VVictor nodded. She knew that once this man made up his mind, there was no turning back. Besides, he was doing it for her sake. She remained silent, tilting her delicate face upward ever so slightly, her eyes brimming with tenderness.
Aetheris could no longer hold himself back. His blood boiled all at once, like water reaching its boiling point. Without hesitation, he laid the beauty in his arms down gently, cupped Victor's exquisite face, and kissed her deeply.
The next morning, Aetheris received a call from Nova. With Pepper now traveling far away to Antarctica, the affairs of Stark Industries were temporarily under Nova's management. Of course, given Stark's advanced technology, any major decisions would still be discussed with Pepper remotely via holographic projection.
What Aetheris hadn't expected was how determined the U.S. Department of Energy was. They were dead set on acquiring Dr. Octavius's latest research. Aetheris thought it over and felt their reasoning wasn't entirely unjustified. Controlled nuclear fusion technology was not like his Arc Reactor. The Arc Reactor was expensive, unstable in its energy output, and relied on rare materials. More importantly, there was no way he could ever make the technology public.
Otherwise, the Iron Man armor would no longer hold any secrets. As for the rest of the mech technology, it was already highly advanced. Take Hans Industries for example their only missing piece was a reliable energy source.
If the U.S. Department of Energy got their hands on controlled nuclear fusion technology, they might not rule the universe, but becoming Earth's undisputed leader would be a certainty.
The saying "science and technology are the primary productive forces" was no empty talk.
The old truth that "strength lies in numbers" had long since been rendered obsolete by leaps in science and technology. In today's world, whoever holds the most cutting-edge technology holds the future.
Otherwise, how could a tiny island nation like Fusang rank among the world's top ten, even top five? It was all thanks to technology.
Aetheris then dialed the company's legal department to confirm whether the lawyers were fully prepared. The scale between a company and a nation was vastly different if even the smallest contractual clause went wrong, it could spell total disaster.
Right now, he had no strength to arm-wrestle with the largest superpower on Earth. If the U.S. government really wanted to crush him, it would take no more effort than squashing an ant.
And if that day truly came, his only option might be to flee into space.
The Energy Department sent a team led by a middle-aged woman, totaling more than a dozen people. As the CEO of Stark Industries, Aetheris, along with Nova and the legal department, met them in the company's conference room.
Both sides exchanged fierce arguments, each refusing to yield an inch. Sometimes they wrestled for hours over a single decimal point, the number of zeros behind it determining whether the deal was worth hundreds of billions, trillions, or even tens of trillions of dollars. Neither side could afford carelessness.
Of course, Aetheris had considered yielding some benefits in exchange for preferential treatment from the U.S. government. But the business world was a battlefield, leaving no room for retreat.
On the battlefield, it was kill or be killed. Add politics to the mix, and it became a chaotic three-way war. The legal experts on both sides were like battle-hardened veterans, while the professional lawyers resembled brilliant strategists, directing the course of war from afar.
Aetheris was like Cao Cao commanding from the central camp. What he had to instill in his people was a firm, uncompromising will. Otherwise, it would be a case of "one incompetent general exhausting the entire army." Instead of earning the U.S. government's respect, weakness would only embolden them to bite a chunk of flesh from Stark Industries.
Despite the middle-aged woman's aggressive tactics, Aetheris remained unmoved. His attention was focused on Nova. Don't be fooled by the way this young woman surrendered so tenderly beneath him in private, as meek as a kitten.
At the negotiation table, she transformed into a poised and formidable tigress of the Northeast. She neither resorted to grand speeches nor twisted arguments. Instead, her calm and rational analysis flowed like a soft, persistent rain, soaking everything in silence.
If she resembled anyone, Aetheris thought, it was that TV journalist Bingbing he once saw—the one who used to say, "My heart is icy."
She had a round little face, yet she wasn't short, standing at a full 1.7 meters. With her long, straight black hair, she looked both charming and brimming with the allure and focus of a career woman.
Sigh. Compared to these human elites, Aetheris felt like a waste of space—apart from occupying Stark's body, he had nothing to show for himself.
Feeling drowsy from the endless debate, Aetheris rose and stepped outside. From his pocket, he pulled out a Hongtashan cigarette, lit it, and stood gazing out from the fiftieth floor. All of Manhattan stretched beneath him. In the distance, the Statue of Liberty at Victoria Harbor seemed to mockingly wave at him.
"Damn it. One day, I'll blow you up. Just looking at you makes me sick."
In his past life, Aetheris had despised America the most. They strutted around putting up false fronts, proclaiming freedom this and freedom that, yet when freedom was truly needed, they meddled in everyone else's affairs.
Oh, so only you get freedom, and everyone else has to pay the price?
Far off, the Empire State Building stood tall, the iconic symbol of New York. Aetheris took a deep drag of his cigarette and lifted his gaze to the gray, hazy sky.
"Loki, where are you? When are you coming? If you've got the guts, then come fight me head-on. Don't play these cheap tricks from the shadows."
Just then, his phone rang with the ringtone:
"Today's my lucky day, Old Wolf's treating us to chicken! You call me and I don't answer, so what's the point of calling him? What's the point?"
Aetheris pulled out his phone and saw it was Nick Fury. He answered, and the one-eyed man's voice came through.
"Mr.Stark, about that alien you mentioned yesterday I'm very interested. Want to meet and talk?"
Aetheris cursed silently. Idiot. And you say something this important over the phone?
He quickly encrypted the call and replied, "Two hours later, Central Park."
Nova then came out, a faint sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead. Aetheris gently dabbed it away with his handkerchief and said softly, "Exhausted, aren't you? Come on, let's go for a drive, get some fresh air."
Seeing the affection in his eyes, Nova's heart warmed. She smiled and said, "I'm not tired. It's just that staying inside for too long, with the air conditioning so warm, got to me a little."
Looking at the sweetly smiling girl before him, Aetheris leaned down and kissed her rosy lips. In an instant, visible crimson spread across her pale cheeks.
(End of Chapter)
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