There was no doubt about it.
Bucky's biggest psychological burden was Alexander Pierce—the man who had manipulated him like a puppet and stolen decades of his life.
As long as Alexander Pierce lived, a thorn would remain lodged in Bucky's heart.
Only by killing Pierce and resolving that mental knot once and for all could Bucky move on and start a new chapter in life.
Strangely enough, when Bucky heard that Eren planned to handle Pierce personally, he just smiled and shook his head.
"There's actually no need for you to step in. Alexander Pierce won't live much longer. Before you arrived, Master Joker already had me send that cursed videotape to him. Once Pierce gets home and opens that tape, his fate will be sealed."
"And even if he doesn't open it himself, the maid in his house—who's already under our hypnosis—will make sure he watches it."
"Pierce may be the leader of Hydra, but his body hasn't undergone any enhancements."
"When the time comes, we won't need to lift a finger. The vengeful spirit in that tape will rip him to pieces."
Eren shook his head. "You're underestimating Alexander Pierce. You've tried to kill him multiple times, and every time, he's somehow managed to survive. Do you really believe it's all just coincidence?"
Once or twice could be chalked up to luck.
But three times? Four?
There's no way the world offered that many coincidences.
Before coming here, Eren had already used the scales of fate to perform a divination.
He asked whether Pierce would die from the cursed videotape.
The answer was—no.
Which was exactly why, after confirming Bucky's intent, Eren decided he would intervene personally.
Maybe his arrival had altered the fate of this world.
Or maybe the world had never been as simple as he thought.
Since Eren arrived, he had experienced many events that never appeared in the original timeline.
And ever since Iron Man tore open the veil hiding the supernatural, the world seemed to spiral into chaos—paranormal incidents cropping up left and right, growing more frequent by the day.
It was as if the era of ghosts and monsters had returned.
Given the situation, Eren felt it was better to deal with Pierce as soon as possible, before things got even messier.
After all...
Who knew what kind of hidden weapons a man like Pierce—who possessed enormous resources and moved in the shadows—might deploy next?
·······················
Of course.
Alexander Pierce stayed at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters during the day, so even if Eren wanted to assassinate him, daytime was out of the question.
So, after confirming Pierce's situation…
Eren left the Miracle Tower.
For him, assassinating Alexander Pierce would be the mission for tonight.
But before that, he had other things to take care of.
After leaving the Miracle Tower, Eren drove straight to Stark Tower in the heart of Manhattan.
He had called Pepper ahead of time.
So, once he arrived and confirmed his identity, a sweet-smiling receptionist warmly led him to the CEO's office.
She knocked politely. "President Potts, Mr. Eren is here."
"Let him in," came the voice from inside.
With a courteous smile, the receptionist opened the door for Eren, then quietly closed it behind him.
To Eren's surprise...
In addition to Pepper, a slightly pale Tony Stark was also present in the office.
Seeing Eren, Tony took a sip of his chlorophyll smoothie and joked, "Well, well, look who it is. A rare guest."
"Tony!"
Pepper shot Tony a sharp look, then walked over to Eren. She straightened the creases on his collar with a satisfied smile. "Not bad. I should've picked out some suits for you earlier. You look much sharper like this. No wonder Helen called me yesterday, saying her precious daughter is about to be stolen away by a certain young man."
Eren rubbed his nose and said, "Actually, Gwen already agreed to be my girlfriend."
"Oh, really?"
Pepper's eyes lit up, and she beamed. "Then next time you're free, let's all have dinner together. You and your little girlfriend. Oh, and…"
She turned back to her desk and pulled two tickets from a drawer.
"These are tickets to Mr. Robert's concert. I just happened to be too busy to go, so they're yours now. Sometimes, taking your girlfriend to a concert is a nice way to spend an evening."
She even winked as she handed them to him.
Before Eren could even react…
Tony Stark stared at the tickets in shock.
Robert was one of the world's most renowned musical masters. His concert tickets were extremely hard to come by—even in high society.
Tony had pulled serious strings and shelled out a fortune to get those exact two tickets.
He and Pepper hadn't even gone yet!
And now, Pepper just casually handed them to Eren?
Sure, when he'd invited Pepper to the concert, she'd turned him down, saying Stark Industries had a mountain of urgent work to deal with.
But still, seeing those hard-earned tickets handed over to this brat, Tony was understandably frustrated.
Though, to be fair, his frustration was aimed squarely at Eren.
He and Pepper hadn't even gone to one of those concerts together yet!
Because of Pepper, Tony swallowed his annoyance and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Pepper asked Eren, "You mentioned over the phone that you needed my help. What happened?"
"Yes, there's something I'd like your help with," Eren said.
Then he glanced at Tony slumped on the couch and added, "And since Mr. Stark is also here, I have something to ask of you too."
"Wow, Mr. Stark! That's a rare title. Today's the first time I've ever heard it come out of your mouth," Tony said dramatically.
But then he remembered how many times Eren had saved his life, and with a shrug, he added, "Alright, for that 'Mr. Stark,' I'll help with whatever it is you're asking."
Truth be told…
Tony had been stressing over how to repay Eren for saving his life several times now.
Eren was a major shareholder in both Oscorp and Stark Industries, so money was meaningless to him.
That rendered Tony's usual approach—throwing money at problems—useless.
He'd even considered throwing a lavish party and hiring a bunch of models to help the kid 'let off steam.'
But the second he even hinted at the idea, Pepper shut him down with a death glare.
"If you dare corrupt my nephew, I swear I'll make your life hell," she'd said.
So, Tony reluctantly gave up that plan.
Right before Eren arrived, Tony had even asked Pepper what Eren liked.
Before she could answer, Eren's call had come in, asking for help.
Which was why Tony had been waiting at Stark Tower for half the day.
···········
After Tony gave his word, Eren nodded.
"In that case, even better. I recently bought a newly completed building in Hell's Kitchen and founded a company. The security systems are nearly done, but I still need a powerful firewall. I figured that wouldn't be a problem for you."
While Eren had solid programming skills, he didn't have experience building large-scale firewalls.
And once his revolutionary healing wax hit the market, he'd definitely attract a lot of attention.
In this world of rampant black technology, there was no telling what kind of freak hackers might try to break into the Miracle Tower's network.
So…
To avoid that risk, he went straight to the expert.
Tony Stark, the man who created J.A.R.V.I.S., was undoubtedly the leading genius in artificial intelligence.
His cybersecurity systems would be far more secure than anything Eren could put together.
As soon as Eren mentioned his building in Hell's Kitchen, Tony started tapping away on the tablet beside him.
In seconds, the Miracle Tower's photo and data appeared on his screen.
Looking at the building—which didn't seem any smaller than Stark Tower—Tony shook his head.
"A firewall? That's not enough for a company like yours. Tell you what—I'll copy you a subroutine of J.A.R.V.I.S."
"All you need is a few supercomputers in your server room, and you'll have your own AI."
"Trust me, a strong AI won't just block malicious network attacks—it'll handle a ton of office tasks for you too."
Huh?
He's just giving me an AI?
Tony Stark is being this generous?
Eren eyed him suspiciously. "You're giving me an AI just like that? Don't tell me there are hidden backdoors or vulnerabilities in it."
Tony, who had been smiling smugly, froze.
Seriously?
If not for the fact that he owed this kid several life debts, would he even consider giving away an AI?
Hidden backdoors?
Do I, the great Iron Man, look like I need to spy on a teenager?
He snapped, "Why would I put a backdoor in it? Take it or leave it."
"I'll take it, of course."
Sensing no ill intent from Tony's energy signature, Eren immediately accepted.
An AI for free? He'd be a fool to turn that down.
"Hmph!"
Tony snorted and turned away, sulking.
Eren didn't mind at all.
He turned to Pepper and said, "Pepper Auntie, you know I've got no experience running a company, and I haven't even graduated high school yet. So I'm looking for someone to help manage things as CEO."
"I don't know anyone suitable, so I came to ask if you could recommend someone."
"Of course, if you're willing to take the job, that would be ideal. The company is wholly owned by me, and I promise not to interfere in your decisions. Don't let the startup status fool you—I've already developed several revolutionary products. Its future won't be any less promising than Stark Industries."
Tony had just started to calm down, but now his jaw dropped.
Was this brat seriously trying to poach Pepper right in front of him?
Even more frustrating—Pepper was actually considering it.
Their relationship had only just become official.
And now, this kid—who also happened to be Pepper's nephew—was trying to take her away?
Before Pepper could respond, Tony jumped up and shouted:
"No way!"
"You little brat, don't even think about it! Pepper's the CEO of Stark Industries! She's not leaving to run your tiny little company."
"And don't talk nonsense about competing with Stark Industries. Do you even know how much we're worth right now?"
"Eighty-nine billion. Eighty-nine billion dollars. And it's still rising. Soon, we'll be the first company in the world to break a trillion in valuation. Your little startup has a long way to go before it can compete with us!"
"And most importantly—I've already confessed to Pepper. She's not just Stark Industries' CEO, she's my girlfriend now."
"So forget it! No way she's quitting to work for you!"
(End of Chapter)
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