Saving Tony Again

The sky gradually darkened, and a crescent moon climbed into the heavens.

Under the cover of night, New York had changed into dazzling finery, neon lights flickering everywhere.

After seeing off a bewildered Nick Fury, Su Ming had Alisha change into an evening gown, and the two went to an upscale restaurant for dinner.

Alisha, who had dressed up especially for the occasion, was looking exceptionally graceful. As she watched her boss in his formal suit, little stars appeared in her eyes once again.

Su Ming was slowly cutting the steak before him, his movements as elegant as those of a noble prince.

The faint smile at the corner of his lips was enough to make appearance-obsessed Alisha cry out that she could not take it anymore...

It was clear that her boss was in an excellent mood today. He had even specially ordered an exquisitely prepared dish for them.

Alisha's thoughts had long since drifted away. She secretly hoped that, on this beautiful night, she and Su Ming could create an unforgettable memory together.

But when dinner ended and Su Ming told Alisha to head back by herself, she realized she had been overthinking things again...

"Damn Su Ming..."

That was right. He had made so much money on that trip to Afghanistan, so of course he had to reward his hardworking self properly—and, naturally... Alisha too.

"Urp~ I'm stuffed..."

Even though he was already worth hundreds of millions, Su Ming still felt a pang of pain when he paid the bill—a single meal had cost more than thirty thousand dollars.

"Going from frugality to extravagance really is easy! The ancients did not deceive me."

Taking a walk through the streets of New York to aid his digestion, Su Ming did not choose to return with Alisha.

Although more than two hundred million dollars sat in his account, Su Ming knew that money earned easily would disappear even faster.

In front of the bottomless pit that was the System Shop, two hundred million dollars would not even make a ripple.

Su Ming was in no hurry to exchange for talents, since he had not yet had the chance to study them properly.

Besides, he was a little reluctant to see that long string of numbers in his account instantly drop to zero.

"Let this money stay warm in my account for a few more days~"

He raised his head and took a deep breath of New York's slightly cool night air, inadvertently spotting the neon glow of Stark Tower.

"I wonder what Tony's up to. I think he invited me to visit him or something~"

Imagining himself trying on Tony's armor, Su Ming was eager to give it a shot. He found an empty corner, confirmed the direction, and flew toward Tony's home...

A few hours earlier.

While adjusting the finer details of his armor, Tony thought back to Obadiah's behavior at the gala. He knew Obadiah had been the one leading the company in defying his orders.

It was time to deal with that old man. Stark Industries could not continue aiding evil...

"But I need evidence."

Just then, his assistant Pepper Potts pushed open the door and entered.

"I need you to do something. Go to my office, hack into the main computer, and bring back all the recent shipping manifests. Here's the password chip..."

Seeing Pepper gave Tony an idea—he would have his female assistant retrieve the evidence for him.

But Pepper refused. She thought Tony was about to do something reckless again, just like last time.

Tony's solo trip to Gamila to fight an army of thugs had terrified Pepper.

She would rather quit than watch Tony stubbornly throw himself into another desperate situation.

But Tony wore an unusually solemn expression.

"You were there when I was making a fortune from death by wreaking havoc everywhere...

"Now that I want to protect the people suffering because of me, you want to leave my side."

Pepper knew how fiercely the company opposed Tony's decision to halt weapons development and sales. She also knew that other powers were eyeing Tony like tigers, ready to strike him a fatal blow at any moment. If she followed Tony's arrangements, she would only push him into an even more dangerous position.

"Tony, this will get you killed. I can't be the one to push you toward it."

The image of Dr. Ethan risking his life flashed through Tony's mind, along with the unspeakable misery of the refugees and the faces of terrorists wielding heavy weapons...

"If not for this conviction, I should have died a long time ago...

"I'm not crazy, Pepper.

"I've just finally understood my mission.

"And I know deep down—I'm right."

For the first time, a light Tony Stark had never possessed before shone in the eyes of that unruly playboy.

It moved Pepper Potts.

Tony seemed to have changed...

Not to mention that Pepper had successfully obtained the evidence right under Obadiah's nose, only to run into S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson.

Obadiah had long since recovered the mechanical armor Tony had developed during his kidnapping from the remaining Ten Rings Gang thugs, and upgraded it—bigger! Stronger!

But it lacked one thing: the core that powered the armor—the Arc Reactor.

No matter how much pressure he put on Dr. William, it was something he could not produce.

"Tony Stark built one in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

When Obadiah discovered that Pepper had copied the shipping manifests from the computer, he realized they would become direct evidence that could send him to prison.

He panicked...

Pointing at Dr. William's chest, he roared.

Dr. William could only say helplessly, "I'm sorry, I'm not Tony Stark."

Obadiah seemed to see agents putting handcuffs on him already, and his mind was in complete turmoil.

He looked at the mighty steel armor. All it needed was a reactor in that empty cavity in its chest, and it could move...

With it, Obadiah would never have to bow to anyone again. Whoever refused to submit—he would kill them.

Simple and brutal, yet extraordinarily effective!

Then he could destroy everyone and everything that stood against him—especially Tony.

He would become the true ruler of Stark Industries!

His burning ambition turned Obadiah's eyes red. Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Plunder~ What a beautiful word..."

On his second visit to Tony's Bay Villa, Su Ming did not rush inside.

Looking up at the distinctive, high-tech mansion atop the mountain, Su Ming hesitated.

Should he just fly straight up... or go through the proper channels?

Come to think of it, what even were the proper channels?

Damn it, Tony had made it sound nice, but he had not even left a phone number. He could not exactly kick the door in, could he...?

If he trespassed into someone's home here and got killed by the owner, he would only have himself to blame.

If he did not want to try that armor, who would bother being polite with Tony?

At the foot of the mountain, Su Ming found himself agonizing over how to get in and find someone...

Meanwhile, inside Tony's home.

The phone rang. The caller ID showed Pepper Potts.

"Got it!"

Tony guessed Pepper had most likely succeeded and answered the phone...

"Bzzzz—"

A sharp, high-frequency sound rang out. Tony's eyes suddenly widened, veins bulging across his face...

"Tony?... Tony, are you there?"

Pepper's voice came through the phone, but Tony could not make a sound. His entire body had gone numb.

One hand supported Tony's head and slowly lowered him onto the couch.

"Relax... relax..."

Using a simple device, Obadiah temporarily paralyzed Tony's body, then ripped the Arc Reactor out of his chest.

"This is the last golden egg you'll ever lay."

Obadiah shook the reactor in his hand and turned to leave...

When Tony had been kidnapped, shrapnel had entered his chest. Although Dr. Ethan had removed the larger pieces,

fragments of shrapnel still remained inside Tony's body and could not be removed due to technical limitations.

Only the electromagnetic force emitted by the Arc Reactor could hold them firmly in place near his chest.

With the reactor ripped out, the shrapnel fragments inside Tony began to shift with every beat of his heart, causing him excruciating pain.

"Not good! I'm going to die..."

At the brink of life and death, Tony's mind raced. Using every ounce of strength in his body, he made his way to the laboratory, his gaze struggling toward the reactor he had built before—Pepper had carefully placed it inside a transparent case.

"Good thing I didn't throw it away..."

Having found a solution, Tony stretched out his hand and desperately reached forward, but he still could not grab that damned case...

Then a voice came from nearby, sounding like heavenly music to Tony.

"Oh~ Poor Tony. Need some help?"