Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

It's no exaggeration to say that, apart from their appearance, the Zanpakuto that Hana has now is completely different from the one Sherlock originally gave her.

Of course, for Sherlock, it was definitely a happy thing that Sister Hua was able to regain her abilities.

The bad news is that, although she has completed most of the initial training with Tony, herself, Zhao Weike, Captain America, and Black Widow, her Zanpakuto is still one step away from a complete transformation.

To achieve this final step, Sister Hua told Sherlock that she needed to seclude herself in this underground space for a period of time, which is why Sister Hua was so determined to have an independent space where no one would disturb her and no one would affect others.

Sherlock couldn't say much about Hua Jie's seclusion. He honestly said that he would say hello to the others, then used alchemy to create many convenient items for Hua Jie in the empty basement, leaving behind a food printer before leaving.

Back in the house on the ground, Sherlock greeted Helen and explained the situation with Sister Flower before excitedly running towards the new address of the PAB organization.

To be honest, Sherlock was also very curious about the PAB Society's new venue.

When Sherlock arrived at the gate of the huge warehouse, which was just across the road from the community, and when he stepped into the new stronghold of the PAB organization, everything before him filled Sherlock with immense excitement.

This place is a man's paradise!

To the left of the main gate is an open space specifically for parking the motorcycles of club members. This parking lot, which also functions as a garage, ensures that the vehicles will not suffer from problems due to wind and sun.

Opposite the parking lot is a work area, with top-of-the-line tools hanging on the pegboard on the wall, including various specialized tools for motorcycle maintenance and modification, as well as four lifting racks.

This only occupies part of the entrance area; further inside is the bar. Compared to the original residential bar, this one is more upscale and has more comprehensive entertainment facilities, including billiards, a bar counter, and a karaoke machine.

There's even a mini stage equipped with a piano right next to the bar!

Behind the bar are a gym and an entertainment room. The gym is fully equipped with all kinds of high-end equipment. The entertainment room is even better, with everything from small game consoles to various motion-sensing game venues, and even mahjong machines.

Further on are the toilets and a secluded open space, which Tony and Sherlock had agreed upon to leave for Sherlock to create a bathing area using alchemy.

Sherlock's plan was to use alchemy to create a bathing area here, similar to the bathhouses of Asgard, where people could take baths or shower after exercising.

Behind the bar counter, there is a small staircase leading to the second floor, which was originally the office area of ​​this huge factory or warehouse. Now, this office area has been transformed into a residential area.

There are many single rooms available for living, as well as some meeting rooms and lounges, which Tony prepared for the Avengers and the Black Widows who were in charge of running the bar.

It can be considered one of the Avengers' secret bases, after all, no one would think that the Avengers could have their own base in the territory of such a motorcycle gang.

Tony had already planned for the operating costs of such a large place.

After purchasing this huge warehouse or factory, Tony made a batch of badges and distributed them to everyone in the PAB organization, and each badge was linked to a member.

If a member stays in the warehouse for more than ten minutes, a $10 'entry fee' will be automatically deducted from their bank account.

The entrance fee is only charged once a day. After paying the entrance fee, you can use everything in the warehouse for free, except for alcohol. The system will be updated at 0:00 every day, which is a small perk of the PAB community.

As for the rules regarding the entrance fee, to be honest, the people in Sherlock's community are all rich and powerful. Although it's not a top-tier community like Beverly Hills, there aren't many poor people either.

The price of ten dollars a day is practically free compared to this place, which can be described as a man's paradise.

The bastards in the PAB group even felt that the price of ten dollars was a bit low and wanted to raise it a little, but Tony said he would cover the rest, on the condition that he also join the PAB group.

However, Tony's joining the gang was temporarily put on hold due to Sister Hua's training.

Now that Tony's training is over, tonight is a great opportunity. On one hand, it's to celebrate the graduation of this group of unlucky guys who were killed by Sister Hua, and on the other hand, it can be considered Tony's welcome to the club.

As the saying goes, the best way to dispel enchantment is to possess it.

The activities of the pab club seem very free and fun, and can even make people feel 'longing' for it.

But all of that is predicated on the fact that no new people join that group of alcoholic bastards, or rather, that they can't fool any new people.

Once a newbie joins, they will be faced with "One Hundred Ways to Persuade Someone to Drink," "36 Strategies for Persuading Someone to Drink," "One Hundred and Eight Ways to Force Someone to Drink by Violence," and the most terrifying "On How to Drink Pure Alcohol Without Dying," among other things that are very characteristic of the PAB community.

Of course, these things are only aimed at newbies or novices. After all, an old hand like Sherlock would never believe anything that scoundrels hand to him or say.

Just like Iori in Grand Blue, from initial rejection and resistance to eventual enthusiastic participation, don't ask why, the answer is simple: she mastered it! To the point that later on, she couldn't even drink without taking off her alcohol!

As a seasoned veteran, Sherlock's favorite thing to do is naturally watch newcomers being wildly fooled by a group of old hands.

If he were to encounter some highly intelligent individuals who the seasoned veterans couldn't handle, Sherlock would even resort to alchemy to deceive the newcomers, thinking that none of them could escape the consequences of his actions.

However, this was the first time Sherlock had ever seen someone like Tony willingly jump into this trap.

Chapter 432 The Little Problem Discovered by Black Widow

To Sherlock's surprise, compared to Tony, those seasoned veterans seemed more like greenhorns. Apart from the fact that their drinks were much stronger than Tony's usual alcohol, all of the veterans' tricks were completely ineffective when facing Tony, the party prince!

In the end, they had to rely on Sherlock to take action. Sherlock's method was simple: he replaced the alcohol in the cocktail with the water of life, and then used alchemy to optimize the aroma and taste.

To put it simply, it's the same trick used by the Guangxi briefcase scammers. The first sip is just a little sweet water, but once it's exposed to the wind, Tony is completely out of control. After just two cups, Tony is no longer a human being, and all his actions are driven by emotions and instincts.

To Sherlock's surprise, the drunken Tony, slurring his words, clung to Captain America and tearfully recounted his parents' story, even revealing the existence of a hidden woman named Peggy Gardner.

The captain was really kind. He already felt guilty towards Tony, and Tony's drunken complaints made him feel even worse. Without hesitation, he agreed to help Tony deal with the so-called Peggy Gardner.

Tony, on the other hand, completely ignored the captain's promise. After confiding in the captain, he turned around and started confiding in Black Widow, using the same old rhetoric and even the same words.

If it weren't for Sherlock's frantic assurances that Tony had absolutely no intention of taking advantage of her, judging from Black Widow's twitching lips and the expression on her face that seemed to want to kick Tony to death, this day next year would probably be Tony's death anniversary.

Just as Black Widow was about to grind her back teeth to powder and was starting to lose control of her urge to make intimate contact with Tony's face with her fists, Tony suddenly ran away and started crying while hugging Zhao Weike.

Yes, it's still the same old story.

Seeing this, Black Widow finally believed Sherlock's story; Tony was indeed completely drunk and oblivious to the world around him.

Seeing Zhao Weike constantly recommending himself—the so-called 'real problem solver'—to Tony, Sherlock's lips twitched. Then, the instant Tony hugged him, Sherlock smashed a bottle over Tony's head.

Looking at Tony lying on the ground, Black Widow's lips twitched. Why hadn't she thought of this move?

The captain, however, was overcome with his good-natured nature. He carried Tony to a room upstairs before raising his glass and immersing himself in the gang's atmosphere once again, chugging down his drinks.

Faced with this scene, Sherlock rolled his eyes, then went to the bathroom he had cleared out for himself. Using alchemy, he spent ten minutes completing the entire renovation and construction of the bathroom. After taking a nice bath, he also went to sleep in his room on the second floor of the warehouse.

The next morning, Sherlock groggily woke up and went out of his room, where he immediately saw Black Widow sitting in the second-floor lounge area.

At this moment, Black Widow was frowning and staring intently at a document in her hand. Apart from being solemn, her face showed no other expression, as if she were looking at a plan for the Avengers to join Hydra rather than a document.

Good morning, Scarlett!

"morning!"

After Sherlock briefly greeted Black Widow, he went to the warehouse kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, and also brought one for Black Widow. Only after handing the coffee to her in the rest area did he ask her a question.

"What are you looking at? Why are you so serious first thing in the morning?"

Upon hearing Sherlock's question, Black Widow put down the documents in her hand, spread them out on the coffee table in front of her, and spoke to Sherlock while drinking the coffee he had given her.

“Yesterday Tony mentioned that woman, Peggy Gardner, so I checked out Tony’s investigation into her, and you know what? I actually found something wrong.”

At this point, Black Widow pointed to a few pages of documents spread out on the coffee table and continued speaking to Sherlock.

"This is Peggy Gardner's financial statement. You see, a few days into each month, an anonymous account deposits a large sum of money into Peggy Gardner's account."

What's strange is that Peggy Gardner hardly spends any money, and her spending is extremely regular. Apart from fixed expenses and a few clothes and food, she hardly spends any money each month, which is exactly the lifestyle of a Puritan.

This is completely inconsistent with the 'rich woman' persona she cultivates on social media, even though Peggy Gardner is indeed very wealthy on paper.

What's amazing is that sometime at the end of the month, Peggy Gardner would make a large purchase and spend all the money.

At this point, Black Widow paused, took a sip of coffee, and then continued speaking to Sherlock.

"That's not the most crucial point. The most crucial point is that Peggy Gardner has a fixed monthly expenditure on computer parts. I've done a simple calculation, and if she continues to buy them this way, this so-called Miss Peggy's inventory of parts is enough to fill the entire Walmart."

And that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that most of the computer parts this woman bought were graphics cards, CPUs, and storage devices. Judging from Ms. Peggy Gardner's electricity bill payment records, if this woman wasn't mining at home, then there's simply no reasonable explanation.

Remember that mysterious account that sent money to Peggy Gardner every month? I did a quick look and it turned out to be a virtual account used to convert stablecoins into cash.

She might seem like just a wealthy woman with a Puritanical lifestyle, who enjoys 'virtually flaunting her wealth' online and owns her own stablecoin mining farm. But that's not the most interesting part. Do you know what the most interesting part is?

Seemingly captivated by Black Widow's analysis, Sherlock inwardly marveled at her expertise as a seasoned intelligence agent, while looking at her with some disbelief and following her lead to ask further questions.

"what?"

Hearing Sherlock's question, Black Widow's smile widened even more before she continued speaking to him.

"The large sums of money that were deposited into this woman's account every month began when Pierce took office as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and continued until one month after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D."

While it might seem like a coincidence, doesn't Peggy Gardner's financial situation become particularly interesting if I mention that S.H.I.E.L.D. sometimes hoards large amounts of stablecoins and gold to facilitate deals with underground forces?

Black Widow's smile never stopped as she spoke. Sherlock was completely dumbfounded after hearing her analysis. He had originally thought that this so-called Peggy Gardner was just a 'lucky cannon fodder' who was pushed out by Hydra to face Tony but survived by sheer luck.

However, judging from Scarlett Johansson's words, it's clear that this Peggy Gardner is not as simple as she seems on the surface!

Chapter 433 Buying Equipment at the Hotel

"You mean, this so-called Peggy Gardner isn't just a simple rich woman, but a member of a secret Hydra organization?"

After pondering the information Black Widow had given him, Sherlock asked her, somewhat incredulously.

Upon hearing Sherlock's question, Black Widow revealed a mysterious smile and said to Sherlock.

"No, I feel that this woman is more like a 'seed' left by Hydra for itself, or rather, the precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D., a powerful underground intelligence organization!"

After all, this woman's financial statements were far too clean; I even began to suspect that her 'virtual flaunting of wealth' was actually conveying some information that we couldn't see.

Black Widow spoke with unwavering confidence, and seeing her confident demeanor, Sherlock fell silent for a moment, even resting his chin in his hands as he pondered.

Sherlock genuinely believed that this woman was nothing more than cannon fodder, a lucky escape from young Tony's revenge. He thought that with some combat training and equipment, Tony could easily and pleasantly deal with her.

However, judging from the 'abnormalities' that Scarlett Johansson discovered, it is clear that this woman is not simple, and can even be said to be quite cunning.

What chilled Sherlock even more was the woman's constant buying of computer parts, most of which were storage and computing components.

A bold conjecture came to Sherlock's mind, but he kept it to himself.

"It seems the original plan to let Tony go and take revenge alone needs to be changed. The captain and you have no choice but to go. This time it's not a simple revenge; we need a more meticulous plan and equipment."

Of course, most importantly, we still can't go as Avengers this time. After all, regardless of whether this woman is a Puritan ascetic or just a free-spirited rich woman, she's currently an 'ordinary person' with absolutely no connection to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Upon hearing Sherlock's statement, Black Widow could only rub her head in exasperation, but she did not deny it.

After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., without the buffer of S.H.I.E.L.D., those black-hearted maggots paid close attention to the Avengers' movements. This is why Captain America and Black Widow chose to live in Sherlock's community and run a so-called self-defense training class there.

It's very simple, just to avoid attracting the attention of those wicked maggots. Even the captain joined the PAB alcoholism club for this reason. Of course, it's undeniable that the captain can only find that feeling of drinking here, which is also a very important reason.

Thinking of this, Scarlett Johansson sighed helplessly, even feeling a bit like it was all just fate.

However, it was obvious that Sherlock could not understand Black Widow's thoughts. Unlike Black Widow's feelings, after Sherlock confirmed that his idea was correct and that Black Widow did not deny it, he excitedly ran to the room and woke everyone up.

After reporting Black Widow's discovery, Tony's expression became extremely strange.

How to put it? There was a sense of shame for not discovering the truth about my parents' deaths at the time, but also a strange sense of relief.

After all, judging from Black Widow's analysis, it's clear that this woman is no pushover either, which gives Tony a reason to excuse his past actions.