All Is Settled

"I thought you'd refuse."

Chen Mu chuckled and said this as he looked at Tony.

"Tch, why would I refuse an opportunity to make myself stronger?"

Tony curled his lip. He was arrogant, but not stupid enough to reject high-tech inventions made by others.

It had been the same in the movies. If someone else's technology was useful to him, Tony would not hesitate to use it.

"Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll take you out to experience the local customs of America today." Tony waved a hand, tossing all the messy thoughts from his mind.

He winked at Chen Mu and gave him a look they both understood, then said frivolously, "I've got a date tonight. Last month's cover girl was a pair of twins. Something came up and I missed the date, so it got moved to tonight. One for each of us?"

After saying that, he put on a lecherous grin.

"Ahem, I'm an upright gentleman."

Chen Mu coughed lightly, then asked with a serious expression, "Do you have a photo?"

"..."

"Jarvis, project last month's fashion magazine cover."

Tony raised a brow and gave the order.

"Certainly, sir."

A holographic projection appeared before them. On the screen was a pair of hot-bodied twin sisters. Even by Chen Mu's Eastern standards, both sisters looked quite good. More importantly, they had great figures, curvy where they should be and perky where they needed to be.

"It's already five in the afternoon. When are we leaving for the date?"

Since there was a date, how could he possibly stand them up?

So Chen Mu asked.

"We can leave now. Don't worry about your little secretary. Potts will take good care of her."

Tony patted Chen Mu on the shoulder and walked toward the armor resting on the platform. Looking at Chen Mu, he said, "Let's see who's faster. I've already sent you the location."

Clearly, Tony Stark was still unwilling to concede. Even if his materials were inferior to Chen Mu's and his energy core was not as powerful, Tony still wanted to win one round back in terms of speed.

"No, no, you're fast. You're the fastest. I can keep it up for two hours."

Chen Mu curled his lip. Tony Stark, did he not realize how easily his words could be misunderstood?

"..."

Tony's face darkened, but he did not bother responding. He silently began putting on his armor, determined to settle the matter with Chen Mu in terms of flight speed.

Seeing this, Chen Mu said nothing more and walked straight toward his own suit. He stepped inside and easily donned the armor.

"The destination is Los Angeles?"

Although the destination was not close to New York, that distance was nothing to Tony and Chen Mu with their armor.

Once they had both suited up, they exchanged a glance and shot into the sky at the same time. Accompanied by violent sonic booms, they effortlessly broke the sound barrier and sped toward their destination.

"Haha, my dear Chen Mu, I hope that the next time you come, your armor will be able to fly faster than my Iron Armor!"

The next day, Chen Mu returned to Stark Tower in New York and prepared to leave America for China. Tony stood atop his tower, bidding Chen Mu farewell.

Their speed contest the day before had actually been fairly even. Although Chen Mu's suit used better materials and had more abundant energy, its thrusters were limited to the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands, so it had not held much of an advantage in flight speed.

On the other hand, Tony Stark's Mark III had independent thrusters on practically every joint. Without regard for energy consumption, it was actually faster than Chen Mu!

After all, it was only a trip from New York to Los Angeles. With Tony's current armor, he could devote all of its energy to the thrusters without worrying about running out.

Maintaining full speed the entire way, it had actually surpassed Chen Mu's armor.

Thus, in a contest of pure speed, Tony Stark had finally won a round back.

Because of that, Tony Stark was feeling extremely smug after successfully reclaiming one point in speed.

"Tch, what are you so smug about?"

Chen Mu curled his lip with a disdainful look. He could not be bothered to compete with Tony over who was faster.

"Since the agreement has already been signed, we won't stay here any longer. I'll leave the international promotion of the Xiao Mu Phone entirely to you."

Chen Mu had accomplished the purpose of his trip. He had no interest in remaining in America, so he planned to take Xu Jia and return directly to his homeland.

"That won't be a problem. After all, Stark Industries owns fifty percent of the Xiao Mu Phone."

Tony nodded indifferently. In truth, the buildup for the new phone's release had quietly begun a month earlier.

As a prominent public figure, the phone Tony Stark used had long since caught the attention of reporters. During several deliberate or seemingly casual interviews, Tony had also publicly revealed his phone's capabilities.

The public had begun looking forward to this phone long ago.

Everyone was guessing what kind of phone Iron Man used and what differences this so-called smartphone had from traditional phones.

"Then I'll leave the international publicity to you. As for China, you needn't trouble yourself with it."

The Xiao Mu Phone's inventory was now sufficient for its first release. There were two versions of the Xiao Mu Phone: a China edition and an international edition. Stark Industries would handle the primary marketing for the international edition, while Chen Mu left the Chinese market entirely to Xu Jia.

Simply put, Chen Mu had directly handed the domestic market over to the state. Living in the dangerous world of Marvel, Chen Mu had come to care less about money and profit.

In this world, money was far less useful than power!

Only by becoming strong enough would Chen Mu have a sufficient sense of security!

"No problem. I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

Tony smiled, his eyes filled with confidence. Winning one round back in speed had restored Tony's confidence.

Tony was certain that once he obtained the new element, his Iron Armor would undergo a qualitative leap in power!

"Next time, my Mark Series Armor will definitely be stronger than your Kirin Armor!"

Tony firmly believed this.

"Perhaps." Chen Mu merely smiled in response. He turned to glance at Xu Jia, whose face was full of displeasure. After they each put on their armor, they took off and flew toward their homeland.

"That guy..."

Watching Chen Mu and Xu Jia depart, Tony's smile faded and was replaced by a grave expression.

"He really left me with a huge problem!"

Tony knew that the People's Liberation Army equipping the Kirin Armor could not possibly be kept hidden from the American military. He could imagine just how much trouble he would face in the days ahead.

Given the American military's nature, once they saw a rival equipped with stronger weapons, they would surely try every possible way to acquire the same kind. Clearly, his Iron Armor would become their target.