"Is that so?" Tony stroked his mustache, then nodded. "All right, I agree."
"But after that, remember: everything you do represents Stark Technology!" Tony said sternly.
Li Ang waved a hand. "Don't worry."
Since he wanted presence, he had only two paths.
The first was to slaughter his way through this world, but that would be killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Besides, he might not be able to beat everyone.
As things stood, he probably couldn't beat Captain Marvel.
The second was to become a hero, even if only on the surface.
People's faith and the recognition of other heroes would keep making him stronger.
"Don't worry. You won't be disappointed."
Soon, a squad of fully armed soldiers pushed the door open, led by Colonel Rhodes.
This Black man was one of Tony's few current friends. His appearance was the War Machine version-the one who suggested traveling back to Thanos's infancy and strangling him.
When he saw Tony, he flashed a mouthful of white teeth. "Have fun?"
Tony rolled his eyes. He had been held captive by terrorists for three months. Forget cigarettes and alcohol-he hadn't even had a decent meal.
Life as a laborer certainly couldn't compare to his previous life of indulgence.
After the two hugged, they immediately took Tony aboard a helicopter.
Once they reached the military base and transferred to a transport plane, they finally flew toward New York's airport.
On the plane, Tony stared blankly at the Mark I in the corner of the transport, thinking back to the missile that had landed in front of him.
The Stark Industries logo should have been his pride.
But when that missile had actually landed in front of him, he had finally understood the horror of war.
He had developed many offensive weapons, but not one meant for protection.
If he had to name one... there was only this suit of armor.
"Armor..." Tony murmured, his gaze vacant as he stared at the armor's eyes.
This experience had brought him crashing down from the clouds. Everyone was equal before death, and he kept feeling there was something he could do.
He remembered the female reporter who had interviewed him that day. She had said people called him the Merchant of Death...
Beside him, Li Ang opened his eyes. He had heard Tony's quiet murmuring.
Iron Man's birth stemmed from this experience. As for whether Yinsen's survival would cause any butterfly effects, that was still unknown.
Li Ang leaned back in his seat, watching Tony's unfocused eyes. It was as though his mind had gone blank.
If he hadn't known Tony's background, his current disheveled appearance and expression would have made Li Ang wonder whether he had only just recovered from something that still left him drooling.
"You seem to have something on your mind," Li Ang said, striking up a conversation.
"Hm?" Tony came back to his senses and withdrew his gaze.
He was sincerely grateful to Li Ang. If not for him, he wouldn't have had the chance to sit here thinking about these questions.
"Yeah. I remembered an interview. A female reporter asked how I felt about being called the Merchant of Death," Tony said offhandedly.
"So how did you feel?" Li Ang asked curiously.
He was very curious about what effect Yinsen's survival would have on Tony.
"We felt each other up in bed." Tony was still talking nonsense, wearing the same cynical attitude.
His mind had already returned to the earlier question.
Li Ang rolled his eyes, seeing that Tony didn't want to admit he had changed.
A proud person would never express any change in words, only in actions.
Rhodey, who seemed used to this, leaned over and asked curiously, "Li Ang, right? How did you rescue our playboy?"
He had been curious the whole way. Li Ang looked barely old enough to have just graduated. How could he be so capable?
"I just had to kill those terrorists." Li Ang's answer was that simple.
Rhodey blinked. Wow. Like I don't fucking know killing them would save Tony? The question is, how did you kill them?
"Forget it. As long as you brought this bastard back." Rhodey simply shut his mouth.
As things quieted down, Li Ang called inwardly, System?
The next second, text appeared before his eyes: [I'm here.]
I'm here? Why does that sound just like Siri and Xiao Ai?
Don't you have a voice function? Have systems gotten this half-assed now? Li Ang silently grumbled.
[You can exchange presence for various functions, such as AI assistance to help you hack networks, or voice customization. Any voice is available.]
Wow, even a teacher's?
[Yes.]
Do you know which kind of teacher I mean? Li Ang raised an eyebrow and lifted his mineral water to take a drink, doubting whether the system really understood him.
[Of course. Dictation tests, the People's Education Press edition, and private tutoring editions are all available.]
Li Ang nearly sprayed a mouthful of water into Tony's face across from him. Studying? Study my ass!
[Oh, you mean actress-teachers? Yua, Eimi, Ayaka, or Yuna?]
Li Ang raised an eyebrow. Damn, you know quite a bit. But he didn't need those things right now. With five hundred million dollars, he could afford a different one every day.
The most urgent task now was getting stronger.
Looking at it this way, the system still had more potential to develop. Perhaps it could become an aid like JARVIS.
Tony was safe now. All that remained was to wait for the press conference.
In his memory, after Tony landed, he announced the shutdown of Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing. That Iron Monger should be appearing soon, too.
He wanted to see which was stronger: a suit of steel armor or his own body of steel.
At the airport in New York, Pepper Potts had already been waiting for quite some time.
Seeing Tony safe and sound made her genuinely happy. "Let's go to the hospital first."
But Tony shook his head. "No, let's get a cheeseburger first. Then arrange a press conference for me..."
After saying that, Tony looked at Li Ang beside him. "Our Mr. Community Welfare here needs a debut event."
Only then did Pepper Potts turn her gaze to Li Ang.
This man, who looked almost too young, had rescued Tony?
She found it a little hard to believe, but Tony had said it himself. She smiled. "Thank you so much for everything you've done. Stark Industries will reward you generously."
"Of course," Tony said, then got into the car on his own.
Pepper Potts tactfully took the front passenger seat, leaving Li Ang and Tony in the back.
On the way, Happy handed Tony a phone, and JARVIS's voice sounded at the same time. "It's good to see you again, sir."
After unlocking the phone, Tony told JARVIS, "Create a new account and transfer some money into it."
Pepper Potts, sitting in front, said nothing more. Compared with Tony's life, money didn't matter.
Soon, the car arrived at the press conference venue.
Li Ang had also gotten a cheeseburger of his own. The moment he got out of the car, camera flashes fired all around him, and a crowd of reporters swarmed over.
Tony was already accustomed to this. He spotted Obadiah in the crowd at a glance.
Following the crowd into the hall, Li Ang felt someone tug his sleeve.
"Hello, I'm Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Do you have time to answer a few questions?"