Chapter 49

When Alvin came down from the upstairs, the charity gala was nearly over.

He glanced over and saw Tony still sitting in the corner, drinking alone—couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Oh? Isn’t this our playboy?”

Alvin straightened his clothes and plopped down beside him, teasing: “I thought you’d already left with a few models.”

“Don’t mention it—bad luck!” Tony slammed his glass down, face twisted with resentment: “All I did was announce shutting down the weapons division, and now everyone’s against me—even Obadiah disagrees. Do they really have so little faith in me?”

Judging by the situation, he’d clearly missed the key drama... Alvin scanned the ballroom and confirmed Obadiah was gone.

He probably left right after arguing with Tony.

“I can tell you’re in a terrible mood,” Alvin patted his shoulder—what Tony needed most right now wasn’t comfort or reassurance.

“Do you think... I made a mistake?”

At this moment, Tony hadn’t yet undergone the profound reflection brought on by Yisen’s death; he was still in a state of confusion.

He didn’t know whether shutting down the weapons division was truly right—especially after Obadiah, his closest ally, opposed him—leaving him paralyzed with doubt.

Before truly becoming Iron Man, he still had a long, arduous path ahead.

Only when the will of steel was etched into his marrow would he transform into the Iron Man who would save the Marvel cinematic universe...

Watching Tony lost and uncertain, Alvin felt a flood of emotions and whispered: “That’s not the Tony Stark I know. If you believe something is right, stand by it firmly—even if everyone opposes you.”

“You mean... you support shutting down the weapons division?” Tony stared at Alvin, bewildered.

“No,” Alvin said solemnly, “you need to figure out why. Are you shutting it down because Yisen told you Stark Industries’ weapons were sold to the Middle East, causing civilian deaths, and now you feel guilty?”

“I...”

Tony opened his mouth, but the words died on his tongue.

“Think clearly, then decide what to do,” Alvin smiled, handing him a glass of wine. “Whatever you choose, I trust you.”

“Why... do you trust me so much?”

Tony took the glass, a look of surprise on his face.

After all, even his uncle Obadiah and Pepper Potts were questioning his decision to shut down the weapons system.

Yet Alvin, whom he’d only just met, always seemed to trust him completely.

“Do I need to say it?”

Alvin raised his glass, tapped it lightly against Tony’s, and said slowly, in Tony’s stunned gaze: “Because you’re Tony Stark.”

That simple sentence suddenly lifted Tony from his despair: “That’s right—you’re right. I’m Tony Stark, the smartest genius in the world!”

“By the way, I forgot to tell you some good news.”

After clinking glasses, Tony downed the liquor, slightly drunk, slinging an arm around Alvin’s shoulder: “Come on, come home with me—I’ll show you something amazing.”

Confused, Alvin was dragged along by Tony into a luxury business car.

The driver, of course, was the director... no, he should be called Happy.

Soon, Happy drove them to Stark Industries, where the already drunk Tony yanked Alvin straight to the top-floor lab.

Watching Tony act mysteriously, Alvin had already guessed what his surprise was.

Sure enough, Tony stood on the central platform, arms wide, reeking of alcohol: “JARVIS, play some dynamic music—and let’s begin!”

As 360-degree dynamic music played, mechanical arms extended from beneath the platform.

A sleek, silver suit of armor quickly assembled onto Tony’s body—and the moment the mask sealed shut, the Marvel universe’s Iron Man was born!

Tony’s habit of showing off never changed; he spun around in front of Alvin, smug: “How’s that? Pretty cool, right?”

“Meh. It’s fine.”

Alvin wasn’t going to flatter him; he smirked: “It’s just lighter and less clunky than before—doesn’t seem particularly impressive.”

“...You haven’t seen the real thing yet!”

Tony refused to back down—he’d been secretly working for days just to impress Alvin.

“JARVIS, activate combat mode!” He gave the order, and two mechanical arms lifted a massive metal backpack, locking it onto the armor’s back. More arms emerged from beneath the platform, attaching external weapons, reinforcing shoulder plates, chest armor—all onto Mark 2!

The Mark 2, originally two meters tall and still humanoid, transformed into heavy armor.

And why did the weapons mounted on his thighs look so familiar?

Oh—it was a blast shotgun without the Pure Mark.

Wait—who the hell mounts two mini shoulder cannons on their armor? Is he planning to go to war?

Mark 2... had become Mark IV!

So, it’s all Mark series—just copied outright, right?

“Uh... did you pay the copyright fee?”

Alvin’s eyes twitched as he stared at the Iron Man armor mounted on the metal backpack.

By the Emperor above, he swore on the Holy Scripture—he never taught Tony this. If anyone ever demands royalties, don’t come to him!

“You don’t understand—this is art!”

With all combat upgrades complete, Tony, like a child showing off a toy, explained his modifications: “I didn’t think this far originally, but since I might face enemies like you, I designed this Mark 2.”

“I increased the external armor thickness to prevent penetration by high-energy weapons—like your gun.”

“But since the weapon systems consumed too much energy, I added external power batteries.”

“I studied your blast shotgun—it’s unmatched in close combat, but the recoil is too strong. With armor, that’s no longer an issue.”

“I also mounted two shoulder cannons, based on your ‘plasma gun’ principle—but they’re not operational yet.”

Finally, I integrated your 'deflection field' defense system into JARVIS's command network, enabling comprehensive defense.

“This thing... isn’t called ‘Anti-Alvin Armor,’ is it?”

Alvin’s lips twitched—so he’d been targeted first!

“That’s irrelevant!”

Tony stood confidently with hands on hips: “Trust me—by Mark 3, all weapons and power packs will achieve infrared auto-donning. That’s when it’ll be complete!”

By the Emperor above...

If there’s a problem, go find Slaanesh.

This had nothing to do with him—he had no idea what Tony was thinking.

Alvin silently prayed in his heart, and offered three seconds of silence for Obadiah.