This Is Harassment

"Tony, what did you and Mr. Coulson talk about?"

Pepper asked curiously after seeing Coulson leave and Tony head straight for the basement.

"Nothing much, we just had a good chat about the current situation and the future of Earth," Tony Stark replied casually, taking the elevator straight down.

After meeting the Grim Reaper, even a genius like him had some psychological preparation, which allowed him to accept it so quickly.

If Pepper, an ordinary person, were to understand and believe it, he didn't know how much explaining it would take.

Once Pepper believed it, she might also say things like not wanting him to go to the battlefield.

Although Tony Stark's words were perfunctory, they were undoubtedly the truth. The content of their conversation, in summary, revolved around the future of Earth.

However, seeing Tony Stark's dismissive attitude, Pepper was clearly not satisfied. So, she followed him, wanting to have a good talk with Tony Stark.

Tony Stark was already adept at handling Pepper, so the two of them started bickering back and forth.

Meanwhile

Last night, when Harvey Anberaka was contacted by Tony Stark, he already knew that Tony Stark had dealt with Obadiah Stane. The Iron Monger was clearly out of the picture.

Without Obadiah Stane to snatch it, it was impossible for anyone else to create an Arc Reactor in a short period.

Therefore, the next period would be one of calm.

Of course, "calm" was only relative to Harvey. For others, New York had always been chaotic.

Tony Stark wouldn't be able to sit still for a while.

Given Tony Stark's personality, as long as he knew he could arrange a meeting through the black web, he would definitely contact him later.

Now, he just had to wait patiently.

As for why Harvey didn't answer Tony Stark's call last night, there was no important reason, nor was he busy.

It was simply because Harvey didn't want to see Tony Stark showing off to him.

After all, although Tony Stark's personality had changed a lot, becoming somewhat kind and willing to help the weak.

However, Tony Stark's inherent arrogance and his disregard for others' feelings in his words and actions had not changed much.

Harvey, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, was playing games in front of the luxurious big screen in the living room.

He knew that his twenty-second year in the Marvel World was fast approaching.

In this world, Harvey didn't have many friends to talk to.

Because of his past identity as an Asian orphan and his impoverished background, he had suffered a lot of bullying and neglect.

He didn't have many thoughts about friends. As long as others didn't bother him and stayed out of his sight, that was enough.

This idea, after awakening the system and gaining immense power, and with his superficial identity as a diamond bachelor in the eyes of countless people, Harvey wanted to make friends even less.

If making friends required deliberately catering to others, then he'd rather not make any friends at all.

If one were to ask about Harvey's relaxing hobbies during the two rare days off each week, excluding the five days of mandatory training, it would be finding more delicious food or playing games at home.

Various kinds of games. Initially, Harvey liked playing competitive games, such as racing, MOBAs, and FPS.

However, with Harvey's physical condition and senses, when playing competitive games, he was always mistaken for a cheater and frequently reported, leading to account bans.

Harvey was too lazy to call customer service to argue, so gradually, he stopped playing competitive games and switched to casual games.

For example, pet-raising or farming games. These games were fine even if he didn't log in for a long time.

It perfectly fit his way of relaxing, playing a few hours a week.

He could spend a little money, and occasionally chat with people online to exchange experiences, which also helped him relax.

After Harvey finished the daily tasks and objectives in several games, which took over an hour.

Then, Harvey, having nothing else to do, went out to find something to eat.

With five meals a day, he gained over 100,000 Evolution Points daily.

If he specifically sought out food made from more powerful animals, he could obtain even more Evolution Points.

As for alcohol, it didn't bring him many Evolution Points; he just drank it like a beverage.

However, Harvey usually didn't specifically look for it. After all, if he wanted Evolution Points, he had many ways to obtain large amounts of them, so he always did whatever made him feel good.

If he were willing to be harsh on himself, it wouldn't be impossible for him to evolve a hundred times in a week.

Harvey drove his Maserati out this time, thinking as he drove about when Tony Stark would host some grand banquets or exhibitions so he could go and freeload again.

And so, the days passed one by one.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Tony Stark piloted the Iron Man armor, traveling to Afghanistan multiple times to find the Ten Rings Gang.

After some time, Tony Stark finally wiped out the Ten Rings Gang, freeing Gulmira from its hellish situation.

Various allied nations and America were abuzz with rumors about Iron Man.

The people of Gulmira regarded Iron Man as a hero, while in America, many began to question whether the technology was actually produced by Stark Industries.

This was because, currently, only Stark Industries in America possessed the capability to create such advanced technology.

Facing widespread public doubt, Tony Stark eventually held a press conference and, directly in front of countless people worldwide, uttered the now-famous line, "I am Iron Man."

With Iron Man's identity confirmed, countless people in America went wild.

This was soon followed by a summons from the National Security Council.

They wanted Tony Stark to hand over the core of this technology and contribute to the nation.

An ordinary person might have been intimidated by the National Security Council, but what kind of person was Tony Stark?

Before his transformation, he was a world-renowned super-genius and arms dealer, as well as a proud taxpayer. It wouldn't be so easy to pressure him with authority.

Therefore, Tony Stark publicly refused and left the meeting.

This action made countless Americans admire Iron Man even more, his fame surpassing that of his playboy days.

And it was on this day, a month later.

After refusing the National Security Council's demands, Tony Stark returned to his mansion, had dinner, came downstairs, and casually instructed from his laboratory.

"Jarvis, contact Harvey Anberaka."

"Yes, sir."

Jarvis was long accustomed to this. Ever since Tony Stark's previous attempts to contact him were rejected.

Every day, Mr. Tony Stark would have him contact Mr. Harvey Anberaka.

He expected this time to be the same as usual, with an immediate rejection, but this time, the call connected.

"Tony Stark, you've been calling every day for a month. Do you know this is harassment?"

"My phone, tablet, and many other devices have other uses, not just to be turned off every day to avoid your calls."

The first words upon connecting were Harvey's, laced with contempt.

"Jarvis, is this considered harassment?"

Tony Stark stopped his intended work upon hearing this and asked belatedly.

"In a sense, yes, sir."

Jarvis paused at this, contemplating whether to answer truthfully, but ultimately chose a more diplomatic response.

The second update is here.