Capital Represents Everything

Gwen noticed something that defied common sense.

She had been in Li Chen's arms the whole time, and although he was flying higher and higher, she didn't feel anything.

The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature should have been.

They were above the clouds now, and she should have frozen to death long ago, but she didn't feel cold at all.

The two metal suits, on the other hand—the Iron Monger below them had already begun to freeze over.

As a top student, Gwen immediately asked about it.

"Honey, why am I not cold?"

"Because I'm protecting you."

Li Chen answered.

Gwen was touched, but she was even more curious about why.

But Li Chen clearly had no intention of telling her, or he would be too easily exposed.

This was a Kryptonian's Bio-Electric Aura, and the biggest difference between Homelander and Superman.

The Bio-Electric Aura made it easier for Kryptonians to protect others, such as when catching a plane flying at high speed.

Without that aura, the plane would be destroyed the instant it collided with him at high speed, rather than being caught safely.

It was because the Bio-Electric Aura was wrapped around Gwen that she didn't feel much of anything.

Tony Stark's Iron Man Armor had evidently solved the problem of freezing temperatures as well.

But Obadiah clearly hadn't thought of that.

His Iron Monger froze over, and even its systems shut down because of the cold.

Clang!

Iron Man knocked Iron Monger on the head, sending it plummeting even faster.

By rights, the impact should have smashed Obadiah, who was inside, into a pulp.

Fortunately, Iron Monger recovered at the last moment, though it still slammed heavily into the ground.

Iron Man was also low on power and had no choice but to land.

After all, Tony was using his old reactor.

As he flew down, Tony finally spotted Li Chen in the air.

But he was too far away, and it was nighttime. All he could see was a figure holding a woman in his arms.

Was he here to watch the show?

Why does he look a little familiar?

Even though Tony could only make out a figure, they had only just met, so he looked somewhat familiar.

It was only because Li Chen wasn't wearing his Batman mask. Otherwise, Tony would have recognized him.

However, Tony had let his guard down and was ambushed as soon as he landed.

Boom!

Iron Monger fired a blast straight at him.

But because his targeting system was damaged, Obadiah had to remove his helmet.

Tony Stark struggled to his feet, his Super Suit somewhat damaged.

"Is that Tony Stark?"

Gwen, who had been in Li Chen's arms the entire time, was stunned.

Now she had no intention of intervening, either.

So it's that playboy. Serves him right!

Men would envy Tony Stark's life, while women would despise it.

Of course, they would also despise the women who willingly debased themselves.

So what if he's rich? Do they have to throw themselves at him?

Even so, she hadn't expected Tony to be the one inside the Iron Man Armor.

But when she thought about it, it made perfect sense.

The Iron Man Armor looked expensive. How could anyone without money afford to play with something like that?

Soon, Tony and Obadiah put on a family drama in battle, and before the people from S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived, Tony killed Obadiah with his own hands.

Li Chen took Gwen away from the scene of the explosion.

Gwen was quite satisfied.

"It really was like watching a Hollywood blockbuster in person."

It was like sitting in a movie theater and watching Superman again.

Of course, the effects weren't as plentiful as in Superman, and the fighting wasn't as thrilling.

But it had the advantage of being real.

It even had a happy ending. Tony Stark hadn't lost in the end; he had survived, while Obadiah was finished.

It was as though the two of them had taken a brief intermission. As soon as they returned to their hotel room, the battle flared up again.

For the next few days, all of New York was buzzing.

After all, the events of that night had caused too much of a commotion.

Iron Man and Iron Monger had fought in public and caused considerable damage.

Many people's cars had been smashed, and worst of all, they couldn't even find anyone to compensate them.

The insurance companies weren't willing to pay either.

That raised a question: who exactly was Iron Man?

They had to find Iron Man and make the bastard pay!

He had even made himself a suit of Iron Man Armor, so he had to have money to spare!

New Yorkers began speculating, offering all sorts of theories. People in other cities became interested too, and even Los Angeles reported on it.

The name mentioned most often was, naturally, Tony Stark.

There was evidence to support it.

The only factory near the site of the battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger belonged to Stark Industries.

Tony Stark was indeed rich, and Iron Man had only appeared after he returned.

So everyone demanded that he give them an answer.

"Do you think he'll admit it?"

Gwen Stacy asked as she saw her boyfriend off.

Several people were accompanying Li Chen.

Kitty Pryde, Dazzler, and Li Qianhuan were all planning to go to Los Angeles with him to pursue their dreams.

Shadowcat wanted to become an actress, Dazzler liked singing, and Li Qianhuan was going to be his bodyguard.

Gwen was still wary of these three beautiful women who had suddenly appeared.

But she also knew this was Li Chen's "serious business."

"He will."

Li Chen said.

"Why?"

"Because he's a narcissist."

Li Chen made a joke, then said, "Because he needs to drive up the stock price."

No matter how thick Tony Stark's health bar was, he couldn't withstand the stock price falling forever.

After all, Stark Industries wasn't a scam company like a certain Tree. It had real substance.

It was just that investors had lost confidence in Stark Industries.

At a time like this, it was a sentiment-driven market.

Tony Stark had to make investors believe that Stark Industries could recover.

And publicly announcing that he was Iron Man would be the biggest shot in the arm he could give them.

It wasn't just showing off; there were business considerations behind it.

If Li Chen were in his place, he would probably do the same.

But there were risks to doing so.

Telling the whole world he was Iron Man meant letting potential enemies know they could target him and even go after his family.

Unlike Batman, Bruce Wayne would never admit that he was Batman. That way, even if his enemies guessed his identity, they couldn't go after the people around him.

Because that would break Batman's rules.

Tony, on the other hand, had put it out in the open, so naturally there was no such rule.

That was also why the people around him were attacked time and again.

Pepper Potts and Harper were both hurt as a result.

But there was no helping it. You had to give something up to gain something, and for Tony, the stock price was the most important thing right now.

Even his later development of new energy was intended to drive up the stock price.

In America, having lots of money meant having nothing but wastepaper, but try living without that wastepaper.

In this society, the rules were simple: under certain circumstances, how much money you had represented your social standing.

Just like in the NBA, the leader of a team was often the one with the highest salary, because that represented his standing on the team.

You couldn't very well pay someone a minimum salary and insist he was the team leader, could you?