Chapter 324: Chapter 324: The Mandarin
[After handing him the flash bomb, Tony asked, "What's your name?"]
["Harley! What's your name?" Harley looked at the flash bomb carefully.]
[Before he could say anything, Tony took the initiative to say: "The Mechanic! Tony!"]
[Then looked at him and asked, "You know what I've been thinking about? Where's my sandwich?"]
"It's me! Mom! That's our house!" Harley exclaimed excitedly, jumping up from his seat as he recognized the scene playing on the mysterious screen.
What his mother was more concerned about was who had been bullying Harley at school. Her eyes narrowed with protective anger.
Under his mother's questioning, Harley finally told the truth about his tormentors. His mother immediately called the school and expressed her outrage, while also considering changing schools if the situation didn't improve.
Tony Stark, who had just arrived at Stark Tower in another universe, watched the broadcast with growing interest in the little boy. "He seems like a very talented kid," Tony observed thoughtfully. "He even knows about retroreflective panels."
"I wonder if his mother would be interested in relocating to New York," Tony mused aloud. "Harley is about the same age as little Peter—they might become good friends!"
Tony's suggestion resonated with many of the viewers. Natasha Romanoff nodded in agreement. "Little Peter could use more genuine friends," she said quietly. "He doesn't have many at school."
"Most kids who approach him are just drawn to his identity as the future Spider-Man or his connection to you," she added, glancing at Tony.
"That's why I taught him how to tell whether people approaching him have ulterior motives," Tony responded with a hint of pride.
"It's worth mentioning," Bruce Banner interjected, "that Tony has already contacted Ned's parents, and they've expressed their willingness to let Ned be classmates with little Peter. Though this arrangement carries risks, the potential benefits are significant."
[The scene changes to show that the outside of the Malibu villa is full of people, including a large number of firefighters and reporters.]
[The scene was horrible. Pepper stood at the edge, holding a cracked armor mask in her hand and pressing it against her forehead to stop herself from crying.]
[But then she seemed to hear something, and immediately turned it over, and saw a red light flashing inside the mask. Pepper immediately put it on her head.]
["Stark secure server, retinal scan authenticated!" As an AI female voice sounded, Pepper heard the message Tony left for her.]
[Knowing that Tony was still alive, Pepper almost cried. She was relieved that Tony was not dead.]
"That's smart," Rhodey commented. "Using the helmet to send a secure message."
"Classic Tony," Happy added with a small smile. "Always has a backup plan."
[In the car, Pepper drove and asked Maya: "Why did you come to our house today? Is there something so important that you have to tell Tony?"]
[Maya took a deep breath and said, "I think my boss works for the Mandarin! If you still want to continue the discussion, I suggest we find a safer place to discuss it!"]
[Pepper was a little surprised, she was somewhat incredulous: "Do you think your boss works for the Mandarin? But Tony said you are a botanist! So..."]
[Maya glanced at her calmly: "No wonder, I am actually a genetic coder who manages a team of forty people! I am employed by a private think tank! But you can say that I am a botanist!"]
["What's your boss' name?"]
[Maya casually said: "Yeah! His name is Aldrich Killian!"]
[Pepper looked at Maya in disbelief. You know, Killian had just come to see her today!]
"I don't trust this Maya person," Wanda said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Something about her story doesn't add up."
"Agreed," Natasha replied. "She waited until after the attack to reveal this information. Why not before?"
[The scene changes to Killian, who is on the phone, and a voice says, "We blew up the house, sir! But no body! No Stark!"]
[Killian nodded, stood up and walked into the room.]
["I see! I have to hang up! The master is going to start recording, he's a little... Well! You know him! Don't forget your date tonight, call me when you're done!"]
[He came to a room full of staff members preparing for filming. One of the staff members arranged the Mandarin's chair and belongings.]
["Okay everyone, don't talk, don't look him in the eyes! Unless you want to be shot!"]
[A motorcade was seen arriving, and bodyguards got off the cars one after another to check the surrounding situation. After confirming that it was safe, the Mandarin slowly got off the car and walked towards the house.]
[He sat directly on the seat prepared for him, and two maids kindly helped him take off his hood.]
[After the preparations were completed, he looked at Killian on the side and said, "Okay! What are we waiting for?"]
"Wow! This guy has such a strong aura!" Scott Lang couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the Mandarin's imposing presence.
"Okay! We have confirmed that Killian is in league with the Mandarin! He is working for him!" Tony observed, spreading his hands dramatically. "I never thought this guy could be a lackey!"
"Haven't you found out where they are yet?" Steve Rogers asked, glancing at Banner who was analyzing data on a holographic display.
"Still looking," Banner replied without looking up from his work. "As long as he appears under any satellite or camera, we'll find him."
[In the town, Tony said as he walked: "The sandwich is okay, the spring is a little rusty, but I can make do with the remaining ingredients!"]
[Then he complained: "By the way, when you said your sister had a watch, I didn't think she was so childish!" Then he showed the children's watch on his wrist.]
["Ahahaha! She's only 6 years old! Besides, this is a limited edition!" Harley couldn't help but laugh when he heard Tony's complaints.]
["When can we talk about New York?"]
[Tony refused without hesitation: "Maybe never! Don't even think about it!"]
["What about the Avengers? Can you talk about them?"]
[Kids always have so many questions. Tony couldn't stand it any longer: "Let's talk about it later! Hey! Kid! Let me take a breath!"]
[Then he saw the scene of Chad Davis's explosion. He could see that the scene was the same as the one in the theater, with several black figures on the wall.]
["What's the official statement? What's going on?"]
[Harley walked to the edge of the explosion pit and looked at it: "It seems to be a man named Chad Davis. He used to live nearby and won many medals in the army!"]
["One day people said he went crazy and built a... bomb! And then he blew himself up here!"]
"It's a convenient narrative," Natasha agreed coldly. "Blame PTSD, and no one asks deeper questions."
[Tony listened to Harley's words, walked to the wall and touched the black marks left by the vaporized human body. He counted the number of figures and realized something was wrong.]
["Six people died, right?"]
["Yeah!"]
["Including Chad Davis?"]
["Yeah!"]
[Tony blinked and walked over to sit next to Harry: "Really? This doesn't make sense! Think about it, six people died, and there are only five shadows!"]
[Harley told Tony what he heard: "People say these shadows are the imprints of souls who went to heaven! Except for that guy! He had no shadows, so he went to hell! That's why there are only five!"]
[Tony doesn't believe in the nonsense that souls go to heaven or hell. He believes in science more, so he asks back: "Do you believe it?"]
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