JARVIS remained silent for half a second.
This is already considered a very long time in the world of artificial intelligence.
"Sir, are you sure? The technical model of the Arc Reactor has always been Mr. Tony's research project. Although you have the same level of access, but..."
"But what?"
"But Mr. Tony said something to me this morning."
What did you say?
He said, "If Luca suddenly starts working on the reactor, just tell him not to worry about it, I'll handle it."
Upon hearing this, Luca paused for a moment.
Then he gave a cold laugh.
"Solved? He slept through my ass."
He walked to the experimental area and stood in front of the suspended holographic model.
JARVIS, tell me, what is Tony's current palladium poisoning level?
"According to the latest test data this morning, Mr. Tony's blood palladium concentration has reached 19 micrograms per liter, an increase of 8 percent compared to yesterday."
"At the current rate of increase, how long is it expected to take to reach the critical danger level?"
JARVIS remained silent for a moment.
"If the core element is not replaced and no intervention is taken... it is expected that within four to six months, the blood palladium concentration will reach the critical level of fifty micrograms per liter."
"At that time, Mr. Tony will experience severe organ failure symptoms."
Four to six months.
Luca raised an eyebrow.
He knew this would happen.
Luca noticed the palladium poisoning problem as soon as he learned that Tony had placed the reactor on his chest.
He mentioned it to Tony a couple of days ago, and they even argued about it yesterday.
But Tony's reaction was always the same: nonchalant.
Then say you're handling it, or you'll get it sorted out, or change the subject with a lame joke.
He understood that Tony never let others see his vulnerable side, especially not him.
This is probably what it means to be proud to be an older brother.
But Luca isn't stupid.
Done? How did you manage to do that?
The root cause of palladium poisoning lies in the fact that the core of the Arc Reactor requires palladium as a material.
As long as the reactor continues to operate, palladium decay products will continuously seep into Tony's bloodstream.
There is only one way to solve this problem.
To find a new element to replace palladium, a New Element that can both serve as a material and does not decay.
But the problem is...
This element does not exist in the periodic table of elements currently known to humankind.
Tony has been trying, Luca knows it.
He tried at least dozens of combinations of known elements and alloys, but each one failed.
Either the efficiency is insufficient to support the operation of the reactor, or the efficiency is sufficient, but the toxicity is greater than that of palladium.
That's why Tony hasn't been able to solve this problem.
It's not that he doesn't want to solve it, it's that he can't solve it for the time being.
Luca, however, was not going to wait any longer.
" JARVIS, bring up the model. Now."
"Yes, Mr. Luca."
This time, JARVIS didn't say anything more.
soon.
A complete three-dimensional technical model of the Arc Reactor slowly unfolded in front of Luca.
Every detail of the model was clearly presented before my eyes.
At the core of the model, an element symbol marked Pd is flashing red.
Palladium.
This is it.
Luca stared intently at the symbol.
Everyone knows that Luca Stark is a genius in the field of biomedicine.
He published a paper in Nature at the age of seventeen, and took charge of Stark Pharmaceuticals division at the age of twenty, holding more than 400 biomedical patents.
This resume is enough to silence anyone in the global biochemistry community in his presence.
But this doesn't mean he's a complete novice in physics and engineering.
Are you kidding me?
He grew up alongside Tony Stark.
From childhood to adulthood, they have been each other's biggest rivals and best learning partners.
While Tony was soldering circuit boards in the lab, he sat next to him and gave him pointers.
While Tony was deriving the quantum mechanical equations on the whiteboard, he was calculating alongside him.
Tony taught him physics, and he taught Tony chemistry.
The two brothers have been exploiting each other for so many years that they've thoroughly mastered the core knowledge in each other's fields.
Luca's level of expertise in physics and engineering, while not on par with Tony's freakish talent, is still impressive.
But within the entire MIT system, it's at least in the top 3%.
Above his head, there is only one and only one person.
As for who it is? Is it hard to guess?
not to mention...
Luca clenched his fist, feeling the power surging within him.
Since the mutation, his body has been strengthened in every aspect.
It's not just about strength, speed, and perception.
His brain changed too.
My thinking speed has noticeably increased.
Complex calculations that used to take twenty minutes to deduce can now be completed in just five or six minutes.
Previously, it took several readings to fully understand the intricate logic of a paper; now, one reading is enough.
My memory has also become clearer.
He can now recite a string of data he jotted down in the lab two months ago, word for word, even with his eyes closed.
It's as if the serum, while strengthening the body, also conveniently optimized the brain.
Luca hasn't told Tony about his brain becoming smarter yet.
Of course, this wasn't a deliberate attempt to hide it; rather, he felt that talking about it would be too pretentious.
"Hey Tony, I got an injection of serum, and not only did my body get stronger, but my brain got smarter too!"
No, even he wanted to punch himself for saying that.
But in any case, the enhanced mental abilities are now coming in handy.
" JARVIS, retrieve all of Tony's experimental data on the substitution elements."
"Yes, Mr. Luca. Mr. Tony has conducted forty experiments with substitution elements in the past."
"All elements were covered, but the experimental results were all... failure."
How should the reasons for failure be categorized?
"It can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category..."
As Luca listened to the data, he quickly arranged and summarized it in his mind.
All forty experiments failed.
But for Luca, the forty failures themselves are a huge asset.
Because every failure eliminates a wrong path.
The problem wasn't that Tony wasn't smart enough, but that his thinking was trapped within the existing periodic table.
He kept searching for the answer within the framework of known elements.
But what if the answer isn't even among the known elements?
What if the element needed is New Element has not yet been discovered or is artificially synthesized?
The moment the idea popped into his head, Luca's eyes lit up.
JARVIS.
"Yes, sir."
"I need you to do something for me."
Luca walked to the design table and stared at the floating model.
A theoretical model is established based on palladium.
Then, using this theoretical model as a screening criterion, the search is expanded outwards, not limited to the existing periodic table.
"What I'm wondering is, if we step outside the framework of known elements, is there theoretically an element that has not yet been discovered?"
"And does this element happen to meet our requirements?"
JARVIS remained silent for a long while.
"Mr. Luca, the search range you described... is theoretically infinite. Without setting boundary conditions, the computation will not converge to a valid result."
"Then add boundary conditions."
Luca's fingers slid rapidly across the design panel, bringing up a series of parameter panels.
"First, New Element..."
Luca rattled off all the conditions in one breath, then straightened up and stared at the model.
"Run a simulation with these conditions. Tell me if it's possible for such an element to exist."
"Understood, Mr. Luca. Modeling is underway... The simulation is computationally intensive and is expected to take two hours."
"No problem. Keep running."
Luca breathed a sigh of relief, took two steps back, and leaned against the edge of the lab table.
I looked up at the ceiling.
From his perspective, the surrounding energy was being absorbed into his body little by little.
Warm energy flows slowly through my body, like a quiet river.
He is getting stronger every moment.
But that's not enough.
If he becomes stronger, while Tony is still trapped in place, slowly waiting to die from palladium poisoning.
What's the point of him becoming stronger?
He can smash a wall with one punch.
It can emit energy rays from its eyes.
It can withstand direct missile attacks.
But he had no way of picking those damn palladium ions out of Tony's blood one by one.
Fists can't solve all problems.
Some of the enemies are not monsters, nor aliens, and the soup is not some secret organization.
They can be hidden in the veins of the person you care about most, silently eroding their life.
You can't hit, kick, or blow up an enemy like that.
The only way to defeat it is with your brain.
So Luca is sitting here now to become smarter.
JARVIS.
"Yes, sir."
"While waiting for the simulation results, I pulled out all the research notes my dad left behind."
"Especially the parts related to the Arc Reactor. I remember when my dad designed the reactor, he left behind some incomplete theoretical drafts."
"Okay, Mr. Luca. Mr. Stark. Howard Stark's personal research files are being retrieved... There are 1,275 files in total, of which 89 are directly related to the Arc Reactor. Which one would you like to start with?"
"Start with the earliest one. Arrange them in chronological order."
"I understand."
On the holographic screen, a yellowed handwritten note was scanned and restored to its original form.
The handwriting in the notebook is strong and vigorous, making it very comfortable to read.
The date is written in the upper right corner: March 17, 1974.
Below is a hastily written title.
"A Hypothesis on the Existence of Super Palladium Element -- To the Future"
Luca was taken aback.
Super Palladium Element?
He leaned closer and began to carefully read Howard's notes.
The more he read, the more his brow furrowed.
The more he read, the wider his eyes widened.
The more he read, the faster his breathing became.
Five minutes later.
Luca slowly straightened up and let out a long breath.
"Dad..."
He said it in a low voice, his voice trembling without him even realizing it.
"You've really thought of everything for us."
This notebook contains a near-crazy hypothesis.
He foresaw the limitations of palladium as a core material for reactors more than forty years ago.
They have even derived a partial concept of a substitute element at the theoretical level.
However, limited by the technology of that era, he was unable to synthesize this element or verify his theory.
So he wrote these things down in his notebook and ended with a single sentence.
"I believe that one day, my children will go further than I have. That's a question for them to answer. I have faith in them."
Luca remained silent for a long time after seeing this sentence.
Then he laughed.
JARVIS.
"Yes, sir."
"Cancel theoretical simulation. No longer needed."
"Sir?"
"Dad has already given us the direction."
Luca stopped in front of the notebook, his gaze becoming more resolute than ever before.
"What I need to do now is follow the clues he left behind and walk the rest of the way."
"Extract the theoretical information about Super Palladium Element from my notes and cross-compare it with the boundary conditions I just set."
"At the same time, retrieve the latest equipment parameters from Stark Industries Laboratories. I need to know if, with our current equipment, we can synthesize the kind of result described in Dad's notes."
"Understood, Mr. Luca. It's being processed."
Luca sat back down on the stool.
He picked up a marker and wrote three large characters on the whiteboard.
" New Element."
Then I drew a line below and started rapidly integrating the contents of my notes with my calculations.
Luca's thought process was racing, aided by his enhanced brain, with various processes converging and colliding in his mind.
quick.
Faster.
He must find the answer before the palladium poisoning deteriorates to an irreversible degree.
He's currently doing two things at once.
One is the Super Soldier Serum, designed to turn Tony into an invincible Superman.
The other is New Element, designed to address the root cause of Tony's physical problems.
Take both paths at the same time.
Whichever path they take first will save Tony's life.
Nobody told him to do that.
Tony didn't ask him for anything.
Pepper didn't ask him for help.
No one in the world knows he's doing this.
Even JARVIS probably only had a vague idea of what was going on.
He just didn't want to lose his loved ones.
It's that simple.