After chatting with J.A.R.V.I.S for a while, Lin Rui took his leave. Likewise, Peter and the others who had returned from Asgard with Lin Rui also departed. Their mission to Asgard had been quite fruitful, but now it was time to process and digest all they had learned.
Since the establishment of the Earth Federation was brought to the forefront, SHIELD has entered an incredibly busy period.
Captain America, Steve Rogers, who served as the Director, had no idle moments. On the other hand, Tony Stark, another key figure in the Earth Federation, had a relatively easier time.
Though Tony attended the initial meetings, he began to skip the subsequent ones. Compared to engaging in political debates, Tony found it more productive to work with Dr. Banner in the laboratory on various new technologies.
Establishing the Earth Federation required not only the consolidation of global resources but also the development and dissemination of cutting-edge technology. At this point, individuals like Tony and Dr. Banner, top-tier scientists, became particularly essential.
Furthermore, Tony had come to realize that relying solely on the continuously upgraded Iron Man suit wouldn’t make him a formidable hero in the same league as the Phantom Knight, especially considering the increasingly powerful threats Earth was facing from otherworldly civilizations like Dormammu.
However, Tony quickly found his niche. While Iron Man’s upgrades might not keep pace with the growing challenges, he could make up for it with quantity if quality wasn’t enough.
Moreover, Tony had several ongoing research projects aside from upgrading the Iron Man armor. Alongside Dr. Banner and Dr. Erik, who had joined due to Jackson’s recommendation, he was researching the spatial energy of the Magic Cube.
During the Dormammu invasion, Lin Rui had installed a small device on Tony’s super-armored suit, and this had become one of Tony’s primary areas of research.
After the Dormammu incident, Tony repeatedly inquired about the source of the technology that could instantaneously enlarge his super-armored suit to hundreds of times its normal size.
However, due to concerns about the longstanding grudges between Dr. Pym and Tony’s father, Howard, Lin Rui had never provided a straightforward answer.
Eventually, unable to withstand Tony’s incessant questions, Lin Rui reluctantly gives Tony a small amount of Pym Particles. However, he hadn’t disclosed the origins of these particles, and Tony had decided to research them on his own.
In truth, Tony had fallen into a paradoxical situation. Though Dr. Pym’s research was highly classified, Scott had previously infiltrated the base where Tony manufactured the Spaceship using Ant-Man technology.
To be frank, with a little deduction, Tony could figure out that the abilities of the intruder who had grown and shrunk at will were not the result of mutated powers but rather a form of advanced technology.
However, perhaps when Tony started researching Pym Particles, he would recall the incident that J.A.R.V.I.S had reported. By then, it would be impossible for Dr. Pym and the newer Ant-Man to remain hidden.
In a situation where global powers and technology converged, it was evident to even a fool how much Dr. Pym’s technology could benefit the establishment of the Earth Federation.
Nonetheless, considering how Dr. Pym and Howard had fallen out in the past, even if their secrets were exposed, Dr. Pym might not agree to join SHIELD or the Earth Federation.
These old-timers had their own temperaments, and quite strong ones at that. Nevertheless, these were concerns for the future. Perhaps Tony would soon uncover the secrets of Pym Particles, and at that point, they might not even need the two generations of Ant-Man, Dr. Pym and Scott.
Apart from the spatial energy of the Magic Cube and Pym Particles, Tony hadn’t abandoned his research on Venom and Extremis, which he had acquired a long time ago. He had noticed significant changes in Venom, having nurtured it for so long.
From initially being a simple entity that consumed energy and possessed autonomous evolution, Venom had now evolved its thinking, displaying behaviors resembling those of an intelligent species.
Tony had observed all these changes in Venom and had devised appropriate countermeasures. With significant upgrades to his own technology, Tony found that Venom’s unique attributes were becoming less essential.
Nevertheless, Venom’s lifeform characteristics still hold plenty of potential for research. If it could be perfectly integrated with Extremis, it might become an invention rivaling nanotechnology.
In such a scenario, Tony didn’t pay much attention to the fact that Lin Rui had taken some people with him to cause trouble in Asgard. After all, given Lin Rui’s current power, he was unlikely to encounter any serious danger in Asgard.
Furthermore, Tony was one of the few individuals aware of Lin Rui’s plans. To ensure the success of this act, Earth needed to accelerate its technological advancement.
At the very least, when Loki returned to Earth with a massive Chitauri army to invade the Nine Realms again, Earth needed the strength to resist or even annihilate the Chitauri forces. Only then could this performance be considered a perfect finale.
So, when J.A.R.V.I.S reminded Tony that Lin Rui and the others had returned from Asgard, Tony didn’t leave the lab but simply acknowledged the information. Lin Rui and his team had returned safely, marking the climax of the first act of this performance.
The remaining scenes depended on how well Loki would play his part, while Earth needed to make sure it was fully prepared.
“It seems… that Jackson had a complete plan all along! But such a plan is exactly what Earth needs. Establishing the Earth Federation won’t always be smooth sailing; there will be difficulties to overcome,” Tony thought to himself as he analyzed the data on his screen.
As Peter and the others had already returned to their respective homes, Lin Rui had hurriedly made his way to Colorado, Star-Lord’s former home. After a brief conversation with Captain, the leader of the SHIELD team currently searching for Ego’s seed, Lin Rui learned about their progress.
Whether the seed itself wasn’t in Colorado or it possessed exceptional concealment capabilities, SHIELD hadn’t made any significant discoveries in the area.
“Well, you’ve all worked hard. If you don’t find anything in that final area, you can call it a day. I’ll take care of the rest,” Lin Rui told them.
Considering Lin Rui’s conjecture about the seed’s hidden nature, he leaned toward the latter option – that the seed had powerful concealment abilities. In that case, even if SHIELD searched the entire globe, they might not find a thing. Therefore, Lin Rui had decided to take matters into his own hands for the remaining time.
…
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