Inside a high-end restaurant in New York.
The atmosphere in the private room was somewhat eerie.
Thor sat at the dining table, his burly body hunched in the chair, holding his phone in both hands, a goofy smile on his face that seemed disproportionate to his size.
" Erin, I ate on time."
"Real?"
"Of course, the Son of Odin never lies."
Erin's laughter came through the phone.
What are you eating?
Thor glanced at the steak in front of him and said seriously, "It's a tiny piece of roast meat, with a few leaves on the side. The chef at this restaurant is stingy; he doesn't even fill the plate for his customers."
Tony paused in his cutting of the steak.
He ordered the restaurant's highest-priced set menu.
But in Thor's mouth, it tasted like a cheap, low-quality dish from a roadside shop.
"Then eat more."
Erin said softly, "You were injured recently and need to replenish your nutrition. Also, don't drink too much alcohol."
"I assure you."
Thor lowered his voice.
"I'll come find you after I've sorted things out here. The Apple you made last time was delicious; I still remember it."
"Then I'll make you another one."
"Good."
Thor's smile grew even brighter.
Across the table, Loki gripped his silver fork tightly.
Because his magical power was completely sealed, he couldn't even create an illusion. He could only express his contempt for Thor by rolling his eyes repeatedly.
That stupid guy.
They had lived in Asgard for over a thousand years; when had Thor ever spoken to them in such a gentle tone?
In the past, when Thor woke him up, he would just kick the door open.
Now, even a Midgard woman has to report to the doctor how many leaves of vegetables she eats.
Loki felt increasingly uneasy.
The silver fork in his hand began to deform slightly.
Tony looked up.
" Bambi the Deer, this set of tableware costs $120. If you break it, it'll be on your tab."
Loki released his silver fork and said coldly, " Stark, I'm just worried about the future of Asgard."
I understand.
Tony nodded.
"It's really sad that my older brother stops playing with me after he started dating."
I'm not sad!
"Okay, you don't."
"And I have no jealousy whatsoever!"
Tony looked at him.
"Oh, I haven't even told you you're jealous yet."
Loki remained silent.
He lowered his head to pick up his napkin, trying to maintain the composure of the Prince of Asgard.
Unfortunately, the fork in his hand was already bent.
Thor was still on the phone.
" Erin, I miss you too."
Loki's forehead vein throbbed.
Click.
The silver fork broke completely.
Tony extended two fingers and tapped them lightly on the table.
Two hundred and forty dollars.
"You just said one hundred and twenty dollars!"
"The main costs are labor expenses and compensation for emotional distress."
"Greedy mortals."
Loki took a deep breath, trying to steer the conversation back to business.
After Chen Mo dealt with the two brothers last time, he simply handed them over to Tony.
Thor is relatively worry-free.
Aside from having a huge appetite, lacking common sense about Earth, and owing a debt large enough to kill an ordinary person on the spot, he had no bad intentions.
Loki is different.
This guy has been subtly probing with over a dozen questions since he sat down in the restaurant.
How many suits of armor does Stark Industries have?
How do armored vehicles distinguish between friend and foe?
Where should the anti-magic detector be placed?
And when will Chen Mo come back?
Each question sounded casual.
Just put them all together, and they're enough to write an escape plan.
Loki picked up his glass and asked casually, "Your metal suit seems to require artificial intelligence to control it?"
"Right."
Tony cut off a piece of steak.
"So, by controlling this AI, one can control all the armors?"
"Theoretically, yes."
A glint of light flashed in Loki's eyes.
Tony put the steak in his mouth and continued, "But JARVIS will locate the malicious intruder and then send the Anti-Chen Mo Armor to his face."
The light in Loki's eyes disappeared.
"Don't overthink it, I'm just curious about Midgard's technology."
"Certainly."
Tony smiled.
"You can continue asking questions. After you're done, I'll have JARVIS send today's recording to Chen Mo."
Loki's wine glass stopped in mid-air.
"Ahem, we don't need to bother him with some idle chatter."
Are you afraid of him?
"Absurd."
Loki straightened his body.
"I am the Prince of Asgard, the God of Mischief and Magic. I simply believe he is unworthy to listen to the conversations between gods."
Thor finally ended the call and carefully put his phone away.
" Loki, I remember you shouted a lot when Chen Mo held you down."
The private room fell silent.
Loki turned his head and looked at his brother in disbelief.
Why do you still say that?
"Because you were shouting really loudly."
Thor said honestly.
Tony put down his knife and fork, and his shoulders began to tremble slightly.
He didn't want to laugh, but he just couldn't help it.
Loki closed his eyes.
Do I really have to treat this fool as my older brother?
Just then, the mechanical watch on Tony's left wrist suddenly lit up red.
A piercing alarm blared throughout the private room.
Tony's smile vanished instantly.
He raised his wrist, and his watch projected several virtual screens, rapidly displaying a large amount of encrypted data.
At the very top is the highest level authority code for S.H.I.E.L.D..
" JARVIS, check the signal."
"The signal originates from S.H.I.E.L.D.. Triskelion; independent line verification passed."
JARVIS's voice rang out.
"Assistance level?"
"Highest level."
Tony frowned.
The highest level of distress call means that S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters has lost the ability to handle the crisis on its own.
Given Nick Fury's personality, he would never bow down to him as long as there was one agent in the base who could pull the trigger.
But now, the distress signal has indeed been sent.
"Someone has hacked S.H.I.E.L.D.."?
Thor stood up, the goofy smile on his face vanishing.
"That seems to be the case."
Tony quickly reviewed the data.
"Interesting."
Loki joined in as well.
" Midgard's most powerful intelligence organization would actually send out distress calls from within its own fortress."
" Loki, you sound very happy?"
"I just feel sorry."
Put your regrets aside.
Tony glanced at him.
"You're still on S.H.I.E.L.D..'s watch list. If anything goes missing there, you'll be the first suspect."
Loki's expression froze.
Damn it! This has nothing to do with me.
But you have a criminal record.
"I don't even have magic power!"
"Who knows? God of Mischief."
Tony turned his watch toward the dining table, and the virtual screen rapidly expanded.
The data from S.H.I.E.L.D.. is extremely unstable, with many areas losing signal, and the internal network of the underground base is being controlled by an unknown program.
A series of red warning messages kept popping up.
The defense system has failed.
The weapon platform has failed.
The core database was compromised.
Tony stared at the table full of red warning codes, and just as he frowned and chuckled coldly, he asked, "What's this one-eyed guy up to now?"
The next second, JARVIS uploaded the final footage of the attack on S.H.I.E.L.D..
Speedster Johnny crashed into the Vibranium gate, but the gate absorbed all of his kinetic energy.
The Nite Owl stepped forward but did not continue its attack.
He simply disassembled the maintenance interface on the side, connected a black device to it, and then readjusted the operating sequence of the thirty-two locking structures.
The Vibranium gate remains intact.
However, the fixed frames on both sides deformed simultaneously under hydraulic pressure in different directions.
Seconds later, the entire door was squeezed out of the wall intact.
The smoke and dust dissipated.
A man wearing an owl mask strolled into the monitoring room.