Hearing Tony Stark's words, Nolan nodded with a faint smile of appreciation.
After everything they had been through, Tony was still his closest friend.
Even in the alternate world Nolan had once visited, although he and that world's Tony Stark had clashed at first, they had eventually become good friends as well.
"Don't worry."
"There isn't anyone in this world who can truly threaten me."
"If they insist on forcing me to keep selling those weapons, I'll make sure they understand what it means to regret that decision."
Tony's expression immediately turned helpless.
"Damn it, Nolan."
"I'm not telling you to go to war with every nation on Earth."
"That's the last thing we need."
"We just finished fighting Thanos. I don't want Earth to sink into another war."
"And if that war ends up being you against the entire world..."
He sighed.
"It might be even worse than the battle against Thanos."
"At that point, I honestly wouldn't even know whose side I should stand on."
Tony knew Nolan far too well.
Once Nolan made up his mind, he never compromised.
Especially now.
If the conflict escalated, another global war was almost inevitable.
That was exactly what Tony wanted to prevent.
Which was why he had tried to persuade Nolan in advance.
Unfortunately, it was obvious Nolan had already made his decision.
Seeing that, Tony simply shrugged and changed the subject.
After all, it was Nolan's choice.
Continuing the discussion would accomplish nothing except create more frustration.
If that day ever came, he would make his decision then.
Once the topic disappeared, silence settled between them.
The war had only just ended.
Neither of them had fully escaped the shadow it left behind.
Even Nolan had rarely experienced a conflict on such a horrifying scale.
War always left scars.
No one was immune to them.
That was one of the reasons they had planned this vacation to Hawaii.
Still, neither of them had completely recovered from the battlefield.
Fortunately, the silence didn't last long.
Nolan's private jet soon landed near Bruce Banner's new home.
After the war, Bruce and his girlfriend, Betty Ross, had settled down there.
At the same time, Bruce had resigned from Lock Technology.
The war had drained his desire to remain immersed in research.
Now all he wanted was to spend a peaceful life with Betty.
Of course, Nolan had made it clear that Bruce was welcome to return to Lock Technology whenever he wished.
A genius like Bruce Banner was invaluable.
Although Lock Technology possessed countless advanced technologies far beyond the modern world, not all of them came directly from Nolan's system.
Many had been developed step by step by brilliant scientists like Bruce.
With Nolan providing key ideas and research directions, they had successfully transformed futuristic concepts into real technology.
That approach had become one of Lock Technology's greatest strengths.
As powerful as the system was, Nolan had never intended to rely on it forever.
It simply cost too much.
If Bruce and the other researchers could recreate similar technologies through their own efforts, there was no reason to waste System Points.
In fact, Nolan had barely purchased any technology from the system in a long time.
The Third Generation Super Soldier Project alone had consumed nearly all of his accumulated resources.
Without emptying almost everything he had saved, there was no way he could have acquired such an advanced technology.
Fortunately, Bruce agreed to join the Hawaii vacation with Betty.
After picking them up, Nolan wasted no more time and headed toward Hawaii.
Several other friends were planning to join them as well.
They simply chose different routes and agreed to meet on the islands.
It should have been a relaxing holiday.
But shortly after Nolan's plane departed, several shadowy figures quietly slipped through Lock Technology's security gates.
Surprisingly...
Not even Red Queen detected them.
Although Red Queen possessed extraordinary artificial intelligence, she was still an AI assistant.
She lacked the independent processing capabilities of someone like Vision.
The intruders moved with a clear objective.
Without hesitation, they headed straight for the underground research complex.
"Is this the place?"
one of them whispered.
"It should be nearby."
The second man glanced at the map in his hand before answering.
"We still don't know the exact location of Nolan's secret vault."
Obtaining that map had taken tremendous effort.
It contained the layout of almost every major section inside Lock Technology.
Everyone knew how terrifying Lock Technology truly was.
Its research division alone was enough to dominate the world.
But everyone also knew the company's greatest secret was Nolan himself.
Rumor claimed that somewhere inside Lock Technology existed a mysterious hidden chamber.
A place only Nolan could enter.
Not even Bruce Banner, one of Nolan's most trusted scientists, knew where it was.
If they could break into that hidden space and steal even a few of its treasures...
Their organization would instantly become one of the most powerful forces on Earth.
For years, countless organizations had dreamed of infiltrating Lock Technology.
None had ever succeeded.
Until today.
They had prepared for this operation for an extremely long time.
They had even discovered a method capable of bypassing Red Queen's surveillance.
That alone gave them enormous confidence.
Although they still hadn't pinpointed the hidden chamber's exact location, they had narrowed it down through painstaking investigation.
By eliminating every other possibility inside the Hive, they had isolated the approximate area.
Now all that remained...
...was finding a way inside.
According to their intelligence, not only were countless priceless technologies hidden there...
Even the Infinity Stones that Thanos had coveted were likely stored within that mysterious space.
How could they possibly resist such temptation?
After confirming the location, they immediately took out a tiny device.
One of them carefully attached a strange membrane to a nearby wall.
"Prepare the breach."
The device activated.
A moment later...
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed throughout Lock Technology.
The entire facility suddenly lost power.
The intruders smiled.
This...
...was their greatest advantage.
No matter how advanced Lock Technology was, it remained a technology company.
Once the entire facility shut down, Red Queen should have stopped functioning as well.
No one had ever accomplished such a feat before.
But they had.
Now they had only one task left.
Steal the Infinity Stones.
Take every priceless weapon they could carry.
Then disappear forever.
Without hesitation, they climbed through the blasted opening.
Beyond it lay the mysterious chamber they had dreamed of.
The moment they stepped inside...
Every one of them froze.
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
Before them stretched an enormous space.
It was vastly larger than the building itself.
Far larger than Lock Technology should have been capable of containing.
The sheer scale completely exceeded the limits of normal physics.
The chamber alone was larger than the entire Hive complex.
"What the hell..."
"How did Nolan do this?"
"Is this... magic?"
They knew enough about magic to understand what they were seeing.
And they also knew Nolan possessed considerable magical knowledge.
No normal technology could create a space like this.
Only magic could explain it.
But they didn't care about that.
Their only concern was finding the Infinity Stones.
That had always been the true objective.
A single Infinity Stone had once powered the Tesseract and changed the course of HYDRA's history.
If they could obtain all five...
Then find the sixth...
They could fulfill any wish.
They could even conquer the entire universe.
Greed filled every face.
No one could resist such temptation.
Yet just as they focused on searching...
A massive robot suddenly appeared in the distance.
Everyone stiffened.
Their expressions froze.
How?
Lock Technology had already shut down.
How could such a terrifying machine still be active?
Even so, none of them panicked.
They had prepared for this possibility.
"If there's an enemy..."
"Then we'll use that."
One of them spoke calmly.
The others nodded.
Without hesitation, each pulled out a small magical artifact.
They quietly chanted an incantation.
In the next instant...
A gigantic magical construct materialized inside the underground chamber.
The towering guardian charged forward.
The robot showed no hesitation.
It swung its enormous blade.
The intruders sneered.
That magical construct was their strongest weapon.
No ordinary enemy could possibly withstand it.
Perhaps Nolan could.
But Nolan wasn't here.
They had deliberately chosen the perfect moment to strike.
Victory should have been guaranteed.
The next second...
Their smiles vanished.
Boom!
The robot's sword crashed downward.
The magical construct shattered instantly.
It didn't even manage to resist for a single moment.
The intruders were completely stunned.
How could this machine be so overwhelmingly powerful?
It was far beyond anything they had imagined.
But now...
It was too late.
After destroying the magical construct, the giant robot slowly turned its gaze toward them.
Fear instantly filled their faces.
They had no weapons left capable of stopping it.
The robot walked forward.
Without mercy...
It attacked.
In a single instant...
Every intruder was vaporized.
Nothing remained except a scorched breach in the wall, the only evidence they had ever existed.
At the same moment...
A special alert flashed across the watch on Nolan's wrist.
He frowned.
Someone had infiltrated Lock Technology.
Even more unbelievable...
They had successfully entered the inner dimensional vault.
Who could possibly possess such capabilities?
What kind of enemy had set their sights on him?
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