Elsewhere.
New York.
Inside the presidential suite of a five-star hotel, Xu Xialing was plotting how to maximize the value of the token in her hand when one of her subordinates walked in.
"Boss, there's news from the dark web. A seller wants to sell a Dragon Ball."
Hearing the mention of a Dragon Ball, Xu Xialing's interest was piqued. She asked:
"Which one is it? Better not be another fake."
In her short time in New York, she had already received enough fake Dragon Balls to fill a sack. Back when Kamora put up that bounty, the Dragon Ball counterfeiting business had been booming.
"It's the Sanxingchu (Three-Star Ball), and the seller sent a verification video—bullets can't leave a mark on it."
Hearing that it was authentic, Xu Xialing smiled.
"Good. What's their demand?"
The subordinate continued:
"They're in London. They want a face-to-face transaction."
Hearing that, Xu Xialing wasn't surprised at all. Given the Dragon Balls' value, she wouldn't trust anyone else to handle it either.
"Then we're going to London."
"Charter a plane—we're leaving immediately."
"Yes, boss!"
…
Meanwhile.
Kraven had left the castle and was now in a secret location. After getting out of one car, he entered another waiting vehicle.
Once inside, Kraven angrily said:
"Lucian, you openly clashed with the Deathwalkers and even chased a human."
"I can't believe this actually happened. I heard you've started going on a killing spree."
"Because of you, several Deathwalkers are dead. I even had to apologize to Selene!"
Lucian grabbed Kraven by the neck and said:
"Calm down, Kraven."
"That human has nothing to do with you—and I've been on a killing spree for a while now."
Only after saying that did Lucian release his grip.
Kraven took a deep breath, then looked at Lucian seriously:
"That human has been let go by Soren's people. But the Deathwalkers are tracking him in secret."
"Whatever scheme you're running, don't go near him again."
"Keep your people in the bay, Lucian."
"Don't make me regret our agreement."
Lucian curled his lip in disdain and said:
"With your position now, can't you just recall all the Deathwalkers?"
"Just worry about your own side, Kraven. Remember—I've bled for you."
"Without me, you'd have nothing. Not the status you brag about, not the war stories the blood clan adores."
"You're nothing."
Lies don't hurt. It's the truth that cuts like a blade.
Kraven stared deeply at Lucian, said nothing, and got out of the car.
…
Elsewhere, Soren left the room and went straight to the archives to dig into the records about Lucian's death.
The documents stated: Among all the warriors who attacked Lucian's fortress, Kraven was the only vampire to survive.
He was lavishly rewarded—not only for his courage in breaking through enemy lines, but because he brought back proof of Lucian's death: a branded piece of skin cut from Lucian's arm.
…
Meanwhile.
At the Assassin League's base.
Tony had arranged for all the equipment needed by the AI Friday to be delivered and had staff complete its installation and calibration.
"Smith, I didn't expect you to move this fast. I thought it would take you three to five years to get this base built."
Smith Dole looked at the newly operational information center that occupied an entire building and chuckled:
"Tony, it's called Eastern Speed—you should try it."
"How about I have Fox send you a list of some construction companies? Might come in handy next time you build something."
Tony shook his head:
"Stark Industries has no plans to get into real estate. And as for bases and buildings—I've got plenty."
Smith Dole's mouth twitched at Tony's not-so-subtle flex.
Tony truly was extravagant. He even built a whole base for the Avengers without a second thought.
Speaking of the Avengers, Smith Dole said:
"By the way, that bald guy—he invited the two of us and then completely ghosted us."
Tony shrugged:
"Thanks to you mouthing off last time, they've put the Avengers initiative on hold."
"But honestly, that's for the best. It wasn't really going anywhere anyway. Having that organization or not makes no difference."
"But it did screw your plan to supervise S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I was going to follow your lead—get a 'consultant' title and some oversight rights. But guess what?"
"That bald guy doesn't even show his face anymore. I can't find Nick Fury anywhere."
Hearing that, Smith Dole laughed and said:
"Haha, you don't know the half of it. Last time I brought a few Assassin League members with me to 'exercise oversight rights', you should've seen Nick Fury's face turn green."
"He thought I didn't know where their crappy office was. But I did. Unfortunately, Coulson stopped us at the entrance, saying our people weren't S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and had no authority to enter."
Tony burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"Smith, how could you pull something that fun and not invite me?"
Smith Dole shrugged and said innocently:
"I would've loved to take you along—but you were either off saving the world or tinkering with your Mark suits."
"Speaking of which, how's the new armor coming along? When are we sparring again?"
At the mention of sparring, Tony looked a bit awkward. Given the data from Smith's previous outburst, none of the materials currently available could withstand his attacks. Without a breakthrough in durability, Tony had no intention of letting Smith tear his suits apart.
However, he had heard rumors from the military about some exotic metals recently…
"I'm thinking about portable improvements."
Just then, Bulma came running over and said:
"All done!"
"Oh, and by the way, I modified that AI of yours—Friday is a terrible name."
She pulled a small robot from her backpack and activated it.
It looked... rather abstract—like a four-limbed security camera with a voice.
"AI Dāidāi reporting for duty!"
Smith Dole and Tony Stark both stood frozen in place.
Smith was stunned because the thing looked just like Buru from Dragon Ball GT, the little robot that followed Pan around.
Tony, on the other hand, was shocked that Bulma had rewritten Friday's code—and humanized it to such a degree. It was already more advanced than his own DUM-E or even Friday.
…
(End of Chapter)
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