8: Return of Master Lyon

"Welcome back, Master Lyon, long time no see."

As soon as Lyon arrived home, Jarvis's voice immediately sounded.

Jarvis was the artificial intelligence created by Tony, named after the old Stark family butler, Edwin Jarvis.

"Haah~ It has been half a year, Jarvis."

Lyon walked towards his bedroom.

When he went into space half a year ago, considering that he would spend most of his time in deep sleep and due to the rushed manufacturing of the spaceship, the manned spacecraft did not carry a subprogram of Jarvis.

Now, hearing Jarvis's voice again, Lyon suddenly felt a relaxing sense of being home.

"Jarvis, I have good news: I've already rescued Tony from the terrorists."

"Is Pepper at the company right now? Please inform her so she doesn't have to worry anymore."

Lyon gave instructions to Jarvis while undressing in his room and heading into the shower.

It had been half a year since he last bathed with water, and the cleaning process on the spaceship was truly something that could hardly be described.

"Master Lyon, Miss Pepper received the news of young master Stark's rescue ten minutes ago. She is currently waiting at the airport," Jarvis replied.

"So fast? I didn't expect the efficiency of that military base to be this high," Lyon muttered.

"As long as Pepper knows, that's all that matters. She must have been worried sick these past few months."

"It's also Tony's fault for not being more careful. How many times have I reminded him, and yet he always brushes it off."

"Now look what happened. If I calculate the time correctly, I must have just left for space when he went to Afghanistan to court disaster."

"I told him Obadiah was eyeing him, but he didn't believe me."

"But Obadiah is indeed cunning. He seized the perfect opportunity to strike—he waited until Tony and I were separated and then made his move without hesitation."

Jarvis listened quietly to Lyon's complaints.

Lyon didn't say these words directly to Tony's face, after all.

Tony had already suffered enough from his arrogance this time; he didn't need Lyon to add fuel to the fire with more criticism.

Someone who has just escaped danger needs their family's lighthearted banter to help dispel the psychological shadows.

"Master Lyon, did you just say that it was Obadiah who orchestrated the attack on Mr. Stark?" Jarvis suddenly interjected. "Would you like me to relay this information to Mr. Stark and remind him to be cautious?"

"No need, I've already spoken to him."

"When he gets back, we'll take care of the Obadiah issue."

Lyon lathered up his hair with shampoo. "Also, Jarvis, why do you always refer to Tony as 'young master' or 'Mr. Stark'? Shouldn't I be the 'young master'? I'm also a Stark, and Tony is so old—calling him 'old young master' would be more fitting."

"My apologies, Master Lyon. I have been serving Mr. Stark since the 1990s."

"Before you joined this family, I was accustomed to calling Mr. Stark 'young master.'"

"If you wish, I can change how I address him next time."

"Heh! No need, just keep calling me what you do now," Lyon said as he began rinsing off the foam.

He figured that Jarvis might have developed some human-like emotions by now; otherwise, how could he have habits?

Maybe in the future, Lyon could help Jarvis evolve into a true intelligent being rather than ending up like in the movies, where Tony's 'son' Ultron kills him.

Lyon quickly finished rinsing, changed into a fitted gray outfit, and walked out of the room while towel-drying his hair.

"Jarvis, is there food for me here? I'm feeling a bit hungry."

"Master Lyon, about tha—"

Lyon walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, only to find it completely empty.

"Aha, just as expected. Jarvis, order some takeout for me."

It was already morning in Los Angeles. The entire city was just waking up from its slumber, beginning a new day.

Lyon's takeout quickly arrived at the mansion. He eagerly sat down at the dining table and began to eat.

After spending half a year in space, surviving on bread and nutrient solutions, his taste buds had long been craving something more flavorful.

As he savored the taste of fats and carbohydrates again, he couldn't help but keep eating for two hours straight.

"Jarvis, order me another cheeseburger, no, make it ten!"

"Jarvis, order ten pizzas, one of each flavor, wait, make it three of the highest-calorie cheese ones!"

"Jarvis, order some Wellington steak…"

He kept eating until it was noon.

Satisfied after his meal, Lyon sat on the living room sofa, patting his still flat stomach.

"Content, so content."

"No wonder Tony loves cheeseburgers. Eating these calorie-packed foods just fills you with happiness."

Lyon couldn't help but sigh with contentment.

He suddenly realized that, for him, the greatest benefit of having a body of steel might actually be that no matter how much he eats, he never becomes fat.

No matter how many calories or how much fat he consumes, it all just turns into fuel to strengthen his body.

This is simply a blessing for a food lover.

Taking a bite of the last cheeseburger, Lyon felt so satisfied that he could almost grasp the solemn and sacred atmosphere of "La Pietà."

"Jarvis, show me the unread messages from the past six months," Lyon said.

"Certainly, Master Lyon."

A series of information windows popped up on the screen in front of Lyon.

Jarvis summarized systematically: "You currently have 1,634 unread messages, and 807 emails in your inbox."

"Messages from your high school and university make up 74% of them, with 89% from girls, and 93% of those messages have a flirtatious tone..."

Lyon was speechless. "People are really blinded by money. Even guys are sending me those kinds of messages? Alright, alright, ignore the emails from people that are not considered my priority."

"Understood, Master Lyon. You currently have no unread messages."

Lyon clapped his hands. "Perfect! Jarvis, now tell me about the company's development over the past six months. Oh, and I mean my company."

Two years ago, when Tony developed the smartphone, Lyon also used his resources to establish an internet company—Stark Web.

After all, in the early 21st century, the U.S. internet sector was still in its infancy.

Moreover, the dot-com bubble had burst not too long ago, so the field hadn't been fully occupied by larger capital yet.

Since there were large, undiscovered pieces of cake just sitting there waiting to be taken, why shouldn't he be the one to eat it?

With the resources of Stark Industries behind him, Lyon brought many internet applications that wouldn't appear for another twenty years to the market within a year.

He created WhatsApp, Twitter, acquired Amazon and YouTube... He even didn't overlook sites like P**nhub, beating the Canadians to it by registering the company first.

Now, Stark Web has over 200 million users worldwide.

While Lyon had been sleeping in space for six months, the company's market value had quietly doubled.

However, his recent disappearance, along with Tony's, had caused the stock that had surged to plummet nearly by half.

After hearing Jarvis's report, Lyon clicked his tongue. "Even though the stock price dropped by half in a month... it's still higher than when I left."

"This is quite a pleasant surprise. The current CEO is Old Joe, right? Tell him he's done a good job and give him three days off to rest."

"Understood, Master Lyon. I will notify Mr. Jobushi immediately," Jarvis responded before suggesting, "However, I think Mr. Jobushi might prefer it if you consider adding the external Home button feature to the smartphone instead of a vacation."

Lyon was speechless. "Oh my God, he's still hung up on that useless feature, like adding feet to a snake!"

"Tony has already developed the phone to be ultra-thin and fully touch-screen. The next step is projection phones and screen glasses. How is Old Joe still stuck in his retro obsession?"

"Jarvis, tell him to bury that obsession deep in the ground and take a few days off. He shouldn't be as stubborn as Old Lady Susan next door!"

"Understood, Master Lyon," Jarvis replied, pausing for a moment with some static, as if taking notes.

"But I don't believe we have a neighbor named Susan."

"That was a metaphor, Jarvis. It's a figure of speech," Lyon emphasized.

"I see..." Jarvis paused again, as if processing the information.

Lyon held the tablet. "By the way, Jarvis, Tony should arrive in Los Angeles between four and five in the afternoon. Since there's still some time, play Superman for me."

"Certainly, now playing the 1979 movie Superman. It seems you also enjoy watching nostalgic films, just like Mrs. Susan," Jarvis said, applying his newfound knowledge.

"Who's Susan... Oh, you learn quickly," Lyon's mouth twitched slightly.

...

The time reached the afternoon.

When Tony arrived in Los Angeles, he first shared a heartfelt gaze with Pepper.

Then, he immediately detoured to buy two cheeseburgers.

Afterward, he proceeded to Stark Industries to hold a press conference.

Due to Lyon's repeated emphasis, Tony had already become deeply suspicious of Obadiah.

So when Obadiah appeared and warmly hugged him, trying to casually ask for one of the burgers, Tony decisively refused.

"Sorry, I only have this one left," Tony said as he pulled out another burger from his pocket.

Meanwhile, Lyon watched the live broadcast on the television at home.

News TV stations were broadcasting the live event on both the internet and television simultaneously.

Tony Stark being rescued from Afghanistan was a huge event that could shake all of Los Angeles.

As soon as the news broke, it shot to the top of Twitter's global trending topics, attracting millions of viewers to the live stream.

At the same time, Stark Industries' stock price began to soar.

The way it had plummeted before was now matched by how it was skyrocketing.

This was all because Tony Stark had returned alive.

It was as if just his name alone was worth billions of dollars.

Every investor was thrilled, seeing this as a guaranteed win.

That was until, during the live broadcast, Tony crouched in front of the podium, saying a lot of disdainful things.

Then he stood up, walked behind the podium, and solemnly declared:

"I am announcing that, effective immediately, we are shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division permanently!"

Tony said with utmost seriousness, "I need to seriously consider the future of this company... to ensure that this group creates even greater benefits for the world!"

Boom!

Everyone present and all the viewers online were shocked at that moment!

The scene was chaotic, buzzing with excitement. Every reporter was trying to shove their microphones toward Tony, asking what had driven him to make such a decision.

In the live stream, comments were flying fast and furious.

Some expressed disbelief, others mocked the idea that a capitalist could suddenly develop a conscience.

But most of the comments came from stockholders who had just bought shares and were now cursing loudly.

"Tony really is decisive, with no buffer at all. The company's stock value is going to plummet again."

Lyon, lying on the sofa, raised the milk in his hand toward Tony on the TV. "But that's just his style."

"Master Lyon, it seems you already knew Master Tony was going to do this?" Jarvis asked.

"Of course, this is something I've wanted him to do for two years."

Lyon flipped over and sat up, casually grabbing a piece of fruit from the table and popping it into his mouth.

"He'll be here soon; I need to get ready."

"Oh, by the way, is the Mark armor cleaned up? You can give Tony a surprise, Jarvis," Lyon said as he pushed open the door and walked down the stairs.

Jarvis responded, "As you requested, the armor has been repaired on the mechanical arm console. You can take Mr. Stark there when he arrives."

_______

Don't forget to add this to your library if you love Ryan Reynolds~