Tony stared at the life-sized piece of Vibranium in front of him, remaining silent for a full half minute.
Then, the heartache on his face quickly disappeared, replaced by an excitement that Chen Mo was very familiar with.
That was Tony's expression before he went to work all night.
" JARVIS, open the materials warehouse on the third basement level."
Tony shoved aside the testing equipment next to him, speaking so fast it was as if he was afraid someone would back out, "Bring over all the sealed materials numbered A through K, and safe number seven too, move the whole thing."
"Sir, some of the materials have been sealed for over eight years."
"I know, so today is a good day to let them out and see the sun."
Tony raised his hand and brought up several virtual screens. "Also, notify the robotic arm to clear out Experiment Area Two. Throw all the useless composite materials into the warehouse; we need to redesign it."
Chen Mo glanced at him.
"You just said that this plan is 72% complete."
That was three minutes ago.
Tony pointed to the Vibranium beside him and said matter-of-factly, "Three minutes ago, I only had a piece of Vibranium the size of an egg. Now I have a wall of Vibranium. Only a fool would continue to be frugal."
Soon, the alloy door at the end of the laboratory slowly opened.
Dozens of transport robots lined up and emerged from the underground passage. Each robot carried a sealed box, with different years and project numbers printed on its surface.
Some of the boxes came from Stark Industries ' space program, while others were marked with military secrets.
The last few boxes had no numbers, only warnings written by Tony himself.
Don't touch it, it really will explode.
Chen Mo pointed to the note.
"Your company's safety regulations seem rather lax."
"Please, this is handwritten; it's a top-level warning."
Tony opened the first sealed box, inside which was a piece of metal with blue veins on its surface. "This is an alloy I extracted from a meteorite eight years ago. Its strength increases threefold at low temperatures, but unfortunately, there are only four hundred grams in total."
The second box was opened.
A dark red metal lay quietly inside the insulation layer, its surrounding temperature significantly higher than that outside.
"An accidental byproduct of a space engine experiment, capable of withstanding temperatures of 5,000 degrees Celsius. Nobody knows how it was synthesized, because the idiot in charge of recording the data spilled coffee on the main unit."
"Your method of success is quite random."
"Science needs a little surprise."
Tony then opened safe number seven, which contained only a few metal samples of various colors.
These items have excellent performance, but because the raw materials are scarce or the synthesis conditions cannot be replicated, they have been locked in his warehouse.
I can't bear to throw it away, but once I've used it, there's no second one.
The problem is now solved.
Tony pushed all the samples in front of Chen Mo, his eyes shining with an almost frightening intensity.
"Copy them."
Chen Mo crossed his arms and didn't move.
"The way you're talking sounds like you're ordering the printer around?"
Please copy them.
Tony paused for a moment, then added, "The more the better."
That's more like it.
Chen Mo picked up the first piece of metal.
The Blacklight Virus quickly completed the scan, and its Matter Transmutation ability simultaneously analyzed the internal structure. A few seconds later, he casually tossed the sample back into the box, and a piece of metal that was exactly the same appeared in his palm.
JARVIS immediately underwent testing.
"The structural fit is 100%, sir."
Tony couldn't help but smile.
Over the next half hour, Chen Mo scanned all the special materials one by one.
Rare metals appeared from his palm and quickly filled the laboratory. What were originally unique items that could only be measured in grams were soon transformed into metal ingots that could be measured in tons.
Transport robots arrived in droves.
Finally, even the underground material warehouse was refilled.
Tony stood in the center of the laboratory, looking at the Vibranium on his left and the high-temperature alloy on his right, grinning from ear to ear.
"Very good, the original design is completely scrapped."
He quickly swiped his hands across the screen and deleted the previous composite material design.
"The outer layer is entirely made of Vibranium, so there's no need to worry about cost anymore! The second layer incorporates a high-temperature resistant lattice, and energy buffer structures are added to the joints and chest armor. These two materials are then mixed into the internal framework."
Chen Mo watched as the material inventory dwindled.
"This rate of descent isn't right, is it? Did you secretly seize a few batches?"
Tony, without turning his head, said, "That's the design fee."
"Twelve tons of Vibranium are missing."
"There's also a labor fee."
"Two tons of that blue alloy are also missing."
"This is my late-night overtime pay."
Chen Mo narrowed his eyes, "Would you like me to calculate the material wastage for you again?"
Tony finally turned around and said seriously, "Chen, you can't just look at how much I took. You should think about it: without me, this metal would just be piling up here taking up space."
So I should thank you?
"Don't mention it, we're friends."
Tony patted his arm. "Friends don't talk about money."
Chen Mo almost believed it.
The credibility of this guy would be even higher if he hadn't had the robotic arm continue transporting Vibranium to the private warehouse while he was speaking.
However, he couldn't be bothered to argue with it.
Anyway, these materials only require a little energy for Chen Mo right now. Tony can use them to study; maybe he can even create something new for him in the future.
The entire laboratory became extremely busy in the following days.
Dozens of robotic arms started simultaneously, feeding different metals into the smelting equipment. Vibranium was broken down into fine particles and rearranged into outer armor plates. Dark red high-temperature resistant alloy was filled inside, forming a new buffer layer with several unknown materials.
Tony kept adjusting the proportions.
One failure means starting over immediately.
When the energy transfer failed the second time, he simply dismantled the entire breastplate structure.
Chen Mo curled up back on the sofa, watching Tony busy himself at the control panel, and casually finished the last few grapes in the fruit bowl.
Two hours later, the new virtual model was finally completed.
The black and red armor floated in the center of the laboratory, its overall lines thicker than before. Black plates covered its entire body, with dark red patterns distributed on the joints and chest. The faceplate had no extra decorations, only two narrow red eyelights.
It doesn't look like hero equipment.
It looks more like the uniform a villain is preparing to wear to demolish a building.
Tony was very satisfied with this.
"Start simulation test."
The virtual space is changing rapidly.
Dozens of heavy missiles hit the armor simultaneously; the shock from the explosions was absorbed by the outer Vibranium and then transferred to the internal buffer structure.
The armor remained completely still.
The high-temperature test then began.
The simulated temperature rose rapidly, and the surface of the armor plate gradually turned red, but the internal data remained stable. This was followed by laser cutting, kinetic energy impact, and high-voltage current testing.
All results were passed.
"Perfect."
Tony leaned on the control panel, his dark circles barely concealing his smugness. " Vibranium absorbs the impact, high-temperature alloys ensure stability in extreme environments, and the internal structure can reuse excess energy."
He pulled up the final test report.
"Given this strength, I can't imagine anyone on Earth being able to penetrate it."
Chen Mo recalled the cosmic projections that the Ancient One had shown.
The Living Tribunal, Galactus, the Celestials, and a group of old monsters living in separate dimensions.
He got up and walked over to Tony, reaching out to pat the shoulder as Tony prepared to celebrate.
Don't be too confident.
Tony frowned.
Are you questioning my design?
"No."
Chen Mo replied earnestly, "I just think you lack understanding of the sheer number of anomalies in this universe."
"Unless you're prepared to wear it into a black hole, otherwise..."
Click!
Before Tony could finish speaking, a series of dull cracking sounds suddenly came from above the laboratory.
All the floating screens instantly turned red.
"Warning: High-speed falling target detected!"
JARVIS's voice had barely rang out when a deafening explosion erupted overhead.
boom!
The thick ceiling of Stark Tower was smashed through.
Large chunks of concrete and steel bars fell, and a burly man with a full beard and smoking body crashed heavily into the experimental area behind the two men, mixed with rubble.
The ground immediately caved in.
The smoke and dust spread rapidly.
A short-handled metal hammer rolled out of the pit and stopped at Chen Mo's feet, its body still flashing with faint electric light.
Tony looked at the large hole above his head, then at the burly man on the ground.
"Very good."
He said expressionlessly, "Someone has reimbursed today's material costs."
Chen Mo whistled, "Don't worry, his dad's got tons of money!"