In short, after what happened in New York, Tohka began living a relatively peaceful life. As for Miku Izayoi, she finally took some time to do a few tours. It had to be said, with Stark Industries as such a powerful backer in this world, things like hidden rules and shady deals simply had nothing to do with her. As for Tohka—well, during this time she basically became a full-time freeloader. Ever since that one time, she'd hardly worn the armor again. After all, all she encountered were petty criminals who didn't interest her in the slightest—people she could defeat with a single punch if she felt like it. There was no point in putting on the armor, so she couldn't be bothered to give everyone a "fan service" show.
"Hey, hey, Tohka, aren't you getting lazier and lazier?" Finally, Miku Izayoi couldn't stand watching anymore. So, she started scolding her. This girl had turned into a complete couch potato.
"Mm? What is it?" Casually picking up something beside her and putting it into her mouth, Tohka lazily glanced at Miku Izayoi. She couldn't help it—ever since coming to the Marvel world, she hadn't had a single day to relax. Now that she finally had time to enjoy life, the shut-in soul from her previous life had fully awakened. Lately, she'd been holed up in Avengers Tower all the time, to the point where Miku Izayoi was starting to get exasperated.
"For god's sake—where did that hardworking Tohka from before go? Look at you—if you're not going to school or accompanying me to concerts, you're just sitting here playing games." As she spoke, she glanced at Tohka's computer and couldn't help adding, "I know you have money, but did you really have to bypass the firewall to connect to China's servers just to play games? What—does bullying noobs feel that good?"
"Mm, well, I have nothing else to do." Tohka shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides your concerts are all super successful, right? You're practically replacing Tony as the face of the Avengers now."
Mainly, back in her previous life, she'd been bullied in a bunch of pay-to-win games. So even though this wasn't the same world, the Chinese servers still had the same environment. To satisfy her little evil hobby, she downloaded a popular gacha game and started playing. After all, Tony had given her that amusement park, so she had steady income. Coupled with the USD-to-RMB exchange rate, she'd quickly shot into the top ranks on that server.
"Hmph—games, games, all you know is games." Miku Izayoi glared at her, finally losing her patience. Then, as if picking up a puppy, she grabbed Tohka by the scruff of her collar and lifted her right out of her chair. Even though she wasn't as strong as Tohka, she was still a spirit, and lifting her was no problem. Then she forcibly turned Tohka's head toward the TV.
"Look—this broadcast. There's a terrorist here. Why don't you get out there and clean him up?" As she spoke, she turned up the volume. On screen, the news was replaying a video.
"That's…the Mandarin." Tohka, who had been slouched with the look of a dying sloth, suddenly opened her eyes wide. Because she recognized that man—or rather, the ten rings on his hands. In the movie, this guy was basically a clown. But in the comics, he was terrifying. Especially those ten rings, each with a different attribute and ability. Even without them, the Mandarin himself was a formidable foe.
"Hey—what's wrong with you? Don't tell me that guy coming out really is such a big deal." Seeing Tohka instantly turn serious, Miku Izayoi jumped in alarm. Over the past month, Reverse Tohka had appeared a couple times, and her oppressive aura had left quite an impression. Of course, Miku Izayoi had also developed her own method of dealing with her—just shove food in her mouth, and she'd quiet down. Honestly, "going out" was more like "going out to eat."
"No—it's the rings…" Tohka used a bit of strength to shake off Miku Izayoi's grip. She locked her eyes on the man's fingers. But to her disappointment, this was just a recording, not even a live feed, so she couldn't sense anything. She had no way to tell if this Mandarin was the comics version or just a stand-in.
Of course, she really hoped this was just the movie version. When she'd watched that film, she'd nearly coughed up blood. It was so far from her expectations that she'd almost lost it. Supposedly, the director had gotten roasted by fans for it.
"The rings?" Miku Izayoi followed her gaze, then tilted her head. "Aren't those just some rings? What—did you take a liking to them or something? Honestly, an old man wearing that many rings… is he trying to look rich? Because to me, he just looks like some tacky nouveau riche."
If Tohka couldn't tell, Miku Izayoi definitely couldn't either. So, she just mocked the guy's taste. A huge beard, flashy gold rings on every finger—in her eyes, that was the definition of an uncultured poser. After all, look at Tony—when did he ever bling himself out like that?
"No—that's not what I meant… never mind. I'd better go warn Tony. He's been locked in his villa this whole time making suits—who knows how many he's built." She wasn't making it up. In the movies, Tony literally built an entire Iron Legion. She didn't know exactly how long it had taken, but judging by how fast Tony worked, he'd probably finished most of it by now.
"Mm… why warn that guy?" Miku Izayoi asked in confusion. She couldn't follow Tohka's thought process. Logically, why would a terrorist from Afghanistan come all the way here just to assassinate a rich American? Especially one who had his own formidable power—not exactly an easy target.
"You don't need to worry about that." Tohka thought for a moment. "Whatever—I'll at least give him a heads-up." Miku Izayoi didn't know, but Tohka was very aware this guy was almost certainly going to ambush Tony.