Tony's Psychological Issues

When Tony woke up, something felt off.

He spent two seconds confirming that he was lying in bed, then another two confirming that he really had slept for more than eight uninterrupted hours.

The last time he had experienced that was probably before Afghanistan.

He did not get up right away. Instead, he stared at the ceiling and recalled what had happened last night... from being startled by Lu Wen's sudden appearance to being forcibly shut down.

"So rude."

He sat up and rubbed his temples. His head did not hurt as much anymore. Leaving aside the quality of his sleep, he was at least more clearheaded than he had been on any day in the past week.

He glanced down at himself. A blanket covered him, neatly arranged, even its corners folded. On the small table beside him sat a glass of warm water, with a note pinned beneath it. A crooked line of writing read, "I'm heading home. Remember to call me when the stuff's ready."

The handwriting was Lu Wen's, and he had put very little effort into it.

"What awful handwriting."

After spending a night at Tony's place, Lu Wen intended to stay a few more days, at least until Tony finished modifying his pair of Laser Wrist Blades.

The pair Hiro had made was technologically excellent, but the materials were too poor, and the blades were a little short. They needed to be at least a meter long to suit him.

Lounging on the sofa in front of the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows in Tony's house, Lu Wen enjoyed the breakfast Happy had brought back while checking the system page.

Seventy-four of his hundred gray entries had sold, each earning him ninety extra points. Adding the 120 points he had left over from before, his total had now reached 14,180.

Not bad. It really was a little faster than earning points through missions. It looked like quite a few people in the Newbie Village had relied on those one-minute gray entries to stay alive.

After some thought, Lu Wen decided to go all in again. He bought fifty of the cheapest white entries, each costing a hundred points for one minute, and threw them all into the Void Market.

Now that he had Venom, his overall capabilities had increased roughly threefold again. Before Venom recovered, Hiro had tested his strength and put his limit at roughly several dozen tons. Although that felt inaccurate! He would use that figure for now and find something more accurate to test it with when he had time.

With Venom's enhancement, based on the available data, he was pretty much a walking hundred-ton powerhouse.

Add in the watered-down Spider-Man abilities Venom gave him, and protecting himself would not be a problem in the short term.

Besides, this was Marvel. There were plenty of things he could get to make himself stronger. There was no need to fixate on those few minutes of low-level entries while this place was still a Newbie Village to him.

His goal was to save up more points and buy as many permanent entries as possible! That was the way to go.

"Kid, aren't you taking it a little too easy? Staying in my mansion, eating a first-class breakfast, and you even punched me last night. Just for that punch, tell me, should I throw you out?"

Tony suddenly appeared and sat down beside him, rattling off Lu Wen's misdeeds while helping himself to a doughnut from the plate.

First-class breakfast?

Lu Wen looked down at the classic doughnut in his hand, six for ten dollars... which Happy had picked up from a roadside shop on his way back... and gave Tony an enormous eye roll.

"At least I let you get a good night's sleep! Man, you looked like you were on drugs last night. Seriously, I think you should see a therapist."

Tony turned to look at Lu Wen, still stubbornly insisting, "A therapist? No! I don't need any therapist. There's nothing wrong with me."

With that, Tony took a vicious bite out of his doughnut, as if he were tearing into something.

Seeing him remain stubborn, Lu Wen did not waste any more words. He knew Tony had to get over this hurdle himself.

Quickly finishing the doughnut in his hand, Lu Wen stood up and straightened his rumpled clothes.

"All right, then. You're the boss, you call the shots! I'll leave all the stuff with you. Don't break it. I've had JARVIS record my requirements too, so just remember to call me when it's ready.

"If I go out, I'll leave you a message too. I won't interrupt your work. I'm heading off."

With that, Lu Wen dusted off his backside and left, leaving Tony alone in the empty living room, quietly lost in thought.

For a moment, Tony even felt a little regret, regretting that he had not asked that somewhat mouthy little bastard to stay.

It was a little too quiet here, as quiet as... the space beyond the wormhole...

"According to my scans, your heart rate variability is below the lower limit of the normal range, your stress hormone levels exceed the normal range, and your autonomic nervous system remains under a sustained high load... my overall assessment is that you may be experiencing a psychological stress response related to post-traumatic stress.

"I recommend intervention through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and reducing the hours you spend on high-intensity work. In addition, reassessing your psychological perception of the incident following its occurrence may help alleviate your symptoms."

After finishing, Baymax stood quietly in place, waiting for Tony's response.

"That kid actually left you here to annoy me." Tony snorted and stepped forward to pat Baymax's soft belly, still turning a deaf ear to Baymax's advice.

Baymax tilted his head, blinking his two little black-bean eyes as he waited for Tony's response.

But Tony still refused to accept that he needed to see a therapist and chose to ignore Baymax's advice. After pouring himself another glass of whiskey, he plunged back into the garage and started developing equipment.

Without receiving confirmation of satisfaction with his service, Baymax continued faithfully following on Tony's heels.

Although Tony's condition had not improved, having a robot squeaking along beside him and chattering away at least meant he no longer felt empty.

For the trip back to New York, Lu Wen took a passenger flight himself rather than having Happy take him.

But after leaving the airport, just as he was planning to walk home himself, a black SUV brazenly skidded to a stop in front of him with a hard brake and a fishtail.

"Hey~"

"Hey, my ass! You scared the shit out of me! Fuck off!"

Cursing, Lu Wen raised his foot and kicked the front of the SUV, sending the several-ton vehicle flipping several times on the spot before it crashed away.

The two men in black inside felt as though their brains had been thoroughly shaken into a slurry.

"You motherfuckers, do you even know the traffic rules? A red light, and you changed lanes against traffic! You own the road or something? Fuck..."

Still cursing, Lu Wen walked around the SUV and headed off, leaving the two unidentified individuals behind, their survival uncertain, along with the American drivers who were also cursing after being forced into traffic violations by its wrong-way lane change.

He had barely walked any farther when another vehicle, a black BMW, executed an incredibly flashy fishtail and stopped in front of him as he walked across a crosswalk.

This time, before anyone inside could speak, Lu Wen kicked the car flying.

By the time he was halfway home, yet another SUV appeared, brazenly braking hard right in front of him.

(╬ﾟдﾟ)╭∩╮ "Fuck!"

Lu Wen angrily raised his middle finger and kicked the vehicle into the landscaped strip before the two mysterious men in sunglasses inside could get out.

What the hell was going on today! Where had all these traffic-law-breaking lunatics come from, driving up to block his way!

His previously calm mood had been stirred into a nameless anger, and even his steps home carried a touch of fury.

"Boss, from our observations so far, the military and the government have both sent people to contact Lu. There's another party whose identity we haven't confirmed yet, but without exception, he kicked all their cars over. And he seems to be angry. Should we still make contact?"

On a street corner, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported the information to Nick Fury.

Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.~

Nick Fury considered his subordinate's report for a moment.

"Of course, but not you. Keep watching him, and report any developments."

After hanging up on the agent, Nick Fury called Black Widow, who was currently on vacation.

He felt that, considering they had fought aliens together and eaten together, Lu Wen ought to give her a somewhat warmer reception.

He really wanted to know where Lu Wen had gone after suddenly disappearing these past few days. To vanish mysteriously just after making his debut, without leaving any clues regardless of what methods they used, was simply too unpredictable.

After reaching Natasha, Nick Fury conveyed his orders quickly and concisely, even making a point of emphasizing one thing!

"He might not be in the best mood. Remember, don't drive up to him. Preferably, bring a gift and knock on his door."

"Huh? All right, understood."

Natasha hung up, thoroughly confused.