The two brothers wordlessly pushed away the beauties beside them and headed toward Yinsen's corner, one on either side.
When they reached the table, Luca snatched the orange juice from Yinsen's hand and casually poured it into the sea beside them.
"Hey! That was my juice!"
Startled, Yinsen stared helplessly at the two imposing brothers.
Tony pulled out a chair and sat down across from Yinsen.
He waved over a bartender and had him bring two bottles of tequila.
"Listen, Yinsen."
Tony folded his hands on the table, his gaze serious.
"You saved Luca's life and mine. In that cave, you were a great doctor. But!"
Tony slammed his hand on the table.
"Here! On this great night! What you're doing right now pains me deeply!"
Yinsen swallowed and nervously adjusted his glasses.
"I... what did I do? I'm just not used to... uh... occasions where people wear so little. I usually work in a lab."
Luca walked behind Yinsen, placed both hands on his shoulders, and leaned down to speak into his ear.
"Yinsen, look around. You're on the most luxurious yacht in Los Angeles. Every girl here is a beauty ordinary people couldn't even dream of seeing."
Luca pointed at the models swaying their slender waists on the dance floor.
"Do you know that if God saw you sitting in a place like this drinking orange juice, he'd strike you dead with a bolt of lightning?!"
"You saved two billionaires. Right now, you're the man most entitled to enjoy everything this world has to offer. If you can't even pick up a bikini model, how will you ever have the nerve to say you know Tony Stark and Luca Stark?"
Yinsen froze.
Is... is that right?!
Is that really how it works?!
"But... I... I really don't know how to approach women. And I'm not exactly young anymore..." Yinsen was still putting up one last struggle.
"So what if you're older? It means you have the charm of a mature man!" Tony shot back.
"Look at me. I'm not young anymore either, but I'm still the dream man of the entire United States."
"All right, enough talk."
Luca gave Yinsen no chance to refuse.
He picked up a glass filled to the brim with liquor and shoved it into Yinsen's hand.
"Drink it! Then stick out your chest like a real man!"
Hemmed in and egged on by the brothers from both sides, Yinsen seemed persuaded.
He looked at the liquor in his hand and took a deep breath.
Then he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.
The liquor flowed down his throat into his stomach, burning like a ball of fire.
Yinsen's face instantly turned bright red.
"Excellent!" Tony snapped his fingers in satisfaction.
He turned and beckoned to a voluptuous beauty in a red bikini a short distance away.
The beauty immediately walked over with a seductive sway.
"Mr. Stark, did you call me?" Her voice was irresistibly sultry.
Tony pointed at the red-faced Yinsen and said with a perfectly straight face,
"This is Dr. Yinsen. My most honored guest, and one of the smartest biologists in the world."
"He's feeling a little bored right now. It's your job to show him how wonderful a night in Los Angeles can be. If he doesn't enjoy himself tonight, I'll fire your boss."
The beauty immediately understood.
She walked over to Yinsen, settled naturally into his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck, her breath warm against his ear.
"Doctor~ you look so strong. Would you tell me about biology?"
Yinsen was stiff as a board, his hands hovering in midair, with no idea where to put them.
He didn't dare look down, and his face was as red as a ripe tomato.
"I... I... all... all right."
Yinsen stammered, letting the beauty coax him onto the dance floor.
At the sight of Yinsen's awkward, comical appearance, Luca and Tony finally burst out laughing.
"Now this is what a Stark party should look like."
Luca clapped his hands in satisfaction, picked up a glass from the table, and took a large gulp.
Tony also picked up a drink and leaned against the yacht's railing, letting the sea breeze blow through his hair.
After a few seconds of silence, he turned his head and suddenly sighed.
"To be honest, Luca."
Tony's tone grew somewhat serious and a little weary.
"I didn't actually want to come to this damn party tonight."
Luca turned around and leaned back against the railing, the smile on his face fading somewhat.
"I know."
"You must be thinking about how to get back to the lab and develop the armor as soon as possible, right?"
"Since you knew, why did you insist on dragging me here?" Tony pursed his lips and pointed at the noisy crowd around them.
"We've wasted an entire evening here... all right, enjoying life."
Luca smiled.
"Tony, that's why I brought you here. It's obvious you haven't watched enough Hollywood spy movies."
He leaned a little closer and began to lay it out.
"Think about it. We just barely escaped with our lives. The rats hiding in the shadows must be panicking like ants on a hot pan right now. They're bound to make a move."
"Besides, we played our first card at the press conference today. We openly declared war and said we'd investigate the mole thoroughly. What's that called? Stirring the grass to scare the snake."
Luca took a sip of his drink, a knowing smile on his face.
"So, if we're putting on an act, we have to see it through."
"If we'd come back and shut ourselves away in the villa without setting foot outside, do you think our enemies in the shadows would dare make a move? They'd just hide even deeper."
"But now it's different." Luca pointed at the yacht beneath their feet.
"We're throwing a lavish, high-profile party, letting the whole world know we're drinking and having fun, that we're letting our guard down. We want them to think that tonight is when our defenses are at their weakest."
Tony froze.
He was no fool, and he immediately understood what Luca meant.
"You mean we should give them a chance to make their move? Let them leave clues themselves?" Tony frowned slightly.
"Exactly." Luca snapped his fingers.
"If they're really stupid enough to send someone to assassinate us tonight, that would be great!"
"Great?" Tony's eyes widened, and he looked at Luca as if he were crazy.
"Has the sun melted your brain? If someone comes to assassinate us, that means we're in danger! How the hell is that great?"
Luca immediately looked at him with exasperation and jabbed a finger hard into his chest.
"Tony, have you forgotten something? Apart from you and Yinsen, nobody knows what I'm really capable of!"
"If anyone dares come to assassinate us, guess what'll happen?"
"When the time comes, we'll face those heavily armed killers pretending to be ordinary people with no abilities, trembling in fear."
"When they think victory is in the bag and get ready to shoot, I'll suddenly unleash my power! One punch, and I'll knock their heads down into their stomachs!"
Luca grew more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly.
"Then we'll leave a few alive, find somewhere private, and give them a thorough interrogation. Wouldn't that be faster than us running around like headless flies, checking account books and tracing money?"
"That's called entrapment, catching the enemy off guard! Got it?!"
After hearing Luca's outrageous plan, Tony was stunned.
The more he listened, the brighter his eyes became.
Damn it! How had he never noticed before?!
Was this younger brother of his, who only knew how to chase women, actually this devious at heart?
But why was he starting to like the feeling of scheming against people from the shadows more and more?!
From that afternoon until now, Luca had come up with quite a few ideas for scheming against people.
Tony found that he liked them more and more. He was the smartest person in the world, after all.
Why should I always PK people head-on?!
He should use his top-tier intellect to crush his enemies!
The corners of Tony's mouth rose uncontrollably, and all the weariness vanished from his face.
"Luca." Tony took a deep breath.
"You're damn awful! But I have to say, that's a genius idea."
But soon, a look of regret appeared on Tony's face.
He slapped his thigh in frustration.
"What a shame! Why didn't you tell me about this plan sooner?" Tony complained.
"If I'd known you were deliberately luring them out, we should've gone to the lab first and developed some more torturous weapons!"
Tony's scientific spirit instantly ignited, and he began rattling off ideas.
"For example, I could install miniature high-pressure tranquilizer needles in our heels! Or hide a few capsules of potent nerve gas in our buttons! Failing that, I could at least make a few more powerful weapons!"
"When those idiots get close and think they've got us in the bag, we'll unleash our full power and teach them a harsh lesson! We absolutely can't give the enemy a second chance to strike. That's the only way to be safe!"
Tony spoke with fervor, his expression growing more and more sinister.
Luca immediately burst out laughing.
Now that's more like it.
This is the brother I know.
As long as they weren't bound by morality, their killing power would absolutely be off the charts.
"Big brother, have you finally understood the joy of playing the pig to eat the tiger?"
Luca raised his glass, a brilliant smile on his face.
"So our job now is to enjoy the party to the fullest, enjoy the beauties and the wine, understand? We'll leave the rest to the unlucky bastards who might be watching us from the shadows."
The brothers exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile.
Everything went without saying.
"Cheers, to the unlucky rats." Tony raised his glass with a smile.
"Cheers."