On the deck of the Tech.
Everyone involved stood in a row, watching the planes bearing Stark logos fill the sky.
The cruise ship Lyle was also anchored nearby.
It had been over a day since Tony Stark and his secretary, Pepper Potts, had lost contact.
Naturally, Stark Industries had realized something was wrong.
They had hurried to contact everyone they could.
When S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Nick Fury heard Tony was missing, he mobilized personnel and resources to search for him.
The Lyle was another cruise ship included in Stark Industries' plans.
Creak-
The door to Nick Fury's office opened, and Victor walked stiffly inside with a stack of reports tucked under his arm.
Agent Coulson, who was sitting nearby, gave Victor a friendly smile as he entered, signaling him to relax.
He should treat this like a routine report.
Phew-
Victor let out a deep breath and hesitated for a moment without saying anything.
Nick Fury said, "Coulson, step outside for a moment."
"Yes, sir."
Creak-
The office door closed.
Nick Fury asked, "How was Tony Stark? What's your impression of him?"
Victor thought for a moment. "He's a genius."
He had built radios and weapons from a pile of raw materials in just a few dozen minutes.
That was genius enough.
Even if the radios hadn't proved useful.
Nick Fury glanced at him without saying anything, clearly waiting for him to continue.
Victor went on, "Although he's smart, he has a few flaws, like arrogance and the usual vices of a capitalist..."
"What about Jiang Xiang? Could we recruit him?"
Nick Fury quickly interrupted Victor's recollections and asked about his impression of Jiang Xiang instead.
"He's calm, almost coldly so. He was always confident. Even when he encountered that monster, he seemed to treat everything like a game. He probably knew he would win."
Victor had a strange impression of Jiang Xiang.
He had remained unconcerned throughout, never showing any panic.
He certainly lived up to being a little mage, a mage's apprentice.
"All right. Leave the reports and head out."
"Yes, sir."
"Langya, Krillin, magic." Nick Fury fixed his one eye on footage of a little bald boy.
It had been filmed when the Lyle rescued Stark and the others.
Nick Fury thought that there were more and more factors beyond his control.
He returned to the cabinet, entered a series of codes, and opened a confidential file.
It was the familiar Avengers Initiative.
"What happened to the Tech afterward?" Gwen Stacy asked while eating the lavish meal that the filthy-rich Tony had treated them to.
More than a day had passed since the "maritime disaster."
Jiang Xiang, Gwen Stacy, and the others had originally been "invited" to S.H.I.E.L.D., supposedly for protective isolation.
But Tony Stark had intercepted them and brought them to stay temporarily at Stark Industries.
"The videos were deleted, and the official story is a maritime disaster. The only survivors were our little group and the dozen or so people in the Captain's Quarters, so getting everyone's story straight wasn't that difficult," Pepper said helplessly, her spirits low.
After all, there was no way to reveal the truth. The politicians in Congress feared destabilizing factors more than anything.
And then there were all those casualties.
Sigh.
Thinking about it made Pepper feel rather melancholy.
If she had made preparations a little earlier, perhaps there wouldn't have been so many casualties.
Still, as an excellent assistant and secretary, she quickly reined in those uncharacteristic thoughts.
At the other dining table.
Krillin was wolfing down his food.
Although he looked small and skinny, his appetite was anything but.
Natasha sat beside him and smiled warmly. "Your name is Krillin, right?"
"Hehe..." Krillin grinned foolishly.
He looked Natasha up and down a few times.
"Hehe... yep."
A strange expression appeared on his face.
Then he slowly returned to normal.
Krillin only looked seven or eight years old.
Natasha cursed inwardly. Who taught such a young kid to be a lecher?
As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha quickly changed her expression.
Her warm smile gradually took on a hint of allure.
She began trying to make small talk.
"It was so boring. Training was just running around everywhere, then waving my hands until I could fire a Kamehameha..."
"But having a pretty older girl take care of our meals and daily needs was nice. Master was really strong and treated us well. He was just a little lecherous..."
He had said something, but not really told her anything.
Krillin rambled on with his stories, giving Natasha a headache.
Most of it sounded like bragging, with hardly any useful information. At best, she could analyze the environment he had grown up in.
Natasha kept smiling. When Krillin mentioned aspirations and the like, she promptly asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I'll figure it out later."
Krillin lowered his head and kept eating, though a trace of uncertainty seemed to creep into his eyes.
An opening!
Natasha secretly rejoiced.
Then she put on a serious expression. "Mr. Krillin, let me introduce you to S.H.I.E.L.D. Our organization..."
Krillin silently grumbled to himself, Is this some kind of pyramid scheme?
Why do they try to recruit everyone they meet?
"Mr. Krillin, on behalf of Stark Industries, I'd like to offer you the position of Stark Chief Security Consultant." Pepper Potts had clearly noticed what was happening.
She got up, walked over to Krillin, and extended the invitation.
After this incident, Tony and Pepper felt that the world might be a little dangerous.
So they had set their sights on Jiang Xiang and Krillin.
If they could take charge of security, that would be a good thing for Stark Industries.
Even getting just one of them to agree would be enough.
But Jiang Xiang had refused.
Naturally, that left them with Krillin.
"If you join Stark Industries, you'll receive a monthly salary of five hundred thousand, with food and accommodation included. You can enjoy meals like this every day. Most of the time, we won't need to trouble you. You only have to live nearby and ensure our safety. We won't impose many restrictions."
Krillin's eyes shifted, and he stared at Natasha with a grin.
Natasha wanted to speak, but she didn't know what to say.
She couldn't promise high pay and little work.
If he were an ordinary person, she could have talked him into it, whether that meant working twelve hours a day, six days a week, or even around the clock, seven days a week.
But they had no desire to deceive and antagonize a superhuman with such immense destructive power.
She knew perfectly well that the terms she could offer were far worse than Pepper's.
A newly recruited S.H.I.E.L.D. agent might not earn five hundred thousand even in two years.
And that wasn't even considering the workload.
Intelligence agencies didn't care much about human rights.
"Hmm, in that case, I'll hang around this whatever Industries for now."
Pepper was delighted. She had finally succeeded in recruiting a superhuman.
Jiang Xiang was chuckling inwardly.
He had successfully placed someone inside Stark Industries.
Before long, a news report on television caught Jiang Xiang's attention.
"According to reports, an enormous green figure appeared today at the Liz Biochemical Technology Research Institute, which works with the military. The figure rampaged through the facility, causing extensive destruction. Further coverage..."
A green figure?
So the Hulk had been born!
Jiang Xiang's eyes shifted as he considered his next move.
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