Perhaps they noticed Iron Man frequently appearing near the Stark Industries headquarters building, or deduced from Iron Man's advanced technology that 'only a genius like Stark could have built it,' or found a flaw by comparing Stark's itinerary with Iron Man's appearances. In fact, a small number of people in the public had already guessed the truth.
However, those were merely speculations.
Because of Shi Xiaolei's interference, the press conference, which was destined to become a classic, was ruined. Without that opportunity, Tony Stark also couldn't utter the classic line, 'I am Iron Man.'
Without Stark's personal admission, which media outlet would dare to state it as fact? After all, Stark Industries employed a large number of lawyers. To earn more bonuses from Stark, those guys had long developed the courage to 'bite anyone,' and each of them was a ruthless character.
Of course, the public's ignorance didn't mean that Stark's new identity was completely unexposed.
SHIELD, with its extensive information network, HYDRA hidden within SHIELD, the U.S. military, which had long cooperated with Stark Industries, and so on. In fact, many organizations and departments had already figured out the situation and knew the truth that 'Stark is Iron Man.'
It was the pressure from these forces that created a sense of urgency in Stark, which in turn pushed him to invent new energy technology.
"Let me introduce you, this is Rhode, an Air Force Colonel, my best friend." Leading Shi Xiaolei into the room, Stark introduced him to a friend: "Rhode, this is Locke, a good friend I recently met. Just so you know, he's incredibly strong; you're definitely no match for him."
"Hey, man." James Rhodes extended his right hand and shook Shi Xiaolei's: "James Rhodes."
"Nice to meet you, Rhode." Feeling the strength from the other party's fingers, Shi Xiaolei smiled faintly and added a bit of force in return: "Just call me Locke. As you can see, I'm Chinese, so I don't have a formal English name."
"Oh ~ oh oh ~." Rhode grimaced in pain from the vice-like grip.
Quickly withdrawing his hand, his gaze towards Shi Xiaolei now held a hint of admiration: "Man, you're really strong."
"You're not bad either." Shi Xiaolei shrugged, then pointed back at Stark: "Much stronger than this weakling."
"Couldn't agree more." Rhode burst out laughing: "Man, for that remark alone, you're my friend."
"Hey, can you two leave me out of this? Two crude brutes who only know how to use brute force actually look down on a genius like me. Who gave you that confidence?"
Stark shrugged, and Rhode said with a smile: "I think it must be good eating habits and persistent daily exercise."
... Feeling a bit stifled, Stark subconsciously resorted to his usual tactics: "Locke, get me some more white potions later. I refuse to believe that with unlimited stamina, I can't build a good physique. Oh, and also, get me a few bottles of the black ones too."
The white potion for physical training, and the black antidote potion... he was probably worried about the palladium poisoning worsening from too much exercise and wanted to use that to detoxify.
"Alright, just tell me how much you need, and I'll prepare it for you." Nodding, Shi Xiaolei suddenly became curious and pointed at the arc reactor on Stark's chest, asking offhandedly: "Speaking of which, Tony, why don't you have surgery to completely remove this thing? You must have tried the red potion's effects. With that as insurance, there's no need to worry about the surgery failing."
"You don't know." Stark shook his head, raised a hand to point at the sofa, and led the way over: "My injury isn't as simple as it looks. External wounds are easy to treat, just a few days in bed. What truly makes me hesitant to act are the metal fragments in my blood vessels..."
He had seen the original show and knew the specific situation. But considering that Stark had never personally told him these things, if he showed a 'already knew' reaction, it would be difficult to explain. So Shi Xiaolei could only pretend to be unaware and listened to Stark's explanation from beginning to end.
"I understand." Nodding, Shi Xiaolei spoke out the idea he had just thought of during his distraction: "The key is that those metal fragments are difficult to remove once they enter the heart, right? Hmm, I think you could start by experimenting on a white mouse..."
"...Are you kidding?" After hearing Shi Xiaolei's idea, Stark looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"No, I'm serious." Shi Xiaolei shook his head: "Although I'm not a doctor, I also know that heart transplant surgeries are already possible, aren't they? If you can use someone else's heart, let alone your own."
Once on the operating table, first establish extracorporeal circulation to take over the heart's function, allowing it to remain idle.
Then, remove the heart and cut it open, or cut it open directly within the body; in short, whatever is most convenient, as long as the metal fragments can be meticulously picked out.
Once confirmed to be clear, stitch it up, put it back in place, and then inject a few bottles of red potion... whether it's the incision on the heart or the sutured blood vessels, everything will heal instantly.
By applying Shi Xiaolei's approach, combined with some techniques from heart transplant surgery, the difficulty of healing immediately dropped several notches.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the red potion was truly that effective, ensuring it could instantly heal the incision on the heart and the sutured blood vessels—it was precisely this uncertainty that led Shi Xiaolei not to speak definitively, but to leave some room, urging Stark to first experiment on a white mouse.
... Seeing that Shi Xiaolei didn't seem to be joking, Stark also became serious.
After careful consideration, the feasibility seemed quite good?
"Hey, hey, Tony." Noticing the change in Stark's expression, the smile on Rhode's face gradually faded: "You're not serious, are you? Man, don't be impulsive. Locke, look at the mess you've made, what kind of crazy idea is this?!"
"Don't worry, relax." Understanding Rhode's feelings, Shi Xiaolei didn't mind his glaring reproach: "I just offered an idea, and I also said that an experiment needs to be done first. Finally... do you think someone with Tony's personality would treat his own life lightly?"
"It's precisely because I know his personality that I'm worried. He's the type to 'do first, talk later,' you know?"
"That depends on what it is." Shi Xiaolei shook his head: "For other things, it might be as you say, he'll do first and talk later. But for something as important as his own life, I believe he still has a sense of proportion."
"You..."
"Alright, alright, Rhode." Stark finally came to his senses.
Stopping Rhode, who was still complaining, Stark looked at Shi Xiaolei with a grateful smile: "Locke, your suggestion is very valuable. After I finish the experiment, if the results are truly as you imagine... I won't say thanks, but in any case, consider me owing you a life."