Testing and the Price

The renovation crew's drills buzzed along the shoreline as the workers repaired the dismantled glass wall. Xiao Han lounged on a beach chair wearing sunglasses, utterly unconcerned by the noise around him.

Natasha stood some distance away, speaking with Fury over an encrypted channel. "Yes, he doesn't care at all that data is being collected... He even seems to be looking forward to Hydra's next move."

Suddenly, more than a dozen metal buoys rose from the sea and fired some kind of high-frequency pulse into the sky. All electronic devices instantly failed, the renovation crew's drills abruptly stopped, and even JARVIS's voice cut out for a second.

"Electromagnetic pulse attack!" Tony's armor blared a piercing alarm. "They're crippling our systems!"

Xiao Han did not even rise from his beach chair. He merely blew out a soft breath. The freezing exhalation swept across the sea, instantly freezing every buoy before they silently sank to the ocean floor.

The pulse stopped.

"Fixed." Xiao Han yawned and continued sunbathing.

The renovation crew exchanged glances before their drills started up again.

Before Natasha could react, another accident occurred. A renovation truck suddenly went out of control and charged toward the shoreline. The driver screamed in terror inside the cab; the brakes had clearly failed.

Tony was about to activate his armor to intercept it when he saw Xiao Han merely raise a finger.

The truck stopped instantly, as though it had struck an invisible wall. Its front end dented slightly, and the driver turned pale with fright.

Xiao Han walked over to the truck and casually pushed it back into place with one hand. "Fix the brakes," he told the stunned foreman in an unquestionable tone.

The foreman nodded repeatedly and hurriedly led his people over to inspect the vehicle.

"An accident or an attack?" Natasha asked warily.

Xiao Han glanced at the truck. "An accident."

Just then, more than a dozen small drones appeared in the sky and scattered some kind of metal powder. The powder glimmered strangely in the sunlight, covering the entire area.

"Vibranium Nanoparticles!" Tony cried after analyzing the composition. "They're trying to use Vibranium to suppress your abilities!"

Xiao Han finally rose from his beach chair, a trace of impatience flashing through his eyes. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

This time, it was not freezing breath, but a precisely controlled whirlwind. Every Vibranium particle was swept up, separated, and compressed into a small metal sphere that dropped into his palm with a thud.

"Purity's too low," he assessed, casually tossing the metal sphere to Tony. "Keep it for fun."

Tony clumsily caught the sphere. "This is Vibranium worth hundreds of millions..."

Before he could finish, a gigantic mechanical device suddenly rose from the sea, its six metal arms firing energy waves at different frequencies simultaneously.

"Multiple energy attacks being tested at once!" Tony shouted. "They're looking for your weakness!"

Xiao Han finally frowned. "So annoying."

He did not even look at the device. He simply picked up a pebble and flicked it lightly.

The pebble shot out at a speed beyond the third cosmic velocity, piercing the device's core with perfect precision. The giant machine instantly went silent and slowly sank to the ocean floor.

Throughout the entire process, Xiao Han never took off his sunglasses.

Natasha's communicator rang. It was Fury. "Romanoff, we've tracked the signal source! It's on a disguised research vessel twenty nautical miles away!"

Hearing that, Xiao Han's lips curved slightly. "Found them at last."

The next second, he shot into the sky. The sonic boom sent the beach umbrellas tumbling in every direction. A deep trench was carved across the sea's surface, stretching into the distance.

Tony and Natasha stared dumbfoundedly in the direction where he had vanished.

"JARVIS, track his trajectory!"

"His speed is too great to track... Wait, detecting explosive energy activity in the open sea."

Less than a minute later, Xiao Han had returned, carrying an unconscious researcher in one hand and casually tossing him onto the beach.

"The mastermind," he said simply, lying back down on his beach chair. "The rest sank to the bottom."

Natasha hurriedly examined the researcher. "This is... Doctor List? Hydra's chief scientist!"

Tony looked at the calm sea. "What about the whole ship?"

"Took it apart." Xiao Han adjusted his sunglasses. "It was an eyesore."

Suddenly, the researcher woke up and looked around in terror. "Impossible! Our shielding device should have..."

Xiao Han did not even look at him. "Lead layers with a Vibranium coating? A little creative." With a light wave of his hand, all the researcher's equipment instantly turned to powder. "Still garbage, though."

The researcher's face went ashen. "You can't be this strong... All the data showed..."

"Showed what?" Xiao Han finally turned toward him, a flash of red light gleaming beneath his sunglasses. "How willing I was to play along with you?"

Tony crouched beside the researcher. "What exactly are you planning?"

The researcher suddenly revealed a crazed smile. "He's testing us, and we're testing him! Soon, you'll see..."

Before he could finish, it was as though an invisible hand had seized his throat. He could no longer make a sound.

Xiao Han said, "Natasha, call your people to take him away."

Natasha immediately called for backup, then asked cautiously, "Mr. Xiao, what did you mean when you said you were 'willing to play along'?"

Xiao Han's lips curled slightly. "Isn't it fun to make them think they have a chance?"

Tony suddenly understood. "So you've been holding back this whole time?!"

"I just wasn't serious." Xiao Han adjusted the angle of his beach chair. "It'd be too boring to kill them all at once."

At that moment, Fury's holographic image suddenly appeared, his expression extremely grim. "Stark, we just detected a ship disappearing in the Pacific Ocean. The United Nations has already sent an inquiry..."

Tony pointed at the speechless researcher on the beach. "A Hydra research vessel was testing ways to kill Sun's Son. Do I need to explain further?"

Fury fell silent for a moment, then turned to Xiao Han. "Mr. Xiao, in this situation..."

"Send people to monitor me again," Xiao Han interrupted him, "and next time, it'll be your aircraft carrier sinking."

Fury's expression froze. "We're only making sure..."

"Making sure I don't lose control?" Xiao Han chuckled. "One-Eyed Dragon, want to see who loses control first?"

The communication suddenly cut off. Fury's side had clearly terminated the connection.

Natasha asked carefully, "You wouldn't really..."

"Depends on my mood." Xiao Han closed his eyes. "I'm sunbathing now. If anyone disturbs me again..."

He did not finish, but all the sand on the beach suddenly turned into glistening glass-like crystals.

The renovation crew and agents immediately fell silent.

Tony gestured for everyone to be quiet and said softly, "We're getting off early today. You'll still be paid."

Everyone quickly and quietly withdrew from the beach.

Only after everyone had left did Tony ask quietly, "So you knew Hydra's plan all along?"

Xiao Han replied lazily, "Their heartbeats were too loud. It was impossible not to know."

"Then why did you still play along with them?"

"Bored." Xiao Han adjusted his sunglasses. "And I wanted to see what new toys they could come up with."

Tony thought for a while, then suddenly smiled. "You know, I'm starting to sympathize with Hydra."

Far out at sea, a fragment of the ship's hull slowly floated to the surface, then quietly sank again.

Xiao Han's lips curved slightly. "The real show is only beginning."