The Iron Monger armor, along with Obadiah's corpse, Tony's battle-worn Mark II, and the entire Stark Industries building, were all blown up into fireworks by Tony using the large arc reactor prototype as a bomb.
Tony looked at the 'fireworks' and then at Pepper beside him, his eyes filled with undisguised tenderness and affection. After tonight, the playboy suddenly realized how important Pepper was to him—not just as an assistant in work and life.
Only Blake, watching the burning building, frowned and muttered, "How much money did all this cost?"
Not counting the prototype reactor, which is hard to estimate, there was the entire building, the Iron Monger, and the Mark II armor that had been used only once. Blake originally wanted to take the Mark II down, but Tony told him that it was damaged and no longer needed.
Damn...
With a little repair, it would be as good as new. Even the gold-titanium alloy material used was of space station grade. Blake remembered Tony's demeanor when he said this, which was no different from an ordinary person throwing away an empty drink bottle. When Blake was a child, his grandmother kept the bottles, saying they could be sold for money. When Blake threw them away, he had the same attitude, telling his grandmother, "Just throw it away. Keeping it only takes up space and won't fetch much money."
He never realized how hurtful those words could be. Blake glanced at Tony, who was whispering to Pepper in the distance, contemplating whether to rush over and beat up this rich fool.
[Mission to eliminate the Iron Monger completed, reward: 1000 points!]
The 1000 points that were credited made Blake feel much better. Obadiah was dead, and Tony had transformed into Iron Man. The story of Iron Man 1 was essentially over, earning him a total of 4000 points, bringing him one step closer to unlocking the Level 2 shop.
At this point, the Level 1 shop wasn't very useful to Blake, and the 3000 points seemed to have nowhere to be spent. Wait, with 3000 points, he could exchange them for a million each if he returned.
"Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand..."
Blake started calculating with his fingers, wondering if he could become a rich man if he returned. After much calculation, 3 billion—he would indeed be wealthy, but compared to Tony...
Alright, Blake gave up.
The storyline had come to an end, and the system informed Blake that he could return to his world at any time. Initially, Blake intended to complete his tasks here and exchange everything he gained for resources in his own world. Whether it was enhancing his strength, acquiring high-tech technology, or even the system's considerate offer of 1 point for a million in currency, it was all aimed at living a better life in his own world.
Although he had traversed different worlds, that world was his real life. This place felt more like a side quest, a game.
But as soon as he crossed over, Blake found himself in the Marvel movie world, where he met Black Widow and joined S.H.I.E.L.D., even though his agent status was somewhat superficial.
He had also become good friends with Tony, which made Blake feel more connected to this world. Moreover, his own strength had undergone a tremendous transformation, making him almost like a superhero. In the Marvel movie world, he could still take action and make a difference. However, if he returned to his original world, he would have to suppress his powers. After all, one person couldn't take on the whole world, and he might end up being dissected and studied like a lab rat.
Blake didn't believe that having 30% of the Hulk's power made him invincible and fearless. This was why, from the beginning, he had insisted on obtaining Tony's artificial intelligence program through buying a house. It was all part of his plan to build a powerful kingdom in his world to ensure a stable life. Once his financial and power base was strong enough, he could live without fear.
The massive explosion at Stark Industries was no small matter. Moreover, Tony and the Iron Monger had fought fiercely on a public street, and countless people had seen the two armors take to the sky. Since tonight's events couldn't be hidden, they had to be reasonably handled with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Otherwise, what was the point of being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?
So, as the fireworks began, Blake called Coulson. After all, cleaning up these kinds of messes was every intelligence agency's specialty, right? Thus, that night, while Blake and Tony went home to sleep, Coulson led S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to control the online narrative, check how many videos had been uploaded, and come up with a plausible explanation for the public.
Whether Coulson slept at all that night was unclear, but early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Blake was woken up by a phone call.
"Coulson, damn it! Did you forget to check the time? Even the chickens on the farm aren't awake yet! Don't you know sleep deprivation leads to hair loss, you damned fool!"
Blake answered the phone with a roar.
"Motherf—"
Coulson, usually a composed man, almost lost it right then and there. This was like insulting a bald man to his face. You guys caused the mess, you called me to clean it up, and now you're upset about being called to help? Technically, you're still under my command.
Coulson, having not slept all night, felt his receding hairline and fought the urge to shoot Blake. Honestly, if Blake were a regular agent, Coulson wouldn't hesitate to teach him some manners. But as Nick Fury's top confidant, he knew about the Avengers Initiative and why Fury had recruited Blake into S.H.I.E.L.D.
So, he swallowed his anger but still gritted his teeth and said, "I've been working all night cleaning up after you. Don't you think you should come over and help out, Mr. Trainee Agent?"
"Haha! Even if you lose a bit more hair, it won't make a difference. It's not that noticeable. But I'm still young and need my beauty sleep!" Blake laughed, his morning grumpiness easing a bit, but he still started getting up.
Though he was joking, he knew that handling public relations was part of their job. Last night's incident was indeed his doing. If he hadn't insisted from the start, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have taken Obadiah away as soon as Tony Stark returned, and none of this would have happened.
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