The life of a farmer was incredibly comfortable, and Marcus was thoroughly enjoying his current situation.
Besides his daily farm inspections, he spent most of his time exercising or pursuing other activities.
Of course, life would be even more perfect if the Howard family wasn't constantly dropping by to disturb his peace.
Speaking of which, extracting the Aya Stars proved far more difficult than Marcus had expected. After several failed attempts and some damaged equipment, he finally managed to extract a single Aya Stars.
Two complete sets of Kree combat uniforms had yielded just one Aya Stars - a tiny droplet that resembled blue water.
Today, Marcus was lounging in a rocking chair, soaking up the sunlight. Void energy flowed around his hands, with the Aya Stars floating and swirling in response to his energy movements. The sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears, and without even looking, Marcus knew exactly who was coming.
"Doesn't Stark Industries need its boss? Why are you always hanging around the countryside?"
"Because I feel like it!" Tony dragged over another rocking chair and flopped down. He grabbed a piece of fruit from the plate Marcus had washed and took a bite. "Why should you get to relax while I'm stuck making money for you?"
Tony was clearly irritated. He hadn't expected that after returning, he'd be forced to take over Stark Industries. His carefree, wild lifestyle was gone.
"Then I need to tell Howard I'm not your father!" Marcus snatched the fruit plate back from Tony and bit into a slice of watermelon. The sweet taste made his eyes squint with pleasure. "But I can be your godfather. Come on, call me daddy!"
"Get lost!" Tony hurled the fruit core at Marcus. "You're seriously the biggest asshole I've ever met!"
Marcus waved his hand dismissively. "Just average, really. Still better than you, though!"
His indifferent, shameless attitude made Tony so angry he jumped to his feet. This guy always knew how to push his buttons.
As Tony moved, a thumb-sized object flew out from his sleeve. The moment it neared Marcus, it exploded, releasing a cloud of pepper that quickly enveloped the area.
Seeing Marcus surrounded by the pepper cloud, Tony burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Finally got you, didn't I?"
Marcus had always been bullying him, and now Tony had finally managed to get him back. This was his moment of sweet revenge.
"Hehe!" Marcus's voice rang out. "You're still not even close!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tony suddenly found himself floating up from the ground and flying toward the nearby pond.
Splash!
Seeing his boss get tossed into the pond, Tony's bodyguard stood frozen in shock.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to save your boss?" Marcus called out as he settled back into his rocking chair.
Watching the bodyguard finally rush to rescue Tony, Marcus shook his head. The bodyguard looked strong enough, but he clearly wasn't professional - obviously a rookie.
After climbing out of the pond, Tony exchanged some more trash talk with Marcus before heading toward the neighboring farm. He needed to change clothes; the wet ones were making him uncomfortable.
Marcus was happy to be alone again, lying in his rocking chair that now reeked of pepper, basking in the sun and enjoying his sweet and tangy fruits.
Howard Farm
"Boss, who is that guy?" Happy looked at Tony, who had just changed into dry clothes, with confusion. "How come I've never heard about him before?"
Although he had only recently become Tony's bodyguard, Happy was familiar with most people in Stark's circle, but this Marcus guy was a complete mystery.
"You mean that jerk?" Tony said, adjusting his clothes. "He's a Stark Industries shareholder and also my parents' personal bodyguard when they travel."
Personal bodyguard?
Hearing this, Happy immediately realized who Marcus was.
So this was the mysterious bodyguard everyone had been curious about! Many people had been wondering about Marcus's identity, but no one had been able to figure out who he really was.
Thinking about Marcus's reputation, Happy made up his mind to learn from him and keep all corporate spies away from Stark Industries.
After completing his work extracting the Aya Stars, Marcus finally moved on to other projects.
His equipment was the top priority. Most of his gear had been destroyed during the battle with Shaw. Now he had nothing but the long knife he'd gotten from Kree.
Fortunately, Howard lived on the neighboring farm. While providing technology to Howard, Marcus had also acquired some equipment-making tools from him in return.
This gear was much better than what Charles had provided, allowing Marcus to craft superior equipment and really showcase his skills.
The first thing Marcus made wasn't a weapon, but a void watch. It was incredibly useful and he was quite pleased with the result.
Most importantly, Marcus planned to add several new functions to the watch. After all, he'd acquired quite a bit of advanced technology recently.
With Howard's equipment, the void watch came together quickly. This version was more precise than before, with several new functions added.
Besides the void energy stand, Marcus also incorporated a communication device, a cosmic translator, and an energy aggregation device.
The void watch now had not only defensive capabilities but also communication, translation, and even attack functions. He went on to create other equipment one after another.
A combat suit, a battle blade, an energy blade, and three long-range firearms.
The combat suit was completely black, made using Kree technology. It could withstand most attacks without any problem.
The war blade had been upgraded as well. This version was more precise and refined. When attached to the watch, it was only the size of a palm.
As for the energy blade, Marcus had rebuilt it based on kree's sword. Its energy efficiency had been greatly improved, and even the range of the sword energy had been significantly extended.
The three firearms were what Marcus had put the most effort into. These were the most powerful weapons he could currently produce.
Two of them were pistols named Rex. These powerful handguns could easily penetrate even bulletproof vests with armor plates.
Along with that high power came enormous recoil. Anyone besides Marcus trying to use these guns would find them flying out of their hands the moment they pulled the trigger, even when holding them with both hands. The recoil was just too intense.
Marcus had also specially made a double-barrel shotgun named Tiger to indulge his interest in hunting. After all, there were always some wild beasts roaming outside the farm.
However, after testing the Tiger, he discovered its power was excessive. One shot would instantly turn even the most ferocious beast into a sieve, eliminating any sense of challenge or accomplishment from hunting.
These new pieces of equipment far surpassed what he'd made at Charles's house, significantly improving Marcus's combat effectiveness.
After completing the manufacturing process, Marcus handed over all the left over equipment to Howard.
This was a pleasant surprise for Howard. He hadn't expected Marcus to give him the Kree combat uniforms.
Although the equipment Marcus gave him had been scrapped, in Howard's eyes, that didn't matter. What he wanted was to understand how Kree technology worked.
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