Chapter 193: The Premature Start of "Iron Man 3"

"This is…" Coulson was startled by the sudden change and instinctively asked, "Is it using teleportation ability?"

However, Clark slightly frowned upon hearing this and shook his head, saying, "When he was using his ability, I sensed quantum energy fluctuations."

Ever since Clark spent nine years in the quantum realm, he developed a unique sensitivity to quantum energy. However, given the lessons from before, he chose to keep a respectful distance from this power, to avoid any unpredictable mishaps happening to him again.

During the appearance of the eyeless man, Clark's sensing was crystal clear; it was indeed quantum energy! Definitely no mistake about it! Hearing Clark mention that the ability was related to the quantum realm, Coulson's eyes lit up. If anyone understood the quantum realm best in this world, it would be Hank Pym, and there was no second choice.

And Clark here, was Hank Pym's esteemed student, wasn't he? Just as he was about to inquire if Clark had the means to create a device to counter the opponent, the church hall once again flashed with blue light akin to lightning.

Simultaneously, the eyeless man appeared next to Skye's father, Calvin Zabo, intending to take him away, which was more than clear.

Only then did Coulson and the SHIELD agents get a clear view of the opponent.

This man with teleportation ability, aside from his eyes, didn't look much different from others. But his eyes were too unusual. It wasn't that he was blind or lacked pupils, but rather, he didn't have the organ of eyes at all!

Where his eyes should have been, there was a bulge resembling an eye patch perfectly fused with the surrounding skin.

The first reaction for anyone seeing this was, "Am I seeing things?"

Seeing the man's appearance, Coulson and the SHIELD agents were taken aback.

Then, a blue light flashed again, and the eyeless man attempted to use his ability to take Calvin Zabo away, but his ability… failed!

It turns out that the moment he appeared, Clark had already accelerated to the extreme before anyone else could react, grabbing his shoulder firmly before he could teleport Calvin Zabo away.

However, even if the eyeless man's ability was deployed, it would at most take one more person with him.

Yet, the reality was, his ability failed! +666 impression from Gordon!

Receiving the system's prompt, Clark then knew the name of the eyeless man was Gordon.

Gordon's heart skipped a beat, hurriedly trying to use his ability again, but this time, not even the special effects were released before Clark suppressed it with his energy! It turns out, after two ventures into the quantum realm, Clark's body had absorbed a lot of quantum energy, which didn't affect his daily life much and thus wasn't given much thought.

Gordon's teleportation ability was clearly achieved through quantum entanglement. Under the interference of quantum energy from Clark, the originally controllable quantum entanglement was disrupted, preventing him from smoothly deploying his ability.

+666 impression from Gordon!

Gordon kept attempting to use his ability, but every attempt ended in failure.

Each failure to deploy his ability provided Clark with negligible impression points...

After about half a minute, just as Coulson and the others were about to take the opportunity to arrest the teleporting man, Clark's grip on the man's shoulder loosened, and Gordon seized the opportunity to teleport away with Calvin Zabo, disappearing from everyone's sight.

"Ah…" Seeing the teleporter finally escape, Coulson couldn't help but feel deflated, "If Mr. Clark could have held on a bit longer, we could have successfully captured him, then through interrogation, find Skye again."

Clark raised an eyebrow, "Do you think suppressing his teleportation ability was difficult for me?"

Coulson, puzzled, responded, "Then why just now…"

"I intentionally let them go," Clark gently shook his head. "The Inhuman race isn't just about Skye. There, she has her mother and family, and it's the best place for her to learn how to control her powers freely."

"So, Skye is safe there?"

"Safer than any mission you've ever executed," Clark stated calmly. "But the Inhumans each have their unique abilities. It's fine for her to learn there for a while, but I can't guarantee there won't be any troubles if it's for too long."

"Let me know as soon as there's news about Skye," he said, before opening a portal back to his seaside villa in Los Angeles on his own.

As for Coulson and his team, as government officials, they had to stay behind to clean up.

Assured of Skye's safety, Clark was relieved of a worry. Over the next few days, he stayed at the seaside villa, focusing on training.

The plot of "Thor 1" had ended, and the next big event was likely the Chitauri invasion of Earth.

Many things had changed because of Clark's arrival, and he couldn't be sure that he would only face an unorganized, undisciplined Chitauri army, plus a foolish Loki.

To face possible unknown dangers, it was crucial to enhance his own strength as quickly as possible.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!…"

Seventeen handguns fired in succession under the control of mechanical arms at Clark, who easily sliced the bullets mid-air with his Hand of Healing transformed into a sword, cutting each bullet in half evenly before they fell to the ground in front of him.

After a moment, all seventeen handguns had been fired, and the courtyard fell silent, with the background music of "Kung Fu Hustle" becoming clear once again.

"I never thought that kung fu could be practiced with handguns, especially against the simultaneous attack of seventeen guns," said Nalan Bai, holding a folder and walking over. "Honestly, your actions have completely overturned my understanding of kung fu!"

Turning around with a faint smile, Clark nodded at Nalan Bai before saying, "Actually, I wasn't practicing swordsmanship just now, but rather my understanding of the wind. What actually cut through those bullets was not my sword but the sword wind generated with each swing."

"Okay," Nalan Bai shrugged helplessly. "Now I don't even understand what you're saying."

In fact, Nalan Bai had never been interested in martial arts since childhood, otherwise, growing up in such a family environment, she wouldn't lack even the most basic self-defense skills.

Clark, of course, wouldn't dwell on a topic of little interest to her. He transformed the Hand of Healing back into its cloak form, shrunk it, and stored it in his watch, then asked Nalan Bai, "Do you have time tonight? How about we go grab something to eat?"

"I'm free, but you might not have the time," she said, handing the folder to Clark. "The Ten Rings you've angered before have made their move to America. The terrorist organization has already caused a dozen terrorist incidents across the country."

"Just this morning, your old classmate Dave Lizewski went to investigate a lead on the terrorists and ended up getting injured in an explosion. He's in the hospital right now."

Opening the folder, it contained detailed information about the terrorist attacks, including photos, one of which showed a familiar green figure.

Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass, hadn't given up on his superhero dream even after more than a decade.

Clark had advised him to pursue a normal job during their superhero strength evaluation, to achieve greatness in ordinary positions, but Dave didn't listen and continued to rush into danger.

"You think now, at your age, you'd mature a bit, from looking like a young Quicksilver to a mad Dave?"

"If you're going to the hospital, I hope you can take me with you. I'd like to see him too," said Captain America, coming out of the gravity room after hearing their conversation. "I want to help against those deranged terrorists."

Driving with Captain America to Dave's hospital, they found him injured all over, one eye completely shut, but fortunately, the injuries were superficial.

It must be said, Dave was quite lucky to not suffer more serious injuries in such an explosion.

After consoling him, Clark and Captain America left the hospital room.

Walking through the hospital corridor, Captain America suddenly said, "That kid seems to have a spirit of heroism. He reminds me of myself back then."

Clark was surprised to hear such high praise for Dave, the often irritable guy, from Captain America.

But thinking about it, Dave did share some similarities with Captain America before his transformation.

Both harbored a sense of justice and dreamt of being heroes. Faced with setbacks, Captain America could persevere against enemies several times stronger than himself, while Kick-Ass could bravely stand up again after every defeat, despite the previous setbacks leaving him battered and bruised.

Thinking about it, Kick-Ass and the former Captain America did have something in common.

Maybe, Clark could give him a real chance to become a hero?

Lost in thought, Clark suddenly saw a familiar face, Tony Stark!

Seeing Tony's combative expression, Clark curiously asked, "What brings you to the hospital? Not because you drank too much and needed your stomach pumped, right?"

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you," Tony said grimly. "Happy's injured. He was hurt in a terrorist explosion."

Clark's brows furrowed slightly, recalling the photo Nalan Bai showed him, one of the injured resembling Happy, but how could he recognize someone disfigured by an explosion when he wasn't very close to Happy?

Happy's injury, does this mean the plot of "Iron Man 3" has started prematurely?

Then, has Tony developed the Mark 42 armor yet? After asking for more details, the three of them walked out of the hospital together.

American journalists were just as quick to swarm sensitive issues as their Hong Kong counterparts. As soon as the trio stepped out of the hospital, they were surrounded by reporters rushing to the scene.

"Mr. Clark Lee, as a representative superhero in Congress, what are your thoughts on this terrorist attack?"

"Mr. Tony Stark, it's said that among the personnel involved in this terrorist attack was your driver and bodyguard. Do you plan to personally punish these criminals?"

Hearing the reporters' questions, an already furious Tony loudly declared in front of the camera, "Listen up, Mandarin, I, Tony Stark, am officially declaring war on you. My address is… ugh, Clark, why the hell are you covering my mouth?"

Pushing Tony behind him, Clark waved at the camera, confidently saying, "It's not just Tony who wants to go to war with the Mandarin…" He then showed off the ring on his pinkie finger to the camera, "Want your ring and fingers back? If so, come find me. My address is Washington******. I'm always ready and waiting for you."

After pushing through the reporters, Clark, Tony, and Captain America left in the car.

Before getting into the car, Tony whispered to Clark, "Thanks for just now."

Tony had impulsively almost revealed his address in a moment of anger, feeling somewhat frightened after cooling down.

Clark smiled faintly, ignoring the ringing phone and turning it off.

"That damn bastard!" On the other end of the phone, watching the live broadcast in front of the computer, the Mandarin casually threw the phone on the table, then ordered Coulson and others around him, "Command the headquarters to strengthen security!"

"That bastard Clark Lee just leaked SHIELD headquarters' address to the media!"

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