Three Solutions

Before Roy could say anything, Tony gave JARVIS an instruction.

"JARVIS, bring up the Mark VI demonstration."

"Right away, sir."

JARVIS's distinctly mechanical voice immediately rang out.

The next second, the table with 3D projection capabilities displayed the Mark VI.

Tony gave Roy a look and headed toward the projection table first.

Roy followed Tony to the projection table.

Although the armor was designated Mark VI, the projected armor looked exactly like the Mark 7 Roy remembered.

More precisely, it looked like the Mark 7 before its transformation.

"JARVIS, demonstrate the Mark VI's Laser-Guided Tracking Rapid Deployment System."

Tony continued.

"Yes, sir."

As soon as JARVIS spoke, the projected Mark VI began demonstrating its Laser-Guided Tracking Rapid Deployment System.

A model of Tony first appeared on the projection table.

Then, the Mark VI, which looked more like an aircraft, shot toward Tony's model like a missile.

The Mark VI's Laser-Guided Tracking System locked onto the model's arms, then unfolded the armor and completely encased the model like it was possessing him, completing the final deployment.

From locking onto the user to completing the final deployment, the entire process took less than ten seconds.

After JARVIS finished demonstrating the brand-new rapid deployment system, Tony turned to Roy and asked, "What do you think?"

Roy nodded. "Very good. Much better than the Mark 5."

Tony looked at the Mark VI projection with a satisfied expression and continued, "It should be better than the Mark 5."

"To make it easier to carry, I made a lot of lightweight modifications to the Mark 5 before compressing it into a suitcase-sized form."

"To reduce the weight, I only kept the repulsors in the hands and the unibeam in the chest for its weapons system, and its defensive capability was reduced to the point where it could only withstand small arms fire."

"The Mark VI doesn't have those concerns. It doesn't need to sacrifice performance for portability."

"Besides, I upgraded the Mark VI's weapons system, giving it far more firepower than the previous generations of armor."

"Except..."

At that, Tony did not continue. He lowered his head and glanced at the Mark II Palladium Arc Reactor in his chest.

"Except what?"

Roy asked.

"Nothing."

"All armor developed from now on will use the same deployment system as the Mark VI."

Tony replied.

After studying Tony for a moment, Roy slowly said, "Although I'm not as smart as you, I know that prolonged exposure to Palladium will inevitably cause Palladium poisoning."

Tony frowned. "How did you figure that out?"

"How I figured it out isn't important. What's important is that you find a substitute for Palladium as soon as possible."

Roy said calmly.

"Ever since I discovered the Palladium poisoning, I've been searching for a replacement."

"I've tried every combination of every element, but I still couldn't find anything that could replace Palladium."

After saying that, Tony sighed helplessly.

He was not someone who gave up easily.

But he had to admit that among all the elements known on Earth, none could replace Palladium.

Roy patted Tony on the shoulder and slowly said, "Since you helped optimize the Physical Enhancement Drug and develop the Spider Serum, I have three solutions that can solve your current problem."

Three solutions?

Tony looked at Roy in surprise and quickly said, "Tell me about them."

Roy did not keep him in suspense and explained the three solutions for Palladium poisoning.

"Solution one: find a top cardiologist and remove the shrapnel still lodged inside you."

"Without the shrapnel constantly threatening your life, you won't need to keep the Palladium Arc Reactor in your chest. Naturally, you won't continue being exposed to Palladium and worsening the symptoms of poisoning."

Tony considered it seriously before slowly asking, "What are the other two solutions?"

"Solution two: use the Physical Enhancement Drug you optimized yourself to strengthen your body."

"This solution can't address the source of the Palladium poisoning, but once your constitution improves, your body's self-healing ability and resistance will improve as well, weakening the symptoms."

"If your body is strong enough, you may even become immune to Palladium poisoning."

Roy continued.

Although this solution treated the symptoms rather than the cause, it could still resolve Tony's Palladium poisoning to a certain extent.

After a moment of silence, Tony replied, "Solution one is having surgery to remove the shrapnel, and solution two is using the Physical Enhancement Drug to become a superhuman."

"If I'm not mistaken, solution three is replacing Palladium and upgrading the reactor, right?"

Roy nodded. "That's right. Solution three is replacing Palladium."

"But I've already tried every element. There isn't an element on Earth that can replace Palladium."

Tony frowned.

"Known elements won't work, but that doesn't mean a New Element won't."

"You're smart enough. You can try synthesizing a completely new element to replace Palladium."

Roy said with a smile.

Tony's brow furrowed even deeper as he quickly said, "Do you know how difficult it is to synthesize a New Element?"

"It is difficult, but I believe you can do it."

"Oh, right. Did you know your father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s co-founders?"

Roy said to Tony.

Hearing him mention his father, Tony asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with my father?"

"Of course it has something to do with him."

"Your father had already discovered a New Element before he died."

"Unfortunately, the technology of that era couldn't support synthesizing the New Element he discovered."

"His greatest creation was always you."

"He left the key to the future for you. Go to S.H.I.E.L.D. and retrieve his belongings."

"If they refuse to give them to you, tell them I sent you."

"Once you've synthesized the New Element, don't forget to upgrade the power system of my Mark 3."

"All right, I've said everything I needed to say. Give me the optimized Physical Enhancement Drug. I'm heading back to New York."

Roy said to Tony.

Rather than doing nothing and waiting for Nick Fury to tell Tony all of this, Roy might as well do it himself.

"How do you know all this?"

Tony looked at Roy with a puzzled expression.

"I have my own channels."

"As for what those channels are, I won't say."

Roy replied.

Tony studied him for a moment but did not continue asking. He turned and gave instructions to Dummy, his robot assistant.

Dummy was his college graduation project and the first artificial intelligence robot he had created.

Although Dummy was not as intelligent as JARVIS, Dummy had far more seniority than JARVIS.

"Dummy, bring over the box containing the Physical Enhancement Drug."

After instructing Dummy, Tony said to Roy, "After optimization, this drug doesn't need to be inhaled as a mist. It can be injected directly.

"There are two doses in the box. I prepared one for you too."

"After Gwen receives the injection, she'll gain a significant enhancement."

"As for how much enhancement you'll gain after the injection, I can't say for sure. I can only say it definitely won't be much."

Roy nodded.

After receiving Tony's instruction, Dummy, which resembled a mechanical arm and was far less intelligent than JARVIS, picked up the black box containing the Physical Enhancement Drug and slowly approached him.

Taking the box Dummy handed over, Roy did not hesitate. He immediately used the Flying Thunder God, instantly vanishing from before Tony and returning to the villa in New York's Upper East Side.