Tony's Decision

"I'm off~" Lin Yi said as he scooped up an apple from the fruit basket and prepared to leave, then thought better of it, came back, and picked up the entire fruit basket.

Time to head home!

It wasn't that he didn't even have money for food; over the past few years, he had helped Stark quite a bit and received some compensation as well.

It was just that free fruit tasted sweeter!

Tony watched speechlessly as Lin Yi took his leave, ultimately saying nothing.

Until Lin Yi's figure vanished into the woods, he couldn't help laughing and cursing, "That little brat..."

With that curse, he sighed again, sinking into the sofa with tightly furrowed brows as his chaotic thoughts refused to untangle no matter how he tried.

The sky grew dark, and F.R.I.D.A.Y. automatically turned on the lights before Tony slowly regained his focus.

He considered the theory of time heist to have a minuscule chance of possibility, but now a living, breathing example stood right before his eyes.

After struggling inwardly for a long time, Tony finally waved his hand powerlessly, instructed F.R.I.D.A.Y. to start building the theoretical model, and then gazed through the cabin toward the direction where Lin Yi lived.

Five years ago, a snap of Thanos's fingers had taken away half of his friends and comrades.

Under the weight of multiple blows, emotionally exhausted, he had moved with Pepper to this relatively tranquil lakeside cabin.

It was right around that time that he discovered he had gained a "neighbor" in his woods.

At first, he didn't care, simply figuring that Lin Yi was another poor soul who had lost everything in that disaster; as long as he didn't affect them, staying temporarily was fine, since the woods were big enough.

Out of safety concerns, however, he still had F.R.I.D.A.Y. run an investigation.

The results, though, took Tony completely by surprise. Lin Yi seemed to have appeared out of thin air, with no past records whatsoever, as clean as if he had never existed.

Tony grew vigilant and immediately put on the Mark 85 Nanotech Armor to pay a "visit."

It was a test in name, but an eviction in reality.

Yet after a brief conversation, although this kid spoke a bit irritatingly, he genuinely didn't project any malice, and his eyes were clear.

That clarity left him dazed for a fleeting second, conjuring the young, tender face of Peter Parker in his mind.

Back then, not much time had passed since Peter Parker turned to ash in his arms. Such emotions left Tony's thoughts in disarray for a moment, and he impulsively agreed to let Lin Yi stay in the woods.

That decision was thoroughly irrational; having been through so much, Tony shouldn't have trusted anyone easily. But the words were already spoken, and he could only have F.R.I.D.A.Y. monitor that patch of woods around the clock.

Yet merely two or three years later, Tony felt immensely grateful for the irrational decision he had made back then.

Tony had regretted agreeing to let Lin Yi stay not long after. He found that Lin Yi and Peter had completely different personalities.

Peter was a youngster who, though a bit unrestrained, was still quite obedient most of the time and had potential.

While Lin Yi... was an absolute, unrestrained little brat.

He would run over to freeload meals whenever he had the chance, carry Morgan around everywhere, and while his mouth claimed that he was his idol, his eyes would always drift toward his Mark Armor and reactor.

Heh, the little brat's true colors are showing. Tony had sneered inwardly back then.

As time went on, however, amidst this noisy, banter-filled daily life, the two of them had actually become friends.

Tony no longer obsessed over Lin Yi's past. Everyone had their own secrets, and through his long superhero career, he had learned a relative degree of mutual respect.

Later on, though, Lin Yi actually had the nerve to ask him for a set of Mark Armor as payment for helping him look after Morgan!

How could he even say that? He hadn't even charged him rent! Of course Tony wouldn't just hand one over.

Hand one over—he would hand over a set of Mark Armor!

In the end, he was still "extorted" out of a set of Mark 50 Nanotech Armor by Lin Yi.

How should he put it? Aside from the set given to Rhodey due to various factors involving MJ (and of course, reasons of friendship), Lin Yi was the very first person to take a suit of armor from him.

And the reason he gifted Lin Yi a set of Mark 50 was because of that incident which had nearly driven Tony insane, as well as the event that made Tony extraordinarily thankful for the irrational decision he made back then to let Lin Yi stay.

That was a little over three years after the Snap event, and little Morgan was turning three.

The real world was not always full of light; some victims who lost loved ones in the Snap turned their endless grief into a frenzied hatred toward the Avengers.

They blamed everything on the Avengers, wantonly smearing them online and even resorting to more extreme actions.

It was an ordinary day when the Avengers Compound came under attack.

Though Tony had largely stepped back, his sense of responsibility and habit still drove him to put on his armor and head out to support them.

Just as he finished resolving the trouble at the compound, F.R.I.D.A.Y. transmitted an alarm that made his heart nearly stop—the lakeside cabin was under attack, and three unregistered Chitauri missiles were bypassing the defense network in an unknown manner, hurtling toward home.

Tony's eyes turned red instantly, his mind going completely blank.

He flew back to the cabin at absolute top speed, yet everything was already too late.

What met his eyes was only soaring flames, billowing smoke, and a patch of thoroughly devastated scorched earth.

No Pepper, no Morgan...

Just at the desperate moment when he felt the entire world collapsing and caving in, Lin Yi's figure slowly descended from the smoke-filled high altitude.

Tucked under his left armpit was Pepper, while his right hand supported little Morgan, who looked full of wonder and thought they were playing some new game...

At that exact moment, Tony felt his life, which had just completely darkened, light up once more. Enormous fortune and gratitude washed over him.

Afterward, he thought for a long time about how to thank Lin Yi.

Money? This kid had helped him out quite a bit, the digits resting in his account were already very substantial, and he didn't spend much anyway.

Besides, given their relationship and Lin Yi's actions, Tony himself felt that thanking him with money was inappropriate.

In the end, he decided to fulfill Lin Yi's initial wish—to gift him a suit of armor.

"I'll 'lend' you this set of Mark 50 for the time being, to help you... well, better familiarize yourself with and master your own superpowers, and by the way, help me collect some data..."

Well, in the adult world, some things didn't need to be spoken too clearly.

Not to mention, Lin Yi got bored of wearing this armor not long after the novelty wore off.

Although the armor was very cool, whether it was speed, strength, or destructive power, it fell far short of his sun-strengthened physique.

Up to now, aside from occasionally pulling it out to show off, most of the time the reactor housing the Mark 50 sat on the table serving as a dust-gathering decoration, prompting Tony to exclaim that it was a huge waste...

"Sigh..." Tony pulled himself out of his memories and rubbed his temples.

Time heist, departed comrades, the relatively stable life he had now... His thoughts were sorted through over and over again until Tony finally stood up, his gaze gradually growing firm.

Doing nothing was simply not his style...

Lin Yi had no idea that Tony had spent the better part of the night brainstorming after he left.

Three days flashed by in the blink of an eye. During these three days, Lin Yi soaked up the sun just like usual and occasionally accompanied little Morgan in playing childish games.

It wasn't until Tony walked over holding a bracelet, sporting dark circles under his eyes yet looking spirited and full of energy, that Lin Yi knew the plot was still unfolding according to the movie.