Two weeks later, Tony Stark's birthday party was held on the top floor of Stark Tower.
Tony was in excellent spirits tonight. Ever since the reactor in his chest had its formula changed, the toxin levels in his blood had dropped below the safe threshold, and Tony had completely relaxed. He was now walking down the spiral staircase hand-in-hand with Pepper, a signature smile on his lips. Pepper wore a simple dark blue evening gown, with minimal jewelry, except for a ring on her ring finger. Although the two hadn't said anything publicly, Lin Xiao noticed immediately. Their relationship was progressing faster than he'd imagined. He gave Tony a thumbs-up from the crowd, to which Tony rolled his eyes in return.
Lin Xiao brought his whole family tonight. May was on his left arm, Betty on his right, Gwen Stacy and Peter were whispering to each other, Natasha leaned against the bar with a glass of champagne, her gaze slowly following Lin Xiao's back. Kara was at the back of the group, dressed in a dark gray suit, her face stern, her lips pressed into a thin line. She hadn't wanted to come today, but Lin Xiao had persuaded her with the promise of broadening her horizons, even suggesting she wear a red evening gown. She had argued with him about it all day, and finally Lin Xiao Lin Xiao: she didn't have to wear it, on the condition that she take care of recording the guest list for the entire evening. Kara agreed and was now quietly taking notes on her tablet in a corner, occasionally glancing up at the back of Lin Xiao's head.
Rhodey James Rhodes arrived in a military transport plane. As he entered the hall, Tony greeted him, and the two hugged. Rhodey ' gaze passed over Tony's shoulder and landed on Lin Xiao, who was stuffing a small cake into his mouth. His expression changed.
"Is it him?" Rhodey asked Tony in a low voice.
"Right."
"So it was you and Tony who conspired to screw me over and make me the legal representative?" Rhodey strode over, stood in front of Lin Xiao, sized up the big guy, and then extended his hand. Lin Xiao swallowed his cake and extended his hand as well. Their hands clasped together, Rhodey ' knuckles cracking, but his expression remained unchanged.
"You're with the military," Rhodey said. " S.H.I.E.L.D.. is practically part of the military. When you betrayed me, didn't you ever think you'd ever see me again?"
"I've thought about it." Lin Xiao withdrew his hand, his expression serious. "So today we've prepared an apology."
He tilted his head and looked at Tony. Tony walked away from Pepper, waved to the two of them, and gestured for them to follow him. The three of them walked through the crowd, entered the elevator, and went down to the underground laboratory. The moment the lights came on, Rhodey stopped in his tracks. It was a brand new suit of armor, with a silver-gray main color, and the shoulders and legs were heavily armored. Instead of Tony's circular Arc Reactor on the chest, there was a rectangular energy core, with a set of thrusters on each side. A multi-barreled machine gun was mounted on the right arm, and a folding shield was integrated into the left arm. The whole suit of armor didn't look as streamlined as Tony's Mark Series; it was thicker and more imposing.
" Mark II." Tony leaned against the control panel, tracing a finger in the air. A holographic projection displayed the suit's detailed parameters. "Here you go. This should make up for what I did to you last time."
Rhodey remained silent for a while. He walked over and touched the breastplate of his armor; the metal surface was cool and smooth, faintly reflecting his blurry image. He turned around and looked at Lin Xiao. Then he looked at Tony, his expression slowly relaxing from its initial seriousness, and looked at the two of them with a helpless expression.
"So you two, you're going to slap me and then give me a treat, huh?"
The two nodded at the same time. Rhodey took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. Then he laughed. The laugh wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of resignation, like, "Fine, I'm on this pirate ship now."
"Okay, but next time something like this happens, let me know first. Don't let the general interrogate me for ages on the phone without me even knowing what I signed."
"No problem." Lin Xiao extended his hand and shook hands with Rhodey again. Tony walked over, looking at Lin Xiao and Rhodey, a smile curving his lips.
"Alright, now you're both mine. Do you need me to explain the rules for superhero members?" Lin Xiao patted their shoulders, his tone as if announcing an undeniable fact. Rhodey glanced at him, then turned to Tony and asked, "Has he always been this shameless?" Tony thought for a moment and replied seriously, "This is already one of the times he's starting to have some self-respect."
When the three returned to the banquet hall, Tony officially announced that Rhodey had joined the Superhero Team, codenamed War Machine. Applause rang out in the hall, and Rhodey stood next to Tony, his expression much more relaxed than when he arrived.
The banquet was in its latter half, and the atmosphere was just right. Tony was strolling hand-in-hand with Pepper in the center of the dance floor, while Rhodey was in a corner discussing the armor's firepower configuration with Yinsen. Yinsen listened with a smile, occasionally offering a suggestion about the medical module. Betty and May sat together, very close together. May was showing Betty photos of Peter a child on her phone, and Betty laughed as she scrolled through them. Natasha was still leaning against the bar, her champagne glass already being replaced three times, her gaze still following Lin Xiao. Kara sat on a sofa in the corner, her tablet on her lap. She was finally no longer glaring at Lin Xiao, because Lin Xiao had just brought her a plate of fruit, specifically choosing strawberries, which she loved. Coulson, representing S.H.I.E.L.D.., was also there, standing by the door with a half-finished glass of orange juice, discussing the budget with a logistics manager from S.H.I.E.L.D.. The banquet hall was filled with laughter, music, and the clinking of glasses—lively but not noisy.
Just then, the door was pushed open with a "bang," and a group of uninvited guests walked in. Leading them was Justin Hammer, who was impeccably dressed in a suit, his shoes were shiny, his hair was slicked back with gel, and his smile looked like it had been practiced eight hundred times in front of the mirror. Justin Hammer hadn't received an invitation, but he still entered Stark Tower, and no one stopped him. Today was Tony Stark's birthday party, and half of New York's celebrities were there. It wouldn't look good for anyone if word got out that the CEO of Hammer Industries was arguing with security guards at the door.
Tony noticed the commotion at the door, stopped dancing, whispered something to Pepper, and then walked towards the door. Lin Xiao was already standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, looking at Justin Hammer with a calm expression.
"Mr. Justin Hammer, it seems you weren't given an invitation today." Tony walked over, stood next to Lin Xiao, crossed his arms, and wore his signature smile.
"I'm here to celebrate a friend's birthday, no invitation needed." Justin Hammer's answer was impeccable. He beckoned to his assistant behind him, who handed him a bottle of red wine. It was an old vintage, the label entirely in French: " Bordeaux, '82, from my private cellar. Happy birthday, Tony."
Tony glanced at the bottle of wine but didn't take it. Happy walked over, took the wine, and placed it on the table next to him without even saying thank you. Justin Hammer's smile froze for a moment, then quickly returned. His gaze shifted from Tony, sweeping over the guests in the banquet hall, finally settling on Lin Xiao. His gaze lingered on Lin Xiao for two seconds, scanning him from head to toe, before a very subtle, contemptuous curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Is this the guy who beat Vanko? He doesn't look like much." His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for those around him to hear.
Lin Xiao didn't speak. He leaned against the wall, tilted his head, looked at Justin Hammer for about three seconds, and then laughed. Tony laughed too. The two of them stood in front of Justin Hammer, laughing so hard their shoulders were shaking, making the surrounding guests look at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on.
Justin Hammer frowned. He didn't like this laughter. There was no aggression in it, but it always made him more uncomfortable than any attack. "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing, I just remembered something happy."
Justin Hammer frowned and looked at Tony.
"Then what are you laughing at?"
Tony stopped smiling and replied.
"I also remembered some happy things; so many people came to celebrate my birthday today."
Just as Justin Hammer frowned, Lin Xiao patted Tony on the shoulder, turned and walked towards the bar, "You guys chat, I'm going to get a drink."
Justin Hammer watched Lin Xiao's figure disappear into the crowd, remained silent for a moment, then turned back to Tony. He straightened his tie, cleared his throat, took a printed press release from his suit pocket, and handed it to Tony.
"Since everyone is here, I'd like to take this opportunity to announce something." His voice rose a half-octave, drawing the attention of guests at several nearby tables. " Hammer Industries will be holding a new product launch next month, where we will showcase a brand-new military drone formation. This will be the first public demonstration in human history of a large-scale automated weapon system led by a private company. I would call this launch the beginning of a new era."
A moment of silence fell over the banquet hall. Several military representatives exchanged glances, while a few guests who appeared to be reporters began typing rapidly on their phones. Justin Hammer watched the reactions around him with satisfaction, and was about to continue speaking when a sudden, abrupt noise came from a corner. The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet hall. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and found that it originated from a high stool in the corner of the bar. Lin Xiao was sitting there, holding a glass of brandy, his shoulders shrugging, clearly trying to suppress a laugh. Natasha rolled her eyes and patted him on the back, the force neither too light nor too heavy, as if in a warning, yet also as indulgent.
Justin Hammer stared at Lin Xiao for several seconds without saying a word. He put away the press release, turned, and walked towards the door. As he passed the bar, he paused, turned his head, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Your name is Lin Xiao, right? I'll remember you."
Lin Xiao looked up, took a sip of water, raised his cup to him, and said casually, "Take care. There's free coffee in the lobby downstairs. Hammer Industries ' budget probably isn't enough to treat someone to freshly brewed coffee, so have a couple more cups before you go."
Justin Hammer didn't turn around. The group walked towards the elevator door in a grand procession. The door slowly closed, and his expressionless face was reflected on the golden elevator panel.
After the door closed, Lin Xiao stood up from the bar stool and walked towards Tony. Tony was standing on the balcony, holding a glass of whiskey, looking at the New York night view outside the window. Lin Xiao walked over to him and leaned against the railing as well. The two stood side by side for a while, neither of them speaking. After about ten seconds, Tony moved first. He handed the whiskey to Lin Xiao Lin Xiao, who took it, took a sip, and then handed it back to Tony.
"How long do you think those mechs he built can fly?" Tony asked.
"Two minutes, hurry up. After the cooling module was downgraded, the engine overload time is even shorter than I predicted."
"Two minutes? It starts smoking after two minutes of flight, and then parts start falling from the sky like crazy. And he still has to hold a new product launch, and he's going to have global media broadcast it live." Tony leaned against the railing, looking up at the night sky, his tone tinged with undisguised schadenfreude. "This new era has been a bit too short."
"Shorter is better. Shorter means we can finish work earlier and go home for a late-night snack." Lin Xiao handed the cup back to him, turned around, leaned against the railing, and looked at the still lively atmosphere in the banquet hall. "By the way, are you planning to have Peter and Gwen Stacy lead the charge? They've been working well together lately. George Daisy personally wrote a thank-you letter for the arms dealers they took down in Brooklyn last time."
"Okay." Tony nodded. " Ned will handle intelligence from the rear, Rhodey will provide fire support, and you'll cheer them on from behind."
"We discussed this division of labor last time; you forgot to include yourself."
"I'll provide fire support from the sky," Tony said with an air of righteous indignation.
Lin Xiao was amused:
"You little rascal, you've got a good plan, aren't you? You're the one getting all the credit."
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Just then, Coulson walked over. When he saw Lin Xiao and Tony, he was slightly taken aback, not expecting Tony to be drinking here. He walked up to Tony Lin Xiao Lin Xiao, nodded slightly as a greeting, and then leaned against the fence to admire the night view.
Seeing Coulson's serious expression, Lin Xiao asked casually, "Boss, what's wrong? You seemed distracted the whole time. Is something the matter?"
Coulson glanced at Lin Xiao, then at Tony, Tony wisely turned and left.
" Director Fury's orders: go to New Mexico next month. There's a defector we need to deal with."
"A defector agent?" Lin Xiao asked, frowning.
"The details are unclear; it's top secret. Director Fury only sent me alone."
" New Mexico." Lin Xiao chewed on those three words, then slowly and very restrainedly curled up the corners of his mouth. "When?"
"The third of next month. What's wrong?"
Lin Xiao didn't answer immediately. He shifted his gaze from Coulson's face to the ongoing commotion in the banquet hall. Peter, noticing Silk on his sleeve, was chasing Gwen Stacy around the hall. Betty and May were still on their phones, laughing heartily. Kara sat in a corner, having finished her strawberries, engrossed in writing something on her tablet. Natasha leaned against the bar, glanced in his direction, and then raised her champagne glass. Lin Xiao nodded to her, turned back, and put his hands in his pockets.
"It's nothing," Lin Xiao said casually. "It's very windy and dusty in New Mexico, remember to bring a few extra dust masks. Boss, can I come along?"
Coulson looked at him for a few seconds, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Okay, I'll ask Director Fury for you."