Chapter 64: Chapter 63
"Are you infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network?" Dr. Banner stared at Tony Stark in surprise. "Tony... why would you do that?"
"What did you say?" Captain America stood up and walked towards Tony Stark upon hearing Dr. Banner's remark. "Mr. Stark, it's time for us to unite. You should focus on doing what's right."
"Sorry, Captain." Tony Stark had his own thoughts. He pulled out a bag of snacks and started munching, offering, "I'm not some old soldier who blindly follows orders. Hmm... want some?"
Captain America remained silent, staring at Tony.
"Fine." Tony put away the snacks and turned to Dr. Banner. "Dr. Banner, don't you find it strange?"
"Well..." Dr. Banner hesitated for a moment, then removed his glasses with a wry smile. "Please spare me. I just want to end all this as soon as possible. Don't ask me serious questions like that. I don't want to talk about it."
"Do you also think there's a problem, Doctor?" Captain America also sensed something amiss. He was traditional and conservative, but he wasn't foolish. At least he was willing to trust Dr. Banner. "Can you shed some light on it?"
"Alright..." Dr. Banner sighed helplessly and then became serious. "Captain, how do you perceive the Tesseract?"
"The source of disaster," Captain America responded without hesitation. "The Red Skull used it as an energy weapon, nearly destroying the entire Earth. I wish that thing could remain at the bottom of the ocean forever, just like me. Howard shouldn't have salvaged it."
"Oh, by the way, Howard happens to be my father." Tony Stark spoke up. "I didn't expect that my father used to be your colleague."
"Howard was a truly remarkable man." Captain America clearly didn't hold much affection for Tony. "As his child, you should learn more from him."
"Now is not the time to discuss these matters, Captain." Tony Stark dismissed the topic and locked eyes with Captain America. "Nick Fury informed me that my father was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he recovered the Tesseract from the Atlantic Ocean. So... why didn't he tell me about his private research on the Tesseract?"
"Perhaps you weren't considered worthy," Captain America suggested.
"I'm also a genius, Captain." Tony said seriously. "Do you know how much money the military wanted to pay for my armor? They only need a small palladium reactor to power them, and they can even be unmanned."
"Is manufacturing weapons a noble endeavor?" Captain America frowned. "Weapons are only necessary during times of war, but the world is at peace now."
"You're right, that's what I wanted to say." After hearing Captain America's statement, Tony Stark snapped his fingers. "Captain, Nick Fury is a spy. He's the king of agents. How many secrets do you think he's hiding? If he had nothing to hide, why did we only find out about the Tesseract now? If the aliens hadn't invaded, would we even know about it?"
"But our current enemy is extraterrestrial." Captain America hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and firmly said, "For now, we should follow orders."
"I'm not a soldier, Captain," Tony shook his head. "But I think you said something right. The Tesseract should indeed remain at the bottom of the Atlantic. J.A.R.V.I.S. is currently deciphering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network, and it won't be long before we uncover all of Nick's secrets. All we have to do now is wait."
"Captain, when I was last in New York, I heard there's a massive green creature there. They said it was a monster created by the military, and it was that Sorcerer who helped resolve the situation."
Dr. Banner chimed in at the right moment, "Captain, they never stopped manufacturing weapons."
Captain America fell silent.
Soon, he left the lab without uttering a word.
Just as Captain America left, Fang Mo entered the room, humming a tune and carrying a steaming metal bucket.
"What do you have there?" Tony Stark asked, feeling somewhat perplexed.
"It's milk," Fang Mo explained. "Specially brought from my world. It's incredibly fresh. I had the chef warm it up a bit. Want to try some?"
"Now everyone is busy fighting aliens, and you went to warm up milk?" Tony couldn't help but comment. "Are all you Sorcerers peculiar like this?"
"Do you want to have a taste?" Fang Mo smiled, scooping out a cup.
"No, thanks," Tony turned his head haughtily. "If you were pouring a glass of whiskey, I might have been interested. Milk... pfft, it's just a child's drink."
"You don't want it?" Fang Mo smiled. "Alright then."
"What are you going to do?" Tony Stark suddenly felt something was amiss.
"I just remembered that there might still be some palladium in your body that hasn't been fully removed," Fang Mo said slowly, pulling out the Cleaver from behind him. "Normally, milk helps metabolize heavy metals, but since you don't want to drink it, well, I suppose I'll reluctantly scrape them out for you..."
"Wait, wait!" Tony quickly raised his hand. "I was just joking. Hurry up and pour me a glass to taste. Drinking milk is a great thing, after all..."
"That's more like it." Fang Mo happily handed him a glass of milk.
However, in the next moment, he shifted his gaze to Doctor Banner, who looked bewildered next to him.
"Doctor, would you like a glass too?"
"I..." Dr. Banner hesitated.
"Or should the Hulk have a glass?" Fang Mo inquired.
Doctor Banner glanced at Fang Mo, then at the enormous purple cleaver he somehow produced, and decisively chose to surrender. "Okay, please give me a glass of milk."
So Fang Mo happily scooped a glass of milk and handed it over.
Observing this scene, Tony discreetly rolled his eyes where Fang Mo couldn't see him. Honestly, he wasn't particularly interested in milk. Whiskey and sports cars were the true essence of manly indulgence. However, amidst the ongoing crisis, there was no need for Iron Man to engage in pointless disputes with his teammates over such a trivial matter.
After all, milk couldn't be worse than chlorophyll, right?
But the moment Tony took his first sip of milk, a rich aroma enveloped his mouth. It was an unparalleled tenderness, sweetness, and richness.
Even the world's wealthiest man couldn't help but reveal a surprised expression in that moment.
"Delicious..."
Dr. Banner, on the other hand, had the same expression. "Wow, this is simply the best milk I've ever tasted. Mr. Fang Mo, could this be milk squeezed from a magical cow?"
"In a way, you could consider it magic cow milk," Fang Mo shrugged. In the world of Minecraft, cows could produce an infinite amount of milk as long as you had enough buckets or other containers. It was absurdly abundant, and Minecraft cows could single-handedly dominate the global dairy industry, boasting surprisingly delightful taste.
In fact, this could also be considered one of Fang Mo's tested
Stand abilities. Regardless of the food or drink, once Fang Mo brought something from the Minecraft world into reality, its taste would always be exceptional. Even a simple baked potato, once brought into reality, became filled with rich potato flavor, crispy and delicious.
"By the way, what were you researching?" Fang Mo poured himself a glass of milk and inquired, while taking a sip. "I saw you, Tony, working on something on the computer earlier."
"I wasn't working on anything significant, just browsing... random stuff," Tony Stark hesitated, glancing at Fang Mo. He wasn't sure if he should share the information with him. After all, Fang Mo seemed to be acquainted with Nick Fury. What if they were both involved?
Surprisingly, Fang Mo could sense Tony's hesitation.
"You're hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network, aren't you?"
"Do you understand technology? Are you a scientist?" Tony was taken aback but quickly retorted, even using Fang Mo's own words against him. "Dr. Banner and I hold multiple doctoral degrees. What could a sorcerer like you possibly know about computers? I'm merely enhancing the gamma-ray search program. It's a newly developed alpha-mega-ultra program..."
"I can see the future," Fang Mo calmly stated, looking directly at Tony.
"I don't believe you." Tony was a staunch believer in science. After a brief pause, he stubbornly stood his ground. "Apart from Laplace's demon, nothing else can accurately predict future events..."
"So, you guys want to know what Nick Fury is concealing, right?" Fang Mo continued nonchalantly, disregarding the tense atmosphere. "Well, he has been conducting research on energy weapons. From individual combat to large-scale weapons of mass destruction. Ever since Howard acquired the Tesseract, their research on it has never ceased. And there's something about mutants and the Infinity Stones... In short, he's harboring numerous secrets from you all."
Just as Fang Mo finished speaking, the sound of footsteps approached the door. Soon, Nick Fury entered, pushing it open.
"I heard from the chef that you just warmed up a bucket of milk, filling the whole corridor with a delightful aroma," Nick Fury casually remarked, placing a stack of documents on the table. "Give me a glass too."
Fang Mo nodded and handed a glass of milk to Nick Fury.
"This milk tastes really good." Nick Fury's eyes lit up, clearly relishing the unique flavor of Minecraft milk. He drank it while asking, "By the way, what were you guys discussing just now?"
"Oh, I was simply informing them that S.H.I.E.L.D. is covertly developing weapons of mass destruction," Fang Mo cheerfully replied.
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