Tony kept urging Bruce Banner to drink, and Banner found it hard to keep refusing.

Eventually, he had no choice but to reveal the truth, that losing control of his emotions would turn him into the Hulk.

『Tony Stark』: Relax, Superman-san is here, isn't he?

Tony didn't seem to mind at all after hearing that.

He laughed casually.

『Tony Stark』: You forget? Superman knocked you out last time.

『Bruce Banner』: Uh... you've got a point.

Although Banner wasn't sure how exactly he passed out back then, he had seen footage of Karl defeating Abomination, an enormous monster taken down in seconds.

Thinking about it that way, Superman restraining him shouldn't be difficult either.

Moreover, to keep his emotions in check and maintain calm, Banner had been living a life of restraint.

He hardly drank alcohol out of fear of losing control.

Even when his girlfriend reached out recently, he turned her down for her favorite activities.

Truthfully, Banner had always been curious about how alcohol tasted.

He turned to Karl and couldn't help but ask:

『Bruce Banner』: Superman-san, if I turn into the Hulk... could I trouble you to subdue me?

Karl found the request a little strange.

"Are you seriously asking me to beat you up?"

Still, he smiled and nodded.

『Karl』: Sure.

『Bruce Banner』: Great, thank you.

With Karl's assurance, Banner finally started drinking, but not too much.

After all, even with Superman around, it was best not to lose control in the first place.

...

By around 10 PM, Tony and the others were completely drunk.

Karl, of course, couldn't get drunk thanks to his physiology.

Zhao Hailun, Pepper, and the other women refrained from drinking.

The two celebrity guests sipped a bit, but not enough to get tipsy.

Happy the chauffeur helped Tony, Banner, and Yinsen into their rooms.

Karl bid farewell to Pepper and left the villa with Zhao Hailun.

『Pepper Potts』: What an amazing ability...

She watched Karl disappear and sighed with admiration.

From the side came voices of agreement.

『Celebrity #1』: Yeah, Superman-san is just incredible.

『Celebrity #2』: If only my boyfriend were Superman-san...

Pepper turned around, it was those two actresses.

Given her feelings for Tony, she naturally didn't like them.

As Tony's assistant, she knew him well.

Tonight's party was only decent because Superman's girlfriend was present.

Had she not been there, these two starlets would likely have ended up in bed with Tony, or even with Superman.

Pepper had witnessed plenty of these scenarios and had even cleaned up Tony's messes more than a few times.

So how could she possibly like these women?

With a calm smile, she spoke evenly:

『Pepper Potts』: Ladies, it's getting late. Please go home.

One of the actresses blinked in surprise.

『Celebrity #1』: Go home? It's so late already. Two women heading out on their own?

『Celebrity #2』: What if something happens to us?

『Pepper Potts』: No worries. Mr. Stark's driver will take you home.

『Celebrity #1』: That's really unnecessary...

Just then, Happy returned after moving the drunk trio and began tidying up the grill and other items.

『Pepper Potts』: Happy, please take these two ladies home. I'll clean up here.

『Happy Hogan』: Oh, okay.

He nodded and approached the actresses.

『Happy Hogan』: Ladies, this way please.

『Celebrity #1』: Hmph!

The two celebrities scoffed, turned on their heels, and walked away without waiting for Happy.

Happy stood there, a little bewildered.

A smile crept across Pepper's face.

...

Karl and Zhao Hailun returned home, washed up, and got ready for bed.

Though Karl had ideas of spending quality time with her, Zhao Hailun seemed tired and fell asleep right away.

The next morning, Karl woke up early.

After washing up and eating, he figured Tony was probably awake around noon.

So he gave him a call.

It rang for several seconds before Tony picked up.

『Tony Stark』: Hello? Superman-san?

Tony's voice sounded groggy, clearly unrested.

『Karl』: Yeah, it's me.

『Tony Stark』: Of course it is... You downed so much booze and still sound full of energy...

Karl glanced at the clock.

It was already past noon.

『Karl』: About your employee, Natasha... Natalie Rushman?

『Karl』: She's not who she seems. She's actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent planted in your company.

『Tony Stark』: What?! Natalie's with S.H.I.E.L.D.??

Tony was shocked. The fog in his head cleared up instantly.

After all, he'd recently been considering promoting her to be his personal assistant.

Now that he knew she was a spy, no matter what her intentions, it left a bitter taste.

Few people could stay calm after discovering something like that.

He was familiar with S.H.I.E.L.D., that balding agent had pestered him for quite some time.

『Karl』: Yes. But I don't think they have ill intentions toward you. Don't worry.

『Karl』: After all, your father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders.

『Tony Stark』: My father... helped found S.H.I.E.L.D.?

That news stunned Tony more than finding out Natalie was a spy.

He knew very little about his father's past.

『Karl』: That's right. That case you received recently? Your father left it for you. It was just stored temporarily by S.H.I.E.L.D.

『Tony Stark』: Huh... that's surprising...

『Karl』: They probably won't hurt you, but they do have their own agenda. Just be careful.

As Zhao Hailun emerged, dressed and ready, Karl wrapped up the call.

『Karl』: Anyway, I'm heading out for lunch now. Talk later.

『Tony Stark』: Hey, wait,

Karl hung up and went out to eat with Zhao Hailun.

He only called to give Tony a heads-up. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't a real threat to him, it wasn't something urgent.

...

Malibu Beach – Tony Stark's Mansion

Tony lay in bed, staring at his phone, a bit speechless.

『Tony Stark』: Didn't even let me finish... just hung up.

『Tony Stark』: I still don't know what S.H.I.E.L.D. even does. Why would Dad help create it?

With that in mind, he searched online for information about S.H.I.E.L.D.

He found nothing.

Clearly, it was a well-hidden organization.

Thinking it over, he decided to call Agent Natalie.

End of chapter...

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