Chương 124: Chapter 124: Tonight's Expenses Are on Mr. Stark! 

Later that afternoon in New York City, Tony Stark stood outside a seemingly ordinary, non-descript building, repeatedly comparing the physical address on the doorplate to the exact coordinates Luke had provided him. 

"177A Bleecker Street. This has to be the place." 

Satisfied, Tony nodded to his two highly advanced Iron Legion drones, S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. and F.R.I.D.A.Y. (who was currently actively remote-piloting the second drone), who were both currently heavily burdened, carrying massive duffel bags filled with high-tech diagnostic equipment, scanners, and personal belongings. 

Just as Tony raised his hand to knock on the heavy wooden door, he suddenly paused, realizing he had forgotten something important. He pulled out his sleek smartphone and dialed Pepper Potts. 

"Hey, Tony? What's going on?" Pepper's voice sounded incredibly stressed. She was currently sitting in her massive executive office at Stark Industries, frantically reviewing a mountain of backlogged corporate documents accumulated during their Asgardian vacation. She aggressively waved her hand, signaling her highly nervous secretary to wait a moment. 

Tony heard the rapid shuffling of papers and the tense atmosphere. "It sounds like you're incredibly busy right now." 

"Of course I am! Do you have any idea how much administrative chaos a multi-billion dollar multinational conglomerate generates when the CEO and the Chairman completely vanish for several days?! What do you need?" 

"I'm actually about to enter a highly secluded, deeply mysterious location to conduct some intense, focused research. Because of the nature of the facility, I likely won't be returning home for several days, and we probably won't be able to see each other until I'm finished." 

Pepper paused, lowering her pen. She quickly signaled her secretary to leave the office, ensuring absolute privacy before continuing the conversation. "Wait, are you utilizing the Bifrost to travel back to Asgard or Jotunheim?" 

Currently, the various global intelligence agencies and national governments had not yet reached a consensus on exactly how—or even if—they should formally disclose the existence of the Nine Realms to the general civilian population. While the Battle of New York had definitively proven the existence of hostile extraterrestrials, formally announcing that literal, mythological Norse gods were actually real, highly advanced aliens living in a magical golden space-castle was an entirely different, sociologically terrifying concept. The governments were desperately trying to maintain secrecy. 

Tony glanced at the mundane, heavily weathered doorplate of the New York Sanctum. "No, nothing nearly that dramatic or distant. It's actually a localized facility right here on Earth." 

He turned around, looking down the street toward the towering, highly visible spire of Stark Tower dominating the Manhattan skyline. "In fact, it's incredibly close to home." 

"If it's in Manhattan, why are you acting like you're traveling to the other side of the galaxy?" Pepper chuckled, the stress slightly leaving her voice. 

"Well... honestly? Because I wanted to actively simulate what being married to you might actually feel like." 

"Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?" Pepper was genuinely confused. She clearly remembered that her father hadn't officially, formally given Tony his blessing yet; he had explicitly stated he wanted to 'thoroughly test' Tony's commitment first. 

"A few months ago, Luke graciously provided me with a highly detailed, comprehensive analysis of successful long-term romantic relationships. One of his primary, most heavily emphasized hypotheses was that brief, localized periods of physical separation significantly amplify emotional attachment and romantic anticipation upon reunification. Essentially, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'" 

Tony leaned casually against the stone doorframe of the Sanctum, staring intensely at the distant Stark Tower, as if his gaze could somehow pierce through the concrete and steel to see Pepper sitting in her office. 

Hearing his highly analytical, completely ridiculous explanation, Pepper couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. "Tony, could you please stop acting so incredibly childish? We only officially formalized our relationship six months ago! And we literally just took a massive, incredibly romantic vacation to an alien planet a few days ago!" 

"Alright, fine," Tony replied, his voice instantly losing all its playful energy, sounding incredibly deflated and dejected. 

Hearing his sudden, dramatic shift in tone, Pepper felt a brief pang of guilt and opened her mouth to comfort him. However, before she could speak, Tony's voice dropped to a low, incredibly sincere, highly emotional register. 

"But there is one specific, absolute truth I must state for the record, Ms. Potts: I am only ever this childish and vulnerable... exclusively with you." 

Tony stood silently, waiting. A few seconds later, he heard the sharp click of the call disconnecting. 

He slowly lowered his phone, a highly satisfied, incredibly smug smile spreading across his face. He turned to look at S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. and F.R.I.D.A.Y. 

"Boss," S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. reported efficiently. "According to the biometric and localized visual telemetry data actively intercepted and relayed by my sibling, T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y., Ms. Potts's facial temperature instantly spiked, and her face turned completely, violently red immediately following your final statement. She abruptly terminated the call and has currently retreated into her private executive washroom." 

"Flawless execution," Tony smirked in absolute triumph. "It appears my romantic strategies are highly effective. Assuming I successfully navigate her father's ridiculous 'tests,' I should probably begin finalizing the logistical preparations for a formal proposal once I return." 

Tony confidently turned around to finally knock on the door of the Sanctum. 

However, the absolute microsecond he turned, the heavy wooden door silently swung inward, and a pair of intense, unblinking eyes stared directly at him from the shadows! 

"WAAAH!" 

A loud, highly undignified yelp of sheer terror echoed down the street. 

Tony and S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. instantly turned, staring in absolute, mind-boggling disbelief at F.R.I.D.A.Y. 

"Uh... recalibrating internal sensors. I am completely functional," F.R.I.D.A.Y. (piloting the drone) quickly adjusted its posture, attempting to act perfectly normal, though its internal gyroscopes were still clearly vibrating. 

"Are you absolutely serious right now?" Tony stared at the drone in profound exasperation. "You are an incredibly advanced, highly sophisticated artificial intelligence housed within a literal weapon of mass destruction! How did you just get jump-scared by a door opening?!" 

Tony vividly remembered that during the Battle of New York, when F.R.I.D.A.Y. was aggressively piloting his armors through dense, lethal crossfire and blasting Chitauri Leviathans out of the sky, she hadn't displayed even a microscopic shred of fear! She had been actively cheering! 

"They are functionally sentient beings possessing highly complex, simulated consciousness. Experiencing a sudden, unexpected stimuli triggering a localized startle response is an entirely normal, perfectly logical biological reaction." 

The man who had opened the door spoke up, surprisingly defending the AI's undignified reaction. 

Tony looked at the sorcerer in genuine surprise. "Honestly? I completely assumed your highly traditional, mystic order would violently reject advanced technology. I figured sorcerers fundamentally despised machines." 

The sorcerer looked at Tony with an expression of profound, patient exasperation, exactly the way one might look at an incredibly ignorant, highly confident tourist. 

"Mechanical lifeforms possessing advanced sentience are simply another valid, highly complex manifestation of life within the infinite multiverse. From the perspective of the Mystic Arts, their fundamental existence is no different than an elemental construct or a localized dimensional spirit." 

"Alright, fair enough. My preconceived, stereotypical biases led to an inaccurate conclusion," Tony shrugged effortlessly, quickly adjusting his worldview. 

Seeing Tony so rapidly and easily abandon his prejudices to accept new information, the sorcerer nodded approvingly. This man possesses a highly flexible, incredibly sharp intellect. He is capable of learning. 

"That is highly commendable. Being ignorant is an unavoidable facet of existence; being violently, arrogantly defensive of that ignorance is the true danger. My name is Karl Mordo. The Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, specifically instructed me to await your arrival." 

"The Ancient One? Oh, you mean the incredibly serene lady who politely requested my high-speed Wi-Fi password during the alien invasion?" 

Tony gestured for his heavily burdened drones to follow him and confidently stepped across the threshold into the New York Sanctum. 

The absolute microsecond the heavy wooden door clicked shut behind them, the relentless, chaotic, blaring cacophony of the busy Manhattan street instantly, completely vanished. It was as if the simple wooden door had severed their connection to reality itself. 

Tony paused, glancing back at the door in genuine appreciation. The acoustic dampening on this structure is absolutely phenomenal. I definitely need to research this specific material composition and install these doors in my penthouse and private labs. 

Following Mordo through the dimly lit, labyrinthine corridors, Tony's eyes darted rapidly, intensely analyzing the massive, highly eclectic collection of ancient artifacts, glowing relics, and bizarre weaponry lining the walls and display cases. He was actively attempting to reverse-engineer their functions just by looking at them. 

Noticing Tony's intense scrutiny, Mordo paused and looked back. "The items you see are highly potent, ancient magical relics meticulously gathered and safely secured by generations of Kamar-Taj sorcerers. However, unlike mundane tools, these relics possess localized sentience; they actively choose their wielders. If you find them fascinating, you are welcome to browse the collection later. Perhaps one of the relics will find your unique intellect appealing." 

"Is that so?" Tony nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, I should probably contact Stark Logistics and arrange for a heavy-duty transport convoy. If I'm going to 'browse,' I'll likely end up taking half the collection with me." 

Mordo simply smiled, shaking his head at the billionaire's absolute arrogance. 

He led Tony into a massive, highly complex central chamber. Within the chamber, three colossal, intricately carved wooden doors stood isolated, each emanating a highly distinctive, localized spatial signature. 

Mordo walked up to one of the doors and stopped. 

Watching Tony curiously examining the intricately carved frames, Mordo suddenly snapped his fingers loudly, instantly drawing Tony's absolute focus. 

"Listen to me very carefully, Mr. Stark. The door we are about to walk through leads directly to Kamar-Taj. Once you step across this threshold, you must actively, completely discard every single preconceived notion you hold regarding physics, reality, and logic. Only by completely emptying your cup can you hope to fill it with the mystic arts." 

Seeing Tony's expression finally shift from casual amusement to absolute, highly focused seriousness, Mordo nodded in satisfaction. He firmly gripped the brass handle, threw the door open, and led Tony and his robotic entourage through the spatial gateway. 

Meanwhile, back at Stark Tower... 

Pepper Potts aggressively splashed freezing cold water on her face, violently scrubbing her cheeks to forcefully banish the intense, highly embarrassing blush Tony's disgustingly smooth, romantic line had caused. 

Taking a deep, composing breath, she exited the private washroom, instantly reverting to the absolutely focused, hyper-efficient CEO of Stark Industries. 

"What is my immediate itinerary?" Pepper demanded, immediately addressing her waiting secretary. 

"According to the revised schedule, you have a formal, high-level investment pitch scheduled in Conference Room 17 in precisely three minutes." 

"Understood. We need to move quickly. Give me the brief. What exactly is the nature of the pitch?" Pepper asked, striding purposefully down the luxurious corridor, her heels clicking aggressively on the marble floor. T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y., currently occupying an incredibly sleek, unassuming humanoid chassis and acting as her 'silent bodyguard,' followed closely behind. 

"The meeting is with the founder and CEO of Advanced Idea Mechanics, a privately funded biotech research firm. They are officially requesting a massive, multi-million dollar capital injection from Stark Industries to fund their next phase of experimental biological research," the secretary summarized efficiently. 

Pepper nodded, absorbing the information as she pushed open the heavy glass doors of Conference Room 17. 

Entering the room, she looked at the man standing confidently at the head of the table. Her eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise. 

"Aldrich Killian?" 

Outside the conference room, Happy Hogan was currently engaged in his favorite, highly self-important daily activity: aggressively, annoyingly reminding passing Stark Industries employees to visibly display their corporate ID badges. Judging by the highly irritated, thoroughly exhausted glares the employees shot him, his strict security protocols were not particularly popular. 

However, seeing the employees actually comply, Happy nodded in profound satisfaction. Security is paramount! 

He casually glanced toward Conference Room 17. Through the soundproof glass walls, he saw Pepper Potts engaged in a highly animated, seemingly pleasant conversation with a sharply dressed, incredibly handsome man. 

Happy frowned deeply. He didn't like the way the man was looking at Pepper. He instantly decided he needed to maintain absolute, unwavering visual surveillance over this meeting to ensure Pepper's safety. 

He forcefully commandeered a nearby chair and sat down, staring intensely at the conference room like a hawk. Suddenly, another figure silently sat down in the chair directly beside him. 

"Greetings, Mr. Hogan." 

"WAAH!" Happy violently jumped in his seat, completely startled. He spun around. 

"Uh... T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y.? Aren't you supposed to be stationed at the Malibu mansion managing the household logistics?" Happy asked, highly confused to see Tony's AI currently occupying a physical, humanoid chassis in New York. 

"J.A.R.V.I.S. is significantly more efficient at processing domestic logistics and managing Mr. Stark's personal scheduling. Consequently, Mr. Stark significantly upgraded my hardware chassis and permanently reassigned my primary operational parameters. My sole, absolute function is now the physical protection and security of Ms. Potts," T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. explained politely. 

Happy nodded slowly, a profound sense of camaraderie washing over him. Ah. So you're also a victim of the brutal, hyper-competitive corporate environment. You got completely out-performed by a more competent colleague and subsequently demoted to bodyguard duty. 

However, Happy quickly realized his own situation was significantly worse. T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. had merely lost her job to another AI. Happy had literally lost his job as Tony's personal bodyguard to his own boss! Tony flying around in the Iron Man suit was infinitely more secure than Happy driving him in an Audi. 

Sighing heavily, Happy pointed toward the conference room. "If your primary, absolute function is protecting Ms. Potts, why are you sitting out here in the hallway instead of actively standing guard inside the room?" 

T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. shook her synthetic head helplessly. "Ms. Potts explicitly, forcefully demanded that I absolutely must not interfere with or disrupt her professional corporate negotiations. Therefore, I am required to maintain a low profile and minimize my physical presence. However, to be entirely honest, I am merely functioning as a highly advanced, automated chauffeur and secondary deterrent. The actual, primary security detail protecting Ms. Potts is currently provided by... them." 

T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. subtly tilted her head, indicating the localized shadows in the corners of the hallway. 

Happy immediately understood. He knew all about Luke's terrifying Shadowkhan. 

Previously, when the Shadow Ninjas first arrived to protect Pepper, they had at least manifested in a solid, humanoid form and physically stood guard like normal bodyguards. However, a few days ago, following some unknown upgrade, their behavior had become completely, horrifyingly inhuman. They simply dissolved into flat, 2D shadows and aggressively slithered across the walls and floors, utterly ignoring the laws of physics. It was incredibly disturbing. 

However, Happy couldn't deny their absolute, terrifying efficiency. During a recent, highly classified corporate trip to Europe, a heavily armed mercenary convoy had attempted to violently ambush Pepper's vehicle. Before Happy could even draw his weapon, the 'shadows' had violently erupted from the pavement, brutally and silently slaughtering the entire mercenary team in less than ten seconds. 

Honestly, considering how efficient those shadows are, my job as Head of Security is becoming increasingly obsolete. I'm practically just a highly paid parking attendant now. 

Pushing his existential career dread aside, Happy refocused his intense gaze on the conference room. He watched as the man, Killian, activated a small, glowing device, projecting a massive, highly complex holographic rendering of a... human brain? 

Just as Happy leaned forward, thoroughly confused by the projection, Killian aggressively stepped up onto the conference table and leaned down, apparently inviting Pepper to physically join him inside the hologram! 

Happy's blood pressure instantly skyrocketed! He gripped the armrests of his chair, fully prepared to burst into the room and violently eject the man for inappropriate conduct. 

However, to his immense relief, Pepper immediately, forcefully rejected Killian's aggressive advance. Her demeanor instantly shifted from polite to highly professional and guarded. She gestured firmly for Killian to step down and continue his verbal presentation, explicitly stating she would evaluate the objective, scientific merits of his proposal. 

Happy exhaled a long breath, finally relaxing his grip on the chair. However, his initial, highly hostile assessment of Killian was now permanently cemented. 

"We absolutely need to find a legitimate, corporate justification to violently kick that guy out of the building! I don't trust him! He looks like a sleazy, manipulative sociopath!" Happy muttered angrily to T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. 

T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. slowly nodded in agreement. She smoothly pointed a synthetic finger toward a man aggressively slouching on a nearby lobby sofa, chewing gum obnoxiously. "That specific individual appears to be Killian's personal bodyguard or associate. Perhaps we should initiate our investigation by analyzing him?" 

Happy nodded firmly, glaring at the man. "Look at him. He's dressing and acting like a low-level, uneducated street thug. What legitimate, highly funded biotech research firm hires unrefined muscle like that? This entire company is clearly a front for something illegal. We are going to aggressively tail them when they leave and uncover exactly what kind of highly illegal, highly dangerous conspiracy they're operating." 

T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y., processing Happy's highly dramatic, wildly speculative monologue, quietly initiated a covert, deep-penetrating biometric scan of the slouched man. 

The results were instantly alarming. The man's localized biological density, muscular output potential, and baseline body temperature were significantly, unnaturally higher than the absolute maximum physiological limits of a standard human! 

T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. turned to look at Happy, her synthetic eyes wide with genuine admiration. 

Mr. Hogan's intuition is absolutely incredible! No wonder he successfully competed against J.A.R.V.I.S. for several years! He managed to accurately identify a highly augmented, extremely dangerous biological threat utilizing nothing more than naked-eye visual observation and highly prejudiced intuition! 

"Your assessment is highly accurate, Mr. Hogan. My scanners indicate that individual possesses significant, highly anomalous biological irregularities. Initiating covert pursuit protocols upon their departure is highly recommended," T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. agreed, her voice completely serious. 

Happy puffed out his chest, feeling incredibly validated. 

Just then, the heavy glass doors of Conference Room 17 opened. Pepper and Killian walked out. 

"While your theoretical research is undeniably fascinating, Mr. Killian, I must be blunt. Currently, your experimental findings offer absolutely zero immediate, tangible, or marketable benefits. Stark Industries cannot justify a massive, multi-million dollar capital investment based entirely on highly unstable, purely theoretical 'future potential,'" Pepper stated firmly, closing her notebook. 

"Of course," she added professionally, "If your firm successfully stabilizes the formula and achieves concrete, verifiable, and safe results in the future, you are welcome to bypass the standard reception protocols and contact my office directly." 

Killian offered a tight, highly strained nod. He knew exactly what was wrong with his Extremis formula. While it technically succeeded in physically augmenting the human body... it was catastrophically unstable. It currently had a highly unfortunate tendency to violently mutate the test subjects into unstable, walking thermal bombs that spontaneously detonated. 

Aside from highly desperate, fanatical terrorist organizations seeking untraceable suicide bombers... absolutely no legitimate corporation or military would ever purchase his product in its current, highly explosive state. 

Seeing Pepper's firm dismissal, Killian turned away. The microsecond he was facing away from her, the polite, handsome facade instantly melted away, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated, violent rage. He aggressively tore open the top buttons of his expensive shirt, visibly sweating, and stormed furiously toward the elevators. 

His thuggish bodyguard immediately stood up and followed closely behind. 

Happy and T.H.U.R.S.D.A.Y. exchanged a significant, highly coordinated glance, and immediately initiated their covert pursuit. 

Meanwhile, millions of kilometers away, deep within the chaotic expanse of the Martian asteroid belt... 

Luke was completely oblivious to the impending, highly explosive corporate espionage currently unfolding on Earth. 

He hovered in the freezing void, staring down a massive, heavily cratered asteroid roughly the size of a small moon. He aggressively channeled a massive surge of dark energy, forming a highly complex, devastating magical array directly in front of him. 

BOOM! 

A massively amplified, hyper-concentrated bolt of Balthakk's Lightning violently erupted from the array, slamming into the asteroid and instantly shattering it into millions of manageable fragments! 

Simultaneously, Luke forcefully tore open dozens of massive dimensional rifts directly in the path of the expanding debris field! 

The localized gravitational pull of the Dark Dimension aggressively sucked the shattered fragments through the portals! Once inside, the physical matter was rapidly, violently digested and assimilated, slowly expanding the baseline volume of the Dark Dimension. 

This highly aggressive 'Shatter and Vacuum' methodology was infinitely faster and significantly more efficient than tediously hunting for individually sized asteroids and manually stuffing them through a single portal. 

Just as Luke was identifying his next massive target, Galacta's voice crackled through his helmet comms. 

"Boss! I have completely finalized the comprehensive interior design and landscaping blueprints for the Earth base! Are we returning now?" 

Luke paused, glancing back at the sleek, purple spacecraft hovering in the distance. "How long have we been out here?" 

"Approximately six hours. Assuming standard temporal synchronization, it should currently be roughly 4:00 PM on Earth." 

Luke nodded. "Alright. We'll head back now." 

He briefly closed his eyes, mentally interfacing with the Dark Dimension to check his progress. After six hours of aggressive, non-stop asteroid mining, his Maximum Energy Capacity had only increased by roughly one million points. 

Just as I suspected. Manually devouring standard, non-magical space rocks is incredibly tedious and highly inefficient. 1

However, it was still a perfectly stable, guaranteed source of passive income. Now that he had mapped the coordinates, he could easily return to the asteroid belt whenever he was bored and needed a quick workout. 

Deciding he had earned a rest, Luke drew an incredibly massive Sling Ring portal directly in the void. He flew back into the spacecraft, and the vessel smoothly flew through the portal, instantly returning to Earth's upper atmosphere. 

"I'm heading back to my apartment. You're welcome to come down for dinner later tonight," Luke said, waving to Galacta as he drew a second portal, instantly teleporting from the ship directly into his living room. 

Settling onto his comfortable sofa, Luke remembered the address he had given Tony earlier that morning. 

Assuming he followed my directions, Tony should have arrived at Kamar-Taj by now. 

Curious about how the arrogant billionaire was handling the highly disciplined, ascetic environment of the magical sanctuary, Luke pulled out his phone and dialed Tony's number. 

"Hey, Luke? You're back?" Tony answered, but his voice sounded incredibly muffled and highly distorted, as if his mouth was completely full. 

"What the hell happened to you?!" Luke asked, genuinely alarmed. "Did you arrogantly insult the Ancient One's bald head and get violently beaten by a squad of muscular battle-mages? Are your teeth broken? Why can't you speak clearly?" 

The chewing noises on the other end instantly stopped. 

After a loud, highly aggressive gulp, Tony's voice returned to normal, sounding highly offended. "What are you talking about?! Who in their right mind could possibly beat me up?! I was just chewing! I just discovered that Kamar-Taj literally has an incredibly diverse, massive food street built directly outside their main temple! I'm currently sampling the local cuisine! Since it's practically dinner time, are you coming over?" 

Luke breathed a massive sigh of relief, followed instantly by profound exasperation. "I explicitly sent you there to study the profound mysteries of the mystic arts! Why are you aggressively touring the food stalls?!" 

"Because my baseline intellectual capacity is literally thousands of times higher than these ascetic monks!" Tony retorted arrogantly. "One day of focused study for me is equivalent to decades of meditation for them! Learning their theories is incredibly easy!" 

Luke heard Tony loudly bite into something crunchy, likely a fried meatball. 

"Furthermore," Tony continued, his mouth full again, "I've been aggressively studying highly complex physics and engineering for my entire adult life! Can't a certified genius take a simple lunch break?!" 

Suddenly, Tony swallowed the meatball and yelled loudly into the phone, projecting his voice so the entire street could hear. 

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! TONIGHT'S EXPENSES ARE ENTIRELY COVERED BY TONY STARK! ORDER WHATEVER YOU WANT! IT'S ALL ON ME!" 

Hearing the massive, roaring wave of ecstatic cheering erupting from the sorcerers in the background, Luke was absolutely speechless. 

"You need to seriously dial it back," Luke warned helplessly. "If you act too arrogant, the Ancient One will literally physically eject you from the dimension." 

"Relax! The Ancient One isn't nearly that petty! Besides, we're already practically best friends; we bonded over Wi-Fi passwords! I'm having S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. deliver a massive platter of premium snacks directly to her pavilion right now!" 

Tony chuckled, leaning closer to his phone. "Look, I spent the entire morning observing the social dynamics here. The vast majority of these sorcerers live incredibly spartan, austere lives. By casually throwing a massive, all-expenses-paid feast, I instantly, effortlessly secure their unwavering loyalty and friendship! It's a highly strategic investment for my future studies! As you Chinese say: 'Connections make everything easier!' If I ever need assistance deciphering a complex runic structure, I can literally just grab any random sorcerer on the street, and they'll happily help me!" 

Luke was completely, utterly dumbfounded. He, the Lord of the Earth, was literally being lectured on the nuances of human networking and bribery by Tony Stark. 

However, Luke couldn't deny that Tony's logic was absolutely flawless. It was exactly like playing a role-playing game: when you finally acquired infinite wealth in the late game, the most efficient strategy was simply to walk into the local tavern and aggressively buy drinks for every single NPC to instantly max out your reputation and unlock all their dialogue options! 

It was a highly effective strategy, and it perfectly aligned with Tony's arrogant, flashy personality. 

However, hearing Tony sounding so incredibly smug and triumphant deeply annoyed Luke. I absolutely refuse to let him be this happy. 

Suddenly, remembering the cosmic freeloader currently sitting in the spaceship parked on his roof, Luke's eyes lit up with a brilliant, highly malicious idea. 

You're covering the expenses for the entire street tonight, are you? 

"Hey Tony. I think I will come over for dinner. And... I'm going to bring a friend," Luke said, his voice dripping with pure, unadulterated evil. 

"Absolutely! Bring as many friends as you want! The more, the merrier!" Tony declared generously, completely oblivious to the impending apocalypse. 

Luke smiled sadistically. 

If Galacta aggressively eats until she is full... I severely doubt your pathetic 'World's Richest Man' bank account will survive the night. In fact, you'll likely be bankrupt by morning.