Late at night, Dreykov stared at the message Yelena had sent him on his phone.
A faint smile curled his lips.
"It seems your people have successfully approached the target."
Francis pulled a metal-cased container of unknown liquid from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Super-concentrated anesthetic. No injection needed—just disperse it, and it'll knock out anything within ten meters, even a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The military developed it specifically for the Hulk."
"Oh? You can even get your hands on US military tech?" Dreykov was somewhat surprised. The Hulk had appeared in public multiple times. Ordinary people might not know due to the media blackout, but how could the leader of the Red Room, with his all-encompassing network, be kept in the dark?
"Why do you think I've been so comfortable staying in America all this time?"
Francis said smugly. As one of Hydra's leaders, Alexander Pierce had riddled S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government with holes. How could Francis not seize the opportunity to place his own people inside?
"Qin Xiao's strength is formidable, and he has Natasha Romanoff by his side. In two days, once they fully trust my people, we'll make our move."
Dreykov had his own ulterior motives. Even with Qin Xiao in hand, no one could guarantee they could develop such a powerful super-serum. It was better to simply control Qin Xiao, ensuring his cooperation in the serum's development while gaining a superweapon in the process. What was not to love?
He had already ordered the Red Room's scientists to do everything in their power to synthesize a highly concentrated neurotoxin, hoping to directly control Qin Xiao and make him their own.
Once that neurotoxin arrived, it would be the perfect moment to strike. If that failed, they could always use the tranquilizer Francis provided.
***
After several days together, Yelena was gradually beginning to trust Natasha and Qin Xiao.
At least on the surface, she was. Not only did she slowly start sharing her experiences over the years with Natasha, but she also quietly disarmed some of the small traps she had set at her door when she went to sleep.
These changes delighted Natasha. At the same time, she felt deeply sympathetic towards Yelena, wondering what kind of life her sister had been living all these years, to the point of being so cautious even in her sleep.
Qin Xiao maintained a policy of "seeing but not saying," happily watching the two sisters interact each day.
Finally, on the eighth day of Yelena's arrival, Qin Xiao received a call from Tony.
"The party's ready! You can come over anytime!"
"Got it!"
Qin Xiao hung up with a smile.
"Natasha, I need to go to Los Angeles to Tony's place. Would you and Yelena like to come with me? Yelena needs to make some new friends and have a normal social life."
Whenever Tony had a new idea—whether it was about the Iron Man Armor, the arc reactor, or some other novel gadget—he would always retreat to his Malibu mansion in Los Angeles and lock himself away in his underground garage laboratory.
Everyone was already accustomed to the scientific genius's occasional disappearances.
So Natasha wasn't suspicious of Tony's sudden return to Los Angeles. Instead, she followed Qin Xiao as he pulled Yelena onto the plane with him.
"Want to tour the birthplace of Iron Man—or rather, the Iron Man Armor— ladies?" Qin Xiao said with a grin at Tony's doorstep, addressing Natasha and Yelena.
"Jarvis, open the door!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Qin, but Mr. Stark has revoked your access. He said you all have your own lives now and it's best to keep some distance."
"Mr. Stark has approved your entry request, but for some reason, he asked me to open the door in one minute. After you enter, you can proceed directly to the basement. While the main door's access is restricted, the basement remains unchanged."
"Thanks, Jarvis. Take a photo of this gesture and send it to Tony Stark immediately!" Qin Xiao said, giving the middle finger.
Natasha pulled Yelena aside to explain, knowing Tony was getting back at Qin Xiao for blocking him at the door last time.
The trio entered the basement.
Tony was fine-tuning an Iron Man Armor.
His fingers flew across the keyboard as he entered a series of commands. With each command executed, the armor beside him performed a new action.
It even gave Qin Xiao the middle finger.
"Not bad. I'm trying to input commands that will allow Jarvis to independently control the armor's movements, or even fight on its own. It's a massive undertaking. Natasha, is this your sister? Let me think... Yelena, right? Yelena, congratulations on finding your sister!"
Tony greeted the sisters.
Qin Xiao, as if coaxing a child, said to Yelena, "Want to touch it? Go ahead, try it on!"
Though Yelena was under mind control, her basic curiosity remained. The world-famous Iron Man Armor was naturally something she wanted to examine up close.
She cautiously walked around the armor, reaching out to feel its metallic texture.
Suddenly...
The armor's right thruster erupted in flames. Its right arm swung back, striking Yelena squarely on the back of the head.
Caught off guard, Yelena let out a muffled grunt and collapsed to the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing, Tony?!" Natasha cried out in concern, moving toward Yelena.
Qin Xiao immediately grabbed Natasha's arm and made a shushing gesture.
He said, "Tony, are you crazy? Why would you use the armor to knock Yelena out?"
"It was an accident. You know I was debugging its program. Yelena's movements must have made it think someone was attacking it."
"Jarvis, scan for the malfunction immediately. You understand what I mean?" Tony said, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"Understood, sir!"
A red light shone down from the garage ceiling, slowly scanning Yelena's body.
Though slightly puzzled, Natasha remained silent out of trust in Qin Xiao, watching to see what they were up to.
"No listening devices, sir. But there's a GPS tracker embedded in Yelena's thigh!"
The red light shifted to a single red dot, hovering over the middle of Yelena's right thigh, pinpointing the tracker's location.
Hearing that there were no listening devices, Qin Xiao and Tony both breathed a sigh of relief.
Natasha also realized what was going on.
"You've been suspicious of Yelena's motives from the start, and you've been hiding it from me all along?"
"Don't be angry, darling. After all, she showed up right after we were attacked. Such a coincidence, don't you think?"
Qin Xiao whistled at Tony. "Ready?"
"You bet!"
Tony shoved a massive white machine from between the cars. It looked remarkably like the CT or MRI scanners used in hospitals.
"What is this? What else have you been keeping from me?" Natasha demanded, her voice sharp with frustration.
"A state-of-the-art brain scanner. I've modified it to clearly map the neural activity throughout the entire brain."
"In simpler terms, we can test if your sister is being controlled by someone else!"
-----------------------
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