With unspoken coordination, the two brothers shoved away the beauties beside them and walked toward the corner where Ho Yinsen was sitting.
Reaching the table, Luca snatched the orange juice right out of Ho Yinsen’s hand and casually dumped it into the ocean.
“Hey!
That was my juice!” Ho Yinsen gasped, flustered as he looked at the two brothers standing aggressively before him.
Tony pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Ho Yinsen.
He waved a hand, calling over a bartender, and had two bottles of tequila brought over.
“Listen, Ho Yinsen.” Tony rested his hands crossed on the table, his expression grave.
“You saved my life, and you saved Luca’s life.
In that cave, you were a great doctor.
But!” Tony slammed his palm onto the table.
“Here!
On this glorious night!
Your behavior right now deeply pains me!” Ho Yinsen swallowed hard, nervously pushing up his glasses.
“I…
what did I do?
I’m just not used to…
uh…
places where people wear so little clothing.
My usual work is in a lab.” Luca stepped up behind Ho Yinsen, pressing both hands onto his shoulders.
Leaning down, he whispered into his ear.
“Ho Yinsen, look around you.
You’re on the most luxurious yacht in Los Angeles.
Every girl here is a vision ordinary men only dream about.” Luca pointed at the models swaying their slender waists on the dance floor.
“Do you know that if God saw you sitting in a place like this drinking orange juice, He’d strike you down with a lightning bolt?” “You saved two billionaires.
Right now, you are the man most entitled to enjoy everything this world has to offer.
If you can’t even handle a bikini model, how will you ever have the face to say you know Tony Stark and Luca Stark?” Ho Yinsen froze.
Is…
is that right?!
Is this really how it works?!
“But…
I…
I really don’t know how to talk to women.
And I’m not young anymore…” Ho Yinsen put up one last desperate defense.
“What does age matter?
Being older means you have the charm of a mature man!” Tony instantly chimed in.
“Look at me.
I’m not young either, but I’m still America’s dream guy.” “Alright, enough chatter.” Luca gave Ho Yinsen no chance to refuse.
He grabbed a filled glass and forced it into Ho Yinsen’s hand.
“Drink up!
Then stand tall like a real man!” Cornered and cajoled from both sides by the brothers, Ho Yinsen seemed to be swayed.
He looked at the hard liquor in his hand, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.
The burning alcohol slid down his throat into his stomach like a ball of fire.
Ho Yinsen’s face instantly flushed red.
“Excellent!” Tony snapped his fingers in satisfaction.
He turned around and waved to a voluptuous model in a red bikini standing nearby.
The model immediately walked over with captivating grace.
“Mr.
Stark, you called?” Her voice was so sultry it could melt steel.
Tony pointed at the red-faced Ho Yinsen, speaking with absolute seriousness.
“This is Dr.
Ho Yinsen.
My most honored guest, and one of the brilliant biologists in the world.” “He’s feeling a bit bored right now.
You’re in charge of helping him understand just how wonderful a night in LA can be.
If he isn’t happy tonight, I’m firing your boss.” The model caught on immediately.
She walked over to Ho Yinsen, comfortably settling right into his lap.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she purred into his ear.
“Doctor~ You look so solid.
Would you mind teaching me a bit about biology?” Ho Yinsen froze like a statue, his hands hovering awkwardly in midair with nowhere to put them.
He didn’t even dare to look down, his face as red as a ripe tomato.
“I…
I…
s-sure.” Stammering, Ho Yinsen was pulled onto the dance floor, half-willing and half-pushed.
Watching Ho Yinsen’s clumsy, hilarious display, Luca and Tony finally burst into laughter.
“Now that’s what a Stark party should look like.” Luca clapped his hands in satisfaction, picking up a glass from the table to take a big swig.
Tony also held a glass, leaning back against the yacht’s railing as the sea breeze ruffled his hair.
After a few seconds of silence, he turned his head and suddenly let out a sigh.
“To be honest, Luca…” Tony’s tone grew serious, tinged with exhaustion.
“I didn’t actually want to come to this damn party tonight.” Luca turned around, leaning his back against the railing as the smile on his face faded slightly.
“I know.” “You’re probably thinking about rushing back to the lab to get that suit built as fast as possible, right?” “If you knew that, why did you drag me here?” Tony pouted, pointing toward the noisy crowd around them.
“We wasted an entire night standing around here…
well, enjoying life.” Luca chuckled.
“Tony, that’s exactly why I brought you.
You’ve clearly watched too few Hollywood spy movies.” He leaned in closer, breaking it down for him.
“Think about it.
We just survived that cave.
The rats in the shadows must be squirming like ants on a hot pan right now.
They’re bound to make a move.” “On top of that, we played our first card at the press conference today and declared open war, saying we’d investigate the mole.
What is that?
That’s called beating the grass to startle the snake.” Luca took a sip of his drink, his smile growing meaningful.
“So, we have to put on the whole show.” “If we hid in the villa the moment we got back, never stepping foot outside, do you think the enemies in the dark would dare to move?
They’d only hide deeper.” “But now it’s different.” Luca gestured to the yacht beneath their feet.
“We throw a massive party, letting the whole world know we’re indulging ourselves and lowering our guard.
We want them to think that tonight is the moment our defenses are weakest.” Tony froze.
He wasn’t stupid; he instantly understood Luca’s point.
“You mean…
we’re creating an opportunity for them to act?
Making them reveal their own tracks?” Tony narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Bingo.” Luca snapped his fingers.
“If they’re actually stupid enough to send assassins tonight, that would be fantastic!” “Fantastic?” Tony widened his eyes, looking at him as if he were insane.
“Did the sun melt your brain?
Assassins mean we’re in danger!
How in the world is that fantastic?!” Luca shook his head in disappointment, poking Tony’s chest heavily with a finger.
“Tony, did you forget something?
Aside from you and Ho Yinsen, no one knows my true strength!” “If assassins dare to come for us, guess what happens?” “When faced with fully armed killers, we first pretend to be helpless ordinary guys, trembling in fear.” “And just as they think victory is assured and prepare to shoot—BOOM!
I unleash everything and punch their heads straight into their stomachs!” Luca grew more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly.
“Then we keep a few alive and take them somewhere private for a proper interrogation.
Isn’t that way faster than blindly checking accounting ledgers and money trails like headless flies?” “This is called a sting operation—catching the enemy completely off guard!
Get it?!” After listening to Luca’s absurd plan, Tony stood stunned.
The more he heard, the brighter his eyes shone.
*Damn it!
How come I never noticed before?!* *His playboy brother, who used to care about nothing but picking up girls, was actually this sinister deep down?* *And why on earth was he starting to love this underhanded way of catching people off guard?!* From this afternoon until now, Luca had come up with one underhanded idea after another.
Tony realized he was enjoying it more and more.
He was the smartest man in the world—why should he always engage in straightforward, head-on battles?!
He ought to be using top-tier intelligence to crush his enemies!
The corners of Tony’s mouth curled up uncontrollably, the exhaustion on his face completely vanishing.
“Luca.” Tony took a deep breath.
“You’re wicked!
But I have to admit, it’s a stroke of genius.” Soon, however, Tony put on a regretful expression.
He slapped his leg in annoyance.
“What a shame!
Why didn’t you tell me this plan earlier?” Tony complained.
“If I’d known you were doing this to lure them out, we should have gone to the lab first to invent some even more torturous weapons!” Tony’s scientific soul instantly burst into flames, and he began rattling off ideas nonstop.
“For example, I could install miniature high-voltage anesthetic needles in shoe heels!
Or hide a few capsules filled with potent nerve toxin inside buttons!
Or better yet, build a few heavy-hitting concealed weapons!” “When those idiots get close thinking they’ve got us, we unleash our full strength and thrash them!
We shouldn’t give the enemy a second chance to strike—that’s the only way to be safe!” Tony spoke with feverish enthusiasm, his expression growing increasingly villainous.
Luca burst out laughing on the spot.
That was more like it.
This was the brother he knew.
As long as they weren’t bound by conventional morality, their destructive potential was completely off the charts.
“Bro, do you finally understand the joy of playing the weak pig to eat the tiger?” Luca raised his glass, a brilliant smile on his face.
“So, our task right now is to enjoy the party to the fullest—enjoy the beauties and the fine liquor, got it?
Leave the rest to whatever unlucky bastards might be watching us from the dark.” The two brothers exchanged a look and shared a knowing smile.
No words were needed.
“Cheers—to the unlucky rats,” Tony chuckled, lifting his glass.
“Cheers.”