"Howard, there's a change of plans."
When Fang Yuan found Howard, he was being scolded by a noble lady.
Uh, don't get the wrong idea.
It wasn't that Howard had given all his assets to his son and stopped trying; this noble lady was his wife—Maria Stark.
Not long after returning from Monaco, Howard had requested the Ancient One's help to resurrect his wife as well.
After the initial confusion, Maria, with Howard's help, understood the current situation.
And the current situation was Maria lecturing Howard: knowing their son had palladium poisoning, how could he still have the heart to set up a test for Tony?
No wonder Tony felt Howard was cold and unfeeling.
Seeing Fang Yuan approach, Maria stopped her lioness-like roar, leaving Howard with some dignity.
She was actually very refined; it was just that she was so worried about her son right now that she had become a bit anxious.
Maria had never met Fang Yuan before, but she had heard Howard mention him when reminiscing about the past. Coupled with the fact that Fang Yuan had saved them this time, her attitude toward him was very good.
"Fang, you're looking well." Maria knew Fang Yuan must have business with Howard, so she nodded to him in greeting and stepped aside. "You two talk."
"Did something happen?" Howard asked quickly, seeing that Fang Yuan seemed a bit anxious.
"It's not a big deal, just that our plan needs some adjustment. I'll go with you guys for Tony's birthday," Fang Yuan explained his purpose.
Howard immediately laughed. "I said you should come with us; you're our savior, after all!"
Previously, Fang Yuan had planned to descend like a God when Ivan attacked the Stark Expo, but now that the Ancient One had agreed to make her debut, Fang Yuan intended to contact Tony earlier.
Because the Vought Corporation that Fang Yuan had established in the Marvel world decades ago was still affiliated with Stark Industries. He couldn't rely solely on Athena to promote the Ancient One; if Stark Industries helped, it would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Just like with the Vought Corporation in the DC Universe, with the Wayne Group backing him, Fang Yuan didn't need to do everything himself.
By going with Howard, as long as they successfully recognized each other, Fang Yuan would be able to use Stark Industries' resources.
Thor would be falling from the sky in less than half a month; he had to hurry.
"So, have you thought about how you're going to reveal yourself to Tony?" Fang Yuan asked Howard.
Howard looked confident. He led Fang Yuan to the lab and took out a wrapped gift box.
Fang Yuan opened it to take a look.
Good grief, it was actually an Arc Reactor Mark II tied with a ribbon!
"You're not saying you're going to give this to Tony, are you?" Fang Yuan looked at him in confusion. "Do you think Tony can't build a reactor?"
"No," Howard said triumphantly. "I made it with my own hands. It has sentimental value, doesn't it?"
Fang Yuan took a deep breath. "So, for your first meeting in twenty years, you plan to give him a lesson first?"
"Weren't you quite romantic when you were chasing girls back then?" Fang Yuan wore a puzzled expression. "How come it's so... unique when it comes to your son?"
"Cough, cough!" Howard quickly interrupted him.
"I haven't been a player for a long time." Howard almost called Maria over to pledge his loyalty.
"I think Tony will like this," he insisted finally.
Fang Yuan shrugged. Although Howard was seventy when he died, ever since he came back to life in a forty-five-year-old body, his mental age had visibly become younger.
He simply stopped worrying about Howard's awkward taste; after all, as long as he and Maria stood by Tony's side, that would be the best gift.
Howard remembered something else. "By the way, the news about the Iron Guardian has been very popular lately. Do you know why?"
"It's related to Iron Man and involves high technology; how could it not be popular?" Fang Yuan casually brushed it off.
How could Fang Yuan not know? It was exactly what he had done!
He had Athena spread the Iron Guardian videos all over the internet, successfully turning the Iron Guardian into the latest popular Superhero.
Not just him, but even Ivan Vanko, who served as a foil in the videos, had gained much more fame.
Speaking of Ivan, he had been arrested after the attack. Tony had even gone specifically to see him, but unfortunately, aside from being insulted, he didn't get any useful clues.
Afterward, Ivan was imprisoned in Monaco until he was rescued by Justin Hammer, who was also one of Fang Yuan's lackeys.
Since they were at the same party, Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't miss out on using a tool like Justin.
He might not have much talent, but he was rich, making him perfect for helping Fang Yuan stir things up and build a reputation.
So, in reality, even before the Stark Expo had begun, Fang Yuan had already arranged the attack.
Pfft, what attack?
This was Uncle Fang giving his nephew some training.
Although Tony Stark was kept in the dark and didn't know all this, he had also been very frustrated lately.
The reason, ultimately, was the Monaco incident.
Although Ivan's attack hadn't harmed him, the impact of the incident was enormous.
Because a bootleg Iron Man Suit had actually been built by someone other than Iron Man!
Countless people were eyeing Tony's research results, but because his technology was unrivaled and he himself was a capitalist power, he had managed to ward off the hyenas' prying eyes.
But now that Iron Man had shown a weakness, a large group of people immediately emerged, demanding Tony hand over the Iron Man Suit technology under the banner of national security.
Of course, to Tony, those were insignificant; what truly troubled him was the Iron Guardian.
Ivan Vanko was just a crude imitator in Tony's eyes, but the Iron Guardian's technology had actually surpassed his own, which Tony found unacceptable.
"I was the one who..." Cough, cough. The Arc Reactor technology was clearly with him, yet someone else had created something more advanced; Tony couldn't understand it at all.
Howard had invented the Arc Reactor, but limited by the era, he could only produce a sample the size of an entire floor, with an input-to-output ratio that was completely disproportionate.
Tony had successfully miniaturized the Arc Reactor, for which he had always been somewhat smug. But then the Iron Guardian suddenly pulled out an upgraded version, immediately dragging Tony down from his high horse.
As a top scientist, Tony viewed this as a failure, but he also gained something from it.
"The 1974 Stark Expo... I've looked at everything that was exhibited. Where is there anything about the Arc Reactor?"
Tony gulped down the foul-tasting chlorophyll, grumbling at the countless documents on the projection screen.
The Iron Guardian had told him there were clues to a new element at this expo, and Tony really thought he had found a lifeline.
But he had scoured all the expo's records, even looking at things that hadn't been exhibited, yet he hadn't found a single clue.
In the original plot, Tony had a videotape specifically left by Howard, which featured several close-up shots of the expo's buildings, allowing Tony to realize immediately where to start once he saw it.
But this time, Howard's face-to-face revelation had revealed nothing of use.
After all, the clue was "an expo," so Tony naturally started with the expo's contents. Who would immediately think that the clue was in the overall architectural layout of the expo?
"Jarvis, pull up the information on the expo participants... Wait." Tony's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at a scan of an expo map, a thought striking him.
The scanned map had removed decorations like greenery, connecting the various buildings only with lines, so Tony finally saw some clues.
With the central circular exhibition hall as the core, the layout of these buildings looked a lot like—
"An elemental structure." Tony let out a long breath, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Although he hadn't verified it yet, he already felt it was almost certainly the case.
Amidst his joy, Tony fell into even greater confusion.
Hiding the new element in the expo's layout must have been his father Howard's idea, so how did the Iron Guardian know?
"Who exactly is the Iron Guardian?"
Nick Fury was also asking Fang Yuan this question.
After Natasha reported Fang Yuan's identity, Fury took Kamar-Taj very seriously and immediately found an opportunity to come and meet him.
His single eye stared intently at Fang Yuan. "There's a bounty on the internet recently: anyone who can find out the Iron Guardian's true identity can get ten million dollars. Does this have anything to do with you?"
"How would I know?" Fang Yuan shrugged. "Maybe it's some conglomerate eyeing the Iron Man Suit technology causing trouble. You know, there are too many people who want that tech."
Fury was persistent; he didn't believe these were all coincidences. "But because of this bounty, the Iron Guardian is very famous now. Didn't you say you run a talent agency? Is the Iron Guardian your employee?"
"What? Is S.H.I.E.L.D. going to manage the entertainment industry now?" Fang Yuan used a direct excuse to shut Fury up.
Since he still needed his help to establish a connection with Kamar-Taj, Fury had to let it go for now.
However, Fang Yuan leaned in a bit closer to Fury. "But I'm quite interested in that bounty. How about I go collect it when the time comes, and we split it fifty-fifty?"
A light suddenly flashed on Fury's bald head; it was the look of someone tempted.
Five million for nothing... Fang Yuan was blatantly bribing him.
It was hard to imagine how Captain America, the embodiment of justice, could be good friends with a guy like this.
But Fury was very tempted; after all, five million could get quite a lot done.
He was a dedicated Director, but he also had his share of grievances, having to rely even on corruption to get real work done.
"Guys, I'm still here," Natasha spoke up helplessly.
With Fang Yuan's guarantee that Tony was no longer in mortal danger, Natasha had also resigned from her position as Tony's secretary.
After all, there were many other things she needed to do.
Her direct superior was colluding with someone right in front of her; it was only because she was the Black Widow. Anyone else would have kept a backup of the evidence.
And if she remembered correctly, Fang Yuan was supposed to be a hero, right? How was he so skilled at bribery?
Fang Yuan decisively tilted his chin toward Natasha. "I'll give you a million!"
Natasha immediately stopped talking.
Agents need money to build safe houses for themselves, too; it's nothing to be ashamed of.
"What about Tony's side?" Fury asked.
A big reason he was paying attention to the Iron Guardian was to resolve Tony's condition.
Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Don't worry, Tony Stark will be fine."
Hearing this, Fury felt relieved. He put Tony's matter aside for now; Kamar-Taj was the most important thing.
He had originally wanted to return Howard's materials to Tony, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Fang Yuan read this thought through Telepathy and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Now, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s act of standing by and doing nothing for Tony was truly confirmed.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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