Chapter 231: Feelings are priceless, but you have to pay more
Tony saw that when the suit owl called out, the little owl next to him showed a reluctant expression on his face.
"first meet."
The little owl said, "This is Master Katoom, whom you have met before. I am his...translator."
Bruce wouldn't give his name randomly.
He was reluctant even if it was just a made-up story.
This scene was an eye-opener for Tony.
"Master Katoom?"
He rubbed his hands and asked, "Why can't the master speak? Why does he need a translator?"
"Different owls have different talents."
Bruce said with his eyes wide open, "I am a natural translator owl who knows the languages of all creatures, and Master Katoom is a magic owl who holds the true meaning of the universe."
"I see."
Tony didn't know whether it was true or not, but he had no way to refute Bruce's statement.
Perhaps somewhere in the world, there is an owl kingdom.
Let’s just assume it’s true.
"Master Katum, I have wanted to see you for a long time."
Tony pulled up a chair and sat facing the two owls.
"When I was in the Middle East and I was most desperate, it was you who encouraged me to persevere."
"Cuckoo."
"That's not me," Bruce translated. "You got the wrong owl."
"what?"
Tony blinked, not expecting such a misunderstanding.
Thinking back to when I forced my business card on Katum, he did call out to me a few times. I guess he was explaining something, but I didn't understand what he said at the time.
"Feel sorry!"
Tony apologized simply, "This is my problem. I have caused you trouble."
"It's ok."
Bruce has become Katum's mouthpiece in all aspects.
"Since we can meet in the totem world, it means that there is a special fate between us."
"Totem world?"
"Yes."
Katoom nodded, and Bruce spoke for him, "That was where I - I mean Master Katoom - was observing the universe. I was conducting a magic experiment at the time, and you suddenly broke in."
"I see." Tony nodded, and suddenly said to himself, "That must be an experiment related to quantum flow. In fact, I have been studying teleportation during this period. From a scientific point of view, if you want to achieve teleportation and reach other places, you can only convert matter into quantum state first, and then use quantum teleportation technology to achieve instant transmission."
Katoom blinked, not really understanding what Tony was saying.
Bruce, on the other hand, seemed to be thinking about something, trying to work out Tony's thoughts in his mind.
Tony is a technology fanatic. When he talks about things related to technological creation, he becomes immersed in it and cannot stop talking.
"Speaking of which, the research on quantum has actually helped me a lot."
Tony suddenly stood up and said, "Now that you are all here, I want to show you something. I hope you can give me some suggestions. This can be regarded as a collision of ideas between technology and magic!"
At this moment, Stark was like a child who wanted to show off his toys, with the hope on his face completely undisguised.
"can."
Bruce is of course happy to see this happen. The better the armor Stark designs, the easier it will be for him to use.
……
Stark took the two owls into his workshop in the garage.
There, a silver-white battle suit stood there. When Tony saw the suit, an unprecedented tenderness appeared on his face, a tenderness he had never shown to Pepper.
"This is the Mark II."
Tony introduced, "I developed it on my own. It's a product that goes beyond today's technology. Of course, it's still an empty shell now. It can only function when paired with the Ark Reactor on my chest. Wait a minute, I'll put it on and show you..."
"no need."
Suddenly, Bruce interrupted Tony's next demonstration on behalf of Katum.
He showed an expression that was difficult to explain, which gave Tony a bad feeling.
Is it possible that my research is not worth mentioning in the eyes of these owls?
"Any questions?"
Tony asked, and explained himself, "This is just a prototype, and it will be continuously improved later."
"Your research is very good, but... I have seen similar suits before, and the design is more mature than this one."
"impossible!"
Tony flatly denied it, "The Mark II was invented entirely by me, all my ideas were mine!"
"Ugh……"
Katum sighed. This sentence didn't need to be translated.
He stretched out his hand and took out a figurine-sized battle suit from the feathers. The suit grew in the wind and instantly became the size of an adult.
Tony was simply stunned.
It’s not because of Katum’s ability to grow bigger or smaller, but because the battle suit in front of him is almost exactly the same as Mark II in appearance.
The only difference is the paint scheme, red and gold, which looks much better than simple bright silver, and is very much in line with Tony's aesthetic.
He has a sports car in this color.
"This, this, this..."
Tony couldn't stand anymore. He squatted down and touched the mecha with his hands as if he was caressing a close lover.
"This suit is at least fifty years old."
He checked it and said, "The traces of time are obvious. Some parts have been broken for a long time. Eh? Weird..."
The more Tony looked, the more he felt something was wrong.
"Has this suit been used for high-intensity activities recently?"
He pointed at the chest of the mecha and said, "Look at the cracks here. With the hardness of this nano-scale material, it is difficult to cause such scars. It's almost like being hit by a meteorite."
"It was punched by someone," Bruce said.
"Impossible!" Tony immediately shook his head, "How can a human being have such power?"
Bruce thought, he didn't say he was from Earth.
Moreover, the battle suit that now appears in front of Tony is the most basic Iron Man battle suit after Bruce has taken out the Nth metal, not the Hellbat armor.
Otherwise, its hardness would be even more incredible, and even meteorites would not be able to destroy it.
At this point, Tony has devoted his whole body and soul to this suit. He wishes he could completely disassemble it and see what's inside.
"Something's wrong..."
Tony murmured, "This suit is completely made by Stark Group. If my memory wasn't flawless, I would even suspect that I made it myself."
Of course, he was just talking.
It is impossible for him and Stark Group to use nanomaterials to manufacture battle suits now.
I don’t have the ability to know.
"Where did you get this suit?" Stark couldn't help but ask.
"Cuckoo."
"This is the spoils of war," Bruce translated. "If you want to know the details, I can let you see it with your own eyes."
"Please let me see it!"
Stark requested seriously, "I also want to meet the maker of this suit. He is a genius who can rival me!"
Hearing this, Bruce thought that Tony Stark was really as narcissistic as the rumors said.
And he is very thick-skinned.
The real genius was standing right in front of him, and he dared to say that.
"Cuckoo."
"Okay, then you're ready." As Bruce finished translating, Katum waved his hand and the scene in front of Stark changed instantly.
He was no longer in his garage, but in a collection room.
In the middle of the collection room, stood a man in a blue combat uniform. When he turned around, his horrifying face made Tony feel physically uncomfortable.
"It's the Red Skull!"
Tony recognized who this man was, "My father Howard Stark defeated him along with Captain America."
Howard never brags about such great achievements in front of Tony.
Probably only said it about a thousand times.
"He's probably not the Red Skull you remember." Bruce said, "This is a story that happened in another world."
"another world?"
Before Tony could ask in detail, his attention was drawn to the collections in the collection room.
In the middle of the collection was Captain America’s shield, and next to the shield was the Iron Man suit he had just seen.
In addition, there are many equipments he has never seen before, such as gloves, helmets, capes...
They all look extraordinary and must have once belonged to some important person.
Soon, the picture faded and Stark returned to the garage.
"This is a world where evil triumphed over good, and we, the School of Owls, saved that world, and then we got this suit."
Bruce said, "As for who made it, we don't know."
Tony was still immersed in the scene he had just seen, unable to extricate himself.
He murmured, "But I think I know who it is."
It was not someone else, but himself!
"Master Katum, I have something I want to confirm with you."
Tony stammered, "Are you sure that's another world, not the future of this one?"
"Of course it's another world!"
Bruce said sternly, "Do you think someone can travel through time? Give up your thoughts, this is a topic that cannot be touched!"
"Ok."
If it were another world, Tony could be a little relieved.
That scene just now was so horrifying.
The blue battle suit on the Red Skull undoubtedly belongs to Captain America.
This gave Tony a terrible idea just now.
Is it the Red Skull who disguised himself as Captain America, or is it Captain America who disguised himself as the Red Skull?
But now that it is certain that this is another world, there is no need to think about such a scary topic.
At this time, it was Bruce's turn to feel curious.
"Don't you actually care about what's going on in the other world?"
"As for the multiverse, I know the relevant theories."
Stark said, "Although it was just science fiction before, now magic exists and the existence of the multiverse is not uncommon."
Bruce nodded, calmly, but with a feeling of defeat in his heart.
He was quite shocked when he heard Katum talk about the multiverse.
"I was only ten years old at the time." Bruce comforted himself in his heart, "It's normal to be surprised. There's no need to mind it."
Back to the topic.
Tony heaved a sigh of relief when he learned that the Iron Man suit in front of him was made by himself in another world.
He was really scared just now, afraid that the invention he was proud of had already been made by another person.
This feeling of living in the shadow of others is what geniuses fear most.
But now it's different.
Since it belongs to him, Tony doesn't mind absorbing all the manufacturing ideas of this suit and then improving it into a better model.
As for the Mark II?
Tony would never look at it again.
He thought to himself, "Newton once said that he made research that influenced the world only by standing on the shoulders of giants. Now I am standing on my own shoulders, and there is no problem with that."
Although Newton's original intention in saying this was to satirize his political enemy Hooke for being a dwarf.
But that's not important.
"Master Katum, I have a request that is difficult to express."
Tony held his hands and said, "Perhaps you are willing to transfer this armor to me so that I can conduct further research. Of course, you can name any price!"
"Coo-coo!" Katum replied.
Bruce didn't even react when he heard this. He turned to Katum to confirm again and again before translating.
"I wish I did, but I don't."
"what?"
Tony was also confused by this answer. After he sorted it out, he smiled bitterly.
"why?"
Tony said, "I know this armor is your trophy. I just want to buy it. I don't mean to rob you."
"Cuckoo!"
"I have deep feelings for this armor."
Bruce continued to translate, "It has helped me defeat countless terrible enemies. I don't want to see it being torn into pieces."
The battle suit has a price, but the feelings are priceless.
"This... alas..."
Stark didn't know what to say for a moment. He was eager to get this armor, but Katum was determined to refuse.
This is not a problem that can be solved by adding money.
In other words, it is not something that can be solved by simply adding tens of millions.
What exactly should we do to get Master Katum to agree?
Tony was struggling with this in his heart until Katum put the battle suit into the feathers. The empty feeling woke Tony up.
No!
Tony's condition at this moment was as if he had lost his most important lover. The strong withdrawal reaction made him seem to be falling into the abyss.
He had to get that suit!
"Master! Please reconsider!"
Tony lowered his posture and said, "Didn't you just say that we are destined to be together? There's no need to reject it so quickly! You can put forward any conditions! How about you think about it again?"
Hearing this, Katum looked thoughtful.
This rekindled hope in Tony's heart.
But in fact, Katum was just chatting with Bruce through telepathy at this time.
"Look, isn't it like what I said before?" Katum said, "Stark will beg us if he wants, and we can set any conditions."
"Are you feeling proud of yourself?" Bruce said, "This is all thanks to me helping you translate."
"Your contribution is only 30% at most."
"Seventy percent!"
"Fifty percent! If it's more, I won't talk to you anymore."
"Fifty percent, then."
Katoom and Bruce acted like little kids, killing time for a bit before turning their attention back to Tony, acting like they were thinking this through for a long time.
"Actually..."
Bruce translated Katoom's sigh as well.
"I don't want to hand over the suit to you, but there is a deeper reason."
(End of this chapter)
