Having obtained the contract signed by Tony, Hong Fei was in no hurry to start negotiations with the remaining people. He planned to wait until three days later, when he officially became an Avenger, to present the contracts in front of everyone. Steve had already signed, and Tony Stark, such a difficult character, was dealt with. As the drafter of the contract, Matt would certainly not refuse.
That left only Banner, Barton, Rhodes, Luke Cage, and Sam.
Aside from Banner, who might be a bit wealthy with his seven PhDs—though the experiments he started also consumed money like water—as for the others, it wasn't that Master Hong looked down on them, but the amounts and subsequent shares in the contract were definitely beyond anything they could ever earn from an Avengers' salary until the day they died.
Combined with Hong Fei's fist, this was enough to create a condition they couldn't refuse. In his spare time, besides being with Mei, Hong Fei spent most of his time training alone. His Soul entered the Dragon Dimension, and the decomposition and melting of the Panther God's Divine Power by the Dragon Power accelerated accordingly.
Holding an Orange Card in his hand, the Dragon Power washed over it continuously. While these two tasks proceeded simultaneously, Hong Fei also focused his mind on planning the next steps. First was the Avengers. Since Coulson didn't die, this group had actually remained loose and disorganized until now. Ridiculous.
If Coulson knew that all of this was because of him, he would probably be very willing to deliver himself into Loki's hands to be killed, wouldn't he? Given Steve's trust and the fact that he was about to become a member of the Avengers, Hong Fei felt he had an obligation to liven up this team. This definitely wasn't for skill cards or anything; I'm not interested in skill cards.
Secondly, the Dark Elves. Calculating the time, the Convergence and the merging of the edges of the Nine Realms were about to happen. The goal of the Dark Elves was to drag the Universe back into darkness, which would allow their power to surge, enabling them to better expand until they became the overlords of the Universe. Hong Fei didn't know where they got their confidence from.
Such dark deeds had to be cleared away. When the Dark Elves descended, Hong Fei would still be with the Avengers, so he could take them out for a stroll then. The Dark Elves' spaceships were very important and had to be collected in large numbers as battle trophies; he would rely on them to travel into deep space in the future. Additionally, Thor's mother would likely meet with misfortune.
Whether to save her or not required no deliberation. By doing so, he could conveniently gain a wave of favor from Asgard, making it easier to get some Uru metal, or even have Odin help give a blessing to his weapons and such. Odin's blessing was very good, as could be seen from the Sword of Sif. Finally, Kunlun.
After finishing the fight with the Dark Elves, he would first pin Thor down, then gather the Avengers and his own team to go to Kunlun to fight the Great Dragon. With Thor there, safety was absolutely guaranteed. Three days passed in a flash. On this morning, Tony Stark took his private jet and brought a large amount of his belongings to Sokovia.
Hong Fei, on the other hand, drove to the Avengers Tower empty-handed. Upon entering, Yelena was already waiting. When Hong Fei saw her, he raised an eyebrow and said, "You haven't left yet?"
Yelena's smile stiffened.
"My flight is this afternoon."
"Didn't I give you iron armor? Isn't that faster than a plane?"
"I... I just wanted to stay here and see the looks on their faces."
Yelena's eyes looked exactly like a weasel about to steal a chicken. Neither Steve nor Tony had disclosed the news in advance, so none of them knew who was coming this time. Heading all the way up, standing at the door, Yelena said excitedly, "Boss, they're all inside!"
As she spoke, she stepped forward to straighten Hong Fei's clothes, then looked up and reached out to adjust his tie and fix his sunglasses before saying with satisfaction, "Go in, I think their expressions will be wonderful."
Hong Fei nodded and pushed the door open. Just as he opened the door, Hong Fei heard warm applause ringing out from within.
But when the door fully opened and Hong Fei's figure officially appeared, the applause came to an abrupt halt. Quite a few people stood up with a start, followed by various sounds of sharp gasps. Hiss~
The moment he saw Hong Fei's face, Luke Cage's gasp was the most intense! They actually swapped in this damn God of Death!! Every time he saw Hong Fei, he always felt a phantom pain in his chest.
However, what was more important now was that Matt was about to return to the Avengers. Over the past three months, as his best bud, he had constantly listened to Matt vent his complaints about Hong Fei's team and his personal opinions or even dissatisfaction with Hong Fei. At that time, Matt's greatest wish was to come back sooner and escape the gaze of that great villain. But right now...
Matt, you are truly too pitiful! Yelena stood behind Hong Fei, peeking inside, a very bright smile on her face. She was absolutely right; the expressions on these people's faces were wonderful. Probably only Steve and Banner were smiling. Hong Fei also felt that it was difficult for their expressions to look good. Banner had fought Hong Fei when he turned into the Hulk, but as the refined Dr. Banner, he and Hong Fei didn't have much interaction. As for Barton, Hong Fei had knocked him unconscious using Natasha's moves. Rhodes, even wearing his iron armor, had almost been de-boned by Hong Fei. Luke Cage had been pinned to a wall by a sword through his chest and almost kicked the bucket. Sam had met him once and was a complete newcomer to the Avengers. What kind of people were these?
A group of defeated opponents. Hong Fei took off his sunglasses and gave a friendly smile.
"Why do I feel like you all don't seem very welcoming toward me?"
Steve didn't take the initiative to stand up and support Hong Fei this time. Instead, he sat quietly in his chair, his eyes quickly darting toward the others, silently noting their expressions and gazes in his heart.
These people seem to lack training. Barton didn't have much of a grudge against Hong Fei and was a veteran of the Avengers, so he took the initiative to say, "Of course it's not that we don't welcome you, but we just didn't expect the person being exchanged this time to be you."
"Why can't it be me?" Barton smiled and said, "We all know you're the leader over there."
"Well, from this moment on I'm not. I'm just a perfectly ordinary new Avenger. Everyone, please look after me!"
Hong Fei's smile was extremely sincere; no one could possibly find fault with it. Perhaps because he didn't appear as ruthless and fierce as they had seen before, the applause rang out again. However, how much of it was real and how much was fake was worth pondering.
Hong Fei entered, and Steve took the initiative to stand up and offer his seat. He was sitting in the frontmost position. However, Hong Fei pressed down on his shoulder and then looked at Rhodes next to Steve. No emotion showed on Rhodes' dark face as he stood up and walked toward the back. Hong Fei pulled out the chair and sat down. The others didn't dare to make a sound.
At this moment, the door opened again, and Acting Director Hill and Coulson walked in together. Initially, there was some curiosity in their eyes, but it quickly turned into shock, and shock turned into wariness. Hill quickly adjusted and gave Coulson a look. Only then did Coulson step forward and place a stack of documents in front of Hong Fei.
"Mr. Hong, this should be what you wanted."
"Good, thank you."
Coulson found a seat, and Hill took the floor.
"Today, we welcome a new member."
She gestured toward Hong Fei.
"Everyone knows him—the Dragon King. From today until three months from now, he'll be part of the Avengers. Mr. Hong, welcome!"
Hill led the group in another round of applause.
As the clapping subsided, Hill turned to Hong Fei.
"Mr. Hong, I believe you have something to say."
Hong Fei stood, pushing the stack of documents in front of him to one side.
"Hand them out."
Sam, seated beside him, hesitated briefly, but Hill prompted, "Go ahead." Hong Fei added, "Each copy has a name on it. Distribute them accordingly."
Sam nodded and quickly passed out the contracts. Everyone except Steve, Hill, and Coulson received one. They held the papers without opening them, waiting for Hong Fei to continue. Satisfied, Hong Fei nodded.
"This is a Personal Image and Merchandise Rights Authorization Agreement. Based on your individual strengths and current popularity, the initial signing amounts vary, but the profit split is fifty-fifty moving forward. Your performance will directly impact earnings. Take a look."
At his words, everyone hurried to open their contracts. Hill and Coulson remained calm, already familiar with the contents. They weren't envious of the generous compensation the others were about to receive. Soon, the room buzzed with sharp intakes of breath. Hong Fei watched them with a pleased smile. He'd spent a considerable sum this time.
Tony, Steve, and Banner each received $100 million; Barton got $50 million; Rhodes and Matt were at $10 million; Luke Cage received $5 million; and Sam was offered $3 million. Clearly, Tony, Steve, and Banner occupied the top tier, with a significant gap between them and the others. Barton trailed behind at half their amount, while the rest received a fraction of that.
It wasn't that Hong Fei couldn't afford more, nor was he deliberately lowballing them. In fact, the amounts he offered were already inflated relative to their current popularity. The first three were worth every penny, Barton was arguably overpriced, and Rhodes and Matt's valuations were questionable. Luke Cage came from a criminal background, and Sam had no notable achievements. Yet Hong Fei didn't hesitate, nor did he negotiate the profit split.
This wasn't about frivolous spending—it was a message to the superhumans present and those yet to emerge. Following the Dragon King wouldn't just ensure survival; it could make you instantly wealthy. And there would be more stable income streams in the future. Want to fight for justice? No problem. Join Superpower Park, and you'll gain complete financial freedom to be whatever kind of hero you choose.
The Park was an amusement park for ordinary people and a paradise for superheroes, but above all, it was the Dragon King's personal pond. When the fish are raised in your own pond, whether they're steamed or braised is entirely up to you. The Dragon King is merciful, willing to personally hone your combat skills. Would you dare refuse?
All the world's heroes are now within my grasp. Won't join? Have you thought about where you'd like to be buried?