In the following days, Daniel officially became Tony's bodyguard, showing up punctually at the seaside mansion every day to report for duty.
At first, Tony wasn't thrilled about it.
Until two days ago—several stock investors who had gone insane after the market crash somehow broke through the mansion's basic security. Waving kitchen knives, they stormed straight into the living room, shouting that they were going to chop "little Tony" into pieces and boil him into soup.
If Daniel hadn't appeared like a divine warrior descending from the heavens and taken them down in a few swift moves, Tony would've turned into "Toni" by now.
From that moment on, Tony became completely obedient, even taking the initiative to request Daniel's protection.
He could risk his life, but little Tony absolutely could not be harmed.
"Daniel, I've already pulled some strings and got the people released. You can continue your undercover mission without worries."
"Village Chief, your efficiency has never disappointed me."
"My name is Coulson."
"Okay, Village Chief. No problem, Village Chief. Goodbye, Village Chief."
Daniel hung up on Coulson without hesitation.
Indeed, those "deranged stock investors" were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents he had invited to make a guest appearance.
Otherwise, how could ordinary people possibly break into the home of a top-tier billionaire so easily?
To be fair, those agents acted surprisingly well—they nearly gave Tony long-term psychological trauma.
Daniel even suspected they had side jobs in the past—maybe as actors or extras alongside their S.H.I.E.L.D. salary.
At the moment, Daniel was lounging on the oversized, bed-like luxury sofa in the living room, one leg crossed over the other. With a remote in one hand switching TV channels and a piping hot slice of pizza in the other, he looked perfectly at home.
His posture was so relaxed it seemed as if he were the actual owner of the mansion.
Tony, covered in machine oil and exhaustion after finishing adjustments on the Mark III in the basement lab, walked upstairs—only to be greeted by this sight.
What made it worse, Daniel was eating his pizza. Tony felt his lungs nearly explode.
Was this man a bodyguard or his ancestor reincarnated?
"Give me a slice."
Tony snatched a big piece from the pizza box in Daniel's hand and took a huge bite.
Daniel didn't mind at all. Instead, he asked curiously, "You finished the suit?"
He knew Tony had been practically in seclusion these past few days, fully consumed by his work on the Mark III.
"Of course."
Tony showed his signature confident smile. But remembering the terrifying incident from two days ago, he added begrudgingly, "If those maniacs hadn't barged in and left me no time to put the suit on, you wouldn't have needed to step in."
Daniel let out a short laugh. "You think you're invincible while suiting up? Who would be kind enough to wait patiently for you to finish transforming?"
"I'll fix that problem soon!"
Tony choked a little, annoyed that Daniel had a point. But a genius's pride forced him to stay stubborn.
Finishing the pizza, he wiped his hands, and his expression suddenly turned serious. "There's something I need your help with."
"What?"
"Remember the batch of Stark Industries weapons I told you to blow up back in the Middle East?" Tony asked in a deep voice.
Daniel nodded. "Yeah. And you ran so fast back then your pants nearly fell off. That was hilarious."
Tony: "…"
He resisted the urge to smash the pizza box into Daniel's face and continued, "I suspect someone inside Stark Industries has been collaborating with terrorists and secretly trading weapons."
"I need you to head to Stark Industries headquarters, infiltrate my office, and use this to hack into my personal computer. Copy all recent weapon shipment manifests."
He passed a small silver USB drive to Daniel.
[NPC Tony Stark has issued you a new mission]
[Mission: The Mole Inside Stark Industries]
[Objective: Infiltrate Stark Industries HQ, hack Tony Stark's personal computer, and copy all recent weapon shipment manifests to deliver to Tony Stark]
[Reward: 500 EXP, Tony Stark Favorability +10, Random Item ×1]
"Why don't you go yourself? Isn't it your company?" Daniel asked.
Tony sighed helplessly. "Because I unilaterally announced the shutdown of the weapons division. It severely damaged the board's interests. They've banded together to impose a temporary ban preventing me from entering headquarters or handling company affairs. I can't even get past the front door right now."
"Then why not ask your assistant?"
"No. This mission is too dangerous. If the mastermind finds out, they might target Pepper. I can't put her at risk."
Daniel: "…"
So you're fine putting me at risk?
New York, Stark Industries Headquarters.
Daniel walked into the lobby, watching employees in business attire pass by. Security personnel were stationed everywhere. The place practically radiated strict protection.
Tony's office was on the top floor, accessible only via a special permissions elevator.
Tony had given him a keycard, but stepping into the exclusive elevator under so many watchful eyes was still a problem.
"Too many people. Hard to act."
He scanned the bustling lobby and temporarily suppressed a certain crude and simple plan.
"No choice. Gotta use that."
Daniel turned and entered the men's restroom on the first floor. Choosing a stall, he locked the door and pulled out a flesh-colored mask from his in-game inventory.
[Item: Disguise Mask (Can be molded into any face. Once set, it becomes permanent and cannot be reshaped.)]
He placed the mask on his face. It felt cold at first, then seamlessly fused with his skin.
Ripples spread across the mask's surface, gradually forming a familiar set of facial features—
It was none other than Stane.
Next, Daniel took out the bowtie voice modulator he'd acquired earlier and clipped it onto his collar.
"Perfect."
He straightened his clothes and walked out of the restroom wearing Stane's face.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stane!"
Employees immediately paused and greeted him respectfully.
He had to admit—it felt pretty damn nice.
Daniel cleared his throat, then imitated Stane's voice through the modulator. "Hello, everyone. I appreciate your hard work."
The employees froze.
Why did Stane feel… different today?
They quickly responded, "Not hard at all, sir."
Daniel nodded. "Since it's not hard, everyone can voluntarily stay and work overtime today. I trust in your loyalty and enthusiasm for the company."
Employees: "???"