After taking care of everything, Tony walked up to Yuma and extended a hand. "Let's get reacquainted. Tony Stark, my secretary and assistant, Pepper Potts, and this is my driver and bodyguard, Happy Hogan."
"Yuma, owner of Surprise Handicrafts," Yuma shook his hand and said, "As you can see, I have some surprising abilities."
"If that's considered surprising, I think all the magicians in America will be out of a job," Tony joked. "Their abilities are only considered surprising compared to yours."
"With such powerful abilities, why do you still run this handicraft shop?" Tony looked at Yuma and said. "How about you become my bodyguard? I'll give you $10 million a year."
"You know, the top secret service bodyguards only charge $1,500 an hour, and their security work is much more difficult than yours."
"I have Happy around, so I don't really need you to do anything. You just need to be responsible for my safety when I go out."
"For example?"
"For example, I'm going to the Middle East soon to talk to the military about a deal. I need you to protect my safety. Don't worry, I won't be going there more than a few times a year. Most of the time, I'll be staying in New York."
"Your offer sounds very tempting," Yuma sighed, "but I decline."
"Why?" Tony thought Yuma was going to accept his offer. "$15 million at most. That's the highest price I can offer."
"Because I sell my skills, not my body?" Yuma whispered. Seeing Tony's displeasure, he quickly said, "Okay, I'm just kidding. The main reason is that I don't like being tied down. If you need my help in the future, you can come to me, but I'm not interested in being a bodyguard."
Tony shook his head regretfully. You know, he was in the arms business and always faced various dangers.
Not to mention, there were countless people who wanted to get rid of him, just from his competitors. If he had Yuma's protection, he wouldn't have to worry about his safety anymore.
"Then, can I just hire you to protect me in the Middle East?" Tony asked after thinking for a moment. If he couldn't hire the whole person, he could at least hire him for the job.
"Sorry, I have some very important things to deal with recently, so I can't go," Yuma refused. "You'll have military protection there. Nothing will happen."
Seeing that Yuma was determined not to go, Tony didn't try anymore. He directly called Pepper and Happy, followed the people Rhodey sent to protect them, and left. Before leaving, he gave Yuma Pepper's contact information.
After sending Tony and the three of them away, Yuma closed the shop door, returned to his seat, and pondered. The person who tried to assassinate Tony shouldn't be Hammer. According to the "Iron Man" plot, Hammer only started competing with Tony after the Iron Man suit appeared.
The person who could send someone to kill him now was probably his partner, Obadiah Stane, the one who cooperated with terrorists in the Middle East to kidnap Tony. Only he would be so eager to kill Tony.
Shaking his head, Yuma stopped thinking about it and started focusing on making Reishi tools.
…
It wasn't until evening that Yuma went out, ready to deal with Torede.
"Yuma, you're really here!"
As soon as Yuma stepped out of the shop, he heard someone calling him. He turned his head and saw Banner and Betty!
"Sorry, you've got the wrong person." Yuma closed the door and turned to run.
"Wait, Yuma," Banner shouted from behind. "I'm not here to settle the score. Betty has explained everything to me."
Yuma heard Banner's shout and slowly stopped, turning around to look at Banner warily. As soon as anything went wrong, Yuma was ready to run!
"Stop, just say what you have to say from there," Yuma said as Banner got closer, even trying to give him a hug. He quickly stopped him. "I've recently gotten a contagious disease. I can't get too close to people. It wouldn't be good if I accidentally infected you and Betty."
Banner and Betty looked at Yuma speechlessly. Was he really so wary of him? He wasn't here to fight him.
"Yuma, I'm really here to thank you," Banner said helplessly. "After things settled down, Natasha signed an agreement with me on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. and General Ross. They won't be chasing me anymore. Besides some monitoring of my whereabouts, it's no different from a normal person's life."
Seeing that Yuma didn't believe him, Banner continued to explain. "Betty explained the situation with the child, and Natasha also played the recording from the communicator for me. So, I'm really not here to cause trouble."
Yuma remained silent, turning to look at Betty. Seeing Betty nod, Yuma breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing that Banner wasn't really here to cause trouble, Yuma quickly walked forward and gave Banner a big hug. "Banner, my brother who didn't share the same father and mother, when did you come? I miss you so much!"
Banner: "…"
Back in the shop, after Banner and Betty explained the situation, Yuma finally understood what had happened.
After Abomination was rescued, Hulk didn't continue to get angry and wreak havoc. He transformed back into Banner. Betty and the others took the opportunity to explain the situation to Banner.
At first, Banner didn't believe it. Later, Natasha and General Ross both testified for Betty, and with the recording from the communicator, Banner finally believed that Yuma had deliberately made Betty say those things to make Hulk come out.
The next day, Natasha went to find Banner. Besides bringing an agreement, she also brought a message for Banner to convey to Yuma.
"What message?" Yuma asked curiously.
"It's about Emil," Banner said solemnly. "The people who rescued Emil were Kingpin's men. He's working with Kingpin."
"Kingpin?" Yuma was puzzled. "How did Emil end up working with Kingpin? Also, I'm very confused. How did Emil get your serum? You know, he wouldn't have transformed into a monster without your serum."
"I'm not sure how he got my serum," Banner shook his head. "But I'm not surprised that he's working with Kingpin. When I first turned into Hulk, Kingpin's men found me and wanted to work with me."
"I didn't agree. I even injured some of his men. I guess after Emil transformed into Abomination, Kingpin sent people to contact him."
"So, that's how it is," Yuma nodded. "What did Natasha say? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. and General Ross take any action?"
Banner shook his head. "She didn't tell me. I guess if they take any action, they'll ask us for help."
Yuma didn't have high hopes. You know, Kingpin's influence spanned the entire United States. It wasn't easy to eliminate him, otherwise, he wouldn't have become a super boss.
Not to mention, he was now working with Abomination. This meant that it would be even harder for them to deal with him in the future, and they would have to be on guard against his sneak attacks.
With Kingpin's influence, it would be too easy for him to ambush them without them knowing.
Yuma thought for a moment and decided to abandon the plan to besiege and aid. He planned to capture Torede and see if he could find a breakthrough from him, getting closer to Kingpin or finding out some internal information.
______________
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