“So, Tony, what’s really going on?”
“Just tell me.”
“Is someone targeting you?”
Knowing he couldn’t hide it, Tony helplessly replied,
“No.”
“It’s just that the toxin levels in my blood have started rising rapidly.”
“And I don’t want you to remove it yet.”
“You said you couldn’t use that ability on someone too many times, remember?”
“Are you seriously going to push yourself this far?”
Ethan had already guessed what Tony was planning.
“Hey, that’s the whole point.”
“I want to push it to the limit.”
“Preferably, wait until the toxins reach 99% before removing them.”
“Wow, wouldn’t that be something?”
Ethan was speechless.
Damn.
When things are going well, you go wild.
You refuse to return to base even when your HP is almost empty.
Even if you have a revive token, you’re eventually going to get camped.
“Fine, fine.”
“I was already wondering where we could go for some fun.”
“I’ll take Hannah with me to Monaco.”
“I’ve never been abroad before.”
“So you’d better take good care of us.”
“Hahaha, don’t worry.”
“My new assistant is extremely capable.”
“I’ll have her arrange everything.”
Tony sounded quite pleased with himself.
After hanging up, Ethan couldn’t help wondering,
An extremely capable new assistant…
Don’t tell me it’s Black Widow?
Ethan told Hannah about the Stark Industries Expo that evening.
He also told her about their trip to Monaco a week later.
Hannah was immediately excited.
She had never traveled abroad either, nor had she ever attended a major event like this.
After they finished lunch, they didn’t have to wait long before someone knocked on the door.
When Ethan opened it, he saw an incredibly beautiful woman standing outside.
She had wine-red hair and an exceptionally attractive figure.
A luxury sedan was parked behind her.
“Hello.”
“Are you Mr.
Ethan and Miss Hannah?”
“My name is Natalie Rushman.”
“I’m Mr.
Stark’s assistant.”
“I’m here to take you to the Stark Industries Expo.”
Ethan knew immediately that this was almost certainly Black Widow.
But he didn’t care.
They were going to meet sooner or later anyway.
“Yes, that’s us.”
“We’re ready.”
“Let’s go.”
“Hannah, let’s head out.”
Ethan took Hannah’s hand and walked outside.
The car soon began driving toward Flushing.
Ethan and Hannah chatted in the back seat.
Since this was Hannah’s first time attending such a major event, she was rather excited.
She kept asking Natalie questions.
“Little Bear, do you think we’ll be able to sit near the front when the event starts?”
Hannah looked forward to it.
The opening ceremony of an expo was usually one of the most interesting parts.
The closer you were to the front, the better you could see.
Afterward, everyone would spread out and freely explore the various exhibits.
“Don’t worry, Miss Hannah.”
“Mr.
Stark has already arranged the front-row seats for you.”
“You’ll have an excellent view.”
Natalie answered from the driver’s seat.
Natalie’s real name was Natasha Romanoff.
She was a S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent and one of their elite operatives.
This time, Natasha had been ordered to infiltrate Tony Stark’s life.
Her mission was to investigate Stark and, if possible, obtain the manufacturing data for his miniature Arc Reactor.
There was another important objective.
She was also supposed to find a way to contact Tony’s mysterious ally.
The powerful superhero known as the Tyrant Bear.
However, Natasha had already been working beside Tony for two months.
Although she had gained quite a bit of information, she still hadn’t uncovered everything.
For example, she had discovered that Tony was suffering from heavy-metal poisoning.
She had also discovered that he was actively searching for something that could replace palladium.
Tony’s basement, however, was completely off-limits to her.
Although Natasha had earned Tony’s trust and was now responsible for handling many of his affairs, only Pepper was allowed into the basement.
As for the mysterious ally Tony kept talking about, he had never come to visit Tony either.
Could Tony Stark have simply been exaggerating?
Natasha couldn’t help thinking that.
There was also something strange about Tony’s condition.
Based on Natasha’s observations, his poisoning had already become fairly serious.
Yet Tony wasn’t behaving like someone who had given up.
That didn’t fit his personality at all.
Natasha couldn’t figure out what was going on.
So she could only report her findings to Fury.
Fury also found the situation suspicious.
However, he couldn’t identify any obvious inconsistencies.
In the end, he simply ordered Natasha to continue her infiltration.
Then, today, Natasha received another strange assignment.
She was ordered to pick up a high-school student.
Not only that, but she was instructed to stay close to him and personally take care of his needs.
This naturally made Natasha curious.
As an elite S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent, Natasha had spent the previous two months thoroughly investigating Stark Industries.
Naturally, she also knew who Ethan was.
He was a major shareholder of Stark Industries, holding 17% of the company’s shares.
He had originally come from an ordinary family.
However, after becoming the author of Harry Potter, his wealth and influence had steadily increased.
When Stark Industries’ stock price had plummeted, Ethan had bought a massive amount of shares.
Later, after Tony acquired Obadiah’s shares, he had inexplicably given Ethan another 10%.
Ethan’s earlier investments had also generated impressive returns.
His investment instincts were exceptionally accurate.
He was engaged and spent most of his time quietly attending Midtown High with his fiancée.
He hadn’t become arrogant or started living a wild lifestyle simply because he had become wealthy.
That earned Natasha’s genuine respect.
Overall, Ethan was an extremely mysterious person.
That was Natasha’s assessment of him.
But she still couldn’t understand why Tony valued him so highly.
Tony had even given Ethan another 10% of Stark Industries.
That was an astronomical amount of money.
Natasha had also never connected Ethan with the Tyrant Bear.
Not until she heard Hannah call him—
“Little Bear.”
Why does Hannah call Ethan Little Bear?
Ethan isn’t particularly muscular.
And there isn’t anything about him that resembles a bear.
Could it be…
Natasha suddenly understood.
Her eyes unconsciously shifted toward Ethan.
He had removed one of his gloves, allowing Hannah to gently rub the bear-paw-shaped pad on his palm.
Natasha’s gaze sharpened.
So that’s it.
The Tyrant Bear…
is Ethan.