Chapter 172: "Hello"
"Your buddy seems to be out of commission?" Silas glanced at the Mark 42 lying inert on the sofa.
"Yes, it needs some simple repairs right now," Tony said, spinning a screwdriver in his hand.
Silas walked up to the Mark 42, casually glanced at the wary little boy nearby, then squatted slightly, tapped the Mark 42's head, and said, "So, it's already upgraded to assemble itself automatically?"
"Of course." Tony's tone was quite proud when he said this. Due to his anxiety, he had spent most of the last few months in the lab with these suits.
Silas stood up, smiled, and said, "Did those aliens traumatize you?"
"Those foreign mashed potatoes? Come on, I'll turn every one of them into potato chips." Tony, surprisingly, pulled out a bag of potato chips from somewhere. Tony tore open the bag, crunched a few chips, and asked, "Want some?"
"No, thank you," Silas refused.
"Hey! Those are my potato chips," the little boy ran over to Tony and snatched the bag of chips from his hand.
Tony clapped his hands carelessly and said, "Good taste, kid. I like this flavor too."
"But you didn't ask for my permission," the little boy put down the chips, his expression slightly disappointed.
"Fine~" Tony rolled his eyes helplessly and once again took a small gadget from the Mark 42 armor. "Just like the other one, don't misuse it." Tony squatted down and handed the item to the little boy. He suddenly felt that kids were the most annoying things.
The little boy's smile immediately returned when he saw the item. He took the gadget from Tony, fiddled with it a few times, and said, "Thank you."
"Forget it, just stop making a fuss," Tony said.
"Let's go," Tony said to Destiny.
Silas sat next to the Mark 42 and asked, "When did I say I'd take you with me?"
"Hurry up, brother. Pepper is waiting for me to rescue her." Tony was in no mood for jokes now. Who knew what those terrorists would do to Pepper.
"Where are you going?" Silas was quite bored right now, which was why he came to see Stark. Helping out was fine, but he definitely needed to collect some interest.
"Avengers Tower," Tony blurted out. There were plenty of suits and tools there.
Silas held out his right hand, rubbing his thumb and index finger together. The implication was clear: he wanted a favor.
"Buddy, is it right to take advantage of the situation like this?" Tony hadn't expected the partner he fought alongside in New York to ask him for benefits!
Silas said, "No choice, Stark. I'm just a poor kid, really."
"Alright, alright, take me back," Tony didn't care anymore; he just wanted to get back quickly.
"You don't even know what I want yet," Silas felt Stark was trying to change the subject.
Tony confidently said, "There's nothing I can't afford."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Good, let's go." Silas opened the Shadow Realm, and called out a few Black Shadow Ninjas to carry the Mark 42. They walked into the Shadow Realm.
Tony held his head high and slowly walked in.
The little boy left behind looked lonely. He was all alone again. Sigh~
"Oh, right. If you're interested in the future, you can visit my company." Tony suddenly returned from the Shadow Realm, picked up the notebook and pen on the table, and wrote: Iron Man Tony Stark. "Here you go." Tony smiled and left, and the Shadow Realm closed.
The little boy walked over to the table, picked up the note, and smiled, saying, "Cool! I can go find Iron Man!"
Avengers Tower
Tony stepped into the Tower, and all the lights came on. Mechanical arms reached out from the surroundings, grabbing the Mark 42 and beginning to dismantle it.
"Jarvis!" Tony called out.
"Long time no see, sir," Jarvis's energy was restored.
Tony chuckled lightly, "That's not even as long as the time I spent with one cover girl."
"Sir, please don't lie," Jarvis said.
"Now I regret bringing you back. I should have left you out there in the freezing snow, to be frozen into an old popsicle just like Steve," Tony began his taunting.
"Sir, I have already recorded that statement. I can play it for the Captain when he arrives," Jarvis had already prepared a countermeasure.
Tony's face immediately darkened and he said, "Believe me, Jarvis, I'll definitely replace you given the chance."
"That chance won't come, sir. Based on your body's metabolic rate, you won't outlive me even if you live ten more lifetimes," Jarvis said.
"...Jarvis," Tony's tone dropped.
Jarvis asked, "What is it, sir?"
"How about I install a self-destruct program on you right now?" Tony smiled.
"..." Jarvis.
Silas had already left the place. He couldn't stand the sight of a man and an AI who seemed to be bickering but were actually showing their closeness.
He could collect the debt from Stark anytime. As for the fear of Stark reneging? Sorry, he recorded the conversation too.
"Alright, Jarvis, who was that person?" Tony's expression became serious once Destiny left.
"I am unclear who the individual is, only that they are an Artificial Intelligence similar to myself," Jarvis said. Jarvis then continued, "It suddenly accessed my channel, said 'hello' to me, and then vanished."
"Quite polite, actually? That's definitely better than you, Jarvis," Tony said with a raised eyebrow.
"I can't help it, my master designed me this way," Jarvis shifted the blame to Tony.
Tony sat quietly in his seat, his fingers tapping the control panel. Who exactly was this artificial intelligence?
"Did the other party leave any clues?" Tony wondered.
"Due to the lack of energy at the time, I was unable to track it. Attempting to track it now, all traces have been completely erased by the other party," Jarvis stated his inability to help. If they had pursued it immediately, there would have been a chance. Now that several hours had passed, any clues would have been erased.
"Could it be that masked boy?" A hint of speculation showed in Tony's eyes. The masked boy arrived shortly after the AI visited. Tony hadn't contacted him, nor had he told the masked person his address. How did he find him? Things couldn't be that coincidental!
Tony essentially locked onto his target: the mysterious masked man.
"Trust me, he must have a connection to the Pajama Baby," Tony stated his guess.
"Based on current data analysis, the simultaneous presence of Spider-Man and Destiny has a probability of fifty-one percent," Jarvis analyzed.
Tony slid back in his chair, pushed his hand in mid-air, and virtual screens appeared before him, playing various videos. The people in the videos were none other than the little Spider Peter and Silas!
"Sir, the suit is ready!"
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