Coming to Collect a Debt

Su Ming left the U.S. military base in high spirits, escorted by soldiers driving a Hummer.

Watching the soldiers avoid him as if they were seeing off a plague god, then floor it and vanish in a cloud of dust the moment he got out, Su Ming laughed.

His laughter woke Alisha beside him.

Accompanying Su Ming on his trip to Brazil had dealt a powerful blow to Alisha's worldview.

Not to mention witnessing that green giant, capable of destroying the world.

Her boss's dealings with the military had never been hidden from her, either.

Two hundred million! OMG!

She couldn't help recalling how she had once stopped her boss over two thousand dollars.

"How did you dare do that... Alisha?!"

Her body shuddered involuntarily. Fortunately, her boss had shown mercy back then. Otherwise...

She had also watched those military people draw blood from her boss. Their sharp needles had seemed to turn into noodles against his skin, unable to pierce what looked like soft flesh at all.

"Boss seemed even stronger than before..."

Recalling how she had once kicked Su Ming's arm clean off, Alisha fell into deep thought.

That was also why she had become increasingly well-behaved around Su Ming lately.

Su Ming's suffocating strength gave Alisha the feeling of looking up at an insurmountable mountain, along with a faint sense of distance.

Did she still have the nerve to tease her boss like before?

Alisha seriously doubted it.

"Let's go~"

Su Ming's cheerful voice sounded beside her, snapping Alisha back to her senses.

"Boss will take you around Washington..."

Hearing Su Ming's warm tone and recalling how well he had treated her, Alisha broke into a broad smile.

"Strong or not, Boss is still Boss! Mine... ^_^"

Washington, Triskelion.

[Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division]

This time, Su Ming had contacted Nick Fury in advance, avoiding the awkward scene from last time when he had barged into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and triggered an extreme response from the agents.

Nick Fury looked at the calm-faced Su Ming with a complicated expression and let out a heavy sigh.

General Ross had called him not long ago.

Although Ross had informed him that Su Ming had successfully completed the military's commission, he stubbornly refused to transfer the research funds they had agreed upon.

He had also stated that S.H.I.E.L.D. would no longer be needed as an intermediary between the military and Su Ming.

"The money's already been spent, so naturally the middleman gets kicked out. I'll contact him myself from now on! Hmph~"

General Ross thought his move was perfectly standard.

It completely ruined Nick Fury's plan to make a profit in the middle.

"So I'm the only one who not only handed over Stark's relics, but got nothing in return?"

In truth, it wasn't just old Nick who got nothing. Even General Ross, who never let a feather pass without plucking it, came away empty-handed and lost two hundred million in the process.

Looking at the conflicted Nick Fury, Su Ming smiled.

"Director Fury, it's time to fulfill your promise..."

Nick Fury could only wave helplessly and have his subordinates retrieve all of Howard Stark's relics from storage and hand them over to Su Ming.

When he saw the suitcase beside him, whose color and style looked somewhat familiar, Su Ming knew that as the leader of an organization, Nick Fury would not fail to keep his word.

Thinking of something, he reminded him.

"The promise seemed to include more than just this, didn't it...?"

"Um..."

Remembering how he had confidently promised a hundred million in commission, Nick Fury put on a pained expression.

"Why isn't General Ross playing by the rules?"

Although the higher-ups had invested considerable funding in his department, it was not a massive entity like the military that could casually produce one or two hundred million.

Fury's plan had fallen through, but he wasn't the type to dwell on things. He knew Su Ming's strength all too well, and he absolutely could not make an enemy of such a man for his entire department over a momentary mistake.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "The money will arrive as promised!"

Downstairs, Alisha dragged the suitcase and felt her heart growing stronger by the second.

Once again, she had witnessed her boss casually extort... no, collect over a hundred million dollars with just a few words.

When she had previously watched Su Ming effortlessly earn two hundred million, she would have gone, "OMG!..."

But now, seeing a major figure promise to transfer one hundred million dollars to Su Ming, all she wanted to say was, "Oh, only a hundred million..."

It wasn't that Alisha was greedy for money or hoping Su Ming would give her a share.

Su Ming had always treated her generously, and her salary was more than enough for her spending.

Just this feeling of seeing the world was enough to thrill Alisha. Her eyes shone as she looked at Su Ming, eagerly anticipating where her boss would take her to make another haul.

Su Ming glanced at the gradually darkening sky and casually said, "Alisha, grab the things. Let's get a room..."

"Ah?..."

Hearing Su Ming's words, Alisha's face immediately flushed red. Her eyes turned watery, and she didn't dare look at him.

A faint expectation rose in her heart.

"Boss... has finally made up his mind?"

Tony Stark had been rather exhausted lately.

He had just finished a battle of wits with the military's upper ranks.

The military leadership had held a hearing demanding that he hand over the Iron Armor and its related technology, claiming it would better protect the public.

But the clever Tony refused to play along, stating that it would take the country at least another twenty years to master the technology.

In the end, he directly retorted, "I am Iron Man. The armor and I are one. Handing over the Iron Armor means handing over myself."

As if he didn't know what those politicians were plotting. Tony knew perfectly well that he could not simply hand over the armor technology that had repeatedly helped him out of danger.

Tony thought of the man who had developed a reactor similar to his own. That man had attacked him at the racetrack with a devastating Electric Whip, only to be defeated by Tony's new armor.

"I need to get to the bottom of this."

He went to the prison, curious to know why the other man had attacked him.

After listening to Ivan Vanko's account, Tony finally learned of the feud between their fathers' generation.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Tony kindly reminded Ivan how to improve his reactor before leaving.

In truth, this was Tony, as a descendant of the Stark family, showing off that his research ability was superior.

By evening, the toxin level in Tony's blood had reached a terrifying eighty-nine percent.

Seeing that there was no cure left, Tony simply decided to let himself go completely.

He threw a party, because he felt that it might be his last one.

"Yes! Let's just have fun~~"

At the party, Tony not only danced wildly in his armor, but also showed everyone how to use the bathroom inside it.

To liven up the atmosphere, Tony even fired repulsor blasts for entertainment.

But Pepper and Rhodey, who did not know about Tony's poisoning, were both furious at the sight.

Rhodey simply put on the Mark II and tried to stop Tony's reckless behavior.

Yet Tony had no intention of stopping this final celebration.

The two started fighting, battling all the way from downstairs to upstairs. It looked as though they were demolishing the house, and the Bay Villa in California was reduced to an unfinished shell in no time.

The farce finally ended when their palm lasers collided head-on.

Furious, Rhodey left Tony slumped on the ground and flew to the Air Force base by himself, deciding to modify the armor.

They brought in Justin Hammer to upgrade the armor's weapons...

The next day, Tony was planning to fly around in his armor. He only had a few days left to live anyway, so why not enjoy himself to the fullest?

Wearing his armor and holding a box of fried chicken, Tony had just fixed his gaze on a huge donut nearby, planning to lie in its hole and enjoy his food.

JARVIS suddenly notified him that Su Ming was calling.

"Hey~ Tony! You're not dead yet, are you?"

Su Ming's hearty voice rang inside the armor's helmet.

What an annoying guy!

Tony snorted dismissively.

"Obviously not. I'm having a wonderful time...

What can I do for you, Mr. Silver Duke?"

"Remember what I told you before? About helping you deal with the poisoning..."

Tony still didn't believe Su Ming had any way to help him, until he heard what Su Ming said next.

"Your father—Howard Stark's relics are with me. I'm sure there's something here that you want.

The price is negotiable..."

Tony jolted awake, and the fried chicken in his hand fell to the ground.

His eyes, which had already seen through life and death, instantly erupted with the desire to survive.