"Boss, we're really just letting him go like that?"
On the way back to Building No. 8, Leo had a doubtful look on his face. In his opinion, they should have killed the agent on the spot as a warning to others.
Carl smiled:
"Let him go. Hydra has agents all over the place. Kill one, and who knows how many more will come crawling in? It's better to let him take a message back to Garrett and mess with Garrett's head a bit."
In what he said earlier, Carl never explicitly mentioned Hydra, nor did he fully uncover the truth — only dropped vague hints.
The purpose was to plant seeds of doubt in Garrett's mind. Let him stay uncertain about Carl's true identity and capabilities. That way, he wouldn't dare to act rashly anytime soon.
As for the future? Once Carl's power grew, if Garrett didn't come looking for trouble, he would take the initiative and root him out completely.
"Then when you said you knew Tony Stark just now... were you lying?"
Leo scratched his head, puzzled.
Carl laughed and said:
"Not exactly. We don't know each other yet, but that'll change soon enough. Anyway, how's the investigation into Obadiah Stane going?"
"The intel team's already working on it. Should have results in a few days."
As they arrived at Carl's door, Leo finished his report and backed away.
Carl returned to his room and collapsed gently onto the bed.
"It looks like I really do need to find a way to get the Mind Stone… use it to strengthen Wanda and Pietro's powers."
Carl made a quiet decision in his heart.
He had been on the fence about it before — using the Mind Stone to enhance their abilities. After all, Wanda had always leaned toward wanting an ordinary life.
But now, in this dangerous Marvel world, Carl realized that the power to protect yourself wasn't optional — it was essential.
He had done a lot to protect Wanda already, but anything could happen. If danger ever came too suddenly, he might not have time to respond.
If Wanda and Pietro could evolve their abilities with the Mind Stone, at least low-level threats like Hydra would no longer be able to touch them.
Carl didn't need them to fight for him — he just wanted them to be able to protect themselves if the worst ever happened.
"Honey..."
As if sensing Carl's return, Wanda murmured in her sleep, pulling him close again like an octopus.
"That damn Hydra agent — ruined my whole night's sleep."
But Carl wasn't tired anymore. As a martial artist, his stamina and endurance far surpassed that of ordinary people. With Wanda hugging him tightly, he simply smiled, pulled the quilt over them both, and switched from passive to active.
A while later, Wanda's hand — the only part of her exposed from under the quilt — clutched the bedsheet tightly.
At the same time, Grant, bruised and staggering, left the interrogation room with a bag of bread and milk in hand, and returned to his Chevrolet parked in the lot.
Without hesitation, he slammed the accelerator and sped away.
This infiltration had been the most humiliating failure of his career as an agent—especially considering that his opponent had the gall to send him off with bread and milk. It was deeply insulting.
"I didn't expect even you to fail. It seems Carl has been hiding a lot more than we thought,"
Inside the Hydra base, Garrett looked at the battered Grant with a solemn expression.
Grant was, without a doubt, the most capable and promising agent Garrett had personally trained.
"He claimed to know Tony Stark… Do you think he might be connected to Nick Fury somehow?"
Grant offered the thought cautiously.
"But according to our intel, they've never crossed paths before."
"Even if he does know Stark, that doesn't necessarily link him to Fury," Garrett replied with a shake of his head. "As far as I know, Fury hasn't made contact with Stark yet. Still…"
He paused for a moment, brows deeply furrowed in thought.
"Forget it. Don't interfere with him again until we uncover the truth about who he really is."
Garrett couldn't be sure whether Carl had genuinely seen through their intentions or was just playing mind games. Nor could he tell what other cards Carl might be hiding.
The power pill was indeed a potential asset for the death warrior project, but it wasn't critical—not yet. It could wait.
Right now, Garrett's priority was leveraging SHIELD's intel and connections to obtain the incomplete Super Soldier Serum from General Ross. That trumped everything else.
The next day, when the first ray of sunlight fell across Carl's face through the window, he slowly opened his eyes.
As a martial artist, Carl had never developed a habit of sleeping in.
He got up and drew the curtains closed, making sure the sunlight wouldn't wake Wanda, who was still sound asleep. Then, Carl quietly left the bedroom.
Yesterday had been a long day—flying, riding in the car, settling into their new home. He'd been busy until midnight. Wanda wasn't as physically resilient as he was, so Carl didn't plan on waking her up in the morning.
After washing up, he went to the kitchen and prepared two breakfasts. After eating his own, he left Wanda's in the warmer with a sticky note attached.
In fact, Carl's cooking skills were much better than Wanda's. Not only could he handle Western cuisine, but he was also well-versed in authentic Chinese dishes. It was just that since time-traveling into this world and gaining significant wealth, he'd rarely needed to cook for himself.
But now things were different. Now he had a home, and a wife. They couldn't just throw money at everything. There had to be some sense of daily life.
After breakfast, he made his way to the open-air parking lot of the complex. David was already waiting for him in the car.
"Boss, here's the agenda for today," David reported as they drove. "At 9:30, you'll meet all the employees at the new company and deliver a welcome speech. At 10:30, there's a press conference. And there's another event scheduled at 2:00 PM."
As chairman of the Hudson Group, most of Carl's time was focused on training and strengthening his abilities. He rarely involved himself in the company's day-to-day operations.
Scientific research was handled by Dr. Smith, while Jack oversaw publicity, production, and sales. Secret matters fell under Harry's or sometimes leo's domain, and Uncle Li took care of administrative affairs.
Still, there were special situations where his presence was required.
Charity galas, major press conferences, award ceremonies—these were occasions where the chairman had to show up.
Like now, with the launch of his new company in New York and the release of two new products, Carl knew he'd need to dedicate at least a week or two of attention to these affairs.
As for the side mission to rescue Dr. Ethan—it wasn't urgent yet.
For one, if Carl remembered correctly, it had taken Tony over two months to escape after being kidnapped. Right now, it had only been a few days. There was still plenty of time.
And second, this was New York, not Sokovia. The intelligence unit here had just been set up, and gathering information on Obadiah Stane would take time.
For now, the plan was to solidify the foundation of the new company, complete the side mission to earn the Palm Sage Technique, and then head to the small world to continue strengthening his power.