Those time travelers that year

"Thanks!!" Tony replied, then activated his thrusters and took to the air, heading straight for the Iron Monger, who was now only capable of flight and no longer able to attack. If this couldn't take down Obadiah, then Tony might as well just give up and go to sleep!

Dispelling the Soul Greatsword in his hand, Charles left without looking back. An Iron Monger without the ability to retaliate was just a large target, easily dealt with by the Mark III. However, having revealed so much tonight, it seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D. would soon be coming to contact and talk to him. Although those S.H.I.E.L.D. guys probably couldn't do anything to him, they would likely be monitoring him closely.

However, Ciel didn't care at all. He was far more interested in the upcoming arrival of Thor and Loki, the god of deception. In the movies, they were portrayed as aliens with superpowers who looked very much like humans, fighting by sheer brute force! But in the comics, these two were genuine gods. Even Loki, who was weaker in combat, used magic effectively, not the close-quarters melee depicted in the movies.

Thor is even more exaggerated, possessing the qualities of a true god who can hear the voices praying for his name, and can even hear sounds from other planets, and even time travel is possible.

However, judging from the current situation, this world is more inclined towards the movie world, but whether Thor and Loki are really god-like figures, Ciel thinks it would be best to go and see for himself.

165. Iron Man storyline ends.

Just as Ciel had predicted, after Iron Monger had its two arms, each equipped with missile launchers and a heavy machine gun, severed by Ciel, it essentially lost its ability to retaliate. As Ciel said, despite Obadiah's arrogant and overconfident demeanor, Iron Monger was actually quite useless, only good for bullying Tony who lacked sufficient energy. After all, the Arc Reactor in its chest not only had to power the armor but also sustain Tony's life. The first-generation small Arc Reactor, built in a cave with rudimentary tools, didn't have much power, and the newly modified Mark III didn't carry many weapons, such as the miniature rockets capable of destroying a tank with a single shot.

It's fair to say that the only truly useful weapons in Tony's Mark III Iron Man armor are the palm cannons in his hands and the laser beams fired from his chest after being charged. The compressed, penetrating beam hasn't been developed yet. After all, even a genius like Tony, without sufficient technical and experience accumulation, couldn't instantly transform the Iron Man armor into a Gundam.

However, although Obadiah was already trapped, he was not an easy target. On his escape, in order to get away from Tony Stark, who was burning with the flames of revenge, Obadiah kept running towards crowded places, forcing Tony to stop from time to time to protect the innocent bystanders who were caught up in the situation.

But perhaps precisely because of this, this robot battle, a rare sight for New Yorkers, alarmed the entire city. Bored passersby snapped photos and videos with their phones, which were then widely shared on social media. In just one night, what appeared to ordinary Americans as a Hollywood blockbuster of superheroes battling evil robots unfolded openly, all for free—and even watching pirated versions wouldn't attract any police attention. Truly a cause for celebration!

Of course, for Obadiah, this feeling of being watched like a monkey was nothing to be happy about. In fact, with nowhere to run, Obadiah was eventually caught up by Tony. The first thing Tony destroyed was the image transmission device on Iron Monger's helmet, followed by Iron Monger's flight system and propulsion system. Finally, Iron Monger, now a fish on a chopping board, crashed on a highway, causing a long traffic jam. Then Tony pulled out the Arc Reactor that had been stolen from him. Thus, Obadiah, the incompetent villain boss who, just half an hour earlier, was dreaming of becoming the God of War, the Uncrowned King, and ruling the world, was humiliated and defeated.

Compared to the ending in the movie, at least Obadiah didn't die; he was just dragged out and beaten up by Tony! Although he wanted to play the victim and ask the dumbfounded street patrol officers for help, Coulson had already made arrangements beforehand. So, what awaited Obadiah was just a police car driven out by S.H.I.E.L.D. After all, Tony, despite his fury, couldn't bring himself to kill the culprit who had been tormenting him and his son. He simply handed him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. in his anger. Conversely, S.H.I.E.L.D., wanting to maintain a good relationship with Tony, would be happy to help him with this dirty work, since it's exactly what they're good at.

Especially for that one-eyed, dark-skinned, uneducated man, the death of Tony's father, Howard Stark, was indeed quite perplexing. However, he wasn't the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, and he discovered that someone was covering up many things, making it difficult to find any clues, forcing him to give up. Now, Obadiah Stane, the murderer of Howard, has been arrested, and the dark-skinned uneducated man is very interested in trying to get the whole story out of him. He certainly has a large stockpile of truth serum, which he can use on Obadiah.

For Tony, whether he personally killed Obadiah or not, this third-rate schemer wouldn't live much longer. Neither Black Wu nor Hydra, the Hydra agent hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D. and not yet exposed, intended to let him live. The former wanted to investigate the truth behind Howard's death and also to do Tony a favor. The latter, Howard's death was due to their intervention; otherwise, could Obadiah, this useless individual, truly threaten Howard's life? Logically and emotionally, Hydra wouldn't allow Obadiah to live.

On his first night as a superhero, Tony's chase with Obadiah certainly captured the attention of many. Insurance companies were probably furious, and for journalists who thrive on sensationalism, this kind of news was a surefire way to persuade their bosses to give them a raise.

Coulson was in a tough spot. That night, he had to arrange for Obadiah's arrest and safe delivery to his superior, Blackie Wuk, while also dealing with the mess left behind. This included helping Tony clean up the mess and mitigating the impact of the incident. He was working through the night to fabricate testimonies and alibis, while also arranging the press conference for the next morning, helping Tony Stark write his own alibi, and retrieving the Iron Monger that Tony had already scrapped. Although Tony looked down on it, and Charles despised this beryllium-plated junk, in the eyes of many, such as the military, it was far more valuable than the projects the Department of Defense had proposed to swindle funding.

Before you know it, the whole night is over!

——————————Divider Line——————————

At the press conference, Roddy, who had rushed over overnight and was dressed in an Air Force uniform, tried to steer the reporters' attention away from the previous night's battle between the two Iron Men and towards the gas pipeline explosion beneath the Stark Tower. However, the reporters below were clearly unconvinced.

At the same time, Tony was reading the newspaper in his hand while Pepper was touching up his makeup.

“Your excuses are all here, Mr. Tony Stark!” Coulson, looking tired after a long night and with dark circles under his eyes, walked over and handed Tony a few slips of paper.

"OK!?" Tony, seemingly lost in thought, reached out and took the note Coulson handed him.

“You were on the yacht at the time!” Coulson continued, and Tony responded indifferently, seemingly uninterested. However, Coulson persisted, “Miss Pepper Potts, you spent one night on Avalon Island, and we also have the testimony of 50 other people…”

"Um, I think it's better to just say it's the two of us! Alone!" Tony said, looking at the note in his hand while Pepper tidied herself up.

"That's how it is, just read it out word by word!"

"Why isn't Obadiah Stane mentioned here?" Tony asked curiously, flipping through the note in his hand.

“We’ve taken care of it. He’s gone on vacation, on a private jet!” Coulson said casually. “Those small planes have always had a pretty high accident rate.”

"Don't you think this sounds too much like a movie script?" Tony asked in astonishment, having never witnessed the shamelessness of these special departments before. "They said one of my bodyguards took down a robot? Hey, Ciel, what do you think?!" He then turned his gaze to Ciel, who was sitting on the sofa next to him, holding a high-spec laptop and playing GTA5 online.

"Never mind me! I'm playing online..." With the world's technology advancing at a faster pace and various cutting-edge technologies emerging constantly, many high-spec versions of games were released and sold early on, like GTA5 that Xia Er was currently playing. Therefore, Xia Er simply dragged over a high-spec laptop and spent the entire time playing the game.

“Even my personal doctor thinks you guys are unreliable!” Turning to Coulson, Tony said to himself, “Can’t we find someone more reliable?”

“Mr. Stark, that’s not something I need to consider. Just read the statement, and we’ll take care of it.”

"You'll be on stage in one and a half minutes!"

"Just tell us what to say, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will handle the rest."

166. Serendipity 3 Restaurant

"Do you think Tony Stark will say what you want him to say?" After Tony and Pepper left the backstage room, Charles shifted his gaze from GTA 5 on his computer. He first glanced at Roddy, the black man on the screen on the wall, who was incessantly trying to divert the reporters' attention. Then, he looked at Coulson, who was standing to the side, and gave him a meaningful smile before continuing, "Or is there something you want to say to me?"

“I think Mr. Stark will understand, so he probably doesn’t want to cause any big trouble,” Coulson said with a slight smile. “Besides, I do have some questions I’d like to discuss with Mr. Gretel.”

“Let’s talk, sure!” Charles said. “How about this, Agent Coulson? How about we make a bet? Let’s bet on whether Tony Stark will clarify his relationship with you guys in this matter!”

“I don’t think Mr. Stark expects to face a series of troubles!” Coulson said with an unchanged smile. “After all, the mess he’s made this time is too big. Even if we want to cover it up, the Pentagon and the military won’t let it go so easily.”

"So, wanna bet? Agent Coulson, the loser treats everyone to a meal at Serendipity 3!" Charles grinned mischievously. "I bet Tony will announce his relationship at a press conference. Interested in taking the bet? Or perhaps, as an agent, Agent Coulson doesn't actually have much cash on him!"

“Although my superior is incredibly stingy, I can just reimburse him at public expense!” Coulson said with an unchanged smile. “Then, let’s bet!” Coulson felt he had a significant advantage. After all, the battle between those two steel machines last night had caused quite a stir, spreading throughout New York and surrounding cities in just one night. Now, the news was circulating across the entire United States, and needless to say, officers at the Pentagon were already aware of it. The emergence of a revolutionary war technology—if it were anyone else, the Pentagon officers might have doubted the veracity of the news. But if it was Tony Stark who developed that Iron Man armor, then there was no question.

To be fair, for S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization dedicated to concealing anything futuristic and handling supercrimes, weapons like Tony Stark's, which could potentially be mass-produced, are undoubtedly disruptive to the balance of reality. Therefore, within S.H.I.E.L.D., and especially within the highest levels of the UN Security Council, there's a strong desire to control Tony Stark and his Iron Man suit. However, this would inevitably lead to conflict with the Pentagon and the military. In fact, the Pentagon and the White House have always been extremely wary of a power like S.H.I.E.L.D., which has gradually come to dominate most countries.

Otherwise, why do you think an organization like Hydra, which was once utterly defeated, could be reborn by using the shell of its old rival, S.H.I.E.L.D.? It's because S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reach has expanded, and the UN Security Council is increasingly overshadowing other countries. Otherwise, why would anyone support Hydra's plan to overthrow S.H.I.E.L.D.? To put it bluntly, it's all about the power struggles between them. Hydra was able to accumulate its strength little by little over decades, growing stronger bit by bit while S.H.I.E.L.D. was scheming against other forces, and finally eroding the entire organization.

Although Hydra has not yet been exposed, a certain observant dark-skinned Wu Ke has already noticed the problem. For example, it is ridiculous that Howard's death was actually concluded as a car accident.

……

Now, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to retain Tony Stark and the Iron Man armor manufacturing technology he possesses, and if possible, would like to recruit him as well. However, this would put S.H.I.E.L.D. under pressure from the Pentagon and the White House, but it's worthwhile compared to Tony Stark and the technology he possesses.

As long as Tony follows their instructions, they are fully capable of helping him escape the coercion of those politicians.

Therefore, Coulson felt he had a significant advantage.

On the screen, facing the reporters below, Tony rambled on for a while before discarding the prepared remarks and solemnly uttering the words that signified the arrival of a new era.

"I am Iron Man!"

"Hahahaha..." Seeing Coulson's frozen expression, Charles laughed gleefully. He turned off the game, closed the computer, picked up his laptop, walked over to Coulson, patted him on the shoulder, and then casually walked out of the room.

Coulson, left behind, stared blankly at the barrage of camera flashes on the screen, and the reporters who swarmed around him like a pack of wolves spotting blood. For the first time, Coulson realized how incredibly naive he had been, and that there were always some people who would exceed your wildest expectations.

"Thank goodness! I can still choose to get reimbursed!" Coulson said dejectedly, watching Tony Stark turn his plans and a night's effort into nothing.

"Um... Boss!" Just then, a weak voice sounded from behind Coulson. Coulson turned around and saw one of his agents standing behind him, trying hard to maintain a serious expression, handing Coulson a cell phone. "The boss wants to see you!"

Suddenly having a bad feeling, Coulson reached for the phone and heard his boss, Blackie Wu, say, "You'll have to figure out the cost of the Serendipity 3 restaurant yourself!" Then he slammed the phone down.

For the first time ever, Coulson is starting to feel sorry for his wallet!

——————————Divider Line——————————

Serendipity 3 in New York City is a restaurant that caters exclusively to the wealthy. It embodies a blatant obsession with money, where a single sandwich can cost $214 (approximately 1328 RMB). They also offer the world's most expensive burger and the world's most expensive golden sundae ice cream.

Right now, Coulson was sitting in the restaurant, and apart from Charles chopping up a bunch of berries in front of him, there was no one else around... The place had been cleared out and booked out, paid for with Coulson's own salary.

As a secret agent, his benefits and salary were excellent, far better than those of the CIA and FBI. He also received bonuses for regular duties. While not as wealthy as Tony, he wasn't exactly struggling to pay off loans. However, Serendipity 3 wasn't a place where Coulson could afford to book the entire restaurant and spend money recklessly.

So even though he tried his best to keep his expression straight, Coulson couldn't hide his embarrassment. It's easy to imagine how much his wallet would shrink without reimbursement.

Unfortunately, Charles showed no pity for Coulson, continuing to eat whatever he wanted. Given his current physique, if he wanted to eat to his heart's content, Charles could easily empty Coulson's wallet. So, seeing Coulson's increasingly unpleasant expression, Charles, having finally eaten his fill, reluctantly spared Coulson's wallet…

167.Conversation

"Thank you for the treat, Agent Coulson!" Wiping the food crumbs from his mouth with a napkin, Charles sincerely thanked Coulson, who looked distressed.

“No, you’re welcome!” Coulson’s lips twitched, and he tried his best to maintain his expression as he replied bitterly, “So, Mr. Grett, may we begin our formal discussion now?”

“Ask whatever you want!” Charles leaned back in his chair and gestured for them to ask. “I think you and your intelligence agents have been waiting for a long time!”

“…Phew, well then, Mr. Gretel, the first question I’d like to ask is, where are you from?” Forgetting his own wallet problem, Coulson straightened his posture and began to ask Charles questions. At the same time, through a miniature camera disguised as a hole in his tie, the intelligence team, hidden in some unknown corner, waited expectantly.

"Can't you find out?" Charles looked at Coulson with a half-smile.

“That’s right!” Coulson replied. “In fact, anyone born on this planet can be thoroughly investigated if we want to. The only exception is you, Mr. Gretel; we can’t find any information about you here.”

“To correct you, you cannot find information about anyone in this world. At least in my opinion, you absolutely do not know the Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme.”

“The Ancient One?” Coulson frowned. Meanwhile, the S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence network, operating elsewhere, sprang into action. In just a short while, the team reluctantly relayed bad news to Coulson through a miniature earpiece. “Well! It seems there are indeed many things in this world you don’t know!” Coulson said. “But does that have anything to do with my question, Mr. Gretel?”

“Of course, in the eyes of visitors from other countries like myself,” Charles said in a low voice, “there aren’t many organizations in the entire Midgard that we can truly respect. One of them is the Sorcerer Supreme, who has been fighting against dangerous visitors from other dimensions… But don’t be surprised why we can’t find any information about the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One. After all, even excluding the organizations under her name, she herself has lived for hundreds of years…” Charles tapped the table. “Compared to her, this country, and even the organization behind you that originated from this country, is just a ‘nouveau riche.’”

Coulson still wore a friendly smile, but his eyes held no warmth whatsoever; instead, they grew even more serious after hearing Charles's words. Soon, through a miniature earpiece, the intelligence team delivered some bad news to Coulson.

The veracity of the person's recent statement is 30%. This conclusion is based on all currently available intelligence and the analysis of dozens of specialized intelligence experts. It was reached by analyzing every word and expression of Xia Er using miniature cameras. For an agent and intelligence organization, 30% veracity is sufficient.

"So, do you mean other worlds?" Coulson's tone became serious. "The word Midgard comes from the Norse mythology system. By using this word to refer to Earth, are you implying that you are not from this Earth, but a visitor from another world?!"

“That’s right! I’m not from this world!” Charles replied frankly. “According to you, I come from another country…”

Aliens! Although he had suspected it before, this most unlikely possibility still stunned Coulson for a moment. Just like in the novels, a living third kind of encounter appeared in front of Coulson.

"So, was that astronomical anomaly in the Middle East related to you?" Coulson asked very seriously.

“It’s related to me!” Charles nodded. “In another country, I had a life-or-death battle with several other extraordinary individuals. At the last moment, I planned to teleport to another world to escape the danger that threatened my life…”

“But you failed, didn’t you?” Coulson suddenly said.

“…Yes! I failed!” Charles shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “When I was escaping, one of the superhumans I was fighting turned into an artificial black hole and shattered the spatial passage I had opened! At that time, I was practically dead when I fell into the spatial turbulence, until I was finally woken up in a desert on Midgar by a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man.”

“Tony Stark, it was Tony who woke you up back then!” Coulson said. “No wonder he didn’t mention anything about what happened in the desert when he came back; he already knew about it.”

"However! I just heard the term 'artificial black hole,' I can't believe I heard it correctly!"

“No! It’s just what you’re imagining.” Charles chuckled. “An artificial black hole…would you like to see it? I can make one too, but if you use it here, you can say goodbye to this city and the people who live here!”

“Uh! I don’t think that’s necessary!” Coulson said. “I believe the Earth should have billions more years to live, so there’s no need for us to go see God now.”

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"Did you make any deal with Tony later?"

“He didn’t reveal my existence, which prevented me from being approached when I was at my weakest. That way, I could confidently make the deal with him,” Charles said. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to my world for the time being, so after learning about Midgard now, I helped Tony remove the life countdown from his body, giving him enough time to figure out how to deal with the toxins…”

"Metal poisoning?" Upon hearing what Charles said, Coulson's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be nonchalant and asked.

"I dispelled the accumulated metal poisoning and prolonged Tony Stark's life, for which he covered all my expenses on Midgard!" Shire said. "Any questions? If not, I'm going back to playing games!"

"...You can speak our language, right? Then, the other visitors can speak it too?"

“Heh, no, you’re mistaken, Agent Coulson!” Charles stood up. “It’s not that I can speak your language, it’s that your language is… adapting to me.”

"what?"

"I mean, I never speak your mortal language, nor do I know your writing. It's just that to my eyes, your writing automatically becomes the writing I recognize, and your language becomes the language I know..."

"You can understand this as the realm of mysticism. Higher mysticism will inevitably suppress lower mysticism, just as outdated technology will inevitably be crushed by new high technology."

"Compared to me, your language and civilization are backward, so I can directly access all the information I want to know about your civilization, as if I were defenseless. Although it sounds harsh, your civilization is indeed one-way transparent to me."

"It's hard to imagine that this is Midgard, which was listed as one of the nine great kingdoms along with Asgard. Although Midgard is a complex place, with many super-life forms still existing that could threaten my fully recovered state, and many ancient civilizations still existing in this world, as representatives of the mortal kingdoms of Midgard on the surface, the organization behind you, and this country that has always wanted to be the world's ruler..."

"They're just... ants!"