Chapter 108: You Actually Look Down on Me?

Scanning his surroundings, Tony realized he was still in a familiar environment—not heaven, nor hell. The Stark bloodline remained unbroken. He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at his alluring secretary.

“Pepper, pinch me,” he said.

“Huh?” Pepper paused, puzzled. Could the boss have lost his mind?

“Or should I do it?” Happy, sensing the year’s end approaching and eager to earn a good bonus, stepped forward enthusiastically. He raised his large fist, ready to carry out the boss’s command.

“You’re fired,” Tony snorted, then pinched himself.

Ouch—that really hurt!

Happy’s fist froze mid-air, uncertain where to put it.

Boss, you can’t be serious, right?

Pepper gave him a knowing look. Happy finally understood.

Tony’s words were just an outburst. If they lingered here to gloat, it might turn true. Best to make a quick exit.

Tony reached up and touched his chest—everything felt fine, and his spirits were high, as if he’d grown ten years younger. Apart from a slight itch, nothing felt amiss.

“Could magic really exist in this world?” Tony muttered, his worldview shaken.

“It’s ‘Qi,’ Tony,” Pepper explained earnestly.

“Alright then, Qi—the mysterious Eastern energy.”

Tony quickly snapped back to reality and chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Whether magic or Qi, science can explain it. Many modern technologies would be deemed magic in ancient times.

Telekinesis could be explained by invisible force fields; rapid healing relates to cellular regeneration; a powerful physique likely stems from genetic enhancement. Even if ‘Qi’ truly exists, it must be some controllable energy we have yet to understand.

Perhaps he should have a thorough talk with Mr. Wang. This mysterious ‘Qi’ might be scientifically harnessed for mass production.

To benefit all mankind.

Even if mass production proves impossible, he could still learn from Mr. Wang.

The Mark II armor was under development, and such powerful suits required equally formidable physiques to support them.

Although Tony always thought exoskeleton armor was more reliable than the Super Soldier project—after all, donning the Mark II would surely let him outmatch Captain America—high technology sometimes fails. Combining the two could be the best solution.

“Where is he?” Tony looked around.

“He left,” Pepper replied.

Tony was taken aback.

Why so hasty? Shouldn’t there be a post-op checkup and, on that basis, a demand for more money?

He recalled when he once needed a $10 million treatment fee, and Mr. Wang never haggled.

Ten million was a lot, but to save his life, even a hundred million would have been worth it. If it were some mercenary medical institution, they might have begged him to donate the best medical equipment or even a multi-million-dollar lab building.

Mr. Wang wasn’t greedy. That was commendable—a man worth befriending.

Suddenly, Tony thought of something and quickly asked, “Where’s my Arc Reactor?”

Pepper glanced toward the coffee table.

The Arc Reactor was still there, which piqued Tony’s curiosity about Mr. Wang. He felt puzzled, yet a surge of pride and anger welled up within—the proud and indignant spirit of a genius scientist.

Mr. Wang, you actually looked down on my Arc Reactor?

You despise me?

Could it be the S.H.I.E.L.D. sent you here not for the Arc Reactor?

Does S.H.I.E.L.D. look down on me as well?

“He left a note,” Happy indicated the Arc Reactor.

The invaluable reactor was used as a paperweight, underneath which lay a folded A4 sheet.

That paper seemed even more precious than the reactor itself.

Tony hurriedly unfolded it, slightly stunned.

There were only a few lines:

“Your father was the true genius. He had already developed a palladium substitute, hidden within a model at the 1974 Stark Industries Expo.”

“Stark Industries has long sold arms externally, with clients not only including the U.S. government and military but also terrorist organizations—such as those who attacked and kidnapped you.”

“Beware of Obadiah.”

...

...

“That settles it. I’ve done the future Iron Man a favor. There shouldn’t be any more trouble from Obadiah.”

In Skye’s van, Old Wang nodded silently.

Tony was no fool.

After being kidnapped, he distrusted everyone (except Pepper), which is why he secluded himself in his “City of Freedom” villa to work on the Mark II, handing all sensitive data to J.A.R.V.I.S. for safekeeping, with only Pepper aware of the general situation.

Moreover, no matter how Obadiah schemed and deceived, Tony firmly refused to hand over the miniature Arc Reactor.

Later, upon discovering that Stark Industries arms were sold to terrorists, he instructed Pepper to copy all orders, keeping everyone else in the dark.

Now, with this warning, Tony would surely be cautious of Obadiah.

Tony was a true hacking master, capable of breaching S.H.I.E.L.D. and stealing their most classified documents with ease—far surpassing Skye.

His self-developed AI butler, J.A.R.V.I.S., was at least ten years ahead of the world.

If he wished, gathering evidence and bringing down Obadiah would be no great challenge.

As for the Arc Reactor...

Old Wang shook his head.

Though he could have taken the reactor himself earlier, letting S.H.I.E.L.D. bear the blame, it was unnecessary.

Taking what doesn’t belong to you is thievery, and Old Wang hadn’t sunk that low.

Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t foolish.

And the reactor wasn’t exactly a treasure.

Tony had used high-precision equipment and superior radiation-shielding casings, increasing the palladium content. The new Arc Reactor looked magnificent.

Palladium isn’t uranium or plutonium—no radioactive elements—very stable. But the Arc Reactor’s unique cold nuclear reactor structure, embedded within Tony’s body under certain conditions, causes palladium to seep into his bloodstream over time, leading to “palladium poisoning.”

Now that the shrapnel had been removed, Tony no longer needed to wear it. Although radiation remained during nuclear reactions, bodily harm was minimized. As long as Tony didn’t keep it on 24/7, it wasn’t a big problem.

However, after the terrorist attack and while developing the Mark II, Tony was unlikely to give up.

He still wanted a new element to replace palladium—not as urgent as before, but necessary.

With his intelligence, he would soon locate the new element model Howard Stark had hidden in the 1974 Stark Industries Expo models and produce it using advanced technology.

That would be truly efficient and clean energy—the future core of Stark Industries.

In that case, it wouldn’t be long before Stark Industries’ stock prices soared, far surpassing previous heights.

The most profitable ventures in the world were never arms sales, but the essentials people couldn’t live without:

Daily necessities, energy.

“Need to remind Skye to hurry up and buy Stark Industries stock before Tony starts preaching.”

Old Wang picked up his phone and dialed.

“Skye, how are things over there?”