Black Widow in uniform

After the two girls finished bathing with the protagonist, JARVIS's rich, humanlike voice rang out, informing Li Qi that lunch was ready.

Li Qi nodded slightly and, wearing a gentle smile, led his two newly acquired followers toward the dining room.

After everyone reached the dining room, JARVIS once again informed Li Qi in his intelligent, friendly, humanlike voice that the military liaison, Major James Rhodes, had driven up to the villa's entrance, and asked whether to let him in.

Rhodey held only the rank of major at this point, and his association with Stark Industries had not lasted long. Li Qi told JARVIS to let him in and warmly invited him to join them for lunch.

Li Qi sat leisurely at the head of the dining table with his two assistants. A few minutes later, Major James Rhodes, dressed in a crisp army-green uniform, walked into the dining room with steady steps under JARVIS's courteous guidance.

He gently pushed open the door and saw that, apart from the master and his two servants, there was no one else in the spacious dining room.

JARVIS's intelligent, humanlike voice sounded at just the right moment, giving Li Qi and Major James Rhodes detailed introductions to each other.

Upon hearing the introduction, Major Rhodes immediately broke into a warm smile, strode forward, and offered his hand, shaking Li Qi's hand warmly in greeting.

"Mr. Li Qi, I only heard today that Stark Industries had changed leadership, so I hurried over, hoping we can continue maintaining friendly cooperation with the military."

Li Qi discreetly sized up the military representative. He had neat, short hair, a slightly plump face, and dark skin, and appeared to be of African descent.

After exchanging a few casual pleasantries, Li Qi smiled and raised his hand, inviting Major Rhodes to sit down and join them for lunch.

Major Rhodes did not make much of a fuss about declining and readily took a guest seat. Then he looked up at the women on either side of the head of the table and could not help offering a sincere compliment.

"Mr. Li, the two ladies beside you are truly beautiful."

Li Qi merely smiled without introducing their identities in detail. Seeing this, Major Rhodes chuckled softly, lifted his glass, and took a sip of wine before slowly revealing the true purpose of his visit:

"Mr. Li, I've come on behalf of the military primarily to ask about our future cooperation. I hear your company plans to close its weapons design and manufacturing departments. Could I ask you to give that some more careful consideration? Stark Industries' weapons have always been an important safeguard for the military. This isn't merely business-it directly concerns national security."

After listening, Li Qi unhurriedly finished the wine in his glass and elegantly set it back on the dining table before speaking slowly.

"Major, just call me Li Qi, and I'll call you Rhodey. Here's the thing: deep down, I personally don't want to see weapons that could threaten ordinary civilians, so I really don't want to take part in producing such weapons. That's my bottom line."

Rhodey shook his head gently, a trace of concern in his voice. "That won't be easy at all. You'll face tremendous resistance."

Li Qi smiled confidently, his eyes full of resolve and composure. "I've never feared a challenge. Besides, I firmly believe this is the right choice."

Rhodey rose thoughtfully, walked slowly over to Li Qi, and said earnestly, "Li Qi, I understand your thinking, but I still hope you'll consider it carefully."

After listening, Major Rhodes gave a meaningful smile, neither explicitly agreeing nor directly objecting. He had come to sound out Li Qi's attitude in the first place; once he returned, the military's senior leadership would formally approach Li Qi themselves.

Now that everything had been made clear, the two exchanged smiles and addressed each other by name. After a little more casual conversation, lunch ended. Rhodey gently wiped his mouth with a napkin and said to Li Qi, "Li Qi, I need to return to base and report to my superiors, so I'll take my leave."

Hearing this, Li Qi rose as well and warmly shook the military liaison's hand again. Afterward, Major Rhodes left the villa and drove back to base to report.

Li Qi was not particularly concerned about the matter. He decided to speed up development of the iron armor and planned to return as soon as possible to his puppet Tony's villa in Malibu to work on it.

He first had Black Widow, Natasha, return to S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate the Ten Rings in depth.

At present, the Ten Rings had already secretly colluded with Obadiah Stane. There was still no telling how many spies and inside agents they had planted in New York, Los Angeles, and Stark Industries itself. This had to be uncovered as soon as possible.

Li Qi silently resolved to bring the Ten Rings under his control, and especially to obtain their most treasured possession-the ten rings.

Natasha nodded slightly in understanding, slipped her slender fingers into the backpack she carried, and gently took out a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. After all, she was returning to base, so changing into the uniform was only natural.

The uniform was meticulously crafted from top-grade special materials, its deep black resembling the curtain of night.

Natasha briskly changed into the uniform before her controller. It seemed to become one with her body, not only showing off her shapely figure but also lending her an air of innate, dashing confidence.

The delicate silver patterns at the collar shimmered faintly as the light refracted off them.

The close-fitting cut was tailored for Natasha, fitting her graceful yet powerful body perfectly. It fully outlined her beautifully shaped legs, slender waist, and crisp shoulder line, highlighting just the right balance of sex appeal and efficiency.

Li Qi sent the future Quake, Daisy Johnson, to the living room, leaving only himself and Natasha in the master bedroom. Li Qi enjoyed being served by Black Widow in uniform.

Afterward, Li Qi gave his orders with a serious expression, telling Natasha to return to S.H.I.E.L.D. first and reminding her to stay in touch whenever anything came up.

Natasha nodded, a hint of haughtiness appearing on her lightly made-up face. At this moment, she had once again become that proud, extraordinarily formidable super-agent with exceptional bearing. Li Qi's mental influence over her also seemed to have weakened slightly.

After saying goodbye to Li Qi, Natasha left the villa. At a nearby intersection, she used a S.H.I.E.L.D. communicator to summon a patrolling vehicle from the surrounding area and rode back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York base.

Inside the villa, Li Qi went to the living room and found Quake, Daisy Johnson, concentrating on typing into a laptop. He walked over for a look and discovered that she was writing a new piece of hacking software.

After observing carefully, Li Qi felt that Daisy Johnson's hacking skills were quite good.

Seeing Li Qi approach, Daisy Johnson hurriedly stood and respectfully reported what she was doing. Li Qi nodded in acknowledgment.

Li Qi had other plans for Daisy Johnson. He intended to awaken the powers hidden within her body and carefully train her into a super-agent, then arrange for her to enter S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future to serve his purposes.

So Li Qi looked at Daisy Johnson and said seriously, "Daisy, there's a pure energy sealed inside your body. You'll definitely become an outstanding agent in the future. Next, I'm going to help you awaken the energy and powers within you."

There was no obvious expression on Daisy Johnson's face, which blended Eastern and Western features. Li Qi held her loyalty firmly under his control, and she was subject to more restrictions than Natasha.

She merely nodded silently and stood obediently beside Li Qi, ready to have her powers awakened.