A sense of occasion

Neither of them drank any hard liquor. After all, JARVIS would finish analyzing the New Element shortly.

Tony poured Luke a glass of red wine.

"Here, try this fine wine from my collection. I haven't actually had it myself, but it cost so much that it ought to taste good."

Luke was a little speechless. "So you really do only buy the most expensive stuff, not the best?"

Tony smiled. "I only buy the best."

Still, Luke did know that you got what you paid for.

"What are you thinking of doing once you've successfully developed the New Element?" Luke suddenly asked as he watched Tony relax.

"What else would I do?" This time, Tony was stumped.

"Look, we still don't know whether the New Element can replace palladium, or whether it's radioactive. If it isn't as great as we imagined, what will you do?"

What would he do? Tony felt a little lost himself. He had tried everything on the periodic table without finding an element that could replace palladium. Finally, just as he was about to give up, his father had told him there was another element he hadn't tried.

So he had started making that element, but he really hadn't thought about whether it could replace palladium.

"You could try having the shrapnel in your chest removed," Luke suggested when he saw how lost Tony looked.

"So that's what you were thinking." Tony smiled. He had wondered what Luke was going to say.

"I asked the best doctor on Earth in this field. He said that with his skills, there was only a twenty percent chance of getting the shrapnel out before I died."

Tony smiled and drained his wine.

"Even if I gave him a set of medical tools I'd invented, though... the odds would still only be forty percent. That's too low."

Tony looked at the empty glass in his hand, loss and pain in his eyes.

He didn't want to have to replace his palladium chip every few days and have his friend help clear the toxins from his body, either.

Luke knew that, too. Tony was an extremely proud man. He had once considered himself the best in the world and had stood up countless famous or highly skilled experts in various fields. A man like that wouldn't want to cling to life with a device that would kill him, nor would he want to need a friend's help to stay alive.

But forty percent was simply too low. It wasn't even a fifty-fifty chance, and that was assuming Doctor Wang performed flawlessly.

He could just about accept entrusting his life to a friend, but entrusting it to a stranger was something he couldn't accept!

Watching Tony stare into space, Luke somewhat regretted bringing it up.

Tony would eventually resolve to have all the shrapnel in his chest removed, but not now. That would happen in the future.

By then, technology would have advanced considerably, and the surgery would have a better chance of success.

Luke drank the wine in his glass and patted Tony on the shoulder.

"All right, my fault. I'll drink a glass as penance. The chances of a successful operation really are low right now, but don't forget, human technology keeps advancing. Maybe one day we'll be able to help you get every piece out. What we need to do now is keep you alive until that day!"

Luke stood and glanced at the starry sky. If Earth didn't have what they needed, he would search the universe; if this universe didn't have it, he would search other worlds!

Tony watched Luke stand, feeling as though Luke had made some decision for his sake, and smiled.

"Hey, don't think I'm that fragile, okay? I'm Iron Man. I'm not fragile at all. Actually, the material I use to make my armor is a gold-titanium alloy, but the name Gold-Titanium Alloy Man is just..."

"Sir, analysis of the New Element is complete. The results indicate that it can perfectly replace palladium and is not radioactive. Congratulations. You will receive the Nobel Prize in Physics."

JARVIS's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Tony.

"What? JARVIS, are you sure?" Tony was overjoyed.

"Hey, Luke, did you hear that? Damn it, I'm putting the New Element in right now! No more of that damned chlorophyll juice!"

Luke smiled. "And now you don't have to worry about passing radioactive material into Pepper's body!"

"Oh, screw you!" Tony stood and ran inside.

"I forgive you, but you have to be my kid's godfather! Come on, take a couple of pictures for me! I have to keep this as a memento!"

There was no need for Luke to take pictures. Who knew how many cameras JARVIS had indoors? Still, Luke followed him and took out his camera, ready to take pictures.

When synthesizing the New Element, they had happened to use a chip identical to the reactor's as its carrier, so Tony simply installed the reaction chip in the reactor.

"Ready?" Tony asked Luke with a smile.

Luke got into position, ready to keep shooting in burst mode and capture every moment. As for the video, he would leave that to JARVIS.

"Here goes!" Tony shoved the reactor into his chest.

He felt the radiation from the palladium in his body actually being slowly absorbed by the New Element. Tony hadn't even known the element could do that. This truly was clean energy!

As his body felt better and better, Tony shouted in excitement.

Luke kept snapping pictures, shaking his head at the sight of him.

"Why are you making such exaggerated faces?" Luke called.

"You have no idea! This is incredible! I feel like a whole new man!" Tony exhaled and spoke excitedly.

"All right, don't celebrate too soon. You really can live to see technology advance now, but I don't want you dropping dead from getting too excited!"

Luke didn't know whether excessive excitement could cause sudden death, either, but seeing how excited Tony was, he decided to dampen his enthusiasm a little first.

Tony smiled and stopped paying attention to Luke. He had JARVIS bring up the analysis of the New Element and began studying it carefully.

"I'll send the photos to JARVIS first. Remember to have him send me a copy of the video." Seeing that Tony looked ready to stay up all night, Luke shook his head helplessly.

Rather than look at all those strange lines and boxes, he would sooner read the Tao Te Ching. At least he recognized the words in that.

"I'm heading home. Have fun, and don't work yourself to death."

Luke drew a circle and returned home, hearing JARVIS say behind him, "Video deleted."

Much better!

Luke, who had kept feeling that something was off, sighed in relief. He took out his phone and checked tomorrow's Hammer Industries presentation, then decided to get some proper rest. He would have another fight tomorrow.

As for going to kill Ivan now? Heaven knew how many cameras Hammer had installed around Ivan. Luke had gone over a few days earlier to see if there was an opening, but even the toilet in Ivan's room had three cameras! He had no idea how Ivan managed to take a dump under those conditions.

Luke was a little speechless. Under that kind of surveillance, he wouldn't be able to take a dump at all unless he covered the cameras.

He might as well get a good night's sleep now. As long as he made preparations ahead of time tomorrow, he refused to believe Ivan could turn things around. The moment those Iron Soldiers made any suspicious move, he would have the Shadow Legion dismantle them. They wouldn't get a single bullet off!

And so, Luke enjoyed a good night's sleep.

When he got up the next day, Luke ate breakfast and prepared to check on Tony.

To his surprise, however, Tony called him first.

"Hey, Luke, get over here! It's urgent!"

What happened? Luke was a little bewildered, but he quickly drew a circle and went to Tony's house anyway.

"So this is your emergency?" Luke could hardly believe it.

Your emergency is that Hammer is exhibiting at your expo, and you find it embarrassing?

Tony sounded displeased. "What could Hammer Industries possibly have worth showing? They made their fortune off weapons with no technological sophistication whatsoever. But the Stark Expo is a place to showcase the most advanced technology in the world! He absolutely pulled strings to get a spot in the main hall!"

Luke was a little speechless. He took out his phone and opened a news article.

"I think you might want to watch this."

He played the video in the article.

"I was wondering if you could give Hammer Industries a chance to showcase its weapons at the Stark Expo?"

"Of course."

Tony looked incredulous. "When did I say that?"

Luke thought for a moment. "Around the race in Morocco? When some idiot came after you wearing a reactor-powered suit without any armor."

Tony was speechless. "Why do I remember adding, 'As long as your technology is advanced enough'? No, I have to get Pepper to sue this news site. They're reporting fake news!"

Somewhat helplessly, Luke scrolled to the editor-in-chief.

"Remember her?" Luke showed Tony the name.

"Who's this? She's pretty good-looking." Tony studied the beautiful reporter on the screen.

"You spent a lovely night with her before. If I remember correctly, it was the night before your 'Happy Humvee' trip."

Tony seemed to remember, and his face turned livid.

Back then, he and Pepper hadn't officially become a couple, so he had been a little... Wait! He and Pepper still hadn't officially become a couple!

And so, this emergency operation shifted from suing Hammer Industries to figuring out how to make his relationship with Pepper official.

Luke was furious! "Do single guys have no rights? I even have to help you figure out how to get the girl! Just make a move already!"

But after his last birthday, Tony seemed to care more about making romance feel like an occasion, and he searched furiously online for ways to confess his feelings.

Watching a forty-year-old man like Tony look this stuff up online left Luke a little speechless, but he still tried to use his limited knowledge to help Tony make a few arrangements.