Little Black slowly advanced along the wall, unaware that Tony had already set his sights on him. Finding the living room empty, Little Black rolled on the floor to the back of the sofa, observing his surroundings.
The Lab
"J.A.R.V.I.S., what do you think he's here for?" Tony asked, crossing his arms.
"Unclear, but he appears to be looking for something," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
Tony pondered for a moment. "Turn on the lights leading to this area one by one, lighting the way forward for our black-clothed man."
"Yes, Sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. immediately executed Tony's order.
The Living Room
Little Black saw lights gradually turning on in the distance, quickly illuminating the area in front of him. The lights seemed to be guiding him somewhere.
A trap. Little Black squatted down and slowly retreated. Even though he suspected foul play, he didn't leave. After all, if there was any danger, he could just enter the Shadow Realm and go back, or at worst, get hit and turn into a cloud of black mist, waiting to be resurrected.
Pat! A hand suddenly slapped Little Black's shoulder. Little Black kicked backward without turning his head, but he hit nothing. Just as Little Black was about to attack again, he saw who it was: Big Black, who had also been resurrected by Silas.
Big Black waved and greeted him, explaining the situation. It turned out Silas thought it would be better to resurrect Big Black to help Little Black and foster their relationship.
Little Black's face instantly went dark upon hearing this. He thought his master's decision was terrible. Calling any other Shadowkhan was fine, but calling the stupid and clumsy Big Black? He felt a lot of pressure.
Sure enough, as soon as Big Black saw the guiding lights ahead, he excitedly charged forward. He, Big Black, wanted to earn a first-class merit and show his master his abilities.
Little Black slapped his forehead in exasperation. Forget it, forget it. Even if it was a trap, he wouldn't die. He might as well go and see.
The two arrived at the lab door. Blocking them was a door whose interior couldn't be seen from the outside. Tony had asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to adjust it. Tony could clearly see Little Black and Big Black standing outside the door.
"He fell for such an obvious trap?" Tony was surprised. He was only trying to test them, but he got an unexpected bonus—buy one, get one free.
Outside the door, Little Black surveyed the door and guessed that a password and fingerprint were needed to enter. Big Black took a few steps back, preparing to try and force the door open. Bang! He successfully turned himself into a cloud of black mist.
Little Black gave the spot where Big Black vanished the middle finger. Who are they? The Shadowkhan! Couldn't they just use the Shadow Realm's travel ability? Why rely on brute force? Calling in the Troll Army would make sense, but not their Ninja Army. They needed to use their brains.
Opening a shadow rift above the big door, Little Black slipped through and entered the room.
The moment he entered, Little Black and Tony stared directly at each other.
"What do you want, little thief who broke into my house?" Although Tony wasn't wearing his armor, he didn't fear Little Black. The briefcase at his feet was the Mark V, and he could suit up in an instant. Besides, this was his territory; others should be the ones who were afraid.
Little Black wasn't surprised to see Tony, as the lights earlier had been too obvious; only a fool would believe there was no trap.
Little Black began looking around. As expected, everything in Stark's place was different, utterly unlike the technology outside. Any single item could provide him with a thorough research opportunity, but that wasn't the most important thing today. He just needed to mark Stark's lab so he could return anytime later. Mission accomplished.
Little Black stopped wasting time and quickly ran back into the Shadow Realm, disappearing.
This series of actions completely confused Tony. What was the point of all that? He didn't fight, didn't say a word, and just left.
"F***!" Tony cursed under his breath. Since when did his Freedom City become a place anyone could just enter and exit at will? First, it was Nick Fury, and now another black-clothed man.
"Sir, your place is like a public restroom outside, where people can enter and exit to relieve themselves at will," J.A.R.V.I.S. said.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., are you on their side or mine?" Tony rolled his eyes.
J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "I am certainly yours, Sir, but that doesn't stop me from criticizing you."
"Fine, fine. If I'm running a public restroom, then you're the janitor, and you can't even keep one person out," Tony retorted.
"But the janitor of this public restroom was chosen by your own intelligence, Sir. Therefore, your intelligence must be lacking," J.A.R.V.I.S. fought back without backing down.
"..." Tony was utterly speechless. He could only endure the consequences of creating his own AI. He wondered why he hadn't given J.A.R.V.I.S. an obedience setting.
Silas's Room
"Did you get the location?" Silas lay on the bed, smiling. Getting the location was great. When he had time, he could steal a few interesting high-tech gadgets to play with.
Most importantly, he could give them to Little Black to study in the Shadow Realm without fear of leaving any traces. Once Little Black had finished his research, Silas could steal some materials and manufacture the items himself.
Little Black gestured with his finger: Master, I think we should stop bringing Big Black along in the future. He's simply too stupid.
"Little Black~" Silas sat up and put his hand on Little Black's shoulder. "Listen carefully to your names: Big Black, Little Black. I want you to..."
"...be one better than the other at being sinister?" Little Black finished.
"Good. I'm pleased that you think that way," Silas said, having nothing more to add. To be honest, he also felt Big Black had some intelligence issues. Big Black was more like a clumsy animal. Fortunately, he didn't tear up the house, or Silas would definitely dismantle him.
"How is the Shadowkhan Army doing now?" Silas had put Little Black in charge of the Shadowkhan Army. So far, Little Black was the only one he trusted. If he put Big Black in charge of the Shadowkhan Army, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Little Black replied: The situation is good, but we have alarmed the government. However, with our ability to travel without a trace, the government has no way of dealing with us.
"Just be careful not to expose yourselves," Silas warned. He was thinking that not only the government but also S.H.I.E.L.D. must have their eyes on them. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. loves to handle these kinds of affairs.
Thinking of S.H.I.E.L.D., a brilliant idea suddenly popped into Silas's head. What if he sent a Shadowkhan to S.H.I.E.L.D., strapped a bomb to it, yelled "Hail Hydra!" and then boom self-destructed?
That kind of thing sounded interesting to think about. If one explosion wasn't enough, he would send a few more. The Shadowkhan couldn't truly die; it would just waste some time for resurrection.
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