An Unexpected Visit

After finishing the suits for Harry and Peter one after another, Peter, Harry, and Gwen turned their attention to Lin Hai. Of everyone fighting on the front lines, only Lin Hai still lacked a proper suit.

But Lin Hai had no plans to make one for now. First, there were no materials capable of properly conducting the Life Force within his body.

Second, many current technologies were still immature. A suit made with present-day technology would not noticeably improve his strength.

If an Iron Man from the future suddenly appeared before him and insisted on giving him an intelligent steel suit, he would definitely accept Tony's gift at lightning speed.

There was also an idea they had discussed before: using rapidly grown high-strength plants to cover the body.

Lin Hai himself already possessed regenerative abilities. This ability had evolved tremendously after he first absorbed the flower bud's energy. As long as an injury was not fatal, even a penetrating wound could heal in a short time.

Combined with the defensive plant armor grown over his body, there were practically no enemies they could currently encounter who could truly grievously injure Lin Hai—unless the gangs fighting in the streets someday stopped using rifles and submachine guns and started using RPGs and Gatling guns.

But Peter still felt that having a suit would look cooler. "If the three of us act together and you're the only one without a suit, it'll seem kind of weird, right? My OCD simply cannot accept that."

Harry adjusted the Nova Armor without raising his head. "Maybe because even together, the two of us can't beat him while wearing suits?"

Gwen pulled up a set of data. "According to last week's combat assessment, Lin Hai can indeed take on both of you at once without a suit."

Lin Hai was sitting in the corner, channeling Life Force into a Diamond Fruit sapling. He looked up at that. "And you all know what my abilities can do."

"Like this." Lin Hai reached into his waist pouch and took out two seeds. Under the catalysis and guidance of Life Force, the plant tissue growing from the seeds intertwined across his body, forming an emerald-green suit of plant armor.

"Ironwall Fruit, version after version after version. It can basically provide full-body protection." He knocked on the chest plate, producing a dull thud. "This thing can at least withstand submachine-gun fire, and to me, it weighs about as much as an autumn jacket."

Peter's eyes widened. "Isn't that already a ready-made suit?!"

"The difference is that it can become part of my body, rather than merely external equipment." Lin Hai waved his hand, and the armor began changing shape again.

Lin Hai looked at everyone. "Everyone has their own way of fighting. What suits you is the best."

Seeing that Lin Hai had his own ideas—and that those ideas were perfectly reasonable and enough to convince all three of them—Peter and the others let him do as he pleased.

The days that followed remained peaceful yet fulfilling. However, now that Peter had become Spider-Man, he needed to spend some of his training time being everyone's "friendly neighborhood" hero. Harry also had to set aside part of his experiment time to undergo physical and martial arts training with Lin Hai. He soon learned what it meant to be "beaten so badly by Lin Hai that you question your life." During the first few days, he had even needed the Osborn butler to send people to carry him home.

But before long, a ripple disturbed that calm.

One Saturday, after Lin Hai finished Vanessa Fisk's scheduled medical checkup and returned from Fisk Tower to the clinic, he found a clearly modified black luxury sedan parked outside.

Lin Hai was somewhat puzzled. Logically, with Mr. Kingpin's protection, gang members should not be coming to harass him at the clinic. So who had come?

Still wondering, Lin Hai pushed open the clinic door. He immediately saw a beautiful, mature blonde businesswoman, as well as a burly man in a suit standing beside her who was obviously a bodyguard.

Upon seeing Lin Hai, the beautiful woman looked toward Master Chen Bing, who was explaining how to maintain good health under intense work pressure, and said, "Then this must be the young Doctor Lin Vanessa mentioned?"

Chen Bing nodded, while Lin Hai politely asked, "Hello. Did Ms. Vanessa refer you here? May I ask who you are?"

The blonde beauty replied, "Yes. Ms. Vanessa and I are good friends. My name is Pepper Potts, from Stark Industries. You can call me Pepper."

Only after learning more did Lin Hai realize that Pepper—Tony Stark's capable assistant, secretary, girlfriend, and wife—was a close friend of Vanessa, Kingpin's wife.

They had met at a gathering some time ago. Pepper noticed that Vanessa looked much healthier and could even attend such events, so she asked about it. Vanessa did not keep anything from her and told Pepper some things about Lin Hai.

Vanessa told her that young Doctor Lin was not only exceptional himself, but also had a master with superb medical skills. At this point, Vanessa became rather mysterious. "And young Doctor Lin has some special abilities. He can cultivate special plants that purify the air, clear the mind, improve concentration, and ease mental fatigue."

She also suggested that Pepper visit if she had time and buy some special plants to take back. Vanessa knew exactly how clever Lin Hai was, having spoken with Kingpin as an equal, and trusted that Lin Hai would make the right choice.

Lin Hai understood immediately. He also knew this was a rare opportunity to build a closer relationship with Tony Stark. Master Chen Bing said nothing more; Lin Hai could handle this sort of matter himself. He trusted that Lin Hai would not reveal his abilities to just anyone.

So, after a warm conversation, Lin Hai brought Pepper to the medicinal plant shop next door and introduced her to several potted plants suitable for her or Tony Stark.

At this time, Tony was still merely a playboy, more than six years away from becoming Iron Man. Yet even before becoming Iron Man, Tony was still a workaholic beneath that playboy identity, so he needed plants that could help him focus or refresh his mind.

There was Mint, which refreshed the mind; Lemon Balm, which had effects similar to Mint but carried a hint of sweetness; pothos, which purified the air; and more.

Inside the medicinal plant shop, Pepper's fingers lightly brushed over a Mint plant with crystalline leaves.

"Vanessa said you could cultivate 'interesting plants.' I thought she was just being dramatic." When she withdrew her hand, she found a cool sensation lingering on her fingertips.

Lin Hai took a white porcelain flowerpot from the bottom shelf of the display rack. Inside was a plant resembling lily of the valley, though its petals were translucent blue-green. "This is called Serenity Orchid. Compared to Mint, Lemon Balm, and pothos, its greatest difference is that it produces beautiful flowers. While purifying the air, it also releases mild calming compounds that are completely harmless to the body. It would be quite suitable for your office, Ms. Pepper."

Pepper suddenly chuckled. "Vanessa wasn't wrong. You really are..." She made a magician's gesture of pulling a dove from thin air.

"I just understand plant traits and have done fairly extensive research into plants." Lin Hai pretended not to understand the implication.

He then brought over another potted plant. "This is called Lemon Balm. It can refresh the mind, but it is much gentler than caffeine and its effects are much stronger. It also carries a faint honey-like sweetness.

If necessary, you can pluck off a leaf, crush it, and hold it beneath your nose. It can greatly invigorate the mind. But you should note that it only refreshes you; it cannot replace rest. If you buy it as a gift for Mr. Tony, you should make that clear to him."

After introducing several plants suitable for Pepper, Lin Hai turned and took down the price list hanging on the wall. This was the special price list prepared for wealthy people. Anyone would cry out at the sky-high price of each plant, but Lin Hai understood that such a small amount of money could bring these rich people an extraordinary experience. They would only be happy to pay.

After politely seeing off Ms. Pepper, who had bought two special plants, Lin Hai could not help sighing inwardly. When luck comes, nothing can stop it. I was originally planning to wait for my special plants to become more well-known among high society and see whether they might attract Tony's attention. Who would have thought Vanessa would bring Pepper to me before that happened?

Life's encounters were sometimes like this: flowers carefully planted refused to bloom, while willows planted by chance grew into shade. There was no need for too much sentimentality. That was simply normal.

"Master, what if a playboy in a metal suit comes here in the future to challenge us?" Lin Hai asked Chen Bing, who was sorting medicinal herbs.

Without looking up, Chen Bing said, "Tai Chi emphasizes overcoming hardness with softness." With a flick of his hand, he drove three silver needles into a wooden training dummy five meters away. "But not a single necessary acupoint can be left unpierced."

Lin Hai laughed speechlessly. Indeed, there would be plenty of chances to use needles on Tony in the future. If he dared come looking for trouble, Lin Hai would make sure to needle every acupoint on his body that could be needled, then take a photo and write on the back: Tony Stark—you have the body of a porcupine.