At the Trident Building, S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, in the director's office, Nick Fury, wearing his signature black trench coat, leaned on the table with a serious expression. "Coulson, what did you mean by the message you just sent me? How was such crucial information leaked?"
Coulson, hearing the severity in his director's voice, responded with a wry smile, "Director, the information about the wizard professor is strictly confidential. Recently, only Natasha knew about it. However, based on Tony's current knowledge, he only has a code name and no specific details. I suspect it might be related to the research project, and Tony managed to hack it and gain the information from there."
Nick Fury pondered for a moment, silently considering the situation. "Is it really the research project? Who trained these agents to make such low-level mistakes?"
After a while, Coulson broke the silence. "Director, should we exchange intelligence for the Stark Industries reactor? And Tony mentioned that the power design of the aircraft carrier is complete. But he wants to see our sincerity."
Nick Fury didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Coulson, you've been supervising the wizard gold coin project. Any progress?"
Coulson shook his head slightly. "Director, time is limited, and there hasn't been much progress. According to researchers, some elements in the gold coin are related to gold, but they are mixed with numerous unknown elements, which significantly alter its properties. The metal's properties are sufficient for key fields like aviation and military, meeting strategic resource standards."
Nick Fury, thinking deeply, said, "We can't look at this gold coin purely from a technological perspective. It might be refined through unknown technology. The wizard professor might not have mastered the corresponding technology yet and mistakenly thought it was a metal. Or perhaps he cast a wide net, treating us as a backup without providing detailed information."
He paused, contemplating, and continued, "Don't get obsessed with this gold coin. We need to break through the bottleneck of our current relationship. Use the information related to the wizard gold coin project to communicate more and obtain more information. Find his weakness. If he has desires, he has a weakness."
Finally, Nick Fury addressed Coulson's original question. "As for Tony, we can give him certain information. We need a breakthrough now, and I believe he can help us. The wizard gold coin project requires his participation. He will be very interested, and we also need his intelligence."
Coulson nodded and said, "Okay, Director, I'll handle it." Then he added, "Director, there's one more thing. All our surveillance measures on the wizard professor have failed. The infiltrated agent was discovered, the surveillance equipment stopped working, and we were warned that this was the last time. Should we continue to strengthen our efforts or give up temporarily?"
Nick Fury, having seen this in the mission report before, rubbed his temples in distress and sighed. "Give up. We cannot damage the relationship now. We'll wait for a breakthrough from Tony or other sources before proceeding further."
To be honest, Nick Fury found the wizard professor quite difficult. If not for the other party being a friend of an heir to an alien civilization, suspected of involvement in a new wizard civilization, having strong abilities, and possibly having many wizards behind him, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have captured him long ago.
But so many uncertainties prevented any action. Not to mention whether they could even capture the wizard professor with his current strength. Even if they did, it might provoke the hostility of an alien civilization's heir and many wizards. And the professor's displayed strength made it incredibly difficult to capture him.
That evening, in New York, at the Westin Hotel, Tony and Pepper sat on either side of a round table in a luxuriously decorated hall. The surrounding candlelight shone warmly, and the crystal chandelier overhead made the entire hall sparkle. Tony had booked this candlelight dinner in advance.
Raising a glass of red wine, Tony gently clinked it with Pepper's glass. "Pepper, happy birthday," he said with a smile. Today was Pepper's birthday, and he had come to the office early with flowers and arranged for the candlelight dinner.
Pepper, her face full of smiles, responded, "This birthday is very special. It's the first time you remembered my birthday."
Tony, feeling slightly awkward, smiled and quickly took a drink to cover it up. In the past, he usually forgot her birthday until many days later. When asked, Pepper would tell him the birthday gift had already been bought, thanking him for it—though she had prepared it herself as his secretary.
Just then, Tony's phone vibrated. Seeing the message, a trace of pride flashed in his eyes. He showed the phone to Pepper, saying, "Okay, Pepper, you can send SHIELD's goods now."
Pepper, smiling at Tony's childlike excitement, looked on warmly. The two then continued their conversation. Tonight promised to be a lively night.