Like Nick Fury, Coulson, and Black Widow, Tony Stark was also caught up in a flurry of activity.
However, the playboy's business had nothing to do with the diary.
He hadn't made any arrangements based on the diary's spoilers; instead, he was conducting an investigation.
Investigating what? Undoubtedly, it was the EMP Pulse that had caused his armor system to shut down.
The moment Tony Stark learned about this, he immediately realized he'd been set up! Someone wanted to kill him! The Hulk's appearance was entirely a massive trap laid out specifically for him, Tony Stark.
Who could it be?
The playboy fell into deep thought.
And to be frank, there aren't many with both the motive and the capability. Tony Stark almost immediately guessed the answer: Hydra!
Who else would want to kill him, and have the ability to set up such a large-scale scheme?
He'd put Senator Stern in jail and taken out the Winter Soldier.
It would be strange if Hydra wasn't doing something!
"Jarvis, pull up all the surveillance footage from the scene. See if you can find anything."
Even though he was quite certain, he still needed to investigate. Tony Stark immediately gave Jarvis the order.
Swish, swish, swish!
One after another, relevant surveillance camera feeds were projected around Tony Stark by Jarvis.
They looked dense and chaotic, enough to make your head spin.
Jarvis immediately began searching through the relevant surveillance footage.
Unfortunately, the person who made the move on Tony Stark was a high-ranking Hydra agent, so avoiding the cameras was standard procedure.
Jarvis's search turned up nothing useful.
Tony Stark wasn't too surprised by this. For someone who would assassinate him, Hydra naturally wouldn't leave any clues behind.
"Sir, should I contact Nick Fury?"
The considerate AI, Jarvis, offered this suggestion to Tony Stark.
Since there were no traces left on the surveillance, it would be best to leave this matter to an expert like Nick Fury.
"No need."
Tony Stark waved his hand dismissively; the playboy already had another idea.
Heh, they really think they left no trace? Like I, Tony, can't figure this out? How naive!
Don't forget the playboy is the world's most outstanding scientist!
Therefore, Tony Stark knew very well that with the current level of technology, very few people worldwide could create that kind of EMP Pulse.
Tony Stark also had a general idea of the technology needed to create that "EMP emitter," the key materials used, and even the necessary experimental equipment.
For Tony Stark, all he needed to do was find out who was researching EMP pulse weapons, right?
Developing such a complex and sophisticated weapon from scratch couldn't possibly be done silently, without leaving any trace.
"You'd better hide it well, so I don't catch you too easily!"
The playboy's eyes lit up, and he immediately began a detailed investigation into the matter.
And in just half a month, Tony Stark actually found a definite result.
Hydra! It really was Hydra.
According to the playboy's investigation, there were indeed a few people in America deeply researching EMP pulses, a very small number, barely enough to count on one hand.
The only one who weaponized it was a research team.
And for that research team, the playboy also had Jarvis conduct a comprehensive monitoring and investigation.
It was confirmed that the lead researcher was actually a Hydra agent!
So, were there any doubts? There were no doubts at all.
At that time, it was Hydra who secretly orchestrated the assassination attempt on him, using the Hulk.
Confirmed!
And even if he didn't understand Hydra's current structure, and only had a general idea of their scale, one thing was certain.
If Hydra was targeting someone of his caliber, Tony Stark, then the order must have come from the top!
That's right, he, Tony, could now be said to be completely at odds with Hydra.
Of course.
Tony Stark wasn't surprised by this outcome, and he'd even anticipated it as early as when he'd forced his way into a Hydra base and killed the Winter Soldier.
He had also long been mentally prepared.
"Hydra, huh?"
Tony Stark murmured, his voice becoming more profound.
Since you want to play, then Tony will play along!
"Jarvis, contact Nick Fury."
After a moment's thought, the playboy gave Jarvis this order.
A behemoth like Hydra, relying on himself alone would leave him a bit outmatched, and more importantly, the efficiency would be extremely, extremely low.
After all, Tony Stark's primary reliance was Jarvis, and it was also proven during the investigation of the Winter Soldier that this wasn't enough.
Working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to "combine forces" would achieve twice the result with half the effort.
In addition, both sides had the same goal, so a joint operation would naturally be logical.
"Understood, sir!"
Jarvis immediately began to follow Tony Stark's order and contacted Nick Fury.
"Stark?"
Soon, Nick Fury's voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, echoed in the air.
In reality, Nick Fury was quite curious as to why Tony Stark had contacted him.
After all, this wasn't like the playboy's usual behavior.
It seemed Stark must have something important to discuss!
Nick Fury quickly made the judgment in his mind.
"Nick Fury, I've made some new discoveries regarding the Hulk's appearance last time, and I think we should discuss them in depth."
Tony Stark directly stated his purpose to Nick Fury, but he didn't go into too much detail.
Even so, it immediately caught Nick Fury's attention.
"I'll be there in three hours."
After a slight pause, the bald head gave this answer.
"Beep beep beep."
After ending the communication with Tony Stark, Nick Fury immediately began to deal with the matters at hand.
When he finally had some free time and arrived at the playboy's luxurious villa, it really was three hours later. You could say the bald head's time management was superb.
"Alright, Stark, this should be the safest place in the world."
"So, you can just say what you need to say."
After a simple opening, Nick Fury got straight to the point with the playboy.
Tony Stark, of course, didn't waste any time either, telling the bald head about how he was targeted for assassination by Hydra, using Hulk as a decoy.
He also informed the bald head of his willingness to join forces with S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight against Hydra.
"Looks like Hydra has provoked someone they shouldn't have."
Nick Fury sighed meaningfully. He appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was in a great mood.
The matter of Hydra had always been a heavy weight on the bald head's mind.
Although the Skrull's plan to secretly infiltrate Hydra had been proven feasible and effective, it was still far from enough for the bald head.
The addition of Tony Stark would be an incredibly important boost for the bald head.
After all, technology like Jarvis, which surpassed the current era, could indeed play an extremely important role.
"Yes, that's the last thing they should have done!"
Tony Stark nodded in agreement and began discussing the specifics of their "cooperation" with Nick Fury.
It took about half an hour to finish, and both sides were relatively satisfied.
"Stark, if I were you, I'd request protection from the military."
Before leaving, Nick Fury seriously suggested to Tony Stark, "Or, I can arrange for some people."
"No, I'll just give Rhodes a call."
After some deliberation, the playboy made such a decision.
Even though Tony Stark always acted cool and arrogant, seemingly not caring about anything, he could still tell the difference between what was important and what wasn't.
Now that he was targeted by a dangerous organization like Hydra, even if he wasn't used to being followed by a group of bodyguards, Tony Stark understood the necessity of it.
Not to mention that his parents died at the hands of Hydra, just think about last time.
If Satan hadn't appeared in time, wouldn't he, Tony, have already kicked the bucket?
With such a harsh lesson, how could Tony Stark not make corresponding preparations?
The reason he chose the military instead of S.H.I.E.L.D. was naturally because, compared to Nick Fury, the playboy trusted his good friend Rhodes more.
If Nick Fury arranged a mole to come in, wouldn't the playboy be asking for trouble?
Of course, there was another consideration besides that.
If he could drag the military, such a huge entity, into this, it would naturally cause Hydra even greater trouble and a more fatal blow.
After all, the military's influence was something even Hydra couldn't easily provoke.
Things reached an agreement quite amicably.
"OK!"
Nick Fury didn't say anything more, leaving Tony Stark's mansion and returning to his office.
In the next few days, Nick Fury truly began a comprehensive collaboration with Tony Stark.
The two sides shared intelligence and resources, increasing efficiency by several times over! Many secrets that Nick Fury couldn't discover before, hidden extremely well, were unearthed one after another.
Fury's mood was, it has to be said, very good, which was undoubtedly good news.
And a few days later, Hawkeye Barton brought another piece of good news.
"Sir, we've located the Red Guardian!"
"He's being held in a secret prison in the Gulag Forest."
"It's one of the secret detention facilities Natasha provided information on."
In the office, Hawkeye Barton stood before Nick Fury, reporting.
Nick Fury appeared calm on the surface, but a flicker of excitement ran through him. Things were going so smoothly! The Red Guardian was found so easily!
Not only found, but in Siberia, of all places! Perfect, it made the operation even more discreet and less likely to be noticed.
It was as if fate itself was helping him out.
He had to admit, this was an unexpected stroke of luck.
Nick Fury didn't know whether to say the Red Room was audacious or if they simply had a problem with their brains.
They knew Black Widow, a "traitor," was out there, yet they had absolutely no defenses?
Even if she'd created the illusion of the Red Room's demise, they should still have covered their tracks.
Thud!
Speaking of which, Hawkeye Barton placed another file folder on the table.
Nick Fury opened it, and it contained photos of the Red Guardian.
Looking at the guy's huge belly, it was exactly as described in the diary. What the hell had he become?
"Barton, I'm giving you a new mission."
Nick Fury's gaze shifted from the Red Guardian's photos, and he continued to assign Hawkeye Barton a new task.
What mission?
Undoubtedly, it was the mission to rescue the Red Guardian from that secret prison.
This mission was certainly challenging, but for a top-tier agent like Hawkeye Barton, it was nothing too difficult.
After all, both Black Widow and Yelena had managed it. With Nick Fury providing Hawkeye Barton with all sorts of support, it was impossible for Barton to fail.
And the reality was exactly as Nick Fury had predicted.
Barton, leading a team outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. that Nick Fury had provided, planned and executed the operation. In a month and a half, he successfully rescued Red Guardian.
He brought him to a top-secret base, right in front of Nick Fury.
"The food in prison wasn't bad, huh, Mr. Alexei?"
The director, with a meaningful look, stared at Red Guardian. "Or, should I call you Red Guardian?"
"It's been a long time. I didn't expect anyone to still remember that name."
The Red Guardian, his beard a mess and his hair sticking out in all directions, sighed with emotion, then adopted a look of caution and seriousness, staring intently at Nick Fury. "Who are you? Why did you bring me from that hellhole? What's your purpose?"
"You're someone on par with Captain America. It's a shame to let someone like you rot in that place."
"So, I've decided to offer you a second chance."
Nick Fury first gave the Red Guardian high praise before revealing his intentions.
"And what chance is that?" The Red Guardian raised an eyebrow.
"The Avengers Initiative."
Fury then explained the Avengers Initiative to the Red Guardian.
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)