Half a month later.
The world-famous Stark Expo officially opened as scheduled.
Countless people gazed up at the night sky as a streak of blazing light tore through the darkness, rapidly descending—until it slammed solidly into the ground.
That was Iron Man's most iconic landing pose.
As he slowly straightened up and raised his hand toward the tens of thousands of spectators, the venue erupted into cheers like a roaring tidal wave.
Under tight control and suppression from the upper echelons,
the uninformed public remained completely unaware of the existence of androids.
To them, this Iron Man—this flamboyant billionaire—was still a revered superhero.
Seated in the VIP section, Renjie watched Tony Stark on stage with a faint smile.
Stripped of his armor, Tony's complexion looked pale, his smile stiff and forced.
The symptoms of palladium poisoning had already begun to spread.
At this point, he could only rely on drinking chlorophyll supplements to temporarily suppress the toxicity.
This was the first Stark Expo to be held since 1974.
Over the course of the coming year,
Corporations from all around the world,
the brightest minds and greatest geniuses,
would gather at the Stark Expo to showcase their masterpieces—
to share research, integrate resources, grow together, advance together, and march toward a brighter future.
Everything looked just as beautiful as the words themselves suggested.
Yet despite the brilliance of his speech, Tony was clearly distracted.
After finishing the opening address, he turned and left the stage amid thunderous applause from tens of thousands of voices.
Escorted by Happy and the event staff,
he pushed through the forest of cameras and microphones, through seas of admirers packed shoulder to shoulder.
There were still countless matters waiting for him—
for example, summons from the military tribunal.
The appearance of the androids had thrown the military into unprecedented panic.
They wanted stronger weapons—
weapons that could restore their former deterrent power.
If Iron Man's armor could be mass-produced,
the military's combat strength would leap an entire tier.
As Tony exited the venue, he suddenly stopped.
Because he felt something—
a powerful sense of danger.
It made him deeply uncomfortable.
To be precise… wary.
Tony scanned his surroundings, searching for the source of that threat.
At last, his gaze settled on a single figure—
a man.
Unlike the Asian faces he was accustomed to seeing locally—
people hunched over, quietly struggling to make a living—
this handsome young man completely shattered Tony's ingrained stereotypes of the East.
The young man stood tall, his back straight like a sword just drawn from its sheath.
The innate pride and nobility he carried were utterly undisguised.
He was tall—well over Tony's height
dressed in a black suit coat, a gray-white scarf draped around his neck, as if paying homage to The Godfather.
He seemed intent on blending into the shadows,
yet his own brilliance was far too dazzling
so much so that no one dared approach him.
"Fury was right," Tony said after taking a deep breath.
"You really are younger than me… and better-looking too."
He greeted the man, subtly signaling Happy not to act rashly.
Then he stepped forward, walking straight toward the youth.
"Yes," the young man replied calmly.
"My life is still very long."
"Yours, on the other hand… that's not so certain."
"The taste of palladium poisoning isn't pleasant, is it?"
Renjie curled his lips into a mocking smile as Tony approached.
"Heh… so I've been seen through," Tony muttered.
He spread his arms helplessly, then shrugged with feigned nonchalance.
After all, he had always been a drifter.
To burn like a summer flower,
to fall like an autumn leaf.
To end life at its most brilliant moment,
to curtain-call as a hero—
that wasn't such a bad ending.
Renjie studied the Iron Man before him, slowly raising his left hand, then folding two fingers back.
"Considering the treatments you're capable of accepting," he said evenly,
"I have three reliable methods to put your mind at ease."
"Super-Soldier Serum—enhances the body. Unfortunately, I don't have it on me."
"Nanotechnology—cleanses toxins. You could contact Hammer."
Renjie spoke gently, offering solutions with an almost friendly smile.
But Tony abruptly raised his hand, cutting him off.
"Don't," he said flatly.
"Anything from Hammer Industries—I wouldn't dare use."
"Even if it's your work… same thing."
The chance to be saved was right in front of him,
yet the playboy genius rejected it without a second thought.
Ten days earlier,
The chairman of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer, had held a global press conference.
There, he signed cooperation agreements with representatives from nations around the world.
He publicly unveiled medical nanorobot technology
and began charging global patent licensing fees.
For a time, Hammer and Renjie dominated the headlines—
even surpassing Iron Man himself.
Over the past half month,
As the inventor, Renjie was hailed by the media as the savior of humanity.
As the agent, Hammer was praised as a pioneer of the medical frontier.
Renjie was even nominated for a Nobel Prize,
becoming the most outstanding young figure of the new century.
Hammer Industries' stock skyrocketed—
second only to Stark Industries.
Together, Hammer and Renjie founded a subsidiary company.
Hammer held 30% of the shares.
Renjie held 70%.
Its name was Umbrella—
meaning protection.
Such a revolutionary technology, one destined to reshape human civilization, naturally caught Stark Industries' attention.
After purchasing the patent usage rights, Tony personally studied the nanorobots.
And he was utterly stunned.
This cutting-edge technology was something even he couldn't decipher.
He could only cultivate them strictly according to the blueprints
any deviation, no matter how small, would cause total failure.
He conducted experiments on monkeys.
After injecting a certain amount of nanorobots,
even damaged hearts
even severed limbs
could be rapidly restored.
There was no rejection response whatsoever.
These nanorobots weren't single-use.
They multiplied slowly inside the human body,
maintaining stable physiological function,
gradually enhancing immunity
a flawless symbiotic existence.
And yet
that was precisely what made them terrifying.
If…
every human on Earth were injected with these nanorobots—
and if their creator possessed the ability to control them—
what kind of future would that lead to?