Chen Mo sipped the caramel macchiato he had just swiped, watching the two people in front of him with great interest.
The moment Tony heard the sound, he immediately leaned back in a classic tactical stance, his back pressed firmly against the chair back, almost tipping over with the chair.
V, on the other hand, acted on muscle memory on the spot, and his right hand reached for the holster on his outside thigh again at an almost imperceptible speed.
"Don't be nervous, it's me."
Chen Mo took a sip of coffee, savoring the rich sweetness spreading in his mouth. The taste was indeed far superior to the inferior, industrially synthesized drinks in Night City.
His original plan was to simply toss the noisy female leopard into the Marvel Universe and then walk away.
After all, there was still a cross-dimensional black hand in the DC universe who played with black crystals waiting for him to investigate, so he didn't plan to linger here any longer.
But just before the space tunnel completely closed, he overheard Tony frantically making up bad things about himself.
Who can tolerate this?
Chen Mo extended the hand that wasn't holding the coffee and slapped Tony hard on the shoulder, so hard that the billionaire winced.
" Xiao Tuo, I heard you clearly when you said I was obsessed with extracting gene fragments."
Tony coughed twice, immediately straightened the collar of his bespoke suit, and quickly put his brilliant brain to work, searching for an excuse.
"I'm trying to prepare this lost lady mentally, so she won't have any unrealistic misunderstandings about you."
Chen Mo ignored his rambling nonsense and turned to look at V, who was still on guard.
"Come on, let me introduce you to each other."
Chen Mo pointed at Tony and said in an irritating tone, "This guy with the mustache is called Tony Stark."
"Aside from having more money than he could ever spend and spending all his time tinkering with those junk metal boxes, he's just a useless bum."
Tony immediately protested loudly.
"Hey! Those tattered metal shells are top-notch masterpieces that have protected the Earth countless times!"
"Protest invalid."
Chen Mo interrupted Tony's speech without any politeness, then pointed at V instead.
"As for this one, she's a fiery young lady who followed me from the film set next door, V."
Chen Mo lowered his voice and solemnly warned Tony.
"Let me make this clear beforehand, this woman is a powder keg that's ready to explode at any moment."
"You'd better not mess with her. If she gets angry and tears your building down, I won't be responsible for the cost of the damages."
V glared at Chen Mo fiercely before slowly releasing his grip on the gun.
"Stop giving me these weird nicknames. Besides, I wasn't picked up by you; I came here on my own."
Chen Mo raised his chin, no longer arguing about it.
"Come on, since we're already here, let me show you around and let you see the local specialties."
After saying that, he picked up the half-cup of coffee and walked out of the room first.
V hesitated for less than half a second, gritted his teeth, and strode off to follow closely behind.
Tony watched the two figures disappear into the distance and sighed helplessly.
" JARVIS, raise the security level inside the building by two levels, and also set aside a budget for renovations in my account."
Chen Mo led the heavily guarded V around Stark Tower.
From the private living areas on the top floor to the high-precision research and development labs on the lower floors, the building is filled with cutting-edge technology that far surpasses that of the Night City conglomerates.
The holographic interactive screen flickers in mid-air, requiring no physical keyboard.
Miniature drones patrolled the corridors quietly, without emitting any harsh mechanical noise.
V's gaze unconsciously lingered on the luxurious yet clean facilities.
There is no nauseating acid rain here, nor is there any toxic smog that blots out the sky.
Sunlight streamed through the massive glass curtain wall, bringing a long-lost warmth to my skin.
Compared to this place, Nite Owl's proud underground base is like a stinking junkyard.
But V stubbornly clung to her last shred of pride, refusing to reveal her naivety and lack of worldliness in front of Chen Mo.
"It's alright, nothing special."
V pursed her lips and forced herself to mutter something.
"They're all just fancy gadgets. When it comes to a real, hard-fought battle, these electronic toys can't even withstand a single EMP pulse."
Hearing her obvious stubbornness, Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"That makes sense. After all, not everyone is like you, blindly charging into battle without thinking."
"Would it kill you to shut up a little?" V retorted through gritted teeth.
The two bickered as they arrived at a heavy electronic door on the middle floor of the building.
Sensing Chen Mo's authorization, the door immediately and silently slid open to both sides.
Behind the door is a spacious circular space with a high-tech tactical round table in the center and various monitoring screens covering the walls.
This is the Avengers ' personal war room.
Chen Mo strode in, his steps as casual as if he were strolling through his own backyard.
The people in the command center who were looking down at documents all looked up when they heard the noise.
Chen Mo pointed to the group of people in front of him and introduced them to V behind him.
"Come on, let's get acquainted. These are the super-working guys I told you about, the one with the big beard who's out on field assignments."
V frowned and turned his gaze to the group of people around the round table.
Sitting on the left was a blond man in a blue uniform, with a muscular build and clearly defined muscles.
Steve Rogers reluctantly put down his tablet.
" Chen Mo, we are a formally employed team, not just some 'super employees'."
Steve's protest was completely ignored by Chen Mo.
"This is Captain America," Chen Mo continued, acting as V's unreliable tour guide. "His main job is to instill Mind Stone in the team, emphasizing an unyielding spirit."
V glanced at Steve twice.
This man looks too upright. In a place like Night City, someone like him wouldn't last three days before being dismantled and sold as parts.
Then, Chen Mo pointed to a woman with red curly hair next to him.
Natasha Romanoff leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, scrutinizing V with a critical eye.
"You're absolutely one of a kind when Chen Mo brings you back," Natasha said with a smile.
"That's Black Widow," Chen Mo said casually. "She's specializes in extracting information and gathering intelligence; a typical tactical strategist."
V met Natasha's gaze.
The woman had sharp eyes, and V, relying on his years of mercenary intuition, immediately judged that she was definitely a ruthless character who had killed many people.
Then, Chen Mo pointed to the refined-looking man in the corner who was adjusting his black-rimmed glasses.
Bruce Banner stood up somewhat awkwardly and waved at V.
"Hello, ma'am, I'm Banner."
Chen Mo added, "This is the Hulk. He usually looks like an honest and unassuming researcher, but when he gets angry, he transforms into a green gorilla with ridiculously great strength."
Upon hearing this, V's brows furrowed even deeper.
A four-eyed guy who can transform? That sounds like some extreme variant of a cybernetic madman.
A motivational man with a shield, a meticulous female agent, and an emotionally unstable Mutant.
Is this organization called the Avengers really not some kind of underground circus?
Just as V was secretly grumbling to himself, another door to the war room was pushed open.
Tony walked in, straightening his suit jacket, a hint of frustration on his face.
" Chen Mo, you not only drank all my coffee, but you also threw the empty paper cup away carelessly. There are recycling rules here."
Chen Mo casually tossed the paper cup in his hand, aiming it precisely at Steve.
"Captain, here you go."
Steve instinctively reached out and caught the cup, sighed deeply, and turned to throw it into the nearby recycling bin.
Looking at this group of strangely dressed yet inexplicably harmonious people, V was momentarily at a loss for words.
There is no treachery or the tense atmosphere of being ready to draw guns and shoot each other at any moment.
But she quickly adjusted her mindset.
"Alright, since Chen Mo knows this person, then we'll consider them acquaintances."
V stood with her hands on her hips and her chin slightly raised, exuding the aura of the Night City's boss.
"My name is V. I'm a mercenary who does things for money. I look forward to working with you in this area."