Leon's Little Fangirl

"The weapons division, once one of the company's primary sources of revenue, had been completely shut down. In its place, the new energy sector was filling that revenue gap at an astonishing pace."

"It is estimated that within half a year, we will fully recover the revenue lost from halting weapons production."

"Additionally, because of your and Mr. Tony's identities as superheroes, shareholders have regained confidence in Stark Industries."

"The stocks you instructed me to sell were snatched up the moment they hit the market. As of the close the day before yesterday, they had risen by a factor of 666."

Leon and Tony had foreseen all of this, so Leon merely listened to Kate's report while focusing on the points he cared about.

Until he heard a term from Kate that made him jolt...

"...An intern from Seoul University in South Korea?" Leon's hands and head suddenly stopped moving. "What's her name?"

"Zhao Hailun."

Kate replied weakly.

It really was her!

Leon's heart stirred.

He immediately made the mistake every man in the world made—eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot. Zhao Hailun had already become involved with Stark Industries at this point...

Afterward.

Leon once again stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands behind his back. His expression was so righteous and dignified that he seemed like a saint, even the innate wicked charm about him fading somewhat.

"Kate, bring Zhao Hailun here."

"...Huh? O-Okay, Mr. Leon."

Sharon Kate still looked somewhat dazed. After freezing for two seconds, she hurriedly agreed, then supported herself against the office wall and left to find someone, moving awkwardly while trying to appear composed.

Not long after.

There came a knock on Leon's office door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

"Hello, Mr. Leon. I'm Zhao Hailun, an intern from the R&D department."

Leon, standing before the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands behind his back, turned around and studied Zhao Hailun with interest.

She wore a plain-colored long dress that hugged her slender yet remarkably curvaceous figure. She absolutely deserved the description: mountains from the side, ridges from the front, each view revealing something different.

Her long, shapely legs were covered in a relatively conservative pair of milky-white stockings.

She did not look exactly the same as when she appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but she was very close.

Though she was still young, she had already captured seventy percent of that mature, elegant older-sister aura. The remaining thirty percent merely awaited the tempering of time.

Unlike Sharon Kate, who liked taking shortcuts.

Zhao Hailun was a legitimate doctor of cell biology. She simply did not have connections as powerful as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, so no matter how outstanding she was, she could only begin as an intern.

Although she would already be considered Tony's friend despite their age difference by the time of Avengers: Age of Ultron, she had yet to connect with Tony now. She was still a pearl buried beneath dust.

As for the reason...

"I just read your doctoral thesis—The Feasibility of Applying Biological Nanotechnology to Cellular Tissue Regeneration."

"You mentioned the 'Regeneration Cradle' in it. Even an outsider like me thinks it is a highly promising technology, so why wasn't it approved as a project?"

Leon walked over to Zhao Hailun and asked.

"Because Consultant Yinsen wasn't here, I applied to Mr. Tony."

"But he said Iron Man armor was humanity's future, and that biological nanotechnology proposed by an intern like me was complete fantasy."

As she answered, Zhao Hailun kept her head lowered, not daring to meet Leon's eyes at all. Her shyness was utterly at odds with her aura.

"Tut!"

Leon could not help clicking his tongue. Those words did sound like something Tony would say, yet it also seemed unlikely that Tony would have said them.

"Oh, dear Helen, I must apologize to you on Tony's behalf. He must have been engrossed in tinkering with his Iron Man armor at the time and didn't listen seriously to your report at all."

"You know him. Once he starts working, he forgets to eat and sleep. Anything outside the work he is focused on simply does not enter his brain."

Leon explained.

"You're giving me too much credit, Mr. Leon." Leon's apology made Zhao Hailun feel flattered and overwhelmed. She quickly waved her hands and bowed as she replied:

"I completely understand Mr. Tony, because I can be like that too sometimes. Once I start working, I forget about everything else..."

"Perhaps that's what geniuses have in common?"

Leon interjected with a smile.

"Not at all~"

Zhao Hailun's face reddened at a visible speed. She lowered her head even further, nearly burying it in her chest.

Was she really this unable to take a compliment?

Zhao Hailun's bashful reaction made Leon find her somewhat amusing.

The current Zhao Hailun was still a naive young woman in her early twenties who had only just entered society. No matter how much of a genius she was, she was still a blank sheet of paper that anyone could draw a few strokes upon.

Not to mention, the person standing before her was Leon, whose hardware and software were both nearly fully maxed out.

One flirt, and she was left speechless.

[Question: Would you like to perform today's check-in?]

System, what are you capable of?

Open it!

[Ding! Today's check-in has been completed. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the "Regeneration Cradle."]

[Regeneration Cradle: The culmination of biological nanotechnology and 3D printing technology. As long as the materials are compatible and sufficient, it can print any biological tissue or non-biological object you desire.]

[Description: I created you. What does that have to do with you?]

Finally...

It finally dropped T T

Listening to the heavenly melody recited by the system, Leon instantly burst into tears inside.

A full month had passed since he and Tony revealed their identities as Homelander and Iron Man.

Perhaps the system's newbie protection period had ended, or perhaps Leon's luck had fallen from the realm of a European emperor into that of an African chieftain.

In any case.

Over this past month.

He had no idea what meaningless junk he had been checking in for—Never-Ending Instant Noodles, Never-Ending Milk Tea, Never-Ending Sunflower Seeds, Never-Ending Balloons, Never-Ending Stockings...

Leon often felt that he was so poor that all he had left was money. Why would he lack such things?

If Leon had been in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where money was useless, then these "Never-Ending" items would have been tremendously useful, allowing him to ascend on the spot into something like a conceptual god.

But honestly, with Leon's assets, if he spent them on such things—for example, stockings—he could buy enough to wrap around the Earth hundreds of times.

Even if he lived eight hundred lifetimes, he would never wear through his savings.

That said.

Among the items he had checked in for over the past month, aside from the "Never-Ending" series, there had been a few others. They offered almost no boost to Leon's strength, but they were not entirely useless either.

[Super Deadpool Suit: A Deadpool suit made from ordinary materials, but capable of infinitely restoring itself.]

[Description: It's the "Deadpool" among combat suits. Makes perfect sense, right?]

[Carbona Alloy Twin Blades: As the name suggests, these twin blades are forged from Carbona Alloy. In addition to possessing physical hardness comparable to Vibranium, they also contain a toxin effective against those with regenerative abilities. By suppressing regenerative factors to a certain degree, they can inhibit the target's healing and regenerative abilities.]

[Description: When it comes to dual-wielding blades, who do you think of?]

[Super Elastic Fiber Underwear: Ultra-thin and form-fitting, with extreme cushioning and rapid rebound. It can perfectly adapt to people of any body type.]

[Quality: Never wears out]

[Description: Mom never has to worry about little brother getting ambushed again.]