Soon, the people Happy contacted arrived at the rendezvous point in armored vehicles, picked up Chen Ye and his group, and headed to the Afghanistan airport.
At the airport, Ethan turned and walked in front of Chen Ye and his group, grasping Chen Ye's hands and thanking him, "Thank you for saving me, even though it wasn't your intention."
"Ding"
"Congratulations, Host, you have successfully added Ethan as a friend."
"Obtained attribute: Chemistry Lv8"
"Do you wish to fuse immediately?"
"Fuse," Chen Ye replied in his mind.
Many chemical knowledge points appeared in Chen Ye's mind, and he instantly became a top chemist.
"Haven't we already become friends? Isn't it only right to save a friend?" Chen Ye said with a smile.
Ethan also laughed after hearing him, everything was self-evident.
"Dr. Ethan, are you coming back with us?" Chen Ye asked.
"Ethan has already refused me; he wants to go back to his hometown to see his family," Tony interjected.
Chen Ye didn't speak because he knew that Ethan's family had actually been killed by the militants, and he had only said that before to give Tony Stark hope of survival.
"Tony, actually, I lied to you. My family died a long time ago, at the hands of those militants. Everything I said before was a lie. Now, I don't really know where to go," Dr. Ethan said, his eyes vacant.
Chen Ye saw that his complexion wasn't good, patted his shoulder, and tentatively said, "I'm planning to open a community school in Hell's Kitchen. You can be our science and chemistry teacher. I have an apartment in Hell's Kitchen, with food and accommodation included, and five insurances and one housing fund. What do you think?"
"Ethan, buddy, don't listen to him. After we go back, you can come to my Stark Group. I'll prepare a laboratory for you in the Stark Tower. You can research whatever you want in the future; your talent shouldn't be wasted in a mere community school," Mr. Stark interrupted from the side.
"You take care of yourself first. Look at the little light bulb on your chest. When it stops glowing, I don't need to say what the result will be, and whether you can survive is another matter. Alright, stop talking. It's settled for now. If Ethan ever feels uncomfortable staying in our Hell's Kitchen, I'll send him to your company's place," Chen Ye decided with a slight threat.
Finally, Chen Ye's group and Tony Stark boarded Tony's private jet. The one greeting Tony Stark was his driver and bodyguard, Happy.
The plane quickly took off, flying towards New York's Kennedy Airport.
On the plane, Pietro put on his headphones, preparing to rest. Beside him, Deadpool Dog was eating a grand meal prepared by the flight attendant, and of course, Deadpool was also there, eating and flirting with the flight attendant. Dr. Ethan was chatting with Happy.
Chen Ye sat in his seat, swirling a red wine glass filled with '82 Coke, looking at Tony Stark opposite him.
At this moment, Tony Stark was no longer as disheveled as he was in the cave. He was wearing a suit and eating Western food. His entire demeanor made people think of his playboy identity.
Chen Ye couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, clothes make the man."
"Chen, I wonder what your plans are when you return to New York. I think your dog is quite good; although it's a bit ugly, it's intelligent. Are you interested in letting it work at my company? I can research it."
Tony Stark looked at Deadpool Dog with interest and said.
"Don't even think about it. They are all my family. Not one of them will be missing," Chen Ye said, shaking his head helplessly.
"family, that's really nice. Then I'll pretend I didn't say anything," Tony Stark was stunned after hearing this.
"Don't you have one too, Miss Pepper Potts? Seeing how nervous she is, I don't believe it's just a simple employee-boss relationship. Please be more serious, you're not young anymore," Chen Ye spread his hands.
"What are you saying, at such a young age? We'll talk about this later," Tony Stark didn't expect the man in front of him to say such a thing. Although they had just met, there was a strange feeling of talking to an old friend.
Tony Stark didn't think too much about it, perhaps because Chen Ye had saved him.
"Tony, I hope it's okay to call you that. After all, even though you're our employer, we're also friends, aren't we?" Seeing that Tony didn't object, Chen Ye continued.
"Not many people should know about your trip to Afghanistan this time, right? Have you thought about who might want to kill you?"
Tony Stark was a smart man and understood the hidden meaning in Chen Ye's words.
"You mean, there's an undercover agent in my company?" Tony Stark stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"That's your business, after all, I'm just reminding you. After all, judging by their posture, they want to kill you. Now that we've saved you, I believe they won't give up. Including the people around you, they might threaten you through them," Chen Ye kindly reminded him.
Tony Stark's face sank after hearing this. He looked down at the miniature arc reactor on his chest. Although he might not have long to live, he thought of Pepper Potts possibly being harmed because of him.
Tony Stark quickly said, "I wonder if you still accept commissions. The first commission is to protect Miss Pepper Potts from harm until the mastermind is caught. The second commission is to help me find the mastermind."
"Ten million," Tony Stark held up one finger.
Chen Ye smiled, shook his head, and sighed, "Your relationship is really good. Miss Pepper Potts hired us to save you, and you hired us to protect her. So, I'm just working for both of you, huh?"
"Twenty million," seeing Chen Ye's refusal, Tony Stark continued to raise the price.
Chen Ye shook his head, "It's not about money. Someone will protect you when you return to the United States. I don't really want to interact with them. As for the mastermind, five million, a friendly price."
Chen Ye knew who the mastermind was, so this money was basically free, but he still refused the previous offer.
On one hand, if he told Tony Stark now, he wouldn't believe it, as it was his own uncle. It was better to slowly guide Tony Stark to discover it.
On the other hand, Chen Ye also wanted to be friends with Tony. He had just earned 100 million U.S. dollars from him, so it would be too greedy to ask for more, and Chen Ye himself would feel embarrassed.
"As for Miss Pepper Potts, if anything happens, she can call us. This is my private number. As long as we receive the call, we will arrive within five minutes, and the price will be calculated separately," Chen Ye took out a slip of paper with his phone number written on it.
"If you're worried, you can let Miss Pepper Potts stay in Hell's Kitchen for a while. We will protect her safety," Chen Ye added.
"Hell's Kitchen? Are you kidding?" Tony Stark knew about this place; it was the most chaotic place in all of New York.
"For others, Hell's Kitchen might be dangerous. But for Miss Pepper Potts, Hell's Kitchen is the safest place. Because we are there, I am there," Chen Ye said confidently.
"We'll talk about Hell's Kitchen later. As for the mastermind, I'll leave it to you. If you have any leads, remember to tell me immediately," Tony Stark carefully put away the slip of paper with Chen Ye's phone number and turned to walk towards Happy. He thought to himself that he should hurry back and perfect the blueprints; he was still lacking strength.
Chen Ye saw Tony Stark's wary attitude towards Hell's Kitchen, shrugged, and didn't mind, closing his eyes to rest.
Several hours passed, and the plane slowly landed at New York's Kennedy Airport.
Beside the runway, four cars were parked: two Rolls-Royces, a Military armored vehicle, and a medical ambulance.
Pepper Potts anxiously watched the approaching plane. Beside her was Colonel Rhodes's team from the Military, and medical personnel with stretchers were on standby.
Everyone was there to welcome Tony Stark home.
The cabin door slowly opened, and Pepper Potts, with red eyes, saw Tony Stark step out of the cabin door.
Tony Stark was the first to exit the plane's cabin door. Seeing the stretcher being pushed by medical personnel, he waved his hand and said, "I'm fine; my body can still walk and jump. I don't need this. You can leave."
Watching Tony Stark slowly walk towards her, Pepper Potts covered her mouth, overjoyed.
"You're crying, are you worried about me? It's okay, I'm back."
Tony Stark stepped forward and hugged Pepper.
Pepper Potts smiled, "These are tears of joy. You know, good jobs are hard to find."
Just as Tony Stark and Pepper were embracing emotionally, a whistle interrupted their intimate atmosphere.
It was Chen Ye and his group at the cabin door, and the one whistling was none other than Deadpool, who was watching the drama unfold.
Chen Ye turned around with a displeased, Death-like stare at Deadpool. Chen Ye didn't come out immediately because he wanted to give Tony Stark some time and also enjoy the show. Who knew it would be interrupted again by Deadpool.
Pepper quickly released Tony Stark from her embrace. She stepped forward and thanked him, "Mr. Chen, thank you for bringing Tony back safely. I'll pay the remaining balance later."
Tony Stark immediately interjected, "Remember to put the money through the company's accounts; I'll reimburse it."
"Of course, I don't have that much money," Pepper Potts said, rolling her eyes.
"It's a small matter. Just remember the bet. If you need anything next time, you can come to Hell's Kitchen to find me," Chen Ye said indifferently.
"It seems you still have things to attend to, so I won't bother you for now, Mr. Stark. As for the matters you entrusted me with, I will inform you immediately if I get any news," Chen Ye said knowingly, seeing Rhodes, who represented the Military, nearby.
Chen Ye knew that the upcoming Iron Man armor would appear in the Marvel Universe, which also marked the official beginning of the Marvel major events!
"Oh, and be careful of your new secretary," Chen Ye reminded him before leaving.
Chen Ye believed Tony Stark was a smart man and would take it to heart.