Time fast-forwarded to dusk.
The merchants who had applied for booths had already arrived at the venue. As they looked at the vast palace complex floating upon the sea, awe filled their faces—and a single thought echoed in every heart:
So rich! So rich! So rich!
Poverty truly limits imagination. It was impossible for them to understand the way rich people's minds worked.
Crowds of people walked toward the palaces—some dazed, some nervous, some brimming with excitement.A thousand people, a thousand faces; even when facing the same thing, their emotions could never be identical.
Connecting the palaces to the beach were three straight, wide avenues.
One was a European-style stone path, with marble sculptures and other ornaments placed neatly along both sides.
Another was a Chinese-style stone arch bridge, with a black-tiled roof and a slightly arched body—like a black dragon emerging from the water, its scales perfectly aligned along the tiles.
The last was a bluestone road, its entrance marked by a torii gate, with stone lanterns standing quietly along both sides.
Inside the palace complex, the architecture divided the entire structure into five main zones.The futuristic-tech area hosted the energy and gaming conferences;the Japanese, European, and Chinese zones were for the comic convention;and the remaining zone—Tony Stark's personal touch—was a rest area for the event members.
The area connecting the entrances was European in style.A crowd stood in awe at the towering pillars, the creamy-white walls decorated with wall lamps and oil paintings, and the grand fountain in the center of the hall.
Refined! Elegant!
Not a single trace of sloppy craftsmanship could be seen anywhere.
You could never imagine what the rich are doing while you're busy working hard for your paycheck.
Silently grumbling, the ordinary vendors who had applied for booths followed the signs to their assigned spots, doing simple setups in preparation for the next day.
Meanwhile, the agents who had also applied for booths didn't go straight to their stations.Instead, they wandered through the palace halls, quietly gathering intel.
By seven or eight in the evening, people began heading home one after another.
When they awoke the next morning, the sun had already risen—the day of the grand event had arrived.
Compared to the empty beach from yesterday, today's scene was bustling beyond belief.
First, the outer edges of the beach were packed with food stalls—fried noodles, barbecue, milk tea, and more.No one knew whether Tony Stark himself had arranged them, or if the vendors had simply gathered on their own, hoping to make a fortune from the crowd.
Second, there were the people—dense, colorful waves of them, shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see.Hair dyed in every color imaginable… and then some—helmets, feathers, hats—it was a chaotic, dazzling mess that defied description.
On the palace rooftop, Muyang and Bai Yasha stood high above, gazing over the slow-moving tide of people flooding into the venue, scanning for any beautiful girls among them.
Suddenly, Bai Yasha covered his eyes and bowed his head, groaning in agony."My eyes!"
Seeing that, Muyang's expression changed drastically.Scenes of 'Bearded Magical Girl' and 'Muscular Platelet Man' flashed through his mind, and he quickly turned his gaze elsewhere to avoid sharing Bai Yasha's fate.
But some horrors cannot be avoided simply by looking away.
"My eyes!!" Muyang also clutched his face and doubled over, a pained cry squeezing from his throat.
Two LSPs had fallen in battle.
...
Amid the sea of people were warriors, mages, robots, beastmen, Captain Americas—and even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in black suits and sunglasses.Blending in among them were actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agents disguised as cosplayers, their presence perfectly natural.
Snippets of conversation floated through the air—"Target spotted?""Did you see any members from the other organizations?"
Even these could be said openly—any bystanders who overheard would simply assume they were roleplaying lines from a movie.
Coulson walked calmly down one of the venue corridors, flanked by two agents.Their professional bearing drew attention everywhere they went—people constantly stopped to ask for photos.
Of course, real agents couldn't just take selfies with random civilians.Coulson and his team politely waved off the requests, and thankfully no one insisted.
Occasionally, voices crackled through the wireless earpieces—reports from various S.H.I.E.L.D. squads."Spotted agents from XX Division.""Found wanted fugitive XX.""Located unidentified individuals…"
"Keep eyes on those targets," Coulson ordered calmly.He was curious just how many strange creatures and shady figures Stark's comic convention would attract—the fact that even fugitives on the run were showing up said enough.
Of course, those criminals probably weren't here for the convention.There was only one possible reason for their presence—Tony Stark himself.
"Let's go find Tony Stark first," Coulson decided. He needed to warn him.
But after only a few steps, he stopped abruptly."Does anyone actually know where Tony Stark is right now?" he asked over comms.
"No sighting.""Haven't seen him.""Unknown."
One after another, the same kind of replies came through—no one had any idea where Tony Stark had gone.
"Then we wait for the rabbit to come to the trap," Coulson muttered.
Since they couldn't find Stark, they'd simply wait for Stark to show himself.He turned toward Zone 4—the Futuristic-Tech Zone—the site of the product launch conference.
Tony Stark was sure to appear there as the host.By waiting at the venue, Coulson could intercept him directly.And naturally, others with ulterior motives would be thinking the same.All those with hidden agendas would gather in the same place.
"Monitor everyone's movements. Two birds with one stone," Coulson said.
Lost in thought, he continued walking—but he hadn't even left the European zone yet.Sometimes, having a venue too large could be a problem of its own.
And according to intelligence from the agents conducting surveillance,this massive complex had supposedly been built by an alien in just a few minutes.
The technological gap was staggering.
Coulson sighed inwardly—sometimes it was the simplest things that revealed just how far apart two worlds could be.
After passing through Zones 1, 2, and 3, Coulson finally arrived at Zone 4.Its layout was simple: a stage at the center, audience seating all around.
Various tech devices were arranged on the stage—nobody knew what they did,and nobody dared to go up to check, because at the stage's edge stood several humanoid robots.
In the audience, people were already seated—some clearly journalists,some likely representatives from companies attending the launch,some just ordinary spectators,and the rest—those with hats pulled low to cover their faces—were likely the ones with darker intentions.
Coulson pretended to casually scan the surroundings while secretly observing the suspicious ones.They were all on alert, so he didn't dare look too openly, afraid of spooking them.
At that same moment, a man in a hooded sweatshirt and jeans entered the venue.Ivan Vanko.
He stopped beside a pillar, leaning his left shoulder lazily against it, chewing on a toothpick as he squinted at the sparsely filled hall.
Though Tony Stark's life had diverged from the original story, Ivan's father had still told him all about the grudge between the Vanko and Stark families.
This time, however, Ivan hadn't come looking for a fight.He was here to gather intel.After all, if he wanted to defeat Tony Stark… he first had to find Stark's weakness.
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(End of Chapter)