instructed that now is not the time for the Order to officially emerge, and the Order will not formulate any assassination or attack missions targeting high-ranking political figures of major world powers."
Tony frowned and said, "So, the attack was orchestrated by someone within the Order?"
Rhodes said in a deep voice, "Regardless of whether it's a private matter, we must find this person as soon as possible."
" High Priestess, there's an extraordinary being among President Ellis's staff; she may very well have also detected the residual Crimson Mana at the scene."
Strucker immediately replied, "I will have someone find out who the participant is."
" Rhodes, go find that extraordinary person in the staff and warn her and the forces behind her to keep their mouths shut and not to leak any information about the Red Order."
Rhodes quickly replied, "Yes, High Priestess!"
He got up and walked towards the Portal, but before leaving, he suddenly turned back to Tony and said, " Tony, the news of your creation of the Iron Armor has been leaked. The military high command will be sending people over soon, so you need to prepare countermeasures in advance."
Tony watched as the Portal automatically disappeared after Rhodes left, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
President attacked...
Iron Armor Information Leaked...
Could these two things be connected in some way?!