All the Shadow Ninjas who were rescuing people on the street stopped. The military was organizing the crowds, and with their mission complete, they all slipped into the shadows and disappeared.
The Room
"Exchanging for this ability was definitely worth it." Silas happily tested his new ability, although it still had one flaw.
He couldn't use it to travel to places he hadn't been before. For example, if Silas had never visited Freedom City, he wouldn't be able to sneak in and steal the armor without being noticed.
I must expand the map!
Silas made up his mind. He leaned back in his chair, and the red eyes of Shadow Ninjas lit up all over the room.
"From today onward, you are the World Conquest Team." Silas decided to send nearly a thousand ninjas to expand his map coverage.
He would keep Big Black, Little Black, and the Talisman retrieval team with him; he didn't need so many others.
Upon receiving the order, the Shadow Ninjas with glowing red eyes vanished, going out to expand Silas's territory. Their first stop was New York.
Silas lived in New York, but that didn't mean he had been to every corner; there were still many overlooked places.
When he got the chance, he definitely wanted to unlock some of the smaller Shadowkhan types to keep as pets.
"What is Little Black up to now?" Silas ignored Big Black, who was lying motionless on the bed, and asked Little Black, who was sitting at the computer desk.
Little Black signed: I want to meet Tony Stark. Please grant me permission, Master.
"Tony Stark?" Silas frowned, confused. "Why do you want to find him?"
"To study artificial intelligence creation," Little Black was clearly no longer satisfied with just mechanical engineering.
Silas was surprised by Little Black's ambition; he wanted to learn even Tony's AI technology. But would Tony teach him?
Little Black sensed Silas's doubt and explained: I can try. If it doesn't work, I will return. Since I have Dimensional Shifting, there's no need to worry about being caught.
"Fine. If you want to go, then go. He should be in Freedom City. You'll find him there," Silas said.
He then turned and kicked the bedpost. "Hey, Big Black, look at Little Black. How eager he is to learn! And then look at you, you're just a lazy bum."
Big Black glanced at Little Black emotionlessly, lifted his head defiantly, and sent his thoughts to Silas: Master, help me flip over.
"..." Silas was silent for a moment, then said, "Big Black, I can't blame you. Intelligence is innate."
Little Black chimed in with a verbal stab: It was born without a brain. Master, you can take him back to be reforged and see if he can come back with a brain.
Big Black immediately stood up and signed: At least I learned sign language.
Little Black countered: If I taught the dumbest Troll Clan, I could have taught them sign language the day before yesterday.
The Troll Clan was one of the Shadowkhan types. They had huge, strong bodies. Their fists were wider than an average person's body. They were incredibly strong but clumsy and were often mocked by other Shadowkhan for their lack of agility.
Big Black fell silent. Just as Little Black turned around, Big Black suddenly charged into Little Black. BANG! BANG! With two sounds, they both dissolved into black mist, waiting to be rematerialized.
"Well, now that's a mess." Silas didn't expect such an outcome.
The Shadowkhan are made of dark energy. If they collide with enough force, they both turn into black mist and must be reforged.
Silas could only imagine what methods Little Black would use to torture Big Black once he was rematerialized.
"Time for sleep~" Silas stretched. A Shadow Ninja immediately appeared, offering him a cup of hot milk to aid sleep.
Silas took a small sip, placed the cup back on the tray the Shadow Ninja was holding, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.
Lying in bed, Silas knew Tony would never believe his earlier story.
Freedom City
Tony returned to his rooftop, took off his armor, handed it to the mechanical arm for maintenance, and pressed his hand on it to take the elevator directly into the lab.
"Trust me, I believe it's the same person," Tony told J.A.R.V.I.S. the moment he entered the lab.
"The similarity data indicates a 99% match," J.A.R.V.I.S. only spoke using data.
Tony smiled confidently, tapping his head with his finger. "And then there's our exclusive human intuition."
"The main thing is, I refuse to believe a large organization like the so-called Shadowkhan can operate in New York without leaving a single trace."
Tony realized that these "Shadowkhan" only appeared after the thief showed up. The earliest incident was the one where he stole money from criminals.
Tony had dug up this early lead. He was highly confident that the two masked figures were the same person.
"Don't think changing a mask can fool Tony Stark," Tony said to J.A.R.V.I.S. "Right, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
"I only trust data," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
Tony pointed to his head again. "See this? You came from here."
"Sir, just as a human baby is born from its parents, it is also shaped by outside influences..." J.A.R.V.I.S. was cut off.
Tony interrupted, "No, no, no. Because of me, you are so perfect."
"Alright, I don't want to talk about this anymore. If possible, please play some music," Tony said, lying back on his chair, ready for a short rest.
An uneventful week passed. A major event did occur: Oscorp's products ran into problems and were now at the center of a huge controversy.
The Oscorp Corporation urgently recalled the experimental products and apologized to the public, compensating them with large sums of money.
However, it was no use. Their stock plummeted, with estimated losses in the tens of billions of US dollars, causing market volatility. It was then that another company stepped forward: Stark Industries.
Stark Industries had now become a corporation focused on protecting humanity. Tony no longer sold Stark Industries weapons indiscriminately.
Instead, he worked exclusively with the military. While before anyone could buy, now they couldn't.
Furthermore, under Pepper Potts's management, the company was gradually venturing into other fields, including pharmaceuticals for the general public.
Tony didn't really care about these small profits, but since Pepper wanted to try, he wouldn't object and would even provide more support.
How could Stark lose to anyone else?
As Oscorp lost credibility and its stock plummeted, Stark Industries' stock soared.
"Time for school, boys! Don't forget the school rules!" Ben Parker urged.
Time heals all wounds. Peter and Ben were reconciled, thanks in part to Silas's help.
"Ugh~ I really don't know why school can't take a few more days off," Silas walked out of his room listlessly.
The previous night, when he wore the Tara mask, he was chased by Tony. Silas, being stubborn, refused to use his Dimensional Shifting ability.
He raced Tony through the high-rises, but every time Tony was about to catch up to Silas, he would slow down slightly, maintaining a constant distance.
Freedom City
"I don't understand, Sir. Last night, you only needed a slight acceleration to catch him. Why did you deliberately control your speed?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.
Tony was also a bit listless. He rubbed his eyes and said, "That masked man also has that trick of suddenly disappearing, and he didn't even use it, did he? Besides, I find him quite interesting."
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