Chapter 170: Hacker Invasion, Hawkeye's Strike

Qingfeng's defense program was breached in such a short time!

There wasn't even a pause between Qingfeng's sentences before the hacker completed the entire process from attempted intrusion to successful hacking!

Upon hearing this, Clark immediately thought of Tony.

Qingfeng was developed from materials provided by Tony, and although significant changes were made during the coding process, the foundational thoughts were still borrowed from JARVIS, which hadn't changed.

If anyone in the world could easily breach Qingfeng's defenses and hack into Clark's computer, his first suspect would definitely be Tony Stark.

However, suspicion was futile. As soon as Clark learned of the attempted hacking, he had already moved to his computer to start a trace.

Rather than guessing wildly, tracking the signal to find the hacker seemed more practical.

Yet, Clark had the right method but lacked the strength to see it through to the end.

Three minutes later...

"Sorry, sir, your signal tracking has failed..."

"I know." Clark grimly asked, "Can you detect any significant data loss?"

"Your unpublished 1.5 million-word manuscript of 'Swallowed Star' was copied by the intruder."

A hacker capable of easily breaching Qingfeng's defenses to hack Clark's computer just to copy his novel manuscript?

Is this some kind of joke?

But upon further thought, such prank-like behavior was very Tony-esque.

"Qingfeng, contact Tony Stark for me."

Moments later, a holographic projection of Tony amidst a pile of mechanical parts appeared: "Clark? You reaching out to me, what's the scheme this time?"

"Nothing much." Clark responded nonchalantly, "Some brazen little hacker tried attacking my computer, but Qingfeng intercepted them. The funny thing is, before I could track them, they had already disconnected their internet."

"You're not suspecting that low-level hacker is me, are you?"

Clark didn't shy away: "I'm just checking with you."

"Well, I can tell you now, I would never stoop so low, and I'm not interested in anything on your computer." Tony answered with conviction. "Also, don't forget what you promised me. I hope to see the 'Iron Man' movie released by the end of the year."

"No problem."

After hanging up, Clark was left in confusion.

From the conversation, it seemed unlikely that Tony was the hacker.

Because of his flamboyant nature, if it were indeed him, he surely wouldn't deny it and would use the opportunity to mock Clark thoroughly, trying to recover from their previous fight.

Quiet accumulation of wealth, keeping talents hidden? That's way too un-Tony.

So, if it wasn't Tony, who else could be such a genius with too much time on their hands?

In this era, are all geniuses so idle?

This question didn't trouble Clark for long. The arrival of two expected guests forced him to temporarily abandon the issue. After instructing Qingfeng to move important data to an offline hard drive and delete the original files, Clark learned from experience.

The world is full of black tech geniuses; even with artificial intelligence protection, it's hard to block those skilled hackers.

The guests from S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson and Hawkeye, along with the two beauties, Sharon and Natasha, had come as previously invited by Clark to the crater.

"My goodness, what wind brings so many important people today?"

"Is S.H.I.E.L.D. planning to relocate en masse?"

After a brief greeting, Clark called Steve, who was training in the gravity room, to entertain Coulson while he took Hawkeye and the two S.H.I.E.L.D. flowers to the villa's seaside.

"Hawkeye, I'm really curious about the level of your swordsmanship. Come at me and let me see."

Standing opposite Hawkeye, Clark proactively expressed his desire to witness Hawkeye's progress over the years.

Sharon and Natasha stood by, watching with interest.

Hawkeye slowly drew his sword, his smile fading to a serious expression: "Then you better be careful. My strength may not compare to yours now, but the destructive power of my sword, amplified by Qi, is tremendous. However, I can't perfectly control it yet, able to release but not retract."

Clark merely nodded, acknowledging with a "please."

In the next moment, Hawkeye's blade shone with a fierce Qi, extending three feet beyond the sword as he struck at Clark, demonstrating its formidable power.

"Such powerful sword Qi!"

Impressed, Clark's right hand rose, fingers emitting a visible, milky-white Qi blade, meeting Hawkeye's attack head-on.

"Clang!"

The clash of Qi created a metallic resonance.

The force of the impact whipped up sand, forcing Sharon and Natasha to shield their faces, yet they still ended up covered in dust.

Once the sand settled, the two agents cast slightly resentful glances at the scene, only to find Hawkeye pushed back several meters, looking even more pitiful than they did.

Realizing someone was even more unfortunate made them feel slightly better, even though they knew it wasn't right to think this way.

Despite this, upon seeing Clark, their mood soured again.

Clark stood unaffected, his posture as relaxed as ever, not a hair out of place, let alone any sand. Even the ground around him remained untouched, as if highlighting his unparalleled status.

Seeing Clark's effortless defense, Hawkeye managed a bitter smile: "The gap is growing, isn't it?"

Clark shook his head: "Your swordsmanship is deadly, but you lack a method to break through human limits. Your attacks would outmatch those of Bouto, Kimura, and others simply by releasing five such Qi slashes in succession."

"Do you mean to slash five times in one second?" Hawkeye chuckled bitterly. "That was my strongest attack. Each slash requires a second to concentrate Qi, making rapid succession impossible. Even managing three perfect slashes depletes my Qi, halving the power of the fourth, leaving me drained afterwards."

Clark nodded, understanding the challenge: "It boils down to the total amount of Qi, which requires years to accumulate, or a breakthrough in human limits. I'll try to find a way to help you overcome this limitation. Give me some time, and I should be able to assist."

What? Clark's casual offer left Hawkeye stunned, and even the two female agents were visibly excited.

Could Clark have found a way to replicate the Super Soldier Serum?

However, wise as they were, they didn't press further, waiting to see the results instead.

Brushing sand from her hair, Natasha suddenly mentioned another reason for their visit: "Actually, we're here to ask for your help with interrogating some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents caught as Hydra infiltrators. Director Fury thought your unique foresight might be useful."

"Oh?" Clark's face lit up with intrigue: "I have one condition."

"Director Fury said if your condition is too demanding, we'll withdraw the request."

"I want access to all information gathered from Hydra." Clark was straightforward: "Whether that's too much to ask is for you to decide."

"I need to consult."

After a brief consultation, Clark and the five others headed to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

...

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Coulson stood beside Fury, still puzzled: "Do you really believe Clark, who has never undergone professional training, can outperform our agents in interrogating Hydra members?"

Fury smiled confidently: "He knows things we don't, which we can interpret as him having seen glimpses of the future. With that perspective, information that seems irrelevant to us can spark new ideas for him."

"After all, the goal is to gather insights, not just information. Give me some time, and I believe I can help him break through those limits."

Despite their uncertainties, they didn't question further, waiting instead to witness the outcome.

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