Ch.146 Roller Coaster

What happens when two young people, who haven't seen each other for a month, meet again?

You don't need to think too hard—it's like dry wood meeting a blazing fire, with the sun and moon losing their light.

So, in this highly charged atmosphere, the two of them headed to... Stark Tower.

Yes, that's right, Stark Tower.

According to Gwen Stacy, over the past month, she had finally proven with her abilities that she deserved the job.

Moreover, she had been assigned to a very important position in the experimental team.

She even heard from her supervisor that Tony Stark himself knew her name.

So, in order to live up to Tony Stark's attention and to improve herself further, she had been working hard during this period.

That's right, the two of them, in this extremely passionate atmosphere, went to work.

To work.

To work.

Damn those capitalists!

And Ronan naturally knew what was going on.

Gwen Stacy's excellence was one thing, but another reason was Ronan's relationship with Tony Stark.

Think about it—no matter how outstanding an intern is, how could they suddenly catch Tony Stark's attention?

After all, Tony Stark is notoriously idle.

Now, almost all the affairs of Stark Industries are handled by Pepper Potts.

If Pepper Potts ever had any ulterior motives, Tony Stark might really end up broke.

Hmm?

This plot sounds familiar.

Ability is one thing, connections are another.

Don't ever think that in American society, talent alone can crush everything.

If that were the case, there wouldn't be so many big shots who struggled in their youth and only soared to success when they got the opportunity later.

There are too many examples, and Ronan didn't want to list them all.

Just be careful of those who are either stupid or malicious.

However, Ronan didn't have any resistance to this outcome.

After all, both of them were still minors. Not only was it against American law, but even Gwen Stacy's father made Ronan nervous.

As long as he wanted to keep living in New York, he had to be careful around his "future father-in-law."

Ronan couldn't help but wonder why there were so many doting fathers in this world.

So, Ronan's task today was to send Gwen Stacy to Stark Industries and then enjoy his last night before tutoring began.

"Alright, you can just drop me off here."

"Are you going back to class tomorrow?"

At the foot of Stark Tower, Gwen Stacy was the first to stop.

"Yeah, and not only do I have to attend class, but I also have to make up for missed lessons."

"Otherwise, I won't have enough credits, and this whole year will have been a waste."

Ronan sighed, thinking about the upcoming tutoring sessions gave him a headache.

When had Ronan ever needed to make up for lessons?

Even in his past life, he had ignored all the hints from his teachers.

Now he had to make up for lessons?

"This is the price you pay for disappearing for a month!"

"It's almost the second half of the semester, so you better study hard."

Gwen Stacy smiled at Ronan, at least during this period, Ronan wouldn't disappear again.

Ronan shrugged.

It wasn't that he was boasting, but even though his current knowledge level wasn't at the peak of his past life's senior year of high school, crushing these high schoolers would still be a piece of cake.

He wasn't afraid of the textbook knowledge, but he was worried about some extracurricular activities.

Beep beep.

Just as the young couple was saying their goodbyes, the sound of a car horn came from not far away.

Ronan turned around and saw a red Audi sports car parked not far from them.

"It's Mr. Stark."

"I'll head in now, bye!"

Seeing her boss catching her slacking off, Gwen Stacy was embarrassed.

So, she heartlessly abandoned Ronan and ran towards Stark Tower.

As she ran, she told Ronan to remember to pick her up later!

Ronan glanced at the person in the red sports car, immediately gave an internationally friendly gesture, and walked over without a word.

The person in the sports car was none other than Tony Stark.

"Tony, it's been a month, and you're still as flashy as ever."

"Driving such a girly car, doesn't anyone make fun of you?"

Ronan glanced at Tony Stark's car and couldn't help but smirk.

He wasn't jealous at all!

"Better than someone who has to ride a bike in the middle of winter, right?"

"Does the great Mr. Fantastic not even have a car to pick up his girlfriend?"

Tony Stark naturally wasn't going to back down.

He wanted to prove to Ronan that in the month Ronan was gone, his verbal skills had improved a lot!

Of course, it was in the art of sarcasm!!!

"Can't help it, I'm not some rich and foolish Iron Man."

"That rich and foolish Iron Man has prepared quite a fortune for his daughter, though."

Daring to compete with Ronan in verbal sparring? Even if Japan's number one male braggart came, Ronan wouldn't be afraid!

That's just how tough he is!

"You still bringing that up?"

"If my precious daughter really disappears, I'll come after you first!"

Tony Stark also made an internationally friendly gesture.

Ronan smirked, picked up Gwen Stacy's bike, and placed it on the back of Tony Stark's sports car.

This move made Tony Stark's eye twitch.

This car could buy hundreds of thousands of bikes!

And you just put it on like that!

"Let's go, take me to my apartment."

Ronan calmly sat in the passenger seat and even buckled his seatbelt.

Even a sorcerer from Kamar-Taj needs to buckle up when riding in a car!

"Your apartment?"

"How would I know where your apartment is?"

Tony Stark was still playing dumb.

Ronan looked at him with a helpless expression.

"How could you not know where my apartment is? I don't believe you haven't looked into me."

"With your curiosity, if you didn't dig into my background, you'd be unworthy of your name."

Ronan leaned back in the passenger seat and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He didn't want to dwell on these things, otherwise Tony Stark would have to relive the Christmas treatment.

Tony Stark turned his face, too embarrassed to ask further, and directly said to his earpiece, "JARVIS, navigate to Ronan's apartment."

Soon, the car's intelligent voice system spoke up.

The voice was, of course, JARVIS.

"Mr. Stark, are you referring to the Ronan labeled as 'Ronan·Heart-Smaller-Than-a-Needle·Sarcastic·Liar·Yao'?"

Hearing JARVIS's words, the car fell into an eerie silence.

Tony Stark's hand froze mid-air, while Ronan looked at him with great interest.

Well, well, young man, I didn't expect you to actually give people nicknames.

So you even know I'm petty.

"Ronan, let me explain, there's a bit of a misunderstanding here."

"You know I'm not that kind of person, this was from before..."

Seeing Ronan's amused expression, Tony Stark felt increasingly uneasy.

However, his explanation was too late.

Because at some point, the seatbelt on his driver's seat had silently come undone.

"No!"

Tony Stark's face turned pale.

The next second, he was thrown into the air, then began free-falling at an incredible speed.

A few seconds later, he landed, just ten centimeters above the ground.

Before he could react, he experienced the sensation of a hundred-meter bungee jump.

Except this time, he didn't have his Iron Man suit!

Whoosh!

Tony Stark fell again, this time just nine centimeters above the ground!

"Listen to me, Ronan, I—"

Before he could finish the word "I," his voice was carried away by the wind.

The intense sensation of falling made Tony Stark instinctively close his eyes, but he never expected that Ronan had even thought of this!

An unseen force pried his eyelids open, forcing him to experience what it's like to be "powered on" against his will!

In this situation, Tony Stark was just eight centimeters above the ground.

"Mr. Stark, your heart rate is abnormally high. Should I call for medical assistance?"

JARVIS's voice came through the earpiece.

Tony Stark took a deep breath. Was this really about medical assistance now?

This was about his life!

"JARVIS, activate the suit! Priority is to protect me!"

Tony Stark shouted into the earpiece.

Crack!

As soon as he finished speaking, the glass at the top of Stark Tower was shattered once again.

Tony Stark's Iron Man suit flew down from mid-air.

But just as the suit was about to reach Tony Stark, a golden circle appeared between him and the suit.

"No!"

Tony Stark was filled with despair.

His Iron Man suit had just disappeared.

Bang!

And in the next second, Tony Stark hit the ground!

Of course, it wasn't from a height of hundreds of meters—Ronan had shown some mercy.

About a meter above the ground, Tony Stark paused in mid-air before finally falling.

The impact was roughly equivalent to a little girl tripping on flat ground.

"Ah..."

Tony Stark let out a soft groan.

Ronan wasn't going to let him off easy, though. An invisible force lifted Tony Stark up again and neatly placed him back in the driver's seat.

The seatbelt slowly fastened around him once more.

"Mr. Stark, can you now take Ronan·Heart-Smaller-Than-a-Needle·Sarcastic·Liar·Yao home?"

Ronan smiled at Tony Stark.

Tony Stark twitched his lips but didn't say anything.

On one hand, he was in the wrong—this kind of thing was fine if the person involved didn't find out, but now that they had, it was extremely awkward.

On the other hand, the practical reality was that he couldn't beat Ronan.

Without his Iron Man suit, he was no match for Ronan.

Including the Iron Man suit that had flown towards him earlier—he had just heard JARVIS's report.

The suit had flown back to where it came from.

No, the anti-magic armor must be put on the agenda ASAP!

Thinking this, Tony Stark took a deep breath and decided that a wise man knows when to retreat.

He started the car, and JARVIS's voice rang out again.

"Destination set to Ronan·Heart-Smaller-Than—"

But before JARVIS could finish, Tony Stark interrupted.

"Alright, JARVIS, shut off voice navigation immediately!"

"From today onwards, voice navigation is permanently disabled!"

Tony Stark shouted, not even looking at Ronan, and drove off.

Along the way, Tony Stark overtook five cars, ran six red lights, and was speeding the entire time.

It was highly likely that he would be charged with reckless driving.

Of course, rich people have many ways to deal with lawsuits, and Tony Stark, who flies around in his Iron Man suit every day, speeding was nothing.

A fine meant nothing to him.

Right now, he just wanted to get Ronan, this troublemaker, home as soon as possible.

Who knows what else could happen otherwise.

Screech!

With a sharp screech of brakes, Tony Stark stopped the car right in front of Ronan's apartment.

Of course, ignoring the clear tire marks left on the street.

"Thanks for the ride, boss."

"Hope we can have even more fun next time."

Ronan took the bike off the car and smiled at Tony Stark.

Tony Stark couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Next time?

You had fun, but I was the one on the roller coaster.

The ride was great, but let's not do it again.

Tony Stark didn't respond to Ronan, just did a quick U-turn and drove off.

"Don't rush off, there's something I need your help with."

Ronan smiled and placed a hand on Tony Stark's shoulder.

Tony Stark glanced at his hand, then thought about his fragile human body, and suppressed the urge to hit the gas.

Who knows if stepping on the gas would make Ronan's hand leave his shoulder, or his shoulder leave his body.

Tony Stark wasn't willing to gamble.

"Speak, what is it?"

Tony Stark was brief.

"Help me look into something. There should be an AI named Zola within Hydra."

"If possible, help me find him."

Ronan gently patted Tony Stark's shoulder, making him feel the weight of responsibility.

Tony Stark rolled his eyes.

You just made me experience a roller coaster, and now you want my help?

Sure, I talked bad about you, but it was just a tiny bit!

And you retaliated like this!

"No!"

"That's impossible!"

Tony Stark refused without hesitation!

Sure, talking bad about you was his fault, but the "roller coaster" ride was his punishment.

So, refusing to help Ronan was only natural.

No, it was revenge!

"Really not possible?"

Ronan asked again.

"No, I don't even know who this Zola is."

"So I can't help you."

Tony Stark raised his chin defiantly.

Now that Ronan no longer had leverage over him, he wasn't afraid!

Seeing Tony Stark's childish behavior, Ronan wasn't angry, just helplessly pursed his lips.

"Alright, I was thinking if someone could help me with this, I'd take them to see where we sorcerers train."

"Guess that's not happening."

With that, Ronan let out an exaggerated sigh and turned to leave.

But this time, Tony Stark grabbed Ronan's arm—now it was his turn to be anxious!

"Wait!"

"If I heard correctly, you said where you sorcerers train?"

Tony Stark looked at Ronan in shock.

He didn't know if Ronan had eaten something wrong or if he'd been possessed in the past month.

He was actually inviting him to see where sorcerers train?

This was like the sun rising from the west!

Hmm, Tony Stark's first thought was that the invitation was for him.

"Yeah."

"Every year, I actually have a quota to recommend someone to visit."

"Last year's quota went unused, and this year I have another one."

"So, what a shame."

Ronan sighed again, this time even more dramatically.

"Stop!"

"As good friends, your business is my business."

"So leave this to me!"

Tony Stark immediately took on the task.

Seeing his enthusiastic demeanor, Ronan wanted to laugh but held it in.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't help?"

Ronan began to play hard to get.

"Earlier, I didn't think it through, but after hearing you speak, I suddenly remembered that I do have some information on this."

"I'll have JARVIS look into it, won't take long."

Tony Stark lied without batting an eye, clearly a seasoned pro.

After all, he'd dated so many beauties, lying was second nature.

"Alright, then I'll leave this to you?"

Ronan asked tentatively.

"Leave it to me, I'll give you a satisfactory answer!"

With that, Tony Stark took out his phone, about to have JARVIS look into it.

But halfway through, he suddenly stopped, looking guilty as he glanced at Ronan.

"I'll look into it when I get back, when I get back."

With that, he quickly put away his phone.

There were still things in there he couldn't let Ronan see!

Ronan naturally saw through Tony Stark's little act but didn't expose him.

"Alright, it's settled then."

"Remember to change my nickname next time."

Ronan patted Tony Stark's shoulder again.

Vroom!

Before Ronan could finish, the roar of the sports car's engine filled the air, and the car quickly disappeared down the street.

Ronan watched Tony Stark's retreating figure and couldn't help but smile.

Hehe.

Want to see where sorcerers train?

Sure, Ronan planned to take Tony Stark to his training grounds.

Genuine and trustworthy!

After all, Kamar-Taj is mostly snowy mountains—just pick one and let Tony Stark enjoy the scenery.

Training grounds should be tough!

With that done, Ronan turned and entered his apartment.

Click.

In an apartment across the street, a man with a camera gently pressed the shutter.

The camera captured Ronan's figure.

Along with this photo, pictures of Ronan and Tony Stark talking also appeared in the camera.

"Disappeared for a month, and no trace of you on Earth."

"Did you go to that Eastern country?"

"Or did you go somewhere without human presence?"

The man looked at the photos in the camera and muttered to himself.

He was a Hydra agent, tasked with observing Ronan's movements.

But ever since Hydra was exposed by S.H.I.E.L.D., they had to go underground, abandoning all their previous identities.

It was only a few days ago that he resumed this mission.

However, after his investigation, Ronan hadn't been to school for a month.

He hadn't been to this apartment for a month either.

Although a cleaner came every three days to tidy up, Ronan was never seen.

The smaller the country on Earth, the more Hydra had infiltrated.

In some underdeveloped countries, Hydra even secretly controlled the government and military.

But because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exposure, they had to abandon many areas.

So most of their forces were withdrawn to major countries.

Like the United States.

However, the reason they were targeting Ronan wasn't because Mr. Fantastic had killed a small team of theirs.

It was because of his relationship with Mr. Fantastic.

According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous investigations, none of the superheroes had taken the Tesseract.

The Tesseract was taken by Loki due to an emergency.

So, Hydra had been secretly investigating Loki.

Until they arrived in Mongolia, where they heard from some nomads about Loki's whereabouts.

At that time, Ronan had landed in that desert, and with him was another person.

After questioning, they concluded that this person was Mr. Fantastic.

Based on intelligence analysis, Mr. Fantastic was highly likely to have taken the Tesseract, as aside from Loki, he was the only one left.

The other superheroes had evidence proving they didn't take the Tesseract.

So, to retrieve the Tesseract, Hydra turned their attention to Mr. Fantastic.

However, Mr. Fantastic was elusive and rarely appeared.

The only person connected to him was Ronan.

Within Hydra, some believed that Ronan was Mr. Fantastic!

But after prolonged observation, Ronan was just an ordinary high school student with no special abilities.

His only special ability might be being good at fighting.

Until a month ago, when Ronan suddenly disappeared, this theory resurfaced.

In the past month, the theory that Ronan was Mr. Fantastic had gained traction within Hydra.

Because Ronan's appearances and Mr. Fantastic's appearances were almost always staggered.

Ronan disappeared for a month, and Mr. Fantastic didn't appear for a month either.

So, Hydra made a decision.

They would test Ronan!

This would not only reveal Ronan's true identity and the Tesseract's whereabouts.

More importantly, it would confirm one of Zola's speculations!