Charlatan

"Very good." Stark nodded in satisfaction. He reached into his pocket for his sunglasses, only to find that they had already been shattered. He shrugged and headed into the Martial Arts School again.

The bodyguards hurried forward, surrounding Tony in several layers.

After Tony went around the screen wall, he immediately raised both hands and shouted, "Don't attack, I mean no harm... ah..."

Zhan Liu deliberately wanted to temper his attitude, so with another wave of his hand, the group was sent flying again.

The bodyguards had been prepared this time. The moment he raised his hand, they opened fire, but the bullets were useless and were swept away along with them.

The group once again fell like rain before the Martial Arts School gates.

The convoy had already drawn plenty of attention when it arrived. Though this place was fairly remote, many people were still watching from afar.

When they had been thrown out previously, there had not been many onlookers. But by the time they went inside again, even more people had gathered.

Gunfire rang out from inside the Martial Arts School, making the onlookers tremble in fear. Just as they were about to take cover, they saw another group get thrown out.

This time in particular, Zhan Liu had deliberately punished them by doubling the height of their fall. Quite a few people broke their arms or legs outright. Fortunately, when they landed, they instinctively tried to evade, so no one broke their neck.

When Tony landed, the head bodyguard yanked him aside, so he was not injured. But he became extremely furious.

"Damn it! He won't even talk?"

"Tony, I told you, he only understands Chinese."

"So what? So I have to do as he says and learn Chinese?"

"No, I mean you can send in a translator."

"Fine. Which one of you understands Chinese?" Tony turned and asked the bodyguards.

Everyone shook their heads. Tony sighed and said,

"Happy, go find a translator. And hurry up the ambulance while you're at it. This time, someone really needs one."

A translator was easy to find. Happy went over to the gathered crowd and pulled out a few U.S. dollars. Quite a few people eagerly volunteered to translate for Mr. Stark.

Once the others heard that this was Tony Stark rather than some gangster, they relaxed and stayed to watch the show.

Tony told the translator what he wanted, then sent him inside with the message.

The translator himself hung around Chinatown and knew many people at the Martial Arts School. As soon as he entered, he greeted several acquaintances before explaining why he was there.

Zhan Liu felt it was necessary to speak with Tony as well, so he nodded in agreement.

The translator had taken no risk whatsoever. He had merely delivered a few words and earned a little extra money, so he happily went outside to relay the answer.

After listening to the translator's cautious report, Tony nodded in satisfaction. This was more like it.

He possessed a strange, inexplicable confidence in himself. He always felt that as long as negotiations were possible, he could persuade anyone.

As he prepared to enter again, the head bodyguard stopped him once more.

"Mr. Stark, I hope you'll consider this carefully. If you need it, I can bring a team here tonight and 'invite' the guy inside to your residence for a meeting. That would be much safer."

Tony patted him on the shoulder. "Relax, buddy. You saw it. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it already."

He strode to the Martial Arts School entrance, then stopped and turned to the bodyguards following him. "Since you can't really do anything anyway, you can head back first. Of course, I'll still pay you."

As he spoke, he glanced at the scattered bullet heads on the ground, then turned and entered the Martial Arts School with the translator and Happy.

"Fuck!" the bodyguard captain cursed. He felt utterly stifled, yet there was nothing he could do.

He believed that with enough time to prepare, he could easily take down a mere Mutant and torment him however he pleased.

But now, he had no opportunity to show what he could do, because he was only a bodyguard. Everything depended on his employer's decision.

After entering this time, Tony was finally able to walk smoothly up to Zhan Liu.

"Wow, it really is Three-Eyed. It's much more visually striking than it looked in the footage, but it doesn't seem scary at all. No need to translate that!"

"I'm Tony Stark. Maybe you don't know my name, but ask the people around you and you'll know—they all know me. I know you have superpowers, but I have Cash Power. Now, I want to buy your Martial Arts School. Name your price."

This guy looked nothing like Tony Stark from the movies, yet his temperament was astonishingly similar. Sure enough, Tony Stark was still a foul-mouthed, punchable, irritating bastard. It was impossible to like him.

"To the War God, money has no meaning." Unlike when he had met Nick Fury, Zhan Liu did not invite him inside for tea. He simply stood in the courtyard and spoke with him.

Zhan Liu extended his hand. A bolt of lightning appeared out of thin air, bound within his palm by a magnetic field. He toyed with it at will, shaping it into whatever form he desired.

"Ultimate Limit Qigong can strengthen one's essence, energy, and spirit. It uses the operating methods of ancient martial Qigong to simulate Current Drive, allowing a beginner to control electric current. So-called lightning is merely a toy in our hands."

"Those with sufficient talent and willpower can cultivate it to profound levels, generating magnetism through electricity and successfully transforming Current Drive into Magnetic Field Rotation. Magnetic Field Rotation is a fundamental force of the universe, an indispensable power in countless universes!"

"As long as one possesses Magnetic Field Rotation and continues cultivating it, one can strengthen the body, achieve Cellular Reconstruction, Matter Hardening, Mind Reading, Matter Reconstruction, and Natural Phenomenon Control. At even greater levels, one can affect life, causality, fate, space, and time."

"Whoa, sounds like you're preaching." Tony did not look surprised at all. He simply did not believe him.

He curled his lip. "This isn't scientific at all!"

"No, it is scientific. You simply don't understand it."

"Huh? Are you sure you want to discuss science with me?"

Tony laughed in anger. He pointed at Zhan Liu with extreme rudeness.

"I originally thought you were some kind of alien, but now it looks like you're just someone trying to escape the Mutant label. Pretending to be an alien, huh? Interesting approach."

"I know there are people with superpowers in this world, Mutants and such. I haven't studied them, but you can't fool me with that nonsense. Those abilities all come from genes."

"Perhaps scientific modification can artificially create superpowered people too, but it absolutely won't happen the way you describe—by practicing some Qigong."

"Arrogance comes from ignorance." Zhan Liu gave him a contemptuous glance. "Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Spouting nonsense and passing judgment in a field utterly unfamiliar to you will not make anyone admire your intelligence. It will only make people think you are excessively arrogant and ignorant."

"Tch!" Tony turned and left.

The supposed purchase of the Martial Arts School had merely been an excuse.

He had seen this so-called "Nightmare" today and felt that he was nothing more than a charlatan—well, a Mutant charlatan with superpowers.

He had absolutely no reason to fear this sort of person.