"You're still so stubborn. Look at that beard you always flaunt. It's turned into weeds."
"You're not much better. I didn't know my brother had the habit of going shirtless and showing off." Tony never loses his temper—then again, maybe he just enjoyed bickering with Leon.
It made him feel different, like a family member. After all, Leon was his only relative in this world.
"And next time, you might want to consider changing your angle for criticism. How could you hear my voice in a spaceship out in outer space? Ahaha, that's not funny. You forgot that sound can't travel through a vacuum, huh? Just half a year after graduation?" Tony said, immediately spotting the flaw in Leon's story.
"So, something unexpected happened and you came back early? Or did Pepper contact you? Wait, is Pepper... okay?" Tony asked.
"No, she didn't contact me. Maybe she didn't want me to know you were attacked, especially with how violent it was. Bad news for Duoji Shao." Leon shook his head.
He continued, "But I did hear your voice in the spaceship. You were calling my name, so I heard it. It's my newly awakened ability."
Tony opened his mouth, about to argue. "Your ability is completely unscientific... Sound is produced by vibration, and that vibration's propagation is limited, especially in the vacuum of space..."
"But it's true. The unscientific ability I awakened—it's real. I'll have you test it later," Leon said, observing Tony closely.
He noticed the shrapnel lodged in Tony's aortic valve. Sighing, he said, "Tony, you don't look too good. Those terrorists really tortured you, huh?"
His frown deepened as he examined the injury. "The shrapnel pierced an artery near your heart. We can only use magnetism to slow it down temporarily. It's useless—like a sharp knife constantly hanging over your head... those bastards!"
Tony froze, seeing the cold look in Leon's eyes. He was moved but shook his head. "It's just a minor injury. But you showed up at the right time. I was planning to break out tomorrow, but now we can just charge out without worrying about Ethan's safety."
"Ah! Ethan!" Tony suddenly slapped his forehead, standing up quickly. "You've been quiet for so long, are you alright?"
He turned to find Ethan—a slightly bald middle-aged man wearing a vest—standing quietly beside them.
Ethan spread his hands. "I haven't slept yet. Actually, I came here when this gentleman fell from the top of the cave."
Tony smiled awkwardly, his attention still on Leon, and introduced the two. "Ethan, this is my brother, Leon Stark. Leon, this is Ethan, my... friend. He saved my life."
The two shook hands, greeting each other.
Leon smiled, "I didn't expect Tony to make friends in a cave. You must have been looking out for him all this time—otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy for him to survive with his injuries."
Ethan shook his head modestly. "Ah, no, I..."
Leon raised his hand, cutting him off. "No need for politeness, Ethan. You saved Tony, so you're my friend."
"Now, we've got to fight back and send those guys outside to their rightful place," Leon said calmly, though his eyes were full of thunder.
Ethan hesitated. "Maybe we should come up with a plan first? They have strong firepower."
"Plan? No! We don't need a plan!" Tony interrupted, walking proudly to the armor he'd built.
He patted it. "Look, Leon, this is my masterpiece from the past few months. Even if you hadn't come today, Ethan and I would have been able to take down those guys tomorrow!"
Leon glanced at Tony showing off his "toy" and shook his head. "You can save your little toys for later. I'll lead the way—just follow me. I haven't been sitting in the sun for six months."
"Toys? Unbelievable. Leon, I know you're an average student, so you may not understand the greatness of my armor," Tony replied, unable to accept that his masterpiece was being dismissed as a toy. "So when you don't understand the situation, just stay quiet and watch me show you how good it is!"
Leon placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, maybe your toy is good, but I have to tell you, I flew here directly from a spaceship wearing these pants."
Tony's eyes widened.
Flying back from space in physical form? And those pants looked like they hadn't been washed for ages, yet they showed no sign of damage?
Tony knew what that meant.
"What? You... you..." Tony was speechless.
It was over. His armor now seemed like a mere toy.
"So, just follow me." Leon smiled.
"But before we go, there's one more thing." Leon glanced around and his gaze settled on Tony's chest. "I need to take care of the consequences first."
"Consequences?" Tony didn't understand at first.
But Leon had already taken action.
His body was steady, his right hand on Tony's shoulder. With a blur of motion, his left hand suddenly moved. Tony felt a sharp pain in his chest, but it vanished in an instant.
"One, two, three... Still quite a few fragments, Tony. You're a tough one to survive this injury," Leon noted.
"What did you say..." Tony touched his chest subconsciously.
When he looked up, Leon was holding a dozen tiny shrapnel pieces in his palm.
"Look, I just took out the shrapnel from your chest. Keep these as a memento of the fact that you've finally grown up and learned to take responsibility after your big change at forty."
Leon handed Tony the shrapnel and turned toward the cave's closed door.
In a fraction of a second, he used a bio-force field to hold the shrapnel inside Tony's body, then used his left fingertips to make tiny cuts on Tony's chest, removing the shrapnel. With heat rays, he sealed the wounds.
The whole process was as smooth as clouds and as swift as lightning—yet as calm as water. Tony didn't even notice any change.
When Tony finally reacted, he touched his chest and found that the Ark reactor was still there, though his clothes now had several holes in them.
"This! This!" Tony stared back and forth between the shrapnel in Leon's palm and his own chest, speechless.
Leon had shocked him too many times today.
He didn't even bother to argue with his younger brother about growing up.
"Let's go, it's time to leave," Leon said, taking the lead.
...
Next 20 chapters are available at: Pat reon. com (slash) LordMerlin