"However, where were you during the half-month of your disappearance?" Howard asked Kyle with a puzzled expression on his face.
Kyle hesitated for a moment and quickly replied, "Steve sank the out-of-control aircraft into the sea, and I parachuted out in advance, landing on a turtle-shaped deserted island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I stayed there for a while to recuperate."
"A turtle-shaped deserted island?" Howard murmured, adding another question to his growing list of doubts. "How did you come back then?"
Little did he know that Kyle possessed the Card Space, which meant he had access to various means of transportation, including planes, tanks, mansions, and even food.
"On that turtle-shaped deserted island, there was a mutated giant eagle beast. After taming it, I had it fly me back," Kyle replied, shrugging his shoulders, skillfully dodging the question about the existence of Card Space. He had become adept at answering such questions.
"A turtle-shaped deserted island and a mutated monster. It seems like you have been quite lucky," Howard nodded with a smile, not delving too deep into the matter.
After all, he knew that Kyle was not an ordinary person.
Ever since he delved deep into the smartphone and supercomputer system program chip given to him by Kyle, he had become more convinced of his judgment. Howard felt fortunate to be Kyle's friend, as it allowed him to avoid many years of detours on the path of technology.
Kyle looked at Howard's smiling face and nodded thoughtfully, a slight upward curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
Howard Stark was not just a simple scientific genius. He knew how to navigate the important scientific strategic department of the military and his own private Stark Industries. He understood what questions to ask and what questions not to ask.
The relationship between the two of them was built on their roles as comrades in the military, friends in everyday life, and partners in their private endeavors. This combination of interests and friendship made it impossible for them to do anything that would harm each other. It was not an exaggeration to call them "close friends."
It seemed that there were some things he could discuss with Howard without worries.
Keeping his attention focused, Kyle locked eyes with Howard and said, "That turtle-shaped deserted island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean has a great location and environment. After the war ends, if you happen to come across a good architect or construction company, I might have some use for them."
"The Second World War is still intensifying, and you're already thinking about what happens after the war?" Howard blinked but quickly fell into deep thought, pondering, "Are you thinking of developing it into a vacation resort, like a villa or something similar to the Fortress?"
"A leisure-oriented Fortress, capable of withstanding missile attacks and heavy artillery bombardment. Money is not a problem. We can deduct it from the dividends of Stark Industries' shares," Kyle said directly.
Howard nodded and readily agreed, "Alright, I also studied architectural engineering as a minor. After the war ends, I will arrange for manpower to build the island according to your specifications."
"I'll be counting on you then," Kyle said, a hint of anticipation flickering in his eyes. Even though the end of the war was still far off, after the upcoming Norman D-Day Landing battle, the world would soon return to peace.
The turtle-shaped island they had been discussing was none other than the Gigantic Primordial Dragon-Turtle, the unique purple Lifeform Card in Kyle's possession.
Ever since obtaining that card, Kyle had conceived an idea — to create his own Fortress base and establish a family power.
No matter how high his future military rank, even if he became a top general, he would still be a military officer in the United States, bound by orders. Even if he became the future Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., commanding the most powerful elite force, he would still be restricted by various treaties and targeted by enemies trying to infiltrate and seize his power.
Although Kyle believed he would become even stronger in the future, he didn't want to fight alone forever. If he could build his own elite force in advance and establish a legendary family that would take root in this Marvel World, that would be the true future he desired.
Thus, when Kyle brought up the topic of constructing the Fortress with Howard, it was the first step in creating his future family power.
Howard could sense Kyle's intentions, but he wouldn't disclose this information to anyone. On the contrary, he would keep the secret for Kyle and make every effort in the future to help construct the Fortress base.
This was the unspoken understanding and trust between two men.
"I will keep an eye out for the construction team starting from now. You're about to head to the main US military base to prepare for the battle, but I've made you a piece of new equipment that should come in handy," Howard said, waving his hand and leading Kyle into the storage area of the lab.
As usual, there were airtight storage crates placed on the table. Howard opened one of them, revealing two overlapping black circular objects inside.
"This thing is the result of my research on anti-gravity for so many years. It took me half a month to create these two pieces, and they cannot be mass-produced."
Before Howard could explain further, Kyle's attention fell on the two magnet-like circular objects, instantly receiving the corresponding message from the Item Card.
[Gravity Magnets]: Two gravity magnets with opposite polarities. Blue Item Card.
The gravity magnets were made up of finely researched components that had an anti-gravity effect. When the positive gravity magnet touched the ground, it increased the gravitational force within a radius of ten meters. Conversely, when the negative gravity magnet touched the ground, it decreased the gravitational force within a radius of ten meters.
If both the positive and negative magnets were in contact with the ground, the effects would cancel out. The positive and negative gravity magnets would attract each other, allowing one magnet to pull the other back if it was thrown to the ground.
Kyle curiously picked up one of the gravity magnets and threw it into an empty space by his feet.
"Bang!"
As soon as the negative gravity magnet landed on the ground, the gravity in the lab instantly doubled. Howard, who was still explaining its usage, immediately lost his balance and plopped down on the floor.
"Not bad," Kyle nodded in appreciation. Even he could clearly feel the slight hindrance that permeated his body due to the increased gravitational force. Doubling one's weight indirectly through the increased gravity field was not something an ordinary person could handle.
Kyle pointed the positive magnet in his hand toward the magnet on the ground, and the positive and negative magnets attracted each other. The negative magnet flew back into the air, and the gravity field in the room returned to normal.
Wiping off the sweat on his forehead, Howard stood up and summarized, "The increase or decrease of the gravity field doesn't make much difference for your super soldier physique. However, if ordinary soldier suddenly finds themselves in an area with doubled or halved gravitational force, they might struggle and lose some combat ability."
"I'll take these. Also, I have something for you to research. Consider it as contributing to the country," Kyle said, placing the backpack he had been carrying on the table. As soon as he unzipped it, a faint blue light started seeping out.
It was none other than the Tesseract, missing its core gem.
(End of this chapter)
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