Linus Vance’s gaze swept across the tablet Pepper Potts handed him.
On the screen were the top headlines from major newspapers and social media outlets across America today.
Tony Stark’s words at the press conference, “I am Iron Man,” had indeed caused a massive sensation.
But the number-one trending topic wasn’t him at all.
The trending topic was titled: “Iron Man?
No, Check Out the Mysterious Chinese Emperor Who Tore Apart a Mech with His Bare Hands!”
The accompanying image was a highly pixelated screenshot from a distant night video.
In the night rain, Linus, wearing a pure white shirt, held one hand to the sky, lifting the Iron Monger—which was larger than a tank—effortlessly above his head.
Another photo, liked millions of times, showed Linus at the edge of the ruins, draping a broad, pure black trench coat over Potts’s slender shoulders and pulling her assertively into his embrace.
Some gossip media even went so far as to run a sensationalist subtitle: “Stark Admits His Identity but Fails to Keep His Most Trusted Woman!
Mysterious Emperor Steals His Love Right to His Face!”
Linus’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a low, deep chuckle.
He casually tossed the tablet onto the bar counter.
Linus tapped his knuckles against the tabletop, his tone laced with undisguised mockery.
“This is what you call a total self-own.”
“That giant baby wanted to show off in front of the whole world to save face, but he ended up as background noise.”
“Now the entire internet is researching how I tore that pile of scrap metal apart with my bare hands.”
Potts leaned against the edge of the bar, the flush on her cheeks refusing to fade.
She bit her lower lip, her voice soft and sweet.
“The media can’t find anything about your identity.
They’re all calling you the ‘Mysterious Emperor’ now.”
Linus tilted his head, his towering frame immediately looming over her with an imposing presence.
Extending his long arm, he leaned against the bar beside Potts, completely trapping her within his territory.
Linus leaned down, the bridge of his nose almost brushing against her cheek, his warm breath fanning across her sensitive earlobe without restraint.
“Then whose emperor am I?”
“Hmm?”
Potts’s breathing hitched completely.
The overwhelming aggressiveness radiating from this man left her with nowhere to run.
She looked up, meeting his intensely possessive gaze, and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Mine…
only mine.”
Linus raised a slender finger, his rough pad dragging heavily across Potts’s lovely red lips, smudging her lip gloss slightly.
He opened his mouth and bit down gently on her delicate earlobe, nibbling on it without reservation.
“That’s not what you said when you were crying and begging for mercy in bed last night.”
“Having fun laughing at others?
I only collected half of last night’s debt.
How do you plan to pay back the other half?”
The electric, shivering sensation turned Potts’s body to water.
Her hands weakly clutched Linus’s shirt collar as she let out a strained whimper.
A misty sheen glazed Potts’s eyes, conveying a plea for mercy.
“Don’t bite…
it will leave a mark.”
“I have to go to the office for my onboarding soon.
If you punish me like this again, I won’t be able to walk.”
Linus’s large hand clasped the back of her neck, forcing her to tilt her head back as he directly sealed her red lips.
“What are you afraid of?”
He forced open her teeth, driving deep inside and ruthlessly plundering all the air in her mouth.
The wet sounds of their kissing were amplified in the quiet presidential suite.
Kissed until her brain lacked oxygen, Potts could only instinctively cling to Linus’s firm shoulders, sinking deep into the kiss.
Only after a long while did Linus pull back half an inch.
He looked at Potts’s swollen lips, highly satisfied.
Linus’s voice was hoarse.
“If your legs are too weak to walk, I’ll carry you right through the company doors.”
“Let your former colleagues see exactly how you lusted after my body and how I devoured you completely.”
Potts was so embarrassed that even her ears turned crimson.
She buried her face completely in Linus’s broad chest, not daring to utter a word of retort.
***
Meanwhile, in a backup safe house at Malibu Beach.
Tony Stark stared at the trending Twitter topics on the holographic projection, his eyes bloodshot and menacing.
His face was a sickly pale due to palladium poisoning.
Tony roared, slamming his palm down on the metal workbench.
“Jarvis!
Cut off all these ridiculous news links!”
“I don’t want to see that bastard’s face ever again!”
Jarvis’s synthesized voice spoke smoothly.
“Sir, due to the massive volume of data traffic, this is currently a nationwide phenomenon.”
“The public focus is not on your identity reveal, but rather on the preternatural strength demonstrated by the mysterious man in the video, and…
Miss Potts’s relationship with him.”
These words were like a direct stab to Tony’s spine.
Tony kicked an empty coffee cup nearby, sending it flying.
Porcelain shattered across the floor.
He had intended to use “I am Iron Man” to reclaim the spotlight and declare himself the genius who would dominate the future.
And the result?
Everyone was discussing the monster who tore the Iron Monger apart like a toy!
What was even more unacceptable to him was that the media and the entire internet were actually shipping Linus and Potts!
Tony clenched his teeth, the taste of rust rising in his mouth again.
“Brute strength!
It’s all just a barbarian’s parlor trick!”
“What does he know about future technology?
Can a few muscles save the world?”
Tony slumped into his chair and pulled up the unfinished blueprints for his Mark Armor.
He stared intently at the screen, his voice ringing with extreme obsession.
“Scrap the design for the Mark IV and start over!
I want to incorporate a system that counters giant-class physical strength.”
“I will absolutely not lose to some barbarian of unknown origin.”
“I’ll prove to Pepper that she chose the wrong man!”
Jarvis warned him.
“Sir, your blood toxicity has reached nineteen percent.”
“If you force your research in this state, your bodily functions will collapse faster than projected.”
Tony coughed up a mouthful of bloody spit.
“Do as I say!”
“I am the only genius!”
***
At 10:00 AM, the Maybach pulled up smoothly in front of the Star Umbrella Corporation’s headquarters.
Linus stepped out of the car first.
Turning around, ignoring the stares of the security guards nearby, he reached his long arm into the carriage, firmly grabbed Potts’s slender wrist, and pulled her out assertively.
Wearing ten-centimeter red-bottom heels, Potts’s steps faltered slightly, and she bumped directly into Linus’s firm chest.
Potts lowered her voice, trying to create some distance.
The Hermès silk scarf around her neck was tied tightly, for fear of anyone spotting the exclusive marks left from last night.
“So many people are watching…
Boss.”
Instead of letting go, Linus took a step closer.
He leaned down, opening his mouth to lick her fair neck with heavy suggestion.
“What?
Concerned about your dignity now?”
Potts’s whole body tensed up as she gasped.
Her legs went so soft that she could only lean obediently against Linus’s side.
Linus loosened his tie.
“You didn’t seem this reserved last night when you forced me to punish you with much worse things.”
“Keep close.
From today on, you’ll have to get used to belonging to me in front of everyone.”
The two took the private elevator directly to the top floor.
The elevator doors slid open.
Betty Ross, wearing a wine-red professional skirt suit and holding several encrypted files, was leaning against the glass wall of the holographic corridor.
Seeing Linus walk out, Betty’s gaze naturally fell on Potts.
The gazes of the two starkly different women clashed in the air.
Betty let out a coquettish laugh and stepped forward.
Quite naturally, she pressed up against Linus’s other side, even brushing her shoulder gently against his arm.
Betty’s gaze swept over Potts’s tightly tied scarf with extreme audacity, her tone holding a hint of provocation.
“Boss, last night’s battle must have been fierce.
How many sets of clothes did you rip through?”
“And is this the new Chief Executive Officer who made Tony Stark cry?”
Potts didn’t back down at all; instead, she actively met Betty’s gaze.
Her voice was steady.
“Hello.
I’m Pepper Potts.”
“I will be taking over Star Umbrella’s commercial operations from now on.”
Linus took everything in.
In his eyes, this level of jealousy was the perfect form of entertainment.
He walked over and sat down in his large executive chair, tapping his knuckles against the desk.
Potts stood on the left side of the desk, while Betty stood on the right.
Linus leaned back, crossing his long legs, projecting an aura of absolute control.
“Alright.
We’re all on the same team now.”
“Betty handles Star Umbrella’s biotechnology; Potts handles business and finance.
Do your respective jobs well.”
Linus turned his head to look at Betty.
“Down to business.
How is the task I gave you concerning the massive funds we intercepted yesterday?”
Betty stepped forward, handing him the documents.
She deliberately bent down, bringing her red lips close to Linus’s ear, whispering softly.
“How would I dare slack off on something the boss ordered?”
“We injected capital and fully acquired several of New York’s top independent genetic engineering laboratories within three hours.”
“The live-testing sites for the primary hyper-regeneration factor are all ready.”
Linus’s fingertip traced the edge of the document.
“Where is the site located?”
“Empire State University.”