Loki, hiding behind Thor, knew perfectly well what was going on.
Chen Mo definitely won't kill him now, or rather, he's too lazy to kill him.
After all, his mentally challenged older brother was still working under Chen Mo, and his elderly father also had a good relationship with Chen Mo.
But despite his thoughts, when he actually saw Chen Mo walking towards him face to face, his legs still couldn't help but tremble.
The fear reflex caused by the severe beating he received at the base hasn't healed yet.
Chen Mo didn't even glance at Loki.
He walked straight to the table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and casually picked up another wooden barrel, about half a person's height, in front of him.
Thor tried to speak up to stop him, but it was too late.
"Gulp, gulp..."
A series of muffled swallowing sounds echoed in the lounge.
Steve clutched his still-throbbing throat, his eyes widening instantly.
That tiny sip almost burned his throat, but then again, this guy can play in the sun, so this little bit of alcohol is nothing.
In just over ten seconds, Chen Mo finished off half a barrel of wine.
Chen Mo put down the half-empty wooden bucket and casually wiped the corner of his mouth.
There wasn't even a blush on his face, and his breathing didn't change at all.
"Is this what you Asgardians usually drink?" Chen Mo clicked his tongue, his face clearly showing his disgust.
"What's wrong? You don't like the taste?" Thor asked curiously.
"It's not that I don't like the taste, it's just that it's so bland." Chen Mo tapped the wine barrel.
"It tastes like it's been diluted with plain water. Did your Asgard's winery cut corners? How dare you serve this kind of quality to your guests?"
Thor gave a thumbs up.
" Chen Mo, you are a true hero."
Thor's tone was very sincere.
"Even my father wouldn't dare chug half a bucket down like you do now, and you're still not broken down."
Chen Mo stretched his neck.
What a joke! He can even digest the conceptual world and its rules now.
The alcohol in the stomach doesn't even have half a second to survive; it's immediately broken down into basic nutrients by the cells.
However, the taste of this wine is indeed bland.
Fury seized the opportunity and stepped forward from the side.
He slammed the thick bill in his hand onto the table in front of Chen Mo.
" Chen Mo, since you're here, you might as well take a look at this." Fury's one eye was fixed on him.
Chen Mo glanced down at the long string of zeros.
"Six hundred and seventy percent over budget? That's all?" Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.
"This is it! This is the extra food and materials cost for your super mech project," Fury said through gritted teeth. "Your alien allies not only dismantled the base's ventilation ducts, but also stole three warehouses full of high-grade alloy reserves."
"What does this have to do with me?" Chen Mo leaned back in his chair.
With a slight scraping sound from the mechanical tracks, Tony walked in from outside.
Tony had just taken off his armor, and there were still a few oil stains on his face.
"Of course it's related to you."
Tony walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite Chen Mo.
"If you hadn't brought the Asgardian here, my project wouldn't have become so chaotic. You have to pay for the extra expenses incurred by the base."
Chen Mo glanced at him.
" Tony, what's your face made of?"
"Carbon-based biomaterials, plus a super-intelligent cerebral cortex." Tony spread his hands.
"I even had you guys take S.H.I.E.L.D.. and ransack all the villains' homes on Earth," Chen Mo began to settle accounts with him.
"Countless rare metals, an inexhaustible pool of scientists, and state-of-the-art weapons production lines have all been brought to your assembly workshop."
"This was obtained by threatening them, not through normal procurement procedures," Tony retorted.
"So what?" Chen Mo sneered.
"I've brought you such a large amount of strategic resources, and now you don't have to spend a single penny on materials, yet you have the nerve to come and ask me to reimburse the daily expenses of a few alien soldiers? Have you no shame?"
Tony curled his lip.
"You can't do the math like that, buddy. The materials are for building mechs to save the world, but the food costs for these dwarves and big-headed soldiers are real money being deducted from Stark Industries ' accounts."
Chen Mo raised his hand and pointed to Fury was standing to the side.
"Get reimbursed by this one-eyed, dark-skinned guy. He just raided several of Hydra's underground vaults yesterday, and he's rolling in money now."
Fury's expression froze.
"That's S.H.I.E.L.D..'s war reserve funds for post-war reconstruction," Fury explained curtly.
"Isn't all that money spent on defense projects?" Chen Mo grinned.
"We're all working for world peace, why be so calculating? Broaden your perspective, don't keep hoarding that little bit of reserve money."
Fury took a deep breath.
He decided to shut up and stop talking about it, lest he anger this tyrant in front of him and have his S.H.I.E.L.D.. headquarters account password forcibly rewritten.
Seeing that he had no hope of getting the money, Tony could only roll his eyes.
The atmosphere in the lounge gradually relaxed, and the tension caused by the bill dissipated.
Steve finally recovered completely from the burning sensation of the liquor.
"But seriously, Tony," Steve looked at the two opposite him, "How long will it take to finish that big thing down there?"
"If someone's men stop dismantling my pipes without authorization, we can take them offline for testing within three days."
Tony gave Thor a meaningful look.
Thor touched his chin somewhat awkwardly.
"Those dwarves were just trying to ensure the heat dissipation system worked properly. In Asgard, forging powerful weapons requires extremely high temperatures; you can't even properly cool down a furnace here."
Clint raised his hand to the side.
"I don't understand anything, I only care about one thing."
He toyed with the arrow in his hand, then said, "Once this giant robot is built, there's no need to station archers on top of the mech for guard duty, right?"
Tony looked at him and smiled.
"If necessary, I can strap you directly to the missile it launches. That way, you won't have to worry about guard duty and can directly experience the joy of flying."
Clint wisely chose to keep quiet.
Everyone sat around the table, each drinking what was in their cup.
Loki secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He leaned close to the corner of the wall, holding a glass of cold water in his hands, trying to calm his breathing.
Fortunately, the devil's attention was currently focused on the enormous bill, and he had no interest in causing him any trouble for the time being.
Outside the window, in the assembly area, the roar of heavy construction machinery never stopped.
A large number of engineers were welding and assembling the massive 50-meter-tall frame, making the entire Pacific Ocean base exceptionally busy.
But in this rather simple lounge, the Avengers enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.
Soon, the day passed peacefully in this kind of meaningless chatter.