The Legendary Mechanic in Marvel Universe

Chapter 209 The Experienced Leo

TL: Kyous

The next morning at ten o’clock, Leo arrived home right on time.

It wasn’t the weekend, so Natasha and Ol’ Tom had gone to work while Erik had gone to school. Bucky was the only one who stayed at home, bored and idle.

Striding down to the basement and sure enough, he saw Bucky there.

At that moment, the burly black man named Mark had also been subdued by Bucky and was standing obediently aside with Ulysses.

When Leo walked in, Ulysses quickly approached him and handed him two pieces of paper.

“Boss Leo, the one on top is a terrain map of Wakanda. But this map is from three years ago and some details may be inaccurate. However, the important locations shouldn’t have changed. The one below is a map of my abandoned shipyard in the coastal region of South Africa, although it’s in a remote area. There are several landmark buildings on the map that you can use as a reference when you arrive. If you can’t find it, you can first find the nearest city and I’ll guide you from there.”

Leo nodded and took the two maps from Ulysses’ hands. Ulysses was a good artist, as the rivers, mountains, city names, and major buildings on the map were all clearly labeled and organized. He first put away the terrain map and carefully examined the second one.

Two minutes later, he had firmly memorized the map. Taking two steps back to make space, he then pulled out three small items from his Storage Belt that looked like a hibernation pod and placed them on the ground.

Under his control, the hibernation pods enlarged and were arranged in a straight line.

“Are you ready? If you’re, then let’s go.”

Ulysses and Mark didn’t have any objections, but Bucky spoke softly, “Leo, when I was brainwashing Mark last night, Natasha heard the commotion and came down. She found the two of them.”

Pointing at Ulysses and Mark, Bucky continued, “Natasha asked me what was going on, so I roughly explained the situation to her. She also knows that we’re going to Africa today.”

“Oh? Did she say anything?”

Chuckling, Bucky replied, “She said to take care on the way.”

Leo smiled knowingly and pointed to the three pods on the ground, saying, “Get in and lie down. I’ll take you to South Africa. We’ll be there in just over two hours.”

Both Ulysses and Mark obediently lay down first. After watching them get settled, Bucky put on a down jacket and also lay down, looking experienced with it.

With a wave of Leo’s hand, the lids of the three hibernation pods closed immediately.

“Leo, the inside of this pod is pretty comfy. The design is ergonomically perfect and there’s even air conditioning. It’s not stuffy at all, but it’s a bit dark and boring,” came Bucky’s dull voice from inside the pod.

“If you’re bored, just take a nap and you’ll wake up at our destination,” Leo replied grumpily before storing the hibernation pods in his Storage Belt.

Surging his Mechanical Force, Leo activated the shrinking function of Viper Mark VII and transformed into the size of an ant. Then, he flew out of the room through a crack in the wall and soared into the sky.

……

Two and a half hours later, Leo was hovering at an altitude of one hundred meters, with a vast beach stretching out below him. 

The seawater gently lapped against the shore, constantly wetting the beach that had been dried by the evening sun.

Along the coastline, more than a dozen scrapped giant ships were anchored, but now abandoned in this place for unknown reasons. Some of them were over a hundred meters long and thirty meters wide.

According to the map, this was Ulysses’ lair, located in a shipyard along the coast of South Africa.

Flying over to South Africa only took Leo two hours but it took him thirty minutes to find this place. It was an extremely remote area, although there was a moderately-sized city three kilometers away, a high mountain range separated this shipyard from the city. Therefore, this coastline had never been developed, and only a narrow road led to this area by sea.

This kind of place was similar to darkness under the lights and it took him quite some time to find it. No wonder Wakanda always fail to locate this place for so long.

God knows how Ulysses got so lucky and discovered such a hidden location as his base.

As South Africa is six hours ahead of New York, it’s not almost seven o’clock in the early evening.

However, being in the southern hemisphere and not too close or far from the equator it was summer here although it was winter in New York. The sun in South Africa had yet to set and the sky was still bright.

As small as a mosquito, Leo found a relatively flat spot on the beach to land and returned to his normal size. Afterward, he took out three hibernation pods from his Storage Belt. With the effect of Pym Particles, the pods enlarged, and he opened the three lids with a swing of his hand, using his Mechanical Force.

Bucky, Ulysses, and Mark abruptly saw a bright light and involuntarily covered their eyes with their hands. After adjusting to the light, they crawled out of the hibernation pods and the first thing they did was take off their thick down jackets.

It was late December and New York was hovering around zero degrees Celcius. But in South Africa, the daytime temperature could reach up to thirty degrees Celcius. The three of them were wearing thick down jackets, how could they endure it?

Bucky didn’t even consider the difference in weather between here and New York. He took off his down jacket and was wearing thermal underwear inside. In the temperature of nearly thirty degrees Celcius, he was still feeling hot.

But if he took off more clothes, he would be shirtless! 

Not only was he hot on top, but he was also hot below…

Right now, Leo had also taken off his Viper and stored it in his belt after shrinking it. But he was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and a pair of breathable sneakers.

Looking at Leo’s outfit in confusion, Bucky took a look at himself and muttered, “Leo, why are you so well-prepared…”

“This is called experience!” Seeing Bucky’s expression, Leo smiled, “You know, sometimes I have to travel all around the world to find the right materials. So before I set off, I always check the time difference and weather between my destination and New York.”

“What do I do now? It’s too hot,” Bucky suddenly stared at Leo’s Storage Belt and asked, “Do you have any spare clothes to change into?”

As it turned out, Leo did carry spare clothes around, not just one set, but attires for all four seasons.

However, before Leo could say anything, Ulysses suddenly spoke up and said, “Boss Bucky, since there’s no one else here, why don’t you tough it out for a bit? Once we get back to the ship, we’ll have everything you need.”

Ulysses and his henchman, Mark had already taken off their shirts, tied their clothes around their waist, and even rolled up their pants, looking very cool.

Slapping his sturdy chest muscles, Ulysses said boldly, “Once we’re on the ship, we’ll have air conditioning, chill tunes, cold drinks, and even Haagen-Dazs ice cream to cool us down.  I always beat the heat this way! And even if Boss Leo gives you a spare outfit, you don’t want to flash your butt cheeks here, do you? At least we’ll have some privacy on the ship.”

When Bucky heard the first half of what Ulysses said, he didn’t really feel tempted, as he wasn’t someone who indulged in luxuries. But hit Bucky’s nerve with the second half of his statement.

Yesterday, Leo complained about him being too bored and if he were to change his clothes in front of everyone now, he might die in shame. It would also damage his image as a boss in front of Ulysses and Mark.

So, pretending to go along with the idea, Bucky nodded, refrained from taking off his clothes or staring at Leo’s Storage Belt, and endured the heat. He then made a sweeping gesture with his hand and said, “Lead the way, Ulysses. Let’s hurry up to the ship.”

As soon as Bucky agreed, Ulysses swiftly walked a few steps ahead and led the way.

Initially, Leo was about to offer clothes to Bucky, but he was happy with Bucky’s change of heart. After all, Bucky was a size bigger than him, even if he put on Leo’s clothes, he would probably look ridiculous. It would be even worse than wearing winter clothes on a hot summer day.

As Leo’s thoughts wandered, Ulysses and Bucky had gone far away. Enduring the scorching heat, Bucky was eager to get to the ship and change into some cooler clothes. He turned his head and saw Leo lagging behind and urged him on, “Come on, Leo. Hurry up.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” replied Leo as he hurriedly caught up with Bucky and his crew. Following the directions of Ulysses, they made their way toward the abandoned ship.