!"
You're admitting it, right?!
There are really superheroes in the world?!
Ivan Vanko's eyes widened. "You're a superhero. What do you want me to do?"
"Are you interested in working for me, doing your actual job?"
"Car repair?"
Aaron was speechless. So you were a car mechanic? And now you're hand-crafting exoskeletons? Maybe I should send you to a steampunk world; I'm sure you'd thrive there.
"Boss, you called for me?"
Dr. Otto hurried over, looking a bit disheveled.
"This is Ivan Vanko. He knows how to build the original version of Stark's Arc Reactor. I'm entrusting him to you for training."
He didn't give Ivan Vanko a choice; he made the decision directly.
Ivan Vanko looked like he wanted to say something but held back. He was here for revenge, not to be a workhorse.
However, Aaron ignored him and laid down the law: "You can try to build your own armor, or invent some advanced technology, but don't cause trouble."
"Remember, whatever you do, it won't escape my eyes."
"If you want to get revenge on Tony Stark, that's fine, but first, consider if you even have the power to do so."
With that, Aaron and Felicia left in a stylish manner.
Ivan Vanko watched Aaron's retreating figure with a wary expression, silently.
"You've mastered the power of the sun?" Otto didn't dwell on these things; he was overjoyed.
Ivan Vanko was puzzled. "The power of the sun? Are you talking about your boss?"
"Remember, he's *your* boss now!"
Otto's phone suddenly lit up, and Aaron's familiar voice came through.
Both Otto and Ivan Vanko froze simultaneously.
Especially the latter, who felt a chill down his spine.
How... how did he do that?
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Aaron arrived at the deepest, most secure laboratory in the company.
When the door opened,
a woman suddenly rushed out.
"Oh my god, I know I was wrong, please don't keep me locked up like this."
Skye had been confined for a day and a night. Although she had food and drink, being alone with no entertainment, she couldn't do anything but overthink.
She had thought a lot, reflected a lot.
On one hand, she was scared, and on the other, she was reviewing the sequence of events.
Finally, she realized she had been tricked!
Whether it was the mission giver or the Rising Tide organization.
They had both used her as cannon fodder, a puppet.
Under the guise of upholding the public's right to know, they exploited her decent hacking skills to try and steal secrets from the Osborn Corporation.
Skye hadn't yet joined the Rising Tide; she was a lone wolf hacker, and no one cared about her fate.
After all, the target of this mission was the massive Osborn Corporation. If exposed, they would face endless retaliation.
Now, the worst had happened.
Aaron's hacking skills exceeded her expectations, and the Rising Tide's expectations too.
The Rising Tide was fine; they could temporarily be safe by disconnecting from the internet.
As for Skye... "You know you were wrong? Then what about the hundreds of millions my company lost? How do you explain that?"
Aaron smiled faintly. Did she think an apology would solve everything?
If 'sorry' worked, what would they need the police for?
Skye's face turned pale, and she weakly said, "I'll work for you?"
Aaron chuckled. "Given your crude hacking skills, I'll generously give you ten thousand US dollars a month. That's only a hundred and twenty thousand a year, and a hundred and twenty million in a hundred years."
"You'd have to work for me for four hundred and sixteen years without eating or drinking."
"Um... what about a year-end bonus?" Skye whispered, pressing on.
"Alright, I'll round it down for you: four hundred years!"
Aaron didn't bother with pleasantries with Skye and said directly:
"How about we make it simple? We sign a bond of indenture. Assuming you live to a hundred, you'd only need to work for me for about eighty more years, not four hundred. How does that sound?"
Skye's face went white. Bond of indenture? Work for eighty years? She had just left school and entered society, and in the blink of an eye, she was a workhorse again?
No, this was worse than being a workhorse!
"No! I don't want to!"
Aaron frowned. "You don't want this, you don't want that. Then how are you going to repay me?"
"Hundreds of millions, and you just say you won't pay it back? That's my money. Do you think you're Evergrande, able to make the entire American people pay for your mistakes?"
Skye's mind whirred, and she tentatively suggested, "How about... I marry you?"
"Hmm?"
Aaron looked her up and down. "I want to be your boss, but you want to freeload?"
Skye felt quite embarrassed. This was indeed the only solution she could think of.
However, she worried... "Skye, do you think I lack women? Believe it or not, if I post a marriage ad online, the women who come to apply could line up from here to Hollywood."
Skye nodded. She believed him.
That was precisely what she was worried about.
"Being a wife is impossible, but you can certainly be a tree in the forest."
"Huh?" Skye was confused.
"Come here, let me inspect the goods first. We have a business deal worth hundreds of millions to discuss."
!!!
To Skye's shock, Aaron pressed a button, revealing a hidden lounge.
The large bed in the center was particularly conspicuous.
Are all you researchers so indulgent?
Three hours later,
Aaron walked out of the lab, refreshed. He had just discussed business worth at least several tens of billions with Skye, and they had cooperated very happily, agreeing to discuss the next deal tomorrow.
Looking back at the twenty-centimeter-thick iron door closing, Aaron had a sense of déjà vu, like 'imprisoned girl'.
Shaking his head,
Aaron checked the time. Hmm, 5:30 PM. Time to clock out and go home!
However, as he and Felicia stepped out the door,
Norman brought good news.
"Boss, we found the alien plant you asked us to look for!"
The next morning.
A small town in Missouri.
Aaron, Felicia, Norman, and Helen Cho stepped out of the car.
"This is the home of the person you mentioned, Peter Quill."
"After the homeowner, Meredith, passed away in 1988 and the eight-year-old Quill mysteriously disappeared, this house has been vacant ever since, with no one living in it."
Aaron glanced at Star-Lord's old home and gestured for Norman to lead the way.
Norman understood, knowing Aaron wasn't interested in these details, and quickly had someone lead the way.
"According to the information you provided, I hired a total of thirty-seven local private agencies to search this area day and night."
"And I specifically instructed them not to act on their own if they found a suspicious target, but to notify us immediately."
"One of the 227 private investigators found a suspected target in the jungle three kilometers from here."
Norman explained and reported on the work situation.
Then he took out a few photos.
Aaron only took one look and confirmed that this was the Celestial Flower he wanted!
It was a strange flower with a hollow, netted exterior. Just by its vibrant color, one could tell it was no ordinary plant.
This was the seed, or avatar, left on Earth by Star-Lord's super-powerful father, the malformed Celestial member Ego.
Don't let its seemingly delicate and tiny appearance fool you.
In places invisible to the naked eye, it was deeply rooted in the Earth, remaining dormant until activated.
However, once Ego activated it with Celestial power, it would grow at an alarming rate, engulfing and destroying everything on the surface.
Earth would be covered by special plants, and human civilization would be ruined in an instant.
"According to our preliminary tests last night, this thing contains an extremely powerful special gene, completely different from all life on Earth!"
"It seems to contain enormous energy, but it's currently in a dormant state. Even so, we're finding it difficult to further analyze its composition."
"And... it seems to be alive!"
Norman hesitated for a moment, then rephrased, "It possesses life, even consciousness!"
"I suggest further experiments. This is our opportunity. Once we decipher the genes of this plant, we may once again change all of humanity!"
Felicia and Helen Cho were both very surprised.
Especially Helen Cho, who had already taken the preliminary test data and was meticulously reviewing every detail.
Norman wasn't annoyed by this, completely unconcerned by Helen Cho's almost insubordinate attitude.
After all, Helen Cho was closely associated with Aaron... However, regarding Norman's grand ambitions, Aaron shook his head and chuckled, "It could indeed change all of humanity. For example, by turning everyone into plant nutrients."
Norman froze, looking at Aaron's mysterious smile, feeling that his boss seemed to know more about the secrets within this than they did.
"No one is allowed to research this thing without my orders."
"I wouldn't want to wake up the next day and find that I'm the only human left in the world."
Aaron issued the command in an unmistakable tone.
Of course, no one else would have the chance to interact with the Celestial Flower again.
Because he would completely smelt it.
The power of a Celestial... he was quite interested in that too!
He wondered what abilities he would gain by smelting the Celestial Flower?
But considering certain reasons, Aaron's expectations weren't very high.
Although Ego was a Celestial, he couldn't be viewed normally.
Compared to a regular Celestial, having only lived for tens of millions of years, he was probably still a child?