Chapter 146: Iron Man Starts Taking Care of His Health

After entrusting Diana to Skye, Orion Cross returned to his room, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

On the other end, Tony Stark was in his laboratory, developing a new suit of armor.

"Sir, Mr. Orion Cross is calling. Would you like me to connect the call?"

JARVIS’s voice echoed through the room.

"Why would he suddenly call me? Does he know my new armor is almost finished and wants to have another fight with me?"

Tony still had no idea how much Orion Cross’s strength had increased during this period. After muttering to himself, he put down his work.

"Put him through."

Tony picked up a drink and dropped onto the sofa.

"Hey, Orion. I heard from that director that you recently went to the divine realm from Norse mythology? You even met the God of Thunder?"

"As for me, I’ve recently developed a system that can absorb lightning and convert it into energy for my armor. Do you think I could beat the hell out of that God of Thunder?"

The moment the call connected, Tony immediately began boasting about his new armor.

"Absorb lightning? That has a limit, right? And Thor might be called the God of Thunder, but these days he’s more like the God of the Hammer. Have you considered his hammer?"

Hearing Tony’s smug boasting, Orion Cross immediately laughed.

The Black King, who could absorb all forms of energy, had already gone to hell in the mutant world, and Tony was this happy over making himself a glorified power bank?

"There is a limit, but all I have to do is release the stored energy as an attack before reaching that limit. Problem solved."

"But since you mentioned the hammer, is it really true that just anyone can’t pick it up?"

Tony was somewhat curious. Even though he had already accepted the existence of magic, the idea of an object that simply could not be lifted was something he had only heard about in the legends of King Arthur when he was a child.

"Most people can’t lift it. Including you."

"Speaking of which, you haven’t even met Thor, yet you specifically designed armor to counter him. Didn’t you make something specifically designed to deal with the Hulk?"

Orion Cross asked.

"You mean Green Goliath? I arrived late the last time you guys fought, so I didn’t collect any data. S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t give me any either. How am I supposed to build anything?"

Tony sounded rather annoyed on the other end.

Ever since the battle between Hulk and Abomination, Tony had set his sights on the Hulk.

As Iron Man, he naturally wanted to prepare for every possible threat before it happened.

But Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D. had always found excuses to reject his requests.

"I think he might be trying to stop you from attacking your future teammate and destroying team unity."

"Teammate?!"

Tony was so shocked that he lowered the cup in his hand.

"You’re saying that Nick Fury wants that big green guy to become a superhero?

"Are you sure he won’t accidentally squeeze a hostage to death while trying to rescue them?

"And can he actually tell friend from foe?

"If we really work together, is he going to turn around and grab me and beat me into the ground?"

Tony expressed his concerns in an exaggerated tone.

"Don’t worry. After getting beaten a few more times, you’ll get used to it."

"Speaking of which, don’t you want to develop a suit specifically designed to counter me?"

Orion Cross suddenly asked.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the call.

"I’ve thought about it too."

After remaining silent for a while, Tony finally spoke.

"But you can travel to other universes. I consider myself a genius, but I honestly don’t know whether the rate at which I can upgrade my armor will keep up with you."

Tony gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Instead of setting my sights on you, I might as well pick another target. It’ll be easier and more enjoyable. Why make life difficult for myself?"

Even though Tony did not know exactly how quickly Orion Cross was growing, the resources and technology available in other universes alone were enough to make him give up on developing an "Anti-Orion Cross Armor."

There was simply no point.

He could spend an entire year racking his brain and losing all his hair to develop armor capable of fighting Orion Cross, only to discover that during that same year, Orion Cross had already obtained completely new abilities and technologies.

"Your decision is correct. Setting your sights on me will only make you despair."

Orion Cross did not hold back in the slightest.

"You really are confident. But ’despair’ is taking it a little too far, don’t you think?"

Tony laughed skeptically. "Why did you call me this time? Don’t tell me you want to come over and test the power of my new armor?"

"Someone will be testing your new armor. I’m calling because I want to ask whether you have a private beach."

Orion Cross asked.

"Wait. You’re asking me that question? Are you sure you know who you’re talking to?"

Tony’s voice on the other end took on its usual irritatingly smug tone.

"A forty-year-old ultimate bachelor who still isn’t married?"

Orion Cross asked in return.

"Sorry, but I’ve already decided to propose to Pepper, so your insult is invalid."

Tony sounded rather pleased with himself.

"Then you’d better hurry. Otherwise, Pepper might not have reached menopause yet, but you’ll become impotent first. By then, you won’t even leave behind any descendants, and Stark Industries will probably have no choice but to give everything to me."

"...Your mouth is even more vicious than mine."

Tony’s expression became somewhat helpless.

However, Orion Cross’s words did remind him that Pepper was indeed getting older.

And as a playboy in his younger years, he had certainly taken quite a toll on his body. It was probably time for him to start taking better care of himself.

Tony lowered his head and glanced at the ice-cold beer on the table before turning toward the virtual screen beside him.

"JARVIS, look up some healthy drinks and foods for me."

"Don’t bother. Just put some goji berries in a thermos and call it a day. Hurry up and deal with the beach."

Hearing Tony’s voice from the other end, Orion Cross spoke helplessly.

Ding!

Orion Cross’s phone chimed.

"I just sent you the location coordinates. It’s a private beach I used to visit often. I have a lot of wonderful memories there with various models. You know what I mean."

"But I’ve turned over a new leaf now. I’m a pure and devoted Iron Man."

"By the way, you’re borrowing my private beach. Don’t tell me you also want to..."

Tony suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Are you planning to go on vacation with which woman in your household? Or are you taking all of them?"

"Hello?"

The call was suddenly disconnected.

Tony could not help laughing.

"Did he just hang up? Don’t tell me he’s really taking all of them."

But as he laughed, his smile gradually disappeared.

There was nothing he could do.

He was jealous.

Not because he envied Orion Cross for having so many beautiful women, but because he envied Orion Cross’s physique.

Being able to handle several women at once was one thing, but Orion Cross’s physical constitution meant that he would never have to worry about being crushed to death by some female superhero who might appear in the future...

Ahem. His thoughts were getting a little too far ahead.

"Sigh. JARVIS, order me some goji berries from Amazon. And some other medicinal herbs as well."

After struggling with the thought for a while, Tony still could not give up on armor development and switch careers to human enhancement.

He could only choose to take better care of himself instead.