Chapter 47

Qin Li's expression turned puzzled, and he asked, "What's wrong? Does this serum help you last longer? No way, Frank, are you at the point of needing medicine already?"

Frank's face darkened as he retorted, "I used up most of it yesterday."

Qin Li finally realized his misunderstanding and laughed, saying, "Oh! Right, after all the intensity yesterday, you'd definitely need it. Don't worry—win or lose, I'll give it to you."

Not wanting to engage further on the topic, Frank stayed silent. Qin Li, seeing that Frank wasn't responding, also lost interest in teasing and decided to call Tony Stark instead.

"Hey, Tony! What's up?" Qin Li greeted with a smile.

Tony Stark, who was busy repairing his armor, picked up the phone and put it on speaker. "Li, if you've got something to say, just spit it out. The time I'm wasting talking to you is costing me tens of thousands of dollars."

Hearing this, Jessica, sitting nearby, couldn't hold back her laughter, and even Frank burst into laughter at Qin Li's embarrassment.

With a darkened expression, Qin Li asked directly, "That F-22 Raptor crash that Colonel Rhodes mentioned—was that your doing?"

"Oh, so he really told the media that?" Tony replied, slightly surprised. Realizing he'd been caught, he continued, "Honestly, it wasn't me who took it down—it crashed into me. Bad luck, I guess. Look, I'm still repairing the armor because of it."

Triumphant, Qin Li glanced at Frank before saying to Tony, "Alright. So how are you holding up? Knowing you, you're probably just fine."

"Damn it, you're the one who's always fine, you bastard! Did you seriously call just to ask about this?" Tony responded, his tone filled with disbelief.

"What else? You think I'd call just to check in on you?" Qin Li shot back.

"Oh, for the love of God, I should've had Jarvis block your number and put you in the same list as those who claim to be my illegitimate kids!" Tony said with a scowl as Pepper Potts entered the room, motioning for him to wait.

Qin Li, sensing the insult, fired back in rapid succession, "Your kids? You're my kid, Tony! You little—"

Before Qin Li could finish, Tony hung up the call, tossed his phone aside, and instructed Jarvis, "Jarvis, block Qin Li's number, and while you're at it, blacklist all the numbers of people around him. Lift it tomorrow."

"Understood, Mr. Stark," Jarvis replied.

Pepper, watching Tony's childish antics, chuckled.

Tony looked at her and said, "You should laugh more often."

Pepper, noticing his gaze, quickly composed herself and stood firm. Tony reached behind him, pulled out a USB drive, and handed it to her.

"Can you do me a favor? Go to my office, hack into the mainframe, and pull all recent shipping records," he said.

Pepper raised an eyebrow as she took the USB and asked, "And what do you plan to do with this data?"

"Same as always—they're conducting shady backdoor deals. I need to stop them, find my weapons, and destroy them," Tony said, avoiding Pepper's worried gaze as he fiddled with his equipment.

"Tony, you know I'd do anything for you, but if you keep this up, I might not be able to help anymore," Pepper said, concern etched on her face. She feared Tony was spiraling into a dangerous obsession, challenging entire factions alone.

"I've been like this for years—no ribbon-cutting ceremonies, no charity events, no more signing papers. This is my mission, and nothing else," Tony said, letting out a deep breath to calm himself.

Pepper, visibly disappointed, tossed the USB onto the table and declared, "Just this? Then I quit." She turned on her heel to leave.

Watching her go, Tony called out, "After all these years of helping me profit off destruction, now that I want to atone, you're leaving?"

Pepper stopped, turned back, and said sternly, "What you're doing is a suicide mission, Tony."

Slumping into his chair, Tony replied in a somber tone, "Then maybe I deserve to die—unless I can find a reason to live. I've just realized what I need to do."

Taking a deep breath, Pepper walked back, picked up the USB, and said, "You leave me no choice. At least take Li with you. If he's there, I'll feel more at ease knowing he can protect you."

Reluctantly, Tony said, "Fine, fine, I'll bring him along." With that assurance, Pepper finally left to uncover the shady dealings that had been hidden from them.

Meanwhile, Qin Li stared in disbelief at the phones in front of him. "It's definitely Tony! That bastard told Jarvis to block all your numbers! There's no way every call could fail like this!" he fumed.

Frank, watching Qin Li's frustrated attempts to call Tony back, calmly continued tutoring his son and silently thanked his luck that Qin Li had forgotten about their bet. But that reprieve didn't last long.

"Forget it. I'll get my chance to yell at him later. Frank, it's time to honor our bet," Qin Li said, turning his attention to his quiet friend.

Seeing no escape, Frank tried one last futile attempt to dodge the topic. But Qin Li, undeterred, turned to Nick and asked, "Nick, would you mind if your dad found you a new mom?"

Without hesitation, Nick replied, "I'm a big boy now. Dad can't just have me as family, and I'd like a little brother. I'm the youngest one here."

Frank, rendered speechless by Nick's unwitting betrayal, sighed and admitted, "Fine, it's Selina. She's the only one I'm in touch with, and she lives in New York."