Chapter 116

At the same time, Leo was sitting on the couch at home with Wanda, eating chips while watching the same news video that Ross had seen.

"I think this guy named Ross must have some personal grudge against them, or they wouldn't be so persistent," Wanda remarked, blinking as she watched the video of Blonsky, who, even after being tranquilized, was still muttering, "Ross, you idiot."

"Yeah, definitely a grudge. He's probably not a good person," Leo nodded seriously.

He had erased Blonsky and his team's memories of being soldiers and replaced them with false memories of dreaming of becoming singers, enhanced by the Imperius Curse. It seemed to be working well.

After the news about the "Times Square Crazy Singers" ended, the TV immediately switched to the next news segment.

"Claiming that he can maintain world peace single-handedly and that his Iron Man suit technology will be unrivaled for the next ten years, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, had a near-death encounter at the Monaco Grand Prix. Let's take a look at what really happened!"

As the host's voice faded, the TV began to play footage of the Monaco incident.

It started with Tony, dressed in a racing suit, confidently getting into his car amid cheers from the crowd, racing alongside professional drivers.

But halfway through the race, disaster struck—a man in a homemade armored suit appeared on the track, wielding electric whips that sliced Tony's car in half, and he launched an attack on Tony.

Fortunately, Pepper and Happy arrived just in time with Tony's newly developed portable suitcase armor, allowing him to defeat the whip-wielding assailant.

After the video ended, the camera cut back to the host, who was now joined by a middle-aged man in a suit.

"For more insight into this event, we've invited Mr. Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries. Mr. Hammer, what are your thoughts on this incident?"

"Oh, to be honest, I was there when it happened. That Russian terrorist almost killed Tony with such a rudimentary device. It just goes to show that things aren't as secure as Tony claims. He's not as invincible as he thinks.

I recommend holding another hearing to reconsider whether the Iron Man suit technology should be handed over to the government for safety. And I'd like to add that Hammer Industries is already making great progress in developing similar suits for the nation..."

As the news segment ended, Wanda looked puzzled and asked Leo:

"Why did that man say Tony was defeated, even though Tony beat him?"

In the video, even though Ivan Vanko was ultimately defeated by Tony, he kept laughing and declaring that he had won and that Tony had lost.

Leo, holding Wanda close, explained:

"Wanda, you know, if people see that even a god can bleed, they'll stop worshiping that god.

Tony has always presented himself as invincible, effortlessly defeating terrorists with his suit and walking away unscathed.

So when he claimed that he could single-handedly protect world peace and deter nuclear weapons, many people believed him.

But now, even though that guy Ivan lost, he showed everyone that Tony isn't unbeatable—a terrorist with a crude device almost killed him."

"Although Tony Stark can be annoying, I really hope his technology doesn't fall into the hands of the government. If their soldiers all become that powerful, this world might be in serious trouble," Wanda said with a worried expression.

As a war orphan from Sokovia, Wanda deeply understood that if one nation's military power far surpassed that of others, many countries could end up like Sokovia.

Leo patted Wanda's head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Tony's a tough guy. He won't give in that easily. If things really get out of hand, I'll step in and help him."

Whiplash Ivan was strong, but he couldn't truly defeat Tony. However, he did succeed in knocking Tony off his pedestal, which was inevitable.

In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter. Tony being brought down a notch was bound to happen anyway. With all the major events coming, there was no way he could handle everything alone.

Leo had his own matters to attend to, and without sufficient benefit, he wasn't going to waste time helping out.

But if the U.S. government or HYDRA tried to seize Tony's Iron Man technology, then Leo would certainly intervene—letting them create an army of HYDRA soldiers would be a major headache.

Upon hearing this, Wanda grabbed Leo's hand tightly.

"Maybe you shouldn't. It's too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."

Wanda was kind-hearted; she didn't want to see another war like the one that destroyed Sokovia. But more than anything, she cared about Leo's safety.

"Okay, I understand. It's time to practice some magic."

Glancing at the time, Leo turned off the TV and led Wanda to the wardrobe in their bedroom. He opened the door and stepped inside.

A soft white light illuminated a lush green lawn, various specially designed metal targets, and some advanced technological equipment—all of which appeared before them.

When Leo first returned to the Marvel main world, he had cast the Undetectable Extension Charm on one of the wardrobes, expanding the space inside to the size of a football field.

He then had his subordinates make some modifications, which had just been completed today.

Creating this space, similar to Newt's suitcase, served two purposes: allowing him to practice magic and ninjutsu at home whenever he wanted, and helping to train Wanda's combat awareness.

Learning a lot of magic quickly doesn't necessarily translate into good combat ability. If you can't aim your spells accurately, it doesn't matter how powerful they are.

And knowing which spells to use in different situations is an art in itself.

Wanda was an ordinary housewife with no combat experience—sometimes she'd even trip over her own feet if she wasn't careful.

Of course, Leo wouldn't train Wanda as rigorously as he did with Xiao Liu and the others. The intensity would be about the same as playing a casual game of badminton.

In fact, offensive magic was secondary; the main focus of her training was on defense and escape—surviving first, then dealing with the enemy.

After an hour of training, Leo sent Wanda back to the bedroom to rest while he continued his own training in the wardrobe space.

And so, a week passed quickly.

One day, as Leo was in the wardrobe, studying and practicing magic and ninjutsu as usual, he suddenly heard a flurry of mission notifications in his ear.

He opened his interface, scrolled to the side quest section, and his expression instantly lit up with joy:

"Holy crap, so many missions with small-world time as rewards—I won't be able to finish them all!"

...