Chapter 10 – Aftermath & SHIELD's Attention
"You're telling me the pilot of that demonic armor is the playboy from the Stark family?"
Nick Fury sat behind his large black desk, pointing at a tablet.
On the screen, a hellish-looking armor was rampaging through a village in the Middle East. Its mechanical tentacles tore through terrorists like living creatures, painting the entire street blood-red.
"Yes, Sir. We tracked the residual energy signature from the armor's flight path. It led directly to Tony Stark's Malibu mansion."
Phil Coulson stood in front of the desk with his signature mild smile.
Fury's fingers tapped lightly on the desk. "How did he build something like that? And since when is he that violent?"
Coulson shook his head slightly. "To be honest, I'm not sure either."
He paused. "As you instructed, I tried contacting Tony's secretary, Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, but she's extremely guarded. She refused to reveal any information about Tony's recent activities."
Fury let out a cold chuckle. "Miss Potts has always been excellent at protecting her boss."
Coulson nodded. "Yes, and she's particularly wary of us. Every time I tried to probe, she skillfully changed the subject."
Fury stood up and walked to the window, overlooking the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. "According to our intel, Tony Stark may be a carefree playboy, but he wouldn't commit such brutal acts."
He turned around, his single eye sharp as a blade. "Coulson, what do you think this means?"
Coulson thought for a moment. "Two possibilities — either Tony is hiding something… or he's being controlled."
Fury's lips curved into a cold smile. "Or both."
He pressed the intercom on his desk. "Natasha, come in."
Seconds later, the office door slid open. Natasha Romanoff walked in with elegant steps, her red hair catching the light.
"Sir." She gave a short greeting, her gaze flicking briefly to Coulson before returning to Fury.
Fury nodded at her, then swiped rapidly on the tablet. Two photos enlarged in the center of the room as holograms — Ho Yinsen on the left, Chen Tian on the right.
"Ho Yinsen," Fury said in a low voice, pointing at the left photo. "MIT medical doctorate. Captured by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan. Family wiped out. Clean as a blank sheet of paper." His finger moved to the right. "But this man…"
Chen Tian's photo enlarged, showing him standing beside Tony Stark with a faint smile. He looked like an ordinary handsome young man who had just graduated from college.
"Chen Tian," Fury tapped the image heavily. "No records. No birth certificate, no immigration history, no social footprint. It's like he crawled out of a rock."
Natasha's red lips curved slightly. "So you want me to… 'get to know' this mysterious gentleman?"
"Not just get to know him," Fury's single eye gleamed dangerously. "I want to know exactly who he is, why he suddenly appeared next to Tony Stark, and…"
He pulled up a blurry surveillance video. In the footage, Chen Tian stood on the balcony of Tony's villa, swung a blade toward the sea, and sent a slash of sword energy flying, exploding several meters-high waves.
"…how he possesses such power."
Coulson's trademark gentle smile froze on his face. He unconsciously leaned forward, trying to see the footage more clearly.
"Uh… Sir," he blinked. "Are you sure this video hasn't been edited? It looks like a deleted scene from Star Wars."
Natasha elegantly raised an eyebrow, but her fingers unconsciously brushed the dagger strapped to her thigh — her little nervous habit. "Looks like on my next date, I'll have to remind myself not to piss off Mr. Chen."
Fury's eye flicked between the two of them. "What? Are S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agents scared by a single surveillance clip?"
"Scared?" Coulson gave a dry laugh, pointing at the frozen image of the exploding waves. "Sir, this isn't some backyard barbecue trick. This is more like… a missile and a katana had a baby."
Natasha had already returned to her signature lazy posture, but her eyes remained sharp. "At least we now know why Tony's villa security system never reports anything. Who needs alarms when your roommate can fire shockwaves with his bare hands?"
"That's not the point," Fury tapped the desk. The display switched to a scene of Chen Tian debugging equipment in the lab. "Not only can this man split the ocean with one slash, but Stark built that Geneva Convention-violating toy…"
He pointed back at the demonic armor footage. "I suspect this guy is involved too."
Coulson suddenly had a strange expression. "Wait… if Chen Tian is this dangerous, then Miss Potts is living under the same roof as him every day…"
He made a throat-slitting gesture. "Should we give her the 'Bravest Employee of the Year' award?"
"Or 'Unluckiest Employee of the Year'," Natasha added, her red lips curving playfully. "Imagine making coffee in the kitchen and suddenly seeing your new colleague doing sword gestures at the microwave…"
Fury let out a heavy sigh. "Are you two done with your stand-up routine?"
He pulled up Chen Tian's "file" — which was essentially a blank page. "I want an action plan, not a comedy script."
"Simple," Natasha stood up and straightened her already perfect collar. "Obadiah Stane is hosting a charity gala next week as acting CEO. I'll attend and 'accidentally' spill red wine on his suit."
She winked slyly. "If he reacts normally, we keep observing. If he tries to give me a new haircut with 'sword energy'… then we'll have our answer."
Coulson suddenly raised his hand. "I request remote support."
Seeing Fury's questioning look, he explained seriously, "After all, my insurance doesn't cover 'injury by mysterious Eastern sword qi'."
Tony Stark was rudely awakened by the sound of explosions and blinding sunlight.
Well, not exactly "murdered" — more like "attempted murder."
Because right now, Tony didn't even have the strength to lift a finger, let alone get up to close the curtains or flip off the sky.
"Jarvis…" His voice sounded like it had been sandpapered. "Was the demonic energy inside me successfully removed?"
"According to Miss Lia's purification ritual, Sir, the demonic energy has been completely extracted from your body."
Jarvis's voice remained elegantly calm. "However, your vital signs indicate extreme physical exhaustion from the ritual. That is why you currently cannot move."
Tony lay in bed like a beached fish, completely immobile.
He strained his eyes toward the window. Sure enough, Chen Tian was once again giving the Pacific Ocean "free cosmetic surgery" with his sword energy.
The booming sound of exploding waves made his temples throb.
"Jarvis," Tony said weakly, "I currently feel like I spent an entire night with twelve cover models and then got a full-body massage from twelve Terminators."
"Based on your current condition, Sir, your metaphor is remarkably accurate."
Jarvis paused. "Would you like me to play the recording of Miss Lia's purification ritual?"
"No!" Tony's voice shot up an octave, then he immediately winced in pain. "That crazy woman nearly ripped my soul out through my nostrils!"
He recalled the agony when Lia pressed her hand to his head with that wicked grin, and fresh cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"I'd rather get kidnapped by the Ten Rings again than go through that 'demonic energy removal spa' a second time."
Another loud explosion shook the window. Tony felt his bed vibrate.
"Jarvis," Tony groaned weakly, "tell me why Chen Tian is suddenly so violent. He usually does elegant 'one-slash' cuts on the sea. Why is he in full 'berserk chopping mode' today?"
"According to my scans, Sir," Jarvis replied with a subtle pause, "Mr. Chen woke up, took a bath, changed clothes, meditated on the balcony for about ten minutes — and then suddenly flew into a rage."
Tony strained to look out the window. "What did he see during meditation? Or did he find out I sent Happy the video of him naked reciting Marxism?"
"Perhaps Mr. Chen sensed something unpleasant during meditation, Sir." Jarvis pulled up surveillance footage. On the balcony in the early morning, Chen Tian sat cross-legged with a calm expression.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, pupils shrinking to pinpricks, and then—
BOOM!
In the projection, Chen Tian's slash destroyed half the balcony railing.
Tony: ".....Was he meditating or getting struck by lightning?"
"Based on Mr. Chen's muttering," Jarvis continued, "he appears to have sensed some kind of 'energy fluctuation' during meditation, which made him extremely…"
"Angry?" Tony finished.
"The Dragon Country translation is: 'Fuck! Another empty pull!'" Jarvis paused. "By the way, Sir, your yacht 'Stark Waves' docked at the pier…"
Tony had a bad feeling. "What happened to my yacht?"
The footage switched. A stray sword slash veered across the sea and neatly sliced the $80 million luxury yacht clean in half.
Tony: "..."
Jarvis: "... The insurance company may not cover this."
Tony closed his eyes, took three deep breaths, then —
"Jarvis! Connect me to Chen Tian immediately!"
Three seconds later, Chen Tian's slightly breathless voice came through the speaker. "Yo, our sleeping beauty is finally awake."
Tony was speechless for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Do you realize you just turned my yacht into a 'two-bedroom sea-view apartment'?!"
There was two seconds of silence on the other end.
"Uh… I didn't mean to. The boat moved into my sword path by itself."
Tony: "....."
"Hehe… insurance should cover it, right?" Chen Tian sounded guilty.
Tony roared, "Insurance doesn't cover 'split in half by mysterious Eastern sword qi'!"
More awkward coughing came from Chen Tian's side. "Well… how about I help you glue it back together? My sword control is very precise…"
"Glue it back?!" Tony's voice grew louder. "You think this is Lego?!"
Another silence. Chen Tian coughed awkwardly again.
Tony took a deep breath, feeling his temples throbbing. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds and finally sighed. "Forget it… the design was outdated anyway…"
"Haha, I knew the great Tony Stark wouldn't care about something like this," Chen Tian's voice immediately brightened. "By the way, how do you feel? The demonic energy removal ritual…"
"Don't mention that damn demon!" Tony cut him off immediately. "I feel like I was worked over by a dozen burly men all night." He struggled to shift his body. "Jarvis, bring me coffee. Double sugar."
"Sir, given your current physical condition, I do not recommend—"
"Now! Immediately! Right away!"
Chen Tian's voice came through. "How about… I make you some tea? Chinese calming tea…"
Tony narrowed his eyes. "You're not planning to use sword qi to brew my tea, are you?"
"Of course not!" Chen Tian said innocently. "I promise I won't use any abilities this time…"
Before he finished speaking, a loud BOOM echoed from downstairs, shaking the entire villa.
Tony and Jarvis fell silent for two seconds.
"Chen Tian…" Tony said through gritted teeth, "Did you just do something to my kitchen again?"
"Uh… the microwave started it! I swear I was just trying to heat a bun…"
Tony closed his eyes and counted to ten in his mind. "Jarvis, prepare the wheelchair. I need to see what my kitchen looks like with my own eyes."
"Sir, considering your current condition…"
"Wheelchair! Now!"
When Tony was wheeled to the kitchen doorway by Jarvis's smart wheelchair, the scene left him speechless once again.
The microwave door was gone, its interior neatly sliced in half. Chen Tian was squatting on the floor, trying to tape the pieces back together.
"Look!" Chen Tian looked up with a bright smile. "My sword control is pretty accurate, right? I only cut the microwave. Didn't even touch the coffee machine next to it!"
Tony stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. "You know what? I think I should go on Gordon Ramsay's show Hell's Kitchen and have you demonstrate your knife skills."
"Really?" Chen Tian's eyes lit up.
"Yeah," Tony nodded. "You can do a live performance of 'sword qi steak slicing'. I guarantee the audience will never forget it."
Chen Tian scratched his head. "Is that a compliment?"
Tony didn't answer. He simply turned to Jarvis and said, "Note this down. As soon as I can move, the first thing I'm doing is finding Captain America's shield, melting it down, and replacing all the kitchen appliances with vibranium."
"Sir, vibranium's thermal conductivity…"
"I don't care!" Tony said angrily. "At least next time he loses it, my coffee machine might survive with its body intact!"
Chen Tian muttered softly from the side, "Actually, I could use sword qi to grind your coffee beans…"
"Chen Tian!"
"I'm shutting up!"
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