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Bring Tony over?
Arthur glanced at Bucky, momentarily speechless.
This... seriously?
He had to bring this guy here to avoid Natasha, and now he has to bring Tony to meet Bucky.
It's all out of order!
Arthur was a bit speechless, but seeing the two files in his hands, he knew that the computer contained extremely important information.
If only two more files could be opened, that would be a huge waste.
"Do you need me to leave?" Bucky asked.
Arthur thought for a moment before replying, "Actually, there's something I need you to help me with."
"Oh?" Bucky's mood gradually settled, and he asked, "Aren't you worried that while we're doing this, I might just run away?"
"If you really run, we'll just have to count it as bad luck," Arthur said, looking at Bucky. "But the real problem is, you'll be the one who suffers. All the pain you've been through before? You'll have to go through it again."
"...Are you talking about your 'dark cuisine'?" Bucky asked, feeling his face turn green just thinking about it.
"At least you're still alive, so it proves my 'dark cuisine' is undying-people-friendly," Arthur rolled his eyes and said. "I need your help to set up a trap, a perimeter. After nightfall today, we're expecting some visitors. Of course, they might not come, but if they don't come today, they'll come tomorrow so it's the same. We'll just have to deal with all of them."
"Got it." Bucky glanced around and then said, "If the numbers aren't too few, I'll need some equipment."
Arthur casually pulled out a military knife, guns, grenades, landmines, smoke bombs, and so on...
Bucky was dazed: "Who exactly are you preparing to fight at any moment?"
"You never know when things might go south. It's a good habit to carry them around. Because you never know, next second you might be tossed into space and locked up as a prisoner." Arthur said darkly.
Bucky was speechless for a moment. "Normal people don't just randomly end up in space, right? Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't make it... and how would someone end up as a prisoner in space? That's just ridiculous!"
"...Remember what you said today!" Arthur gritted his teeth, his eyes cold.
Bucky felt those eyes were a bit familiar. When he asked for a drink earlier, this was the same look Arthur gave him. The next day, the thing Arthur brought him almost made him suspect it was a new kind of emetic.
Not daring to continue talking nonsense with Arthur, Bucky hurriedly grabbed his gear and left.
There were still a lot of things he needed. He figured he'd have to do it himself to get everything he needed.
Arthur didn't waste any time either. He grabbed File No. 37 and went to Tony's house. However, Tony wasn't home today. After Arthur called, Tony said he'd be back soon and asked Arthur to wait for a bit.
With a little time to kill, Arthur opened a bottle of Tony's fine wine and started going over the file again.
The details recorded were very thorough, even including detailed specs for the transceiver that Dr. Zola had created.
This surprised Arthur, and he suddenly remembered something.
"Although I don't know what File No. 1 contains, it's clear that these events happened before this computer was even created."
Arthur stroked his chin. "So, someone must have compiled and archived these things later and inputted them into the computer. It's like... a legacy of knowledge? And the person who did this might very well be Dr. Zola."
He sighed at that thought.
Honestly, Dr. Zola was quite the talent.
But who knew whether his thoughts strayed on their own, or if the Red Skull led him astray, but his loyalty to Hydra was undeniable. Even after death, he was still serving Hydra.
"But if this guy really is still alive inside this computer... if he 'wakes up,' could there be some unexpected consequences?"
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a whistling sound. In an instant, a metal shell landed in front of him, slowly descending.
Before it even touched the ground, the helmet opened, and Tony's frantic voice came through: "Why are you stealing my wine again!"
"I think I'm drinking quite openly," Arthur replied. "No more talking, come with me right now."
"Is there a problem?" Tony asked.
"No worries, we've got this," Came a voice from above.
Arthur looked up and saw Banner stretching his neck over the roof, looking down. When he saw Arthur, he immediately grinned: "Hey!"
"When were you there?" Arthur asked, a little stunned. He hadn't noticed before.
But it made sense. Arthur had been worried about seeing something he shouldn't when he visited Tony, so he hadn't used The Eye of Horus.
After what happened last night, he probably would've accidentally seen Pepper... Although it was daytime, what if Pepper was at home showering and he scanned with The Eye of Horus... just thinking about it made Arthur feel uncomfortable.
To avoid such an accident, he hadn't used The Eye of Horus here.
Hence, he hadn't noticed Banner.
"I thought you guys had met already," Tony said, equally shocked.
"In fact, I didn't even know Arthur was here," Banner said as he came down from the roof. "When did you arrive?"
"Never mind, that's not important!" Arthur decided that who was here wasn't the main issue. "Let's go."
Without wasting time, he activated the teleportation array, grabbed one person in each hand, and in the next moment, the three of them arrived at Camp Lehigh.
Tony appeared, armor and all, and immediately caused a stir: "Iron Man!"
"...We saw each other yesterday," Tony said as he stepped out of the suit.
Professor Mark was also stunned: "To be honest, I find it hard to connect you with the man I saw last night in his pajamas, but it's great that you're here. Please follow me..."
Within moments, Tony was already dragged away to help with the document decryption.
Banner looked around, then turned to Arthur: "Can I do something?"
"Are you coming to fight tonight?" Arthur asked.
"You know, I have seven PhDs," Banner replied, chuckling: "I'm not just a big guy who knows how to fight."
"You're in a good mood. Getting along with Hulk lately?"
"To be precise, we're trying to communicate," Banner said.
Just then, Arthur's phone buzzed again. He pulled it out to check the message.
"Why aren't you here when I arrive?"
It was clearly Natasha, who had arrived late.
Arthur thought for a moment, then turned to Banner: "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where?" Banner asked.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the surroundings changed completely.
In an instant, this man with seven PhDs looked a bit overwhelmed: "Why do I feel a bit carsick..."
(End of Chapter)