A certain American comic book's secondary profession master

Chapter 257 Tony, the "Grievance"
"Okay, okay, it's my fault!" After realizing that Wanda had overheard his mutterings, Tony promptly admitted defeat.

He was utterly speechless in the face of Levi and Wanda, this "husband-and-wife team".

Li Wei could only shrug, indicating that he was helpless.

“I’m not really here to talk to you about anything major, it’s just that this year is a rather special year, remember?” Tony said.

"A special year? Ah~ you mean in the original timeline, you were kidnapped and became Iron Man? What's so special about that? The timeline of this universe has long since gone completely off track. Wanda in this world wouldn't fall in love with a bunch of metal!" Levi replied with a smile, while also giving Wanda's little hand a squeeze.

Wanda, in her simple packaging, rolled her eyes.

The idea that her counterpart in another universe would fall in love with a "robot" is something her counterpart in this world simply cannot comprehend.

She and Levi reached the same conclusion: those cosmic Wanda Maximoffs were definitely influenced by the Mind Stone.

After all, in those universes, Wanda's power was activated by the Mind Stone, and Vision's power also originated from the Mind Stone. They would develop emotions, so the possibility of it not having any influence from the Mind Stone is extremely low.

It's important to know that the Infinity Stones possess a certain degree of "self-awareness."

“That’s right. As the person at the heart of this history, I have indeed completely changed my experience, but not everything has changed!” Tony said, taking out a few photos and placing them on the table.

"The Ten Rings Gang? No way? Obama has been dead for years, and there are still people selling your family's weapons?" Li Wei recognized the scene in the photo immediately; it was a scene from Central Asia, and he instinctively thought of the Ten Rings Gang.

“How could that be? Although Stark Industries still retains its military division, given the precedent of Obama, I still take this very seriously. Nobody dares to sell Stark Industries products in private, and Central Asia is a no-go zone for Stark Industries. However, Hammer Industries has sold quite a bit there.” Tony shook his head and chuckled.

"So you mean...?" Li Wei asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Although Obama is dead, the Ten Rings Gang is still active. Of course, I’m talking about this fake Ten Rings Gang!” Tony said.

Because of Li Wei, Tony also knew that the so-called Ten Rings Gang in Central Asia, which had kidnapped him in other timelines, was not the real Ten Rings Gang, just like Killian and Mandarin later on. They were just terrorists using the name of the Ten Rings Gang (as mentioned by Xu Wenwu in the movie "Depressing").

Ultimately, Xu Wenwu's Ten Rings Gang was so famous in Central Asia that during his "retirement," many organizations used the name of the Ten Rings Gang.

"I understand what you mean. You want to get rid of them?" Li Wei said, suddenly realizing.

“That’s right. Although you didn’t mention their fate, I think that since I’m Iron Man, these guys should have been destroyed by me,” Tony said.
Tony doesn't believe that his counterpart in that timeline would let these guys off the hook.

“…That’s right, on that timeline, you did strike at the fake Ten Rings Gang, but not out of revenge, but out of a sense of responsibility—you believed it was your responsibility for everything caused by Stark Industries’ weapons.” Levi nodded. “However, you didn’t do it cleanly; you only took down part of their main force.”

"...Was I that stupid in that timeline? I didn't even do things properly." Tony frowned upon hearing this.

“No, that’s not it. The truth is, you only went once, and someone else did the job for you, so you didn’t get a chance,” Levi said with a smile. “Who was it?” Tony asked instinctively, then, looking at the smiling Levi, he suddenly thought of someone. “Shockingly, could it be Obama?”

"Huh? You actually guessed it?" Li Wei was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

"Hmph, I'm the smartest person on Earth! You mentioned that he got the wreckage of the Mark 1 from Central Asia. I think he probably dealt with the remaining Ten Rings gang members to keep it a secret and to silence them, right?" Tony said with a snort.

"Smart!" Li Wei smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "But I didn't expect you to be so vengeful. I had almost forgotten about these minor characters."

For the current alliance, the "Ten Rings Gang" in Central Asia is indeed a very small player.

“How can this be called holding a grudge? I just wanted to fulfill a responsibility that was rightfully mine to fulfill… In fact, after you told me about the situation on the other timeline, I had people keeping an eye on things there. It's just that a few years ago, this organization hadn't even been officially established yet. It was only last year that they suddenly rose to prominence and occupied a portion of the area. However, I don't know if it's because they no longer have Obama's support, but the organization's strength in that area isn't very strong.” Tony said, “So I thought I'd nip them in the bud before they grew too powerful… In fact, if we hadn't been away from Earth last year, I probably would have known they had appeared and taken action to deal with them!”

“That’s normal. Without Stark Industries’ weapons, it’s not easy for an ordinary terrorist organization to grow and expand there,” Li Wei nodded, mainly because there are too many organizations like that in Central Asia.

In the original timeline, without Obama's support, it would have been almost impossible for a mere fake Ten Rings Gang to dominate that region.

"So what are you planning to do? For such a minor character, mobilizing the entire alliance would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, wouldn't it?" Li Wei said.

“Of course we can’t send the entire alliance, that would be giving them too much credit!” Tony rolled his eyes and said, “What I mean is that the two of us are enough. We have the intelligence ready, and it won’t take long to resolve the issue.”

"No, if that's the case, why don't you just go by yourself? Why did you ask me to come along?" Li Wei asked, puzzled.

"Ahem, isn't this giving you a chance to witness history?" Tony said with a dry laugh.

Upon hearing this, Li Wei twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at him.

It seems this guy is still a little uneasy about the current "new history".

“Alright, that’s perfect, I can take Wanda over there for a look!” Li Wei nodded and agreed.

“Great! I’ve never been to Central Asia before!” Wanda immediately agreed after listening for a long time.

Although she has gone on vacation almost every year for the past few years, she has never been to Central Asia due to safety concerns.

Moreover, knowing that Tony and Levi were going to "fight terrorism," she was also very tempted.

She's learned so much magic from Li Wei, but she hasn't put it into actual combat yet!
(End of this chapter)