A Month Apart

"We're here."

The armor flew incredibly fast. Early the next morning, Chen Mu and Xu Jia set out. Following the navigation coordinates, they reached their destination in less than two hours.

A normal flight would take more than ten hours, but the Qilin Armor took only two. The difference in speed was obvious.

Moreover, thanks to its stealth coating and small radar cross-section, the two easily breached the U.S. military's air defenses without being detected.

"Welcome, you two! Haha!"

Tony had received the news beforehand, so he was drinking coffee atop Stark Tower. When he saw Chen Mu and Xu Jia land on the balcony, he went over to greet them.

"Haha, so this is your armor? It looks pretty good!"

Looking at the distinctly styled armor on the two of them, Tony clicked his tongue in wonder. He circled Chen Mu twice, clearly fascinated.

"But it's not as good-looking as mine."

Tony would never admit that anyone else's armor looked better than his gold-and-red color scheme.

"It's pitch-black, like a lump of coal!"

So Tony immediately began mocking it.

"Hehe, is that so?"

As he spoke, Chen Mu's armor disengaged, and he stepped directly out of it to stand before Tony.

"Oh, that's a nice piece of tech. I should make one too."

The way Chen Mu removed his armor made Tony's eyes light up. It reminded him that he should give his future armor the same kind of removal function.

"Don't forget the patent licensing fee! Haha..."

Chen Mu could not help teasing him.

"..."

Tony's face darkened. Patent licensing fees had been what he was supposed to charge Chen Mu before, but now the situation had been reversed.

"Haha, I'm just joking. Don't take it seriously."

Seeing the constipated look on Tony's face, Chen Mu laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm not that stingy. If you want to use any of my patented technology, just ask. I won't charge you."

To these two, so-called patents were practically a joke. Did having a "patent" mean other people could no longer research the same thing?

Tony's Iron Armor was still only in its earliest version. Many later functions had yet to be developed. Seeing how convenient Chen Mu's armor was to put on and take off naturally gave him plenty of ideas.

"I'll develop something even more convenient!"

Tony said through gritted teeth.

Chen Mu had no doubts about that.

Not even mentioning the later nanotech armor, the suitcase-style Iron Armor alone was already extremely convenient—more advanced than Chen Mu's current technology.

"Haha, I'll wait and see how you surpass me!"

Chen Mu laughed. He would be more than happy to see that happen. The more advanced technology Tony developed, the more Chen Mu would benefit.

"Come on, let's leave the armor here."

Seeing Xu Jia step out of her armor as well, Tony gestured to Chen Mu.

To make it easier for his Iron Armor to come and go, Tony had long since remodeled Stark Tower. His living room even had a landing pad. The armor would be perfectly safe here, and there was no need to worry about anyone with ill intentions stealing it.

Besides, armor equipped with the Hongmeng operating system could not be operated by anyone else anyway.

"Come on, Xu Jia."

Seeing that Xu Jia still seemed uneasy, Chen Mu found it amusing and spoke to her.

"Fine."

Knowing she could not wear the armor at all times, Xu Jia nodded, though she still looked at Tony with concern. "I hope Mr. Stark will keep it safe."

"Don't worry, Miss Xu Jia."

Tony nodded with a smile, feeling both amused and helpless at her reaction.

Her armor was impressive, but it was not as if he would steal it...

"That's good. Next, let's discuss the smartphone partnership."

Xu Jia did not forget her duties. Besides being Chen Mu's "bodyguard," she also bore responsibility for managing the company.

That was why Xu Jia had spent the entire night preparing.

"You can discuss that with Potts. I've already informed her. The previous terms are void, and we'll renegotiate the equity split."

Tony smiled, draped an arm around Chen Mu's shoulder, and said to Xu Jia, "We'll discuss the technical matters. Leave the business matters to you two!"

Tony was making his position clear.

Previously, he had ruthlessly demanded most of the shares because he had looked down on Chen Mu, seeing him as nothing more than the owner of a small company from China.

Even though the phone design was indeed good, he had not taken it too seriously.

But things were entirely different now. The abilities Chen Mu had displayed forced Tony to take him seriously. In particular, Chen Mu had created his own armor, which amazed Tony. Naturally, Tony now regarded him as someone on equal footing.

Proud as Tony was, he rarely acknowledged someone like this.

That was why Tony was now impatient to discuss the armor's technology with Chen Mu.

"Go on. I'm leaving all the business matters to you."

Seeing that Xu Jia still seemed worried, Chen Mu said to her.

"..."

Xu Jia's face darkened. He knew perfectly well that she was with the military, so why was he still trying to dump everything on her and wash his hands of it?

Though inwardly full of complaints, Xu Jia still knew what she needed to do. It really was not appropriate for her to stay at Chen Mu's side the entire time.

Meanwhile, Chen Mu and Tony arrived at Tony's laboratory.

"Look, this is my armor. What do you think? It's cooler than yours, right?"

Once they entered Tony's laboratory, Tony could not wait to show off his newest armor. It still had the iconic gold-and-red color scheme, looking incredibly flashy and ostentatious.

"Not really. It's too gaudy."

Chen Mu replied flatly.

Compared with his own pure-black armor, the Iron Armor was far too flamboyant. It was not a color Chen Mu liked.

"Tch, yours is the ugly one, all black and dull..."

Tony could not help retorting. "Seriously, your armor looks like some antique. You're so young, so why is your taste like an old man's?"

Though he was already in his thirties, Tony clearly refused to admit he was getting old. He acted uninhibitedly, like a young man...

"..."

Chen Mu fell silent. He had also been in his thirties in his previous life. After going through so many failures and setbacks, it was hard not to become old-fashioned.

"My armor is made from vibranium. I couldn't be bothered to change its color, so it's black."

So Chen Mu offered a brief explanation.

"Vibranium? Wait, I think I've heard of that stuff before?"

Tony furrowed his brow. The name vibranium really did seem familiar to him.