At 10 a.m., inside the Avengers base on Staten Island!
Looking at the villa-like residences in front of him, as well as the largest building among them, Linen said to Tony Stark speechlessly, "Even if you and Natasha drag me here, I'm still not joining the Avengers!"
That's right—after listening to Linen's analysis, Natasha and Tony Stark looked at each other.
Then one of them grabbed Linen's arm and dragged him straight into the car without saying a word.
Faced with the actions of these two "bandits," Linen was a little amused.
After all, Tony doing something like this wasn't surprising at all.
But Black Widow—why are you joining in?
If you can't win an argument, your solution is to kidnap someone and force them to join?
"Do you see that villa?"
Pointing at the white villa in the center, Tony Stark tempted him: "A 500-square-meter villa with a garden. Man, as long as you're willing to join us, this villa will be yours!"
"Steve, Natasha, and the others will also live in the nearby villas. I spent a huge amount of money building this place. The interior decoration will absolutely satisfy you!"
"And do you see this largest building? It has training rooms, lounges, restaurants, conference rooms, multi-functional medical rooms, and more."
"Everything here is automated. You can enjoy everything without leaving the base, and you can observe every corner of New York."
"Put it this way—if there's surveillance in New York, we'll know what's happening immediately!"
Hearing Tony's proud explanation, Linen suddenly reacted and asked: "So… the city the Avengers mainly protect is only New York?"
"Uh…"
Hearing Linen's deliberate nitpicking, Tony was speechless for a moment, then rolled his eyes and said, "Do you think it's easy to get surveillance data from all European and American countries—or the whole world?"
"Man, I only got New York's traffic, subway, and port surveillance because S.H.I.E.L.D. authorized it!"
"But bro, that's not the point. The point is—don't you think—"
"I don't think there's any difference between my apartment and this villa. A bed is enough, whether the home is dozens or hundreds of square meters."
"And after death, whether the urn is luxurious or just a wooden box, it's the same."
Hearing that, Tony Stark pursed his lips and looked helplessly at Natasha.
Damn it, I can't win against this guy!!!
Seeing Tony silently asking for help, Natasha smiled.
Many things can't be forced. The reason she and Tony brought Linen here was originally to subtly make him grow attached to the Avengers.
"Linen, today is the first gathering of the Avengers, so we want you to witness it."
"Whether you join or not, I hope you'll at least take a look."
Linen nodded after hearing Natasha's words.
Following them into the conference room, he saw Clint and Thor betting.
And Steve Rogers was comforting Dr. Banner.
When he noticed Natasha and Tony bringing Linen in, Steve smiled and stood up.
Seeing Steve approach, Natasha shrugged and gave him a look.
Receiving Black Widow's signal, Steve smiled and extended his hand toward Linen. "Welcome to the Avengers base!"
"Thank you."
Linen shook his hand.
For some reason, he felt that—aside from Dr. Banner and Clint—everyone else was way too excited.
"Sit down first!"
After letting Linen take a seat, Steve went to the round table and pulled down a curtain.
As the projector lit up, an ancient castle appeared.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this picture was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. in Eastern Europe. According to the investigation, this castle is Hydra's Sokovia base."
"The leader of this Hydra cell is Baron Strucker, and his subordinate, Dr. List, is connected to the human trafficking organization we destroyed last year!"
(Flag: 'Sitrick' was the mistranslation. Correct name is Dr. List, Hydra scientist.)
"This is our first mission after the Avengers' establishment. Everyone, this mission must succeed."
"Next, let's discuss the deployment and details!"
Hearing Steve's words, Linen immediately felt like he had boarded a pirate ship.
Turning to Tony, he whispered, "Didn't you say you brought me here just to visit? I've been here for less than five minutes and I'm already joining a mission?"
0Please give me flowers
(Flagged as meta/website artifact—retained as required but clearly not part of the story.)
Facing Linen's complaint, Tony Stark coughed twice. "Shh, don't disturb the captain's briefing. We have to respect Captain Rogers!"
Looking at Tony pretending to act natural, Linen turned to Natasha speechlessly.
Natasha curled her lips but deliberately avoided his eyes.
Seeing that, Linen immediately understood their intentions.
Damn… these two actually played this trick on him.
Just when Linen was about to get up and leave after Steve finished speaking…
The system's voice suddenly rang in his mind.
[Side Quest: Save Wanda Django Maximoff and Pietro Django Maximoff.]
[Task Introduction: Because you joined half of the Avengers + Punisher and Daredevil to destroy the Eastern European human trafficking organization last year, it indirectly caused Hydra's Dr. List to lose important "consumables" for his human experiments.
Without them, Dr. List decided to choose new "consumables" from the young people of Sokovia under Hydra's control.
Due to your intervention, the twins Wanda and Pietro are now in great danger. To prevent them from becoming experimental consumables, please rescue them.]
[Task validity: 72 hours.]
[Task reward: Randomly increase the upper limit of a skill!]
[Task failure penalty: None!]
[Task countdown begins!]
Hearing the system issue a side quest, Linen frowned slightly.
He didn't expect that killing the Blood Parrot Gang and the forces behind it last year would cause a chain reaction affecting Wanda and Pietro.
Linen wasn't sure if Wanda and Pietro had already entered Dr. List's experiments.
Without the Mind Scepter, the consequences would be catastrophic.
So, it seemed he must take part in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission to attack Hydra's Sokovia base this time!
Thinking this, Linen adjusted his sitting posture and continued listening to Steve's explanation of the base's layout, firepower, and personnel.
It had to be said—as someone who had actually been through war—Steve Rogers' command ability was quite impressive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
There are 15+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.
Check out my new Naruto fanfic!
[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]