Chapter 34: Tony’s Lunch

Dozens of dazzling Mechanic skills appeared before Luke. As he browsed the skills available for selection, Luke found himself afflicted by indecision.

“I wish I could have them all…” he thought wistfully.

In the end, sticking to his original plan, Luke chose the G-0 War Lord skill book from the Female Mechanic’s arsenal. The moment he learned it, a complex blueprint for a massive war mech unfolded vividly in his mind.

“Here comes another money pit,” he mused.

A quick calculation told him that the funds required this time would be dozens of times greater than what he’d spent building the Windstorm aerial mech. The G-0 War Lord was not only far more complex in terms of craftsmanship and required much more time to construct, but also presented several technical challenges that needed careful study.

The technical difficulties didn’t faze Luke; given some time, he was confident he could, as before, fully absorb the profound knowledge contained within the skill book.

What truly troubled him was the matter of money.

The G-0 War Lord he was about to build would be tens of times larger than the Windstorm aerial mech! According to the blueprint, this machine—which could rightfully be called a real Gundam—stood six meters tall, six meters wide; an undeniable giant.

Without several million dollars, he probably wouldn’t even be able to assemble its frame.

Moreover, this time Luke had no intention of making do with scrap materials. At the very least, the outer shell had to be crafted from aerospace-grade materials; only then would it be worthy of the G-0 War Lord’s design.

Therefore...

Luke decided that his extortion plan needed to be put into action immediately. The fat cat should be back by now, shouldn’t he?

...

It was the weekend once again, time for Luke to take Little Spider out to sell burgers on the street.

Luke had skipped school the previous day, and miraculously, no staff member noticed his absence. This was all thanks to Peter Parker.

Acting on Luke’s instructions, Peter Parker would periodically drop by Luke’s classroom during the day, pretending to be Luke, slumped over the desk, napping.

Since Luke was notorious for sleeping through class, the teachers had long grown accustomed to it. To further the ruse, Peter wore a hoodie and a cap all day, and not a single teacher realized Luke hadn’t shown up!

This spared Luke quite a lot of trouble. Otherwise, if the school had contacted his foster parents about his absence, explaining it would have been a pain. He couldn’t very well tell them the truth—that he’d taken advantage of the fine weather to fly to Europe for a bit of mayhem and returned by afternoon.

Peter Parker was thrilled to help Luke. Though he had no idea what Luke was always up to, the adventure-loving spirit in him couldn’t help but imagine: a genius youth, who by chance acquired extraordinary abilities, darting across the bustling cityscape every day like an ancient Eastern hero, fighting crime and saving innocent civilians...

Peter thought it sounded utterly cool—absolutely thrilling!

Bonnina’s Gourmet Burger Truck was as popular as ever. From selling just a few dozen burgers a day at the start, they now sold out all two hundred burgers before noon each day. Latecomers could only regretfully wait until the following week for another chance.

Happy, dressed in his usual suit, was there on schedule to buy burgers for his boss, Tony.

Tony was a true burger fanatic—after surviving his ordeal in Afghanistan, the first thing he wanted upon his return was a hamburger. That showed just how passionate he was about them.

A workaholic to his core, Tony didn’t take weekends off. Don’t be fooled into thinking billionaires spent their days vacationing; for Tony, a holiday was just as enjoyable as wielding a welding torch in the lab all day.

As for womanizing, that was merely an occasional diversion and a physical necessity.

Thus, the weekly ritual of Bonnina’s Gourmet Burgers became a highlight Tony insisted Happy never miss—a rare pleasure for a man who made the lab his home.

“Hey, Luke, two of your best, and one with double patties,” Happy called out with a grin, hand tucked in his pocket, his round belly proudly on display.

“No problem, Mr. Hogan.”

With practiced ease, Luke quickly made two burgers, but instead of handing them over, he looked at Happy and said, “Mr. Hogan, please let Mr. Stark know that starting today, we offer delivery. Next time, you won’t have to come in person—I’ll bring the burgers straight to him.”

“Delivery? Well, that’s great! I’ll be sure to tell him,” Happy replied eagerly, delighted by the prospect.

Seizing the moment, Luke added with a flattering smile, “Mr. Hogan, as Mr. Stark’s chief driver and bodyguard, I’m sure you have far more important things to do each day. A man as busy as you, always looking after Mr. Stark’s safety—I believe people like you, who silently protect others, are the real heroes. I have great respect for you.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Happy beamed, never having received such high praise before.

“How about this—I’ll take care of these small errands. I’ll personally deliver the burgers to Mr. Stark. You must have more pressing matters to attend to, right?”

“Of course,” Happy replied, straightening his suit and raising his head with newfound dignity. “I’m very busy every day.”

That’s why, when roaming the world, you should never trust two kinds of people: women and children.

Clearly, Happy had not been schooled in such ancient Eastern wisdom, and he easily trusted the seemingly harmless Luke.

“Wait here for me,” Luke instructed Little Spider.

“No problem, pal,” Peter replied.

Carrying the bag of burgers, Luke entered Stark Tower.

At the security checkpoint, Happy personally came over and signaled the guards to let Luke through. If Happy had a favorability meter, Luke would have received a system notification: “Happy Hogan’s favorability +100.”

From Happy, Luke learned which floor Tony was on. He took the elevator, infiltrating openly...

“Christina, can you hear me?” Luke whispered into his earpiece as the elevator ascended.

“Yes, Master.”

“Good. Await my instructions.”

“Understood.”

The elevator reached the top floor of Stark Tower. As the doors slid open, Luke found himself looking into an elegantly furnished, warmly styled living space.

The top floor of Stark Tower was Tony’s private residence, closed to outsiders. The upscale decor and finishes everywhere spoke volumes about how extravagant the fat cat was—he’d turned the space into a luxury penthouse.

Stepping out of the elevator, Luke immediately noticed two women seated on the sofa. They saw him as well.

Pepper, dressed in a demure dress, looked at Luke with mild surprise. Rising gracefully from the sofa, she asked in a gentle tone, “Hi. Who are you looking for?”