Chapter 520 - 519

Perhaps Evenson’s words had finally gotten through to him.

Or perhaps Tony had simply needed someone to listen while he finally let all that pressure out.

Either way, something had changed.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Tony slept through the night.

No insomnia. No nightmares jerking him awake halfway through. Just several uninterrupted hours of sleep.

Unfortunately, not everyone was enjoying such a peaceful evening.

Evenson, for one, was having a terrible time.

He had told everyone he was going out for dinner, only to discover an important truth about the homes of the obscenely wealthy: apparently, the stranger and more inconvenient the location, the better.

Tony Stark’s mansion was built right on the edge of a cliff.

It was so remote that Evenson drove for more than half an hour without seeing a proper restaurant.

Or a roadside food stand.

Or, frankly, any evidence that civilization still existed.

And since Tony had explicitly said he’d cover dinner, Evenson had no intention of settling for some mediocre fast food. If someone else was paying, he might as well eat properly.

Chinese food.

He eventually found a restaurant that looked about as authentically Chinese as anything he was likely to find in the area.

Whether the food was actually authentic was another question.

Evenson had never eaten there before.

Still, the atmosphere was convincing enough. The building next door was even called the Chinese Theatre.

There was just one problem.

The restaurant specialized in Sichuan cuisine.

No Cantonese dishes.

Evenson stared at the menu in silence.

He had come here intending to spend Tony’s money with enthusiasm, and now the restaurant was denying him half the fun.

He suppressed the urge to order one of everything anyway.

Fine.

He picked up the menu and started ordering.

"Stir-fried wood ear mushrooms. Bean sprouts. Shredded pork. Scrambled eggs. And a bowl of rice topped with moo shu pork."

That should do it.

A few minutes later, Evenson took several bites.

Then he sighed.

"This isn’t authentic at all."

It wasn’t terrible. He could eat it perfectly well. But the flavors had clearly been adjusted for American tastes.

Which was understandable. A Chinese restaurant in America had to sell food Americans actually wanted to eat.

Still, Evenson had expected better.

At least it wasn’t cheap.

So he decided to finish the meal and complain about it afterward.

Then his brow furrowed.

A powerful energy signature had suddenly appeared nearby.

"What the..."

An explosion erupted in the plaza outside the Chinese Theatre.

The blast was enormous.

A wave of heat and pressure slammed through the surrounding area, shattering windows and sending debris flying.

By sheer coincidence, Evenson was sitting beside one of those windows.

"Seriously? I can’t even eat dinner in peace?"

The glass exploded inward.

Evenson immediately threw up both hands and conjured a barrier.

The flames struck it and rebounded outward, preventing the blast from tearing through the restaurant.

Everyone inside survived.

Evenson glanced around.

Then he looked at his dinner.

"Waiter. Pack it up."

Without waiting for a response, he stepped through the ruined window and walked into the street.

He failed to notice that, among the terrified customers hiding beneath tables, one Asian woman cautiously pulled out her phone.

She raised it toward him.

Click.

A picture was taken.

Outside, the scene was horrific.

Children were crying. Adults were screaming. People stumbled through the wreckage, some injured, others desperately searching for family members.

Those people were among the lucky ones.

At least they were still alive.

The truly unfortunate victims lay scattered across the plaza, their bodies burned black by the explosion, with severed limbs and other debris littering the ground.

Evenson walked through the destruction, his expression growing grim.

Then he suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He recognized someone.

Well, Tony, this dinner was certainly worth the price.

He’d eaten a meal on Tony’s tab and saved one of Tony’s friends from dying.

At Evenson’s feet lay a familiar man.

There was still a faint pulse.

The man was badly injured, but he wasn’t dead yet.

It was Happy Hogan, Tony Stark’s bodyguard.

As an employee, Happy was hardly exceptional.

As a friend, however, he was the kind of man who went the extra mile.

Earlier that day, Happy had noticed that Killian and his bodyguards were behaving suspiciously.

Maybe he’d sensed something was wrong.

Maybe he simply hated the fact that Killian seemed interested in Tony’s girlfriend.

Whatever the reason, Happy had followed Killian’s bodyguard even after he was technically off the clock.

Eventually, his persistence paid off.

In the plaza outside the Chinese Theatre, Happy spotted Killian’s bodyguard meeting with a young man who looked thoroughly drugged-out.

It looked like a shady deal.

Happy approached without drawing attention to himself, then deliberately bumped into the man’s briefcase.

The case hit the ground.

Its contents spilled across the pavement.

Syringes.

Dozens of them.

Happy’s eyes narrowed.

Drugs.

He’d found something that might finally give him leverage against that smug bastard Killian.

Unfortunately, the moment he tried to leave, Killian’s bodyguard returned.

The two collided.

Happy didn’t back down.

He confronted the man and, when things escalated, even threw a punch.

It didn’t go well.

The strange bodyguard sent Happy flying.

Then something even worse happened.

The drugged-out young man suddenly began turning red.

His skin cracked.

Happy immediately realized that whatever was happening, it wasn’t going to end well.

He used the last of his strength to throw himself behind an ice cream truck.

That single decision saved his life.

Seconds later, the young man’s body erupted.

The resulting explosion tore through the plaza.

And somehow, Happy survived.

Evenson looked down at him.

"At least you’re not dead."

He grabbed Happy and hauled him over one shoulder.

"Now you probably won’t have the energy to ask me for my security badge."

Then he carried him to his car and drove toward the nearest hospital.

He rushed through the doors with Happy in his arms.

"Doctor! Help! He’s badly injured!"

The doctor took one look at Happy.

"I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do."

"What do you mean there’s nothing you can do? His family is incredibly wealthy!"

"That won’t help. I’m a veterinarian."

Evenson froze.

The doctor gestured toward the building around them.

"This is an animal hospital."

A long silence followed.

"...Right."

Evenson looked around.

"Sorry. Wrong hospital."

He hurried back outside.

Fortunately, the second-closest hospital was actually for humans.

After a frantic admission process, Happy was finally taken into surgery.

Against the odds, the doctors managed to save him.

Evenson waited in the hospital corridor until he was certain Happy was out of immediate danger.

Then he pulled out his phone and called Tony.

The call connected.

Before Evenson could say anything, Tony’s sleepy voice came through the speaker.

"Are you kidding me? I invited you over to help with my insomnia, not to wake me up. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a decent night’s sleep?"

Evenson rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

He leaned against the wall.

"Since you’re awake, though, you might want to check the news. There was an explosion in the plaza outside the Chinese Theatre."

"What?!"

Tony’s voice sharpened for half a second.

Then he seemed to remember that he was exhausted.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Maybe nothing."

Evenson paused.

"Except Happy happened to be there when it happened. He was seriously injured and nearly died. I found him, brought him to the hospital, and managed to get him treated."

He took a breath.

"Which brings me to an important matter."

His tone suddenly became deadly serious.

"Could you send me the money for his emergency treatment? Because I’m really not in a position to front that kind of bill."

Silence.

Then...

Click.

The call ended.

Evenson stared at his phone.

"I swear, the moment I finally get to the important part..."

He slowly turned around.

Three nurses were standing nearby, staring at him.

Evenson gave them an awkward smile.

"Don’t worry. His family will be here soon."

He pointed toward the phone.

"And they’re very, very rich."