Although Dr. Connors said that after Arthur wrote the formula last night, he just went to sleep.
Arthur felt that he might not have just slept!
He likely passed out!
Dr. Connors was so excited that he probably didn't have time to check things carefully.
At this moment, although Arthur was awake, his mental state was extremely poor. The coffee he had earlier didn't help him recover; instead, it made his mind even more foggy.
So, after hearing Dr. Connors's words, Arthur wasted no time as he got up, and left the basement.
He pondered what might have happened last night, but the more he thought about it, the heavier his head felt.
Clearly, he wasn't in a state to contemplate this matter at the moment.
He declined Banner's breakfast invitation and returned to his room, collapsing into bed!
He felt as if he has nearly slept through to the end of time…
When he opened his eyes, it was already evening, with the moon rising and the sun setting.
Groggily opening his eyes, he found two burgers on the bedside table, with Banner's note being blunt: "This is your meal!"
Since it was a meal, he ate!
Arthur grumbled, thinking how such a blunt note wasn't very considerate. It would have been better if it had said it was dinner or something.
After finishing the burgers, Arthur's eyes felt a bit glazed… Not because Banner had poisoned the burgers, but because he couldn't figure out what exactly had happened last night.
Had the massive amount of knowledge from the twenty-seven books made him dazed?
He had no memory of the events that followed, only some vague feelings that seemed dreamlike— no, it felt even more unreal than a dream!
Yet, whenever he thought about genetics, a plethora of knowledge and possibilities appeared in his mind.
"This must be an issue of equivalence!"
Arthur slapped his head as he reached a conclusion. Was the equivalence of twelve books the same as that of twenty-seven books?
He left his room and headed to the basement.
He had expected the basement to be buzzing with activity, but it seemed rather somber at the moment.
Dr. Connors and Banner were sitting in opposite corners, and Arthur thought that if they had a pen, they could have been doodling circles.
Seeing that his appearance didn't pique their interest at all, Arthur decided to clear his throat and ask, "What's going on?"
Both looked at Arthur, and Dr. Connors sighed, saying, "We're out of money."
"There are no channels to get it," Banner added, shaking his head.
Arthur was confused: "What do you mean?"
"You wrote the formula, but we don't have the funds."
Dr. Connors sighed deeply: "We lack the equipment to make it, and we need raw materials!"
Banner nodded: "Moreover, we don't have any channels to purchase these raw materials, so we can't conduct experiments or make the serum."
"Is that so?" Arthur said, looking at the formula he had written on the blackboard last night.
After studying it for a while, he finally spoke up: "Let me figure out a solution for the money and channels."
—
On a Malibu Point!
In the darkness, a black-clad visitor arrived.
Arthur took off his mask and took a few heavy breaths.
"To be honest, I really didn't want to come here!"
Arthur did have a bit of money. Before rescuing Iron Man, Arthur had Pepper help him buy some Stark Industries stock.
Although he didn't buy at the lowest price, the stock still fattened Arthur's wallet after Tony's return.
However, this small fortune was clearly insufficient to fund the perfect serum experiment.
So, Arthur ended up here!
At the edge of Malibu Point, in front of Tony Stark's mansion, Arthur was now standing at the entrance of Iron Man's house.
After a moment of thought, Arthur rang the doorbell.
"Borrowing money requires courtesy. Only when you owe money and refuse to repay it can you be unreasonable!"
Arthur felt that even though the person he was going to meet was the son of an old friend, he should lower his posture a bit. After all, he traveled all the way here to borrow money and not to act superior to Tony.
The main thing was that he was here to borrow money!
However, after ringing the doorbell for a long time, no one answered.
"Is he out?"
Arthur felt a bit frustrated. He had traveled all the way from New York, and now Tony wasn't even home?
What should he do?
Should he go back to New York and come back in a few days?
That seemed a bit absurd!
Should he wait?
Standing at the door in a black outfit, hat, and mask might look a bit suspicious.
After a brief hesitation, Arthur decided to use his teleportation technique.
In the next moment, he appeared inside Tony's house: "Though waiting at home makes me look even more suspicious, at least I won't be bothered by the police."
As he spoke, he saw a pale-faced Tony stumbling up from the floor.
In an instant, the two were face-to-face.
Arthur felt a bit awkward, having thought the owner wasn't home, and thus entered.
Now, facing Tony directly… It felt oddly like being caught in the act of burglary.
"Help me…"
Tony ignored the awkwardness and, in fact, was in a very bad state!
Arthur noticed that Tony's complexion was off. Even if someone had a penchant for disguises, they wouldn't paint their face to look like a zombie.
Looking around, Arthur saw the arc reactor missing from Tony's chest, and his mouth fell open: "No way! What a coincidence! Wait, no, how did things turn out like this?"
Seeing that Arthur was not coming to help, Tony stumbled in a certain direction.
Without understanding what exactly had happened, Arthur quickly went over and picked him up.
Tony was shocked. He was the one who usually carried others; when had he ever been carried like this: "I think you should put me down!"
"Are you serious?"
Arthur was surprised too. Was this a do-or-die situation?
Seeing Arthur was really about to let go, Tony quickly said, "The elevator is over there!"
After saying that, he closed his eyes, looking utterly resigned.
Arthur hurried over, opened the elevator doors, and they both entered. While turning around, he accidentally bumped Tony's head into the wall. Tony's face turned even whiter, unable to speak, and he stared at Arthur as if he were an enemy.
"Accident, it was an honest to god accident!"
Arthur was also embarrassed, trying to think of something to ease the atmosphere.
But clearly, he had no experience interacting with younger generations. After a long pause, he blurted out: "You're much heavier than your dad…"