If anyone else had said that, Tony might not have trusted him.
But this was Su Zhou!
The stubborn stickler who had cuffed him just because he was carrying unregistered medical equipment!
"Got it."
Tony had no reason to refuse Su Zhou. The two of them were on the same side now.
Su Zhou nodded in satisfaction too. All his scheming had finally paid off.
Good thing he had thumped his chest and guaranteed Coulson that he absolutely would not cause S.H.I.E.L.D. any trouble.
Wasn't he just a playboy? Su Zhou could handle him in minutes, and might even bring in some sponsorship!
Judging by the results, he really had handled Tony.
But if Coulson knew this was how he had handled Tony, he would probably slap his thighs swollen with regret!
When Su Zhou and Tony stepped off the plane, chatting and laughing, Rhodey and Coulson stood behind them, dumbfounded.
As far as they were concerned, how had a rigid, hotheaded rookie become good friends with a playboy?
Even if Tony felt grateful to the man who had saved him after his narrow escape from death,
wasn't this friendship route progressing a little too fast?
Upon getting off the plane, they naturally also met Tony's future wife, "Pepper" Pepper Potts.
But right now, he was still only Tony's assistant. Damn office romances!
The chubby bodyguard beside Pepper Potts, Happy, might have been a director in some other world,
but in this Marvel Universe, he was just a chubby bodyguard!
Tony waved goodbye to Su Zhou, then strode toward the smiling Pepper Potts.
"Your eyes are red. Were you crying over your long-missing boss?"
"It's because now that you're back, I have to start working again. I hate work."
"All right, vacation's over."
Tony and Pepper Potts got into the car that had come to pick him up, though he glanced at Su Zhou before getting in.
Wearing sunglasses, Su Zhou smiled and nodded at Tony, giving them a wave as well.
Pepper Potts was curious about Tony's behavior, and naturally noticed Su Zhou's distinctive appearance too.
He was dressed like an active-duty soldier, but had a rarely seen Asian face.
"Tony, that young Asian man is pretty handsome.
"What's his name? How did you meet?"
"That kid's name is Su Zhou. He's so upright it's annoying.
"He single-handedly wiped out an entire base of terrorists, then rescued me."
"Wow, shouldn't we give him a proper thank-you, then?"
Hearing that Su Zhou had rescued Tony all by himself, Pepper Potts's mouth fell open in surprise.
Tony smiled instinctively, as though he had thought of something pleasant.
"Maybe once you find out that not long after rescuing me, that kid put me in handcuffs,
"and nearly made me go into shock from dehydration, you won't be thinking about thanking him!"
"He cuffed you? Why?"
"Because he suspected me of tax evasion and using medical equipment that hadn't been approved and registered."
Pepper Potts: (´ﾟωﾟ)?
The world must have gone mad!
Who rescued hostages like that?!
As Tony and Pepper Potts drove away discussing Su Zhou, Coulson approached him too.
Although he was wearing sunglasses, making it impossible to see the look in his eyes,
Su Zhou could tell from his high hairline that he was quite happy!
"Su Zhou, is there anything else you'd like to say about the armor Tony cobbled together in that cave?"
"I'm an agent, not a scientist, sir!"
Su Zhou wore an expression that said he wasn't very educated, indicating that he really couldn't make sense of the thing!
"A suit of iron armor worn by a human, mounted with two flamethrowers.
"That's hardly cutting-edge technology. All you need is enough muscle.
"If it weren't for those two flamethrowers, I'd have thought we were back in the Middle Ages!"
Coulson: (乛_乛)
Although the kid's argument sounded fairly reasonable, Tony had been surrounded by women since he was young.
Although the prodigal son had finally returned to the fold, he hardly looked like someone with enough muscle.
"You realize that metal armor capable of enclosing an entire person, with heavy weapons mounted on top,
"is absolutely not something a prisoner like Tony could use. Besides, you said yourself
"that he ended up trapped inside that armor, and you were the one who got him out!"
"So?"
"That armor must have used some kind of power source! Find a way to investigate the power source Tony used!
"That's your new mission. So, my dear Su, you can go see Tony!"
Coulson pointed at the black Audi parked on the other side of the airport, fished out a car key, and tossed it to Su Zhou.
"Everything you need is in the car. You have three days to complete the mission."
Su Zhou caught the key, looked at it, and took the sunglasses off his nose.
"Unless you and Director Nick can cover your tracks in three days and leave me nothing to find,
"I don't see what stalling me for three days will solve.
"You couldn't cover your tracks in three months. What can you do in these three days?"
Su Zhou made no attempt to hide his intentions. He wanted to send his superiors to prison.
There was no other reason, only that his superiors had embezzled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds!
Only after watching Su Zhou drive away did Coulson shake his head helplessly.
Su Zhou's clearance wasn't high enough. He couldn't be told about Project Insight, which involved building Helicarriers.
But if they didn't tell the brat the truth, once he found his so-called truth
and showed up armed to arrest Nick Fury, if the director resisted arrest in any way,
the brat would absolutely open fire!
Not only would this kid tolerate no wrongdoing, but his marksmanship was also damn good.
According to the rescued Tony and Yinsen, there hadn't been a single person left moving in the entire Ten Rings base.
Su Zhou had killed every last one of them, all shot between the eyebrows, their heads blown open!
Because of this, Coulson had checked Su Zhou's records again.
He found that Su Zhou hadn't demonstrated such terrifying marksmanship during his agent assessment.
So there could only be two possibilities!
Either Su Zhou was an undercover agent sent by another organization and had hidden his abilities during the assessment,
or Su Zhou's obnoxious personality had offended his assessment instructor, who had altered his scores!
After some discussion, Coulson and Nick Fury found the second possibility much more likely!
Compared with someone infiltrating a secret organization like S.H.I.E.L.D., Su Zhou's rotten temper was still more convincing!
At that thought, Coulson called Director Nick again.
"Even after three months of exposure to the Middle East's wind and sand, he still hasn't given up on his investigation.
"No organization would choose a lunatic like Su Zhou as an undercover agent, unless they were lunatics too!"
Nick Fury's voice came from the other end of the line. Coulson could hear how much of a headache he was having.
"If he can avoid being led astray by that playboy Tony, only then will it prove that his character deserves respect.
"Wouldn't you say so, Steve Rogers's number one fan?"