Chapter 17: Sometimes, All It Takes Is a Hug Between Heaven and Hell
Tony suddenly felt a sense of deep respect. What kind of experience could make a child who was only about seven years old say such things?
Looking at this little child before him, already fighting on the front lines to protect Earth at such a young age, what had he himself been doing? Building a circuit board at four, constructing his first engine at six—it all seemed utterly insignificant now.
Tony suddenly thought that Lan Xingyu, apart from being a bit strong, should be quite easy to educate and nurture. After all, Lan Xingyu was so well-behaved.
Meanwhile, in Lan Xingyu's inner world: "Wow! I finally said it. I've wanted to show off like this for so long. Ah~ so satisfying. Saitama-sensei is the best!"
Honestly, in his previous life, when Xingyu watched the first episode of One Punch Man, Saitama's line, 'I'll protect Earth,' and later his unintentional remark to Genos, 'If all the heroes run away, who will stay and fight?' ignited Xingyu's passion. But in that world, you couldn't just go outside and shout those lines.
But here was different! This was Marvel, and who was he? A Kamar-Taj mage protecting Earth! If he couldn't say it, who could?
Tony focused his gaze on the large pile of metal. "Xingyu, is this metal also something you brought from Asgard?"
"Yes, these are all very good metals from Asgard. I originally wanted to get some Uru metal—that's Asgard's top-tier metal. The famous Mjolnir is forged from Uru metal," Xingyu explained, and so on.
"Then why didn't you bring any?" Tony asked curiously.
"What do you think Uru metal is? Even if you got it, you couldn't forge it. Uru metal requires the Dwarves to use the internal energy of a star to forge it," Xingyu said, giving Tony a disdainful look.
"Uh... okay... By the way, Xingyu, can you move this metal to my lab downstairs? That way, I can test its various properties."
"Sure. No problem."
Xingyu raised his small hand and performed a spatial displacement, moving Tony and the pile of metal to Tony's underground lab! (This spatial displacement can be referenced to the skill Doctor Strange used in Thor: Ragnarok, moving Thor through different spaces.)
Experiencing spatial displacement for the first time, Tony felt a bit dizzy and had to hold onto a handrail to avoid embarrassment. After a moment, he steadied himself.
"Are you okay, Tony? You need more exercise. You're too weak," Lan Xingyu said with a mischievous tone.
Tony shot a glance at the gleeful Lan Xingyu. *I think you did that on purpose.* But there was nothing he could do—he couldn't win against him. So frustrating!
Hmph! You had to flaunt your relationship as soon as you got off the plane. Single dogs have no rights! Am I, Lan, the kind of person who holds grudges and doesn't get revenge?
Ignoring what Xingyu was thinking, Tony began testing the metals. The results were shocking! Whether in hardness or conductivity, these metals were leagues ahead of any modern alloy except Vibranium! Most importantly, these metals could also be alloyed, leading to another leap in hardness, shock resistance, and conductivity.
Tony's eyes lit up, and with a wave of his hand, he bought all of Lan Xingyu's metal.
"Once your identity is sorted out, I'll help you get a bank card, and then I'll transfer the money to you. If you have more of this metal in the future, come to me—I'll buy it all!" Tony said excitedly.
"It's fine. Why don't you wait until your company's stock price drops enough and buy all your company's shares for me?" Lan Xingyu said casually. He was counting on making another profit from Tony's company! After all, he wasn't in a hurry for money.
"Oh! You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid of losing everything?" Tony was touched but kept his tone light.
"It's fine! As long as you, Tony Stark, are around, I won't lose. Keep researching. I'm going to see Sister Potts." With that, he flashed upstairs. Just as he put away the Asgardian antiques from the floor, he saw Pepper finishing up at the table and preparing to leave.
"Sister Potts, are you leaving?"
"Yes, there are still some things at the company. Thank you for the dinner, little chef!"
"Hehe, be careful on your way, Sister Potts."
"Okay, see you tomorrow, little Xingyu! Bye!"
After seeing Pepper off, Lan Xingyu's expression turned serious. He was about to begin the most important task since leaving seclusion.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room, he said, "Jarvis, open the computer!" Tony had already given Lan Xingyu the highest permissions.
"Jarvis, turn off the lights. It's time to begin!" Lan Xingyu looked incredibly focused, staring at the large screen...
"Welcome to league of legends!" The familiar voice echoed from the speakers. That's right—Lan Xingyu's most important task since coming out was: playing games!
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The next day, Lan Xingyu woke up in bed. He stretched lazily. "Ah! So satisfying! Have I already achieved my dream from my previous life? Waking up naturally, counting money until my hands cramp, watching anime and playing games when bored. Life is truly blissful. This is what life should be!"
Last night, Lan Xingyu had stayed up unusually late, playing until one or two in the morning. His body was too tired, so he finally went to sleep—after all, he was still a child. But it was different now. Unlike his previous life, where his skills were limited and he was only average at league of legends, now he could play at light speed! Have you ever seen someone play games with time accelerated? At that moment, Lan Xingyu was like Faker possessed, perfectly dodging every avoidable skill and moving with impossibly slick footwork!
Today, he was going shopping with Sister Potts, so he didn't sleep too late. After putting on a set of clothes he kept in his spatial pocket, he went out for breakfast.
Tony's private chef had returned. When Xingyu first woke up, Jarvis had notified the chef to start preparing breakfast. By the time Xingyu came out, it was just ready.
Ah, having so many delicious things right after waking up—what bliss!
Around 9:30, Potts arrived at Tony's house to pick up Xingyu. Then, they set off together...
What followed was Lan Xingyu's moment of agony. As expected, women seemed to have a faith-based stamina boost when shopping—their endurance was terrifyingly despair-inducing for men! Even Lan Xingyu, a Father-Heaven Level powerhouse, couldn't handle it. If men had this kind of stamina, it was mostly before...
It wasn't until noon that Potts finally let Xingyu off, taking him to a restaurant for steak. After lunch, Potts wanted to take Lan Xingyu to buy a phone and other things, but Xingyu refused, citing not wanting Sister Potts to spend too much and the need for a child's nap. As they were heading back to the car, they saw a clown sitting on a bench with balloons beside him.
The clown's makeup wasn't cute or funny like a normal clown's; instead, it gave off a somewhat dark vibe.
Seeing this, Lan Xingyu seemed to remember something. He said to Potts, "Sister Potts, wait for me a moment."
He ran to a nearby flower shop and bought three snow-white daisies with his own money.
George Woben was an unfortunate man struggling at the bottom of American society. Forced to work after dropping out of middle school, he watched his family members die from illness one by one, leaving him alone in this world. Every day, he dressed as a clown to attract customers for shopkeepers, earning a meager salary.
Just yesterday, as he was helping attract business outside a store as usual, a few delinquent youths suddenly ran over, snatched his sign, and ran off, taunting him along the way. Unable to retrieve his sign, he returned to the store entrance, only for the shopkeeper to accuse him of slacking off and fire him.
This incident was the final straw. He began to break down. Today, he painted his clown makeup with a darker tone, took a few balloons, and came to the street.
Whenever someone came to take a balloon, he would make a terrifying face to scare them. Watching people run away in fear gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction!
Now, he was resting, tied to a bench. He saw a child running toward him. As the little boy climbed onto the bench, a thought struck him. He suddenly stood up, spread his arms, and made a terrifying face, directing it at the child...
But the expected scream never came. Instead, he was met with a small yet sun-warm embrace. This figure hugged him. George suddenly felt at a loss, unsure whether to lower his arms. Then, a immature yet firm voice whispered in his ear: "In this year 2008, I want to become the light in your heart!"
Letting go of the man, Lan Xingyu gave him a sincere smile. Before the man could react, he placed the three daisies in his hands, took a balloon, and ran back to Potts.
George watched the small figure leave. For some reason, his vision began to blur. His once-frozen heart suddenly felt warm. Wiping the moisture from the corner of his eye, George decided to go home.
After returning home, he found a bottle, filled it with water, placed the three pure white daisies inside, and set it on the table, quietly admiring their beauty.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. He immediately took the flowers out, washed the bottle clean, and then placed the flowers back inside!
Oh~! He had suddenly realized: how could such beautiful flowers be placed in such a dirty bottle? So, he decided to clean the bottle to match the purity of the daisies!
After finishing this task, he sat nearby, quietly admiring the snow-white daisies.
Suddenly, he felt that such beautiful flowers and such a clean bottle shouldn't be placed on such a messy table!!
So, he started wiping the table clean and tidying up the clutter!
Later, he felt that such beautiful daisies and such a clean table shouldn't be in such a cluttered room!
So, he made a decision: to clean the entire room, organize all the items, and remove all the garbage...
Thus, the entire room became warm and cozy, reflected in the presence of these three daisies!
At this moment, he seemed to forget where he was!
While revel, he suddenly noticed in the mirror a reflection of a young man with unsightly clown makeup, unkempt and dressed in rags.
He hadn't realized he looked like this!
What right did someone like him have to stay in such a room with these daisies?
So, he immediately washed away the grime accumulated over days of self-neglect and laziness.
After washing up, he found some clothes that, though a bit old, were relatively clean. After shaving, he tidied himself up from head to toe and looked in the mirror again. Suddenly, he saw a young, handsome face he had never seen before staring back at him...
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"Xingyu, it seems you did something very right!" Pepper looked at Xingyu, her eyes filled with Relieved and something more complex.
Xingyu took out a small straw hat he had bought while shopping for clothes earlier. He placed it on his head with his small hands, tilted his little face up, and grinned at Potts. The sunlight shone on his face, giving off a warm feeling...
May everyone become a light!