Tony, Are You Afraid to Face Me?

Li Wei had grown to love dressing up 2B.

Putting together outfits however he pleased was more fun than any game.

2B's figure was flawless, without an ounce of excess fat. In heels, she stood over five foot seven, and there wasn't a single thing about her he would change.

She could make anything look good.

No wonder so many people liked watching fashion shows. Li Wei finally understood.

The only problem was that he had just one model at home...

If only he had a whole girl group!

But no matter how many outfits she tried on at home, 2B insisted on wearing her Gothic outfit whenever she went out.

It was her combat gear, clearly custom-made.

Li Wei was busy again today.

When he arrived at the company, he spotted Gwen coming in at almost the same time.

"Gwen, you're looking even prettier."

Li Wei tossed out the compliment, and Gwen blushed.

She remembered what George had said last night.

But the thought made her stomach ache.

Clearly, she hadn't recovered from yesterday's beating.

"Boss, you need to go to Dr. Otto's lab later."

"I know. Make me some coffee first."

Li Wei answered.

He had gotten used to having a cup of coffee made by Gwen whenever he arrived at the office.

Without it, something felt off.

And Gwen had to bring it to him herself, too.

Gwen, of course, saw nothing wrong with that.

She quickly made his coffee, then quietly left the office.

Before stepping out, though, she glanced at 2B. She had switched to glasses and looked rather... studious?

Li Wei took a sip of coffee and immediately asked Red Queen,

"Is Tony Stark back yet?"

"Not yet."

Red Queen appeared beside Li Wei. "He had dinner with a Hollywood actress last night."

That made Li Wei furious.

He was working his ass off on research while that bastard Tony Stark was out chasing women in Hollywood!

How was that fair?

Li Wei checked his Reputation Points. They were coming in more and more slowly.

It wasn't fair. Not even close!

Osborn Group and Future Technology had issued a joint statement yesterday announcing their partnership.

But it had drawn almost no attention. Hardly anyone cared.

All they wanted was juicy gossip!

"Red Queen, call Tony Stark for me."

Red Queen obliged.

On the other side of the country, JARVIS tried to block her, only to get steamrolled.

JARVIS: I feel so helpless.

Tony Stark was still asleep. It was earlier in Los Angeles than in New York...

Red Queen cranked up the volume until she finally woke him.

"Aaaah!"

The Hollywood actress sleeping beside Tony let out a war cry.

Tony jolted awake too. "What's going on? JARVIS!"

"It's Red Queen, sir. Evidently, Mr. Li Wei wishes to speak with you!"

JARVIS promptly shifted the blame.

Tony Stark woke up in a foul mood. "Has he lost his mind? Shit!"

But now that he was awake, he was curious what Li Wei wanted.

So he turned to the actress beside him. "Hey, can you leave?"

"Me?"

The actress stared at him, dumbfounded, and pointed at herself. Were rich men all this heartless?

And... Li Wei?

Weren't those two supposed to be on bad terms? Why was he calling so early in the morning?

"Yes. It's my room. Did you expect me to leave?"

Tony Stark spoke with all the detachment of a man whose passion had been spent.

Well, of course he had. He was completely drained!

That made it easy to talk tough!

Furious, the actress silently cursed him for a scumbag, gathered up her clothes, and headed for the living room.

Only then did Tony Stark pick up his phone and answer.

The moment the call connected, Li Wei tore into him. "Tony Stark, you lazy bastard!"

"What? You lunatic!"

Tony Stark wasn't used to being insulted, and he fired back at once.

"What's wrong? Come to New York and face me!"

Li Wei goaded him. "Are you afraid to face me? Is that why you ran off to Los Angeles? Apologize to me in front of the press, and I'll leave you alone from now on!"

That might not have worked on anyone else, but Tony Stark took the bait.

On Li Wei's virtual screen, Tony Stark's face visibly flushed.

"Bullshit!"

"JARVIS, tell the crew to get ready. We're going back to New York right now!"

Tony Stark shouted, "You think I'm afraid of you? I just have orders to fill. Do you have any? Ha! The military doesn't even know who you are!"

"Oh!"

Li Wei let out a brief "oh," then hung up as soon as he'd gotten what he wanted.

"Shit!"

Tony Stark wanted to keep mocking him, but Li Wei had denied him the chance. With no one left to argue with, he smashed his phone.

"That prick!"

If someone else had mocked him—an idiot like Justin Hammer, say—he would have brushed it off.

But when Li Wei did it, he saw red.

Because Li Wei actually knew his shit!

He hurried out of bed, still worked up and looking for a way to blow off steam.

"Sir, she's already left."

"Shit!"

"Otto, you're going to test it yourself?"

In the lab, Li Wei looked nervously at Dr. Otto, who was sitting in the experimental chair.

Four mechanical arms lay on the floor beside Otto, each several meters long.

"It'll be fine. Red Queen has already calculated the outcome."

Dr. Otto smiled.

"You don't have to rush."

Li Wei spoke up.

"But we don't have any test subjects. We can't just conduct human experiments without their consent, can we?"

Dr. Otto continued, "Besides... I can't wait any longer."

Li Wei couldn't talk him out of it. In truth, he understood how Otto felt.

Building something and then being unable to test it was agonizing.

So Li Wei and the others stepped back.

Still, they weren't too worried. This test used a noninvasive Brain-Computer Interface.

It required no surgery. They only had to attach it to Otto's head, where electrodes on the scalp would pick up signals.

It was the lowest-risk option.

There were also semi-invasive, invasive, and endovascular Brain-Computer Interfaces, but those all required surgery to implant the device in the brain!

Once Dr. Otto was ready, he pressed the patch-like noninvasive Brain-Computer Interface against his scalp.

Hum!

As soon as he attached it, the Brain-Computer Interface began receiving signals and lighting up.

"It feels wonderful!"

Dr. Otto broke into a smile.

He got off the experimental bed. The four mechanical arms attached to his back began whipping around like octopus tentacles, without the slightest hint of coordination.

That was what made it so remarkable.

Dr. Otto could now control all four arms at will, making each one do something different.

His commands reached them quickly, too—within a second.

While Dr. Otto was celebrating, Red Queen appeared beside Li Wei.

"Master, there's a problem."

"What is it?"

Li Wei's expression turned grave.

Red Queen said calmly, "There's a tiny AI in the chip controlling Dr. Otto's mechanical arms."

"It tried to control Dr. Otto and infiltrate me."

Li Wei drew a sharp breath.

He immediately asked, "And then?"

"I destroyed it."