"Oh?" Tony tapped his fingers on the table, his brow furrowed.
"Honestly, if you had told me this before, I probably wouldn't have believed you," Tony sighed. After all, he used to be a staunch atheist.
"But now..."
"If there are such parasites, please give me a few more..." Tony said, half-seriously, half-jokingly.
The Chitauri aliens, Thor, Loki—these legendary beings had continuously challenged Tony's worldview and understanding.
Science seemed so pale and powerless in the face of such things.
The events of The Avengers had made Tony feel just how small humanity truly was for the first time, which was why he had fallen into depression.
Seeing Tony say that, Lin Feng chuckled. He retrieved a sealed bottle from the system and slyly hid it behind his back.
"If you put it that way, I feel no pressure."
"What do you mean?" Tony asked, puzzled.
Lin Feng smiled, "Actually, I brought you a gift back from my trip."
"A gift?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "Could it be Mark 90, 95?"
Lin Feng rolled his eyes. "Where would Mark 90 come from? You have to research that yourself!"
"Come on, let's go to the first floor! This place is too small; the gift won't fit!" With that, Lin Feng led the way upstairs.
Tony wiped his hands and, with a sense of suspicion, followed Lin Feng up the stairs.
They stood in the living room, which was more spacious. Tony's workshop felt a bit cramped, and he was worried Tony might overreact to the item he was about to give him.
Beckoning to Tony, Lin Feng said mysteriously, "Stick out your hand! I guarantee you'll love this gift!"
Tony eyed Lin Feng's actions suspiciously, a bold idea forming in his mind. "You didn't bring back something weird for me, did you?"
Recalling Lin Feng's earlier question, Tony couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. "It's not some kind of parasite, is it?"
Lin Feng rolled his eyes again. "Hurry up, would I harm you?!"
"I guarantee you'll like this thing!"
"Alright, alright..." Tony extended his right hand.
Seeing Lin Feng being so secretive, Tony's curiosity about the gift grew.
As Tony's large hand reached out, Lin Feng chuckled and stopped hiding. He pulled the small bottle from behind his back, uncapped it, and poured its contents into Tony's hand.
It was a mass of black fluid.
"What is this?"
The moment the black fluid touched his palm, it seeped into him, startling Tony.
Before Tony could react, he felt the arc reactor on his chest start to operate uncontrollably, and nanites rapidly covered his entire body.
In an instant, the Mark 85 nanite suit was fully donned.
However, in the next second, the gold and red surface suddenly rippled with black waves.
The gold and red suit instantly turned entirely black, with flowing golden luminous patterns on it.
"What's happening?" Tony curiously raised his hands to look. The Mark 85 had activated without his input?
Before Tony could ponder further, the nanites retreated like a tide back into the arc reactor on his chest, without his control. This revealed Tony beneath the suit.
As the suit vanished, Tony felt a warm current flow through his body.
For a moment, something felt indescribably strange.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Tony's first sensation after shedding the suit was that the fatigue from his all-night work had completely disappeared.
It was as if an inexhaustible energy had been injected into his body.
More tangibly, his vision had become incredibly clear.
He instinctively looked out the window and, to his astonishment, could see the view outside with remarkable clarity.
Keep in mind, it was the middle of the night, with almost no lights on outside!
*Clang.*
The sound of an object hitting the ground drew Tony's attention.
He stared blankly at the object that had fallen to the floor.
It was a gleaming miniature arc reactor, from his chest, which not only powered the suit but also prevented the shrapnel that constantly threatened his life.
Beside the arc reactor lay pieces of metal, varying in size, also glittering.
Those were the things that constantly threatened his life.
He looked at his chest in disbelief. It was smooth and intact; the large hole where the arc reactor was embedded had vanished!
Tony instinctively reached out to touch it. It was real flesh and blood! Warm and tangible!
"Fuck!" Tony gasped, his breath catching. What kind of divine magic was this?!
"Fuck?" Suddenly, a black tendril surged from Tony's shoulder, instantly forming a small, monstrous head that repeated the word.
"Oh, fuck!" Tony jumped back two steps, breaking out in a cold sweat.
His shoulder had sprouted a monstrous head!
"What is this thing?!" In his shock, Tony reached out to grab it, but the head instantly retracted into his body and emerged from his other shoulder.
"Fuck?" It repeated again.
After several failed attempts to grab it, Tony looked to Lin Feng for help.
"Lin! What is this, exactly?"
"Huh? Oh!" Lin Feng watched Tony's shocked performance and chuckled for a while.
"This, this is the gift I brought back for you!"
"Allow me to introduce him! A descendant of Venom from the distant universe's dark symbiotes!"
"Well... I don't know what he calls himself, so you can give him a name!"
"They like powerful, imposing names that carry a sense of killing!"
This symbiote had been modified by Lin Feng using the Mind Stone.
Although it was a descendant of Venom, to avoid any unnecessary accidents, Lin Feng had used the Mind Stone to "brainwash" the symbiote.
He had directly removed the symbiote's function of amplifying the host's evil tendencies and also lowered the symbiote's intelligence to around that of a ten-year-old.
This would allow the symbiote and host to grow together, which would be beneficial for their future life and battles...
Tony wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. As expected of Lin Feng, taking out something so casually had once again shaken his worldview.
"This, this isn't actually an alien parasite, is it?"
Hearing this, the black head bared its fangs with displeasure and rasped, "I am not a parasite!"
Saying this, it made a motion as if to swallow Tony.
"Alright, alright, you're not a parasite!"
Tony held up his hands in surrender.
"Whatever you are, can you get out of my body? Although I appreciate the free surgery."
"No..." Tony pointed to the ground. "I can pay you for your services, but I have no desire to keep pets inside my body."
"No! If I leave my host, I will quickly lose my life!" the symbiote refused.
"What the fuck?" Tony glared at Lin Feng as if he wanted to kill him!
This thing couldn't be removed?!
Lin Feng quickly waved his hands, indicating his innocence. "Didn't you say you needed this kind of parasite? I was just fulfilling your wish!"
Tony: ???