Chapter: 14

"The future of aerial combat, whether it is manned or unmanned, what I want to say is that, based on my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle can surpass the instinctive reactions of a pilot. The insight developed through long training, the ability to foresee consequences by observing the situation deeply, or you can say, the judgment of a pilot."

Colonel Rhodes, stationed at the Air Force base, led a group of new Air Force recruits on a tour inside the hangar, sharing his experiences as an ace pilot.

"Colonel, then... why can't we create an aircraft without a pilot and copilot?"

"Look at this 'man who fell from the sky,' Mr. Tony Stark." Rhodes introduced Tony to the recruits, interrupting his own speech.

"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you have to hear about his experience of misjudgment. It was in the spring, remember, spring of 1987. That lady in your bed..." Tony didn't stop his act of teasing and continued to reveal his good friend's secrets.

"Tony, stop it," Rhodes quickly interrupted in embarrassment.

"What was her name again? Was it Yvonne?"

"They will believe it, don't make things up." Rhodes reminded once again. He didn't want to lose face in front of the new recruits.

"Alright, nice to meet you all." Tony perfectly timed the end of his joke.

"Guys, take a look around by yourselves for a bit. We need to have a separate chat."

As the recruits walked away, Rhodes patted Tony's shoulder. "I'm surprised, buddy!"

"Why?"

"I swear, I didn't expect to see you back on your feet so quickly."

"I can do more than just walk."

"Is that so?" Rhodes had some doubts.

"Yes. Rhodey, I'm doing something big, and I came to tell you because I hope you'll join me."

Rhodes nodded perfunctorily but didn't give a definite answer. "You could have really made these people happy because what you did at the press conference was quite a headline."

"This is not for the military. I'm not... It's different."

Rhodes looked at the somewhat unfamiliar Tony with a puzzled expression. "What's going on? Have you turned into a humanitarian now?"

"I hope you'll listen to my plan seriously..."

Before Tony could finish, Rhodes interrupted him. "No need. What you need now is to get your mind back to normal. I'm serious!"

"Alright." Tony replied with a perfunctory smile.

"Good to see you, Tony." After saying that, Rhodes turned and continued his unfinished work.

"Thank you." Tony felt somewhat disappointed with his friend Rhodes' lack of understanding, but that didn't make him give up on his plan. "Looks like I'll have to ask Mark for help."

....

"Mark, come out, I need to talk to you!" Tony wasted no time and immediately called out Mark's name as soon as he got home.

Ever since escaping from the terrorists with the help of the crude Mark I suit, Tony had been contemplating this plan. Now, besides his progress with Pepper, this upcoming plan was his primary concern, overshadowing the future development of his company.

Upon hearing his father's call, Mark, still wearing his pajamas and groggy-eyed, walked out of his room. "What's up, Dad? I only went to bed at 4 o'clock last night."

"4 o'clock? What were you doing last night? And now it's already noon, considering the eight hours of sleep teenagers need, you should be up by now."

"Alright, whose fault is it that this house belongs to you? It's a pity that I stayed up all night to help you remove the shrapnel from your chest. Ah, good deeds go unrewarded!"

"Huh!?" Tony immediately became interested upon hearing Mark's words. He wasn't concerned about whether the shrapnel in his chest could be removed because he knew the high risks involved, and at this stage, he wasn't willing to take that chance when everything else was under control. What truly interested him was the new gadget Mark had come up with.

It should be noted that Mark hadn't devoted much effort to medical research. Even when developing the personal health consultant, J.A.R.V.I.S. had assisted with organizing all the medical data. Now, since Mark claimed to have a way to potentially remove the shrapnel from his chest, it meant he had found a direction in some other technology.

"What new toy have you come up with this time? Show me!"

"Weren't you looking for me because you had something to discuss?"

"No rush, this matter can't be rushed. Let's see what you've created first." Compared to an unknown plan that hadn't yielded any results yet, Mark's new invention was more attractive to Tony. After all, in Tony's mind, Mark had already proven himself to be a genius surpassing his own capabilities, although he couldn't admit it out loud.

"Fine, but it's not feasible to bring it out. Come with me to my room, and I'll demonstrate it to you." Mark turned and walked back into his room.

Tony followed closely behind but was immediately captivated by the sight of a massive metal sphere in front of him. "Tungsten carbide?" Tony immediately recognized the alloy material used in the sphere.

"That's right, old tricks never fail. There are 400 pounds of tungsten carbide here. Come here, I'll show you something interesting." Mark beckoned Tony and led him to a workbench in the room.

The workbench was neatly arranged with a complete set of chemical preparation apparatus, all connected and ready to use. It contained various colored chemical reagents, indicating that Mark's latest discovery was related to chemistry.

Mark picked up a test tube and poured its contents into the preparation apparatus. "Add some perchloric acid and a drop of cobalt pigment." Mark adjusted various instruments along the tabletop while adding reagents. "A hint of hydrogen peroxide, then heat it to a temperature of 500 Kelvin." After finishing, Mark turned on the heating device.

Once the prepared liquid was transferred into a spray bottle, Mark handed it to Tony. "Give it a try, spray it onto the tungsten carbide sphere."

Tony followed Mark's instructions and sprayed the reagent onto the massive sphere. The reagent emitted a pink mist, quickly enveloping the entire metal sphere, turning it entirely pink.

"It's done, isn't it amazing?" Mark asked excitedly upon seeing the successful experiment.

"It's very pink?" Tony felt somewhat embarrassed, not expecting Mark to create something with such little technological significance.

"The most exciting part is yet to come." Clearly, Mark had kept his true achievement a secret until now.

With his right index finger extended, Mark gently tapped the now pink tungsten carbide sphere.

Pfft~

The entire sphere rapidly disintegrated, turning into a fine pink powder that filled Mark's room.

"Wow!" Tony, now entirely covered in pink, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement upon witnessing the true effect of the reagent.

"It's amazing, isn't it? By chemically embrittling the metal, injecting a few milliliters of the corresponding reagent into your chest can turn all the shrapnel into powder, which will be naturally eliminated by the body's metabolism. Unfortunately, I haven't found a non-toxic or low-toxicity formula suitable for human use yet. Otherwise, you could have been my first clinical test subject."

"It's truly an astonishing invention. It seems I have to keep the metal formula I'll need to use in the future a secret from you. Because what I'm about to discuss with you requires quite a bit of metal."

"Huh?" At the moment he heard Tony's plan, Mark's forehead was already filled with black lines. "Can I not participate?"

"No, it has to be you, Mark."

"..."