Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life

The infamous war machine, Air Force Colonel James Rhodes.

Tony swore that this was the first time in his life he had ever seen a Black man's face change so clearly, from red to white in an instant, with such speed and obviousness that it was comparable to the ever-flickering fairy lights that adorn a Christmas tree.

As for the reason, it's very simple. As a member of the Avengers, Rhodes knew about the existence of the Justice League. He even personally manipulated Justice League members to act against the Avengers.

However, due to his status as an Air Force colonel, and the fact that he was considered one of the more useful forces in the hands of those wicked maggots, Rhodes knew about the existence of the Justice League and the drama between the Avengers and the Justice League, but he was unaware of the so-called Fallen Plan, let alone that Sherlock Holmes had become the mastermind behind the Justice League.

Therefore, when Rhodes was handed over to the office by that group of heartless maggots and the situation was explained, Rhodes's expression became quite strange.

There's a sense of exhilaration when someone you dislike asks for your help, a sense of tension when you discover a big secret, and even a bit of confusion about the current situation.

Especially when Rhodes stood in front of that group of black-hearted maggots, a variety of complex feelings mixed together, resulting in Rhodes immediately starting to imagine and recall various things in his mind.

The final result was that when Tony saw Rhodes, he saw a black version of Rhodes.

The moment Tony landed, Rhodes, without the slightest hesitation, pulled Tony to a secluded corner and asked him with a serious expression.

"Wait, what's going on? Ultron isn't dead or what? Why is the Justice League out of control?"

When confronted by Rhodes, Tony checked the surroundings and, finding no listening devices, reluctantly told Rhodes the truth.

However, when Rhodey heard Tony explain the so-called Corruption Plan and that Sherlock was the one controlling the Justice League, Rhodey's face, which was black, turned completely white, turning yellow.

"Is it too late for me to withdraw now if I take sick leave?"

Rhodey almost stammered these words to Tony, after all, the honest Rhodey had a huge, boundless shadow over Sherlock, and almost every time he saw Sherlock, he, the unlucky guy, would end up in a bad situation.

The first time he ran around naked, the second time he turned into a tentacle monster, and the third time he not only got beaten up, but he also got lucky once, and after living the life of a master for only a few days, he was forcibly conscripted by Sherlock.

Not only was he conscripted, but his wonderful videos of him taking on seventeen teachers are now almost a given to all his colleagues. As a result, many of his female colleagues still look at him as if they've seen some kind of human-shaped self-propelled pile driver, and their sweet smiles never go away.

Although it inexplicably improved my luck with women, the most damn thing is that I haven't even touched a teacher's hand, and I'm not that damned pile driver in the movie!

God knows how many opportunities and pleasures Rhodes lost in order to maintain his persona that men envy and women crave. Do you think Rhodes doesn't have any psychological trauma from that bastard Sherlock?

Go to hell!

However, Tony didn't give Rhodes a chance to refute at all. He just glanced at his few good buddies and said the coldest words in a 37-degree voice.

"late!"

Chapter 721 Rhodes's Passion Diary

Q: How long does it take to turn a person from a superhero into a wage slave who wants to destroy the world?

A: Two days!

In just two days, Rhodes seemed to have been completely drained of his energy, and even his skin had turned a shade lighter. The reason was simple: in those two short days, Rhodes was almost driven mad by those heartless maggots.

Especially after learning the whole story and discovering that a villain named Sherlock was behind the Justice League, it was a double torment, both physically and psychologically.

Putting aside the fact that the Justice League has been making increasingly uncertain decisions in the past two days, and that those unscrupulous maggots have been putting pressure on the Justice League in various meetings, acting like a client with insufficient intelligence who can't make any demands but is still dissatisfied.

Most importantly, this living punishment was borne by Rhodes alone!

What? You're asking where Tony went?

It's simple, Tony secretly went to recruit more fighters for the Avengers.

After all, with the current Avengers team's meager fighting strength, it's pure nonsense to think they can defeat the Justice League, which has been epically enhanced by Sherlock. If a real fight were to break out, they'd probably have to call back Thor and Hulk, who are probably wandering off to some unknown planet, and also bring back those two international students before they'd have any chance of winning.

But it's only a possibility.

Not to mention Hulk and Thor, who are currently nowhere to be found and completely out of contact, the two exchange students, Tony and Captain America, unanimously decided not to disturb them.

On the one hand, these things are the dirty schemes and plots of adults, and are not things that Wanda and Quicksilver, two hot-blooded young people, should get involved in.

On the other hand, it's also because he's spent a lot of time with Sherlock and has picked up some of the rabbit's habits. As everyone knows, rabbits always place the utmost importance on education.

Therefore, unless all the Avengers are beaten to a pulp, Captain America, Tony Stark, or anyone else will absolutely not contact Wanda and Quicksilver.

As for why Rhodes wasn't the one to do it, and why Tony was sent to the meeting, the reason is actually quite simple. Here we have to mention the masterful art of deception that Tony learned from spending so much time with Sherlock.

When it came to getting Rhodes to take over and deal with that group of heartless maggots, Tony only needed one sentence to get Rhodes to 'voluntarily' take on the hard task of confronting those heartless maggots.

"Rhodes, think back to how much suffering you've endured since you met Sherlock. Now, here's your chance. Do you want to give Sherlock a good kick in the ass, or do you want to be pinned to the ground and humiliated by Sherlock?"

While speaking in a devilish tone that seemed to tempt others to their doom, Tony pulled out photos of Batman and Wonder Woman taken from the UN surveillance system and showed them to Rhodes, all the while frantically making grand promises to him.

Under Tony's combination of persuasion, threats, and the allure of beating Sherlock Holmes, Rhodey became incredibly excited and shamefully stepped into the trap Tony had meticulously set for him.

So much so that by the time Rod realized he'd been fooled by Tony after that damn, pointless, and utterly useless meeting was over, it was too late; Tony had already vanished.

As a result, Rhodes can only deal with that group of heartless maggots who don't even have a target, while silently praying for Tony in his heart, hoping that Tony can really find a powerful fighting force so that he can really kick Sherlock's ass.

What? You're saying Rhodes is in such a terrible state, why don't you ask the captain for help? Even sending a teammate would greatly relieve the pressure on Rhodes, right?

This brings us to Sherlock's outrageous antics.

It was a move designed to wear down the Avengers, so how could Sherlock simply let Captain America find Bucky's location as easily as in the movies?

Especially since Sherlock discovered through Cyborg that Black Panther was also tracking Bucky, it would have been impossible for him to expose Bucky's whereabouts so easily.

This was a golden opportunity to establish contact with Wakanda, and Captain America and Tony had been racking their brains over it. Sherlock, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

The longer it drags on, the more the intelligence from Black Panther's side and Captain America's side will overlap. The more the intelligence overlaps, the more likely the two sides will run into each other. As for whether they will fight each other first or join forces to capture Bucky, that's none of Sherlock's business.

Ultimately, regardless of the outcome, the mission of connecting the Avengers with Wakanda has been accomplished.

Honestly, Sherlock really enjoys the feeling of playing the script behind the scenes. At this moment, Sherlock is beginning to understand the Ancient One's hobbies to some extent.

Of course, no one in the Avengers knew about Sherlock's little trick, especially Rhodey. If Rhodey had found out, he probably would have broken through his defenses.

Unfortunately, even though Rhodes didn't know it, he had already broken through the Great Defense when the third day arrived.

The reason is simple: ever since the Justice League completed that blood tax heist, both Vought International, which has become an empty shell, and the Justice League itself have been unusually quiet.

There were no demands, no threats, no actions; it was as if the heist that terrified all the scoundrels and the manipulators behind it had never happened.

But the more this happens, the greater the pressure becomes for those guys with guilty consciences.

On the first day, it was just bickering. By the second night, the group had even started to deviate from the original idea and consider a nationwide search. By the morning of the third day, the group had begun to suspect that the Justice League and the Avengers had some shady dealings.

Especially considering the most eccentric and unpredictable alchemist in the Avengers, these wicked maggots even suspected that Sherlock was behind it all.

It has to be said that the intuition of this group of heartless maggots and the operators behind them was quite accurate. When Rhodes heard their suspicions, his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

However, they quickly rejected their own conjecture.

The reason is simple: half of the Avengers are chasing Bucky, the other half are busy dealing with the Justice League's problems, and even Sherlock, the prime suspect, hasn't left the community for several days.

Most importantly, Sherlock didn't simply disappear from the community as he had done before. Instead, he remained in the community, and people saw him every day sunbathing in the yard with an iced Americano, and even going to the club for drinks at night.

Forget about having any connection with the Justice League, they don't even have any connection with the Avengers!

So much so that, due to insufficient evidence, this group of shrewd yet foolish individuals eliminated the correct answer themselves.

This analysis made Rhodes break out in a cold sweat, his defenses crumbling. The feeling of almost being accused of treason made Rhodes feel like his shirt was almost soaked with sweat.

Of course, aside from psychological factors, what really broke Rhodes's defenses was Sherlock's peaceful and idyllic life.

Who knows where Sherlock hid the Justice League? He's exhausted and mentally drained, unable to find the Justice League, and being tormented by those scoundrels, while Sherlock is sipping coffee and sunbathing in the yard.

Rhodes felt that he and Sherlock were absolutely incompatible, or at the very least, that Sherlock was the nemesis of him.

Chapter 722 Declaration of War

Leaving aside Rhodes, who was constantly on the verge of collapse and never being comforted, and Captain America, who was completely bewildered by Sherlock while tracking Bucky, Sherlock was having an absolutely blast.

Almost every morning, the first thing Sherlock does upon waking is to smile and say to the ceiling, "Ancient One, I feel the joy of holding the script!"

This is no exaggeration at all. Thanks to Cyborg's abilities, Sherlock's side has complete one-way transparency regarding all information about the Avengers, those black-hearted maggots, and the manipulators behind them.

In other words, Sherlock knew exactly what they were doing in each meeting, who said what, and what they did.

Sherlock knew exactly who Tony had recruited, how many times Captain America had been fooled by the fake targets he had set up, and even how far Black Panther was from Captain America's side.

Sherlock also clearly saw the expression on Rhodes' face, which seemed to want to destroy the world at any moment, after he was oppressed by that group of black-hearted maggots and turned into a corporate slave.

However, Sherlock didn't take any action, and the reason was simple: he needed to organize the blood pacts he had acquired this time. But with the Flash's speed, organizing that massive blood pact wasn't actually that difficult.

Putting aside Sherlock's intention to stay still just to watch the show, Sherlock also needed to make copies of those blood pacts for the Rabbits and have them prepare for their plan.

Although Sherlock had no idea what the rabbits were plotting, whatever they were planning was far more reliable than those heartless maggots.

As for why Rhodes' side got nothing? Why couldn't they find any trace of the Justice League?

It's very simple. With Sherlock's Space Stone powers, they'd be lucky to find the Justice League!

You ask where the Justice League is now? Apart from Cyborg, who needs to gather intelligence and is quietly standing in Sherlock's alchemy workshop, the rest are all in Sherlock's four-dimensional pocket!

Those heartless maggots won't find the Justice League even if they turn the whole earth upside down!

This eerie silence lasted for almost a week. When Captain America and Black Panther finally found the real Bucky among the many smoke bombs left by Sherlock, when Rabbit gave Sherlock a signal, and when Rhodes was almost driven mad by those heartless maggots, Sherlock finally made a move.

On the seventh day at noon, Rhodes walked into the conference room, where everyone had been driven crazy by immense psychological pressure, as if he were about to suddenly die. He had just put down his notebook and pen and hadn't even had a chance to speak when Cyborg pushed open the conference room door and walked in.

This was the Justice League's first appearance after nearly a week of silence, and their presence immediately intimidated them.

This is the safest and most secluded meeting room deep inside the White House! But after everyone had arrived, Steelbone walked in calmly, as if he were entering his own backyard!

They didn't even hear any fighting, gunshots, or the police being called!

Almost the instant Steelbone walked in, the group of people present began to sweat profusely. Under the gaze of that faceless, steel-clad electronic eye that only flashed red light, no one dared to resist.

With such a shocking entrance, coupled with the psychological pressure he had put on himself for seven days, no one in the conference room, except for Rhodes, who was in the know, could even muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Hehe, it seems I've arrived at the perfect time. Everyone is here, whether they are the agents on the front or the operators behind the scenes. Very good, I'm very satisfied."

When Steelbone's cold, emotionless electronic voice rang out in this secluded, top-security conference room, no one present even dared to think of resisting, and not a single person dared to speak to Steelbone or make eye contact.

Some people were even sweating profusely and bowing their heads, afraid of being noticed by Cyborg. But Rhodes noticed that these people who had bowed their heads were almost all those who had been the most vocal in the previous meeting. Some of them had even gone so far as to want to use nuclear weapons to intimidate the world and force the Justice League to compromise.

Seeing these guys who had previously clamored for the Justice League to have nowhere to go on Earth now bowing their heads and tucking their tails between their legs like dogs, Rhodes felt for the first time in his life that his status as an Air Force colonel was not an honor but a disgrace.

"Cyborg, right? At least that's what they call you in the comics. Let's talk, what exactly does the Justice League want?"

Whether for the sake of the Avengers' future standing in front of these maggots or for revenge for the seven days of mental torture he suffered, Rhodes had no choice but to step forward at this moment.

Rhodes's act of stepping forward instantly drew everyone's attention. Under the lights, Rhodes clearly saw the emotions in the eyes of those heartless maggots as they looked at him.

It was a kind of joy at Rhodes stepping forward, mixed with a malicious expectation that Rhodes and the Avengers would stand up and fight the Justice League, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

This made Rhodes even more disgusted with these people, and he even decided to retire from the military and truly join the Avengers as soon as this matter was over.