Chapter 363: None the Wiser

Bruce Banner's whereabouts were easy to track, and S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly traced him to the Oscorp.

However, investigating further wasn't so easy. Since Norman Osborn foolishly attacked a military base, the Oscorp hadn't completely collapsed, but due to chaos in management and the involvement of many business tycoons, it had become a tangled mess.

Specifically, after Norman Osborn's arrest, the Oscorp's board of directors nearly doubled in size. In addition to underworld figures like Kingpin, weapons dealers such as the Stark Industries and the Hammer Industries (both contractors of the Department of Defense) got involved, along with numerous capital tycoons whose origins couldn't be traced.

Even S.H.I.E.L.D. itself had a hand in the Oscorp. With so many forces entangled, how long would an investigation even take?

Moreover, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't simply dig deeper. They didn't fear one or two organizations individually, but if all these powers united, even S.H.I.E.L.D. would have to bow its head.

Of course, for now, they had at least identified some suspects. Kingpin's name, naturally, stood at the top of the list.

As for the elusive figure associated with the Hulk, after multiple investigations, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents began to cast suspicious eyes toward Shin's fabricated identity, "Kevin".

However, during this time, Shin had been living in the Fisk Tower, Kingpin's stronghold, and S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't foolish enough to send agents there directly.

At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't push the investigation further. Though the agency wasn't friendly toward independent superhumans, it could recognize when it was outmatched.

If Shin truly was the Hulk's backer, given his terrifying strength, combined with Kingpin's influence over the underworld, even S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't dare provoke them easily. Gathering intelligence would be their limit.

In a world teeming with superheroes and supercriminals, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s real goal was maintaining social order for the sake of appearances, not launching frontal assaults on every superpowered individual they encountered.

Otherwise, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. were ten times stronger, it would have already been crushed by superhumans.

When the Superhuman Registration Act was proposed, none of the Avengers went into a true rage-fueled rebellion—yet the plan still failed. 

And if a loose coalition like that couldn't be controlled, how could mere S.H.I.E.L.D. enforce control over all superhumans?

The reality was simple: as long as Shin didn't show psychopathic tendencies, the Hulk didn't rampage daily, and Kingpin didn't seek world domination through the two, S.H.I.E.L.D. would simply let things be. At most, their danger ratings would be bumped up a level or two in the database.

Shin wasn't very concerned about S.H.I.E.L.D. to begin with. Even if they found something, he wouldn't care. Compared to street-level superheroes, the threat posed by these intelligence agents was practically negligible.

At least the heroes actively wanted to bring down Kingpin. S.H.I.E.L.D., on the other hand, would turn a blind eye as long as Kingpin kept New York's—and by extension America's—underworld stable.

After settling Bruce Banner, Shin turned his attention to Tony Stark.

Many assumed S.H.I.E.L.D. had been monitoring Stark from the beginning, but in truth, before Tony became Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't particularly care about him.

What? Tony Stark was the son of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founder? Ha! What did people think S.H.I.E.L.D. was—a family business? Even Howard Stark died mysteriously, and S.H.I.E.L.D. barely investigated. Tony Stark's status wasn't going to matter.

The real people who cared about Tony Stark were the military brass. After all, 80% of the military's high-tech weaponry came from Stark Industries, and 80% of those inventions could be attributed directly to Tony Stark himself.

In other words, Tony Stark alone accounted for over 60% of American high-tech military advancements. All the scientists in the U.S. military and defense industries combined weren't as valuable as him. Naturally, the military wasn't eager to lose him.

However, no matter how much they cared, they couldn't deny reality. 

Twenty-four hours passed. Seventy-two hours passed. Over half a month passed. The American military gradually lost hope that Tony Stark had survived.

This was Afghanistan—a harsh, desolate wilderness. Even without rebels and terrorists, the unforgiving environment alone could kill an ordinary man within a week without supplies.

Even if Stark had been captured by insurgents, terrorists would usually broadcast his capture to the world for propaganda. If terrorists wanted to kill him, they would have made sure to release videos to boost morale and threaten the United States.

Yet no such announcements came. The logical conclusion? Tony Stark had likely died quietly somewhere, far from the public eye.

Of course, no matter how much imagination the Pentagon had, they couldn't possibly guess that terrorists had actually kidnapped Tony Stark... and then ordered him to build missiles.

No production line. No precision equipment. No proper materials. Build missiles? Anyone with a high school education would know how ridiculous that idea was.

Unfortunately, the terrorists' highest education level barely reached elementary school—maybe third or fourth grade. In their minds, a missile was just a giant machine gun. Couldn't Tony simply hammer and weld one together?

Because nobody anticipated such idiocy, the military concluded Tony Stark was surely dead and began withdrawing their search teams. Only Stark's close friend, Colonel Rhodes, continued the hunt.

Even Rhodes was resigned to fate. Deep down, he knew the odds of finding Tony alive were slim.

Still, it was ironic... the terrorists' lack of education allowed Tony Stark to survive.

Since they couldn't comprehend Stark's complex blueprints, they had no idea he was building armor parts under the guise of missile components. 

By the time the entire armor suit was secretly assembled, it took only a few hours—and the terrorists were none the wiser.

*******************************

If you would like to gain early access, you can join me at www.patre on.com/bookbattalion

80+ Advance Chapters Now Available!