Chapter: 5

"Pepper, wait for me for a moment. Don't let the stinky old man leave before I come out!" Knowing that his father is about to depart for Afghanistan, where the life-changing event happened, Mark instructed Pepper and then turned back to his room.

"Wait, Mark, what are you going to do..."

Bang!

Before she could finish her sentence, Pepper saw the door of Mark's room slam shut. She could only roll her eyes helplessly and muttered, "Really, both father and son are so unreliable! Hurry up! I can only delay it for a while..."

Although helpless, Pepper still shouted into the room, assuring Mark that she agreed to his request.

"Got it, I'll be quick!"

Hearing the response accompanied by tinkling sounds from Mark's room, Pepper knew very well that the genius syndrome had struck again.

In fact, Mark was also helpless. Even though he was a time traveler, he couldn't tell others about future events. Otherwise, his unreliable father would consider him insane and send him for treatment. He could only take detours and provide his father with life-saving items to prevent unintended consequences. He didn't want Tony to end up as the invincible Eastern Unbeatable instead of becoming Iron Man.

Shaking her head, Pepper decided not to inquire about what Mark was doing and instead asked about Tony's preparations. "Jarvis, is Tony ready?"

"Sir, he is changing clothes. You can proceed to the dining room and enjoy the breakfast prepared by the chef."

"Thank you, Jarvis. But I have already had my meal. I'll wait for him in the dining room. We have a tight schedule today, and when he has breakfast, I can brief him on the matters."

Saying that, Pepper stood up from the sofa and prepared to walk to the dining room in the villa. However, she accidentally bumped her toe against the corner of the coffee table.

"Ouch, that hurts." She inhaled sharply, suppressing the urge to cry out. But as she squatted down and saw her slightly swollen and reddened toe, tears welled up in her eyes.

Suddenly, a strange sound caught her attention. Pepper looked up and saw an open suitcase not far away. In the middle of the suitcase, a white object was inflating rapidly, soon turning into a plump fellow.

(●—●) "Master, your personal health assistant Baymax noticed that you mentioned a need for medical care. Please rate your pain level on a scale of one to ten."

Looking at the inflatable robot that appeared harmless and natural, Pepper had no defenses and instinctively replied, "But I'm not sure what level it has reached."

"Now Baymax will scan you." The big black eyes of Baymax emitted a blue glow after opening the hyperspectral lens. The light swept over Pepper and quickly disappeared. "Scan complete. According to the analysis, your left big toe is swollen and painful due to external trauma, without any fractures. It is determined as a soft tissue contusion. It is recommended to use chloroethane rapid pain relief spray."

"Okay... all right." Pepper was stunned by Baymax's performance and nodded, agreeing to the treatment plan it provided.

Ssshh...

Baymax bent its short legs and clumsily squatted in front of Pepper, then extended a finger and sprayed the pain relief spray on the affected area.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, amazing!"

"Rapid pain relief spray is just the current treatment plan. To speed up recovery, please remember to apply hot compresses tonight and use anti-inflammatory medication to reduce inflammation and swelling."

"Okay, thank you, Baymax."

"Please provide feedback on Baymax's service. Baymax cannot enter sleep mode until you express satisfaction."

"Extremely satisfied. You can rest now."

Receiving a satisfactory evaluation, Baymax wobbled back to its charging box, waiting for its master's next summons.

"So, personal health assistant, it's pretty good, isn't it?" Tony, who had appeared in the living room without anyone noticing, looked at Pepper with a proud expression.

"Baymax is really great. How did you come up with this genius idea of having a personal health assistant?" Excited by the healing experience Baymax provided, Pepper asked Tony with enthusiasm.

"Well..." Tony's face became awkward. "Actually, it wasn't my idea. Baymax is Mark's invention."

"That makes sense. With your brain, how could you design such an adorable and silly robot like Baymax? It seems like Mark will surpass you as a father in no time. You have to step up your game." Pepper didn't spare Tony any face and inserted a knife into him, making his already awkward expression even worse.

To save face, Tony immediately changed the subject. He said, "If you like it, I'll have the brat make another one for you. He wouldn't dare disobey his father's command, hehe."

"Hmph, with the relationship between Mark and me, I can handle it without your intervention."

"Alright, let's stop chatting and get back to business. Your schedule for the next few days is packed. First..."

Pepper, being Tony's most trusted secretary, quickly shifted her attention to work tasks.

"Alright, these are the arrangements we discussed with the military. I've sent a copy of the schedule to your email." After briefing Tony on her own work, Pepper didn't forget about Mark's request. She glanced at the time and instead of mentioning their departure, she said, "I told you yesterday that the upcoming days would be busy, and I wanted you to go home early and rest. I didn't expect you to be up this late."

Although Pepper didn't see it with her own eyes, based on her years of understanding Tony, combined with his exhausted complexion and dark circles, she believed she was close to the truth.

Hearing the emphasis in Pepper's words and her disdainful expression, Tony immediately explained with an innocent look, "You misunderstood me. I did go straight home after work last night. It was that brat, you know. The technology he used on Baymax was just fascinating. I spent the whole night reading related materials, and that's why I'm not feeling well."

"Is that so?" Pepper was somewhat skeptical.

"It's true! If you don't believe me, ask Mark."

"Alright, let's assume what you said is true." Seeing Tony using their son as a shield, Pepper reluctantly believed his explanation.

"What do you mean, 'let's assume'? I..." Tony wanted to explain further, but he was interrupted by Mark, who suddenly opened the door and came out of his room.

"Dad, come over here and see what I've prepared for you!" Mark, excitedly dragging a set of silver-gray suit, waved and called Tony.

"What strange thing have you come up with now?" Curious, Tony, accompanied by Pepper, walked to the entrance of Mark's room.

"What do you mean by strange? You're just jealous that I have more talent than you! This suit is made with graphene nanomaterials and carbon fiber framework. Plus, I just finished programming the Kung Fu Master chip last night. After wearing it, not only will it protect your torso from heat and cold weapons, but it will also instantly turn you into a martial arts expert!"

Yes, this suit was specially made by Mark for Tony's trip to Afghanistan, inspired by a movie he had watched in his previous life, "The Tuxedo" starring Jackie Chan.

However, for convenience and style, Mark didn't completely replicate the design from the movie. Instead, he created a slim-fit fashionable suit. Due to time constraints (actually, Mark was too engrossed in his ocean of knowledge and forgot to keep track of time), Mark couldn't achieve the variety of abilities of the magical tuxedo from the movie. He could only temporarily install the Kung Fu Master chip that was originally meant for Baymax on the suit.

But Mark believed that with this suit, Tony would be able to escape unscathed during the attack in Afghanistan, at least without having a large lump on his chest.

"You're overthinking it. With so many soldiers from the military protecting me, how could I possibly be in danger? This trip is perfectly safe, so don't worry." Although Tony said that, deep down, he still took the protective suit Mark made. "But since it's your thoughtfulness, I'll give it a try. After all, it looks pretty good."

Even though Tony felt moved inside, he couldn't express it directly due to his tsundere nature. He hadn't learned how to express himself properly yet.

However, deep in his heart, Tony made a decision. After this trip, he would make an effort to repair the relationship between him and his son, making up for his past negligence.