Shang-Chi couldn't be bothered to explain further. His mind was entirely occupied with his sister's safety, leaving no room to deal with Katy's tantrums.
In the past, no matter how unreasonable Katy acted, he would just let it slide and never felt anything was wrong. But now, he suddenly realized how inappropriate her behavior was.
He was heading into something dangerous—possibly facing Wenwu himself. Precisely because he was worried about Katy, he didn't want her coming along. Yet instead of understanding, she complained.
"Just wait for me to come back."
Shang-Chi didn't say anything more. He tossed out that line and turned to board the Quinjet.
---
"Peter, go find Tony. I'll send him everything we've gathered."
Just before boarding, Natasha leaned in and spoke quietly.
"Got it. I'll head over now."
Peter was about to shoot out a web when Katy suddenly stepped in front of him—his web almost splattered across her face.
"Spider-Man! Can I get your autograph?"
Katy, completely oblivious, blocked his way.
"…No."
Peter looked exhausted. He gave a flat reply and quickly slipped past her, swinging away.
---
The Quinjet slowly lifted off, shooting into the sky, leaving Katy standing there alone, looking dazed.
---
Peter quickly arrived at Avengers Tower.
Tony had just finished a long day and was about to head home when Peter showed up and stopped him.
"What's wrong? You look like you're in a rush."
Tony asked, puzzled.
"Natasha told me to come find you. Said she sent you something."
Tony paused, about to respond—
But JARVIS spoke first.
"Sir, Agent Natasha has sent you a video."
"You mean this?"
Tony raised a hand, and a holographic projection appeared instantly.
"Probably?"
Peter wasn't entirely sure either.
---
Tony opened the file.
Inside was a long audio recording, along with numerous documents, files, and even some blurry black-and-white photographs.
"JARVIS, analyze everything immediately."
"Yes, sir. Estimated time: five minutes."
JARVIS began processing—breaking the video into frames, extracting files, audio, and images.
Meanwhile, Tony and Peter sat down and started chatting.
Mostly, it was Tony asking questions and Peter answering—almost like an exam. It was clear Tony genuinely intended to train him.
---
"Sir, analysis complete. All data has been organized."
Five minutes later, JARVIS spoke again.
The projection displayed all files and photos, while the audio was separated.
Tony and Peter both focused on the images first—they were the most intuitive source of information.
Most of the photos featured a Chinese man.
But something immediately puzzled Peter.
The photos clearly came from different eras—some old, some modern—but the man in them hadn't changed at all.
Not his face. Not his age.
"…JARVIS, are those black-and-white photos artificially aged?"
Peter asked, confused.
"No, sir. These photographs span several hundred years."
As JARVIS spoke, he enlarged one old black-and-white photo and one high-definition modern image.
Aside from hairstyle differences, the man looked identical in both.
Humans age—it shows most clearly in the skin. Wrinkles, sagging, changes in facial structure—these are unavoidable marks of time.
But this man defied all of that.
Across centuries, there was no change. Even his skin condition was exactly the same.
"What the hell is this?!"
Peter stared at Tony, hoping for an answer.
Tony frowned in thought.
From a scientific standpoint, this was impossible.
Unless the photos were fake—but with JARVIS's capabilities, any technological forgery would be detected instantly.
If science couldn't explain it, then only one possibility remained—
Magic.
"Let's focus on the content first. We'll deal with the rest later."
Tony decided not to dwell on it. Among the people he knew, only Karl and his group—and now Doctor Strange—had anything to do with magic.
He could ask them later.
---
Yes—the Avengers had already made contact with Strange.
And Strange didn't reject them. Even before becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he knew of the Avengers' reputation.
He might not join them, but cooperation was entirely possible. After all, both sides fought to protect Earth.
---
As they went through the documents, the more they read, the more shocked they became.
The records spanned over a thousand years—from medieval Europe, through modern history, all the way to the present day.
A man named Wenwu had lived for an entire millennium.
Setting aside his unchanged appearance, what was more terrifying was that he had participated in nearly every major conflict throughout those thousand years—and always came out on top.
According to the files, Wenwu not only commanded powerful forces, but also possessed a set of ring-like weapons.
No one had ever clearly seen them—because anyone who had… was dead.
That only added to his mystique.
---
"That Shang-Chi… are we sure he's Wenwu's son?"
Tony frowned.
A man like Wenwu was an unstable variable—someone with immense ambition, possibly even capable of conquering the world.
Before Peter could answer, Tony suddenly froze.
His eyes locked onto a symbol.
A symbol deeply etched into his past.
Two crossed blades, surrounded by ten rings.
Tony knew it all too well.
From the moment he was ambushed and nearly killed—left with a hole in his chest—to dealing with Aldrich Killian, that symbol had followed him.
It had, in a way, created Iron Man.
But it had also been a lingering nightmare.
Tony raised a hand, stopping Peter from speaking.
"JARVIS, check the connection between Wenwu and the Mandarin."
He tapped the projection, enlarging the symbol.
"Peter… does this look familiar?"
Peter initially didn't connect the dots—but after Tony's reminder, memories clicked.
The bombings across the U.S. The arrogant terrorist who called himself the Mandarin.
"…That symbol… it's that terrorist who claimed to be the Mandarin?!"
Peter's eyes widened.
"If I'm not mistaken," Tony said coldly, "this Wenwu is likely the real mastermind behind that organization."
His eyes narrowed, sharp as blades.
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