Chapter Twenty-Five: A Deal with Iron Man

"Brothers may settle accounts clearly; my deal is this: now and in the future, I want a set of every model of your battle suits."

Silence.

Tony was silent. Pepper was silent. Yang Xin waited in the hush.

"And what do you offer in return?" At length, Tony Stark slowly uttered these words.

"Alchemy," Yang Xin replied solemnly.

"Alchemy? Medieval magic? Honestly, I don't believe alchemy exists in this world. And if it does, it's just another form of science," Tony Stark said, making it clear he didn't believe Yang Xin.

"Alchemy is not magic, though magic does exist in this world. Still, your understanding isn't wrong. The alchemy I refer to is a law—a law of equivalent exchange.

The alchemy I'm talking about is founded on the principle of understanding the inner laws of matter: comprehend, decompose, then reconstruct. Alchemy must follow the rule of equivalent exchange: to gain something, one must sacrifice something of equal value. If the price paid is insufficient, parts of oneself—body, memory, whatever—will be taken to make up the difference.

And there's a greatest taboo in this alchemy—human transmutation. No matter how vast your knowledge, how deep your theories, or how great your wisdom, never attempt human transmutation!

But words alone can't show you what alchemy is. It's better you experience it yourself. Alchemy, in a sense, is just another form of science."

With that, Yang Xin reached out his forefinger and tapped Tony's brow. Instantly, the treasure summoned by the Treasure System—Alchemy—was bestowed upon Tony Stark.

This alchemy, drawn from "Fullmetal Alchemist," was fundamentally different from magic, and perfectly suited to Tony Stark. Yang Xin had no fear Tony would break their deal or renege, because Tony Stark had his own pride.

His pride would never permit deceit. If it did, he would never have reached the pinnacle of humanity and performed feats that rival the gods with a mortal body.

At that moment, Tony Stark closed his eyes, immersed in the alchemy that Yang Xin had gifted him. He sat in contemplation until evening. At last, he opened his eyes and ordered the smart mechanical arms to bring over a heap of materials.

Tony began drawing the alchemic array on the floor, and finally sketched a large circle connecting all the nodes.

He clapped his hands together and struck down hard!

Rays of golden light flashed; the pile of materials brought over by the mechanical arms vanished, replaced by a red suitcase.

Yang Xin knew—this was the Mark V, the suitcase armor.

Tony Stark stepped forward, swiftly donning the battle suit, then stared at his new Iron Man armor in a daze, as if stunned by what he had created.

"So this is alchemy? Comprehend, decompose, reconstruct... equivalent exchange? Is this truly science? This is anything but scientific!"

"To be precise, it's a law—a law that gives form to knowledge. This law is inseparable from wisdom and intellect."

"Tony, you deserve this!" Yang Xin patted Tony Stark's shoulder. At the same time, Tony Stark's skill was randomly drawn: Man-Machine Integration—the skill to operate the armor.

Yang Xin pondered; this skill was indeed practical. Don't think you can pilot the armor just because you have one. Even ordinary cars require driving school and a license, let alone something as advanced as the Iron Man suit.

Regaining his composure, Tony Stark immediately delivered the Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV, and Mark V armors, all packaged and presented to Yang Xin.

"Do you want me to have them delivered to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony Stark offered, half out of kindness, half out of mischief. If these armors really went to S.H.I.E.L.D., that bald, dark-skinned hard-boiled egg would no doubt seize them. Not only was he dark on the outside, but so was his heart.

"No need, I'll take them myself." As he spoke, Yang Xin leisurely produced a Dimensional Pocket.

"Haha, you’re not going to fit these huge suits into that tiny pouch, are you?" Tony Stark laughed, but the laughter quickly died on his lips as he watched, mouth agape like a toad.

The suits shrank and were swallowed by the Dimensional Pocket one after another.

"What is that?" Tony Stark, like a dog who’d just seen a bone, bounded around Yang Xin, eyes glued to the pocket.

"Ever seen the Japanese cartoon 'Doraemon'?" Yang Xin asked suddenly.

"What? Never heard of it." Tony Stark replied, then had his AI search for Japanese cartoons, but found nothing.

Yang Xin understood—such are the differences between worlds.

"Just a cat with no ears, nothing important. This is a Dimensional Pocket with nearly infinite space."

"Can I study it?" Tony Stark’s eyes blazed like two spotlights.

"This is beyond what science can explain." Yang Xin shook the Dimensional Pocket and put it away.

"Alright, just asking. My current research focus is developing new energy." Tony Stark picked up his glass.

Yang Xin knew Tony was eager to study his father's legacy and was trying to send him off.

"Tony, I’d like to propose another deal."

"Oh?" Tony Stark raised an eyebrow.

"Didn’t Stark Industries shut down its weapons division? Even so, you must have plenty of stockpiled weaponry. I want your Jericho missiles," Yang Xin said.

Stark Industries surely developed many weapons, but Yang Xin was after the Jericho missile—simple to operate and extremely powerful, an ideal mid- to long-range weapon.

"Is it you who wants them, or S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I do," Yang Xin pointed to himself.

"Brothers may settle accounts clearly, as you said. What will you trade? Don’t mention money—if there’s one thing I’m not short of, it’s cash," Tony Stark said, his eyes lighting up, eager to see what Yang Xin would offer.

"A metal."

"A metal? What metal doesn’t Stark Industries have on Earth? Even vibranium?"

"Stark Industries might have every metal on Earth, but what about those from beyond Earth?" As he spoke, Yang Xin pulled out a piece of metal the size of a palm from his Dimensional Pocket. He'd gotten it from the Destroyer; though he’d acquired an entire lower leg, a small piece would suffice for this trade.

"I doubt S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewalls can stop you. Try hacking into their intranet and check what happened half a day ago," Yang Xin said.

Tony immediately acted, and soon footage of the battle with the Destroyer appeared before his eyes.

"That’s called the Destroyer—Odin’s ultimate armor from Asgard, made from an extremely rare divine metal in the universe. Although the divinity was reclaimed by Odin with Thor’s hammer, this is still a rare cosmic metal."

"Asgard, Allfather Odin, Thor the Thunder God? Are you sure you’re not reciting mythology?" Tony Stark asked in shock.