[Nick Fury's anger gained: +2,500 presence]
After the text before his eyes disappeared, Li Ang glanced unobtrusively at Coulson.
Just then, the busty blonde reporter suddenly drew a deep breath, then shouted, "Is this magic? Mr. Stark, is this a performance you arranged?"
She tried to use her professional experience to find a reasonable explanation for what she was seeing. A hologram? An optical illusion? Wirework?
But this was a press conference hall, with no supports or reflectors anywhere, and Li Ang was floating right there.
Tony came back to his senses and raised an eyebrow. "You think a magician can crush a grenade like a rock?"
That did nothing to explain things. Instead, it sent the room into an even greater frenzy!
Standing some distance away, the bald Obadiah wore a thunderous expression.
He stared at the hovering Li Ang. This man had not merely ruined his deal with the Ten Rings. He did not even seem like a normal creature of this world!
How did he do it? What churned through Obadiah's mind was not fear, but calculation mixed with greed and murderous intent. If something like this could be controlled, put to use...
Li Ang hovered in midair, looking down at the dozens of upturned faces below him.
Now he understood why Homelander sought people's upward gazes and adoration!
The reporters' gaping mouths and dumbstruck expressions all told him that he would definitely reap a huge harvest this time!
Only after the reporters had finished taking their pictures did Li Ang slowly descend, his steps as light as if he were walking on cotton.
"Mr. Li Ang! How did you do that? And how will you use this power?!"
Great question! Li Ang absolutely loved this busty blonde reporter! Not even a professional plant could have asked such a crucial question!
"Good question." His voice was not loud, but his firm tone carried throughout the hall. "This power was hard to come by, and I deeply understand one truth: with great power comes great responsibility!"
"I'll do my best to live up to this power!"
As soon as he finished, a chaotic barrage of follow-up questions came through the microphones. The reporters in the back were already standing on chairs to push their way forward.
Li Ang stood in the center of the spotlights, his calm gaze sweeping over faces filled with shock and excitement.
It worked! The joy in Li Ang's heart was no less than that of Oppenheimer's work setting off a wave of well-done people in Japan.
Seeing that Li Ang was about to be mobbed by reporters, Tony loudly drew their attention back to himself.
"All right, now for the second matter!"
Obadiah's heart lurched beside him. He had a persistent feeling that something bad was coming.
Tony stepped up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and announced what he had already resolved to do. "Besides thanking Li Ang for saving my life, during this trip to the Middle East, I saw young people being killed... and what killed them were the very weapons I made to protect them."
"I also saw that I'd become part of a system unwilling to take responsibility."
"I realized I could do more for this world than make things explode. So I've decided that, starting today, Stark Industries' weapons division will be shut down!"
The entire hall erupted into even more frenzied questions than before. Beside him, Li Ang pursed his lips. This was capitalism, after all. What Tony was doing affected who knew how many people's wallets.
Obadiah was practically going mad. "Damn it, has he lost his mind?"
He hurriedly stood up, pushed Tony aside, and began smoothing things over. "Sorry, I think what we should remember from this press conference is Tony's return..."
Tony left the venue with Pepper Potts, ignoring everyone else.
"Looks like he's heading back to work overtime building his armor." Li Ang leaned against the wall, watching everything before him with interest. It seemed Yinsen's survival had not affected the course Tony Stark would take.
Or rather, Tony's dormant kindness had only needed a tiny spark.
As Li Ang watched Obadiah painstakingly explain things on the podium, his keen ears picked up footsteps behind him.
Turning around, he saw the broad, burly Happy approaching in sunglasses.
"Mr. Li Ang." He handed Li Ang a card. "The payment from my boss is on this card. He also very much hopes you'll visit his home once you've finished handling your own affairs."
That was fast. A transfer of five hundred million, settled just like that. The damned charm of money!
Li Ang took it and tucked it into his pocket, then looked at Happy's sunglasses and casually took them off to put them on himself. "Let me borrow these. You won't be getting them back, so ask your boss to expense another pair."
Wearing the sunglasses, Li Ang strode out of the hall.
Happy blinked helplessly, then pulled another pair of sunglasses from his inner pocket and put them on. A driver had to keep these on hand.
Meanwhile, Li Ang reached an open space. The sun was about to set.
With his sunglasses on, Li Ang soared into the sky, weaving freely through the clouds as he thought about the plot that would follow.
Without a doubt, once the reporters sent out their coverage in a few hours, his mission would be complete.
And over the course of everything, his presence had already reached more than twelve thousand points, enough to take his strength up another level.
Besides, now that he had a fortune on him, he had to buy a few things.
What had he worked himself to death for in his previous life?
Money, a house, girls.
Now, with five hundred million US dollars in hand, all those things were within easy reach.
Still, he felt a little reluctant to spend his own money. Better to find Kingpin and have him buy everything.
Having made his plans, Li Ang was just about to set off for Hell's Kitchen when text appeared before his eyes once more.
[Mission two: Free bird] [Since you have come to a new world, make a clean break with the past. Burn down your predecessor's home and leave a gravestone for him.] [Mission reward: Magic Resistance Cloak (automatic repair, owner-bound tracking, one-click outfit change, slight increase to magic resistance)]
Li Ang stopped in the sky, an indescribably odd expression on his face, a mixture of delight and confusion. "Put up my own gravestone?"
The delightful part was that this Magic Resistance Cloak would indeed be useful in a place like Marvel, where mages were everywhere.
This was certainly a novel experience. At least he would not have to worry too much about a suit. Li Ang hummed, changed direction, and flew toward the home in his memories.
Soon, he reached the outskirts of New York.
His predecessor had lived near Queens, in a small detached house by the street. Because it was remote and close to a Black neighborhood, the rent was cheap.
It was nearly night when Li Ang arrived.
Before he landed, his super hearing picked up a burst of rustling, followed by a woman's voice.
"Director Fury, our superhero has arrived. Over."
The voice was very pleasant, and Li Ang, who was familiar with it, immediately knew who it belonged to.
Agent Natasha, codename Black Widow.
Hearing Natasha's report, Li Ang immediately understood that his home was probably under surveillance, and that fellow Nick Fury had clearly received word and come ahead of time to lie in wait.
"This black bastard's kind of interesting." Li Ang narrowed his eyes. Instead of flying straight into the house, he headed for the stairs.
Reaching the door, Li Ang did not push it open and walk straight in.
He activated his X-ray vision, and the wall and doorframe before him turned transparent. In the moonlight, he saw Black Nick Fury sitting on the couch with his back to the door.
Just thinking of Nick Fury sitting on the couch with the lights off to maintain an air of mystery made him want to laugh.