"Mr. Hong, thank you!!" Peter's excitement was palpable. His small hands clutched the Iron Man model tightly, eyes glued to the signature on the back.
Hong Fei gently ruffled his hair. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it. You've already received your reward, so you need to keep studying hard from now on, understand?"
"Mm!"
"Alright, go back now. I'm leaving. I'll come to see you again when I have time."
Peter's smile wavered, but he quickly forced it back. "Okay, I'll wait for you."
"Mm."
Turning, Hong Fei walked over a kilometer back to the parking lot. Samuel was still in the passenger seat. Hong Fei didn't say much, heading straight for the airport. He wasn't interested in what Samuel was thinking. He only felt that he didn't understand Stark as well as he had thought. That Iron Man model was more than it seemed. Under the sensing of energy, Hong Fei saw cameras, recording devices, a tracking chip, and perhaps other things he didn't recognize.
Tony was beginning to suspect him, or rather, he had never truly trusted him from the start. That was just like him. A man's intuition could be surprisingly accurate.
However, Tony hadn't expected Hong Fei was asking for the autograph for Peter, so his preparations had gone to waste. But with that thing by Peter's side, perhaps it could bring this famous father-son duo, who had no blood relation, together earlier. That could be considered a good thing. Maybe when Tony died, he'd leave a bit more inheritance to Peter.
Arriving at the airport, they chartered a plane to Sokovia. As soon as they boarded, Hong Fei said, "The bill for today is on you."
Samuel asked blankly, "Why?"
Hong Fei didn't speak, just stared intently at his Big Head. Exposing a Big Head wasn't a big deal; there were far stranger deformities in the world. However, Samuel's past identity was no secret to General Ross, and combined with his current green skin, it was hard not to make that irritable old guy suspicious. So, today's chartered flight was indeed because of him.
At this moment, Samuel's head was wrapped in bandages, and his face was made up to look like natural white skin again. If not for that, he feared he wouldn't have passed the boarding gate inspection. Whenever a flight attendant passed by, she would look surprised and then bow apologetically. At such times, Hong Fei would whisper, "Big Head disease, it's not contagious. Thank you for your hard work."
Samuel expressed despair at this.
Arriving at the destination, Sokovia, Number Five, who had returned early, came to pick them up. The three of them rushed back to the castle without stopping.
Unlike when they first arrived, the castle now showed more vitality and signs of life.
There were more people. From the moment they entered, there was no lack of activity. These adult men were mostly busy with their own tasks, and their presence made this centuries-old castle seem to come back to life.
Seeing Hong Fei's gaze, Number Five took the initiative to explain, "Boss, most of them are locals from Sokovia, and a few are from other European countries. Over ninety percent have served in the military, and seventy percent have been on the battlefield. The vast majority are victims caught in the crossfire of internal factional struggles within their respective countries."
Hong Fei nodded slightly. World peace, literally speaking, is a slogan; on a global scale, it is truly just a slogan. People who start wars can win the Nobel Peace Prize — what else do you expect? War has never truly been far from humanity; it has only passively receded on the surface from certain countries strong enough not to be directly infringed upon by others. Even so, every year, people still sacrifice their lives in hidden corners.
The poverty of Sokovia is due to two things: first, its geographical location, which is mountainous and barren; second, the constant wars and warlordism. Located in Eastern Europe, it missed the best historical opportunities. At this stage, it is difficult for it to escape the chaos and rise again.
Not to mention that this small place hides countless shady dealings in the dark. Not to mention things far away, just a few mountains over, the HYDRA castle is much livelier than mine.
Entering the interior of the castle, there were suddenly many young female faces. Their attire was very uniform and relatively conservative. Presumably, these were the remaining ten percent who hadn't served in the military.
Number Five said, "Boss, they are all homeless people who lost their homes, and many are even all alone in the World, with no one to turn to. There are thirty of them in total, responsible for the cleaning of the castle and the meals for everyone."
Speaking of this, he paused, leaned slightly closer to Hong Fei, and his voice dropped significantly: "Boss, they are all safe."
Hong Fei turned his head in astonishment, and Number Five nodded again solemnly and definitely.
Samuel, following behind the two, heard everything clearly. He couldn't help but show a strange look, with contempt hidden in his eyes.
Hong Fei kept a straight face and said as he walked, "You did well. You can let them interact freely with the others. If they can get married, that would be a good thing."
"Yes," Number Five replied, though he was a bit surprised. He followed orders.
Samuel's heart pounded at Hong Fei's behavior, which explained why his psychic abilities had little effect. Shortly after, Hong Fei retreated to his room, and Samuel was assigned the next door.
Sitting at the desk, Hong Fei opened the computer and began to compose an email. The text was concise. "One M1A2 SEP, brand new from the factory, complete components. Receive the goods first, pay after verification." It was crude, even worse than a scammer's message, but the text wasn't the point. It was the twenty-minute video that followed.
The video, filmed in advance by Frank at the estate, recorded all angles and visible areas. Furthermore, to ensure authenticity, Hong Fei had personally started it up using energy. If it weren't inconvenient, he would have fired a shot to show the customers. No other video in the world captured this weapon and equipment so completely, from the overall view to the details. He inserted "Hidden Identity" into the card slot to activate it, then began filling in the recipients. Frank had asked him a question earlier.
"Do you want a long-term transaction or just a quick buck?" Choosing was easy; when Hong Fei chose the latter without hesitation, Frank immediately doubled the number of names on the list. After filling in the fifty email addresses, Hong Fei took a breath and clicked send. The sending completed, and Hong Fei removed the "Hidden Identity" skill card.
Verified, the highest-level skill card in his possession, "Hidden Identity's" special effect not only interfered with others' judgment of him but also affected certain established factors in reality. For example, it made it impossible for the recipients to find Hong Fei's location through network means, and the same applied to phone calls. Now, it was time to wait for news, negotiate prices, determine the order, and then deliver one by one.
Since he had made up his mind to make a quick buck and run, and since only one tank could exist at a time, Hong Fei wasn't afraid of anyone reneging on the payment. Fifty addresses; if half the people were interested, he wouldn't have worked in vain. However, Hong Fei wasn't the same with all target customers. This time, besides selling tanks, he had another important thing to do. Last year, when I returned to Afghanistan for the second time, I had quietly sent out Tony's tin can through special channels. Now, the recipient should have a response.