“Help me, Doctor.” Tony stared at Calvin with naked hope in his eyes.
He genuinely could not stand living like this much longer.
The humiliation from a few days ago was still painfully fresh in his memory.
Apparently, lasting only a minute was not just something people joked about.
Worse, he could still remember the faintly disappointed look that actress had tried—and failed—to hide afterward.
Every time Tony closed his eyes, the expression came right back to him.
What man could tolerate that?
For Tony Stark, a man who had spent years making headlines for his endless parade of beautiful women, it was practically a personal catastrophe.
Over the past several days, Tony had quietly contacted doctor after doctor.
Some did not specialize in the problem he actually needed treated, while others simply could not guarantee the level of discretion his situation demanded.
Then Dr.
Noah had arrived.
The man had taken one look at him and immediately identified the problem.
At this point, Tony’s hopes rested almost entirely on him.
Calvin fought desperately to keep a straight face.
If he had a camera within reach, he would have loved to record Tony Stark looking this helpless.
Footage like that would probably be worth a fortune someday.
“Ahem.” Calvin cleared his throat.
“As it happens, men’s health is one of my specialties.” He paused deliberately.
“Of course…
treatment isn’t cheap.” Then he raised five fingers in front of Tony.
“Fifty thousand dollars?” Tony guessed casually, sounding as though they were discussing what to order for breakfast.
Calvin smiled and shook his head.
“Five hundred thousand.” “That’s it?
Fine.” Tony agreed without even thinking.
Forget five hundred thousand.
If Calvin genuinely had a cure, Tony would have paid five million without blinking.
That kind of money barely registered to him.
Calvin shook his head again.
“Mr.
Stark, I’ve spent a great deal of time researching treatments for restoring male vitality.
After considerable effort, I developed a particularly effective restorative medicine.” His smile widened slightly.
“The dosage is measured by the drop.” Tony stared at him.
“You’re saying one drop costs five hundred thousand dollars?” Calvin slowly nodded.
Tony’s expression changed immediately.
Suspicion entered his eyes, and his posture became noticeably more guarded.
There certainly were medications potent enough to be measured in drops or even micrograms.
But this was supposed to be a treatment for sexual exhaustion.
One drop?
For half a million dollars?
Did this guy think Tony only understood weapons and knew absolutely nothing about medicine?
Pepper had found another fraud.
An extremely intelligent, extremely confident fraud, but a fraud nonetheless.
Calvin saw the distrust on Tony’s face and did not bother explaining.
Instead, he calmly slipped one hand into his pocket and retrieved the item he had prepared from his system inventory.
[Item: Vitality Tonic] [Effect: Strengthens the body and restores male vitality.] Calvin had already tested enough of its properties before coming here to understand how potent it was.
As expected from a system-produced item, the stuff was exceptional.
Its description was completely accurate.
It had a remarkable restorative effect on the body, particularly in areas related to physical vitality.
And Calvin was not deliberately trying to gouge Tony by restricting the dosage.
The tonic was simply far too potent.
In Tony’s current exhausted condition, drinking an entire bottle might genuinely overwhelm his body rather than help it.
One drop was appropriate.
It would not cure him completely, but the improvement would be immediate and obvious.
And that was exactly what Calvin wanted.
There was no reason to cure Tony in one visit when a gradual treatment plan gave Calvin repeated opportunities to stay in contact with him.
Tony Stark was one of the central figures of the Marvel storyline.
Every mission Calvin received from him was likely to offer rewards far beyond ordinary NPC missions.
Building a long-term relationship was much more valuable than earning a quick payment and disappearing.
Unfortunately, the moment Tony saw the medicine bottle in Calvin’s hand, he leaned backward instinctively.
His eyes locked onto the black skull printed prominently on the label.
“That’s your miracle medicine?” Tony pointed at the bottle.
“Yes.” Calvin nodded.
“You’re kidding me.” Tony looked genuinely offended now.
“What kind of doctor puts a black skull on a medicine bottle?
That looks like poison!” At this point, Tony was seriously considering calling Happy back.
“Oh, that?” The corner of Calvin’s mouth lifted.
He leaned forward, his broad frame casting a rather intimidating shadow over Tony.
“The skull symbolizes the complete destruction of illness.” His smile remained perfectly professional.
“Don’t misunderstand.
It doesn’t mean the medicine kills the patient.” Tony pressed himself farther back into the lounge chair.
“Okay, you can stop coming closer now.” His resistance accomplished nothing.
Calvin planted one hand firmly on Tony’s shoulder, opened the bottle, and waved it briefly beneath his nose.
Tony immediately tried to hold his breath.
Unfortunately, his current physical condition was pathetic enough that he only lasted a few seconds before involuntarily inhaling.
His expression changed instantly.
The tonic smelled extremely sharp, but the moment the scent entered his nose, a strange warmth spread through his exhausted body.
Some of the heaviness seemed to lift almost immediately.
More importantly…
Tony suddenly felt as though a certain long-dormant part of himself might actually be waking up.
His eyes widened.
‘This stuff is real?’ He had only been kidnapped in Afghanistan a few months ago.
Had medicine somehow advanced an entire generation while he was gone?
Calvin resealed the bottle and smiled at him.
“Well, Mr.
Stark?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Still think I’m trying to scam you?” “Uh…” Tony’s attitude reversed so quickly it was almost impressive.
A broad smile immediately appeared on his face.
“Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding, Dr.
Noah.” He even gave Calvin an approving thumbs-up.
“Your fee is completely reasonable.
Frankly, if the medicine works like this, it’s worth every penny.” Tony leaned forward eagerly.
“So, should we start treatment now?” Calvin nodded.
“Open your mouth.” Tony immediately obeyed.
Any concern for dignity vanished as he opened wide like a starving baby bird waiting to be fed.
With precise control, Calvin allowed exactly one drop of Vitality Tonic to fall onto Tony’s tongue.
Tony swallowed immediately.
Some small part of him was actually disappointed.
‘Damn.
His hands really are steady.
Couldn’t he have accidentally given me another drop or two?’ A few seconds later, the effect began.
Warmth spread through Tony’s body.
His exhausted muscles relaxed, his energy began returning, and a concentrated heat gathered around his lower abdomen.
Then he felt the change somewhere even more important.
Tony slowly raised his head.
The way he looked at Calvin had completely transformed.
If Calvin had announced himself as the second coming of Hippocrates, Tony might have believed him.
This man was a miracle worker.
Calvin glanced at Tony’s flushed face, then at Pepper, whose expression had become noticeably more self-conscious now that she had clearly realized what was happening.
He decided this was the perfect moment to leave.
“I’ll give the two of you some privacy.” Calvin rose smoothly.
“One drop won’t permanently cure the condition.
You’ll need several rounds of treatment before everything is fully restored.” He handed Tony his contact information.
“Call me whenever you need the next session.” Then he added, “And if you have any other health concerns, feel free to contact me.
This isn’t the only field I specialize in.” …
By the time Calvin left Tony’s villa, he had gained two things.
The first was Tony Stark’s private contact card.
The second was one million dollars in his bank account.
As for why Tony had paid twice the quoted price…
Well, perhaps two people in the villa had been particularly satisfied with the treatment.
The system notification arrived almost immediately.
[Mission: Back in Business — Complete.] [Rewards Obtained: EXP +2,000.] [Item Obtained: Taunt Horn.] [Item Obtained: Floating Carpet.] [Tony Stark Favorability +40.] [Item: Taunt Horn] [Effect: Words spoken through this horn greatly increase the hostility of enemies who hear them, drawing their aggression toward the user.] [Item: Floating Carpet] [Effect: A carpet capable of levitation and aerial movement.] “Not bad.” Calvin was perfectly satisfied with the rewards.
Then he called Fury.
“Director Fury, I figured out why Tony Stark has been looking for doctors.” There was a brief pause.
“He’s suffering from sexual exhaustion and premature ejaculation.” Silence.
A very long, very strange silence.
Finally, Fury’s voice came through the phone.
“That’s the only reason?” “Yep.” Calvin continued matter-of-factly.
“I happen to know a treatment, so I managed to improve his condition.
I also got his private contact information, and he’ll need me to continue treating him over the next several sessions.” On the other end of the call, Fury was genuinely surprised.
His original plan had been much simpler.
He only wanted Calvin to use the fabricated medical identity to discover why Stark was searching for doctors.
Once the reason was confirmed, S.H.I.E.L.D.
would have retired the cover identity and moved on.
Instead, Calvin had exceeded the mission requirements completely.
Not only had he uncovered Tony’s problem, he had somehow established a credible reason to keep visiting him indefinitely.
Fury immediately saw the value in that.
There was no longer any need to assign Natasha to another operation aimed at getting close to Tony Stark.
Calvin could handle the surveillance himself.
After a brief consideration, Fury spoke again.
“Good work, Calvin.” “Since you now have a legitimate reason to remain in regular contact with Stark, I want you to continue monitoring him under the cover of ongoing treatment.
Pay attention to his activities and physical condition.” “If anything unusual happens, report it directly to me.” Fury paused.
“And I have another assignment waiting for you in Hell’s Kitchen.” The two spent several minutes going over the details and operational precautions.
Just before the call ended, Fury’s voice took on an unusually awkward tone.
“One more thing, Agent Calvin.” There was a short hesitation.
“That…
treatment you used for Stark.” Fury cleared his throat.
“Get me some.” Before Calvin could respond, he quickly added, “It could be useful for other agents if they ever need to establish contact with certain high-risk targets.”