Tony immediately called Ethan and told him about what had happened.
Ethan’s answer put Tony’s mind at ease.
Ethan told Tony that if Tony joined the Avengers, then he would join as well.
Ethan still had the same idea.
Joining the Avengers indirectly through Tony would be the most natural way.
Was he supposed to run over and ask to join them himself?
That would be way too obvious.
Putting Tony’s thoughts aside, after hanging up, Ethan continued watching the horror movie with Hannah on the sofa.
Every time they watched a horror movie, Hannah would become frightened whenever a monster appeared and instinctively hug Ethan.
Ethan would then hug her back and comfort her.
“Don’t be afraid.
If that kind of monster ever dares to appear in front of me, I’ll just slap it away.”
Hearing that, Hannah always felt especially safe beside Ethan.
And it wasn’t surprising.
When people watched horror movies, they would unconsciously imagine themselves in the situation.
But Ethan had nothing to fear when he imagined himself there.
An Alien?
Slap it away.
Predator?
Pressure Cannon.
A horde of zombies?
Giant Bear Impact.
A zombie apocalypse?
Just slap myself away and leave.
And so, their peaceful days continued.
Then came the day of Ethan and Hannah’s engagement.
The engagement party was held at Ethan’s villa.
They didn’t invite too many people.
There were around twenty of Ethan and Hannah’s classmates.
Ethan’s father and mother also invited around a dozen employees from their new company.
Hannah’s mother brought four of her friends.
Ethan also invited Tony and Pepper.
When their classmates received the invitations, they were all stunned.
They’re still in high school!
What is going on?
How are they already getting engaged?
Although the two of them were so affectionate every day that it was almost unbearable to watch.
Gwen, in particular, was incredibly excited.
She hugged Hannah, kissed her several times, and even shed tears while warning Ethan.
“You absolutely have to treat Hannah well!”
Ethan:
“…..”
The engagement ceremony ended with tears of happiness in Hannah’s eyes.
Ethan and Hannah also received everyone’s blessings.
Tony’s appearance also pushed the engagement party to its climax.
Pepper gave Ethan and Hannah her blessings as well as some gifts.
Afterward, everyone began eating and drinking.
At that moment, Tony pulled Ethan aside.
His expression was unusually serious.
“Bear Cub, I think I might be poisoned.”
“What?
How did you get poisoned?”
Ethan already knew that Tony would eventually suffer from palladium poisoning.
But he still pretended to be surprised.
“Palladium.”
“It’s the primary material used in the reactor in my chest.”
“The more I use it, the faster the poisoning progresses.”
“It’s still relatively mild right now, but the poisoning is accelerating.”
Tony gave a bitter smile.
“I never thought the thing that saved my life would eventually become the thing that takes my life.”
“Quite ironic, isn’t it?”
“I want Pepper to become the CEO and take over the company.”
“Then I’ll spend whatever time I have left—probably a little more than half a year—looking for a substitute for the palladium.”
Seeing Tony like this, Ethan couldn’t help feeling sympathy for him.
At first, Ethan had only approached Tony because he wanted to use their relationship to enter the Avengers later.
But people weren’t made of stone.
Tony treated Ethan as a genuine friend.
How could Ethan remain completely indifferent?
Ethan looked at him and said,
“Actually, I have a way to save you.”
“But I can’t use it too often.”
“Otherwise, it will eventually stop working.”
Tony’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Really?”
“How?”
“And why can’t you use it too many times?”
“My Paw-Paw ability can repel fatigue and pain.”
“Naturally, it can also repel the toxins inside your body.”
“However, using it too often will damage your body.”
In reality, Ethan’s ability wouldn’t damage Tony’s body by removing the toxins.
But Ethan knew that Tony would eventually develop a new reactor that was hundreds of times more advanced than his current one.
That would also allow Tony to become much stronger and develop numerous energy-based weapons for his armor.
Ethan couldn’t keep saving Tony forever and prevent him from solving the fundamental problem himself.
So he deliberately told Tony a small lie.
He wanted to give Tony a sense of urgency and push him to find a permanent solution.
“I see.”
“Fatigue and pain are both concepts.”
“Your ability can actually do something like that?”
“What about stamina?”
“What about the soul?”
“Do you think humans even have souls?”
Tony’s questions about stamina and the soul weren’t things Ethan had never considered.
He had already made some progress in understanding how to repel physical fatigue.
As for the soul, however, he was completely clueless.
And he certainly didn’t dare experiment with it.
Repelling someone’s stamina was one thing.
But what if he accidentally repelled someone’s soul and couldn’t put it back?
“I don’t know.”
“I’m not even sure whether humans have souls, so how could I possibly repel one?”
“As for fatigue, I figured that out when I was a kid after playing until I was exhausted.”
“Pain came later, when I experimented after getting injured.”
Tony gave him a skeptical look.
It was obvious that Ethan’s explanation was mostly an excuse.
But Tony didn’t pursue the matter.
Instead, he gained an entirely new understanding of just how strange Ethan’s ability really was.
“Then I’ll wait until I’m almost dying before I ask you to remove the poison.”
“Sure.”
“Just call me when the time comes.”
“But there’s one thing we don’t need to change.”
“Pepper should still become CEO.”
Tony suddenly looked pleased with himself.
“How did I not think of this sooner?”
“I should have gotten myself away from all those boring company matters a long time ago.”
“That’s fine.”
“When the time comes, I’ll fully support your decision as one of Stark Industries’ major shareholders.”
“Some of my own business can also be handed over to Pepper.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“The people currently handling the Harry Potter business for me are starting to get ambitious.”