Even a hard man like Ivan Vanko had moments when his heart was stirred.
Putting himself in another's shoes—everything Renjie had done for him.
Including offering him a chance to stand again, and to restore his father's disgraced name.
For that alone, Ivan was willing to give his life in service to Renjie, to devote every ounce of his strength without hesitation.
Ivan would make use of his knowledge and expertise to become Hammer's "technical consultant."
This would be a new kind of revenge—
No longer the childish kind, fueled by brute violence.
He would assist Hammer Industries in developing "new energy projects," carving away market share from Stark Industries.
He intended to live well—
And personally witness the downfall of Stark Industries with his own eyes.
...
After the banquet ended,
Renjie was sent home in a private vehicle to rest.
Just as he and Android 18 were preparing to turn in for the night, an urgent message arrived—from Hammer.
Tony Stark had completely lost his mind.
At his own birthday party, he had actually worn the Iron Man armor—
And gotten into a full-on brawl with his close friend, Colonel Rhodes, nearly tearing the house apart.
In the end,
Colonel Rhodes had even taken the Iron Man armor away.
The moment Hammer received this explosive news, he reported it to Renjie without delay.
Everything was unfolding exactly as it had in the original storyline—
Except this time, Nick Fury was missing.
Without Fury, who was going to pull Iron Man back from the edge?
Or maybe…
He should give it a try himself?
At this point, there was no choice left. Even if it meant biting the bullet, he had to step in.
Just as Renjie was lost in thought—
Android 18's arm suddenly wrapped around his neck, pulling him forcefully into her embrace.
"It's nothing urgent," she said flatly. "It can wait until tomorrow."
"Tonight's assignment…"
"…hasn't been finished yet."
...
The next day.
Inside a massive donut.
Tony Stark, still wearing the Iron Man armor, lay comfortably within it, leisurely enjoying his food.
Gazing at the rising sun in the distance, he stuffed a strawberry coconut donut into his mouth.
It was, without question, the most delicious thing he'd eaten in a long time.
A dark-gray suit of armor descended from the sky.
It hovered steadily in front of Tony Stark, causing the superhero to freeze in shock and remove his sunglasses.
"Come down," a voice said coldly. "I need to talk to you."
The voice came from within the armor—
It was Renjie, carrying an unmistakable tone of command.
As soon as the words fell, he landed on the ground first.
Tony Stark shrugged indifferently.
Then he leapt off the donut, using his thrusters to cushion the fall before landing smoothly.
The moment two armored "superheroes" walked into the shop—
Every customer inside froze on the spot.
Once the two sat down,
The customers hurriedly packed up their things.
Under the silent gaze of the armored figures, they fled the shop one after another.
"It must be because your paint job is way too oppressive," Tony said lazily.
"And this main color—who picked it? Hammer?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but that guy's taste is stuck in the 1980s."
Tony reclined casually on the couch, openly mocking the armor's color scheme.
"I chose it myself," Renjie replied calmly. "Dark gray conveys authority."
"Not everyone lives like you—a self-indulgent playboy."
Renjie disengaged the Creator Armor, revealing loose, casual clothing underneath, then signaled a waiter to place an order.
"Oh?" Tony chuckled. "Looks like you had quite a happy night last night…"
"Here, here—and here."
Tony pointed at his own neck, lining it up precisely with the distinct bite marks on both sides of Renjie's neck.
A veteran of countless romances, how could he not understand?
"I'm not like you…"
Renjie's mouth twitched slightly.
He'd been forced.
And to be precise—it hadn't been last night.
It was this morning.
Android 18 had bitten down hard. Even the regenerative ability of the Tyrant Virus couldn't heal it quickly.
"Right, right—you're clearly much stronger than me."
"So tell me," Tony said with genuine envy, "what kind of workouts do you usually do?"
Those bite marks were terrifying—
Yet impossible not to envy.
To any seasoned womanizer, they were nothing less than badges of honor.
"Enough!" Renjie snapped. "I'm not here to be your middle school biology teacher!"
"What happened last night—Hammer already told me everything."
"You handed Stark Industries over to Pepper, and let your best friend take your Iron Man armor."
"For the past month, you've been donating nonstop, doing charity work…"
"Everything you're doing looks exactly like a decaying old man arranging his final affairs!"
"Is accepting goodwill from others really that hard for you?"
Renjie scolded him angrily.
He hated the man sitting across from him.
Pride and arrogance—
They made it impossible for Tony Stark to accept Renjie's kindness.
Yet love and responsibility—
Made him crave life more desperately than anyone else.
"…Sorry."
Tony sighed softly, emotions tangled.
He wanted to explain.
But Renjie had already stood up, grabbed his head, and forcefully injected a syringe into Tony's neck.
"Whoa—what did you just do to me?!"
"Some kind of mind-control viral nanobots?"
Tony complained irritably.
But then he froze.
The symptoms of palladium poisoning that had plagued him—
Were easing.
Even the bulging veins on his neck gradually subsided.
"That's incredible… what did you inject me with?"
"Nanobots?"
"No, no, no—you don't get to control me, buddy."
Tony Stark panicked slightly and immediately ordered JARVIS to run a scan.
To check whether nanobots existed inside his body.
The result made him relax.
It was nothing more than an injection of lithium dioxide—
Highly effective at alleviating palladium poisoning.
Essentially…
A fast-acting cardiac rescue drug.