45. Chapter 45: Money Powers Are So Invincible! Seeking Recommendations and Collections

When Rimuru arrived at Tony Stark's villa on the Malibu coast of California, she couldn't help but gasp.

A villa in New York had just been blown up, and now there was an even better one, facing the sea, with spring blossoms in bloom... Damn rich bastard!

But when she thought of how this villa was about to be blown up, Rimuru immediately felt much better.

The thought made her want to laugh.

Tony Stark's luck really rivaled that of the Suzuki Conglomerate in Conan.

In Dimensional Sniper, the Suzuki Tower, built at a cost of 40 billion yen, collapsed; in The Sunflowers of Inferno, the painstakingly constructed high-end exhibition hall was blown up; in The Darkest Nightmare, the entire amusement park was destroyed...

Conan fans had already summed up the pattern: any grand, high-end building funded by the Suzuki Conglomerate and heavily introduced at the start would, one hundred percent, be blown up.

And what about Tony Stark?

In Iron Man 1, his New York villa was blown up and the R&D Center was destroyed; in Iron Man 2, the Stark Expo grounds were blown up; in Avengers 1, the newly completed Stark Tower was blown up; in Iron Man 3, his California villa was blown up; in Avengers 4, the rebuilt Avengers Base was blown up again...

Could this be considered some kind of fated connection with explosions?

After she had only been sitting for a short while, Pepper, with her graceful figure and high heels, walked over.

"Pepper, you've gotten prettier again!"

"You really know how to sweet-talk people. I've been staying up late lately, and my skin's gotten so bad I barely dare let anyone see me!"

Although Pepper said that, she couldn't suppress the smile on her face and looked utterly delighted.

Rimuru wasn't falling for that. If she actually dared say Pepper's skin had gotten worse, she would definitely gain nothing and get herself blacklisted instead.

Heh, women!

The clever and quick-witted Rimuru had already seen through everything!

It had to be said that Pepper was indeed someone with exceptionally high emotional intelligence and was very good at conversation.

Once she got talking, she guided the conversation the whole time, chatting enthusiastically with Rimuru. Both of them were having a wonderful time.

"Rimuru? What a rare guest!"

When Tony Stark emerged from the laboratory with messy hair, he immediately lit up at the sight of Rimuru.

He had just finished calibrating Mark IV, and Rimuru had come right to his door. It seemed even heaven couldn't wait for him to win back some face from Rimuru!

Tony Stark was exceedingly confident in Mark IV. Its speed, armor, and weaponry had all been designed with great ingenuity.

Compared to Mark III, calling its performance a complete transformation would not have been an exaggeration in the slightest.

"Rimuru, my Mark IV is finished. What about your Feng Shen? Let's pick a time and have another match. What do you say?"

"No."

Rimuru refused without the slightest hesitation, clean and decisive.

Huh?

Tony Stark was a little dumbfounded. Wasn't that rejection way too quick? Had something gone wrong here?

What happened to your pride as a man?

"Don't tell me you're scared?" Tony Stark provoked her.

Rimuru remained completely unruffled. "Mark lost to Feng Shen, and Tony wrote a huge 'I concede.'"

Tony Stark: "..."

"Being strong only lasts for one version. My Mark has already been developed to the fourth generation. What about your Feng Shen? Don't tell me it's still Feng Shen One?"

"Mark lost to Feng Shen, and Tony wrote a huge 'I concede.'"

Tony Stark's face instantly turned black as charcoal. If he put on an eyepatch, he could cosplay Nick Fury without any problem.

Tony Stark looked down at her and challenged, "If you've got the guts, let's have another match. I guarantee I'll beat your Feng Shen until it's crawling around looking for its teeth!"

Rimuru said, "Mark lost to Feng Shen, and Tony wrote a huge 'I concede.'"

Tony Stark lost it.

It was just one loss! Did she really have to keep bringing it up? Was that fun?

Tony Stark's eyes reddened. "One match. Just one more match!"

Rimuru said, "You're begging me?"

Tony Stark gritted his teeth. "Yes. Consider it me begging you!"

Rimuru said, "Mark lost to Feng Shen, and Tony wrote a huge 'I concede.' Even if you beg me, it's useless!"

Tony lost it.

I, Tony Stark, the richest man in the world, Iron Man, a superhero—what should I do when I've never wanted to beat someone up this badly?

Pfft!

Seeing Rimuru and Tony butting heads, Pepper couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Rimuru and Tony both looked over at the same time, but Pepper still couldn't hold it in, her face full of amusement.

"Rimuru, Tony, you have no idea—your argument just now was absolutely hilarious. You were just like a father and daughter. Your personalities are practically identical!"

Rimuru and Tony Stark pointed at each other and retorted in unison, "I'm like his/her daughter? What kind of international joke is that?"

Rimuru said, "Sister Pepper, how could a greasy old man like Tony possibly have a child as cute and outstanding as me?"

Tony Stark said, "Pepper, you've always been my capable assistant, but this time, you've misjudged things. I, Tony Stark, the greatest genius in human history, could never possibly produce a brat with such terrible taste as Rimuru!"

"Greasy old man, are you talking about me?"

"The greatest genius in human history? Sister Pepper, come help me! I can't hold Einstein's coffin lid down anymore!"

Watching Rimuru and Tony tear each other down and stab each other in the back, Pepper found it more and more amusing, laughing so hard that she shook like a flower in the wind.

Honestly, Tony was just like an old child, completely led into a ditch by Rimuru.

Still, it was truly amazing. Outsiders would probably never imagine that the mighty Iron Man could be angered like this by Rimuru—and yet there was nothing he could do about her...

"Tony, why is the energy-saving lamp in your chest gone? It looked terrible. How about finding another doctor to put it back in?"

What did she mean, put the energy-saving lamp back in? Listen to that—was that even something a human would say?

Palladium was poisonous! He had nearly thrown up from drinking chlorophyll juice, okay?!

You little bastard, you just wanted to see him make a fool of himself, didn't you?!

Tony Stark's chest rose and fell violently as fury flared within him. He wanted nothing more than to throw an iron gauntlet straight at Rimuru's face.

You little bastard, draw your sword!

After calming himself down, Tony finally said, "Tell me, what will it take for you to agree to compete with me again?"

Rimuru said, "Feng Shen is a weapon for the battlefield. It kills enemies, not for competitions!"

Tony Stark said, "I'll cover the materials for Feng Shen Two!"

Huh?

Rimuru's eyes suddenly lit up, turning into dollar signs: "$".

What did you say? Say that again?

Seeing Rimuru's expression, Tony Stark deeply regretted it. "I'm such an idiot, really"!

It wasn't that Rimuru didn't want to compete. It was that she was too broke to afford the materials for Feng Shen Two.

He should have realized it long ago!

Rimuru righteously declared, "Feng Shen is a weapon for the battlefield..."

Before Rimuru could finish, Tony spoke again. "I'll cover the materials for Feng Shen Three too!"

Gulp!

Rimuru swallowed, and in an instant, Tony Stark seemed incomparably tall to her, gleaming all over.

The power of money was so powerful—so dazzling!

PS: Thanks to classmate "Smooth Sailing" for the 100 book coin donation. Arigato. Please keep supporting with votes. Thank you, everyone. Muah!