The Great Demon Lord of the American Comics World

Chapter 71, My Friend Tony Stark
In the gym, Tony Stark is boxing in the ring with his driver, bodyguard, and friend Happy. Tony is attacking while Happy is defending with a punching bag.

Upon seeing Li Xingzhou and Emma enter with Natasha, Tony gestured for Happy to pause, then turned to Li Xingzhou and said:
"Hey kid, you got a new date today? And who's this adorable sweetheart?"

“My secretary, Emma Grossman.”

Li Xingzhou introduced it briefly, then joked:
"And let me remind you, if you're thinking of making a move on her, it's already too late."

Tony shrugged. "Okay, I already guessed."

He then said with a wicked grin, "Want to come up to the boxing ring and practice a few moves?"

Li Xingzhou showed little interest: "No thanks."

"How can a real man shirk a challenge?"

Tony clacked his fists together with a dull thud, and arrogantly challenged them:
"Come on, let Uncle Tony teach you how to be a strong man!"

"Ah……"

Li Xingzhou chuckled and shook his head:

"I'd better not, I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

"What?" Tony's eyes widened. "You're afraid I'll get hurt? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"of course."

Li Xingzhou raised his hand and casually waved his arm twice. His forearm became a blur, and when his fingertips sliced ​​through the air, they emitted a sharp whistling sound like a blade cutting through the air.

Upon seeing this, Black Widow Natasha's expression immediately hardened, and her gaze towards Li Xingzhou became more serious and scrutinizing—well, Li Xingzhou deliberately revealed a bit of his strength.

Don't forget, he's also very interested in the powerful and resource-rich H.I.E.L.D., and wants to become the head of Hydra.

Tony was also surprised by Li Xingzhou.

Although he only had a very basic level of fighting, he was intelligent and knowledgeable. He immediately realized the terrifying skill and power contained in Li Xingzhou's two seemingly casual arm swings. His eyes widened in astonishment as he said:

"How did you do that? How could your arm flick out afterimages and make a whip-like whistling sound?"

“This is called kung fu.” Li Xingzhou smiled. “Have you heard of Chinese kung fu? I happen to know a little bit.”

"Is this kung fu?" Tony's mind raced with inspiration: "Could I perform a complete kung fu routine?"

"You want to record my kung fu and load it into your suit's combat system?"

"Guessed it right!"

Tony jumped off the boxing ring, hooked his arm around Li Xingzhou's shoulder, and winked at him, saying:

"We're good friends, and good friends should help each other, shouldn't they?"

“Yes, we are good friends, and I will do as you wish,” Li Xingzhou said meaningfully. “But, between friends, there should be give and take, don’t you think?”

Tony replied without hesitation:
“Of course! That’s how good friends should be. You help me today, I’ll help you tomorrow. Natasha, open a bottle of good wine for me, I want to have a good drink with Leon…”

And so, Li Xingzhou and his good friend Tony Stark drank to their hearts' content.

Afterwards, Li Xingzhou practiced several sets of boxing techniques, allowing Tony's AI assistant Jarvis to load them into the combat system, and Li Xingzhou got what he wanted.

He obtained the private phone numbers of several high-ranking military officials who had close ties with Tony and who had purchasing authority. He also finalized a deal with Tony to install a smart early warning and defense system in his prison.

In addition, he persuaded Tony to help him develop a single-soldier exoskeleton system to arm his prison guards—Tony had initially hesitated about Li Xingzhou's request. He no longer wanted to develop any more weapons of war, and while a single-soldier exoskeleton system was merely auxiliary equipment, it was undoubtedly a type of weapon of war.

However, Li Xingzhou was simply too good at persuading others. Even someone as stubborn as Tony Stark was eventually convinced by him in the heat of the moment and finally agreed.

For Tony Stark, who could create Iron Man suits using rudimentary tools and materials, a mere individual exoskeleton system was incredibly simple, like a toy. He could complete the entire design in minutes and easily create a prototype in the lab.

Of course, although Tony couldn't resist Li Xingzhou's charms, he was ultimately a man of exceptional wisdom and willpower.

He added a backdoor to the control system of the individual soldier exoskeletons, so that if he discovers that Li Xingzhou is using them for military purposes, he can remotely shut down and lock all the individual soldier exoskeletons at any time.

Li Xingzhou was well aware of this, but he didn't care.

Anyway, he's not going to start a war. Equipping his men with individual exoskeletons is just to make them more efficient when they run errands for him in the future.

Li Xingzhou stayed at Stark Tower until the afternoon.

After Tony built the prototype, he personally put it on and tried it out.

This individual exoskeleton system, named "Skull Warrior Type 1," looks like just a simple steel skeleton, even more rudimentary than a skeleton. It has no head, only an adjustable steel spine connecting simple limbs and three pairs of ribs.

Of course, although the "Skull Warrior Type 1" looks simple, it is still made by Tony, and its joint flexibility and wearing comfort are quite reliable.

Anyway, when Li Xingzhou put it on for the experiment, he was quite flexible whether walking, sitting, lying down, running, or jumping, and did not feel stiff or clumsy at all.

Powered by a miniature high-energy battery developed by Tony, it can provide the wearer with a load of 150 to 300 kilograms and allow the wearer to run at a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour.

Of course, if it is under the highest load and at full power output, the battery power can only last for one hour, after which it must be stopped to charge.

Although the design was simple, the functions were basic, there was no auto-aiming system, and it was not equipped with any weapon system, Li Xingzhou was still satisfied with it.

You can practice your marksmanship yourself, prepare your own weapons, and with your energy-efficient 150-kilogram load capacity, you can also reinforce your chest and back with thick bulletproof steel plates.

Since it's just auxiliary equipment used to arm ordinary people, this function is already practical enough.

After trying them on, Li Xingzhou placed an order for one hundred sets, and Tony promised to deliver them within a week. Tony usually wouldn't even bother to ask about such a small business, but he only went to this trouble because Li Xingzhou was his good friend.

After finishing their business, Li Xingzhou and Emma took their leave, with Natasha seeing them off.

"Mr. Victor, have you ever been to China?"

"No."

"Then why do you know Chinese Kung Fu?"

Natasha's tone sounded as if she were simply curious.

Li Xingzhou knew she was probing his intentions, so he smiled slightly and said in a serious tone:

“My maternal grandfather was of Chinese descent, and he taught me all my kung fu.”

"So your maternal grandfather learned kung fu in China?"

"Yes and no. I remember when I was little, my grandfather told me that he had accidentally entered a mysterious place called 'Da Luo Tian'..."

Li Xingzhou casually told a story he made up on the spot, leaving Natasha stunned and unsure whether she believed it or not. — On the other hand, Li Xingzhou himself didn't know whether the dimension called "Da Luo Tian" actually existed in China in this world.

Of course, he had seen Shang Qi and sensed the special energy within Shang Qi that was similar to but not quite true Qi. Therefore, China should at least have a secluded secret place called "Tarot Village".

Regardless of whether "Da Luo Tian" exists or not, Li Xingzhou said this: the universe is so vast, with countless unknown and mysterious dimensions. Even the Lord of Hell doesn't know how many other dimensions there are, let alone Natasha and S.H.I.E.L.D. in the mortal realm.
(End of this chapter)