The Monaco Race

Li Yue didn't go to Tony's house for the next few days, and Tony was too immersed in his research frenzy to notice. Tony spent his entire days in the underground laboratory, hoping to master nanotechnology as soon as possible.

However, such an advanced technology was obviously difficult to research. Even with all his genius, Tony couldn't make much progress in just a few days.

And thus, the day of the Monaco race came.

A Rolls-Royce slowly stopped at the door of the venue. Happy came out of the driver's seat and opened the backseat door, letting a man and woman step out. It was Tony and Pepper; they were invited to spectate.

One more person stepped out from the car's passenger seat: it was Li Yue. Li Yue had never sat in such a luxurious car before, and he could only sigh at how different it was from the common cars.

A crowd quickly formed as soon as Tony appeared. Fortunately, the staff here were experienced with handling crowds. They quickly made way for Tony and his companions to enter the banquet hall.

Inside, Natasha immediately greeted Tony. She was dressed beautifully, garnering a jealous look from Pepper. Pepper didn't expect Tony to actually hire Natasha as his personal assistant.

In front of so many people, Pepper could only hide her feelings and force a smile. They had to put an appearance for the photographers around them.

Li Yue followed behind Tony and Pepper; he didn't want to be in Tony's photos.

Tony and Pepper kept smiling as they dealt with the unending stream of famous businessmen who came up to greet them. This included Justin Hammer, who Li Yue saw for the first time, and the reporter who had a one-night stand with Tony.

After all kinds of awkward responses, Tony finally got rid of the crowd and went to a quiet room with Li Yue.

"Tony, are you ready? Don't mess things up and embarrass yourself.:

"Don't worry; everything is all set. My skill definitely won't be a problem. Just wait for that Ivan guy. I'll teach him a good lesson.

"Also, Li Yue, watch me carefully. Losing to the enemy is one thing, but getting blown to death in a car accident would be embarrassing."

"You don't have to worry about that. With my ability, you can play around as much as you want. I guarantee your safety from any accident."

"Great! I always wanted to enter a car race, you know? But I never had the chance until now. I can't waste this opportunity," Tony said with a wide smile. As a sports car lover, he had long wanted to participate in a high-adrenaline car race.

"What do you mean you never had the chance? You're just scared that you'll die!"

Li Yue ruthlessly exposed him, but Tony didn't get embarrassed as Li Yue expected. He instead proclaimed proudly, "I don't fear death: I just love my life!"

...

The race was about to begin. Pepper was a little confused that Tony hadn't returned to the table yet.

Her confusion turned into shock when she found Tony appearing on the television display, wearing a blue racing suit. He crossed the fence to the racing track and spoke to a staff overseeing the race.

The staff member was shocked as well. The billionaire and the man behind the superhero Iron Man, Tony Stark, had said that he wanted to drive in the race.

The richer one gets, the more they treasure their own life. This was what the staff member thought. However, it was Tony Stark. The staff wouldn't refuse the request. He was instead very happy to accommodate Tony.

Tony replaced an unlucky racer, who threw his helmet on the ground out of frustration and flipped the bird on Tony. Tony ignored him and entered the car.

All this was broadcasted in real time on TV for everyone to see. Everyone reacted differently when they saw that Tony Stark was going to personally race on the track. Some were in disbelief, some enjoyed the show, and some were worried about Tony.

The person with the most worry was, of course, Pepper. She called for Natasha while keeping her eyes glued on the broadcast.

"Did you know that Tony is going to enter the race?" Pepper asked in a sharp tone.

"No—I only found out now, as well."

Natasha was also very confused. The report clearly stated that Tony had invented a new Arc Reactor that eliminated the palladium poisoning problem. How come he was still doing crazy stunts like this? Was his brain broken?!

Despite Pepper's worries, she couldn't do anything. The race had already begun.

Tony drove like a madman that didn't care about his life. He kept speeding and drifting at the turns, overtaking the cars one after another, ignoring the dangers. It was like he had no fear of accidents.

Li Yue watched Tony with a headache. That insane Tony must've really trusted him. He could only hope that Tony wouldn't forget their real objective.

...

Pepper's worry was growing by the second as she watched Tony's insane driving style.

It was the same with Natasha's shock. Had Tony gone crazy? He drove like this in a competition! Was he really not afraid of accidents?!

Ivan Vanko watched the race from between the staff. He almost felt that he wouldn't have to do anything; with Tony's reckless driving, trouble would happen sooner or later. Almost.

Of course, Ivan wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity. It wouldn't be easy to find a chance to confront Tony without the Iron Man armor on the way.

Ivan jumped over the guardrail, his clothing burning and melting away from the high temperature of his simple exoskeleton armor. The Arc Reactor on his chest shone with white light. He unfurled the two long whips on his hands, sparking and flashing with high-voltage electric arcs.

...

Tony was immersed in the fun drive. It was the first time that he could drive without any care in the world. He even dared to say that this was more exciting than flying in the armor.

However, Jarvis' voice interrupted his carefree thoughts.

"Sir, an unknown personnel has appeared on the track ahead. Please dodge."

"He's finally here. Jarvis, activate Mark 7. Let's get dressed for the occasion," Tony instructed Jarvis, slowly braking his car.

The broadcast host also received a message that an unknown person had entered the racetrack. He couldn't help but let out an anxious cry, heard by everyone watching the broadcast.

Pepper was shocked to see that an unknown person had appeared on the track. It was apparent that the person had come to stir up some trouble with Tony.

Happy appeared in front of Pepper with a red suitcase in his hand: Tony's portable armor. The two rushed to the Rolls-Royce car, but before they could get in, its trunk suddenly opened to reveal a red device.

The device soared to the sky, ignoring the attention that it had gathered, and flew directly to the race track.