...
"How did You survive the car accident?"
"By luck."
"Where have You been these past three months?"
"Lying in the sea."
"How did You deal with those kidnappers?"
"With superpowers."
"How is that possible? I heard it was with a nuclear bomb, is that right?"
"That's a rumor."
"Are You just trying to brush me off?"
"What can You say directly?"
"A plant."
"Oh my God, I'm going crazy!"
"Are You even human?"
"Fuck!"
Afterward.
Christine, now in cooldown mode, pulled out a few photos and a key from her bag and handed them to Leon.
"Is this what You call being responsible?"
Leon flipped through the photos one by one. They showed a group of displaced people, under the intimidation of armed bandits, helping them transport military supplies, with a dazzling array of high-precision weapons from Stark Industries.
"Your expression doesn't seem surprised. This town is called Gomera, and it has been occupied by a group of fully armed Terrorists. They possess weapons produced by your Stark Industries' weapons department, which you claimed had ceased production."
"If these photos were to go public, your Stark Industries would face a severe crisis of trust, and your already plummeting stock would continue to drop to rock bottom."
Christine, with disheveled hair and sweat still on her collarbone and face, wrapped in a White bedsheet, leaned against the headboard, revealing a pair of slender, jade-like feet. She watched Leon, who had put down the photos by the bed and was now getting up to get dressed.
"What do You want to say?"
Leon asked.
"Stark Industries is currently in its most dangerous period. A slight oversight could lead to eternal damnation. Aren't You going to do something?"
"Like investigating who approved the shipment of these weapons."
Christine hinted, as in a sense, helping Leon was helping herself.
Even if it was just a guess for now, after some investigation, Christine had preliminarily locked onto Obadiah Stane, the uncle of the Stark brothers.
Next.
As long as Leon became suspicious of Obadiah, his brother Tony would definitely investigate once he found out.
This way.
Things would be much simpler.
Christine had planned it this way, but no matter how much she calculated, she hadn't expected...
"I know."
"It's all Obadiah's fault."
"Whether it was my car accident, Tony being kidnapped by the Ten Rings Gang, or the leakage of this batch of weapons."
"What??"
Leon's sudden full disclosure completely stunned Christine, who had already organized her thoughts and was ready to continue persuading him.
Was this still Leon Stark, the one who was known as the number one playboy, with no one daring to claim second?
Christine suddenly felt that Leon in front of her was so unfamiliar.
"When were these photos taken?"
"Just yesterday."
"Alright, I understand."
"You've worked hard, my dear."
Leon leaned down and lightly kissed Christine's forehead. Even after he left the room and she was alone, Christine remained stunned for a long time.
This feeling of being acknowledged by him... why did I feel so pleased?
Christine's heartstrings were uncharacteristically flustered by Leon's kiss.
After savoring the moment for a long time.
Christine dragged the bedsheet, preparing to get out of bed and get dressed, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she frowned tightly, hissed in pain, her legs gave way, and she fell back onto the bed.
"Hiss—"
"He's an animal!"
"Even a piling machine isn't as capable as You!"
...
As soon as Leon left the room, Pepper found him, looking somewhat angry.
"Leon!"
"Hey, Pepper."
"Stane has been looking for You everywhere and can't find You. I've also been looking for You for half an hour. What have You been doing this past hour? Could it be that at a time like this, You're still..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
But Pepper's gaze was becoming increasingly dangerous.
"Nonsense."
Leon calmly shook the photos Christine had given him: "During this time, I was busy with official business, visiting a journalist friend."
As soon as Leon finished speaking.
The room door behind him opened from the inside.
"Leon, You ripped the zipper on my evening gown. Hurry and have someone send me a new one, and... uh, hello, Miss Pepper."
Christine, wrapped only in a White bedsheet covering her vital parts, and Pepper stared at each other, and Leon immediately felt the atmosphere become unusually awkward.
Pepper's scrutinizing gaze swept back and forth between Christine and Leon, who had clearly just had sex, and she said with a sarcastic laugh, "Leon, this is what You call official business?"
"Hmm... why not?"
Leon shrugged, simply giving up.
The scene shifted.
A stern-faced Pepper had already dragged Leon to meet Tony in a VIP lounge.
"Hey, my boy, what major transgression did You commit to make our gentle and virtuous Miss Pepper so angry?"
Tony teased.
"Don't even mention it, Tony."
Seeing Pepper still glaring at him from the side, Leon's mouth twitched, unwilling to give Tony more reason to laugh.
He turned his head and saw that only he, Tony, and Pepper were in the lounge, so he asked, "Where are Rhodes and Ethan? Why don't I see them?"
"Rhodes has a mission with the Air Force, so he couldn't come."
"Ethan, as our company's chief scientific advisor, is busy with the company's subsequent transformation. I gave him a holiday, but he refused, saying he wanted some quiet time."
Tony shrugged in response.
"I see."
Leon nodded: "I think I probably know why Ethan wants some quiet time."
Saying this.
He handed the stack of photos to Tony.
"This is Gomera, I remember it's Ethan's hometown, right?"
Tony took the photos, and his initially relaxed expression gradually turned serious as he flipped through each one.
"This happened yesterday."
Leon added.
"Pepper, besides me and Leon, who else in the company has the authority to approve weapon shipments?"
Putting down the photos, Tony rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit weary, and asked.
"The board of directors and... Mr. Stane!"
"Tony, it couldn't be..."
After answering Tony's question, Pepper also reacted, guessing with some disbelief. He was Tony and Leon's uncle, after all!
"I don't wish for this to be true either."
Tony sighed.
"Reality is often so surreal. He has already gone too far."
Leon said, then leaned close to Pepper's ear and whispered, "Pepper, I have something to ask of You... like this, and that... remember to bring Happy along."
"Mm!"
"I'll go now!"
Pepper solemnly agreed, then trotted out in her high heels.
"..."
The lounge was silent for a long time.
"Leon, You say... almost the entire company is managed by Obadiah, and I provide cutting-edge technical support. What more could he possibly want?"
Tony suddenly asked, puzzled.
Hearing this.
Leon let out a long breath.
If he hadn't merged with his past life's memories, his mood probably wouldn't be much better than Tony's right now.
After all, it was a betrayal by the person he trusted and was closest to.
"Perhaps this is human nature."
"If You have one sheep, You'll want two. If You have two sheep, You'll want three... Human desires are like rolling rocks down a mountain; once they start, they can never stop."