By the time Su Zhou changed into a suit and arrived at Stark Industries, Tony had just announced that they were shutting down their weapons division.
A crowd of reporters surrounded Tony so tightly that no one could get through. Without a second thought, Su Zhou
drew his gun, fired a warning shot, and led Tony out through the dumbstruck reporters.
He also brought along an equally stunned Pepper Potts, walking up to Tony's car as though no one else were there.
He shoved Tony and Pepper Potts straight inside, then sat down in the driver's seat without a care for anyone around him.
"Get in."
Su Zhou took off his sunglasses and lowered his voice as he spoke to Happy.
"I'm commandeering this car, and your boss hasn't objected."
"Mr. Su Zhou? You're certainly the most 'special' law enforcement officer I've ever met!"
Pepper Potts had been startled by Su Zhou's reckless behavior, but then she remembered what Tony had once told her.
What Su Zhou was doing now seemed quite reasonable-or at least, quite in character for him.
Once Happy got into the passenger seat, Su Zhou floored the accelerator.
The car shot forward from a standing start and vanished from everyone's sight.
Yet even then, Su Zhou hadn't broken the speed limit...
"Those reporters endangered your personal safety. If I hadn't been short on handcuffs,
not a single reporter there today would have escaped the sanctions of the law!"
With Su Zhou's [Mount Akina Driving God] skill activated, he didn't violate a single traffic rule.
The car wove freely through traffic, its ride as smooth as sitting at home.
Happy sat in the passenger seat, giving directions the whole way. By the time the car stopped outside Tony's home,
Happy had become a devoted fan of Su Zhou. He had seen drivers who could drive fast,
but reaching a destination quickly, safely, and smoothly without breaking any traffic rules-
that was exactly the ability he needed most as a bodyguard!
The moment the car came to a complete stop, Happy clasped Su Zhou's hand.
"Mr. Su Zhou, if there's an opportunity, could I ask you to teach me the art of driving?"
"When I'm on vacation."
Su Zhou smiled and nodded at Happy, then turned to look at the two people in the back seat.
Pepper Potts had been complaining to Tony the whole way, her main concern being Stark Industries' stock tomorrow.
An industrial conglomerate that had made its start manufacturing weapons was now shutting down its weapons division.
That was like the Golden Arches no longer selling fried food. This wasn't just a question of falling stock prices.
This was a question of whether Stark Industries could survive at all!
But Tony said nothing. He simply kept smiling at Pepper Potts in front of him.
After three months in captivity, even the nagging that had once grated on his ears now sounded wonderful.
"Miss... um, beautiful lady, perhaps we should find somewhere else to talk?"
Only after Su Zhou spoke did Pepper Potts realize there was a stranger in the car.
She fell silent in embarrassment, a blush spreading up from her neck.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Su Zhou. I got a little carried away."
"No need to apologize to me. I'm not the owner of this car, after all."
Su Zhou didn't mind this sort of thing, as long as you didn't commit crimes... Well, perhaps there was another way to put it.
As long as he couldn't get any Justice Points out of you, Su Zhou was perfectly happy to be your friend!
Once everyone entered Tony's enormous mansion and sat down, Su Zhou immediately stated that he was there on an assignment.
He hadn't come to interrupt Tony and Pepper Potts's time alone, though his expression looked thoroughly teasing.
"If you two need three minutes, I can wait."
"Three minutes?! Kid, you're insulting the great playboy Tony!"
Pepper Potts was merely a little embarrassed, but Tony found that rather unacceptable.
"Maybe just two and a half?"
"Motherfucker!"
Tony mercilessly gave Su Zhou half a middle finger, because he remembered what sort of person Su Zhou was.
If he flipped him off, Su Zhou might pin him to the ground again!
"Tony, I'll forgive your rudeness this once. After all, although you're an educated man,
you're clearly not very civilized. I sincerely hope you can break your bad habit of swearing."
Su Zhou thought about how, during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Cap would use his sternest tone to put a stop to bad language.
But he intended to cut it off at the root, striving to make Cap the only person in the entire Avengers who swore!
"Hey! That's not like you. Aren't you supposed to pull out your gun, point it at my head,
and shout, 'You dare swear and flip me off? You're coming with me!'?"
Tony did his utmost to imitate Su Zhou's manner, but when he saw Su Zhou's teasing smile,
he suddenly realized he couldn't figure Su Zhou out. The man didn't seem as annoying as he had imagined!
"I'm just an agent with a sense of justice, not a lunatic!"
Su Zhou walked over to Tony, patted him on the shoulder, and said,
"I just want this world to become a better place. Fighting crime is only my job.
I'm just a normal person too. I can have friends of my own.
At the very least, I can tell the difference between friendly teasing and deliberate insults."
This was also one of Su Zhou's experiments. He wanted to see whether talk therapy alone could earn him Justice Points,
especially with a destined protagonist like Tony, whose story ran throughout the entire Marvel Universe.
"You know, Su Zhou, only now do you seem like a real person instead of a machine."
Tony didn't look particularly pleased, but it wasn't because of Su Zhou's change.
Rather, Su Zhou's sudden physical contact had made his skin crawl.
"If possible, could you please not make physical contact with me without warning next time?"
"Why? Are you allergic to men?"
Su Zhou teased him again, then stated the purpose of his visit outright.
"I won't beat around the bush. I'm here this time for that thing in your chest.
My superior is very interested in an energy source capable of powering a suit of armor.
He told me to get it off you within three days. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand. That's what your superior wants. What do you want?"
Tony remembered the deal he had made with Su Zhou. It seemed Su Zhou was ready to make his move.
As for that mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. and his father's mysterious past,
Tony had long since been unable to contain his curiosity!
"Within two days, make something that can breach their database firewall.
I'll take it into S.H.I.E.L.D. The rest will be up to you."
"I've got plenty of things like that at home."
Tony patted the coffee table in front of him, and a hidden compartment popped open.
He reached inside, felt around, then pulled out something resembling a button and tossed it to Su Zhou.
"As long as you can put this thing on a computer inside S.H.I.E.L.D., leave everything else to me!"