After visiting Stark Industries twice and collecting two checks for a hundred thousand dollars each.
Qin Xiao finally received a call from Pepper Potts.
Tony Stark had finally remembered his combat instructor.
In fact, although Tony Stark thought very highly of himself, when he wanted to learn something from someone.
He was still quite respectful of them.
He specifically sent Happy to pick Qin Xiao up and bring him to his house.
Perhaps Qin Xiao bursting a punching bag with a single punch last time had deeply shaken Happy.
As Tony Stark's personal bodyguard, he felt he needed to improve his professional skills.
On the way, he asked Qin Xiao if he could learn kung fu too.
Qin Xiao said he didn't mind. As long as his boss agreed, he had no objections.
Compared to seeing the mansion on the seaside cliff in the movie, seeing it in person was even more stunning.
It was practically as big as a small-to-medium-sized shopping mall.
Even more infuriating was that, despite having such a huge house, he didn't hire a single servant.
Most of the time, apart from being in his bedroom, he hid in the basement working on inventions.
What was the point of having such a huge house?
Compared to the house, JARVIS, who had already taken shape as an artificial intelligence, didn't stun Qin Xiao quite as much.
After all, the impression JARVIS gave him in the movies wasn't much different from now.
And so, with a desire for revenge against the wicked capitalist and Tony's smugness last time.
Qin Xiao began Tony's first lesson.
A basic starting exercise in martial arts that every Chinese person knew: the horse stance!
"A little lower. Your thighs and calves should form a ninety-degree angle. Lower your butt, don't stick it out. Oh, damn it! Happy, are you trying to seduce me with that fat ass of yours? Lower!"
Tony Stark wasn't that familiar with Qin Xiao yet, so he hadn't let him into his underground laboratory.
Instead, he brought Qin Xiao out onto the large terrace.
"I'm here to learn kung fu, the kind you fight people with, not to practice this damn weird pose."
Happy couldn't get his backside low enough for ages and complained.
"This is a basic exercise in Chinese kung fu. I've practiced something similar. It strengthens your lower body and makes it harder for an enemy to knock you down!"
To Qin Xiao's surprise, Tony had actually practiced Wing Chun for a while.
He had even formally taken a Wing Chun master as his teacher.
(In fact, it was the actor Robert Downey Jr. who had practiced Wing Chun, not Tony Stark. I'm borrowing that here.)
Faced with Happy's confusion, Tony not only handled the exercise with ease but even had time to explain it to him.
With his boss having spoken, Happy could only squat down again, wriggling his backside hard before finally getting the posture right.
"But I have a question."
Tony had practiced the horse stance before, so the first few minutes were easy for him, and he even had time to chat with Qin Xiao.
"Go ahead."
Qin Xiao had found a chair somewhere and spoke as he reclined in it.
"The master I learned Wing Chun from was a very famous martial arts master in China. Why does it feel like he wasn't as good as you?"
"Real kung fu consists of killing techniques. Very little of it circulates openly. Most of the Chinese kung fu out there now is just flashy moves meant for performances."
"Simply put, it's like the difference between Hogwarts and the magicians out there. Understand, Muggle?"
Qin Xiao wasn't exactly talking nonsense. Never mind that this was the Marvel Universe, where kung fu characters like Shang-Chi would appear later.
Even in his previous life, real martial arts had indeed declined in the modern era. Ordinary people simply couldn't find true experts.
Whether they were famous martial arts schools or martial arts masters out there, they all taught flashy moves, all intended for performance.
Perhaps Tony had more free time lately, because he had Happy bring Qin Xiao over to train almost every day.
That forced Qin Xiao to start taking the matter seriously.
Although Qin Xiao didn't actually know authentic Chinese martial arts.
He could still bluff his way through teaching Tony and Happy, two complete amateurs.
Every day, he had the two practice the horse stance, then do an hour of physical conditioning.
Finally, he had them spar with each other while he offered guidance from the sidelines.
Whatever else could be said, after nearly a month of this, their fighting skills really had improved by leaps and bounds.
And Qin Xiao's greatest gain was that he had grown increasingly close to Tony Stark.
After spending a month together, Qin Xiao was surprised to discover that they had quite a few things in common.
They hated empty formalities of every kind, disliked overly serious people, thought those people were fake, and so on.
In truth, most people had these traits. It was just that most people struggled through the mortal world until reality wore their edges smooth.
Qin Xiao in his previous life, for instance.
Tony Stark was lucky. His status and his talent meant he could maintain his own attitude and convictions in this world.
But after transmigrating and obtaining the system, Qin Xiao's carefree, unrestrained side had gradually begun to show as well.
Most importantly, the two shared the same twisted sense of humor.
Happy, for example, had recently been given several nicknames by the pair in quick succession.
Fat-ass butter, the elegant big-ass dancing boy, and so on.
It had gotten to the point that Happy no longer dared to practice fighting with them.
Mainly because Tony Stark really was quite talented, and with continued physical conditioning and Qin Xiao's guidance.
Happy was gradually becoming no match for Tony.
For a bodyguard, that was an enormous humiliation.
Apparently, he had recently begun considering a transfer to Stark Industries' security department.
While Qin Xiao was busy training Tony every day and slowly building a friendship with him.
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters in Washington.
In Director Nick Fury's office.
The bald Nick Fury stood by the window in his usual fashion, coldly gazing at the scenery outside.
Behind him stood Black Widow in a black bodysuit.
Compared to when Qin Xiao had met her in the bar last time, Black Widow looked even more dashing in her combat uniform.
"Almost all the agents killed themselves. The only two left have kept their mouths shut during interrogation. No matter how we torture them, they won't talk."
Black Widow spoke flatly.
"It doesn't matter. We've already rooted out all their covert operatives in the United States anyway. Whatever they want to do, they can't do it. Whether we know or not makes no difference. How does it feel to take on your former colleagues personally, Agent Romanoff?"
Nick Fury turned around and asked.
"I did far too many things wrong in the past. I'm happy to use what I know about them to disrupt their operations. To me, it's like making up for my past mistakes."
Black Widow's expression was calm, as though she had completely emerged from the shadows of her past.
"Oh? If that's really how you feel, that's wonderful. This matter is over, and we don't need to discuss it anymore. Give those two agents a peaceful exit. I'm more interested in that Asian man you met last time."
Nick Fury pointed to a file on the desk as he spoke.
The first page of that file bore Qin Xiao's name and photograph, and beneath it lay a file on the Avengers Initiative.