Behind every successful man is a great woman.
For the playboy Tony, this woman was undoubtedly his shrewd, capable, sexy, and charming assistant, "Pepper" Potts.
So if Tony were to fear anyone's anger, Pepper would be one of them.
"Are you kidding me?"
Pepper dragged a box directly into the laboratory with a trailer, her angry voice audible from afar, "What are you thinking? Abandoning the company, abandoning your work, holed up in the laboratory for four whole days without going out. Do you know how chaotic things have become outside? The company entrance is packed with reporters every day!"
"Alright, alright, calm down first." Tony instinctively raised his hand, "Jarvis, search for the latest news about Stark Industries."
"Yes, sir."
On the holographic control interface installed around the laboratory, the first thing that appeared was the battle scene from the street that day.
The main camera focused on the Shinkirou, with various reports constantly popping up.
"Sir, the news these past few days has primarily been about your guest. All the reporters are speculating about the true identity of the large mech pilot and his relationship with you, because drones captured the large mech landing at your residence." Jarvis collected and filtered all the information, selecting the most typical ones to list.
"So what exactly is that mech—oh, my God, is that the mech?"
Pepper only noticed the Shinkirou, prominently displayed in the laboratory, at this moment.
"That's right, yes, I've been studying it these past few days." Tony closed the news; he didn't care about any of it.
"So where's the pilot? Did you keep her here?" Pepper instinctively felt it wasn't that simple, "Is it really as the media says, that the pilot inside is actually a beautiful blonde woman? Is that why she's able to stay at Tony Stark's Villa for so long?"
"Oh, if you're talking about He, he's right behind you."
"Ah—"
Pepper jumped and turned around.
Because a man, holding a wine glass and wearing pajamas, was indeed standing at the laboratory entrance.
"Hello, Ms. Potts, I'm Shen He." Shen He walked in and greeted her, "Currently, I'm a guest here."
"Exactly, it's that simple." Tony's fingers manipulated the virtual projection, with structural data of the Shinkirou floating all around, "Pepper, don't mind what those media say. They always like to fabricate news, fearing the world won't be chaotic enough. You see, I'm very busy, truly very busy."
"So you're staying here just to study this mech?"
Potts seemed to deflate all at once. She knew how much Tony loved mechs, and once he was fully immersed in research, it was normal for him not to appear for several days like this.
Moreover, with an outsider present, even if she had a belly full of complaints, she would still give Tony some face in front of an unfamiliar person.
"Of course, this is no ordinary mech."
When it came to work, Tony's expression also showed some excitement. He stood in front of the Shinkirou with admiration, "Although it's completely incomparable to my Mark, and the operating system is utterly terrible, that defensive force field is incredibly powerful. Give me another week, and I'll be able to miniaturize it and load it onto the new generation of Mark armor."
"Alright, so you're not going to the party in three days either?"
"No, you can go for me." Tony waved his hand indifferently.
"Me? I'm just a secretary! That party is full of CEOs from major companies!" Pepper took a deep breath to suppress her inner anger.
"Is that so." Tony didn't even turn his head, "Then you are too."
"..."
Pepper's angry expression suddenly froze on her face.
"What did you say?"
"I said, from now on, you are the new CEO of Stark Industries." Tony turned around and looked at this secretary who had been working at Stark Industries since his father was still alive, "Perhaps there are legal matters, but you know, I have the right to decide my successor, and that's you. Congratulations, you can scream now, or go throw a promotion party."
"But I, I..."
Pepper suddenly didn't know what to say.
But the smile on her face wouldn't stop. She looked at Tony, and Tony looked at her. At this moment, Pepper felt that all her efforts over such a long time were worth it.
Shen He stood by, sipping his fine wine, feeling like he had been fed a mouthful of dog food.
But he was more concerned about something else.
If his information these past few days wasn't wrong, the party three days later seemed to be a plot point. There was also a car race that day, where Tony, feeling like he was about to die, would go racing to indulge himself, and then encounter the main villain of this movie for the first time.
But now, Tony wasn't planning to attend the party.
What would happen to the poor main villain, Ivan Vanko?
"Alright, this matter is settled."
Tony seemed to have made a major decision, and he felt a bit lighter. Only then did he look at the box Pepper had dragged over, "What's in here? It looks heavy. A gift from a fan?"
"No, Agent Coulson asked me to bring it to you." Pepper hadn't quite recovered from the surprise yet, only answering subconsciously, "He said it contains your father's belongings."
"My father's belongings?" Tony was stunned, "Why would they give me my father's belongings?"
Alright.
Shen He was also stunned.
It's all messed up, completely messed up. Tony's birthday party is in half a month, and the plot point where he gets his father's belongings from S.H.I.E.L.D. and finds a way to cure palladium poisoning should be much later.
Is this the so-called butterfly effect?
Shen He sighed inwardly and interjected, "Your father, Howard Stark, was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.. He was a great man, Tony, and you are his greatest pride."
"What did you say?" Tony looked at Shen He in disbelief.
In his memory, he had always felt unloved by his father, who was always busy with work until he suddenly died in a car accident on some deserted road.
"Everything you want to know is in this box." Shen He looked at the box on the ground, "He gave you the greatest achievement of his life, and this will become the key to saving you, Tony. Your father simply wasn't good at expressing his love for his children, just like many fathers."
"It sounds like you know my father better than I do..." Tony crouched down and opened the box. Inside, everything looked like old-fashioned items.
"Didn't I tell you?" Shen He shrugged, "We've always been observing, whether it's the past or the future."
Want to guess who the next Servant is? Hint: it's a female (ò ó)