Pepper Potts's service
With Tony and Pepper Potts respectfully accompanying him, Li Qi took an initial tour of the imposing, enormous villa.
During the tour, Tony told Pepper Potts that he had already given almost his entire fortune to the Dominator. As a newly inducted follower, Pepper Potts naturally showed no surprise.
The assets were estimated to be worth over a hundred billion dollars in total, an astronomical sum.
After a brief walk around the villa, Li Qi felt that, although it was incomparably luxurious, its functional layout and surroundings made it unsuitable as an ideal base for designing and manufacturing the Iron Man Armor.
Under Li Qi's mind control, Tony immediately suggested respectfully, "Dominator, I have another villa with panoramic views in Malibu, California. It sits on a seaside mountain, and I think it should suit your needs very well."
A trace of approval flashed through Li Qi's eyes at this. He promptly gave Tony a decisive order. "Immediately remodel that villa to my specifications. Be quick about it, and make no mistakes."
Upon receiving his orders, the puppet Tony dared not delay for even a moment. He left New York immediately and rushed to Malibu, California. Meanwhile, Li Qi leisurely returned to the luxurious master bedroom with Pepper Potts.
He gently pushed open the door, revealing a spacious, sunlit room.
Just then, the voice of the artificial intelligence JARVIS came clearly from a concealed spot in the wall. It sounded slightly mechanical, yet a special setting lent it a touch of warmth.
Tony had reconfigured all of JARVIS's functions. Now JARVIS regarded Li Qi as its absolute master, and its synthesized voice naturally carried profound respect.
It respectfully said to Li Qi, "Esteemed master, your bath has been carefully prepared. The water is at a comfortable temperature, with a pleasant fragrance. The kitchen is also working hard to prepare your welcoming luncheon."
Following the voice, Li Qi looked toward the bathroom to one side and saw a steaming bathtub filled with comfortably warm bathwater.
Seeing these thoughtful arrangements, Li Qi nodded in satisfaction and told JARVIS, "Well done, JARVIS. Now convey my first important order since taking office to the company: immediately dismiss Vice President and General Manager Obadiah Stane from his posts, and launch a comprehensive, in-depth internal investigation into him at once."
In Li Qi's mind, Obadiah Stane was undoubtedly the foremost obstacle to his current development. Thus, after taking over as chairman of Stark Industries, he had begun purging him without hesitation.
As the saying went, "When Heshen fell, Jiaqing ate his fill." Although Obadiah Stane's personal assets were nowhere near as vast as Tony Stark's, they still amounted to nearly thirty or forty billion.
Li Qi decided to act against him first. If he failed to recognize the situation and refused to submit, Li Qi would not mind using tougher, more decisive methods to clear the obstacles from his path.
After clearly repeating the president's orders in its slightly humanlike voice, the artificial intelligence JARVIS stopped the relevant voice interaction at just the right moment, like an attendant well versed in discretion.
As an advanced artificial intelligence program, it also seemed to "understand" that it should no longer remain "present." It therefore took the initiative to disable all audio and video functions in the luxurious bedroom, leaving its master some privacy.
Li Qi slowly turned around, his gaze settling on Pepper Potts. The blonde woman was tall and shapely, her exquisitely tailored business suit perfectly outlining her curves.
At that moment, she held her head slightly lowered, her face filled with deep respect for Li Qi.
Li Qi knew that his main targets were female superheroes with superpowers or special physiques. For now, however, Pepper Potts's intelligence and competence would allow her to help him handle various complicated affairs.
Li Qi leisurely entered the bathroom with Pepper Potts. He began preparing to bathe, while Pepper Potts acted like a well-trained personal maid, and they bathed together.
After the two emerged from the bathroom, Li Qi strolled over to the soft, comfortable bed. Opposite it was an enormous floor-to-ceiling window. Although it overlooked most of this wealthy neighborhood, the villa was situated within urban New York, and the terrain was not particularly elevated, so the view was ultimately not expansive enough.
Li Qi knew that once he reached the top floor of Stark Tower tomorrow, he would be able to take in almost a third of Manhattan.
It was an iconic New York building, rising more than ninety stories above ground. Only by looking out from the top of Stark Tower could one appreciate the city's unparalleled grandeur and prosperity. That would be the ultimate visual experience.
The sunlight was intense just then, its dazzling rays streaming straight through the window. Li Qi frowned slightly and said softly to Pepper Potts, "Pepper, lower the outer blackout shade over the floor-to-ceiling window."
Since the artificial intelligence JARVIS was not providing real-time service in this room, it had to be adjusted manually.
At his words, Pepper Potts walked gracefully to the window and gently pressed a button. As the shade slowly descended, the room immediately darkened, and the light grew much softer.
Li Qi lay comfortably on the bed with Pepper Potts, and the follower served the Dominator for the first time.
After a while, Li Qi turned to Pepper Potts and said softly, "Pepper, go get ready. Let's head to the dining room together."
At that moment, the kitchen in the main building's dining area was busily preparing a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast of Chinese dishes. Before leaving, Tony had specifically and solemnly instructed the head of the kitchen to prepare it with care as a welcoming feast for Li Qi.
Meanwhile, Happy was driving Tony toward Malibu, California, at breakneck speed.
Before long, Li Qi and Pepper Potts arrived at the dining room hand in hand.
Twelve servants in matching uniforms brought the dishes of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast to the table one after another in an orderly procession, like well-trained dancers.
Pepper Potts stood quietly to one side, her posture elegant, ready to serve Li Qi at any moment.
Li Qi glanced at Pepper Potts with a smile and motioned for her to join him at the table, indicating that she need not be so reserved. Pepper Potts nodded obediently and sat down.