MD-Chapter 356 Coming to the Door

You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon, and I've also activated a (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395

The weapons had been personally delivered by Tony, he didn't trust anyone else with the job.

At the same time, he couldn't quite understand Arthur's obsession with old tech.

What else could he say?

Faced with Tony's questioning, Arthur could only stammer before changing the subject. Fortunately, Tony was more focused on his latest spaceship project and didn't have the time to press him for answers.

Once Tony was gone, Arthur finally let out a relieved sigh.

Sitting in his quarters at Camp Lehigh, he started breaking down the weapons in front of him.

The shipment was massive, just the sniper rifles alone numbered a thousand, far too many for a single room. Most were secured in the Camp Lehigh warehouse, leaving Arthur with only two hundred sniper rifles and thirty rocket launchers in his immediate workspace.

As he eyed the arsenal, a mix of emotions flickered across his face. But there was no point in dwelling on it, time to get to work.

The quiet hum of machinery filled the room as he fed the weapons into the Disassembler one by one. The recent upgrade had made the process significantly smoother, and Arthur couldn't help but appreciate the efficiency of Stark's tech integration.

Without this enhancement, dismantling just these two hundred sniper rifles would have been a grueling, time-consuming task.

With everything loaded into the Disassembler, Arthur estimated it would take a while to process. There was no point in waiting around, so he decided to head home and check on Lily.

He'd been out since morning; staying out all night wouldn't be ideal.

Just as he was about to leave, his communicator buzzed.

"It's me."

Lifting the device to his ear, Arthur answered in his usual, no-nonsense tone.

"Jane is looking for you," Natasha's voice came through. "She just got back and realized all her friends have disappeared. She wants your help finding them."

Arthur considered it for a moment before responding, "Send me her location."

"Hold on."

A notification popped up on his wristband as Natasha remotely transmitted the coordinates.

Then, her voice chimed in again: "Why is it that every time people can't find you, whether it's for something major or minor, they always come to me?"

Arthur smirked. "Maybe because you make your contact info way too accessible?"

"Hmm… I feel like I'm turning into your personal assistant or secretary."

After a brief pause, Natasha added teasingly, "Actually, now that I think about it, most bosses tend to have a certain… dynamic with their assistants. You know, the kind that leads to romantic entanglements over time. In certain cultures, they call it 'falling in love through daily interactions.'"

"…"

Arthur had an immediate response, but the implications of her words made him hesitate.

Previously, his relationship with Lily had been at a standstill. Now that they'd finally crossed that line, keeping things ambiguous with other women would only lead to trouble.

Seeing his silence, Natasha let out a dramatic sigh before ending the call.

Arthur lowered the communicator, absently rubbing his nose as conflicting thoughts swirled in his mind.

With a final exhale, he knelt and traced a teleportation sigil on the floor. The next instant, he vanished, reappearing in London.

…

Jane had been in London all along, and the only reason she managed to track down Natasha indirectly was through her intern, Darcy.

Previously, Natasha had come to look for Dr. Selvig on Arthur's orders and had sent this intern away. 

However, before leaving, Natasha had given him a contact method to avoid any potential accidents. 

After returning to London, after some affectionate moments with Thor, he went to New York to find his mother. Jane wanted to find Darcy but couldn't locate her. 

In the end, she found that intern, after some detours and got Natasha's phone number, which led to Natasha looking for Arthur. 

Based on the coordinates given by Natasha, Arthur arrived at a hotel and rang the doorbell at a room on the ninth floor. 

Moments later, Jane opened the door and was shocked to see Arthur: "I thought you had already left London?" 

"You were right in thinking that." 

Arthur looked inside the room and said, "Is it convenient?" 

"There's nothing inconvenient." Jane stepped aside, allowing Arthur to enter. 

"Darcy is missing, and Dr. Selvig is also missing." Jane went to the fridge and said, "Although this isn't the right time, would you like something to drink?" 

"I'll just have ice water," Arthur replied. "You don't need to worry about their situation." 

"Is it SHIELD?" Jane asked, "The woman I contacted before should be a SHIELD agent." 

"In fact, she works for me," Arthur said. 

"You have that kind of relationship?" Jane suddenly became a bit curious. 

Arthur twitched the corner of his mouth: "We work together." 

"Oh," Jane said, a bit disappointed. 

Arthur was speechless; what was there to be disappointed about? Was it really a crime to not satisfy your gossiping soul? 

"To put it simply." 

Arthur rubbed his face and said, "Your friends, Darcy and Dr. Selvig, are currently working for me." 

Jane brought over two glasses of ice water, and upon hearing this, she was momentarily confused: "Hmm, I thought you were working in Asgard; I heard Thor say you were the God of War." 

"…This was given to me by Odin privately, but it doesn't mean I have a job in Asgard." 

Arthur said, "In fact, Earth is my main base. Throughout this incident, SHIELD has been completely unaware." 

"That's a lot of information to take in," Jane said. "So, you're a new human fighter?" 

"…As expected of a friend of Darcy, your wording is quite similar." Arthur took a sip of the ice water, feeling refreshed, and then looked at Jane seriously: "Actually, I could have just called you about this; at worst, I could have found them and called you to reassure you. The reason I came to find you in person is that I want to formally invite you to join my team!" 

Jane was taken aback, smiled, and then looked at Arthur with a strange expression: "I want to know the reason." 

"Your talents and expertise are a perfect fit." 

Arthur said, "Well, this has nothing to do with who you are dating. Oh, by the way, Thor is also a member of the team, although he may not have realized it yet, but his father has already sold him out completely." 

"..." 

Jane chuckled a bit and then said, "Then I should at least know what I can do once I join?" 

"Trust me, there you will be able to showcase your strengths!" 

(End of Chapter)