A flash of white light passed through Lu Xi's hand as Divine Power condensed into a faintly glowing business card.
With a gentle flick of his hand, the card slowly drifted into the breast pocket of Tony's suit.
Lu Xi smiled and said,
"It's fine. All my deals are voluntary; I never force anyone. You can keep this card. It might come in handy someday."
The moment Pepper saw Lu Xi giving Tony a business card, she immediately became wary.
She quickly reached out, took the card, and was about to hand it back, saying firmly,
"No, he doesn't need this."
She had already sold her soul to Lu Xi. She did not want Tony to someday sell his soul in a daze because of this business card too.
Lu Xi seemed to have anticipated Pepper's reaction. He raised a hand to stop her and said seriously,
"The future is unpredictable. Since he chose to become the superhero Iron Man, he's bound to run into all kinds of trouble from now on."
"And this business card is like an extra life in a game. At a critical moment, it can give him a second chance."
After hearing Lu Xi's words, Pepper's resolute expression wavered slightly.
Which was more important, life or the soul? It was indeed a difficult choice.
Conflict showed in her eyes as she instinctively looked at Tony, as though waiting for his response.
Seeing this, Lu Xi turned to Tony, the corners of his lips rising slightly as he added more fuel to the fire.
"Besides, having your family or loved ones kidnapped and used as leverage is a standard plot in superhero stories."
"When that time comes, Tony, you wouldn't want to experience the plot of being a useless husband like in those movies, would you?"
Tony's face immediately turned green at Lu Xi's words.
He gritted his teeth, snatched the business card from Pepper's hand, and stuffed it straight into his pocket.
Trading one's soul did sound horrifying.
But he knew that if a life-or-death emergency truly arose, this thing could save either his life or the lives of those around him.
No one would refuse such a lifeline.
Lu Xi suddenly remembered that, according to the original plot, Tony should have publicly admitted that he was Iron Man after defeating Obadiah's Iron Monger.
Yet strangely, he had not seen any news about it lately.
Logically speaking, a battle on that level should have caused a huge commotion. The news should have been flooded with reports long ago.
Lu Xi could not help asking,
"By the way, what happened to that Obadiah from your company?"
Tony paused, somewhat puzzled over why Lu Xi had suddenly brought up Obadiah, but he answered honestly anyway.
"They found solid evidence that he was secretly selling weapons with a baron. He's already been arrested. Why do you ask?"
Lu Xi's heart stirred, though he maintained an unconcerned expression and said,
"Nothing. It just came to mind, so I asked."
Only then did Lu Xi realize that, after all this time, it had been his own butterfly effect.
The Baron Strucker he had ordered eliminated had caused the plot of Iron Man 1 to be speedrun on an epic scale.
Still, Lu Xi did not care much about that. If he could avoid changing the original plot, that would naturally be best, as it would give him more options for contracts.
But even if the plot changed, those alterations could not affect the bigger picture with his own overwhelming strength.
Lu Xi looked around at the wrecked villa and shook his head helplessly.
"Since the party has turned into this, I suppose it's over. It's time for me to take my leave."
After saying that, he turned around and finally noticed Helen Cho nearby.
She had been standing there, dumbstruck, ever since earlier, as though she had been frozen in place.
Only then did Lu Xi remember that he had nearly forgotten her.
Lu Xi smiled politely. "Dr. Cho, shall I see you out?"
Helen Cho finally snapped back to her senses. She paused, then hurriedly nodded. "Ah... sure."
Watching Lu Xi leave with Helen Cho, Tony finally let out a genuine sigh of relief.
Although Lu Xi had claimed that he had no intention of doing anything to them,
facing someone so terrifyingly powerful still left Tony deeply uneasy.
Tony said quietly to JARVIS,
"JARVIS, create a new file. Set it to the highest priority. Call it... Anti-Demon God Armor."
Outside the villa, Helen Cho looked curious and could not help asking,
"From what I heard you saying earlier, do you need to collect souls?"
Lu Xi considered it for a moment before answering seriously,
"Not exactly. You could think of it as recruiting high-end talent. Souls are merely one way that is manifested."
Helen Cho's eyes lit up as she hurriedly said,
"Then do I count as high-end talent? My nanobiotechnology is world-class!"
Lu Xi glanced at her soul and spoke bluntly.
"Uh... from the perspective of the soul, no."
The moment Helen Cho heard that, disappointment appeared on her face.
Lu Xi secretly found it amusing. Well, this was new. Someone was actually volunteering herself.
This world truly was a giant besieged city. Those inside wanted out, while those outside desperately wanted in.
Lu Xi looked around and asked,
"Did you drive here?"
Helen Cho shook her head.
"No. Tony sent a car to pick me up."
Lu Xi smiled.
"All right. Since I've started, I might as well see it through. I'll take you home myself."
As he spoke, he gently pulled Helen Cho into his arms, and a faint fragrance lingered beneath his nose.
Then he spread his enormous wings and shot into the sky amid a powerful gust of wind.
Helen Cho screamed at first, frightened by the sudden takeoff.
But she quickly grew excited, shouting gleefully in the air and occasionally reaching out to curiously touch Lu Xi's wings, as though she had discovered a fascinating new toy.
Following the direction Helen Cho indicated, Lu Xi flew swiftly and soon reached their destination, gently setting her down.
Helen Cho was flushed with excitement, breathing rapidly, her eyes gleaming with exhilaration.
Lu Xi smiled and said,
"All right, I'll be going then. We can keep in touch if there's a chance."
Helen Cho hurriedly said,
"Wait, would you like to come upstairs for a glass of water?"
Lu Xi could not help laughing and teased,
"Haha, don't tell me you're about to say you have a cat at home that can do backflips too."
Helen Cho's face immediately reddened. As a fellow East Asian, she had clearly heard of that classic meme.
Knowing that Lu Xi had seen through her little scheme, she could only tell the truth.
"Actually, this is my laboratory. I've always wanted to study you. If you're unwilling, I can show you around the lab first."
As she spoke, Helen Cho excitedly dragged Lu Xi into the laboratory without giving him a chance to refuse.
Lu Xi did not resist too strongly and allowed her to pull him inside with only token reluctance.
Once inside the laboratory, Helen Cho pointed at a machine that looked like a single bed. Her eyes were filled with pride as she introduced it.
"This is the Regeneration Cradle. It uses nanotechnology combined with biotechnology to rapidly repair any nonfatal wounds. It's still only a prototype, though, and there are many problems yet to be solved."
"For example, how to precisely control the arrangement of nanoparticles and ensure that regenerated tissue perfectly integrates with the original tissue."
Lu Xi nodded. At its core, the thing was like a biological version of 3D printing, except it printed human tissue.
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