Ice Sculptures and Delivery

The sea breeze swept across the beach, and the row of ice sculptures frozen in various infiltration poses gleamed with an eerie light beneath the sun.

Natasha's agent team carefully loaded the frozen Hydra soldiers into specially made transport crates, as though handling dangerous works of art.

"Easy, easy!" Tony stood by the hole in the studio wall, directing them. "That gun-holding pose is very expressive. It deserves to be preserved!"

Natasha rolled her eyes at him. "Stark, this isn't your new sculpture collection." She turned to her subordinates. "Take them all back to headquarters. Fury wants to interrogate them personally."

One agent wiped away his sweat as he reported, "Ma'am, the freezing is too perfect. We need specialized tools to move them without damaging them."

Tony grinned smugly. "See? Even wrecking things can be this artistic." He called upstairs, "Hey, Sun's Son! Next time you freeze enemies, could you think about the poses? Maybe put them in ballet positions?"

A lazy response drifted down from upstairs. "Pay more."

Tony choked. "You really know how to do business!"

Natasha's communicator rang. After listening, her expression turned grave. "Stark, Fury says Hydra's attacks have become unusually frequent. They might be testing something."

Tony walked over to the workbench and pulled up the data. "Three waves today already: a missile barrage, a nuclear warhead, and bunker busters with special forces. It does look like they're testing reactions." Then something occurred to him. "JARVIS, analyze every attack pattern."

"Analysis indicates the attacks are testing multiple response methods: long-range strikes, high-yield explosions, lead-shielded assaults, and human-wave tactics."

Tony frowned. "So they aren't testing whether they can kill him. They're gathering data?"

A voice floated down from upstairs. "Let them test. Boring."

Natasha said worriedly, "If Hydra figures out the limits of his abilities..."

"Limits?" Tony laughed. "I doubt that guy even knows where his own limits are."

Just then, a delivery truck bearing the Stark Industries logo pulled up outside the villa. The driver got out, looked at the busy scene on the beach and the huge hole in the wall, then hesitantly asked, "Is this Mr. Tony Stark's residence? I have a delivery."

Tony's eyes lit up. "Ah! My new equipment is here!" He quickly headed outside. "Just leave it by the door. Thanks."

Watching the agents carry ice sculptures into their vehicles, the driver cautiously asked, "Are you filming a movie?"

Tony signed the receipt. "Yeah, a sci-fi horror movie. I'm the producer." He caught sight of the label on a crate. "Wait, this isn't equipment. This is... ice cream?"

Xiao Han had appeared at the doorway at some point and was opening one of the crates. "It's finally here." He took out a tub of chocolate-flavored ice cream and looked at the driver. "Delivery was too slow. One-star review."

The driver stared in stunned silence as the casually dressed man crushed the sturdy packing crate with one hand as easily as tearing a tissue.

Tony hurriedly pushed the driver back into his truck. "Thanks, you can go now. Remember to give us a five-star rating!"

After the truck drove away, Tony turned to Xiao Han. "Do you know how much that ice cream cost me? It was handmade in Switzerland and air-shipped here!"

Xiao Han had already opened the tub. "Mediocre. Not enough sugar."

Natasha watched the scene helplessly. "Gentlemen, we're discussing a global security crisis..."

"You still need ice cream during a crisis." Xiao Han scooped out a large spoonful. "Want some? Though it tastes mediocre."

Suddenly, JARVIS issued an alert. "High-altitude flying object detected. Extreme velocity, unable to identify... wait, the signal has disappeared."

Everyone tensed up, except Xiao Han, who kept eating his ice cream.

"Where is it?" Tony activated his armor's scanning system.

"It's right..." JARVIS paused. "...on the roof."

Xiao Han sighed and set down his ice cream. "Deliveries go on the roof now? What's wrong with them?" He vanished in an instant, then appeared on the roof.

Tony and Natasha hurried outside and looked up to see Xiao Han standing on the roof with a small metal container in his hand.

"What is that?" Tony shouted.

Xiao Han jumped down and landed lightly, then tossed the container to Tony. "For you. No explosives. Just some electronic parts."

Natasha immediately pulled out a scanner. "Careful! It could be a trap!"

Tony cautiously opened the container. Inside was an intricate electronic device emitting regular beeping sounds.

"What is it?" Natasha asked.

Tony examined it closely, and his face changed. "It's a recording device. It's recording every energy fluctuation and physical parameter." He looked at Xiao Han. "Hydra isn't attacking. They're collecting data on your abilities!"

Xiao Han picked up his tub of ice cream. "So?"

"They know conventional weapons are useless, so they switched to this covert method!" Tony said excitedly. "All those attacks were decoys. Their real purpose was to get this recorder close to you!"

Xiao Han finished the last bite of ice cream and accurately tossed the empty tub into a distant trash can. "Oh." He seemed completely unconcerned.

Natasha said seriously, "That means Hydra is preparing some kind of specific weapon."

Tony suddenly thought of something. "JARVIS, scan the entire area's electromagnetic spectrum immediately. Search for any unusual transmissions!"

"Scanning... A weak signal has been detected from the recording device. It is transmitting data in real time."

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow. "Real-time transmission?" His eyes glowed faintly red, and Heat Vision instantly melted the recorder. The signal cut off at once.

"Too late," Tony said dejectedly. "They may have already collected enough data."

But Xiao Han smiled. "Let them collect it."

Natasha and Tony both looked at him.

"You think," Xiao Han said slowly, "that what I showed just now was everything?"

He walked toward the living room, paused at the door, and looked back. "Those little tricks didn't even count as a warm-up." A flicker of genuine interest flashed through his eyes. "I'd like to see what interesting things they can prepare."

After Xiao Han went inside, Tony and Natasha exchanged looks.

"He's looking forward to it?" Natasha asked in disbelief.

Tony suddenly burst out laughing. "I finally know why Hydra is the victim here!" He patted Natasha on the shoulder. "Relax. Looks like we're in for a good show."

Natasha looked toward the living room and softly said, "I hope he knows what he's doing."

A voice drifted down from upstairs. "I always do."

Tony winked at Natasha. "Super hearing. Forgot to mention that."

At that moment, the renovation crew's truck finally arrived. The foreman got out and saw the ice sculpture transport on the beach, the huge hole in the wall, and the heavily armed agents. He hesitantly asked, "Is this Tony Stark's house? We're here to repair... the glass wall?"

Tony spread his arms. "Welcome to the circus! The glass wall is over there. Also, if you see any suspicious recording devices, remember to stomp on them."

The foreman nodded blankly and led his team to work.

Xiao Han's voice came from the living room. "The renovations are too loud. I'm going to sunbathe by the sea for a while."

Tony called out, "Watch out for more attacks!"

A reply came from the distance. "I'd welcome them."

Natasha watched Xiao Han's relaxed figure walk toward the beach and sighed. "I need to report this to Fury. Hydra may have provoked the one person they should never have provoked."

Tony had already returned to the workbench. "Help me pass a message to One-Eyed Dragon."

"What?"

"Send more ice cream," Tony said, his eyes gleaming as he studied the data that had just been recorded. "Looks like things are about to get exciting."