Marvel Cybernetic Girl

The conversation continued.

Suddenly, a new task notification flashed across Kagura Hitomi's holographic UI.

[New Task Added] [Gain Obadiah's trust and lead him to destruction / 10QP]

Heh… Looks like everyone's getting in on the action…

Well, this is perfect. A new task, and some QP to boot. Not bad!

Kagura Hitomi knew full well that Obadiah wasn't truly interested in her. He had just noticed that her views aligned with his and, seeing her as a cute, naive girl with no guard up, decided to use her.

Heh! I'm not some clueless cutie!

I'm a super smart, self-aware girl automaton! (smirking)

But truth be told, Obadiah's attempt to use her actually worked in her favor.

If she had to deceive someone who genuinely wanted to be her friend, she might have felt guilty. But deceiving someone who's trying to manipulate you? That felt pretty satisfying!

Soon enough, Obadiah asked Kagura Hitomi for details about her and Tony's escape from Afghanistan and mentioned that he already knew about the Iron Man suit.

"If we can make a power armor like that, it'll cause a revolution in the military industry!" Obadiah said enthusiastically, inviting her to help develop the Iron Man suit.

Oh?

Well, well, this is perfect! Since you're asking so kindly, I guess I'll graciously help you out (or sabotage it, more like).

By joining Obadiah's Iron Man project, Kagura Hitomi would be able to control his development process, subtly tweak things, and turn the "Iron King" into a "Steel Tortoise."

Hehehe! This sounds way too fun. Why not?

So Kagura Hitomi agreed to join Obadiah's project with a bright smile.

"God, Kagura Hitomi, I really feel like we should've met sooner," Obadiah said, looking at her with satisfaction. "Tony is lucky to have someone like you helping him."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Stane."

Kagura Hitomi bowed politely, feeling quite confident. Looks like her acting was spot on. Obadiah, a man who had spent his whole life scheming to use others for personal gain, would never guess that one day, he'd fall for the tricks of a cute girl.

"Oh, by the way, Kagura Hitomi…" Obadiah called as she prepared to leave.

"Anything else, Mr. Stane?"

"I hope you'll keep this between us, especially from Tony."

"Don't worry, Mr. Stane." Kagura Hitomi smiled, "No one else will know."

Oh, really? How much do you trust me?

Honestly, it's almost making me feel guilty.

But good and evil must still be distinguished.

I can't secretly help you develop the Iron Man suit behind Tony's back. That's not something I can do.

Kagura Hitomi thought to herself. Her fake allegiance to Obadiah was all a strategy to protect Stark Industries, to prevent its collapse. The little interference with his suit development was just a bonus.

Besides, if she could get access to Stark's military resources in the process, that'd be a nice perk too.

As for the information, she'd report everything honestly to Tony Stark.

To be honest, Kagura Hitomi wasn't interested in whether Obadiah could actually build the Iron Man suit. Once he consolidated Stark Industries, his "mission" would be over.

Whether he became the "Iron Tyrant" and was defeated or got arrested for murdering Tony, it didn't really matter to her.

Kagura Hitomi had even used her hacking skills to try and find evidence of Obadiah's plan to kill Tony. But this old fox had his guard up. The computers holding those files weren't even connected to the internet, so she'd have to wait for Pepper to personally download them later.

Anyway, with the groundwork done, she decided to let things unfold naturally from here.

After their talk ended, Kagura Hitomi exhaled a deep breath. This performance had gone surprisingly well, but such impromptu acting still made her feel a little nervous.

Bluffing and deceiving wouldn't always work. If only she had a skill that could influence others' thoughts directly.

Hmm, maybe I can try creating one using the Infinite Concept System.

Kagura Hitomi focused her mind.

Initiating memory scan, key parameters: A Certain Magical Index, Shokuhou Misaki, mental interference ability.

[Memory scan completed, fragments verified] [Existing skill connections confirmed] [Concept skill combination successful] [New support skill acquired] [Stealth Electromagnetic Mental Interference / 10]

Oh, success! This looks promising. Once I have enough QP, I'll unlock it.

…

A few hours later, in a café in Los Angeles.

It was supposed to be a busy afternoon, but the place was completely empty.

The entire café had been booked out, and everyone there, including the staff, were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"This is the information you requested. It's all here," Kagura Hitomi said, handing a USB drive to Agent Coulson. "All the data has been verified by Mr. Stark, but please treat it as confidential. It should not be disclosed publicly."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Kagura," Coulson replied, accepting the drive and handing over a package of documents to her.

"This is your payment as agreed—a complete social identity profile. As you requested, his name is Bruce Wayne."

"However, please note that this identity's associated network and resources still need to be expanded. If you need to use it soon…"

"No worries, thank you," Kagura Hitomi nodded. "Let me know once it's ready. I'm in no rush."

Coulson smiled. "I can assure you, Miss Kagura, we won't misuse this information or distribute it. It's just for storage and evaluation purposes."

"Good, then I'm relieved." Kagura Hitomi responded, "You know, there are other people interested in this information too."

"I understand," Coulson nodded. "If you need any personal security, we can provide full protection."

"Ah, you offer that kind of service?"

"Yes, Tony Stark is one of our highest priorities, and as a key figure in his life, you're also under our protection."

"Well, I'm flattered," Kagura Hitomi teased with a cute smile. "But I don't think I'm that valuable yet."

"Understood, Miss Kagura. If you need help, don't hesitate to contact us."

"Thank you for your cooperation. See you next time."