After finishing a glass of milk and two slices of bread, Ronin collapsed onto the sofa in a classic "Ge You lounging" pose.
Outside, he had to maintain the dignified image of a CEO, but at home he could do whatever he wanted. The greatest happiness was playing games, eating instant noodles, or watching movies.
However, right now he had no mood for games. He needed to properly cover up the lie about Soldier: 76, otherwise one day the lie would be exposed by his own actions.
He didn't have Tony Stark's courage to openly reveal his identity as Iron Man to the world.
After thinking it over, a flash of inspiration hit him!
He dialed his driver's number. Ten minutes later, a car horn sounded outside the villa.
Thomas was his personal driver — available whenever called. No matter what he was doing, once the boss called, he had to come immediately.
"10880 Malibu Point."
???
Thomas, a black man, had question marks all over his face. What kind of place was that?
He didn't ask any questions. As a professional driver, he had strict professional ethics. Whatever the boss did was none of his business. If he were allowed to ask, he could question the boss for an entire day about last night's incident at the bar alone.
He set the navigation to 10880 Malibu Point and started driving.
When they arrived at the destination, Thomas couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! What a spectacular oceanfront villa!"
He thought his own boss's place was already very luxurious, but seeing this villa made him realize his boss was actually quite low-key.
"Follow me."
Ronin got out of the car and dialed Tony's number. "Hello, Mr. Stark. This is Ronin. I'm at your front door right now."
???
Tony Stark, who was tinkering with machinery, froze on the spot. He muttered to himself in confusion, "What? My front door?"
He recalled his last conversation with Ronin at Overwatch Tower — he definitely hadn't given him his home address. How strange. Did Mr. Ronin possess some kind of special ability?
When he saw Ronin and a black man standing outside, he was completely stunned. He opened the door to let them in and asked, "Mr. Ronin, how did you know where I live?"
"One day, everyone will know this place," Ronin said with a smile.
Tony Stark was dressed casually at home — a black T-shirt and jeans, with the glowing blue arc reactor on his chest particularly eye-catching. Outside, he always wore sharp suits.
Ronin, on the other hand, always wore simple sportswear and didn't care about other people's opinions.
Actually, he did care a little. Otherwise, he might do some incomprehensible things in public.
"Is Mr. Ronin planning to publicize my home address?" Stark asked.
Stark didn't understand why Ronin would do that or what benefit it would bring him.
Stark had clearly misunderstood. Ronin quickly clarified, "I won't do anything that stupid. Your address will be revealed by your own mouth."
"That's impossible. Absolutely impossible. I don't want to be disturbed," Stark said firmly.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?" Ronin smiled.
Stark gestured for them to come in and poured two cups of tea. "And this is?"
"My driver."
Thomas extended his hand. "Hello, Mr. Stark. Nice to meet you. I'm Thomas Oliver, Mr. Ronin's personal driver."
"Hello." Stark shook his hand, then sat down opposite Ronin. "So, Mr. Ronin, what brings you here so suddenly? Are you here to talk about the script? By the way, what do you think of the Iron Man story I wrote?"
Thinking that he would need Stark's help soon, Ronin lied through his teeth: "Mr. Stark is truly talented. Not only are you the world's top mechanical engineer, but your writing is also excellent. Although the story you wrote is short, it flows well and has great pacing. Once I polish it, I believe it will become an epic masterpiece."
Everyone likes to be praised, and Tony Stark was no exception.
The corner of Stark's mouth curled up with a hint of pride. He didn't care when others praised him, but the person sitting in front of him was a world-renowned genius screenwriter. Praise from Ronin carried real weight.
At this moment, Ronin changed the subject. "However, I didn't come here today to talk about the script. I'm here to ask for your help."
"Let's hear it!"
As a partner, Stark was happy to help. This concerned the quality of the Iron Man movie. Helping Ronin might make him put more effort into writing the script instead of just going through the motions.
"By the way, Mr. Ronin, the news is full of reports about what happened last night. Many people are guessing that you are actually Soldier: 76."
Stark turned on the TV, and sure enough, almost every channel was covering the Deep Sea Bar shooting incident.
"These reporters just want to create hype. They're always hoping for big events so they'll have enough material to report," Ronin said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"I completely agree with that."
Stark nodded. He was often annoyed by reporters too.
"Alright, enough of that. I want you to build me a pulse rifle," Ronin said directly. He didn't like beating around the bush.
Stark frowned. "A pulse rifle? The one Soldier: 76 uses?"
"That's right. And also make a full set of Soldier: 76 combat gear tailored for him." Ronin pointed at Thomas.
Thomas stood there with his mouth slightly open, pointing at himself with his thumb, looking completely confused.
Stark narrowed his eyes. "That's not difficult, but the pulse rifle will be hard to make shoot light blue bullets like in the movie. The penetration power definitely won't match the movie version either. But I'll do my best to make it as realistic as possible, so the public won't be able to tell the difference."
By now, he seemed to understand what Ronin wanted to do.
Create confusion and use a fake to pass as the real thing!
This also confirmed one thing for him — Ronin really was Soldier: 76!
"That's enough!" Ronin said.
His goal wasn't to create a real Soldier: 76 in the Marvel world, but to shift everyone's attention from himself onto Thomas.
That way, he could escape the public eye and go back to being a laid-back salted-fish CEO who played games every day.
"What material do you want the suit made from?"
"Anything but iron plates. Normal material is fine — just make it tough, comfortable to wear, and breathable. I don't want him to suffocate in the summer heat," Ronin said with a smile.
"Are you complaining about my Mark IV?" Stark pouted, somewhat dissatisfied. "When are we going to have a little spar?"
Ronin's eyelid twitched. It seemed Stark had already confirmed his identity, but he believed Stark wouldn't sell him out.
Stark might be high-profile and arrogant, but he would never do anything that went against basic principles.
So Ronin wasn't too worried.
As for Thomas, who loved going to nightclubs, there was even less to worry about.
When Thomas was almost crushed by life, it was Ronin who gave him a decent job. Now he lived comfortably and was absolutely loyal. He never spoke nonsense outside and never asked unnecessary questions.
"My weak arms and legs are no match for Iron Man," Ronin joked.
Even if he transformed into Soldier: 76, whether the heavy pulse rifle could penetrate the Mark IV was still unknown.
Thomas was stunned for a while before he finally reacted — he was about to become a superhero?
Fighting evil, punishing villains, saving beauties, flying through the sky and tunneling through the earth, omnipotent…
All kinds of fantasies flooded his mind, but Ronin mercilessly interrupted them.
"Hey! Thomas, let's go. Do you want to stay here overnight?"
"Sorry, Mr. Ronin!"
Thomas quickly ran out, got in the car, and turned on the air conditioning.
Before leaving, Ronin said to Stark, "Mr. Stark, I will complete the script within a month. I'll bring it to you then. I definitely won't disappoint you."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Stark watched them drive away, then paused for a moment before starting to sketch the pulse rifle based on its appearance in Soldier: 76.
Just thinking about Iron Man appearing on the big screen in the future filled him with motivation!