Natasha vanished overnight, probably chasing some lead. Hong Fei figured he'd bide his time until she turned up something concrete, then pounce on the heart of the matter. That night, he took to the skies, riding the clouds until he located the remnants of The Hand's dragon bones over a hundred kilometers outside New York. The stash was pitifully small.
If extending life required one unit of dragon bone and resurrection demanded three, there were only about twenty units left. Tight math for five people.
Hong Fei shrugged it off. An entire dragon bone lay buried beneath his building, and for him, its true value wasn't life extension—it was resurrection, a cheat code among powers. Across the multiverse, resurrection wasn't unheard of, but most methods came with brutal drawbacks. Dragon bones were different. Their side effects were mild—temporary weakness and sporadic memory loss—with a high chance of full recovery.
The bones' magic was tied to Dragon Power. Hong Fei already knew the secrets of life extension and resurrection. After stashing the bones, he slept until dawn. The next morning, he ordered Number Two to scatter all thirty men from the manor across New York.
Their mission? Keep eyes on the Rand Building around the clock. The moment someone resembling Danny Rand showed up, they were to report immediately, no matter the time or place. Master Hong would reward them handsomely!
Even if Danny clung stubbornly to the Dragon Power, even if death didn't loosen his grip, Hong Fei would resurrect him with dragon bones and beat him again. And again. Until the power dropped. If he burned through The Hand's entire stash and still failed, it would mean Dragon Power couldn't be taken this way.
Would he give up? Not a chance. If it came to that, he'd find a way to storm K'un-Lun itself. For Hong Fei, Dragon Power wasn't just a priority—it was the priority. Its name alone spoke volumes, and its strength lived up to the hype.
From every angle, Dragon Power was the perfect fit for him. It adapted seamlessly, whether in the hands of a weakling like Danny or the powerful hosts of the past. Without it, Danny was worthless. But without Danny, Dragon Power remained Dragon Power—a top-tier source of energy Hong Fei couldn't afford to pass up.
With everything set, the manor emptied out. Hong Fei drove back to his old building in New York. Downstairs, Mei had turned the bookstore into a thriving business. Through the glass, he saw the reading area packed with people, customers weaving between the shelves. What caught his eye, though, was the golden energy swirling beneath the Eyes of Death. He stepped out of the car and walked inside.
Mei, stationed by the entrance, spotted him immediately and approached. "Boss."
Hong Fei smiled. "You've been working hard. How's business?"
Mei returned the smile, her tone polished and professional. "Great. Revenue's climbing. Year-end's coming up, so I expect another surge soon."
"If everything goes smoothly, I expect our annual profits will at least match this year's going forward. We only officially launched operations this year, after all." Hong Fei nodded thoughtfully as she finished speaking. "That's excellent news. Handing the bookstore over to you was clearly the right call. I've got every confidence the future looks bright."
His words were optimistic, but privately he scoffed. When had New York ever lacked surprises? Without the force majeure clause, he'd have insured the building to the hilt years ago.
"Sir!" A small figure came barreling toward them mid-conversation. The boy caught himself, remembering they were in a bookstore, and continued in a hushed but still excited tone. Hong Fei turned with a warm smile. "Peter! Look how you've grown!" The ten-year-old had shot up several inches since their last meeting months ago.
Peter skidded to a stop beside him, tilting his head back with starry-eyed enthusiasm. Mei started to intervene, "Peter, don't bother Mr. Hong—"
"No bother at all," Hong Fei cut in. "I came specifically to see you, Peter." The boy's face lit up even brighter.
"Mei, why don't you handle the shop? I'll take Peter out and have him back before sunset."
"Very well. Thank you for watching him."
"My pleasure." Hong Fei ruffled Peter's hair. "So, where to, champ?"
Once buckled into the backseat, Peter didn't hesitate. "The Stark Industries Expo!"
Hong Fei's eyebrow arched as he started the car. "Still? That thing's been running for a year now." The initial crowds had long since dwindled to a trickle.
"Yes! Please?" Peter nodded vigorously, practically vibrating with anticipation.
How could he refuse? "Buckle up—we're going!"
At the expo, Peter clung to Hong Fei's hand while dragging him from exhibit to exhibit. The boy enthusiastically explained each gadget's mechanics between breathless declarations of admiration for Tony Stark.
Hong Fei bit back a smirk each time. If only Peter knew he'd once knocked out Tony—armor and all—with a single punch. Not that it mattered. Kids naturally idolized flashy heroes, and Tony had that market cornered long before becoming Iron Man.
Peter had worshipped Stark since childhood. The Iron Man reveal only cemented his devotion. He wouldn't be the last starry-eyed fan, but he'd be unique—the one who'd inherit part of that legacy without bearing the Stark name. Poetic justice, really.
Over burgers that afternoon, Peter clutched his soda with both hands before blurting, "Sir, did you hear what happened in New York?"
Hong Fei nearly choked. Kid, I lived it. But Peter's pressed lips and hopeful stare practically begged for ignorance.
"I've been traveling. Just got back yesterday. What'd I miss?"
Peter's face lit up like Times Square on New Year's Eve. He slammed down his drink and launched into an animated play-by-play, arms flailing for emphasis. Watching the torrent of words, Hong Fei marveled at the old adage—the child truly was father to the man.
I went on a long trip again recently and just got back. Tell me everything." Peter needed no further encouragement.
Look at how slick his tongue is; it's a pity he doesn't do crosstalk. "...It's a pity that in the end, everyone still doesn't know whether those six You-Know-Whos were good or bad." Hong Fei smiled and didn't respond. Peter: "Sir, do you think they are good people or bad people?" Hong Fei, while eating, said nonchalantly, "Neither good nor bad." Peter blinked, "What does that mean?"
"It means that you can see both the good and the bad. It's like when you're walking home from school and don't have an umbrella, but then it starts to pour. For you, this rain came at a very inconvenient time, but it was precisely this rain that saved the drought-stricken, thirsty, and dying plants or animals." Peter seemed to understand a little.
Hong Fei continued, "A stretch of rolling mountains, when viewed horizontally, is a mountain ridge, but when viewed from the side, it might be a solitary peak. Furthermore, standing from afar or up close, the height you see is also different." Viewed horizontally, a ridge; viewed from the side, a peak. Distant, near, high, and low, all different.
It was really annoying to have to explain it; it seemed it was time for Aunt Mei to enroll him in a Chinese language class. Peter thought about it seriously, and after a moment, nodded, "I understand. Sir means that one should try to look at problems from different angles!" "Smart!" Afterwards, Hong Fei took him out to play until dusk, and then drove him back.
By the time they arrived, Peter had already fallen asleep in the back seat. Hong Fei carried him and delivered him to Mei's hands, and mentioned the Chinese class again before returning to the manor. The next morning, Hong Fei put on the armor Ivan had designed specifically for him and took off. After flying out of the atmosphere, he headed straight for Europe.
The armor still had a pitch-black appearance, and its exterior looked slightly bloated compared to Tony's armor. Moreover, rather than calling it a suit of armor, it was more like a humanoid flying machine, because the initial concept behind its design and manufacture was to allow Hong Fei to quickly travel from New York to Sokovia. In one word: fast!
While Hong Fei could fly with his physical body, he didn't yet have the ability to stroll freely in space, and physical flight consumed a massive amount of energy. His current energy limit wasn't enough to allow him to fly directly from New York to Sokovia. Before long, the armor descended from the sky and arrived in Sokovia. Hong Fei landed directly in the center of the castle roof.
After the armor landed, the front opened quickly. After Hong Fei stepped out of the armor, the stone tiles on the surface immediately sank, and the armor was retracted into the chamber below for inspection and maintenance. Entering the castle, the murals on both sides of the corridor had been updated once compared to before.
Now they were replaced with some landscape paintings, which felt much better than looking at those dead European noble figures from before. Needless to say, the person who could make such a decision in this castle must be Dr. Helen Cho. Hong Fei hadn't liked it before either, but he was simply too lazy to say anything, and he hadn't stayed here for long anyway.
Ancient castles like this, built against mountains, often served as military fortresses before modern warfare appeared. Whether it was the external city walls or the internal living quarters, they were designed based on the warfare and defense of the cold weapon era.
In modern times, many ancient castles were actually not suitable for living; after all, the people who lived here before had to fight wars, while modern rich people lived in castles mainly for enjoyment. Therefore, when Hong Fei truly obtained ownership of this castle, the first thing he did was to have Dr. Helen Cho take charge of renovating it based on the original structure.
Forget about historical remains or cultural relics for now; they could be kept if they didn't affect living conditions and standards, but once there was a conflict, he would just pull them out by the roots! Therefore, after several months of renovation, the exterior of the castle hadn't changed much compared to before, at most becoming cleaner and fresher.
However, the interior had changed drastically. Although many decorations were hidden to fit the atmosphere of the castle, it had everything that modern residences had. At the very least, it wouldn't be like before, where some circuits were crudely exposed, or in some places, there weren't even lights.
Spacious, bright, simple, and concise, without gold and silver decorations visible everywhere, all luxury was deeply internalized, which fit the public's beautiful imagination of a castle very well. The only downside might be that it was a little expensive. Hong Fei's arrival didn't alert Dr. Helen Cho, and he hadn't notified her in advance.
Instead, the security personnel on fixed patrols and some of the regular staff inside the castle recognized him, and every one of these people behaved politely. Currently, besides the group of five villains under Hong Fei, the only other core members were the 120 people who remained after layers of screening.
These people were divided into four groups, with thirty people in each group taking turns to go to the New York manor for duty, so there was a permanent security force of ninety people in Sokovia. For this castle, which was neither too big nor too small, it was just right. The laboratory was placed in the northwest corner of the castle.
It was originally close to a barren mountain, and now several buildings with styles similar to the castle had been built there. These were the residences of the researchers, and if expansion was needed in the future, they could continue to build outwards; it was all his own territory.
Just imagine, Ivan and Big Head were both scientists by background; one was in the mechanical field, and the other was in the biological field. The number of days Hong Fei could drag them out to fight each year shouldn't be much. For the rest of the time, he couldn't just let them sit around and do nothing, so these preparations were necessary.
Soon, Number Three, who was left guarding the castle, came over to greet him. He said with a beaming smile, "Boss, welcome home." "Thank you for your hard work. Take me to the laboratory to have a look." "Alright, this way." Walking towards the west, the flowers, plants, and other vegetation on both sides of the road had also changed, looking much more exquisite than before.
Approaching the laboratory, the state of having a post every three steps made people feel very safe; well, the sense of security mainly came from the Rocket launchers on everyone's back. Crossing the gate, a Stark contrast of high-tech sense rushed towards him. After following Number Three for a while, Hong Fei saw Dr. Helen Cho, who was busy, through the glass door.
She was wearing a white lab coat, her long hair tied behind her head, a blue mask on her face, and gloves on her hands. She was holding a tablet computer, occasionally looking up at the people gathered around her, seemingly explaining something seriously. This should be her most common working state, right? Hong Fei hadn't seen her like this before. Number Three left silently at this moment.
Hong Fei didn't watch for long from outside the glass. Dr. Helen Cho inside seemed to sense the focused gaze. She suddenly turned her eyes, and a look of joy immediately welled up in them. Subsequently, she withdrew her gaze and continued to explain to the people around her for a while. It wasn't until the people around her dispersed that she put down her things and walked out from the other exit.
She removed her mask in front of everyone, her eyes and expression radiating pure joy. "You're back."
"Hmm."
"When are you leaving?"
"For the next month or two, barring any surprises, I'll be staying here often."
"Really?" Dr. Helen Cho's eyes lit up with delight. Hong Fei nodded.
Dr. Cho clocked out early, and Master Hong took her place. Much later, she lay drenched in sweat on his chest, her breathing still uneven. Glancing up, she noticed he looked as composed as ever, not flushed or winded. A flicker of playful irritation crossed her face, and she parted her lips slightly before nipping him with her teeth.
"Hiss..." Hong Fei winced. "Revenge?"
"Exactly. You did the same earlier."
"Did I bite you?" "You did." "Then... I won't dare to do it again?" "No." "What do you want?" "Hmm, I've heard a saying in China." Dr. Cho switched to Chinese, her voice soft but teasing. "Be a cow or a horse in the next life." Hong Fei pondered for a moment, then answered with mock seriousness, "Sure, but I have a condition." "What?" "Being a cow or a horse is fine, but you have to give me grass."