The faint, white smoke from the incense burner curled upwards, carrying a rich, warm, and delicate fragrance of sandalwood.
Mu Yang was lounging in a recliner, gesturing in the air with one hand as he browsed a food delivery app, pondering what to eat.
Steve Rogers sat at the bar, elbows on the counter, fingers interlaced, chin resting on his fingers, looking like Commander Ikari in deep thought.
The situation: A Super Soldier who had been asleep for nearly seventy years, just awakened.
The enemy: A Super Organization that had developed for decades, and whose strength was unknown.
Question: How could he, alone, snatch an important weapon from the Super Organization?
Answer: Ask Boss Mu.
"Kryptonite makes you stronger. If you're not strong enough, it means you haven't spent enough."
Steve Rogers suddenly understood, clapping his hands and laughing, "Boss Mu, I'll take a strengthening package, worth 2400 Money."
Mu Yang waved his hand, dispelling the holographic projection, and sat up from the recliner, putting on a business-like, friendly smile, "Dear, your balance is insufficient. Please recharge."
Steve's smile quickly disappeared.
It's the lack of Money that's hurting me.
"Boss Mu, is there a way to make Money quickly?" Steve Rogers resumed the Commander Ikari pose, staring seriously at Mu Yang.
"Yes! Borrow Money from your nephew. He's loaded," Mu Yang offered Steve some advice.
Tony Stark's brain is quite valuable, full of design blueprints for technological items, some cheap for a few hundred or a few thousand Money, and some expensive for one or two tens of thousands.
Just from the knowledge and blueprints Tony Stark had previously exchanged, there were hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the future, Tony Stark could still use his genius brain to exchange for even more money.
So... knowledge creates wealth.
"Nephew?" Steve, looking puzzled.
"That's Tony Stark, Howard's son."
"Oh!" Steve understood, then scratched his head in embarrassment, "It's a bit embarrassing to borrow money from a junior, are there any other ways?"
"Yes," Mu Yang said, propping up his face with one hand. "You can be a treasure hunter, searching everywhere for rare treasures to exchange for money with me. You can slowly save up money. When you finally have enough money after a long time and a lot of hard work, you find that your wife has passed away, your friend died on a mission, and you are alone, filled with grief. To revive the two of them, you embark on the path of saving money alone..."
"Stop! Don't say anymore." Steve raised his hand, looking at Mu Yang speechlessly.
I suspect you're trying to scare me, and the evidence is conclusive!
"Don't look at me like that, everything I said is possible." Mu Yang held up a finger. "The future is full of uncertainties. If you don't seize the time, who knows what changes will happen in the future? So, give up other ways of making money. Isn't it good to hug your nephew's leg?"
"Besides, you're borrowing, not taking it for good. What are you fretting about?"
"..." Steve opened his mouth as if to say something, but thought of Mu Yang's words and didn't say anything. He gritted his teeth, "Alright, I'll borrow it."
"Good." Mu Yang snapped his fingers and turned to look out the window. The window cooperated and changed the scene outside.
The background was inside a helicopter. War Machine was placed in the corner, and Yisen was sitting close to War Machine, staring ahead with unfocused eyes, in a daze. Tony Stark was dealing with his excited friend, Rhodes.
Mu Yang retracted his gaze, and the scene outside the window also dissipated.
"Tony is a bit busy right now. You have enough time to choose your words."
"Mm." Steve nodded, indicating his understanding. He did need time to think carefully about how to say things.
An hour later, Mu Yang glanced out the window again.
The scene is inside a transport plane's cabin. Tony Stark is spacing out, Yisen is dozing, and Rhodes is examining War Machine.
Mu Yang prepared dinner for Steve. His body, having been treated by the Fountain of Life, could eat normally.
During the meal, Steve asked, "Does Tony have any time now?"
"Nope!" Mu Yang replied. "He won't be free for a while."
Steve nodded, not pressing the matter.
Time passed quickly, like a white horse galloping past a crack in a wall; night turned to day.
"Knock, knock, knock…"
The sound of fingers tapping on wood echoed in Steve Rogers' ears. He jerked awake, still sprawled on the table, and pushed himself up with both hands. Losing his balance, he tumbled to the floor. The chair rolled away as he instinctively rolled, assuming a combat stance and fixing his sharp gaze on the source of the sound.
The face that met his eyes was a familiar, handsome one.
"Sorry," Steve said, scratching his head sheepishly as he righted the stool and placed it back in front of the counter. "I dozed off and thought I was back on the battlefield."
"It's alright."
Mu Yang waved a hand dismissively, indicating he wasn't bothered.
"I woke you because I'm taking you to see your nephew."
"Oh, right."
The two of them walked together through the Space-Time Door and into a room.
The room held only two people: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.
When Mu Yang and Steve Rogers appeared, Pepper was facing away, adjusting Stark's tie. She didn't see them materialize, but Tony Stark saw it all clearly. He blinked in surprise and raised his right hand in greeting, "Yo! Boss Mu."
Hearing Stark's voice, Pepper turned around and saw the two men who had appeared out of nowhere.
When did they come in? I didn't hear the door open. Did I get too distracted by the eye candy and miss it? Pepper wondered, a little puzzled.
"Sorry to interrupt your alone time. If you're going to blame someone, blame him. He's the one who wanted to see you," Mu Yang said, patting Steve on the shoulder.
Steve: "…"
"I don't see any sign of apology on your face," Tony Stark said, looking at Steve Rogers. "What does this… uh, cosplayer want? Does he want me to make him a shield or something?"
Speaking of shields, Steve's shield was probably still stuck in that ice cave. Should he remind Steve?
Being watched by Mu Yang and Tony Stark, Steve strode towards Stark, looking fierce.
That fierce aura, honed through countless battlefields, made Stark feel pressured, causing his hand to involuntarily reach for the Shooting Enhancer in his suit.
Clap, thump.
Attention, foot stomp.
Steve glared at Stark, his tone serious, "Tony, I'm your uncle!"
Silence fell over the room, the atmosphere freezing.
Mu Yang grinned, entering spectator mode, and sat on a chair with a melon.
Pepper's expression froze.
Tony Stark's eyebrows twitched. He looked up, meeting the gaze, and his voice was low. "Very well. If you're trying to provoke me, congratulations, you've succeeded."
"My apologies, I'm not very good at talking. Let me rephrase that."
"I am Steve Rogers, a friend of your father's, and I've just woken up from a long sleep. I urgently need some money to take care of some things. I'm here to borrow some from you."