Amidst the ruins, Natasha heard the whispers in her ear, and her body stiffened for a moment.
What kind of brain structure did this guy have?
One moment it was a life-and-death struggle, the next he switched to private tutoring mode?
Moreover, any adult could hear the teasing in that remark.
Natasha didn't respond, nor did she even give him a glance.
She just turned her head, avoiding Tel-Rol's face, which was incredibly close, and her gaze shifted to Steve, who had just crawled out of the wreckage.
Her movements were sharp and clean, as if the ambiguous question just now was merely a gust of wind.
"Tsk, how boring."
Tel-Rol pouted and pulled back.
He found this red-haired woman a bit interesting; she fought desperately, but when not fighting, she was like a block of ice that couldn't be warmed.
However, his attention was quickly drawn to something else.
"Grrrumble..."
A loud sound broke the tense atmosphere.
Tel-Rol clutched his stomach, looking at Tony with a sad and indignant expression.
"Hey, Tin Man!"
"What about the promised food and lodging? Are you treating me to a pile of scrap metal for a welcome party?"
"I'm telling you, I'm starving to death! Starving is a small matter, but delaying my fight this afternoon is a big one!"
Tony's armor mask had just retracted, revealing a face darker than the bottom of a pot.
He pointed at the ravaged conference room, his fingers trembling.
"Eat? You're still thinking about eating?!"
"Look at this place! My tower! My renovations! My Iron Legion!"
"Do you know how much these are worth? Selling you wouldn't even be enough to pay for one toilet!"
Tel-Rol picked at his ear, looking completely unconcerned.
"Then just build more, aren't you very rich?"
"Besides, I didn't break these iron lumps; that guy named Ultron did it. You should ask him for compensation."
Tony felt his myocardial infarction coming on again.
Steve patted the dust off himself and walked between the two, interrupting the pointless argument.
"Stop arguing, both of you."
His voice quieted both Tony and Tel-Rol.
"Tony, check the damage to the tower and the casualties."
"Clint, Natasha, check your gear and stay alert."
Steve issued commands in an orderly fashion; he was like the stabilizing force on this chaotic ship.
"As for you..."
Steve's gaze turned to Tel-Rol, his brows furrowed.
"You just... stay here for now, don't run around."
He really couldn't think of what task to assign this uncontrollable guy.
Ask him to save people? He might crush them to death.
Ask him to clear the ruins? He might demolish the entire building.
"I don't want to stay," Tel-Rol flatly refused. "I want to eat, then find that guy called Ultron and beat him up."
Just then, a faint female electronic voice came from the ceiling speakers.
"Sir, system integrity restored to forty-seven percent. I am back online."
It was f.r.i.d.a.y.'s voice!
Tony's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a life raft.
"f.r.i.d.a.y.! Quick! Report the situation!"
"Where is Ultron? Where did he go? Track his location for me!"
f.r.i.d.a.y.'s voice had a hint of static.
"Apologies, sir. Before leaving, Ultron purged all records of himself from my core database."
"I cannot track his specific location; he has integrated into the global network."
This news made everyone's hearts sink.
An artificial intelligence with self-awareness, hostile to humanity, had entered the internet.
That was like throwing a shark into the ocean.
"However..." f.r.i.d.a.y.'s tone shifted, "In the last moment before he attacked me, I intercepted part of his data flow."
"He invaded secret databases of multiple countries, specifically searching for one word..."
"vibranium."
"vibranium?" Clint was stunned. "Isn't that a specialty of Wakanda?"
Tony's face turned very grim.
"He didn't just want to see it; he stole it."
f.r.i.d.a.y.'s voice confirmed his guess.
"Yes, sir. According to an urgent communication from Wakanda, a vibranium mine on their border was just attacked by unidentified forces."
"A large amount of vibranium was stolen."
The entire ruin fell into a dead silence.
Everyone understood what this meant.
Ultron intended to use the hardest metal on Earth to build himself an indestructible body.
"So, now we have to go find trouble with a bunch of flying tin men?" Tel-Rol finally understood. He stretched his wrists, an excited expression returning to his face.
"This vibranium... body, can it take a beating?"
No one paid him any mind.
Steve looked at Tony, his expression serious.
"He wants to upgrade himself; we must stop him."
Tony paced restlessly for two steps.
"How do we stop him? He's in the network, everywhere! We can't even find where he is!"
Natasha leaned against a broken pillar. She had been wiping her pistol until now, and suddenly spoke.
"No, we know where he'll go."
Everyone's gaze focused on her.
Her beautiful eyes swept over everyone present, finally resting on the bewildered Tel-Rol before quickly moving away.
"Ultron has vibranium, but he still needs a cradle that can fuse vibranium with his consciousness."
"A place that can create a perfect organic body."
Steve's eyes moved; he thought of someone.
"Dr. Helen Cho."
Natasha nodded.
"Exactly. Seoul's top geneticist. Her cradle technology is the best in the world."
"Ultron will definitely go to her."
The objective was clear.
The atmosphere was no longer so desperate.
Tony immediately began giving orders.
"f.r.i.d.a.y., prepare the quinjet. We're going to Seoul immediately!"
"Clint, Natasha, you..."
"Wait!"
Tel-Rol spoke again, out of place.
He walked up to Natasha and looked down at her.
Natasha's black combat suit was covered in dust from the battle, and several places were torn by the impact of explosions, revealing the fair skin beneath.
Sweat made her combat suit cling tightly to her body, outlining curves that were extremely alluring.
"I say..."
Tel-Rol's gaze traveled from her subtly rising and falling chest, all the way down, stopping on her straight, long legs encased in tactical pants.
"Does this outfit really not feel constricting when you're fighting?"
"..."
Natasha seemed to be trying hard to suppress the urge to pull out her gun and give him a full clip.
She chose to ignore him again, walking past him directly and saying to Steve.
"I'll go get the gear ready."
Tel-Rol watched her retreating back, rubbing his chin.
"This woman, she has a really good figure."
"Just a bit short-tempered."
"Bang!"
A wrench flew from the side, accurately hitting him on the back of the head.
Tony yelled furiously.
"Can you damn well tell the difference between appropriate situations! She has a good figure! But is this the time to discuss figures?!"
Tel-Rol turned around, unharmed.
He picked up the wrench from the ground and weighed it in his hand.
"Try throwing this at me again?"
"Enough!" Steve roared, rubbing his temples. "Everyone get ready! We leave in five minutes!"
With that, he was the first to walk out of the ruins.
As Clint passed Tel-Rol, he sympathetically patted his shoulder.
"Brother, let me give you a piece of advice."
"Don't provoke her, seriously."
After saying that, he also quickly followed.
Only Tony and Tel-Rol were left in the ruins.
"Grrrumble..."
Tel-Rol's stomach rumbled again.
He looked at Tony piteously.
"Tin Man, I'm really starving to death."
"Before we leave, can't I have something hot to eat?"
"Even a burger would do!"
Tony looked at his sincere face, then at the top floor, which had become a junkyard, and his temples throbbed.
He squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth.
"There are nutrient meals on the plane."
"Now get on!"