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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Fifty-Five: Who Saved Howard Stark?
Phil Coulson had found a decent hotel for Bai Luo near the Trident Headquarters in Washington. Bai Luo adapted quickly; ever since leaving the town in Missouri, he had been somewhat of a wanderer.
The internet and mobile technology of this era were not very advanced, and the hotel lacked leisure facilities. Even if Bai Luo wanted to call someone for company, he had no way to do so.
However, Bai Luo was not idle enough to dwell on such things.
Since leaving Missouri, he had been in a constant state of urgency, running around and interacting with various people, with talismans and points coming and going.
Relying on redeeming one-time-use talismans for emergencies was not a long-term solution.
Bai Luo needed to truly learn how to draw talismans himself.
The cheap talisman paper and talisman pen he had exchanged for when he first left Missouri were still with him, as was the method for writing the Power Talisman that cost him one hundred eighty points. The Item Storage Talisman was a magical item; anything placed inside it remained in a state akin to stasis, unaffected by time or space. In other words, whatever he put inside would be just as it was when he took it out.
Thus, although the talismans Bai Luo originally possessed had suffered significant wear over twenty years, everything stored in the Item Storage Talisman remained intact.
Moreover, Bai Luo now had quite a few points. While he couldn't afford the advanced methods for drawing talismans yet, he could still redeem lower-tier ones.
Fire Talismans, Water Talismans, and Cold Talismans were all inexpensive options costing ten points each. Though cheap, they were not useless. Redeeming several of them would still cost him hundreds of points; it would be better to draw them himself.
Everything needed to be done gradually; starting from the basics was essential—no one could become successful overnight.
Embracing his "great dedication" from back in school when he needed to watch TV while doing homework, Bai Luo turned on the television before starting to draw talismans.
The program featured news related to Tony Stark.
Tony was indeed an extraordinary business mogul and the owner of Stark Industries. Since his capture and subsequent return to the public eye, everyone had been captivated by his story; nearly every media outlet was eager to report on anything related to him.
And Tony did not disappoint. On the very day of his return, he announced a significant piece of news—effective immediately, Stark Industries would shut down all its weapon manufacturing divisions.
This was undoubtedly major news because it was well-known that weapon research and production had long been essential components of Stark Industries.
Doing this was equivalent to cutting off an arm, essentially giving up a significant amount of money.
From this, it can be seen that after being captured by the Ten Rings Organization, Tony Stark might still be the same playboy on the surface, but deep down, he had undergone a profound transformation.
However, as a time traveler familiar with Iron Man's storyline, Bai Luo knew exactly what Tony would do. What truly surprised him was that Tony had actually thrown him out.
It was a segment of Tony's speech at the press conference. The bruises and scars on his face were still visible, and he appeared somewhat fatigued, yet his gaze remained as confident as ever. "And this time, I want to give special thanks to someone—a self-proclaimed Talismancer. It was he who appeared just in time to rescue me from the terrorists and the lunatic with a sniper rifle in the phone booth. He is a hero, and he is also an Easterner, yet he possesses more sense of responsibility than I do as a true American."
"He saved me and has saved many others. I cannot reveal his name to you, but some of you must remember him—because twenty years ago, he saved countless lives in Kansas City."
At that moment, Nick's words plunged the reporters below into an unprecedented frenzy. Someone shouted, "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Is it true? Was it that child who resolved the Kansas City crisis twenty years ago that saved you?"
"Mr. Stark! Was it that mysterious Eastern Child who rescued you? Do you have any information on his whereabouts? Who is he really, and why has he disappeared for twenty years?"
Howard Stark smiled and replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't answer those questions. What I can say for sure is that he is not a mutant; he possesses ancient Eastern mystical powers. The most important point is that we are friends."
Upon hearing this, Bai Luo finally understood—Tony was using him as a shield to intimidate Obadiah Stane.
After the chaos caused by the sniper in the phone booth, Tony clearly learned much earlier than in the movie about who wanted to harm him.
But since he didn't come out immediately, it was likely that he had other plans; he wasn't ready to confront his uncle Obadiah Stane just yet. At the same time, worried that Obadiah might strike again, he decided to wave Bai Luo's banner first to intimidate Mr. Stane.
However, it seemed that Tony genuinely believed in Bai Luo; after all, he had been missing for twenty years—how much deterrent power could he really have?
Bai Luo shook his head. Regardless of how things unfolded with Tony, it didn't concern him for now. Although he was also a time traveler, he wouldn't go around fawning over those protagonists.
He needed to become stronger quickly.
The first thing he needed to learn was how to draw talismans.
This was destined to be a long and painful process.
Drawing talismans sounded simple enough in two words, but it was much more difficult in practice. Bai Luo first spent two hundred points to acquire the method for drawing the Fire Talisman and then painfully used six hundred points to exchange for the method for Palm Thunder. He spent all remaining points on items related to talisman drawing.
Bai Luo's points were instantly reset to zero, and his heart felt like it was bleeding. However, he understood that this was necessary. If he wanted to become truly powerful, he could not always rely on the System to exchange for Talismans; there would come a time when his points would run out. Only by learning to draw Talismans himself could he truly become a Talismancer.
This time, Bai Luo settled down completely, holed up in the hotel day and night drawing symbols. He did this for half a month. During this period, Nick Fury came to visit him, and what he saw left him utterly astonished.
The standard room in the hotel was filled with talisman papers; one wall was covered with them, and the floor was littered with cheap grass paper that Bai Luo used for practice.
Nick couldn't help but ask, "What kind of incredibly powerful Talisman are you researching?"
In response, Bai Luo shamelessly smiled and said, "All my expenses here are covered by our S.H.I.E.L.D., right?"
Nick looked at this guy and felt an overwhelming urge to punch him.
Every time he saw this fellow, it seemed like money was the only thing on his mind.
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