"By the way, I've found the place you asked me to look for, but the security there is extremely tight. I can't go any deeper without alerting anyone."
Hong Fei immediately perked up. "Where is it?"
"It's three hundred and twenty miles north of us. It's also a castle, but larger in scale; it looks more like a military fortress."
Located in Eastern Europe, Sokovia is a barren, mountainous, and politically unstable landlocked country, though compared to the chaotic battlefields of the Middle East, it is relatively peaceful most of the time.
A HYDRA force is hidden in Sokovia, led by Baron Strucker.
After a moment of thought, Hong Fei said, "Leave them alone for now. Just maintain necessary remote surveillance. Pick two people to stay behind."
Frank immediately replied, "Then let Number Four and Number Five stay. They have no family left."
"Fine. I will leave some funds, and they can also do some extra work while they're at it."
While they were talking, Hong Fei's phone suddenly rang.
Seeing the number, Hong Fei immediately laughed. He put on a mask, and his voice suddenly became rough and deep: "Tony Stark, are you doing well?"
"I'd be doing great if you hadn't stabbed me in the shoulder."
Tony's tone was very cold, but Hong Fei acted as if he didn't notice.
"Your call comes at just the right time. I was just about to ask you, why has a day passed and I still haven't seen my money?"
Tony clenched his fists involuntarily and gritted his teeth. "Give me back my armor, and I can add another hundred million for you."
Hong Fei immediately shook his head. "First of all, I don't know what armor you're talking about. Secondly, if you want to revise our deal, I can come find you personally, and we can sit down and talk about it slowly. How about that?"
"I'm just afraid you won't dare to come!"
Hong Fei: "Three days from now, at your Villa. How does that sound?"
There was a sudden silence on the phone. A moment later, Hong Fei hung up.
At the Long Island Villa, Tony, having failed to trace the call, was stunned for a moment, then angrily slammed the table.
After a long while, Hong Fei called again: "I really don't want to lay a hand on a mature and beautiful woman. You should be able to understand how I feel, right?"
Tony: "You will see the money tomorrow."
Putting down his phone, Hong Fei shook his head and chuckled.
Frank said, "I'm increasingly feeling that you are like those terrorists I've seen..."
"Pah!" Hong Fei stood up and walked out, saying, "I bet that when you get old, you'll be covered in red hair."
Arriving at the top of the castle, gazing at the sparkling lake and the rolling snow-capped mountains in the distance, Hong Fei let out a deep breath.
That crudely made Mark I Armor was indeed of little use to Hong Fei, and Tony's offer of one hundred million far exceeded its actual value, but this account couldn't be calculated so simply.
Even though he had no intention of developing armor, the fact that this thing could spawn an Iron Monger in Obadiah's hands meant it had a certain degree of universal significance. Simply put, using the Mark I Armor as a blueprint, plus the Arc Reactor, others might not be able to create Iron Man's armor, but developing inferior armor wouldn't be a problem.
Giving it to Tony was worth one hundred million, but if it were given to someone else, its value was impossible to measure in terms of money.
The fundamental reason Hong Fei didn't want the armor was that his physical fitness could be continuously enhanced. Perhaps a suit of armor could instantly push his defensive capabilities to an unimaginable level, but once the armor was breached, his frail flesh would instantly be at risk of death.
Furthermore, if he wore armor for a long time, this sturdy shell would subtly and continuously weaken his understanding and pursuit of techniques like dodging and deflecting force. This would be tantamount to taking a step backward.
Of course, in necessary moments, Hong Fei wouldn't be stubborn, but at least for now, it didn't seem necessary.
In addition, the Mark I Armor had already been sent away during his second entry into Afghanistan; only the relevant data on the Arc Reactor remained in his hands.
The big business Hong Fei wanted to do wouldn't be limited to one person, even if he would become the famous Iron Man in the future.
The next day, Hong Fei checked his account; the nine-digit figure starting with an eight made him feel very pleased.
Five hundred million of that was contributed by Obadiah, and the other three hundred million was the transaction amount between Hong Fei and Tony regarding the cleanup of the traitor Obadiah. The latter was handled through electronic bonds that were traded multiple times after acquisition, which was also Frank's handiwork.
After obtaining their passports, Hong Fei, Frank, and the others dispersed to various parts of Europe, returning to New York from different countries.
When he returned home, Frank and the others hadn't arrived yet. Hong Fei first finished the procedures with a few tenants who were moving out, and then, as usual, sat behind the counter of the first-floor bookstore browsing the web.
He was looking at recent local news in New York.
The return of Tony Stark was clearly the biggest news, and it was still hanging high on the website's homepage. A photo of him with a bandage wrapped around his shoulder made him look a bit more serious and a bit less dissolute.
Mexicans and the Russian Mafia clashed, but after the Police arrived, they suddenly abandoned their confrontation and turned against the Police, which resulted in the deaths of seven Police officers and injuries to over a dozen others. This also became the biggest gang case of the year so far.
Apart from that, New York was relatively peaceful.
In the afternoon, Frank and the others arrived one after another. Hong Fei allocated the vacated rooms to them, and after calming Frank down, he quietly waited for guests to arrive.
At dusk, the number of pedestrians on the street increased sharply, interspersed with some children wearing school uniforms.
"Hi! Sir, you're finally back!"
Peter walked into the bookstore with his backpack, a very bright smile on his face.
Hong Fei looked up and smiled: "I just arrived today. How have you been during this time?"
"Very good, Sir. I got an A in every subject. Do you want to see?" Peter's eyes flashed with an extremely bright light.
"Okay."
Hearing this, Peter immediately turned his backpack around, opened the zipper, and deftly took out a report card.
Hong Fei took it and read it carefully, the corners of his mouth lifting high.
Peter, seeing his smile from the side, was momentarily too excited to contain himself.
"Very good, Peter. I think this is something to be proud of. As a reward, today you can pick any books from the bookstore for free, with no limit on the quantity!"
"Thank you, Sir!" Peter shouted with shining eyes, put down his backpack, turned around, and dove into the layers of bookshelves. Hong Fei tucked his report card into his backpack and put it away. Just as he looked up, he saw a stylish sports car pull up at the door. The car door opened, and Tony, dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses, pushed the door open and walked in with a swaggering stride.
Arriving at the counter, he acted as if he didn't see the smiling Hong Fei, looked around and said: "Hey, hey, is anyone here? Why is no one greeting me? Do you believe I'll buy this place tomorrow?"
Hong Fei had to stand up, his smile turning into helplessness: "Mr. Stark, I'm right here."
Tony slowly turned his head and gently pulled down his sunglasses: "Sorry, the light is too dim, I didn't see you."
Hong Fei, maintaining his persona, smiled bashfully: "Welcome, Mr. Stark."
"Cut the crap. Do you have any alcohol?"
Hong Fei pointed to the vehicle outside.
Tony stared at him without blinking.
Hong Fei bowed and took out a bottle of brandy from under the counter. Tony reached out and snatched it directly, looked at the label, and immediately frowned: "You drink this?"
Hong Fei shrugged: "I don't drink. This was a gift when I went to the supermarket to buy things."
Tony twisted off the cap, tasted a small sip, then tightened the bottle again and threw it into the trash can.
Turning around, he snapped his fingers stylishly: "Close the shop, let's go!"
"Wait, Mr. Stark, I still have a guest."
Tony turned to look at the empty bookstore. After a few seconds, he said: "Are you kidding me?"
At this moment, Peter, holding a few new books in his arms, spoke in a youthful voice: "Sir, just these few."
Tony was startled and quickly looked down at the child beside him.
"Whoa, sorry. I really didn't see you just now."
Peter ignored him.
Hong Fei crouched beside Peter to help him pack the new books into his backpack. "Remember to keep a certain distance when you read, or you'll strain your eyes."
"I will," Peter said, shouldering his pack. "I'm going home now. I'll be back tomorrow. Thank you!"
With that, he turned and walked past Tony without a glance, heading straight for the door.
Tony: "Your son? Doesn't look like it, and he actually doesn't know me. Did he not recognize me?"