Chapter 109: Plot Advancement

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“You knew about this, didn’t you?” Tony Stark asked, turning to Wang Jing.

After a moment of hesitation, Wang Jing nodded. “That’s right, I did. But this was also a test for you—more precisely, a trial by fire. If you can’t even handle him, then you don’t deserve to call yourself Iron Man!”

“Then why did you help me just now?”

“I couldn’t exactly stand by and watch him cut you in half!”

As they spoke, a Rolls-Royce came speeding toward them. Its brakes shrieked, and the black vehicle came to a stop directly in front of Tony Stark.

Startled, Tony hurriedly backed away several steps before shouting at Happy in the driver’s seat, “Are you trying to kill me? Why were you driving so fast?”

Before Happy could explain, Pepper Potts pushed open the rear door and yelled at Tony, “Tony, have you lost your mind? If Wang Jing hadn’t been there, do you realize how dangerous that was?”

Tony felt so stifled he could hardly breathe. He couldn’t mention what had just happened—he didn’t want to drag Pepper into it. Besides, he had brought the danger upon himself by driving recklessly, so he had no one else to blame. And Pepper was only worried about him; there was nothing he could say in protest.

Watching Tony endure his mother’s nagging with the impatience of a rebellious teenager, Wang Jing stepped in to rescue him. “We should get out of here before the reporters surround us.”

“Wait. I want to see the man who tried to kill me,” Tony Stark suddenly said.

This time, Pepper did not reject his request.

After dropping Pepper off at the hotel, Tony Stark and Wang Jing went to the local police station. There, under the police chief’s guidance, they met the false Ivan Vanko, who was shackled by the ankles.

The medical pod’s cosmetic capabilities deserved praise. It had perfectly replicated everything, including the tattoos covering his entire body and his powerful physique.

“Leave us alone for a while,” Tony said to the people behind him when they reached the door.

As he opened the interrogation-room door, Tony heard the naked false Ivan Vanko say calmly, “If that Asian hadn’t interfered, I would have succeeded.”

“Even without Wang Jing’s help, I could still have dealt with you,” Tony stubbornly retorted.

The false Ivan Vanko ignored him. Sitting with his back turned on a cold chair, he remained silent.

With his hands in his pockets, Tony leisurely walked up to him and asked, “I don’t believe we’ve ever met. Why did you try to kill me? And where did you get your arc reactor?”

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“Heh. The son of a thief has no right to question the victim,” the false Ivan Vanko sneered contemptuously.

“With one sentence, you’ve completely reversed our positions. Come on, man, take a look at yourself. You’re the one locked up in a police station!” Tony Stark said, frowning as he pointed at him.

The false Ivan Vanko looked at Tony and chuckled. “You’ll be worse off than I am soon enough. Palladium poisoning makes for an ugly death.”

Tony wanted to tell him that he had already recovered, just to wipe that smug look off his face. But remembering Wang Jing’s warning, he swallowed the words that had risen to his lips.

Unwilling to remain the target of one-sided mockery, Tony chose to leave the interrogation room.

Once outside, Tony glanced at Wang Jing and said viciously, “I really want to punch him in the face.”

Wang Jing shrugged, completely unconcerned. “You can still go back and punch him if you want.”

Tony merely snorted arrogantly and walked toward the exit.

After what had happened, he no longer felt like dealing with anything else, so he returned early to his mansion in California.

However, not long after he arrived, Rhode came rushing over.

“I have some bad news. The prison holding Ivan Vanko was bombed. They found a body in the flames, but in my opinion, it was just some unlucky scapegoat. Ivan Vanko was probably rescued.”

“Damn it. Do we know who did it?” Tony Stark asked.

“Not yet. But one thing is certain: someone wants to obtain the technology for manufacturing Iron Man armor from Ivan Vanko,” Rhode said gravely.

Tony turned to Wang Jing, who was lying on the sofa. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll keep an eye on it. You should head back.”

Rhode suddenly leaned closer to Tony and asked, “What exactly is Wang Jing’s background? The people higher up seem terrified of him. If he were an ordinary person, they would have locked him up on any number of charges by now!”

“I know. I can only pray they don’t try. Otherwise, they’ll die horribly.”

Rhode was slightly startled by Tony’s answer. After secretly glancing at Wang Jing, who was lazily sprawled across the sofa, he shook his head and said, “Tony, whatever happens, you should be more careful these next few days.”

“Yeah, I know.”

After seeing Rhode off, Tony sat back down on the sofa. Before he could say anything, Wang Jing asked, “Ivan Vanko escaped, didn’t he?”

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“More or less. Someone didn’t want him getting violated in prison.”

“That’s only natural. I saw it coming. Who do you think it was?” Wang Jing turned to Tony and asked.

“My guess is Hammer. He and the Department of Defense are practically joined at the hip.”

“Heh. Your guess is right. Hammer was the one who rescued Ivan Vanko,” Wang Jing said with a laugh.

“What happens next?” Tony asked.

“I don’t know either. But a major battle is inevitable. After all, your father treated the man’s family terribly,” Wang Jing said, gloating as he looked at Tony.

“Oh, right. I’ll be away for a few days, so you’ll have to manage on your own.”

“Where are you going?”

“New Mexico, to meet a muscle-bound hunk.” With that, Wang Jing rose and walked toward the suit of armor parked nearby.

“You’re leaving right now?” Tony asked reluctantly as he watched Wang Jing move.

“Yes. There’s nothing for me to do here anyway. Oh, and that beautiful secretary beside Pepper is actually a female agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. You could give it a try. Who knows? You might be able to add another conquest to your record,” Wang Jing teased.

“I think I’ll pass,” Tony said timidly.

After learning what S.H.I.E.L.D.’s internal situation was really like, Tony hardly dared risk sleeping with Natasha. He could not guarantee that doing so would not drag him into an endless war between rival spies.

After Wang Jing left, Tony suddenly felt strangely empty. He lay on the sofa, lost in thought for a long time, before deciding to go to the company and seek out Pepper to soothe his loneliness.

However, when he arrived at the office, things were somewhat different from what he had imagined. Pepper was frantically busy, and Natasha was there as well.

Once Tony learned that Natasha was a spy sent by S.H.I.E.L.D., he immediately lost interest in her.

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