I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

"Do you think an idiot could have researched and developed this kind of armor on his own? Besides, there are far more benefits to me revealing my identity than not revealing it!"

Hearing Tony's words, Batman asked in confusion, "Benefits?"

“That’s right!” Tony said. “I think you might not know what I started out in: arms! That’s right, Stark Industries is in the arms business!”

Batman scoffed, "Hmph, you filthy warmongers!"

"Say what you will. Where there is demand, there is supply. Everyone is just trying to make money. What's there to be so righteous about?"

Tony said in a deep voice, "First of all, after I revealed my identity, other military industrial companies and Stark Industries became clowns in comparison. Do you know why?"

“Because they can’t manufacture this kind of armor,” Batman said in a low voice, seemingly deep in thought.

Tony snapped his fingers and said, "That's right! Compared to the armor, all other military industrial enterprises look like junkyards from the old days. But unfortunately, all the models of the armor I make are not for sale."

"It does seem like a very clever move," Batman muttered, seemingly already wavering.

Tony continued, "Moreover, the stronger my armor is, the less likely those guys who are eager to attack me and my loved ones will dare to make a move. After all, no one is willing to gamble their life on surviving the counterattack from my armor."

Batman nodded upon hearing this, muttering to himself, "Perhaps... I should also break free from this secretive lifestyle and find an opportunity to reveal my true identity?"

"I think this is a good idea, and you look really cool in this outfit. Maybe you can even get a third of my popularity after it's made public."

Tony encouraged him.

Batman asked, "By the way, when did you reveal your identity as Iron Man?"

Upon hearing this, Tony asked incredulously, "Batman, are you serious? You really didn't see that press conference? The Stark Industries press conference?"

Batman sighed upon hearing this and said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but before reading that comic, I had absolutely no idea what Stark Industries was, and I could never find any information about you or your company. I even suspected you were playing me!"

"That's impossible!" Upon hearing this, Tony immediately pulled Oswald over and asked, "Hey, fatso, don't tell me you've never heard of Stark Industries or Tony Stark."

Oswald looked completely bewildered and said, "Stark Industries and Tony Stark? You mean the protagonist of the Iron Man comics?"

“Oh, shit, I’m talking about the real people and companies, what the hell are you guys doing?” Tony said angrily. “Damn it, this place looks pretty urbanized, it shouldn’t be some backwater without even internet!”

Oswald slapped Tony's hand away and said sternly, "Sir, please show some respect. I am the mayor of Gotham City! Besides, I've only ever heard of large corporations like the Depp Corporation, Wayne Corporation, and Luther Corporation. As for Stark Corporation, I'm sorry, I've never even heard of it."

Upon hearing this, Tony wanted to say something, but found that it was futile, and could only sigh in the end.

He turned to Batman and asked, "So, who exactly are you?"

"I am Batman."

"Idiots!" Tony said, giving the middle finger. "Why is your city full of weirdos?"

Batman wasn't angry at Tony's insults because he knew the other man was indeed a real billionaire.

Because that's what Depp told him, so it must be right.

But.......

"Seriously, if you had more money than you could spend in several lifetimes, what would you most want to do?" Batman asked.

Tony was clearly taken aback by the question; he hadn't expected this cool guy in his Batsuit to ask such a question.

This guy seems to be a millionaire too... Tony said, "Of course, I'll use that money to enjoy life! Travel, good food, beautiful women, there are just too many things in this world worth enjoying and cherishing."

"Is that all?" Batman said, somewhat disappointed.

Tony smiled and said, "If this is all the money I have, then it's not bad. But unfortunately, it's only a drop in the ocean. So I think I need to use other money and time for research, whether it's armor or other technologies. After all, what happened last time made me realize that this planet is actually very fragile, and there are countless guys from space watching this place with their greedy eyes all the time."

After saying all that in one breath, Tony took a deep breath.

In Tony's view, if Depp hadn't arrived in time during Ebony Maw's invasion of Earth, the planet might have already fallen.

Therefore, this feeling of being unable to control his own destiny made him feel even more pressured.

If I can't even protect the Earth, how am I supposed to protect Little Chili?

This is Tony's current thought.

Upon hearing this, Batman finally laughed and said, "It seems we're all pretty much the same. On the surface, we're cynical, but in reality, we're all fighting to protect our own world."

Upon hearing this, Tony and Batman exchanged a glance, and then they both burst into laughter.

“To be honest, I used to dislike you a lot. I thought you were an arrogant, show-offy idiot,” Batman said.

"I don't recall ever flaunting my wealth to you before today."

Tony reminisced as he spoke, then suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "You bastard, you are!!!"

Batman quickly covered Tony's mouth and said, "Shh! I don't want to reveal my identity yet!"

Pulling Batman's hand away, Tony said, "Tch, you coward! How are you going to protect your city like this?"

“I naturally have my own considerations and principles of conduct, and my city is different from yours, so there’s no comparison.”

Although Bruce was still being stubborn, he was actually starting to waver inside.

After all, the days of working day and night and having to hide one's identity are really hard to endure.

In particular, the constant dating of dissolute rich girls and college girls in order to conceal his whereabouts caused him great torment.

The most important thing is that I have to sneak away at night without being discovered.

Sometimes, due to the urgency of the situation, he would be forced to "stop" after only a few minutes, then leave the suite fully clothed, change into his Batsuit, and go after the criminals.

I clearly don't have the strength for just a few minutes!

I'm clearly very strong. If you don't believe me, ask the ladies and young women who stayed with me all night!

In addition to these, the various inconveniences of hiding one's identity caused Bruce to have a strong wavering on whether to continue hiding his identity after hearing Tony's words.

"You're just bragging!" Tony completely removed his armor, revealing a denim jacket made of nanomaterials. "So, is this Depp's hometown, Gotham City?"

Tony looked around and saw only ruins, but what was most striking about Gotham was still that ever-present, lingering dark cloud.

“It feels very oppressive here, doesn’t it?” Batman said.

Tony nodded, took a well-packaged bottle of mineral water from the nearby ruins, opened it, and gulped it down.

The ruins where they were standing were originally a three-story supermarket.

After downing half a bottle in one go, Tony said, "That's true. And I think this dark cloud seems to be part of the city. Could it be that this thing never dissipates, regardless of the weather?"

Batman nodded and said, “I’m sorry, you’re right. This is the city that Depp and I live in... Gotham. Besides the ever-present dark clouds, there’s another theme that never stops here: crime. That’s why I became Batman.”

"So you'll strike at night and kill those criminals?" Tony asked curiously, sitting on the ground.

After several hours of continuous fighting, even though Tony was only in his armor and his physique was that of an ordinary person, he was already exhausted.

Haha, just a mortal's constitution!

Batman declared righteously, "I'm sorry, I never kill anyone!"

"Did I hear that right?" Tony stared wide-eyed, incredulous. "A guy who wants to punish criminals and protect the city isn't going to kill anyone?"

“That’s right. I can’t let myself fall into killing. Once I cross a certain line, I’m afraid I’ll become the criminal who destroys the world.”

"While I have to say that you seem to be taking yourself a little too seriously, I still appreciate your principled behavior."

Then, Tony pointed to the corpses of the Homelander clones not far away and asked, "So how do you explain this? You killed quite a few of those guys today."

Upon hearing this, Batman immediately declared righteously, "Those guys aren't even human, so I didn't kill anyone."

"Look at them! Who told you these guys aren't human?"

Tony looked helplessly at the Homelander clones, who were missing limbs and were completely dead.

Batman said, "It was Depp. That guy Depp told me these guys aren't even human, so I believed him."

Upon hearing this, Tony immediately said, "That Depp guy must be... Oh, Depp, then he must be right. You did a good job, you didn't break your vow of not killing."

"Are you and him good friends?" Batman asked.

Tony stood up, nodded emphatically, and said, "That's right, we are best friends."

As he spoke, a portal opened behind him.

"Then you're my friend too!" Batman said with a smile. "If you ever need money, you can always borrow it from me."

"Come on, lend me money? Do you even know who you're talking to?"

Tony picked up a Gotham brick from the ground, then stepped into the portal, uttering his last words before it closed.

"Didn't you ever consider that we don't even live in the same world?"

Depp was relieved to see that the two hadn't come to blows by the end of their conversation.

Otherwise, he was really afraid that the two guys would start arguing about who was richer and then start fighting over a minor disagreement.

After all, both Tony and Bruce are the kind of guys who give up easily.

“You two seem to be having a good chat,” Depp asked.

Bruce looked up, smiled, and said, "He said he and I are not in the same world. What does that mean?"

Bruce has witnessed many supernatural things, but he has never thought about parallel worlds or even other dimensions.

Therefore, he couldn't immediately believe Tony's words and instead chose to ask Depp.

Upon hearing this, Depp said, "Just like Tony said, he and we are not in the same time and space, but from another world."

Upon hearing this, Bruce, considering everything that had happened before, finally believed Tony's words.

"Is this why I can't find any information about Tony Stark or the Stark Industries?"

Depp said apologetically, "Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth before."

“That’s not important,” Bruce said expressionlessly. “When I was talking to that guy just now, he gave me a lot of inspiration.”

"Inspiration? In what way?" Depp asked.

Bruce said, "That guy wasn't hiding his superhero identity, was he?"

Chapter 234 Pu's Repayment

Ok?

Upon hearing Bruce's words, Depp immediately became alert.

"Yes, after Tony built the Iron Man armor and defeated his first major enemy, he personally admitted to being Iron Man at the company's press conference."

"Just as I thought!" Bruce said with a serious expression.