In the night of Malibu, the sound of the ocean tide gently lapped against the beach.
In the living room of the Stark Villa, Lin Huai sat alone on the sofa, his fingers stroking the smooth, cold Strength card, lost in thought.
Having become a true Seer, the World became clearer than ever in his perception, but beneath this clarity lay a mystery that confused him more and more.
Why?
Why was it such a smooth, "melt-in-the-mouth" sensation when he drank the potion? It was as if... he was simply reclaiming something that already belonged to him.
But if that were true, what was that distinct barrier lying deep within his spirituality? That bottleneck-like obstacle reminded him at every moment—the potion had not been fully digested.
This contradictory feeling filled his heart with confusion.
"If I can't figure it out, I might as well stop thinking about it."
Just then, a massive sonic boom approached from the distance, the gale making the windows of the entire Villa rattle slightly. A red and gold streak of light landed on the dressing platform in the center of the mansion with precise posture.
"Clang—clatter—"
Mechanical arms quickly activated, beginning to strip away the layers of the brand-new, polished mark iii armor.
Tony Stark had just returned from Washington, and before his armor was even fully off, his signature, irritable complaints already echoed through the living room.
"Jarvis, turn my profanity filter up to the maximum!"
"Those gentlemen sitting on Capitol Hill are a bunch of idiots with shit for brains! Holding a hearing, asking a few stupid questions, and they want me to share the technology of the mark armor with them? Why don't they share their wives instead!"
Lin Huai looked up from his thoughts, watching the still-ranting Tony, and suddenly interjected, "If you were truly willing to share the armor, they might actually be willing to share their wives, believe it or not?"
Tony's cursing came to an abrupt halt.
"Cough... cough cough!" Tony choked, coughing repeatedly. He waved his hand awkwardly and took a glass of whiskey from a tray brought by a mechanical arm, draining it in one gulp.
Then, with his mouth half-open, he seemed to want to retort, but the damn possibility inherent in that sentence left him momentarily unable to find any words to strike back.
Lin Huai looked at him and asked, "Is the matter with the armor settled for now?"
"For now," Tony said, catching his breath with a hint of exhaustion on his face. "I pushed all the trouble onto Rhodey; he'll deal with the Military and the politicians for me. Why? Has your 'Fool' sent you a new script again?"
Lin Huai didn't answer. Instead, he slowly placed the Strength card on the coffee table and pushed it toward Tony.
On the card, the gentle lady was firmly closing the lion's mouth.
"Interested in going out to see a good show?" Lin Huai asked.
Tony's eyes lit up instantly. He leaned in, looking at the card, his curiosity completely overriding his previous irritation. "A good show? Where? Are we going deep-sea fishing again or scavenging in ruins? Please, tell me there are Hollywood-level explosions this time. I just finished arguing with a bunch of politicians and I'm in a very bad mood."
Lin Huai ignored his teasing.
He simply looked up and said calmly to the air, "Jarvis, arrange a plane capable of transoceanic flight to wait for us on the helipad in ten minutes."
Tony was stunned; this was the first time Lin Huai had directly commanded Jarvis.
"Also, Tony," Lin Huai turned to look at him, his gaze sweeping over the complex dressing platform on him, "you should start considering developing a portable armor or a faster dressing system. After all, you can't go out in this iron shell every time."
Having said that, Lin Huai stood up and led the way toward the passage leading to the rooftop helipad.
"Portable... fast dressing..."
Tony froze in place, muttering those words. Lin Huai's words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting open a brand-new line of thought in his mind. He had been obsessing over how to improve the armor's performance, yet he had ignored its "convenience"!
"Fuck!" Tony slapped his thigh and roared at the air, "Lin, you're a genius! Jarvis! Record this! Set this as the highest priority! Immediately!"
Excitedly, he caught up with Lin Huai and strode toward the helipad.
In the night wind, Stark Industries' latest model of VTOL transport was hovering quietly on the helipad. Its streamlined fuselage was full of sci-fi flair, and the hatch was open, waiting for them.
Just as Lin Huai was about to step onto the plane, he suddenly stopped.
Under Tony's intrigued gaze, he took a pendulum pendant made of polished citrine from his neck—he had crafted it himself, imitating the initial divination tool used by the "Fool" in the original work.
Holding the metal chain of the pendant, he let the citrine hang naturally in the air.
"There is danger in this journey," Lin Huai thought to himself.
The crystal pendant began to rotate slowly in a steady, clockwise direction.
Lin Huai put away the pendant, turned to board the plane, and beckoned to the still-dazed Tony. "Let's go, we're going to watch the show. I've already performed a divination; this trip is perfectly safe."
"Wait!" Tony hurried after him and plopped down next to Lin Huai, his face full of confusion and bewilderment. "That's it?"
"That's it?"
"Last time you made cards for me and Pepper, and back in the deep sea, didn't you have to chant a bunch of incantations and make strange gestures? I thought those were mandatory procedures, like loading a software before it runs."
hearing this, Lin Huai smiled.
"That was the installation program."
"And this?" Tony pointed to the pendant on his chest.
"This is a desktop shortcut."
Tony was choked up by the metaphor, then asked unwillingly, "So you don't need to apply for permission from your 'god' anymore?"
"I don't need to apply every time," Lin Huai spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but Tony listened intently. "Because now, I am a true Seer."
He looked into Tony's still-inquisitive eyes, then changed the subject, speaking with a casual tone reserved for friends:
"Also, take some time to care more about your body. The material used in that thing in your chest... long-term contact isn't good for you."
Tony's smile faded. "What do you know?"
"I didn't divine it, Tony. This is a scientific issue, not an occult one." Lin Huai looked at him. "palladium. Your blood's palladium toxicity levels must be quite high by now, right? Don't joke with your life just because you're a genius. Find a safer alternative; I don't want my sworn brother to die by his own invention."