Upgraded, Then Met Kingpin

Not long after Lu Qi uploaded the photo, Coulson gave it a like.

"Can I ask what your working hours are? That way, I'll know whether you're slacking off."

After sending Coulson a message, Lu Qi didn't care how Coulson might reply and used his three daily ad boosts.

Looking at his remaining energy, Lu Qi bought Ninja Soldiers until he had 250. He could strengthen his physical attributes again now, but it required 5,000 Energy Crystals.

With his Energy Crystals currently increasing by 35 per minute, plus what he had left over, he would need to wait around two hours. So he decided to play some games.

He summoned a ninja to carry him, enjoying the game.

Although most of it looked like an old black-and-white television show, and he even dragged the ninja down to two losses, Lu Qi still had a great time. After all, he could now reliably get half a kill more per match than before!

A full half of his records were crushing a single opponent!

Once he had enough energy, Lu Qi lay down on the bed. After finding his most comfortable position, he tapped the upgrade button.

It was the same sensation as before, instantly draining all strength from his body.

After a while, the enhancement was complete. Lu Qi sat up and looked around the room.

Walking over to the coffee table, he easily lifted its marble tabletop with both hands.

"Strength... is this what four times the strength feels like? It feels like power is surging through me!" Lu Qi looked delightedly at the raised marble slab, then his expression froze.

Because he couldn't put it back down...

He summoned two ninjas to set the marble tabletop back in place, then headed outside, planning to find somewhere to test the Shadow Army.

When he entered the elevator, Lu Qi saw it packed with burly men in suits. Looking carefully, he spotted Tony surrounded in the middle.

Seeing Tony trapped between men on both sides, with more men piled on top, Lu Qi couldn't help asking, "Aren't you guys hot?"

Tony's face fell. He had been discussing tomorrow's arrangements with Pepper in his room and had wanted to head out for some fun, but the bodyguards Obadiah arranged stubbornly insisted on following him.

He had finally squeezed into the elevator, only to run into that weirdo from before after going down one floor. It had not been too awkward at first, but after hearing, "Aren't you guys hot?" Tony's expression changed completely.

"Do I need to teach you not to block the doorway and stop people from passing?" Tony said irritably.

The bodyguards exchanged looks, but none of them moved.

"I never expected Stark Industries to have employees like this. If some kid who loves taking pictures caught this and spread it around, who knows how much Stark Industries would lose!"

Tony emphasized the word "Stark," making it clear to the security guards who the real boss was.

Only then did the bodyguards make way for Lu Qi.

"Looks like Mr. Tony Stark hasn't been having a very comfortable time lately," Lu Qi teased.

"My life is usually very comfortable, except when I run into some kid who loves taking pictures," Tony shot back immediately.

"Then I'm really lucky. Mr. Tony Stark gets unhappy whenever he sees me. If Mr. Hammer finds out, he might hire me to wander around beside you every day." Lu Qi shrugged. "Are you heading out to have some fun?"

"Do you think I'm going out to take landscape photos?" Tony replied grumpily.

Lu Qi looked at the camera hanging from his chest. Did this gentleman have an excessive prejudice against people carrying cameras?

The two traded barbs as the elevator quickly arrived at the first floor.

Lu Qi walked out first, while Tony glared resentfully at the bodyguards around him.

Those guys had stopped him earlier and insisted on letting Lu Qi leave first. Looking at their name tags, Tony decided he would fire them as soon as he got back.

After testing the Shadow Army's improvements somewhere deserted, Lu Qi returned to the hotel with satisfaction. Now, more than half of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records on his abilities could be overturned.

He was a little disappointed that he did not run into Tony this time, but the awards ceremony was tomorrow. Lu Qi considered taking a photo of Rhodey's one-sided devotion first thing tomorrow, then returned to his room, watched the ads, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Lu Qi was awakened by the sound of fireworks. When he checked the time, it was somehow already ten o'clock.

Surprised that he had slept so late, Lu Qi yawned and checked the mine from last night. It had yielded more than three thousand points, and this Dark Dimension had been mined dry.

He replaced it with a brand-new Dark Dimension containing more than thirty thousand energy. Lu Qi nodded in satisfaction. Fortunately, this was not an occupied dimension either.

However, the locations The Ancient One had given him were all tiny Dark Dimensions that generally had no occupants. Their Dark Energy Crystals usually ranged from ten thousand to one hundred thousand. There were still plenty for now, but later he might need to go through one, or even several, Dark Dimensions a day.

The price of Ninja Soldiers had also risen from 10 points each to 35 points each.

After directly buying fifty Ninja Soldiers, Lu Qi's energy reserve dropped back to around one thousand points.

After lamenting that he never had enough energy points, Lu Qi got up, washed up, and went out with his camera.

The awards ceremony had not begun yet. A red carpet had been rolled out, and some celebrities were walking it for attention.

Lu Qi casually picked a few attractive ones and snapped a couple of photos, when someone behind him called out, "Kid!"

Recognizing the familiar tone, Lu Qi turned around and saw Tony, dressed to the nines.

"You're dressed so neatly today. Are you going to the awards ceremony?"

"I hadn't even said anything, yet you already knew I was receiving an award?"

"How did you know I pulled two jackpots in a ten-pull last night?"

"?" Tony listened to that in confusion.

Oh, right. Those games had not appeared in this world yet. Who knew whether they ever would?

"Forget it. I won't explain. Listen, kid, I have a plan."

"You're going to sneak off to one of those entertainment centers to have fun?" Lu Qi asked with feigned curiosity.

"Oh, I seriously suspect you're a tapeworm in my stomach. But I'll definitely take more deworming medicine." Tony looked amazed.

"But I'm in a great mood today. Want to go make some money with the genius Tony Stark?"

"Forget it. I don't have that much spare money to spend." Lu Qi remembered Tony gambling three million dollars in a single hand and felt that his own five million was practically nothing.

Tony pursed his lips regretfully. "Fine. If you change your mind, come find me over there!"

Tony headed toward the entertainment center. It looked like he planned to go all out in there today.

Lu Qi shrugged. Tony's mouth was vicious, but as long as you were more vicious than him, you would not get annoyed. Tony had won today, but Lu Qi had won yesterday.

Lu Qi used the Universal Work Pass to enter the venue, but a security guard told him he could not take pictures inside. Lu Qi could only hand the camera to a ninja.

As long as a ninja kept holding it, the camera would not be assimilated by Dark Energy.

After entering the venue, Lu Qi did not rush to take the camera back from the ninja and instead wandered around.

The venue was full of successful people dressed formally. Naturally, Lu Qi stood out with his casual outfit.

Lu Qi did not care. Mere background extras were not worth his attention.

After taking some food inside the venue, Lu Qi crouched in a corner. Seeing nobody familiar, he simply pulled out his handheld console and started playing.

After playing for who knew how long, a commotion broke out. Lu Qi looked up and discovered that Obadiah had arrived, prompting many people to go greet him.

Lu Qi took a few looks and unexpectedly spotted someone he had not expected to see.

Kingpin!

Kingpin had extensive connections. The fact that he possessed many weapons supplied by Stark Industries and the military showed that he had influence in both the underworld and legitimate society.

But seeing Kingpin appear openly in public and chat happily with other people gave Lu Qi a strange sense of dissonance.

Still, seeing him speak so familiarly with Obadiah made it obvious where his Stark Industries weapons came from.

Kingpin noticed someone looking at him. He turned around and saw Lu Qi sitting in the corner playing a handheld console.

Their eyes met. Kingpin's expression did not change in the slightest, as if he were just an ordinary man.

Still pretending?

Lu Qi made a greeting gesture and took out his phone to send a smiling emoji.

Kingpin checked his phone. His expression remained unchanged after seeing it. He said a few words to Obadiah, then headed toward the balcony.

The moment he stepped onto the balcony, Kingpin heard someone say, "Cheese." Turning around, he saw Lu Qi taking a picture of him with a digital camera.

Kingpin's expression remained unchanged as Lu Qi tossed the camera toward the ground, and a hand emerging from a suddenly appearing shadow caught it and pulled it inside.

"Don't be nervous. I just think it would be a little inappropriate if my blog was full of superhero photos, so I'm adding some villain photos to balance things out. Maybe someday, you'll even be proud to appear on my blog."

Lu Qi said with a smile.

"Perhaps. But why are you here? Didn't we agree our grievances were settled?"

Kingpin's grip on his cane tightened and tightened.

"Isn't today the Annual Pinnacle Figure Awards Ceremony? I'm just here to take a few pictures and update my blog."

Kingpin nodded and did not ask any further questions before simply walking back inside.

Lu Qi stood in the wind for a while, remarked that it was quite a coincidence, then slipped back inside and returned to the corner to play.