Tony Stark, of course, didn't know Pepper Potts was calling him a capitalist behind his back. Actually, she said it to his face often enough, but he just didn't care, acting like he didn't hear it.
There was nothing he could do about it; he was born into wealth.
He drove his Audi back to his Mansion in New York. Entering the Underground Secret Room, he saw a Red-Gold Armor. This was one of the fruits of his labor over the past two months: the Mark Armor.
In fact, he hadn't just been gathering evidence of Obadiah's crimes these past two months. Following the videos in the Diary, which showed the armor he would wear in the future, he had developed the first-generation armor, the Mark I.
Because he hadn't been kidnapped and had the armor in the video as a guide, the Mark I armor skipped the original model developed in the cave, effectively making it the Mark II.
"The fact is, I am Iron Man. Not a bad declaration!"
Suddenly, a voice full of mockery rang out.
"Who's there?" Tony Stark immediately turned to look, and there was a Black One-Eyed Bald Head wearing a Leather Jacket.
His heart rate spiked. This person had suddenly appeared in the Underground Secret Room of his office, and even Jarvis hadn't given a warning.
"Nick Fury!" The Black One-Eyed Bald Head shrugged and said, "You know, although artificial intelligence is often very useful, it's not always perfect. There are always loopholes!"
Tony Stark glanced at Nick Fury and realized a problem: this guy probably wasn't here to kill him, otherwise, he would have attacked immediately.
His mind was filled with one thought: he didn't know how the other person had gotten in, but he definitely needed to patch this security flaw next time. Although this person wasn't here to kill him, this incident was a wake-up call.
Obadiah could get close easily, and now Nick Fury could too!
He was right; he couldn't completely rely on Jarvis.
In such a short time, Jarvis had made two mistakes in his eyes.
"So, you're not here to kill me?" Tony Stark asked.
He walked over to a Champagne Bottle, poured a glass of champagne, and handed it to Nick Fury.
"You've got some nerve, just like your old man!"
Nick Fury took the Champagne Bottle and said.
"You were a friend of my father's? Even so, there was no need to meet me like this," Tony Stark said, taking a sip of champagne to calm himself.
"Friend? Sort of. We knew each other," Nick Fury replied.
He and Howard Stark knew each other, but when Howard Stark died, Fury was only a middle-level agent in S.H.I.E.L.D., not yet in the upper echelons, let alone the director.
Howard Stark, at that time, was already a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D., with a completely different status.
"I've been watching your actions lately, and you've handled things well. If you hadn't dealt with Obadiah, we would have," Nick Fury said.
"You would have handled Obadiah? Who are you? Which agency do you represent? The FBI? The CIA? Or something else?" Tony Stark asked.
Nick Fury shrugged and said, "I have work IDs for all those agencies that you mentioned, but I don't belong to any of them. Let me introduce myself properly, here's my card!"
He said, pulling a business card from his pocket and handing it to Tony Stark.
"What's this? Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division Director Nick Fury? What a long and strange name!" Tony Stark glanced at the unit on the card. "You wouldn't happen to be some kind of weird cult, would you?"
Never heard of it!
"You can call it S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Nick Fury nodded. "That's the abbreviation of our organization, but you can rest assured, we are indeed a legitimate agency, and we are authorized by the Five Great Council Nations. Later, if you have the chance, I'll let you see a photocopy of the authorization documents from the Five Great Council Nations. You weren't originally qualified, but we can make an exception!"
"Alright, let's get back to the main topic, Iron Man, do you think you're the only superhero in the world?" Nick Fury said, looking at Tony Stark.
Hearing this, Tony Stark suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Nick Fury. Because the nickname Iron Man hadn't been announced yet.
His Mark Armor was ready, but it hadn't been truly revealed to the public. The world was completely unaware of this. Who was this person, and why did he know about Iron Man?
Then he saw Nick Fury take a diary out of his arms.
In an instant, Tony Stark's expression turned grim. This was his most confidential secret, something even Pepper Potts didn't know about.
And now, this Black One-Eyed Bald Head had gotten his hands on it.
"Stealing isn't a good habit!" Tony Stark glared at Nick Fury, saying.
"Stealing? This isn't yours!" Nick Fury said. "That is…"
Nick Fury pointed to the Diary on the table and continued, "Such an important thing, you can't just leave it lying around!"
Tony Stark looked and, sure enough, there was another one on the table, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But then he stared intently at Nick Fury, not understanding how he could have another one. How could there be a second copy of this thing?
If that were the case, then his secrets would be exposed to many people.
But Tony Stark still tried to calm himself down, then said, "After all, I didn't expect someone to come to my house and do a Zero-Dollar Purchase!"
Hmm, he also learned the term "Zero-Dollar Purchase" from Lin Feng's Diary. He had to admit, it was a form of satire, and a rather sharp one at that.
He just couldn't quite believe that America would become like that in the future. It wasn't nonexistent now, but it was nowhere near the point where robbery was considered harmless.
"I didn't touch your things!" Nick Fury said. "To be honest, when this Diary appeared before me, I also found it quite magical, unbelievable. I believe you feel the same way!"
"No, I adapted quickly. After all, in Lin Feng's words, I'm the protagonist!" Tony Stark said. "I don't particularly want to welcome someone who has intruded into my home, so if you would, please tell me, what is your real purpose?"
(End of Chapter)