[Ding!
Detected that the original protagonist Tony Stark’s mental defense has completely collapsed!
Achievement Unlocked: Pride Shattered!]
[Ding!
Critical Hit Roulette triggered!
Drawing super gift pack for you…]
[Draw complete!
Congratulations to the Host for intercepting the original protagonist’s core destiny reward—Obtained: [Tony Stark’s Peak Creativity]!]
Just as the mechanical voice faded deep within his mind, a massive torrent of data and a storm of inspiration poured directly into Linus’ brain.
Not only did it contain all the iterative concepts for the Mark Armor, but even the sparks of inspiration for advanced weapons, nanotechnology, and spatial physics decades into the future were completely branded into his consciousness.
Combined with the [Ultimate Mechanical Affinity] he had drawn earlier, Linus could now literally hammer out a warp ship in the middle of nowhere using a pile of scrap metal.
Tony Stark’s final piece of pride—the brain he claimed was cursed with knowledge—had now been completely uprooted and claimed by Linus.
The soundproofing inside the cabin was excellent, completely blocking out the roar of the helicopter rotors.
Potts huddled inside Linus’ oversized black windbreaker, the flush on her cheeks refusing to fade.
She could feel the highly aggressive gaze resting on her from above.
Linus cupped the back of her head, his fingers running through her smooth blonde hair, pressing her slightly closer to him.
“Why are you keeping your head down?”
Potts looked up, her red lips parted as she panted softly.
“Hubby…
I’m a little tired.”
Linus lowered his head, his nose brushing against hers as their breaths mingled.
“Tired already?”
“When you were protecting me down there and telling your former boss to get lost, didn’t you look quite fierce?”
Potts bit her lower lip, her voice soft and sweet.
“That’s because he was insulting you…”
“I couldn’t let him talk about you like that.
You stood up for me.”
Linus let out a deep chuckle, his rough finger pressing against her lovely red lips, rubbing them gently.
He leaned in, unabashedly taking her sensitive earlobe into his mouth and nibbling on it, coaxing a helpless whimper from her.
“Good girl.
But one thing doesn’t negate another.”
Linus’ voice was husky, carrying absolute dominance.
“Does what you promised me earlier still count?”
“We agreed you’d help me make some progress, paying the deposit with some adult activities.”
“Now, we have thirty minutes before we reach the hotel.
Have you thought about how you’ll take your punishment?”
Potts’ body melted like water, her hands resting weakly on Linus’ broad shoulders.
The suffocating sensation of being completely enveloped left her with nowhere to run.
Tears welled in her eyes.
“I’ll do whatever you say…”
“Punish me however you want.
I won’t run away.”
Linus pinched her chin and kissed her deeply.
The kiss was incredibly dominant, leaving her no room to escape.
He pried open her teeth, taking his time to plunder every ounce of air in her lungs.
Potts felt her head spin, leaving her with only the instinct to reciprocate, her hands tightly clutching the collar of his white shirt.
The wet sounds of their kiss were magnified endlessly in the quiet cabin.
When the kiss finally ended, Potts leaned against his firm chest, her breathing completely out of rhythm.
Linus’ fingertip traced her fair collarbone, pressing firmly against the tender skin.
“Save some energy.”
“Tonight, there will be plenty of time for you to cry and beg for mercy.”
…
The next morning.
Sunlight poured through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of the presidential suite.
Potts rubbed her aching wrists, struggling to open her eyes.
She was wrapped in a large blanket, and the other half of the bed was already empty.
She propped herself up, her gaze sweeping across the suite.
By the bar in the living room, Linus was wearing a loose black bathrobe.
He held an electronic stylus, rapidly sketching something on a holographic projection board.
His focused expression, combined with his sharp, rugged facial features, caused Potts to lose herself in the sight for a moment.
Supporting her trembling legs with difficulty, she threw on a loose robe and walked quietly up behind Linus.
Without even turning his head, Linus sensed her footsteps.
“Awake?”
With a sweep of his long arm, he pulled Potts directly into his lap, letting her sit on his thighs.
Potts let out a soft gasp, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck.
Linus pinched her cheek, his finger brushing past the corner of her eye.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Potts looked at the floating holographic projection board.
It was covered in dense molecular formulas and a highly sci-fi, streamlined armor design.
Unlike the clunky, mechanical feel of Tony’s designs, the suit Linus was drawing utilized a lighter, folding nanotechnology.
The energy conduction matrix was several generations ahead of yesterday’s arc reactor.
Having spent ten years at Stark Industries, Potts’ ability to appreciate design blueprints was top-tier.
She was completely stunned, her lips parting in utter disbelief.
Her voice trembled, her sense of admiration swelling boundlessly.
“Are these…
blueprints for an armor?”
“My God, these energy feedback circuits…
even the supercomputers in Tony’s lab couldn’t calculate these formulas.”
“How did you do this?”
Linus sneered, casually tossing the stylus onto the bar.
He grabbed Potts’ slender wrist, his tone filled with absolute certainty.
“That giant infant’s toy hammered out of scrap metal is worthy of being called armor?”
“This is the future advanced individual weaponry project of the Star Umbrella Corporation.
His technology is completely obsolete.”
Leaning in his chest, Potts could not hide the fanatical look in her eyes.
She looked up, making no effort to conceal her absolute infatuation with this man.
“Hubby, just how many secrets do you have that I don’t know about?”
Linus lowered his head and bit her lip firmly once more.
“If you want to know my secrets, just asking with your mouth won’t cut it.”
“Weren’t you punished enough last night?”
Terribly startled, Potts begged for mercy.
“No…
please, no more.
I have to go to Star Umbrella’s headquarters to complete my onboarding today.
I really don’t have any strength left.”
Linus let go of her and took a sip of the black coffee beside him.
“I’ll let you off the hook.”
“We do have serious business to attend to today.
Since that waste didn’t die, he’ll definitely try to make his presence known again.”
Just as he finished speaking, Potts’ tablet on the bar let out an urgent notification sound.
She picked it up and tapped the screen.
On the screen was a massive press conference.
Tony Stark was wearing an ill-fitting suit, his face covered in visible bruises and cuts.
He stood behind the podium, speech in hand, facing the flashmobs of media reporters and cameras.
Potts frowned slightly.
“A press conference?”
Linus leaned back in his chair, completely unbothered.
“A deathbed struggle.
If he doesn’t make some noise, Stark Industries’ stock will plummet below the floor the moment the market opens today.”
On screen, Colonel Rhodes was trying to smooth things over, attempting to package yesterday’s Iron Monger incident as an unexpected accident during a security drill.
Tony stared at the speech in his hand, silent for a long time.
He set the paper down, raised his head, and looked directly into the camera.
Tony took a breath, his voice exceptionally firm.
“The truth is…”
“I am Iron Man.”
The reporters below erupted instantly, camera flashes strobing frantically.
Tony had publicly admitted his identity, attempting to use this heroic declaration to reclaim everything he had lost and prove his worth to the world.
Looking at the screen, Potts was surprisingly calm, her heart no longer experiencing any ripples.
She shook her head.
“He’s still as arrogant as ever.”
But a few seconds later, Potts swiped her finger across the screen to refresh the real-time news feed.
Her expression suddenly turned strange, and then she couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
Linus raised his eyebrows slightly.
“What is it?”
Potts handed the tablet to Linus, her eyes full of uncontainable amusement and the satisfaction of watching a good drama.
“Hubby, Tony did admit he’s Iron Man.”
“But…
take a look at the number one hot search on every major newspaper and headline across the US today.”