A new element has been detected, and the world is changing.
[Magic is also a form of science!]
Congratulations! You have obtained the Thaumcraft mod.
Congratulations! You have unlocked the More Stacking mod.
Congratulations! You have gained the AE Storage mod.
Congratulations! You have obtained the More Utility Devices mod.
The lower-left corner of the screen was flooded with messages. Yang Tao checked the details of the new mods.
"Thaumcraft? Ah, man, this sucks!" Yang Tao barely knew anything about playing with this mod.
"But the other small mods are pretty great! Finally, full automation! And no more digging through chests to find stuff!" He was especially happy about these utility mods.
After gathering the loot from the Giant King and picking up the Giant Bow, Yang Tao headed straight home, ready to start upgrading everything.
...
Meanwhile, in the Marvel world, Tony Stark was facing a bald man—none other than Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
This time, things had played out differently. After returning, Tony hadn't fought Obadiah Stane. Instead, he had gathered solid evidence and sent his "uncle" straight to prison, where he would likely spend the rest of his life.
As a result, there was no famous "I am Iron Man" moment in this version of events.
Even so, Tony had still gone on his own mission, taking down terrorists and destroying the weapons his company had produced.
And now, Nick Fury had come looking for him. This time, he was much later than in the original story.
Trying to make a grand impression, Fury said, "Going to Afghanistan to fight terrorists? You think you're the only superhero? Mr. Stark, you've just become part of a much bigger universe."
Having seen the storyline before, Tony thought Fury looked like nothing more than a self-important fool. He seemed even more arrogant than Tony himself had been in the past.
Since Fury was acting all high and mighty, Tony decided to play along.
Looking him straight in the eye, Tony said, "Nick Fury, current director of S.H.I.E.L.D.! What, do you think you have everything under control?"
Fury was caught off guard. He hadn't introduced himself yet—how did Tony know his name? His identity was classified, and Tony shouldn't have had access to that kind of information.
Fury fell silent.
Tony continued, "What is it? You want me to join your Avengers Initiative? I have no idea how you even came up with such a ridiculous idea."
Fury's face darkened, though his skin tone made it hard to tell.
Tony smirked. "So, what are you going to offer to convince a billionaire, genius, scientist, and philanthropist like me to join your little Avengers team?"
For a moment, Fury was at a loss. This was completely different from what he had expected—Tony seemed to know too much.
"Mr. Stark, when a real crisis comes, you won't be able to handle it alone. Only by working together can we face the challenges ahead."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what kind of crisis are we talking about? Isn't that what you self-righteous agents are for?"
Fury sighed, trying to find the right words. "Our current strength isn't enough. That's why we need the Avengers—to deal with even greater threats."
Tony suddenly slammed the table and stood up. "The biggest threat to this world is S.H.I.E.L.D. itself!"
Using his holographic interface, Tony pulled up classified files showing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research on the Tesseract and its use in developing energy weapons. He turned the display toward Fury.
"What's this? Researching energy weapons? Do you have any idea what kind of disaster experimenting with the Tesseract could bring?"
Then, he pulled up another document—the project for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.
"A Helicarrier? Using a satellite network to monitor terrorists and then taking them out with long-range weapons? Do you even realize what you're doing? You self-righteous fool!"
Fury, as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., was supposed to remain calm no matter what happened. But right now, he couldn't hold back his emotions.
"Tony Stark! You actually stole S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files!"
Tony scoffed. "S.H.I.E.L.D.? You still think it's *your* S.H.I.E.L.D.? You're just a puppet!"
Fury frowned. "Tony, what do you know?"
"Nothing much. Just be careful while you're undercover in S.H.I.E.L.D., Director Fury. It's late—let's talk tomorrow."
Fury didn't press the issue. Before leaving, he gave Tony a deep look.
"Tony, I'll be back tomorrow."
As soon as Fury stepped out of Tony's villa, he contacted Coulson. "Coulson, get me *all* the files on Tony since he returned from Afghanistan. I mean everything."
Then, as if something else came to mind, he added, "Keep it off the books. No one can know."
Inside, Tony stood by the window, holding a glass of red wine. He watched Fury leave, let out a deep sigh, and then downed the entire glass in one gulp before turning away.
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