Chapter Forty-Seven: A Sense of Crisis

The events in Elm Tree Town had ultimately been kept under wraps; at least, even a month after Blaze entered Kamar-Taj, Yang Qiu still couldn’t find a single mention of those three words in any public news. Likewise, there was no casualty list issued by the military or the Supernatural Response Unit—a fact that was even more reasonable than the absence of the town’s name in the news.

“Little Fish, eat a bit more, grow up quickly~”

“Meow~” (Grow up quickly!)

After dumping all the fish food into the tank, Yang Qiu tilted his head to observe An, who had both paws pressed against the edge of the aquarium. Was this a cat paying respects to a fish for the New Year, or simply up to no good?

In this past month, Yang Qiu had already changed aquariums for the third time. The blue-bag fish grew too rapidly to be suitable as ornamental pets, but since An thought the fish Yang Qiu picked was too small—wanting to raise it a bit before eating it—he could only indulge the cat. Besides, ownership of the fish was firmly in An’s paws.

Moreover, if exchanging a fish meant An would be more obedient, Yang Qiu didn’t consider it a loss. In fact, he thought the longer the fish lived, the better—perhaps they might even develop a friendship, though that was highly unlikely.

More importantly, even another blue-bag fish couldn’t alleviate Yang Qiu’s current shortage of materials. The alchemy workshop that had emerged from the script hadn’t run at full capacity even once this month—not just due to a lack of workers, but more critically, a lack of materials. Workers could be rotated in when Yang Qiu had spare time, but magical ingredients were another matter. Using his spiritual power to simulate materials was too wasteful, and starting to cultivate them from scratch would mean waiting who knows how long for a harvest. In the end, this was something that might have to be resolved by the next script evolution.

The only consolation for Yang Qiu was that the blue-bag fish population was thriving, and their versatility meant they could substitute for many types of magical ingredients—while not as good as the originals, the difference wasn’t too great.

“Yang Qiu! Yang Qiu!”

A rapid knock sounded at the door, accompanied by Peter’s urgent voice.

With a clap, Yang Qiu restored the room to its normal state. The magic circle shrouding the containment box faded—inside were the Annabelle doll and the gravely wounded Freddy, both requiring strict supervision.

When he opened the door, he found Peter looking flustered and breathless.

“Something’s happened! Something’s happened!” Peter shouted, as if the sky were falling.

“Calm down. What’s happened? Who’s in trouble?” Yang Qiu maintained his composure and quietly cast a clarity spell on Peter to help him settle down.

“It’s Mr. Stark! He’s gone missing in the Middle East! What do we do? What do we do?! There’s a war going on there—maybe he’s been kidnapped by a terrorist group!”

Sweat as large as beans beaded on Peter’s forehead. He’d idolized Stark for years, and to suddenly hear bad news about his hero was almost too much for him.

Tony’s missing... The Iron Man storyline has begun?!

Yang Qiu suddenly felt tense—not for Tony Stark’s sake, since the Ancient One was always keeping an eye on the original Avengers; it would be hard for Tony to die even if he wanted to. What made Yang Qiu nervous was the timing: if the Iron Man plotline had started, it meant there were only a few short years left before the Mad Titan wreaked havoc on Earth!

The nerves he had just begun to relax instantly tightened again.

“Brother Yang?” Peter noticed Yang Qiu had fallen silent and called out softly.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Yang Qiu snapped back to the present.

“Don’t worry. Your idol Tony Stark is a top-tier billionaire. Plenty of people want him dead, but just as many want him alive. Besides, you have to trust his abilities—even if he’s been captured, he’s more than capable of turning the tables.”

“But... but...” Peter wanted to protest, but realized nothing he said would help. Both he and Yang Qiu were just ordinary people—what could they possibly do?

So, a few minutes later, with his emotions cooled, Peter walked home with his head down. Yang Qiu, watching his retreating figure, thought of another genius—Ivan Vanko.

On the original timeline, Whiplash, as a villain, ultimately died at Tony Stark’s hands; his entire purpose was to remind Stark that with the rise of superheroes, supervillains would inevitably follow.

Though his defeat was crushing, Ivan’s genius was undeniable. In terms of resources and manpower, he was no match for Stark, but he was at least better off than Stark had been in that cave. Moreover, the suit he built himself had greater offensive power than the Mark I that Stark had cobbled together, so all in all, their talents were not so far apart.

Both of them were the sort who could squeeze every last drop out of their resources—in other words, stretch a penny into two.

For Yang Qiu, this was exactly the kind of subordinate he needed: someone who could rapidly grow in strength without demanding any payment, and, ideally, make a few extra contributions on the side.

Yes… wanting the horse to run while not letting it eat, and maybe even getting a bit of horse meat on top. After all, after spending so long in America, Yang Qiu had picked up some bad habits from the capitalists.

Thinking back, Ivan Vanko ended up on a criminal path because of his own personality and the bitter, jealous words his father spoke on his deathbed.

In this respect, Tony Stark had a huge advantage Ivan could never match. Tony’s father was Howard, a top scientist, founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.—perhaps not the best father due to his busy work, but certainly not a bad one. His actions, for better or worse, had subtly influenced Tony as a child.

In contrast, Ivan Vanko’s father, aside from bestowing him with a brilliant mind, did nothing good for him—his only notable achievement being some early work on the Arc Reactor. After being expelled by Howard for misconduct and extreme views, he spent his days drinking, never trying to catch up, much less offering any positive influence to his son.

Without a proper guide, the more intelligent a person is, the more dangerous they become to the human world; Ivan Vanko’s future is one of the best examples of this.

Yang Qiu considered: Ivan Vanko’s father died around the time Tony publicly revealed his identity as Iron Man—so there was still a while to go.

That meant Ivan Vanko hadn’t yet taken the criminal path—there was still a chance for redemption.

Yes, to break free from the influence his father had imposed for so many years, he’d need someone who could truly keep him in check, a mentor with the stern authority of a father. This person didn’t have to be a saint or a sage—in fact, a few flaws might make them all the more real.