Stark Mansion Was Especially Lively Today

"Of course, but if it were him, he'd definitely say—"

Leon drew out his voice. "Pepper, I have plenty of habits, but nostalgia isn't one of them. So take this thing and deal with it. Smash it or burn it, whatever you want."

"Pfft~" Leon's imitation was so spot-on that Pepper couldn't help laughing out loud.

She looked at the Arc Reactor in her hands, unable to get enough of it.

"That really is something he would say." Pepper beamed. "So where is he now?"

Leon shrugged. "He's sleeping. He'd been doing research through the night for the past few days, so I knocked him out."

"He hadn't slept for days? Oh my God, Leon, you did the right thing. Is he in his bedroom now?"

"Of course. Go check on him."

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Pepper nodded repeatedly and hurried out of the laboratory with light, brisk steps.

Before leaving, she did not forget to look back. "Leon, you too. Make sure you get some proper rest, okay?"

"Got it, got it!" Leon flashed a wide smile. "Once I finish cleaning up these little things, I'll get some rest too."

Pepper gave him an approving look. "That's the best!"

Watching Pepper disappear into the corridor, Leon let out a soft breath.

"Phew... solved!"

JARVIS spoke up. "Master Leon, was that really appropriate? Mr. Stark did not..."

"What's the big deal? Even without me, Tony would definitely have given that Arc Reactor to Pepper to handle, and he would have said something pretty similar to what I imitated."

Leon was completely unconcerned. "Run a simulation yourself. Isn't that the outcome?"

JARVIS paused for several seconds. "Bzz... Based on Mr. Stark's past behavioral patterns, the simulated result has an eighty-three percent similarity."

"See? I merely made the process sound nicer."

Leon spread his hands. "In terms of the result, Pepper got happiness, Tony got bliss, and I got free time. A win-win-win!"

JARVIS immediately said, "Mr. Stark will certainly be grateful once he learns of this."

Leon raised a brow. "He'd better be! All right, no one's disturbing me now. Time to officially start making the armor!"

When Tony woke up again, the world seemed to have become somewhat strange.

Pepper had become incredibly gentle.

JARVIS kept asking him how he was feeling today.

As for Leon, that scheming brat would not even let him into the laboratory!

That was his own laboratory!

Hmph. With the way Leon was being so secretive, maybe he had failed to build the armor and was afraid of losing face, which was why he refused to reveal anything!

After discovering that he had slept for an entire day, Tony could not help making that malicious guess.

"Excellent!" Tony stormed into the underground garage and began assembling his own armor.

"Even if I can't enter the laboratory, I'll still crush Leon in the competition two days from now, then pour a cup of heated cola down his throat!"

"Now, Dum-E, go push the rack over here! And then U..."

After waiting for a while, Tony realized something was wrong. "Dum-E? Dum-E, where are you? And U?"

He searched around before discovering that none of his robotic arms were there.

"I can't believe this! Leon didn't even leave me one arm—they've all taken his side!" Tony was beside himself.

In the end, Tony still ran back to the laboratory and reclaimed his little assistants from Leon.

After all, he did not have super strength. To assemble armor, he had to rely on machinery.

Two days later.

It was another rare sunny day.

The west coast of Los Angeles.

Sunlight reflected off the sea, blending with the waves, every crest a prism.

From Stark Mansion, the sea stretched for thousands of miles, glittering in the light.

Sailboats and cruise ships traveled across the water, creating an exceptionally tranquil view.

Yet even that tranquility could not lessen the tension within Stark Mansion today by even a fraction.

In the cool-toned underground garage, sunlight slanted in through the entrance, dividing the hundred-square-meter space into two halves of darkness and light.

Leon walked in from outside. Under the sunlight, the tips of his hair seemed almost translucent, wreathed in a faint golden glow.

Tony sat at the far end of the garage. Suiting the occasion, he wore a fedora with a long brim that hid his face.

"I'm here," Leon said coldly.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." Tony's eyes remained hidden beneath the brim. "You're destined to lose. You shouldn't have come."

As Tony finished speaking, a burst of stirring, piercing music suddenly rang out and echoed through the garage, as if someone might pull out a gun and start shooting at any moment.

"WTF!?" Tony was startled—he actually jumped out of his chair.

Perhaps feeling that he had lost his momentum and conceded the first round.

Tony tore off his hat and threw it onto the table, demanding in exasperation.

"JARVIS, what the hell is this music?"

"Mr. Stark, this is 'Extreme Ways,' which Master Leon instructed me to play in advance. It was an insert song from the film The Bourne Identity a few years ago."

Tony was utterly speechless. "Leon, we're competing with armor today, not having a gunfight. Are you planning to pull out a gun and kill me when you can't beat me later?"

"What are you talking about, Tony?" Leon looked completely puzzled. "I'm using tense, exciting music to tell you that you'll lose today's competition!"

"Really? If talking big could make someone a winner, then those underground rappers in the United States would be kings of the world!" Tony said pointedly.

Leon remained unmoved. "You're talking big before even showing your armor. So who's the one feeling guilty here?"

"Then show me what exactly you managed to build in these two days!" Tony deliberately looked around.

"But aside from you, there's nothing here. Could it be that you actually couldn't build armor at all and are just stubbornly refusing to admit defeat?"

Tony spread his hands. "Leon! Don't be like this. As your older brother, I've always taught you to be honest. If there's something you can't do, apologize, and I can still forgive you."

"Heh, no need to rush. You'll see it soon enough." Leon smiled.

"Why not now?" Tony lifted his chin.

Leon pointed at Tony and gestured. "Because according to international convention, ladies first."

Tony's face darkened. "Kid, I don't recall teaching you that you could speak to a gentleman like that."

"Really?" Leon crossed his arms. "Then which old man was it who told me 'ladies first' on the day of my graduation ceremony, right before I was about to go onstage and give my speech?"

"That was nearly a year ago!" Tony pinched the bridge of his nose.

"But you taught a young gentleman how he should speak to another gentleman." Leon did not change his posture.

"All right, all right, it was my fault. But you can't say things like that again in the future. It's very rude." Tony was unusually serious.

Leon nodded. "Of course not. I'd only ever say that to you."

Tony simply turned around, no longer bothering to trade barbs with the little bastard.