51: Half a Month

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Half a month quickly passed.

Nick Fury said he would come back, but he still hadn't shown up.

According to Tony, he packaged all the Hydra intelligence and sent it to Fury's inbox.

It's likely that Fury is currently cursing to himself 'Motherfucker!' every day as he looks at his battered and bruised S.H.I.E.L.D.

However, during this period of time...

Natasha had already led the girls to undo the control over more than two dozen Widow agents.

Most of these Widows were willing to join the organization Lyon was still in the process of establishing.

Only less than ten Widow agents chose to leave, either because they were physically and mentally exhausted or because they wanted to pursue their own futures.

Lyon, following his word, also destroyed their files.

However, perhaps in just a few years, some of them would come to regret the decision they made that day.

As for Tony, due to Pepper's request, he also started to focus more on returning to the company to help out.

After all, the rollout of clean energy really wouldn't work without him.

Lyon's biggest gain in the past half month was his increase in strength and the conclusion of the upper limit prediction experiment.

...

Two days ago.

Lyon returned home after sunbathing, finishing his thrust test.

Tony once again looked at him with a look as if he were a monster.

"Eight hundred and ninety thousand tons of immense strength, in just half a month, your power has nearly doubled!"

Lyon calmly nodded. "I can feel the speed of my power increase accelerating, kind of like it's growing in a geometric progression."

"But in the past two days, I've noticed that the gap in these increasingly larger increments is beginning to narrow."

"Perhaps this means I'm approaching the peak of my growth period."

"So, I'm more interested in the upper limit prediction results. Today is the last day, right?"

"It should be ready. Give me five minutes!" Tony walked over to the computer and began to calculate rapidly on the screen.

As he said, five minutes later, a prediction chart full of dots and lines was printed out.

"Alright, it's done!"

Lyon pulled out the paper and read it carefully.

Tony stood by, acting as a commentator.

"Those dots record your power levels after each solar recharge session, and the lines represent the growth increments."

"Based on the model we've established, your upper strength limit will be around two million tons—yes, that's two million tons per arm."

Tony glanced at Lyon's expression and, seeing nothing unusual, continued speaking.

"One million tons is your peak period."

"Before reaching the peak, your strength will increase faster and faster, like a snowball rolling downhill."

"But after reaching that point, the rate of your strength increase will gradually slow down until it reaches the upper limit."

After Tony finished, he cautiously observed Lyon.

He knew his younger brother had always been focused on pursuing strength, and hearing about his limits might not sit well with him.

However, Lyon remained calm.

He even looked puzzled: "What's with that expression? Like you're afraid I'll start crying in the next second, so you're readying tissues to comfort me."

"Aren't you... upset? About the whole upper limit thing?" Tony pointed to the prediction chart.

"Why should I be upset? This was expected. Now, knowing the result actually gives me a clearer direction to work towards," Lyon said.

That's just how it is.

Knowing that approximately two million tons per arm is his upper limit, he can search for other ways to get stronger while continuing to absorb sunlight until he reaches that limit.

First, he could consider going to Kamar-Taj to study; he could also visit the village of Da Luo in K'un-Lun to learn the art of Qi.

Kamar-Taj has many unconventional and strange ways to gain power.

For example, one could become stronger by making pacts with other beings.

—Start by signing contracts with weaker ones, then eventually devour them; finally, move on to more powerful entities, climbing up the demonic hierarchy.

This is a feasible path that a certain Sorcerer Supreme has already trodden.

In K'un-Lun, one could seek the power of the dragon.

That's a high-level power, though the chances of obtaining it are quite slim...

And even after exploring all the power sources in this world, he could still use his dimensional traversal ability to go to other worlds in search of ways to become stronger.

In the past, Lyon had always been a bit cautious, thinking that it would be best not to leave his current world until he became sufficiently powerful.

However, now he should at least barely qualify to set foot in other worlds.

At this moment, Tony said, "By the way, a few days ago, I watched a Superman cartoon."

"In it, Superman suddenly absorbed too much power, reaching the strength of two million tons, and then his body started to self-destruct."

"I think, for most ordinary Kryptonians, two million tons might already be an unattainable limit."

Lyon thought for a moment and agreed, "Maybe that's true; after all, every race has its limits..."

So, if he wanted to break through this limit, would he have to stop being a Kryptonian?

He secretly made a mental joke to himself.

...

Two days later.

After a hearty dinner.

Tony continued to retreat into his lab for research.

Lyon flew into deep space.

After the simulation tests were over, for the past few days, he had practically been rooted in the space cabin.

Except for when he got hungry and returned home for dinner.

'I.. i GAVE HER 1 BILLION!'

Even yesterday, when Natasha sent a request for her salary, he ignored it.

Re-entering the space cabin, back to the familiar titanium alloy steel plate.

Lyon quickly and comfortably fell asleep.

That night.

It was supposed to pass quietly like this.

But uninvited guests always arrive without warning.

Tony Stark did not know.

The wave caused by his announcement of his identity to the whole world had now reached a hidden corner.

...

The moon was bright, and stars were sparse; clouds drifted across the sky.

In the darkness of the night, a group of masked men in black clothes, hidden in the shadows of the treetops, attacked Stark's mansion like pillbugs coming out of their holes.

They seemed like some kind of ancient warriors, with only their determined and fierce eyes exposed.

As if they came here to rob the rich and aid the poor.

But they also resembled ninjas who had inherited a thousand-year tradition.

Each person's footsteps would land exactly on the footprint of the person before them.

No one made a sound; each one was like a cold sword hidden in its sheath.

They moved through all the blind spots of the surveillance equipment.

Sometimes they leaped together; other times, they crawled, like a group of water striders jumping on the water's surface.

These water striders eventually sneaked onto the roof of Stark's mansion. They pinpointed Tony's room and descended with grappling hooks.

Laser cutters, glass suction cups, silent gloves...

They skillfully removed the glass from Tony's bedroom window.

Then, like swimming fish, they slid into the room one by one, without making a single sound.

The leader took a look around the room and shook his head, indicating that Tony Stark was not there.

He made a few hand gestures, signaling everyone to rush downstairs, leaving no one alive.

Everyone nodded.

The leader held up five fingers, starting a countdown one by one.

...

Meanwhile, in the lab.

Tony was leaning back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

On the screen in front of him was Jarvis's defense system.

He had been so busy recently that half a month had passed, and Jarvis's upgrade was still not completed.

Just then, an arm waved in front of him.

"Still thinking, Tony? The enemies are already at the door."

Lyon reached out and took the glasses off Tony's face.

While he was asleep in space, he suddenly heard the sound of glass being cut and the dense sound of footsteps coming from his home.

His sweet dreams were immediately interrupted.

With his super vision activated, he quickly assessed the situation and hurried back to the lab in five seconds.

With his recent increase in power, the strength of his biofield had also rapidly risen.

Now, even when flying at more than a hundred Mach, he could be as silent as a bird flying through the clouds.

"Hmm?! What the—Lyon!" Tony was startled, his face full of surprise, but it calmed when he saw Lyon.

"What enemies? Jarvis didn't give any warning... Damn, could it be that eyepatch baldy again?"

"No, it's a group of ninjas, or maybe martial arts experts."

Lyon cracked his knuckles. "I came back to remind you to hurry up and upgrade Jarvis, and while I'm at it, I'll take care of them."

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