Phil Coulson was truly tireless and hardworking, going to see Tony that very night.
He handed over Tony’s father’s relics and, on behalf of SHIELD, invited Tony to join the Avengers Initiative.
Tony politely declined, using the excuse that he hadn’t yet recovered from his kidnapping and the attack, adding that if he changed his mind later, he would contact Coulson himself.
Shortly after, Tony discovered the new element hidden within his father’s belongings.
He also guessed that this was likely the “surprise” Grant Chin had mentioned.
However, just as Grant had said, now that his poisoning was completely cured, it wasn’t all that much of a surprise anymore.
All that remained from his father’s legacy was deep, heartfelt emotion.
On the twenty-fifth, the weather was bright and sunny—a perfect weekend.
Grant Chin and Gwen stood at the entrance of the winery to greet their guests.
Quite a crowd had turned up.
Aside from Old Henry’s decades of local connections among Suffolk County farmers, Gwen’s popularity as the high school belle alone brought enough people to pull off a respectable party.
Gwen, Alyssa, and Aunt May took care of the women, while Grant was taken around by Henry to meet the major farm owners.
Henry was hoping Grant would eventually take over the management of the farm.
Grant did indeed intend to do so, so he put on an active, attentive display that left Henry thoroughly delighted.
These were the local guests.
Since most of them lived in Suffolk County, they arrived fairly early, offering their blessings to Grant and Gwen one by one.
The second wave came from New York: classmates of Grant and Gwen, along with contacts of Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Grant was more outgoing with this crowd, as many were young guys who knew him and Gwen well.
Their greetings naturally began with congratulations, followed by exclamations of amazement and teasing Grant for quietly snatching up the school belle without giving anyone a heads-up.
In reality, throughout their years in high school, Gwen had only ever given Grant a chance—and she was actually the one who made the first move.
Still, Grant knew better than to act gloating after getting the sweet deal.
He displayed the fine traditional virtue of a Chinese gentleman: humility.
At the same time, he flexed a bit, explaining that he had been so busy finishing his studies early at MIT that he’d neglected keeping in touch with everyone—a terrible oversight on his part.
He added that once he graduated and returned home to manage this 5,000-acre estate, everyone was welcome to drop by anytime.
*Come on, I’m marrying the school belle because I’m a genius and I’m rich.
Who among you can compete?
Don’t make trouble; just sit back quietly and watch me walk away with the prize.* Just then, Tony arrived in his car with Pepper, calling out “Junior Brother!” as soon as he stepped out.
Look at that: talent, wealth, and powerful connections.
Grant gave Tony a hug and secretly gave him a discrete thumbs-up—not because Tony’s timing was so convenient, but because of how slickly Tony had handled Obadiah Stane.
Giving him enough rope to hang himself was a masterclass in strategy.
First, he let Obadiah get overconfident, and then lured him out to trap and crush him.
One had to admit, corporate moguls really had filthy, scheming hearts.
That stolen prototype arc reactor couldn’t even power the Iron Monger to thirty percent capacity.
Against Tony, who had just been injected with the Divine Strength Gene, Tony could probably throw on the Mark I and beat the Iron Monger into the dirt with his bare hands.
Even on his deathbed, Obadiah probably wouldn’t understand how a mere scientist could rip out his arc reactor with his bare hands and give him a thoroughly brutal beating.
Tony was a massive celebrity lately, so Grant urged him to hurry inside and not steal the spotlight at the door.
He wasn’t the star of the show today.
Still, Tony’s arrival instantly elevated the entire engagement party to a whole new level.
The farmers and classmates who had been raucously drinking suddenly became polite and sophisticated.
No joke—Stark Industries fed half of New York.
Who knew if one of the farmers supplied meat, eggs, or dairy to a Stark subsidiary, or if a classmate’s parent was a low-level manager under the Stark banner?
Now that Tony stood right there, casting his gaze across the crowd, how many people felt their hearts skipping beats in nervous awe?
Next came Grant’s mentors.
His high school advisor and his university professor were old acquaintances and had arrived together.
When they saw Grant, they were just about to greet him when they caught sight of Tony.
Dropping a quick “Congratulations, young man and young lady!” they rushed straight toward Tony.
Don’t ask—whether their grant funding went smoothly this year depended on whether they could flatter Tony properly right now.
Pepper, on the other hand, genuinely liked Gwen.
She handed over a hand-picked gift and didn’t hurry inside either, chatting casually near the entrance.
Grant thought that was all.
Just as he was preparing to give an opening speech telling everyone to enjoy the food and drink, an unexpected guest arrived.
Nick Fury and Phil Coulson.
However, these two hadn’t come out of respect for Grant or Tony.
Instead, Uncle Charles came out from inside with Aunt Tina to greet them on Grant’s behalf.
Grant gave Coulson a nod from a distance.
Nick Fury?
Never heard of him.
He had thought that was the end of it, but after those two arrived, a massive surge of people suddenly followed in their wake.
Figures from business, politics, and the military; wholesalers, energy tycoons, tech visionaries, scientists, artists; real estate moguls, industry icons, A-list celebrities, paparazzi…
Grant’s face grew darker and darker.
Grant pulled Gwen aside and told her to rest, then called Uncle Ben, Aunt May, his father-in-law, and mother-in-law to the back.
He quickly instructed the staff that food wasn’t strictly necessary, but red wine and champagne had to be served in unlimited quantities, after which the family should stay out of sight.
Make sure every guest had at least one glass—whether they drank it or not, they had to have one in hand.
*You guys over there—yes, you classmates—stop staring and go act as waiters.* The engagement party was turning into a red-carpet gala.
The event planners rapidly expanded the program, rolling out red carpets, setting up press areas, and putting up a backdrop banner.
Why?
To let these attention-starved people sign autographs and pose for photos.
Envelopes of hush money were handed out to ensure the journalists didn’t spin wild stories.
This was strictly a private engagement party.
Yet Grant had vastly underestimated the combined influence of the three titans.
Tony Stark, Uncle Charles, and Nick Fury—three heavyweights gathered in one place, alongside top research figures from MIT.
Military, politics, business, and science were all fully represented.
Just standing there, they created an overwhelming force.
Grant quietly marked down a massive score against Nick Fury in his heart.
Tomorrow, Grant Chin’s name would be known across the entire United States, and countless eyes would be fixed upon him.
He would be forced out into the open, exposed to the scrutinizing gaze of the world.
SHIELD had played a brilliant move.
Neither Tony nor Uncle Charles would ever broadcast news of the engagement party to the public; after all, they were family.
Only Nick Fury could leak word to these people that Tony Stark was here, Senator Charles was here, and he, Nick Fury, was here too.
What were they doing here?
Come and see for yourselves.
Grant had been set up.
*You want to stay out of trouble, Grant Chin?
Impossible.
You’re too outstanding, too powerful, a favored son of heaven with extraordinary capability.
In the face of suffering, if someone as powerful as you doesn’t step forward, how are us ordinary people supposed to survive?* *You ought to stand in front of everyone.* Faced with such an open, transparent scheme, Grant didn’t even have a pretext to blow up in rage.
*But Nick Fury, you truly deserve to die.* Grant kept a smile on his face, but killing intent swirled in his heart.
He didn’t care about himself—he was going to get involved in major events anyway, even if just as a bystander.
But by pulling this trick, that bastard had exposed both the Parker and Lawson families.
That was a direct provocation against Grant.
“Immortal’s Touch” could no longer be delayed.
He had to head over to Tony’s place later to procure some equipment, ensure his own safety, and dedicate all his efforts to analyzing Immortal’s Touch.
He could only hope that its benefits far outweighed its drawbacks.
At least so far, neither Divine Strength nor Rapid Dash had posed any danger to his life.
As a Golden Finger provided by the system, it was worth the gamble.
In addition, while he couldn’t go directly to Kamar-Taj, Kamar-Taj had a sanctuary in New York.
He didn’t know who was stationed there right now, but he needed to test the waters and boost his optimization progress.
*Nick Fury, you truly deserve to die.* Grant’s mind raced.
The bomb SHIELD had dropped hit more than just himself—it drew the attention of far too many rats lurking in the gutters, and there were intelligent men among them.
It also included dangerous lunatics.
The changes in Grant and Tony could be hidden from most people, but plenty of others possessed vision equal to Tony’s.
They might not be famous, but they were intelligent and terrifyingly fanatical.
They didn’t care how many lives were lost; they only cared about reshaping the world according to their own will.
The moment things diverged from their vision, they would want to burn the world to the ground.
Grant had extraordinary things in his possession.
Even if rumor attributed a one-in-a-thousand chance of truth to it, those fanatics would come to test him—by any means necessary.
Grant stayed in his room alone, feeling deeply unsettled.
His eyes felt abnormally dry.
Taking off his glasses, he began pacing restlessly within the small space.
This did not relieve his discomfort.
Instead, as his thoughts raced, a sharp pain began throbbing in his eyes.
Ideas multiplied in his mind, growing increasingly chaotic—from planning his next moves to increasing his strength, spinning into a tangled web of unshakeable threads.
Unable to bear it any longer, Grant clutched his eyes in pain, yet his feet kept moving.
He had to break this deadlock.
He had to think.
He had to calm himself and find the best path forward; he couldn’t let the Parker and Lawson families live under a perpetual shadow.
He had no way out.
Damned SHIELD had forced him out into the open.
*Nick Fury, you truly deserve to die!* *Nick Fury, you truly deserve to die!!* *Nick Fury, you…
truly deserve to die!!!* …
Tony hadn’t seen Grant for a while, nor had he seen the Parkers or the Lawsons.
As New York’s premier business titan, he didn’t find the present gathering difficult to handle; he was merely concerned that disrupting Grant’s engagement party seemed rather inappropriate.
Just as he was about to go looking for Grant, the sky above suddenly darkened.
Looking up, he saw that an ominous cloud had blocked out the sunlight over the venue at some point.
An uneasy feeling rose in Tony’s heart.
Scanning the area quickly, he spotted Pepper hurrying over and immediately asked, “Have you seen Grant or Gwen?” Pepper shook her head.
The Lawson and Parker families had vanished ever since the huge crowd arrived earlier, as if they had abandoned the engagement party altogether.
No one was hosting, leaving only the event coordinator running frantically back and forth.
The clouds in the sky grew thicker and thicker.
Gradually, the bustling party fell quiet as everyone sensed that something was wrong.
An invisible pressure descended from the sky.
Though everyone raised their heads to look, they found it increasingly difficult to breathe.
Suddenly, the cloud layer above trembled.
Then, the crowd watched in horror as the clouds opened an eye.
A blood-red eyeball engraved with a hexagram appeared within the cloud layer, gazing indifferently down at the crowd below.