Borrowing Money

The next morning.

Yuri was awakened by Kate's relentless teasing. The two of them engaged in another deep exchange, only leaving the room at eight thirty.

A hallway camera caught Yuri's figure, and Jarvis, the built-in artificial intelligence, immediately spoke up to remind him, "Mr. Ambrosius, please proceed to the first-floor dining room. Breakfast has been prepared there for you and Miss Kate. Mr. Stark is also waiting there to discuss matters with you."

Yuri linked arms with Kate, half affectionate and half supporting her as they headed toward the first-floor dining room. A leader's power showed in every respect—whether combat ability or intelligence, mobility or sexual prowess, he could crush all others of his kind...

Tony and Yuri entered the lavishly decorated first-floor dining room almost at the same time. The former grabbed a cheeseburger specially prepared for him and raised the Canary Tube in his hand. Stuffing food into his mouth, he asked indistinctly:

"Where's Dr. Connors?"

"Where are the machines from the lab?"

"What about the drug's production process?"

"The effects are excellent, but if it can't be mass-produced, then our partnership from last night is off."

Yuri released Kate, who had been pressing her whole body against his arm, and let her get whatever she liked from the slowly rotating conveyor belt herself.

He casually picked up a table knife from the dining table, stood before the conveyor belt, and spoke while eating, "Don't rush, Tony. Starting a company has never been something that can be done in a short time."

Tony glanced from afar at Kate, who was carefully selecting food across the room. Once he was sure it was safe, he edged closer to Yuri in small steps. "I have a highly professional team under me. Starting a company isn't difficult. The only thing we lack now is a drug that can be mass-produced!"

Yuri worked his jaw muscles hard, chewing and swallowing the steak that was nearly bursting out of his mouth. He casually grabbed a glass of red wine and drained it in one gulp, then reached his table knife toward another steak as he said calmly, "Before I hand over the mass-production formula, I want to borrow some money from you."

Tony swallowed the last bite of his cheeseburger and even sucked on his fingers with lingering satisfaction. Hearing that, he asked the utterly composed Yuri in surprise, "Borrow money? Do you have some major expenses coming up?"

Yuri opened his mouth wide and swallowed the entire steak. His hard teeth easily tore and crushed it apart. With his mouth stuffed full, he could not speak, but that did not stop Tony from hearing what he wanted to say.

"This is none of your business, Tony."

"You only need to answer me: will you lend it or not?"

"****!"

Tony jumped at the sudden voice in his head. He leaped far away, covered his ears, and stared fearfully at Yuri, who was seriously chewing his steak. "Get out of my head!"

"Relax, Tony."

Yuri directly took partial control of some of Tony's organs, controlling his endocrine glands to release inhibitory hormones. Human emotions were easily manipulated, because most of them were related to the levels of various hormones in the body.

Tony's feelings right now were quite strange. Although he was incomparably furious and terrified, his heart was eerily still, without a single ripple.

"What did you do to me this time?!"

Tony warily watched Kate, who stood silently behind Yuri in protection. For a moment, he could neither advance nor retreat.

Yuri leisurely used his table knife to scrape the white cream from the corner of Kate's mouth, then continued transmitting his voice directly into Tony's mind. "I merely helped you manage emotions you can't manage yourself. See? Now we can speak calmly."

"*********!"

Tony cursed Yuri with a perfectly calm expression, then sighed without expression. After confirming that nothing was wrong aside from his strange sensory experience, he quickly adjusted himself and adapted to the situation.

"I can lend you the money, but you have to put up some collateral. Whatever the collateral you put up is worth, that's how much I'll lend you."

Seeing Yuri eat so heartily, Tony took another cheeseburger and a glass of red wine as well.

After quite a long while, Yuri finally swallowed the steak in his mouth. He picked up a fresh glass of wine and drained it in one gulp, then pointed to the secret laboratory beneath the floor and asked, "The only thing I can put up as collateral is shares in the new company. How much do you think it's worth?"

"What!?"

Tony was greatly shocked. He examined Yuri from head to toe, but those golden eyes showed not the slightest hint of a joke. Spreading his hands, he thought as he answered, "That's not an easy question to answer, Yuri. As your friend, I'd value it at... five billion. How about that?"

Yuri nodded and took a vicious bite out of the third steak. The juice was squeezed from the suddenly compressed muscle fibers, making a sizzling sound. Looking at Tony, he said through gritted teeth as if talking to himself, "Looks like you don't want to lend it after all."

Tony leaned back and immediately denied it, saying in a mocking tone, "If this drug can only be produced through the magic or whatever possessed by a major shareholder with fifty percent of the shares... believe me, Yuri, five billion really is the value of your fifty percent stake."

"Five hundred billion."

Yuri swallowed the meat sauce in his mouth and stuffed the entire remaining steak into it. He held out one hand, its five fingers spread wide. "Considering Stark Industries' stock price has been plummeting lately, I'm only asking to borrow five hundred billion. You don't need to worry about the mass-production process. Once I get the money, I'll naturally provide it."

Tony fell silent as he looked at Yuri, who refused to open his mouth for further discussion. After finishing his burger and wine, he went alone into the hallway outside the dining room and called Pepper Potts.

"Hello?"

"Get ready, Pepper. I need to transfer as much as five hundred billion in cash."

"What!?"

Tony's eardrums ached from the piercing voice, and he could not help moving the phone farther away. Only after Pepper had vented her emotions and calmed down somewhat did he speak again. "Can you get it ready within one day?"

"I don't know."

On the other end of the line, Pepper tucked the hair hanging over her forehead behind her ear and reported their recent expenditures one by one. "You announced the closure of the weapons manufacturing division, and the stock price fell..."

"I know! I know!"

Tony cut Pepper off. "Just wait and see, Pepper. It'll rise again before long."

"That's only one of the problems!"

Pepper continued, "You and your dear Uncle Obadiah fought from the bottom floor of Stark Tower all the way to the top. The entire building needs repairs and maintenance..."

"I know! I know!"

Tony immediately offered a solution. "Freeze Obadiah's bank accounts. We can use his money."

Upon hearing that brilliant idea, Pepper immediately felt reassured. Obadiah had surely embezzled quite a lot during his tenure. As long as they could recover it, many problems would be easily resolved.

But a woman's pride would not allow her to admit defeat so easily. After thinking it over, she asked, "Even so, what about the rare metals you told me to keep acquiring?"

"Fine."

Leaning against the wall, Tony admired the luxurious oil painting across from him and shrugged in surrender. "Then suspend the acquisitions. No matter what, get the fifty billion dollars ready first. Everything else can wait until after the stock price recovers."

Pepper wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder as both hands swiftly sorted through the documents on the desk. Suddenly, she froze, quickly picked up the phone, and asked in an extremely serious tone, "What about our share buyback plan? We're still fifteen percent short of the projected fifty-five percent! Without that fifty billion, you may not be able to achieve absolute control of the company!"

"..."

Tony's expression instantly froze. He leaned out to glance at Yuri and the other person still wolfing down their food in the restaurant, then said in a heavy, sorrowful voice, "Put the share acquisition on hold for now. Once things here are settled, we'll have more capital. We'll own more than fifty-five percent of the shares."

A Little Investment