Tony circled the newly regenerated biological cultivation device twice, his fingertips occasionally tapping the cool outer shell of the instrument. His eyes were filled with a fervent curiosity about the unknown technology, and his mind raced as he considered various integration and modification plans.
But after only a few seconds of contemplation, it was as if a memory-awakening button had been pressed, and he slapped his forehead, instantly casting aside all his thoughts.
"Oh no, I almost forgot about the important stuff!"
He suddenly turned his head, his gaze precisely locking onto me, who was leaning against the lab bench, radiating laziness and slacking off. His eyes instantly lit up, and his fighting spirit surged.
I caught a glimpse of his familiar excited expression out of the corner of my eye, and my heart skipped a beat. A wave of extreme powerlessness washed over me, and I was utterly speechless.
It's obvious what this guy is up to this time.
We've conducted four armor tests in three days, and today is the fifth.
I propped myself up on the table with one hand, tilted my head slightly, and didn't even bother to lift my eyelids. I had already entered a perfunctory state, just waiting to see what kind of so-called "completely upgraded" excuse he would come up with next.
Tony, completely oblivious to my listless and utterly uninterested attitude, strode briskly to my side, his expression incredibly solemn, as if he were about to unveil the ultimate creation capable of overturning the entire Avengers power system.
"Don't look so utterly hopeless, this time it's really different!"
His tone was firm and confident, his self-assurance almost overflowing. He raised his hand to demonstrate the overall structure of the armor, earnestly explaining its structure.
"My Mark Series Armor, the all-new MK28! I've overturned the entire underlying architecture of the previous twenty-seven generations; the chip, power core, defensive barriers, and attack modules have all been redesigned—a complete transformation from the inside out!"
When he got excited, he slightly raised his chin, his eyes filled with determination.
"I can guarantee with 100% certainty that this time, you will not break through my defenses and destroy my core in one move again!"
As I listened to his resounding assurance, the corner of my mouth twitched uncontrollably, leaving me with nothing but helpless frustration.
I slowly straightened up, looking at his overly confident demeanor, my tone calm yet cutting.
"Are you sure? If you can't kill him in one move, what if you get killed in two or three moves? The result is still exactly the same, isn't it? There's no difference in essence."
Before Tony could even refute me, I delivered the final blow, shattering his illusions completely.
"It's not that I'm deliberately looking down on your Mark Series iterations, but to be honest, the MK28 you've poured your heart and soul into modifying is probably no match for even an old version of the MK2 that I just cobbled together."
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment after those words were spoken.
Tony's confident and composed expression froze on the spot, his pupils dilated slightly, as if he had heard the most outrageous and unbelievable joke of the year.
The next second, he raised his voice, his face full of resentment, looking every bit the stubborn research guru who had been slighted.
"No? That's an outrageous statement!"
He stood with his hands on his hips, his brows furrowed, staring at me in disbelief.
"I've stayed up for three nights straight, completely reconstructed the underlying code, and upgraded the power system of this 28th generation battle suit, crushing all previous models. You're telling me it can't beat your second-generation relic?"
"This isn't an objective assessment of combat capability; it's a blatant insult to my research talent and my intelligence!"
Tony launched into a rapid-fire argument, each sentence a justification for his new armor, from material toughness to energy efficiency, from melee combat to long-range firepower—he practically wanted to give me a full armor upgrade report on the spot.
I stood there, listening quietly to his endless explanations. All I could hear were his fragmented yet stubborn rebuttals. My temples throbbed, and my head was throbbing with pain.
I really don't understand Tony's obsession.
The entire Avengers has a plethora of members in the combat tier. Thor, Banner, and even the modified Bucky —any one of them could provide the most authentic and valuable combat test data.
But he deliberately avoids everyone else, always coming to me to test the armor's performance.
The key point is that everyone knows my combat capabilities are on a completely different level from those of conventional superheroes and those in high-tech armor.
Comparing cutting-edge technological armor to near-rule-level capabilities yielded data that was utterly meaningless from the start, repeatedly shattering his research confidence and providing no useful information for iterative development.
I patiently waited for him to finish his long and rambling speech before slowly opening my mouth, my tone full of helplessness.
"Then tell me, what's the point of you testing me every time?"
Upon hearing this, Tony not only didn't back down, but became even more defiant, taking half a step forward with an exceptionally serious look in his eyes.
"How could it be meaningless?!"
His tone was firm and confident, his eyes gleaming with rationality as he explained each point logically.
"It's precisely because your combat power level is high enough, and you have the most outrageous upper limit among all the current users, that your testing value is the highest!"
"Ordinary opponents can only test the Warframe's standard combat capabilities. Only those who can withstand your offensive can push the Warframe to its maximum defensive strength, margin for error, and explosive power!"
He raised his hand and patted his chest, his face full of certainty.
"The reason we were crushed in the previous battle suits was because they had shortcomings and structural flaws. But the MK28 is different. It fills in all the gaps and is specifically optimized for high-intensity, crushing battles!"
In the end, he grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the practical testing area in the center of the laboratory without saying a word.
"Stop slacking off! Give it a try! I can definitely last ten minutes this time. If you take me down in an instant again, I'll tear up the blueprints for this suit right now!"
Standing there, listening to Tony's endless nagging, my head was buzzing.
Once this person starts his self-justification mode, he just can't stop talking. Every sentence is about the details of the armor upgrade, the performance breakthrough, and the extreme fault tolerance, going on and on about it.
At that moment, only one absurd metaphor remained in my mind.
It sounds just like Tang Sanzang chanting scriptures.
He rambled on and on, constantly uttering a different message, without repeating himself or stopping. His words were so penetrating that they gave listeners a splitting headache.
I even started to feel physically irritable, and an extremely absurd yet real thought silently popped into my mind.
I really wanted to just raise my hand and give him a light tap.
No need for harsh words, just a simple, soothing rebuke will send him into a deep, baby-like sleep, and the world will instantly become peaceful.
But seeing Tony's earnest expression, full of enthusiasm and anticipation as he was completely absorbed in his scientific breakthrough, I ultimately held back.
There's no way I'd hit him.
It's just so noisy.
And I've finally figured it out completely.
This person is the typical type who never learns from mistakes, always gets instantly defeated, and never accepts defeat.
Despite repeated defeats, they fought on again and again.
Talking is useless, and reasoning is even less effective.
Instead of listening to him babbling on and on like a broken record, why not just give him a big one?
It was administered in one dose.
I'll make him realize the gap in combat power once and for all, and he'll behave himself for half a month, saving me from being dragged into his training every day.
Thinking of this, I raised my hand to interrupt his long, rambling speech.
"Stop."
The word was spoken crisply and decisively, carrying an aura that left no room for doubt.
Tony's incessant chatter suddenly stopped, even the last syllable abruptly cut off. He seemed to have been paused, standing there with his eyes lighting up, looking at me expectantly.
All the nagging, arguing, resentment, and stubbornness vanished in an instant, leaving only the excitement of eager anticipation.
"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"
I raised an eyebrow helplessly.
"Since you insist on testing, then so be it. I'll grant your wish."
Tony's eyes immediately lit up, his fighting spirit instantly soared, and his face was filled with the confidence that "I knew my new armor would be fine."