769: Chapter 769: The Beginning is the End

"Fuck!" Tony cursed. "You're on!"

It had already come to this; if he refused now, where would his pride be?

Moreover, Yinsen was right there, as were Peter and Gwen, and Clarissa was watching him!

Furthermore, he had previously boasted about his MK2 to Clarissa until he was blue in the face. If he didn't even dare to fight for a single minute now, he'd lose all face!

"But there's no need for a whole minute!" Tony added stubbornly.

"Fine, stop talking nonsense. That's it then! One minute." Clarissa looked at Lorna. "It's up to you."

"Don't worry, boss!" Lorna nodded immediately, her eyes fixed on the MK2 in front of her.

"Alright, let's go to the open space upstairs. That whole area in the back is mine," Tony told everyone, intending to fight above ground.

"Let's go." Clarissa smiled, and the group moved from the underground lab to the surface.

The group reached the clearing. The Arc Reactor on the MK2's chest lit up, and it floated slightly off the ground.

"Clarissa, it's not too late to back out! You just need to admit my MK2 is amazing!" Tony said to Clarissa.

"Are you ready?" Clarissa asked Tony.

"What?"

"Three~"

"Two~"

"Shit!" Hearing Clarissa's countdown, Tony hurriedly adjusted his stance and got serious, preparing for a grand battle with Lorna!

As for worrying about hurting her... with Clarissa there and her being so confident, the girl probably had some tricks up her sleeve...

"One!"

Tony raised a hand, preparing to fire a Palm Repulsor blast.

Lorna was faster than him. Also raising her hand, her green hair fluttered slightly and began to glow with a faint light.

The next moment, countless alarms blared in Tony's ears.

Immediately after, his body felt weightless.

Then, he suddenly plummeted.

*Thud.* Tony hit the ground, stumbling forward and nearly falling. He spun around.

"Holy shit!" Tony couldn't help but swear.

Because his MK2 had turned into a pile of parts, completely dismantled and floating in the air.

And he, naturally, had fallen out from inside the disassembled MK2.

"What's going on here?" Tony spread his hands, finally dropping them helplessly as he looked at Clarissa with a sour expression.

Tony pointed at Lorna. "What is she?"

"Polaris, Lorna. She possesses the power to manipulate magnetic fields and metal~" Clarissa said to Tony with a smile.

"Ho-ly shit!" Upon hearing this, Tony didn't need to say anything else; he just swore again.

She was the ultimate counter-measure against Iron Man!

"You set me up, didn't you!" Tony said to Clarissa, speechless.

"You agreed to it yourself~" Clarissa shrugged. "It didn't even take a minute, did it? How long was it? Three seconds?"

"..." Tony fell silent. "Fine, fine, I lost. The time doesn't matter~ alright!"

Tony turned his head and pointed to the air. "Now, can I have my MK2 back?"

Lorna released her ability, and the MK2 parts scattered onto the ground.

Tony was helpless. Forget it, whatever, he'd clean it up later.

The MK2 couldn't keep up anymore! He had to continue refining the technology!

Also, he absolutely needed an Anti-Lorna Armor!

Tony didn't want to encounter another enemy with similar abilities who could just casually dismantle the armor he was so proud of!

This was a good thing, though; at least it served as a wake-up call for Tony.

"Let's go, let's head inside," Tony said with a look of defeat.

"Remember our bet," Clarissa reminded Tony.

"Don't worry! I remember~ but you have to tell me what's going on with your organization." Tony nodded; the great Stark wouldn't go back on his word.

"Akatsuki. My organization is called Akatsuki," Clarissa told Tony. "I need you to help me set up a quiet, sufficiently private environment. Your villa, for example, is quite nice."

"Bah! You're actually eyeing my villa!" Tony was speechless and rolled his eyes. "But that's a small matter. I'll get you a similar villa."

"Does it have a basement?" Clarissa asked Tony.

"Of course! But it won't be like mine; I modified this one myself. When the time comes, tell me what you need, and I'll find someone to renovate it for you," Tony said to Clarissa.

"No need for that, I can handle the renovations myself," Clarissa said, shaking her head slightly.

Getting what she wanted was simple. She just needed a basement, then she could go to Ran Quan's side, get a set of construction robots, and they could build her an underground kingdom directly.

How could it not be simple to get what she wanted?

"Alright then." Tony also knew Clarissa wasn't an ordinary person. Since she didn't need him, he didn't waste words. "I'll have the villa ready for you in the next couple of days."

"Great, and transfer a billion dollars to me while you're at it," Clarissa said.

"How much?!" Tony nearly spat out a mouthful of water, his eyes widening as he stared at Clarissa. "No, you can't just throw that out there! That's a billion dollars! A billion!"

Tony spoke with a look of pained heartbreak and disbelief.

A billion dollars!

Stark Industries was worth around 100 billion, and after closing the weapons division, its market value had evaporated significantly.

However, Tony planned to pivot towards the energy sector.

The market value would definitely rise in the future, and cash flow would pour in in large quantities.

Because with energy... expenses would get lower and lower, while income would get higher and higher!

And... Tony thought to himself, his uncle was being a bit dishonest!

Plus, after closing the weapons division, Tony had bought back a lot of shares from the shareholders.

Yinsen was now working with him. With such a suitable assistant—and a loyal, trusted one at that—the two of them worked together very happily.

Progress on the MK2 was much further ahead than in the original timeline.

But a billion! Market value is market value, and cash is cash.

Although Tony could personally produce a billion dollars, the problem was that he also needed to spend huge amounts of money!

His own research, buying various Materials... and paying salaries...

"Relax, I'm not scamming you. First of all, I'll give you a few life-saving items—the kind that even a nuclear bomb can't kill you through. You can give them to those close to you, or use them yourself..."

"Deal!" Tony interrupted Clarissa directly, speaking with a look of generosity, completely replacing his previous heartbreak and disbelief.

In his view, this was worth it, and his money would continue to flow in steadily anyway.

In comparison, the things Clarissa mentioned were what was truly valuable.

Having nearly died once, Tony knew the value of life.

He was even more worried about death coming for those around him... like a certain someone?

Thinking of this, Tony remembered something. His face suddenly darkened as he asked Clarissa:

"By the way, Clarissa, do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Of course I do! Why? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. come looking for you?" Clarissa asked Tony with a raised eyebrow.

[I wonder how many people are still reading at this point, give me a shout!]