The arm's pulling action was incredibly fast, but with Zed's current physical condition, avoiding it was effortless.
However, seeing the arm was snow-white, slender, and looked quite appealing, Zed, as if by a ghost's command, didn't resist and went into the room.
The lights in the room suddenly flickered on. Natasha, leaning against the wall, looked at Zed:
"What are you doing here? Do you know how many eyes are watching this place? Are you authorized to just walk around?"
"Secretary Natalie, that's no way to treat a guest. I'm going to complain to Tony," Zed joked, unfazed.
Natasha walked in front of Zed and said softly: "Don't joke around. I believe you won't report me."
"Why?" Zed was puzzled. Why was Natasha so sure?
Natasha provocatively reached out with her fingers, caressing Zed's suit collar.
"I saw through you a long time ago. The future you can foresee isn't complete; it probably only appears in fragments.
You need to grasp those fragments tightly, to keep everything under your control, right?"
Zed shook his head, defeated.
"Ara ara~ As expected of you, Natasha."
"So, tell me now, why are you here so openly?" Natasha shoved Zed against the doorframe.
"Tsk, tsk!"
Zed brushed away Natasha's hands and walked to the center of the room. He swirled the juice in his left hand, and with his right hand, he reached up towards the overhead light, as if he were delicately pinching something. His eyes were unfocused as he said,
"The sun's brilliance cannot be hidden, because it is always there. My existence no longer needs to be concealed either. I want to enjoy the pleasure this world brings me."
After saying this, Zed turned to look at Natasha, his lazy and unrestrained demeanor evident. (Horahag face.jpg)
Natasha narrowed her eyes and asked,
"Are you planning to step into the spotlight?"
"Not yet. There's one more thing we need to prepare for," Zed said, taking a small sip of juice.
Natasha leaned in closer to Zed: "Care to share?"
"Of course not," Zed replied, letting out a dramatic sigh.
"I figured. But we can still talk about renting the dial," Natasha continued, teasing Zed.
Zed thought of poor Tony and silently mourned for him for a second before looking down at Natasha:
"You bugged him? Oh, right, you wouldn't be S.H.I.E.L.D. if you didn't.
So, you heard me say the price for the dial is priceless. Nick Fury wouldn't give up the Tesseract. What else do you have? Don't give me that look. I'm just a shopkeeper taking advantage of a customer. What are you going to do about it?"
Faced with Zed's wicked smile, Natasha's eyebrows arched, and she gave a charming smile. She grabbed Zed's tie and said softly: "Me!"
Zed raised an eyebrow:
"Whoa!"
"Well? What do you think of the price?" Natasha continued to tease Zed.
Zed smiled and gently pinched Natasha's chin:
"If you were just a rose with thorns, I could grit my teeth and pick you. But you're not just a rose with thorns, you're the deadly Black Widow. I can't afford to mess with you, I can't afford to mess with you."
"A man like you is afraid of me? I thought you'd want to conquer me? Aren't kings always fond of conquering women?" Natasha still wouldn't give up.
Zed pursed his lips:
"To be honest, even if I conquered you, I'd feel like it was all an act. I bet whatever positions I like, whatever my quirks are, would all be reported to Nick Fury. It's no fun, and though I indulge myself, my brain isn't broken."
Natasha dropped her alluring pose: "So, no deal then?"
Zed didn't answer Natasha. Instead, he took out a blank watch face and shook it.
"This is an investment, or rather, a loan shark deal. Don't feel bad when I collect."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The loud explosions interrupted Natasha's thoughts. She looked at Zed.
"What's happening upstairs?"
"Uh, nothing much. Just Colonel Rhodey and Tony fighting, and they're both in Iron Man Armor." Zed shrugged.
Worried about her mission, Natasha took the watch face from Zed and hurried towards the party hall.
On the other side of the world, an unfortunate scapegoat had already died in a prison explosion. Ivan Vanko boarded Justin Hammer's private jet and arrived at Hammer Industries' research center.
"Welcome, welcome! Woohoo! Look who it is! The hero who made Tony Stark look like a total mess has arrived!" Justin Hammer greeted him with exaggerated, affected enthusiasm.
Justin Hammer, seeing that Ivan Vanko hadn't responded, immediately got to the point:
"You hate Tony Stark, right? You want to kill him, but that's not revenge. I suggest you destroy his achievements, knock him off his pedestal, and then deal with him."
Ivan Vanko was a smart man and saw through Justin Hammer's schemes at a glance. He feigned agreement, asking, "How?"
Seeing that Ivan Vanko was no longer aloof and indifferent, Justin Hammer quickly pressed his advantage: "You and I are the same kind of people. The only difference is that I have resources, and you don't. You need my resources; you need my help.
You help me build an army that surpasses Iron Man, and I'll help you take down Tony Stark. How does that sound?"
Ivan Vanko couldn't help but laugh, both at his own good fortune and at Justin Hammer's stupidity: "Deal!"
Colonel Rhodey had just finished dealing with those annoying politicians and military officials when he rushed to attend Tony's birthday party.
Rhodey walked in and found Tony completely wasted, showing off in his Iron Man Armor.
"What's wrong with him? What's he doing?" Rhodey turned to Pepper and asked.
Pepper, holding her forehead, sighed. "I don't know. He hasn't been doing well lately. He gets like this when he drinks."
Although Tony had gotten the Lithium Dioxide suggestion from Zed, Jarvis's analysis showed that Lithium Dioxide could only alleviate the symptoms of palladium poisoning, not completely cure him.
Under the influence of alcohol, Tony indulged himself even more, because this party might still be his last birthday party.
Leave tomorrow's troubles for tomorrow; enjoy the moment.
But Colonel Rhodey couldn't stand it anymore, especially when Tony urinated in the Iron Man Armor in public, which directly ignited Rhodey's anger.
Rhodey immediately turned and entered the underground laboratory, putting on the silver Mark II Armor.
"The party should have ended an hour and a half ago, but that's no fun. Let's keep it going for another fifteen minutes! Oh! Hoo hoo!" Tony slurred, clearly quite drunk.
A furious voice cut through the revelry. Colonel Rhodey, clad in the Mark II Armor, addressed everyone:
"I'll say this once. The party's over. Get out, now!"
Tony, clutching a bottle of liquor, squinted at Rhodey. "Hey, Rhodey, Iron Man doesn't need a sidekick. Put it away, and let's get back to the party."
"Take off the Iron Man Armor. You don't deserve to wear it right now," Rhodey said coldly, pointing at Tony.
"Are you serious?"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Natasha and Zed strode forward, one behind the other. Pepper, upon seeing Natasha, immediately accused her: "I know what you're up to! Natalie! Tony's been different since you arrived... Ah!"
Tony and Rhodey began to fight, crashing through countless walls, with many people caught in the crossfire.
Zed leaned against the wall, watching the two of them bicker like amateurs. He egged them on, "Come on! Give it your all! Hit him! Hit him hard!"
Tony twitched his lips. "Who are you even rooting for?"
"I'm not on anyone's side, just enjoying the show." Zed searched the dilapidated villa for quite a while before finding an undamaged bottle of juice. He popped the cap and started drinking.
At this point, only Zed, Tony, and Rhodey remained in the villa, so they fought even more intensely, without the risk of hurting anyone else.
"Hey, Rhodey. You're too green!" Tony punched Rhodey in the back of the knee, making him spin around.
Rhodey got back up and returned a flying shoulder tackle, knocking Tony to the ground.
"Nice! Excellent! One, two, three! Three seconds down! Colonel Rhodey wins!" Zed clapped with one hand, holding the juice bottle.
Rhodey and Tony ignored Zed's encouragement and raised their palm cannons towards each other.
"Put it down! Don't push me!"
"You should be the one putting it down! You need to wake up!"
Neither could convince the other, and they fired simultaneously.
Boom!
After a violent explosion, the entire villa was in ruins, strewn with debris and dust.
Colonel Rhodey looked at Tony, who was lying on the ground with disappointment, and then piloted the Mark II Armor out of the villa.
Tony swayed as he got up, also preparing to leave, when Jarvis spoke up to remind him: "Sir, please take the Lithium Dioxide with you."
"Yes, yes, I know," Tony said, dejected, as he left the villa, completely forgetting that there was still someone else inside.
The huge villa was now left with only Zed. Zed reached out and wiped the cut on his face from the explosion, then tasted his own blood.
Zed smacked his lips and said, "Jarvis, where's the kitchen? I'm hungry."
"Turn right at the end of the hall, sir. Enjoy your meal," Jarvis replied, still diligently playing the role of host.
Once in the kitchen, Zed tossed all the high-end ingredients from the fridge into the oven.
The wound on Zed's face had already healed with the consumption of food, but he still didn't intend to let these delicacies go, looking like he wanted to eat Tony out of house and home: "Mmm, tastes good! Mmm, this is good too!"
Zed ate while pondering his next move.
Although he had revealed the Lithium Dioxide to Tony in advance, he chose the timing well, both giving a favor and not affecting Tony's self-pity.
After this friendly brawl, War Machine, Rhodey, was about to be born, and Nick Fury was also about to hand Howard's legacy to Tony.
Everything was back on track.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)