Trouble Brewing

Tony raised an eyebrow and slammed his Etiquette Cane against the floor. "Nothing is going to stop you from using that damn hypnosis trick on me today!"

"Just hear me out first."

Yuri lounged on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, looking perfectly at ease. "I knew you'd come looking for me, so we might as well set a rule starting now."

"The first time you come to me to test your 'Anti-Yuri Weapon' or 'Anti-Yuri Device,' you pay me a million dollars! The second time, two million. The third time, four million... and so on."

"'Anti-Yuri' is a great name!"

Tony had clearly only heard the first part. What did he care about money? Was there anyone on Earth richer than him?

"I'm taking it. Do I owe you a licensing fee?"

Yuri shrugged. He didn't care. After all, Tony would come up with the name himself later. It was just something like "Anti-Hulk" or "Anti-Thanos."

Whoever it was meant to counter would beat it anyway~

It was all about good luck.

"Once I get back, I'll transfer three million to your account. One million for your services, and the rest as a licensing fee."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were buying two chances to have me use it on you!"

Tony confidently tossed his hair and sneered at his opponent on the sofa with an air of supreme arrogance. "I only need one chance to beat you forever!"

Yuri didn't argue. His brilliant Golden Pupils glimmered faintly. Tony's Gentleman's Hat, which he refused to take off despite his sweat-soaked head, floated into the air, revealing his damp hair and the horrified face beneath it. "What the hell is this damn freaky power now?"

"Telekinesis?!"

Yuri offered no explanation. He used Mark's Table Knife to prop up the hat and let it spin gently in his hand. "If you want to keep going, you should transfer five million to my account."

Tony took a deep breath and edged toward Yuri. "Okay, okay, the money's no problem. But I want my hat back, and then I want you to do to me what you did in the cave..."

"You know... make my eyes roll back."

Yuri flashed a bright smile, stood up, and returned the hat to Tony with an entirely harmless air. "That little thing inside it is pretty clever, but putting it in a hat is just stupid. How about I give you a suggestion? Weld it to your skull."

"I'll think about it."

Remembering the iron suit he'd finished building in the cave but hadn't assembled, Tony nodded toward his flashy hat. Like a bullfighter, he bent down and pointed the crown at Yuri's eyes. "Come on, Yuri!"

A pure white light crept into Yuri's brilliant Golden Pupils. Before long, it had completely replaced their golden hue.

When Yuri used his ability and tried to enter Tony's mind, he did feel a slight resistance. But it was so faint that he had to carefully control his power, lest he defeat Tony too quickly and make him more wary.

He had to win, of course.

But every time, he had to make Tony think, "I only won because I gave it everything I had."

sigh~

Just messing around~

Bulging veins, beads of sweat, clenched fists, and straining muscles.

Yuri did his best to display every sign of exertion he could think of. After more than ten seconds, he finally couldn't keep up the act. He abruptly dropped the pretense, gasped for breath, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Meanwhile, Tony, sitting not far away, calmly poured a drink. He "respectfully" placed a full glass of vodka into Yuri's half-raised hand.

After taking a sip, Yuri asked Tony, who stood obediently beside him, "You lost. Do you admit it?"

"Mother fuc...!"

"Do you admit it?"

"Fu...!"

"Do you admit it?"

"...I admit it."

Yuri controlled Tony into sitting on the sofa farthest from him. Yuri's pure white eyes gradually returned to gold, and Tony regained control of his body.

"Motherfucker! Fuck you, mother..."

Tony leaped up from the sofa in a rage and unleashed all the insults he'd started earlier but hadn't finished.

Just then, Mark and Happy returned with the "corpse." They heard Tony's furious shouting. Worried for their boss, Happy exchanged a glance with Mark, then pounded up the stairs. "Boss! Boss!"

"What happened, Boss?"

Yuri watched as Tony went from furious to gentlemanly in the blink of an eye. Raising his glass, Tony smiled at the flustered Happy. "Tony's learning to rap. You should hear how passionately he sings."

"Let's go!"

Tony didn't even glance at the opening Yuri had given him. He took off his Gentleman's Hat and tossed it to Yuri, then walked away, banging his Etiquette Cane loudly against the floor.

Happy looked at Yuri with a troubled expression. Given the situation... would they still be able to sit down and eat together in the future?

Yuri followed Tony downstairs. As he passed Mark, he casually plopped Tony's tossed Gentleman's Hat onto Mark's head.

He glanced at Tony and deliberately raised his voice. "This is my spoils of war today! It's yours now, my dear captain!"

"Happy!"

Outside the glass door, Tony called loudly to his bodyguard. "Get the car!"

"Coming, coming!"

Happy hurried back down the stairs. Once the car had started, he politely rolled down the window, intending to call out a goodbye on his boss's behalf.

"Come by anytime, Happy~"

Yuri warmly saw his guests off, then grabbed Mark, who was yawning and reeked of alcohol as he tried to head back to the hotel. "Finish moving the stuff before you go!"

"Snip!"

Obadiah used his Cigar Cutter to clip the end off a fresh cigar. After toasting it for a dozen seconds, he put the unlit end between his lips and took a deep drag.

Fragrant smoke drifted from his slightly parted lips, swirling and coiling until it quickly joined the haze filling the entire office.

"Ring, ring...!"

Obadiah tapped the head beneath his desk, signaling for her to stay quiet. Then he answered the phone without a hint of panic. A deep voice came through. "Boss, we found some unusual things in the cave. I've sent the photos to your email, but the blueprints were destroyed in the fire."

Obadiah opened his email. Looking at the photos, he easily imagined a mechanical suit bristling with weapons—a suit that would make anyone wearing it invincible on the battlefield.

"Bring every last piece back to me. Remember, this stuff is more important than your life!"

"Beep!"

The call ended.

Obadiah tapped away at his keypad phone and soon found the contact information for the Engineering Director. "Secretly build District 16 beneath the Arc Reactor. I want the best engineers. I'll send you the materials right away. Build me a prototype as fast as you can!"

"Beep!"

He hung up. "Oh, my dear Tony!"

The woman secretly rolled her eyes again.

Who would've thought you were this much of a pervert!