Natasha left.
In the end, she didn't say anything. But it didn't matter anymore; after Tony mentioned Fury's name, he was sure he would meet Fury soon.
But he was no longer anxious about that matter, because a new highest-priority task had appeared on his to-do list.
The Red Room.
Tony didn't know the reason, but in short, he was obviously targeted by this organization now.
This was a deviation from the movie plot he knew; in the movies, Tony hadn't encountered Black Widow assassinations at this stage.
Sure enough, the original plot could only be used as a reference and could not be trusted absolutely. After all, the very fact that Tony Stark's soul had become a transmigrator was, in a sense, rewriting the course of history. There was no evidence that the future would definitely not change.
This was also why Tony always felt an urgent need to step up the development of various new technologies, weapons, and armors. It seemed that only this could give him a little sense of security.
An organization raising a bunch of top assassins actually targeted his head. Although they failed this time, they would definitely not give up. The Black Widow assassins would continue to try disguises, infiltration, and secret assassinations. They could disguise themselves as any identity or anyone to get close to him, and he obviously couldn't hide inside his armor forever.
Just thinking about such a possibility made one shudder.
How could this be allowed?
No. He had to think of a way to take the initiative and destroy them before they succeeded, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully.
Tony sighed.
Although he was a Marvel fan in his previous life, he had never really thought about transmigrating to this perilous world.
I just want to get a good night's sleep. Is that too much to ask?
Tony sat in the laboratory beneath the villa, surrounded by a full circle of floating screens. Each screen contained a file, and each file corresponded to a to-do item he had listed, a dangerous name.
Obadiah Stane (Resolved), Ivan Vanko, Aldrich Killian...
All of them were potential threats that he knew would definitely pose a threat to him in the future and must be resolved.
If he couldn't get a sound sleep no matter what, then there was no other way...
Tony looked at the circle of screens, rubbed his temples, and killing intent appeared in his eyes.
...I'll just have to eliminate all the dangers with my own hands.
...
...
Not long after leaving the Stark residence, Natasha Romanoff removed the tracker that had automatically attached to the bottom of her boot and threw it into the vast ocean beyond the highway.
When she first left the house, this tracker silently and automatically attached to her boot. She guessed that Stark probably wanted to use her to get close to S.H.I.E.L.D., to Director Fury, and to follow up on the real-time progress of the investigation into the Red Room assassins through her.
But she was Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agent; counter-tracking techniques were basic skills. Although Stark's little tracking toy was quite high-tech, such methods were useless against her.
Confirming she had shaken off the tracking, Natasha did not return to the apartment where she lived under her disguised identity, but rushed to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house.
A top-secret dedicated line was activated in the safe house. After patiently going through layers of authentication, a steady voice came from the other side of the receiver.
"This is Nicholas Fury," the man said.
This was a top-secret line that could directly contact Director Fury. Only a very small number of people, including Natasha, had the authority to use it, and it was a one-time line. Once used, the line would be discarded, and the safe house would be destroyed along with it.
Fury: "Agent Romanoff, I heard tonight seems to be a long night, isn't it?"
"Director Fury." After hesitating, Natasha asked, "Can I... report in person?"
The communication line was quiet for a few seconds, then Fury's voice sounded again: "Okay."
Half an hour later, Natasha ascended to the rooftop of the building at the designated address. When she climbed the fire escape to the top floor, she saw Director Fury already standing at the edge of the rooftop, facing the city lights, his black trench coat flapping in the wind.
Nick Fury listened to Natasha's entire mission briefing in full. Including the Red Room attack, her identity exposure, and Tony Stark's unusual knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Red Room, etc.
After listening to the briefing, Fury faced the city and thought for a few seconds. Throughout the process, no matter what he heard, his expression did not change at all.
Natasha was long accustomed to this. Because Director Fury was like this, always possessing the composure of not changing his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.
Perhaps because of this, Director Fury's existence itself could always calm people's hearts. Everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. was like this, trusting him absolutely, believing that no matter what crisis they encountered, Director Fury could always resolve it with ease...
...Well, at least the agents within S.H.I.E.L.D. other than Hydra trusted him.
After listening to all this, Fury seemed to think for a moment, then spoke without looking back.
"I understand," he said. "You did well, Agent Romanoff. I will arrange for other agents to take over the subsequent matters. You withdraw from this mission first."
Natasha was startled.
Withdraw? Her?
For so many years, she had always been one of Director Fury's most trusted aces; it was no exaggeration to say she was his right hand. Up until now, the most top-secret and dangerous missions had always been her responsibility.
And now, Director Fury actually asked her to withdraw from an ongoing mission. Such a thing was unprecedented.
Not to mention this involved the "Red Room" mission, which was closely related to her...
Thinking of this, Natasha seemed to suddenly understand.
"Is it because of the 'Red Room'?" Natasha asked. "Because this matter concerns me, so I need to withdraw from this mission?"
Nick Fury did not give an answer, nor did he show any expression.
But Natasha knew him. If anyone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. could truly understand Nick Fury, then as his right hand, Natasha should undoubtedly be counted as one of the very few.
Natasha quickly guessed something, and her expression gradually became strange: "Does S.H.I.E.L.D.... actually always... know that the 'Red Room' still exists?"
Fury still didn't speak.
Natasha took a deep breath: "Director Fury, do we... does S.H.I.E.L.D. actually always have the location of the 'Red Room'?"
She knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s style... no, or rather Director Fury's style.
For an organization like the Red Room, even if its movements were known, compared to direct elimination, S.H.I.E.L.D. would most likely choose to monitor it secretly, and even use it when necessary.
As long as it was used properly, Fury could totally use this organization to eliminate some obstacles that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't want to deal with personally, and S.H.I.E.L.D. could completely clear its name.
Although she, Natasha, had extremely high clearance within S.H.I.E.L.D., there were still many secrets she didn't know. And she had always been a qualified soldier; she never asked about things she shouldn't ask.
So it was entirely possible that S.H.I.E.L.D. had always known about the Red Room's situation while she was kept in the dark.
Fury still didn't answer her question, only saying calmly: "Your mission is over, Agent Romanoff. Good work."
Natasha lowered her head and took a few deep breaths.
"Roger that."
She said nothing more, turned around, and left the rooftop.
About a minute after Natasha left.
Right there on the rooftop of the building, fifteen meters behind Nick Fury, transparent ripples appeared in the air.
The silver Mark II Iron Man armor deactivated its stealth mode and walked up slowly.
Tony Stark's voice came through the armor's voice changer and mechanical processing.
"The moonlight is really nice tonight. Wouldn't you say, Director Fury?"