In a safe house in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
"You're really going to short Stark's stock?!" Stark looked at Mike preparing on the computer with a constipated expression, clearly uncomfortable.
"Of course… once you return safely to the U.S., Stark's stock will inevitably soar, and then he'll announce the closure of the weapons division, causing the stock to plummet. Wow, it'll be like a rollercoaster ride; how thrilling that would be for the shareholders."
The best timing was only during the short period from Stark landing on U.S. soil to the announcement of the weapons division's closure.
So Mike had to prepare first.
"I'm the man who holds the wealth password!" Mike flashed a charmingly evil smile.
Preparing to fleece the company right in front of its CEO, Mike was simply deranged.
Stark was angered again. When he glanced at Mike's account balance, he was stunned. The so-called man who held the wealth password had a balance of "only" seven figures?
Heh heh ~
If he knew that after the mission was completed, the system would deduct it until only six figures remained, he would probably feel more comfortable.
Stark patted Mike's shoulder, "You work hard, double it again, try to make it equal to my weekly pocket money. I'm rooting for you, young man."
Mike stiffened.
That rich jerk Stark should be killed by everyone!
"Why don't you go get some sleep?" Mike changed the subject. "You must be very tired, both mentally and physically."
"Why sleep much while alive? One will sleep forever after death," Stark said eloquently.
"Speak like a normal person," Mike rolled his eyes.
"Can't sleep…"
"Oh, do you want me to sing a lullaby?"
"Get lost!" Stark rolled his eyes back at Mike, saying that ever since he woke up from his coma, he had been thinking about and re-examining his past life, his attitude towards life, humanity, faith, blah blah blah…
Mike felt sleepy listening to him and complained, "You should be telling all this to a Doctor."
"Impossible!" Stark said decisively, "How could the great Tony Stark go see a Doctor? It would be a laughingstock if it got out. How would I act cool after that?"
"Aren't you afraid of me laughing at you?" Mike asked.
"I feel like you've always been laughing at me, so it doesn't matter," Stark said helplessly.
"So, do you feel like you've transformed? Do you want to devote yourself to the great cause of human welfare and World peace, cultivating your character from now on, no more nightclubs, no more parties, and no more women?"
"Is there any necessary connection between… World peace and no more women?"
"Isn't there?"
"Is there?"
At this moment, Clint walked over and plopped down, "You two are so childish."
"Tch!" × 2.
Clint said to Mike, "You go get some sleep. This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, it's very safe."
Mike grumbled inwardly, "It's precisely because it's a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house that I feel unsafe and dare not sleep, just in case all my efforts go to waste."
Back then, HYDRA assassinated Howard Stark because he had caused huge losses to HYDRA, and with him around, HYDRA's plan to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. progressed slowly.
HYDRA was afraid that Tony Stark would become a second Howard Stark. So, by a stroke of luck, his playboy, irresponsible image inadvertently saved Tony Stark.
A black-clad Agent walked over quickly and said, "Officer, there are unidentified armed personnel outside, they've surrounded the safe house."
Clint and Mike immediately stood up and walked out quickly.
Stark looked at the black-clad Agent, "Why aren't you leaving?"
The black-clad Agent pointed a gun at Stark, "Mr. Stark, it seems you'll have to come with us. Don't try to call for help, or we'll have no choice but to kill you!"
"Don't move! Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to kill you!"
A kunai was pressed against the black-clad Agent's throat, no one knew when it got there.
Stark looked at Clint and Mike, who had returned, with pleasant surprise, "How did you…"
Pfft!
Suddenly, the kunai sliced open the black-clad Agent's throat. Blood splattered all over Stark's face.
"…come back?" Stark stared blankly as Mike killed the man, unconsciously finishing his sentence.
He wiped his face, the blood was sticky, and the metallic smell drilled into his nostrils.
"Ugh ~"
Stark bent over, clutching his stomach and dry heaving.
Clint said, "We're already short-handed. Couldn't he have used the radio to notify us? He deliberately ran over, and once there's danger, the standard procedure is to immediately seal the safe house and sound the internal alarm. This clearly indicates a problem."
Mike said, "Unless I'm absolutely sure Tony is safe, I won't leave him alone."
Stark took off his T-shirt and wiped his face haphazardly.
"Thank you for your thoughtful explanation, but now I want to know why you killed him!" Stark asked excitedly.
Clint also looked at Mike, apparently wanting to know the answer as well.
"I told him 'Don't move'."
"But he didn't move!"
"His heart rate suddenly accelerated, his muscle fibers contracted… He didn't move, but he was about to move."
Mike suddenly threw a kunai.
Pfft!
Another Agent who had just poked his head around the corner clutched his throat, making gurgling sounds, and fell to the ground dead.
"I'm sensitive to sounds!"
"What about him?" Clint frowned and asked, "Why did you kill him?"
Mike said, "Since the alarm didn't sound, it means either the others couldn't sound the alarm, or they were compromised."
Clint said, "That's assuming there really are people surrounding the safe house."
"This…" Mike looked at the Agent who died with his throat slit, "He didn't lie. Let's go to the monitoring room to check."
There were two bodies in the monitoring room. One was the safe house administrator, and the other was the last Agent Clint had brought.
Clint's face was grim; two out of his three-Agent team had been compromised.
What had he just said? — "This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, it's very safe."
Slap, slap, slap, a quick slap to the face.
The surveillance wasn't destroyed, perhaps the enemies felt they had victory in their grasp. From the surveillance, there were fifteen enemies, blocking the safe house from all directions. They were waiting, waiting for their two accomplices inside to succeed or fail.
"Breaking out isn't realistic, and the vehicles have most likely already been destroyed."
Clint's face was grim, "Prepare for battle."
Mike had no objections.
Stark took a gun from the dead Agent's body.
Mike asked, "Do you know how to use a gun?"
Stark had an expression that said, "Are you insulting me?" "I'm a U.S. citizen. Is there any U.S. man who doesn't know how to use a gun?"
Mike asked again, "How's your aim?"
Stark looked a little embarrassed, "Depends on luck."
Mike had an expression that said, "You just deserve to be insulted."
Stark suddenly said, "What about Ian? He's still sleeping."
Mike: "Then let him keep sleeping. It'll be over soon."
Hearing Mike's words, Stark felt incredibly at ease.
Clint was fully equipped at this point, with two pistols and a row of magazines on his waist, several daggers strapped to his thighs and calves, two automatic rifles crossed on his back, and his usual bow and arrows in his hand.
Clint suddenly felt a little awkward, "Can you not use that thick mist?"
If there was no visibility, his sharpshooter abilities would be half useless.
"Alright," Mike mumbled, "So troublesome."
For Mike, the Hiding in Mist Technique not only obscured vision and concealed his presence but also served as an important means of perception.
Fortunately, being in the monitoring room, he could understand the enemy's movements.
A few minutes later, presumably after the agreed-upon time, the enemies began to act, first destroying the external cameras, then easily opening the way into the safe house.
It began!