A massive stream of data flooded directly into Linus’s brain.
Every molecular formula, metal structural arrangement, and energy conversion matrix of the perfect arc reactor printed themselves with absolute clarity into his memory.
It required no lethal palladium metal and had zero radioactive side effects.
This was an absolutely perfect cold fusion technology.
Immediately after, a wonderful sensation of resonance hummed through Linus’s ten fingers.
This was Ultimate Mechanical Affinity.
No matter how complex a piece of machinery was—or even if it was just a pile of basic scrap metal—the moment he touched it, he could fully comprehend its inner structure and modify it to the highest level at will.
Linus wrapped one arm around Potts’s slender waist, his thumb gently kneading the soft flesh of her lower back through the fabric of the robe.
Tony Stark.
The two things you take the most pride in.
The business brains of your company, and the energy heart in your chest that keeps you alive.
They are both completely in my hands now.
Linus scooped Potts up in his arms, strode into the master bedroom, and laid her gently on the plush mattress.
He pulled the duvet over her, turned back to the floor-to-ceiling windows outside, raised his wine glass, and looked out over the New York nightscape.
…
The next morning, bright daylight flooded the room.
Potts sat up, rubbing her tired eyes.
The oversized men’s bathrobe had slid halfway down her shoulder as she turned over, revealing a large expanse of fair skin and her delicate collarbone.
Just as she was about to get out of bed, a powerful hand pressed down on her shoulder, pinning her back onto the soft mattress.
Linus’s voice was husky, carrying a magnetic, dominant weight.
“Awake?”
Linus was wearing a slightly loose white shirt with the collar fully unbuttoned.
Kneeling with one knee on the edge of the bed, his tall frame leaned forward, trapping Potts entirely within his shadow.
Potts’s breath hitched, her cheeks heating up.
“Linus…”
Linus gave her no chance to escape.
He leaned down and captured her moist, rosy lips.
He parted her teeth with absolute dominance, driving deep.
He plundered all the air from her mouth, leaving her no room to breathe.
Potts let out a soft whine.
Her hands instinctively pressed against his firm chest, but she quickly lost all her strength.
Her posture shifted into a clingy embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around Linus’s neck.
Linus’s large hand cupped the back of her neck, forcing her to match this possessive deep kiss.
His other hand slid down to her waist, sending a jolt of electricity through her.
Potts gasped, completely dizzy from the kiss.
“Mmh…
don’t…”
Linus pulled back barely half an inch, his warm breath fanning against the tip of her nose.
“Throwing yourself into my arms so eagerly last night, yet playing coy this morning?”
Linus’s long fingers caressed her swollen lips.
“Do you have any idea of the consequences of lying in my bed dressed like this?”
Potts bit her lower lip, not daring to look into his fiercely aggressive eyes.
“Last night…
I had too much to drink.
I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Linus’s chest rumbled with a low chuckle.
“Too much to drink?”
“Then how about I help you sober up right now in this bed, the adult way?”
Startled, Potts quickly reached out to clutch the open collar of her robe tightly.
Her body right now was as soft as water.
Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a hint of begging.
“I was wrong, Linus.
Don’t be reckless.”
“If you don’t want to be punished, be good.
Call me husband.”
Linus pressed against her earlobe, giving it a highly suggestive bite.
Potts tensed up instantly, a tingling sensation like an electric shock surging through her.
Knowing his personality, if she didn’t play along, he really had a million ways to torment her.
She let out a whisper as faint as a mosquito’s buzz:
“…Husband.”
“Good girl.
That’s a good girl.”
Linus released his hold on her and stood up.
Utterly relieved, Potts quickly sat up and adjusted her clothes.
Her sanity slowly began to return.
She spoke up urgently.
“I have to get back to the office as soon as possible.
I missed the investors’ meeting.
Obadiah will definitely use that as an excuse to seize control.”
Linus took a sip of the coffee on the bedside table.
“Go back to that mess that kicked you out into the rain?”
“You really never learn, do you?
That overgrown baby doesn’t care whether you live or die.”
Potts was still trying to find excuses.
“Stark Industries has ten years of my hard work.
Tony’s state is very unstable right now.
He’s locked himself in his basement, and there’s no way he can produce an alternative product that would satisfy Wall Street.”
Linus couldn’t be bothered to listen to such nonsense.
He picked up a notepad and a pen from the nightstand, smoothly sketching several highly complex formulas and an inverted triangular geometric design.
He slapped the notepad directly in front of Potts.
“Take a good look at what this is.”
Potts picked up the paper in confusion.
After looking at it for barely two seconds, she froze, her eyes widening in sheer shock.
As the chief assistant of Stark Industries, she frequently organized Tony’s discarded laboratory drafts.
Naturally, she could understand the basics of energy architecture.
Potts’s voice began to tremble.
“Is this…
a blueprint for the arc reactor?
No, the elemental arrangement is completely different!”
Linus leaned against the wall, his tone flat.
“The thing in Tony’s chest uses low-grade palladium.
He drains his own life every time he uses it; he’s slowly poisoning himself.”
“The one I drew is a perfect new element substitute.
It has zero toxicity, and its energy output is more than ten times that of his piece of scrap metal.”
Potts held her breath.
This was the ultimate answer Tony pursued even in his dreams.
That man whom the world called a genius was hammering scrap metal day and night in a basement, yet the man before her had casually drawn the most perfect, ultimate form of it on a hotel notepad.
Linus walked back to the bed, pinching Potts’s chin with two fingers to force her to look up.
Linus pressed his thumb against her lower lip.
“The industrial brain that Stark is so proud of doesn’t even qualify as a grade-schooler before me.”
“The future that useless trash can’t give you, I will.”
Potts’s mind was a complete mess.
Her past beliefs collapsed in an instant, and a new, fervent adoration welled up inside her.
“How…
how do you know these core military-grade technologies?”
Linus let go.
“I’m your man.
Knowing a bit more is only natural.”
“Star Umbrella Corporation just so happens to need a Global Chief Executive Officer for regions outside of Greater China.”
Linus dropped a bombshell.
“Biomedicine, clean energy, and future aerospace technology.”
“My industries don’t need to answer to anyone at the Pentagon.
You can showcase your talents however you like.”
“No old fogies in meetings, no cheeseburger-eating deadweight holding you back.”
“I want your word.
Are you coming, or not?”
Potts clutched the notepad paper tightly.
The edges of the paper were damp with her sweat.
She recalled the harsh, metallic clanging in Tony’s basement and his stinging remark: “You’re just a paid errand girl.”
She looked up again at the powerful, domineering man before her, who could shield her from any storm with a single hand.
Potts firmly spat out a single word.
“I’m in.”
That single phrase drew a definitive end to her ten years of youth and quiet endurance.
“Excellent.”
Linus leaned down and sucked hard against Potts’s fair collarbone.
“Ah…”
Potts gasped, hurriedly trying to push against his broad chest.
Linus stopped his movements.
An extremely conspicuous red hickey had been left on her fair, smooth skin.
It was his exclusive mark.
Linus looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.
“Go wash up.
There are custom-tailored clothes in your size in the walk-in closet.
Get yourself looking sharp.”
…
Half an hour later.
Potts had changed into a form-fitting, pure white skirt suit.
The immaculate tailoring accentuated her graceful, curvaceous figure.
It was professional yet exuded a subtle sensuality.
However, she had tied a silk scarf around her neck, specifically to cover the mark Linus had left.
Linus swept his gaze up and down her, his admiration clear to see.
He stepped forward, reached out a long arm, and pulled Potts into his chest.
His large hand naturally squeezed her slender waist.
“Where are you heading?”
Potts steadied her breath.
“Back to the villa on Malibu Beach.”
Linus chuckled.
“Back to beg for reconciliation?”
Potts’s tone was resolute, devoid of any lingering hesitation.
“To hand in a formal, written resignation.”
“I’m going to tell Tony Stark to his face: I quit.”