Eve of the Riot!!!

"No, no!"

"You useless trash! Tony managed to build an Arc Reactor by hand in a cave."

"And look at you! How long has it been? How long?"

Obadiah Stane stood in the factory, furiously berating the group of researchers before him.

How long had Tony been back?

Yet these useless fools still could not make an Arc Reactor. Did he really have to spend money to buy one? Trash, all of them were trash!!!

Without that thing, his army of armored suits was nothing but a pipe dream.

Could it be that he would ultimately have to act personally and buy his own safety with money?

As Obadiah Stane frowned in thought, he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye.

That vampire had finally come!

"Haha, Mr. Obadiah, it's been a long time!"

Yu Xian approached from afar, the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"What are you doing here? Did you get it?" Obadiah Stane snapped, glaring at Yu Xian with a hateful expression. "We agreed that after the first payment arrived, you would bring the Arc Reactor to me!"

"Where is it???"

Yu Xian's smile did not change as he took a box from his coat. "Of course. Since you're an old customer, I've been nothing but dedicated. I went to great lengths to get this thing!!!"

As he spoke, Yu Xian handed over the box and opened it before Obadiah Stane.

"This is the Arc Reactor?"

Obadiah Stane stared at the Arc Reactor inside with an obsessed expression.

With this prototype, no matter the cost, he would have it recreated.

"Wait, what's inside this..."

Obadiah Stane's expression changed as he looked at the item before him.

"Arc Reactor Schematics????"

"Bingo! Correct answer, but sadly, there's no prize!"

Yu Xian looked at him with the sly smile of a little fox.

Heh, he had not spent his time in the Middle East for nothing. The Arc Reactor Schematics were another one of his gains.

Tony had no idea that Yu Xian had seen and recorded his blueprints!

With this thing, even if Obadiah Stane's researchers had pig brains, they could still build it!

He refused to believe Obadiah would not be tempted. The bait had already been cast; now it depended on whether he would bite.

"Th-this, this..."

Obadiah Stane looked at the reactor within reach, his breathing growing rapid.

With this thing, his greatest problem would be solved at once.

Obadiah Stane looked up at the calm and composed Yu Xian, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

If anyone else had put this thing before him and tried to negotiate terms,

he would have made sure they never saw tomorrow's sun. But this black-haired young man...

Thinking of the young man's S.H.I.E.L.D. identity, as well as the magic-like abilities he had displayed that day, Obadiah Stane could not help feeling weighed down.

"Th-this thing... what do you want?"

Obadiah Stane had worked with him once before and knew what kind of person he was. He did not waste time asking questions and immediately asked for his terms.

"Heh, you've finally come around!"

"Then we'll follow the old rules. But the price has to go up!"

"Ten billion dollars, plus 13% of your shares!" Yu Xian finally bared his fangs, ready for another feast. "Of course, considering how pleasantly we've worked together, I can round that down and reduce it by 3%!"

Obadiah Stane's expression changed drastically when he heard the price.

Heh, were those even human words?

What did he mean by rounding it down?

This guy had him completely pinned at his bottom line!!!

Thinking of the mere 15% shares he still held, Obadiah Stane felt a chill rise in his heart.

This guy had definitely dug up all his secrets and named a price he could never refuse.

Obadiah Stane's face turned black, then pale, and he remained silent for a long time.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, the corners of his mouth twitched and he wore a pained expression.

"Fine, deal!"

"Then, happy cooperation, Mr. Obadiah!"

[Detected host's pleasant mood. Pleasure Value +1000]

"Tony, you really are my lucky star!"

Yu Xian swirled the wineglass in his hand, and the amber liquid left faint streaks along the glass.

He was sitting on the top deck of Tony's private yacht.

In the distance, the city's neon lights complemented the starry sky, while the sea breeze brushed against his face with a faint salty tang.

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"How did I become your lucky star?"

"Thanks to you, my investments have multiplied several times over. And soon, we'll be family!"

And not just his investments. Before long, Tony would discover that the shareholders of his company had changed too!

Yu Xian took a light sip of wine, a shrewd glint flashing in his eyes.

"Every time you appear in the media and announce a new decision, I make a fortune."

Tony swirled his wineglass and glanced at him.

"Can't tell, but you're pretty good at investing."

"Hehe, it's all for survival!"

Yu Xian raised his glass.

"To you, Mr. Iron Man."

"Iron Man?"

Tony savored the words.

"Good, what a good name!"

"Yu Xian, I like that title!"

"From today onward, please call me Mr. Iron Man!"

Catalina walked over carrying a glass of juice and rolled her eyes.

"Captain, we still have a mission report due tomorrow."

"A mission report?"

Yu Xian began playing dumb.

"What mission report? How come I don't know about it?"

"The one I spent an entire week writing!"

"Oh, that one."

Yu Xian put on a look of sudden realization and waved his hand.

"I trust you. Leave these things to you!"

Catalina's eyes widened, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Can't you help at all?"

"I am helping you."

Yu Xian rubbed his fingers together as if counting money.

"I already helped you make a huge amount of money. Isn't that much more important than those documents?"

Tony burst out laughing.

"I'm liking you more and more, Agent."

Just then, Tony's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, his expression changing slightly before he chose to ignore it.

Yu Xian's sharp eyes caught the name "Obadiah" on the screen, and a faint smile curled across his lips.

Poor Obadiah. He should be working day and night on building the Arc Reactor now, right?

As for any problems caused by giving him the Arc Reactor Schematics?

What did that have to do with Yu Xian?

He was not some saint. How could he possibly worry about so much?

This world would not fall into chaos just because of a set of Arc Reactor Schematics.

Even if Obadiah became a different Obadiah because of the Arc Reactor Schematics, what did that have to do with him?

If something went wrong, should they not blame the person responsible?

Why blame him instead?

That would be a real double standard!

"What, your good butler calling you?"

Yu Xian asked casually.

"It's nothing. Company business, not important."

Tony slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Come to think of it, do you want to try my new toy? I just built a brand-new race car."

"Oh?"

Yu Xian's eyes lit up. The useless skills the system had rewarded him with could finally be put to use.

"Tony, how about a race? Whoever wins gets their bar tab covered tonight."

"You'd better think this through. I've never lost a race."

"Heh." Yu Xian set down his wineglass. "You've never seen me drive, yet you're already so sure you'll win?"

Catalina pressed a hand to her forehead. "Captain, the last time you went street racing, we nearly got caught by the traffic police!"

"That was because I let them keep up. Otherwise, they wouldn't even have seen my taillights." Yu Xian did not care in the slightest.

Tony's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Actually, we could add a little wager to make this race more interesting."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"The loser has to teach the other their proudest skill."

"If I lose, I'll teach you the principles of the Arc Reactor. If you lose, you'll teach me that ice magic."

Oh, now this was interesting!

Tony was offering to exchange techniques himself?

But Yu Xian was not interested in that stuff. After all, he already had it!

"I don't want the technology. Just custom-build me an armored suit instead. How about it?"

"Deal!" Tony agreed without hesitation.

Magic. That was not a world ordinary people could touch!

Could he have a chance to touch it too?

Yu Xian looked at Catalina's expression, which seemed to say she was ashamed to associate with him, and secretly laughed.

Heh, silly girl. Did she think he was asking for it for himself?

Was it not all for her!!!

As the captain of the team, he had truly exhausted himself!

He had drunk with people and even slept with them before finally getting Iron Man's promise to custom-build an armored suit!

And yet he had earned only his teammate's misunderstanding. Life truly was not worth living!!!

Obadiah's secret laboratory.

It was filled with exhausted engineers.

But before them, a towering body of steel stood in the center, a new reactor in its chest continuously supplying it with power.

The new reactor had finally been successfully developed!