Malibu, Tony Stark’s private seaside villa, underground laboratory.
Three days had silently passed.
On the central operation platform of the laboratory, the energy glow that had been flashing violently like a miniature storm was now undergoing its final transformation.
The hum of energy gradually climbed to its peak, then abruptly converged inward.
The light quickly faded like a receding tide, finally stabilizing.
A phantom image of an energy core, with an incredibly precise structure and emitting a soft, pure white light, floated silently in mid-air.
Lin Xuan snapped his eyes open.
Deep within his pupils, massive streams of data seemed to wash over his consciousness like a waterfall.
In his mind, the System’s notification sounded clearly.
[Male Core V1.0 Upgrade Complete! Deep integration with the Miniature Arc Reactor (Optimized Version) successful.]
[Current Computing Power: Exponentially Enhanced.]
[Energy Supply: Stable and Surging.]
[Unlocked Ability: Real-time Combat Analysis and Opponent Modeling]
Lin Xuan could clearly feel it.
The Super Gene Core known as the “Male Core” had undergone a world-shaking evolution!
Thinking speed, information processing bandwidth, multi-threaded parallel computing capabilities…
Every single metric was showing explosive growth!
More importantly, the miniature Arc Reactor he had personally optimized now beat like a second heart, perfectly fused with the Male Core.
It provided a nearly inexhaustible surge of energy, sustaining the Male Core’s unimaginably high-speed calculations.
As he activated the Male Core with his consciousness, Lin Xuan felt, in every sense, that he had become a living superquantum computer with infinite potential.
With a mere thought, this absolute control over information and terrifying processing speed even gave him the illusion of being nearly “omniscient.”
He quickly suppressed this feeling.
Taking a deep breath, he felt the surging power within his body and an unprecedented clarity in his mind.
“The computational bottleneck is completely solved, and the energy supply is more than sufficient…” A confident smile played on Lin Xuan’s lips.
“Now, it’s time… to design an ‘exoskeleton armor’ that truly belongs to me.”
The moment the thought took hold, countless conceptual designs for the system erupted like a supernova in his mind.
“If only I had a sufficiently advanced ‘prototype’ to use as a reference for analysis and reverse engineering…”
***
Inside the private gym on the top floor of the Stark Industries Headquarters Building.
*Thud!
Thud!
Thud!*
Tony Stark, shirtless, let sweat trickle down the defined lines of his bronzed muscles.
His eyes were focused, tinged with a hint of wildness, as he engaged in an intense sparring session on the boxing ring with his bodyguard and driver, Happy Hogan.
Every punch, dodge, and block was packed with raw power.
Tony was using this most primal of methods to vent the energy and stress he had accumulated over the past few days.
Between the hearings and cleaning up Hydra’s mess, he also had to keep an eye on Lin Xuan’s movements…
*What the hell is that kid up to?*
*It’s been three days, and there hasn’t been a single peep from him…*
Tony muttered to himself as he dodged Happy’s straight punch.
Just as the two were fighting to a sweat-soaked stalemate, the sleek, frosted glass door of the gym was silently pushed open.
Pepper Potts walked in, wearing a perfectly tailored, cream-white CEO suit.
A professional smile touched her lips, but her brow betrayed a hint of helplessness at the scene before her.
Behind her followed a tall woman with a curvaceous figure and a cold, sharp aura.
Her signature shoulder-length red hair, like a burning flame, instantly drew the gaze of every man in the room.
This was Natasha Romanoff—the Black Widow—who had just passed the Legal Department’s background check under the alias “Natalie Rushman” and successfully infiltrated Stark Industries as Tony’s new personal assistant.
Pepper spoke, her voice tinged with a faint, barely perceptible weariness.
“Tony, your new assistant, Ms. Natalie Rushman. There are some notarized documents regarding asset transfers that need your immediate signature.”
Natasha’s calm gaze swept over the two men on the boxing ring.
*It seems my first step in infiltrating the place went smoothly.
I guess I won that little bet with Lin Xuan, didn’t I?*
Tony had just nimbly dodged a powerful swing from Happy.
Hearing Pepper, he paused and casually wiped the sweat from his forehead as he turned around.
When his eyes landed on Natasha, a flash of sharp, hawk-like scrutiny crossed his brown eyes, which always held a hint of playfulness and self-assurance.
It was followed by a faint, almost imperceptible spark of admiration, and an even deeper… curiosity?
But this complex mix of emotions lasted less than half a second.
It was perfectly masked by his signature, slightly roguish smile.
“Oh~ Miss?”
He raised an eyebrow at Natasha, his tone flippant.
“Welcome to my private domain.”
“Want to come up and try it? Boxing is good for the mind and body.”
He pointed to the boxing ring as if it were some amusing amusement park ride.
Standing to the side, Happy sized up the new “trophy” assistant with an undisguised look of skepticism, his gaze sweeping her from head to toe.
She was long used to Tony’s habit of exuding hormones at every opportunity.
“Tony, watch your words.”
“This is Natalie. I mentioned her to you before. I also want to introduce her to Lin Xuan.”
Pepper tried to remind him to maintain his composure, while also subtly hinting at Natasha’s “background.”
Before Tony could speak again, Happy, with a hint of showing off and barely concealed condescension, took the initiative to extend an invitation to Natasha.
“Hey, beautiful. Want to learn a few moves? I can teach you some self-defense for women…”
His words were still hanging in the air.
Natasha’s face still wore that flawless smile as she nodded gently.
Just as Happy, lulled by her “compliance,” let his guard down slightly—even considering offering some more “instructional advice”—
She moved with the speed of a startled rabbit.
Natasha’s movements were swift and fluid, possessing an explosive power and technical skill that defied ordinary imagination.
She leaned forward slightly, slipping into Happy’s blind spot with a side-step so fast that a normal person would have barely seen her trajectory.
Immediately after, her long, powerful legs snapped shut like a pair of scissors, locking around Happy’s thick neck!
*Pivot!
Twist!
Press down!*
The entire sequence flowed in one seamless motion, as graceful as a ballet dancer yet imbued with lethal efficiency.
*Thud!*
Happy Hogan, a former professional boxer and a veteran bodyguard, was taken down to the floor in a textbook-perfect headscissors choke before he could even let out a gasp.
He lay on the cold floor, utterly bewildered.
What had just happened in that split second?
On the boxing ring, the smile completely vanished from Tony’s face.
In its place was a look of intense curiosity mingled with high alert.
He watched Natasha stand up effortlessly, even smoothing the hem of her jacket as if she’d just swatted a fly.
*This woman is absolutely not simple.*
The atmosphere in the gym instantly turned tense and suffocating.
Just then—
*Beep—beep—*
The indicator light on Tony’s wrist communicator flashed.
Lin Xuan’s call request was patching into his private system.
“Tony! Your lab is absolutely incredible.”