Chapter 3: Infiltrate the Stark Tower!

A month later...

Fu Qihai sat in a cubicle in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, looking out at the bustling New York City with a pained expression on his face.

"Damn Stark Industries!" he muttered.

Looking at the gleaming silver iron-grey building in the distance, he realized he was at least three streets away from Stark Tower.

In his previous life, Fu Qihai had heard of this situation.

Some subsidiaries and small companies of large groups, not famous enough to attract sufficient applicants, recruited under the guise of the parent company, but actually signed labour contracts with them.

This deceptive tactic was employed by certain large state-owned and private enterprises.

He never expected that a prestigious company like Stark Industries would stoop to such tricks.

The company Fu Qihai was interning at was called Beckhardt Lighting and Shadow Special Effects, not even a subsidiary of Stark Industries, but a supplier with close cooperation.

Could they really recruit under the guise of Stark Industries? Fu Qihai recalled the smooth interview process and thought his forged documents were flawless, and his rhetoric was impeccable.

It turns out people don't care if you're genuine or fake.

Society is simple, but individuals are complex.

And now, he realized he had become the fool. Glancing at the computer screen and piles of files in front of him, he wondered why they bothered to hire someone like him -a Doctorate from Stanford.

Graduates from Galeton University could handle these simple, mundane tasks.

Fu Qihai's emotions were incredibly mixed.

He felt one step further from becoming the CEO of Stark Industries.

The only consolation was that his internship salary was decent enough to barely survive in New York, avoiding the need to queue up with the homeless for federal government unemployment relief meals.

The instant coffee had turned cold, and Fu Qihai, sitting bored at the table, stared fixedly at the entrance of Stark Tower in the distance, like gazing at an unattainable goddess.

The noon sun blazed, reflecting off the glass curtain wall of Stark Tower.

Suddenly, Fu Qihai noticed a vague shadow flash across the glass curtain wall.

"Huh?"

He exclaimed, trying to see clearly from the distance.

"Is it my eyes?"

The reflected sunlight was too strong, so he couldn't discern what he saw.

"Maybe I'm just dizzy. It's been over two months in this Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I haven't encountered any other suspected reincarnators, nor has the voice in my head resurfaced," Fu Qihai thought to himself.

"It will take years for me, a fake doctor, to infiltrate Stark Industries. Not only have I failed to acquire any of Stark Industries' black technology, but the legendary assimilation points are still far away."

Tsk... After contemplating for a while, Fu Qihai smacked his lips and got up to refill his cup with hot coffee.

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed, and Fu Qihai quickly turned his head to look out the window.

He saw a large opening in the middle of Stark Tower, black smoke billowing out from inside. The explosion was so powerful that even from three blocks away, Fu Qihai felt the floor shake.

The office was in an uproar, and his colleagues stood up, rushing to the window.

The room filled with questions:

"What happened?"

"Is it a terrorist attack?"

"Look, it's Stark Industries! It's smoking!" a colleague pointed out.

"God, it can't be those aliens returning," someone shouted, remembering the Chitauri invasion of New York.

"Quiet! Quiet! Return to your seats!"

a chunky supervisor yelled, trying to restore order.

However, the employees disregarded his instructions, crowding around the windows, and observing Stark Tower in the distance.

The memories of the New York Battle, still fresh in everyone's minds, added to the chaos.

Many parts of the city were yet to be fully repaired from the aftermath.

Fu Qihai gazed deeply at the chaotic scene, filled with traffic congestion, people fleeing in panic, police officers in black NYPD uniforms arriving, and the distant wail of fire sirens.

"I have to go and see," He decided.

Despite being unaware of the situation, he felt it was not something trivial.

Having experienced the security of Stark Tower, he knew it was beyond the realm of ordinary incidents.

Driven by an inexplicable longing, Fu Qihai pushed past his colleagues, hurried down the stairs, and reached the street.

People on the street ran in panic, moving away from Stark Tower. No one wanted to witness the spectacle. Growing up in troubled New York City, it was a basic sense of safety.

But Fu Qihai, going against the flow, stood out. Police officers maintained order on the roadside.

The previous explosion had caused several cars to collide. Before a policeman could stop him, Fu Qihai made a dash towards Stark Tower.

"Hey, boy, you can't pass..." The police officer began to speak but was interrupted by another loud explosion.

This time, the blast occurred near the top floor of Stark Tower, billowing smoke and causing people on the street to dodge the falling debris.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Fu Qihai quickly moved towards Stark Tower at a faster pace. Even amidst the chaos, he could hear his heart pounding.

Rationality warned him of the danger, but his gambling spirit overwhelmed reason.

He had spent a whole month in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without achieving anything.

"Besides, according to the information I received, I have three lives," Fu Qihai thought.

He rushed towards the entrance of the building, where injured and bleeding people were fleeing.

The lobby was a mess, with collapsed columns and security guards attending to the wounded.

"Now is not the time to help people, especially when I don't know first aid," Fu Qihai thought.

Ignoring the chaos, he manoeuvred through the wreckage and made his way to the elevator.

The explosion had spread to the upper floors, leaving no time for climbing stairs.

Fu Qihai retrieved an access control card from the chest of a security guard wearing a blue uniform, avoiding the sight of the gruesome scene.

Holding his breath to avoid the scent of blood, he swiped the card to open the elevator door, recalling the location from his interview.

"Ding dong!"

The elevator was functioning normally.

Fu Qihai pressed the button for the highest floor, which turned out to be the 45th floor.

"It seems the security guard's access only reaches the 45th floor," Fu Qihai murmured.

He took a deep breath, the elevator door closed and began ascending slowly.

In the gradually ascending elevator, Fu Qihai forced himself to calm down and contemplate the possible events ahead.

"Somebody has violently infiltrated Stark Tower, but for what purpose?" he wondered.

Considering the movie's original plot, this was Thor's time, and there were no hints about the other Avengers' whereabouts.

Therefore, it was highly likely that the infiltrator wasn't a plot character but someone like himself—a reincarnator.

Fu Qihai's heart trembled at the thought. Someone audacious enough to challenge Iron Man in his own Office in New York would possess different strength from a weakling like him, who had just entered the reincarnation world.

Based on the ongoing battle and the opponent's chosen camp, there was a high probability that they were on the opposite side.

Another explosion shook the upper floors, causing the elevator to tremble, and the lights flickered on and off.

Fu Qihai held onto the handrail to stabilize himself.

At this moment, he remembered the vague shadow he had seen earlier on the building's exterior. Could it be related to the ongoing events?

"Hiss..." Fu Qihai took a deep breath.

Until now, he had been contemplating which reincarnated person could engage in a fierce battle with Iron Man.

But if the opponent was a perfect reincarnation of Orochi from King of Fighters, based on their strength in that world, they would easily overpower Iron Man wearing the Mark 42 armour.

However, the current situation suggested that the opponent was not the complete will of the Great Serpent, but rather a temporary vessel.

"Just a temporary vessel?" Fu Qihai pondered. The term sounded grandiose, but it implied certain limitations.

"Murakami, stop wasting time with him. The other Avengers are approaching. Kill him for assimilation points," a rough voice commanded.

Fu Qihai had already reached the top floor, positioning himself near the glass door while listening intently to the voices behind the wall.

"No, the other Avengers won't arrive so soon. It's rare to corner Iron Man like this.

We can have some fun with Mr Stark," the young voice sneered, evidently unsatisfied with the assimilation points acquired from Iron Man.

Their ambitions and greed exceeded mere elimination.

"No, I have to do something. Iron Man can't die here today," Fu Qihai resolved. The thought of poking his head out quietly to assess the situation crossed his mind.

Slowly, he peeked out from behind the door, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

[END]