Thoughts flowing slowly through his mind, Nick soon cast Pierce and the other man to the back of his mind, shifting instead to the image of Tony.
This man was likewise an unstable factor, especially the power Tony displayed, which gave him a headache.
With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current strength, they were simply no match for Tony, which was undoubtedly an uncomfortable state of affairs for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Though Tony's status destined him not to be as dangerous as Pierce-at least there was no need to worry about him assassinating high-ranking dignitaries and the like.
Yet as an unstable factor, S.H.I.E.L.D. had to possess the strength to keep him in check; they could hardly just let him be and ignore him.
Thinking silently to himself, Nick let out a troubled breath.
And right as he was thinking of Tony, over on the other side, inside Stark Industries, Tony was likewise listening to Happy's report.
"So you're saying Pierce is dead?"
"Yes, boss, beaten to death by S.H.I.E.L.D. people. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Hn, I know. You can head back first."
Happy nodded, turned, and walked out of the office.
Just as Pierce had guessed, Tony had never been a magnanimous person. Pierce had orchestrated the attack on him; how could he possibly allow him to leave alive?
If he were still the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony would have had to account for the United States government's reaction, seeing as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. also counted as a high-ranking official.
However, upon receiving the news that he had been stripped of his post, Tony had dispatched Happy at the very first moment to tail Pierce and find a suitable opportunity to wipe him out.
Yet he had not expected that before he could even make a move, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already taken the initiative to take care of him.
This outcome was undoubtedly the best possible result for Tony.
His enemy had kicked the bucket, and he didn't even have to dirty his own hands-how wonderful.
Still, Nick had actually climbed back to the top just like in the original story; this was something Tony hadn't expected, as he had thought Nick would probably be taken down this time around as well.
Who would have thought this fellow had a few tricks up his sleeve, not only escaping the disaster unscathed but also getting a promotion?
He wondered if it was truly an accident or the world's self-correction.
Thinking silently, Tony quickly gathered his thoughts and stopped dwelling on these messy matters.
How things turned out no longer had much to do with him now. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military had already paid the price, and he should know when to quit while he was ahead; he couldn't possibly keep targeting them.
Otherwise, powerful though the conglomerates' energy might be, the United States government wasn't just sitting around eating, a point he saw very clearly.
At that moment, the office door was pushed open, and Natasha walked in carrying a cup of tea.
Looking at her, the corners of Tony's mouth curled up as he reached out and beckoned.
Seeing this, Natasha's face flushed red, but she still walked over.
Before long, Tony's face, seated in the office chair, revealed a trace of utter comfort, while beneath the desk, Natasha was secretly enjoying a banana.
An hour later, Natasha walked out of the office, and a relaxed Tony boarded his exclusive elevator and left Stark Industries.
Stark Industries' affairs were basically all handled by Potts, and with nothing to do here, naturally he didn't want to stay all day.
Having drifted outside for a whole day, Tony didn't bring two beauties back to his villa until nighttime, beginning the corrupt life of a wealthy man.
As for Peter the working stiff, when his boss was busy being corrupt, he had no choice but to put on his work clothes and head out to labor.
His form swinging between tall buildings, Peter made his way with familiar ease outside the villa area where Norman lived.
Having failed the last attack, this time he had to take Norman down.
Yet he no longer acted impulsively like last time; this time he had subordinates of his own, so he wouldn't need to charge into battle personally anymore.
Mobilizing that inexplicable power within his body, before long, streams of black figures appeared all around Peter.
After a period of exploration, he had already grown familiar with the Shadowkhan, knowing they were a group of emotionless killing machines, so without wasting words, he directly issued an order: "Take down everyone in the villa. If anyone resists, execute them all."
With those words, the members of the Shadowkhan rushed toward the villa one after another, their forms blending perfectly into the nocturnal gloom, difficult to detect.
Inside the villa, however, it appeared utterly empty and silent at the moment.
Norman swirled his glass of red wine, gazing at the scene outside the window.
Following the previous attack, he had already realized that he was exposed, so he had dismissed all the domestic staff of the villa and arranged for his son Harry to stay at another residence, leaving only himself alone here to await the arrival of the enemy.
He didn't know Peter's true identity, but since the boy had tracked him down, he wouldn't let the matter rest easily.
To eliminate Peter, he had chosen to use himself as bait, not even sparing the energy to retaliate against Tony.
Before long, the forms of the Shadow Ninja appeared within the villa, surrounding Norman in the hall layer upon layer.
Witnessing this scene, Norman's originally calm expression instantly shifted.
He recognized the Shadow Ninja; the last time he raided Tony's villa, it was these very people who had beaten him back.
They had actually appeared?
Then the attack on him was entirely Tony's handiwork!
Thoughts spun through his mind as Norman pieced everything together, and at that moment the Shadow Ninja swarmed in an offensive.
Gazing at them, Norman let out a cold snort, and the Green Goblin Suit was rapidly donned upon his body.
Having prepared long ago, he had placed all his equipment right by his side, allowing him to complete his equipping at the very first moment.
A blade sliced through the air, landing upon the Green Goblin Suit.
Screech!
A series of piercing sounds rang out as sparks flew across Norman's body.
"Hahahaha!"
Uttering a strange laugh, Norman relied on the defense of the Green Goblin Suit to stand his ground without dodging, charging directly into the midst of the Shadow Ninja. With explosive strength in every punch and kick, he directly shattered quite a few Shadow Ninja.
Yet as the old saying went, the advantage of the Shadow Ninja had never been single-body strength, but rather sheer numbers.
No matter how strong Norman's power might be, unless he could suppress the Shadow Ninja with absolute might, he could only exhaust his stamina in vain amidst the endless waves of their assault.
Before long, Norman realized this as well, directly activating the Thermal Imaging Device to scan his surroundings.
Since he couldn't completely eliminate the Shadow Ninja, he would capture the ringleader to tame the horde and take out the fellow manipulating them first.
Very quickly, Peter's thermal image appeared within Norman's field of view.
"Heh, found you!"
With a light chuckle, a glider smashed through the villa wall and appeared before Norman. Norman leaped aboard, flying straight out of the villa as his entire person charged toward Peter.
Seeing this play out, Peter-who had originally intended to let the Shadow Ninja wear his opponent down-did not dodge either, greeting him head-on instead.
Being beaten back last time was one thing; he could at least claim he was completely unprepared and caught unawares.
This time he had made thorough preparations, and if he were beaten back yet again, he wouldn't need to show his face anymore-did they really think he had no pride?
"Boom!"
Two fists violently collided, a thunderous roar ringing through the night sky.
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