Misunderstanding Cleared, Leon Was Terrifyingly Strong

Leon's safety—even whether he was alive or dead—was unknown. Tony was frantic with worry and refused to sit around waiting any longer. He charged his Palm Cannon and fired it at Arcee.

Hum—

Arcee raised a hand to block the blast. Through the holographic projection, they could vaguely see the actual metal of her arm glowing red from the heat.

After blocking Tony's Palm Cannons several times in succession, even Arcee's Gold-Titanium Alloy body began to show signs of melting.

Though she did not want to hurt Tony, Arcee decided to take the initiative to preserve her mobility. She engaged Tony, clad in the Mark 4, in a brutal close-quarters fight.

For a time.

Even though his armor had already reached its fourth generation, Tony was completely suppressed by Arcee, a battle-hardened representative of the Transformers' agile fighters.

Their martial arts techniques and agility were on entirely different levels. Tony could not touch Arcee at all.

Within this relatively cramped, artificially excavated space, Arcee displayed the bearing of a woman holding a pass against ten thousand foes.

The clang of metal striking metal rang out nonstop!

Under the punishment of Arcee's iron fists and her Prison Kick Barrage, dents kept appearing across the Mark 4 armor. Tony could even clearly feel the warped armor pressing into his chest.

Arcee was not trying to kill him, though, so Tony could still barely remain standing with his armor's defenses and JARVIS's real-time movement predictions.

"Shit!"

"Since when were you this good at close combat?"

Tony could not help complaining. He had always thought Arcee, who stayed quietly at Leon's side, was nothing more than a glass cannon who specialized in ranged hit-and-run attacks.

The result left him utterly dumbfounded.

If I get the chance, I have to take Arcee apart and see what she's made of inside. Tony thought. But Leon definitely wouldn't bear to let me. Tch!

"There is still plenty you don't know, Leon's brother."

Arcee replied proudly.

"Is that so?"

Tony raised a brow beneath his helmet and asked Arcee, "Then has Leon ever told you this—when dealing with people and situations, you need to know how to adapt?"

"What?"

Arcee froze.

"Right now, Pepper!"

Taking advantage of Arcee's momentary distraction, Tony grabbed her and performed a full-force back suplex, refusing to let go. Pepper took the opportunity to slip past them and enter Leon's Wonderful Workshop.

After all.

Defeating Arcee was not their goal. Confirming that Leon was safe and sound was.

"You can't..."

Arcee desperately tried to break free of Tony's hold and crawl toward the door to stop Pepper, but it was already too late. She could only watch helplessly as Pepper went inside.

The next moment.

"Ah—"

Pepper's scream came from within Leon's Wonderful Workshop.

Arcee and Tony, who had been grappling with each other, exchanged a glance. They instantly ended their standoff, called a temporary truce, and hurried into Leon's Wonderful Workshop.

There, they saw—

Inside Leon's Wonderful Workshop.

Pepper stood there in shock, covering her mouth with one hand and her eyes with the other. Yet the gaps between her fingers were wide open as she peeked at Leon, who had already stored the Regeneration Cradle in his system space but was still completely naked.

"Holy shit!"

With an expression as though he had seen a ghost, Tony asked Leon, "Did you eat protein powder as meals during the time you disappeared?"

"Huh?"

Leon had only just woken up and had yet to figure out what was happening. Arcee walked over and, with great helplessness, barely used one arm to cover his vital parts.

Then she projected Leon's current appearance in the air for him to see.

There it was.

A nearly perfect male body, like a sculpture from ancient Greece. Anyone with an eye for it could tell at once that this was practically Superman!

That was—

The current Leon already possessed ninety percent of Henry Cavill's charm.

He had evolved from "slim in clothes, muscular out of them" into someone whose powerful, flawless muscle definition—far beyond what any ordinary human could compare with, almost divine in its perfection—could not be concealed whether he wore clothes or not.

Without looking bulky, Leon was now handsome to an almost absurd degree.

To borrow the words of a certain real person—there had never been anyone worthy of the title of the Handsome Venerable. Leon might just fill that vacancy.

After Tony, Pepper, and Arcee explained everything, Leon finally learned how long he had slept.

—A full two and a half months!

Tony joked that Leon had created another Guinness World Records.

Pepper, meanwhile, was annoyed that Leon had not informed her and Tony in advance about something so important. As a result, she and Tony had misunderstood Arcee, the diligent and responsible girl who had been protecting him.

That was right.

Leon's explanation to Tony and Pepper was that he had become stronger again by sleeping through this "do not disturb" slumber.

Leon had even specially given this process of awakening superpowers through sleep an imposing name in tribute to a certain god-king—

"Leon's Slumber."

After seeing Tony and Pepper off.

Leon immediately began eagerly checking his gains.

His defenses were difficult to test.

But in terms of strength—

The blast-proof alloy door that Leon could previously only leave a small dent in with a full-powered punch could now be punched straight through with ease.

And in terms of speed—

Leon and Arcee had tested it out at sea as well.

At full power, Leon's speed had already broken through Mach 20. That was while he had been forcibly pushing through increasingly terrifying air resistance.

If he activated his Biological Field or entered the far more expansive reaches of outer space, he would only be faster.

To put it simply—

Leon felt that he was terrifyingly strong now!

But after feeling smug for a little while, he quickly sobered up again. With just this much strength, who could I beat?

Odin, Ancient One, or Thanos?

Then.

Leon hurriedly recited his personal version of a calming mantra in his heart—Each day, I must examine myself three times: I am handsome, I am rich, I am not strong enough.

After properly reminding himself that he was still weak, Leon suddenly thought of a far more serious issue!

The Homelander role-play was a minor matter. He had only just won over Zhao Hailun, yet he had vanished for two and a half months. Would that innocent girl have run into some kind of problem?

"Arcee, did Zhao Hailun come looking for me during this time?"

Leon hurriedly asked.

"She did, but I turned her away in your name every time."

Arcee replied.

"What?!"

Leon's mouth twitched hard twice. Arcee rolled her eyes at him. "What else did you expect me to do? I couldn't leave this place!"

"She was fairly calm during the first month. I used your account to chat with her online, and things went rather pleasantly."

"But after I repeatedly refused to meet her, she became noticeably colder online during the second month."

"She has not sent a single message in the past half month. It seems she has already blocked your account."

With one hand resting on the alluring curve of her waist and hips, Arcee waved dismissively, sounding somewhat pleased by his misfortune.

Well.

Looking at this situation.

That once sweet, caring little cotton-padded jacket had probably become so leaky that it was beyond repair.

Leon thought.

He had to fix this as soon as possible.

Setting everything else aside.

The fact that Zhao Hailun had been his first time alone meant Leon needed to be more attentive to her than to the others.

"Oh, right."

"I've been keeping Homelander's activity level up for you. Whatever you do, don't go out and say something stupid to your fans like, 'It's been two and a half months. I missed you all terribly.'"

Arcee suddenly reminded him.

"Wow~"

"Arcee, I freaking love you!"

Leon excitedly wrapped an arm around Arcee's waist, took the opportunity to plant a kiss on the face of Tifa's virtual skin simulated by her holographic projection, and asked curiously, "How did you even manage that?"

Arcee pried away Leon's wandering hand, wiped the wet mark from her face with queenly disgust, then tapped her temple with one finger and rolled her eyes.

"Use your brain."