Zed was already sixteen years old and attended Midtown High School, a hotbed for incidents. Right now, besides the dull Zi-O Watch and the Ziku Driver, Zed also possessed two blank Watch faces and several low-spec Another Watches.
Zed, having been educated by his virtual Uncle for so long, had made significant progress in both his fighting skills and his ability to act cool. Remembering Uncle's ruthless Crimson Drill, spinning kicks, and body dismemberment, Zed's body involuntarily ached.
Zed's dormant power was about to awaken, bringing with it many inconveniences for things he couldn't do at Old Charlie's workshop. He needed a secret base.
Over the past few years, the craft watches Zed made hadn't sold for much. However, he made a decent amount repairing watches at the workshop, especially with the profits from mid-range watches. This money wouldn't be a problem to rent a small warehouse.
"Peter! Do you know of any cheap small warehouses for rent in Queens?" Choosing Queens was naturally due to its central geographical advantage, allowing quick access to any area of New York.
"Mr. Malfoy has warehouses for rent. I used to work in his shop; he's a good guy, and the prices are fair." Peter, though already a high school student, still hadn't matured. It seemed he was still a ways off from being bitten by a spider.
"Alright! Peter, just give me Mr. Malfoy's address and phone number."
Ned waddled over, "Zed, why are you renting a warehouse? Mr. Charlie's workshop is much better than those warehouses."
"A boy can't be without his own secret base, right?"
"Mmm, you have a point!"
"Mmm, yeah, that makes a lot of sense!"
Ned nodded, then turned to Peter. "Peter, you're staring at Mary Jane again. She's Flash's girlfriend, you wouldn't want to steal her away, would you?"
"I'm not! I didn't! Don't be ridiculous!" Peter stammered, denying it three times in a row. However, when Mary Jane walked past earlier, Peter's lovestruck expression had been clearly seen by both of them. Zed had even snapped a photo.
Ned egged him on, "Dude! I believe in you!"
The air was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
"Mr. Malfoy, are you still renting out your warehouse? I'm a friend of Peter's, and he recommended your warehouse to me," Zed asked Mr. Malfoy in Queens.
"Are you a friend of Peter's? Alright then! My warehouse is just around the corner, come take a look. It's a bit old, but well-maintained. How about $150 a month?" They said as they walked.
"This warehouse is too small! $100!"
"Impossible! That's too low! And there's an old air conditioner in here, how could it only be worth $100! The lowest I can go is $140."
After a long period of haggling, Zed finally rented the warehouse for $120. Zed couldn't help but doubt whether Peter's assessment of Mr. Malfoy's fair prices was accurate. Or perhaps Mr. Malfoy was indeed better than the previous bosses Peter had encountered.
The next day, Zed brought Peter and Ned over to help clean up, and also had Ned bring some magazines with "big sisters". A boy's secret base would definitely have big problems if it lacked those magazines.
"Zed, Ned and I are going to participate in the school's science research group, and we have the opportunity to visit those big companies." Peter said to Zed, sipping his soda.
Ned added, "Peter, you have a good relationship with Harry, can we visit Oscorp?"
"Yes, Harry said Oscorp is the first company we're going to visit this year. I heard Stark Industries is coming up later."
"Awesome, Oscorp's biotechnology is so cool! Stark Industries' mechanical style is also great! Oh! My god! I really can't wait to visit."
Zed listened quietly, estimating how long it would take for Peter's science group to finish their studies. It would be less than half a year before Peter got bitten by the spider.
\n\n
Back at Charlie's place, Charlie teased, "How's it feel? Secret base boy?"
\n\n
"Pretty good! A lot freer than your workshop," Zed joked.
\n\n
Charlie didn't mind Zed's joke, and was even happy. Watching the once withdrawn boy grow into the now cheerful and lively young man, old Charlie felt very gratified.
\n\n
"Alright! Joey's coming back tonight. Let's have a nice family get-together."
\n\n
"Oh my God! Tony Stark is missing in the Middle East," Joey exclaimed in a voice of shock, "Look at the news! Come look!"
\n\n
According to the latest news received by our station, Tony Stark was attacked yesterday morning and is now confirmed missing. Tony Stark went to a military testing ground in the Middle East to demonstrate the Jericho Missile. Is the accompanying military responsible? Stark Industries' stock is plummeting, and a large number of shareholders are selling off their shares. How will the upper management of Stark Industries regain the public's confidence? "Which is better, to be respected or to be feared? I say, can't you have both? Allow me to introduce a weapon created for this purpose. I respectfully express a different view, I think the best weapon only needs to be fired once. This principle is still correct today, here are some excuses for your reference, the Jericho Missile."
\n\n
Tony Stark woke up in a dimly lit cave and found a mechanical component on his chest with many wires connected to a large box. Tony's first reaction was that this thing was stupid, but after clearing his head, Tony realized something was wrong and gasped, wanting to pull out the wires.
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that."
"Who are you? What did you do to my chest?"
"I'm Yinsen, the doctor who saved you. Do you remember the bomb attack?" The middle-aged man, dressed in a relatively tidy but worn-out suit, spoke to Tony Stark in a cheerful tone.
Tony's emotions had just calmed down when memories flooded back, attacking his mental defenses.
"Oh! F**k!"
After a long pause, Tony asked, "You're Yinsen, right? How am I doing?"
"The bomb fragments are too small, and they're close to your heart, so I can't remove them. I can only use a car's electromagnet to hold them in place, keeping you alive with the device on your chest." Yinsen saw that Tony had finally calmed down and continued, "There's also bad news: we're now trapped in the terrorist's lair. It's very hidden, even a satellite won't find us without prior intelligence."
"Could it get any worse?" Tony said sarcastically.
Ethan gave Tony a strange look. "Yes! The boss here told me that he wants to see you as soon as you wake up."
!!!∑(Дノ)ノ
The Middle Eastern man with the beard rushed to Ethan's workshop as soon as his underlings reported that Tony Stark had woken up. He first flashed his signature smile, opened his arms, and chattered away before gesturing at Ethan.
Ethan translated, "He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous murderer in American history.' He wants you to make the Jericho Missile."
"I refuse!"
Tony Stark, having removed his helmet, was escorted to the terrorists' weapon storage in the mountain gully. The entire shed was packed with weapons manufactured by Stark Industries.
Ethan continued translating the bearded man's words, "He wants to know how you feel."
"He has a lot of weapons I made."
"Here are all the materials for making the Jericho Missile. He wants you to list the required materials. Start working now. You'll be released when it's done."
Tony laughed and shook hands with the bearded man, saying casually, "He won't."
Yinsen also laughed, "Indeed, he won't."
Back in the cave, Tony sat blankly to the side, staring despondently. Yinsen, who had always been cheerful, seemed very anxious. "You saw it just now. Your legacy, Tony Stark, the work of your entire life, has fallen into the hands of murderers. Do you want to leave this world just like that?"
"Why bother? They'll kill me anyway. Even if they don't, I won't live longer than a week."
"That's your crucial week, isn't it?"
Zed automatically ignored Joey's exaggerated tone. Tony still had three months to return, and even including the time to make the new Mark Armor, it was only three and a half months.
Zed had never had any good ideas on how to make Tony Stark obediently press the Zi-O Watch. This situation made Zed understand even more that no matter how cunning he was, or how rich and rigorous his plans were, he still had limits in places that truly needed imagination and wisdom. For this, he must restore the power of Zi-O as quickly as possible.
The old demon king's legacy wasn't infinite, and Uncle (Virtual)'s combat memory would also dissipate once its energy was depleted. For the next month, Zed poured all his energy into running laps and fighting with Uncle (Virtual), striving to increase his strength at all costs. Before Uncle (Virtual) retired, the power within him had finally recovered. (At this moment, Tony Stark was in the Middle East, hammering away).
At night, Zed put on a hoodie, completely concealing himself before preparing to go out. He estimated that the first transformation would make quite a commotion. Neither Charlie's house nor his small warehouse were sufficient to conceal the effects of the Time Gate. Zed could only transform outside.
The best target was the unmanned warehouse at the port. Assuming he wasn't being targeted, as long as he carefully avoided the cameras, there wouldn't be any trouble... Yeah, right!
A ninja, hidden in the shadows of the street corner, was monitoring the situation at the intersection. Zed, pretending to pass by, didn't bother him. He turned and walked into the nearest supermarket, strolled around for a while, and then left.
Climbing to the highest building with the best view, Zed looked down at the situation at the port. Numerous gang members were guarding the port warehouse in a fan shape, while the ninja was wandering in the shadows. Zed could confirm that The Hand was planning something tonight, and it just so happened that he also wanted to stir things up. One plus one equals more than two, wouldn't that be wonderful!
He took out the Ziku Driver and the dull Zi-O Watch with both hands. He rotated the watch, pressed the switch, and the Zi-O Watch once again burst into light.
"Henshin!"
(End of this chapter)