Stark Returns

"Welcome back, Master Leon. It's been a long time."

The moment Leon returned home, JARVIS's voice immediately rang out.

JARVIS was an artificial intelligence created by Tony, with The Source of its name being the Stark family's old butler, Edwin Jarvis.

"It has been half a year, JARVIS."

Leon headed toward his bedroom.

When he had entered space half a year ago,

considering that he would spend most of his time asleep, and that the spacecraft had been built in a hurry,

the manned spacecraft had not been equipped with a JARVIS subprogram.

Now that he heard JARVIS's voice again, Leon was suddenly overcome by the relaxed feeling of being home.

"JARVIS, I have good news. I rescued Tony from the terrorist organization."

"Is Pepper at the company right now? Sorry for the trouble, but tell her not to worry anymore."

Leon gave JARVIS instructions in his room while taking off his pants and stepping into the shower.

He had not taken a proper water shower in half a year. The cleaning procedures aboard the spacecraft had been truly indescribable.

"Master Leon, Miss Pepper received news of Young Master's rescue ten minutes ago and is currently waiting at the airport," JARVIS replied.

"That fast? I didn't expect that garrison base to be so efficient." Leon muttered.

"As long as Pepper knows, it's fine. She must have worried herself sick these past few months."

"Tony only has himself to blame for never being more careful. I warned him so many times, yet he never took it seriously."

"Well, there we have it. If I calculated correctly, I had barely gone into space when he went off to Afghanistan to serve himself up on a platter."

"I told him Obadiah was watching him like a hawk, but he wouldn't believe me."

"Still, Obadiah really was formidable. He seized the perfect moment to strike. The second he saw Tony and me were separated, he decisively went for the kill."

JARVIS quietly listened to Leon's complaints.

Leon had not said these mildly reproachful words in front of Tony.

After all, Tony had suffered enough for his arrogance this time. He did not need Leon adding fuel to the fire with a few more criticisms.

Someone who had just escaped danger needed their family's banter more to dispel the lingering shadows in their mind.

"Master Leon, did you just say that Obadiah planned the attack on Mr. Stark?"

JARVIS suddenly interjected. "Would you like me to relay this to Mr. Stark and remind him to be careful?"

"No need. I already told him."

"When he gets back, we'll deal with Obadiah's problem."

Leon lathered his hair with shampoo. "Also, JARVIS, why do you always call Tony Young Master or Mr. Stark? Shouldn't I be Young Master? Besides, I'm a Stark too. Tony is so old that calling him Old Master would make more sense."

"My apologies, Master Leon. I had served Mr. Stark since before the 1990s."

"Before you came to this family, I was accustomed to calling Mr. Stark Young Master."

"If you wish, I can change how I address him next time."

"That won't be necessary. Just keep calling me what you do now." Leon began rinsing off the foam.

He felt that JARVIS had probably already developed human emotions. Otherwise, how could he have something like habits?

Perhaps Leon could help JARVIS evolve into a true intelligent lifeform in the future.

Rather than being killed by Tony's "son," Ultron, like in the movies.

Leon quickly finished rinsing off and changed into a fitted gray outfit.

He dried his hair with a towel as he walked out of the room.

"JARVIS, prepare some food for me. I'm feeling a little hungry."

Leon entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It was completely empty.

"Aha, exactly as expected. JARVIS, order some takeout for me."

It was already morning in Los Angeles.

The entire city had just awakened from sleep and begun its day.

Leon's takeout was quickly delivered to the mansion.

He eagerly sat down at the dining table and began eating.

After spending half a year eating bread and nutrient solution in space, his mouth had been tasteless for so long birds could nest in it.

Tasting the deliciousness of fats and carbohydrates again, he could not stop himself from eating for two whole hours.

"JARVIS, order me a cheeseburger. No, order ten!"

"JARVIS, order ten pizzas, one of every flavor. Wait, make that three of the highest-calorie cheese flavor!"

"JARVIS, order five servings of roast chicken from a Chinese restaurant..."

One meal lasted until noon.

Full and satisfied, Leon patted his perfectly flat stomach and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."

"No wonder Tony likes cheeseburgers. Food packed with calories really does make people feel so happy."

Leon sighed with emotion.

He suddenly felt that, for him, perhaps the greatest benefit of a body of steel was that he could eat as much as he wanted without getting fat.

No matter how many calories or how much fat he ate, it could only become nourishment to make his body stronger.

This was practically a blessing from heaven for a Chinese soul that loved good food.

Taking a bite of the last cheeseburger, Leon felt so satisfied that he seemed able to understand the solemn, sacred atmosphere of Pietà.

"JARVIS, show me my unanswered communications from the past half year," Leon said.

"Yes, Master Leon."

A string of message windows popped up on the tablet in front of Leon.

JARVIS summarized them in an orderly manner. "You currently have 1,634 unread messages on WeChat and 807 emails."

"Messages from your high school classmates account for 74 percent, females account for 89 percent, and messages with sexually suggestive content account for 93 percent..."

Leon was speechless. "These people really have been blinded by money. Even men sent me that kind of message? Fine, fine, ignore emails from people I'm not familiar with."

"Yes, Master Leon. You currently have no unread messages."

Leon clapped his hands. "Perfect! JARVIS, now tell me about the company's development over the past half year. Oh, right, the companies under my name."

When Tony developed smartphones two years ago,

Leon had also used the resources at hand to establish an internet company—Stark Network.

After all, the American internet industry at the beginning of the twenty-first century was still on the rise.

Moreover, the internet bubble had only burst a few years ago, and the field had not yet been claimed by other major capital.

Since such huge, undiscovered pieces of cake were sitting there waiting to be divided up,

why could he not be the one to eat them?

With the resources of Stark Industries,

Leon had brought many internet applications that would not exist until twenty years later to market within a year.

He founded WeChat and Twitter, acquired Amazon and YouTube... he had not even spared P Station, getting ahead of those Canadians to create it and register the company first.

Stark Network now had over two hundred million users worldwide.

Leon had slept in space for half a year, yet the company's market value had quietly doubled.

However, his disappearance some time ago, along with Tony's disappearance, had caused the soaring stock price to crash by nearly half again.

After listening to JARVIS's report, Leon clicked his tongue. "The stock price fell by half in a month... but how is it still higher than when I left?"

"This really is a nice surprise. Old Joe is the company president now, right? Tell him he did a great job and give him three days off to rest."

"Yes, Master Leon. I will notify Mr. Joe Bush immediately."

After responding, JARVIS suggested, "However, I believe that rather than time off, Mr. Joe Bush might prefer for you to approve his request to add an external Home button to smartphones."

Leon was speechless. "Oh my God, he's still obsessed with that pointless feature, like drawing legs on a snake!"

"Tony has already developed ultra-thin, full-touchscreen phones. The next step is projection phones and display glasses. Why is Old Joe still clinging to that retro obsession of his?"

"JARVIS, tell him to bury his obsession in the dirt, then get some proper rest for a few days. Tell him not to be so old-fashioned like the Susan next door!"

"Yes, Master Leon," JARVIS replied. "However, there does not appear to be a lady named Susan living next door."

"That was a metaphor, JARVIS. A figure of speech," Leon stressed.

"I understand..." JARVIS's voice paused, accompanied by a faint electric crackle, as though he were taking notes.

Holding the tablet, Leon said, "By the way, JARVIS, Tony should return to Los Angeles around four or five this afternoon. There's still plenty of time, so play Superman for me."

"Certainly. Now playing the 1979 film Superman. So you, like Mrs. Susan, also enjoy nostalgic films." JARVIS immediately put his lesson to use.

"Who's Susan... Oh, you learn quickly." Leon's mouth twitched.

The afternoon arrived.

After Tony returned to Los Angeles,

he first exchanged a deeply affectionate look with Pepper.

Then he immediately detoured to buy two cheeseburgers.

After that, he headed back to Stark Industries to hold a press conference.

After Leon had emphasized it to him repeatedly, Tony had developed deep suspicions toward Obadiah.

So when Obadiah appeared, warmly embraced him, and politely asked for a hamburger,

Tony decisively refused.

"Sorry, I only have this burger in my hand. I can't share it with you." As Tony spoke, he pulled another burger from his pocket.

Meanwhile, Leon watched the live broadcast at home.

KNKV Television Station broadcast the event live on both the internet and television.

Tony Stark had been rescued from Afghanistan. This was major news that could shake all of Los Angeles.

The moment the news broke, it shot to the top of Twitter's global trending list, drawing tens of millions of people into the livestream.

At the same time, Stark Industries' stock price climbed all the way back up.

It had plunged off a cliff before, and now it soared skyward just as sharply.

All because Tony Stark had returned alive.

It was as though his name alone was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Every shareholder was excited. This was practically a guaranteed chance to get in on the action!

Until Tony crouched in front of the podium in the livestream and said a whole bunch of things about how meatheads were beneath contempt.

Then he stood up, walked behind the podium, and declared with utmost solemnity,

"I hereby announce that, from this moment onward, Stark Industries' weapons division will be permanently shut down!"

Tony was deadly serious. "I need to seriously consider this company's future... and let this corporation create greater benefits for the world!"

Boom!

Everyone at the scene and every viewer in the livestream erupted at that moment!

The venue became a chaotic uproar. Every reporter tried to shove a microphone in front of Tony's mouth, asking what sort of shock had driven him to make such a decision.

The livestream chat was filled with every kind of comment imaginable.

Some could not believe it, while others mocked the capitalist for finally growing a conscience.

But even more were shareholders who had just bought stock, flooding the chat with curses.

"Tony really is decisive. He didn't leave himself any room to ease into it. Now the company's market value is going to fall again."

Leon lay on the sofa and raised the milk in his hand toward Tony on the television. "But that's his style."

"Master Leon, did you seem to know Tony would do this all along?" JARVIS asked.

"Of course. This is something I wanted him to do two years ago."

Leon turned over and sat up, casually grabbing a piece of fruit from the table and stuffing it into his mouth.

"He'll be back soon. I need to get ready."

"Oh, right. Has the Mark armor been cleaned up? You can give Tony a surprise, JARVIS." Leon pushed open the door and headed down the stairs.

JARVIS responded, "As you arranged, the armor has been repaired at the robotic arm control station. You may take Mr. Stark there once he returns."