Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life...

Pepper Potts was overjoyed at Sherlock's return, and even a little bit expectant.

The reason is simple: Sherlock's return has solved the most troubling problem for Pepper Potts during this period: Justin Hammer!

Ever since Stark Industries started preparing for the so-called Stark Industries Show, Pepper Potts has been incredibly busy, and even Black Widow, who is nominally there to protect her, has been extremely busy.

But in this situation, Pepper Potts still had to find time to deal with Justin Hammer, this brilliant strategist, which really annoyed her.

If Justin Hammer, this brilliant strategist, were merely a foolish client who revised the plan countless times but ultimately insisted on using the first version, that would be one thing. The most crucial point is that Justin Hammer, this brilliant strategist, even had other ideas about Pepper Potts.

During their interactions, setting aside the repeated hints in his words that Pepper should abandon Tony and join Hammer Industries, the lecherous look in his eyes, coupled with his greasy actions and behavior, was enough to make Pepper feel physically uncomfortable.

If it weren't for the pride of her high position and the modesty of being a woman, Pepper Potts would probably have already rushed up and given Justin Hammer, that brilliant strategist, a whole set of Northeastern Chinese specialties.

Including but not limited to, tough local specialties such as Jiamusi Big Kick, Harbin Big Jump, Qiqihar Electric Cannon, Shuangyashan Whip Kick, Hegang Back Throw, Shenyang Flying Kick, Changchun KTV, Dalian Side Kick, Siping Heart Kick, and Northeast Big Neck Slippery Strike on the Back of the Head.

Now that Sherlock is back, Pepper Potts can easily pass the task of dealing with Justin Hammer to Sherlock. After all, it might be a bit of a hassle for Pepper to deliver the Northeastern specialties from the rabbit's side to that clever Justin Hammer, but it would be no problem for Sherlock to do it.

After all, Pepper Potts clearly saw Sherlock use those specialties to take down Tony and Happy in a one-on-two fight.

Most importantly, Sherlock doesn't have any issues with his identity or status yet!

That's why, when Pepper Potts saw Sherlock walk out of that pink Anywhere Door, her smile was absolutely radiant.

"Sherlock! You've finally... come back?"

Before Chili Pepper could finish speaking, she saw Doro following behind Sherlock. She froze on the spot, and even the joyful tone in her first sentence became stiff.

Just like a cassette tape, he stared wide-eyed at Doro behind Sherlock with an incredulous expression.

It's no wonder Pepper had that expression. Or rather, even when Sherlock took Doro to say goodbye to September and the others, those people weren't much better off than Pepper when they saw Doro's current state.

At this moment, Doro was wearing an expensive-looking dark blue Taoist robe, sitting cross-legged on his little cloud, assuming a posture with his five hearts facing the sky, holding a miniature duster in his arms, with a large halo behind his head, and his whole body radiating a faint golden light.

With such a solemn and dignified appearance, Doro somehow manages to give people a sense of holiness and nobility.

Putting everything else aside, just the way she exudes such a lofty and awe-inspiring aura is something Little Chili has only ever seen in the statues of deities in Taoist temples and monasteries on Rabbit's side.

But now, Doro, who is so cute and even has an art style like a two-dimensional body pillow, also has this art style? Little Chili felt her brain was starting to shrink a little. It was hard to imagine what Sherlock had gone through with Doro on the rabbit's side.

Especially for those familiar with Doro, the sight of the once adorable Doro now appearing so solemn and dignified is as impactful as seeing Anya, the queen of memes, transformed into Buddha.

Given Doro's current state, let alone holding him in her arms like before, Pepper felt that even getting too close to Doro would be a kind of blasphemy.

Pepper Potts, who was initially overjoyed at Sherlock's return and was even thinking of taking a Doro to relieve her recent fatigue, froze in place, unsure whether to move forward or not.

Finally, with her face flushed red from holding it in, Little Chili could only manage a very classic exclamation.

Oh my god!

Then, in a pleading manner, he turned his attention to Sherlock.

Sherlock could naturally see the confusion and plea for help in Pepper's eyes, but did Sherlock have any ideas? Sherlock had absolutely no ideas. Even Sherlock himself would want to offer incense and pray to Doro in that outfit. What could Sherlock possibly do?

Finally, under Pepper's watchful gaze, Sherlock could only silently pull a box from his four-dimensional pocket and take out three incense sticks from the box, handing them to Pepper.

???

Chili Pepper was completely bewildered. She took the incense stick that Sherlock handed her from his hand, and stared blankly at him, utterly confused about what he meant by this action.

Seeing that Pepper still looked confused, Sherlock's lips twitched as he explained to her.

"Why don't you offer incense to Doro whenever you feel like it? I can't speak for other places, but at least in the Rabbit region, if you sincerely pray to Doro, the effect will definitely be much better than that god you keep talking about."

Even here, Doro is more useful than the god you mentioned; at least Doro is still on Earth.

Little Chili: "???"

Sherlock's words successfully increased the number of question marks on Pepper's forehead, and even made her look at Sherlock with a hint of eeriness.

Is this a matter of her mother's faith? Are these even the same thing?

This was the first time Pepper had ever felt the same kind of madness Tony had when facing Sherlock.

Seeing that Pepper looked like she was about to go crazy, Sherlock decided to skip the topic of Doro and continue talking to Pepper.

“Sister Pepper, Tony knows you’ve been very busy lately. He’s been busy with his reactor, so he had to ask me to help out.”

Hearing Sherlock's words, Pepper finally snapped out of her daze. After taking a deep breath, she quietly placed the three incense sticks on her desk and asked Sherlock.

"Put the help aside for now. I just want to ask you, why did Doro end up like this?"

Chapter 156 The Grand Show Begins

Faced with Chili's questioning, Sherlock was at a loss for words. After all, the existence of September and the others should be kept secret, and Sherlock would not speak carelessly.

Sherlock could tell this from their first meeting. Even though Ao Lie was wearing a dragon head to greet everyone, neither Tony, Pepper, nor Black Widow showed any impropriety. Only Sherlock and Doro could see the true nature of September and Ao Lie.

In the end, Sherlock could only stammer that Doro had been raised by a powerful figure in the rabbit's world for a while, and that the powerful figure had taught Doro some things, which led to Doro becoming like this.

As for when Doro will be able to turn back, Sherlock really didn't know, but he told Pepper that she should be able to recover after a while.

Pepper looked at Sherlock with suspicion and once again snatched Doro's custody from him.

So much so that when Sherlock returned, the entire Stark Industries workforce was somewhat dazed.

After all these years of working, no one has ever seen their CEO always accompanied by an adorable deity statue, no matter where the CEO goes, the statue sitting on the clouds follows behind him, even during company meetings.

It was precisely because of this situation that Stark Industries employees once believed that Pepper Potts was some kind of chosen one, and there was even a strange trend of her developing in a religious direction.

Chili Pepper was both embarrassed and annoyed by this, to the point that Scarlett Johansson couldn't help but laugh every time she heard her employees plotting to set up an altar or something.

Faced with this bizarre situation, Chili Pepper was at a loss. After all, given Doro's current state, Chili Pepper really didn't dare to carry Doro around like before. She could only let Doro sit on her little cloud and follow behind her.

As for returning it to Sherlock? Don't even think about it!

Last time, Doro was turned into a 'tyrant' by that bastard Sherlock. This time, Sherlock took him to the rabbit's side, and in less than a month, he came back already 'ascended to the ranks of immortals'.

If this were handed over to Sherlock, it's hard to imagine what other strange states Doro would unlock.

As for Sherlock, just as Pepper Potts had originally planned, she directly handed over the brilliant Justin Hammer to Sherlock.

When faced with Justin Hammer's slight anger at not seeing Chili Pepper, Sherlock didn't hold back and immediately showered the clever man with a whole set of Northeastern specialties.

However, this "big smart guy" was clearly a weakling. Sherlock had only just gone through the process once, barely completing the last step of "a big neck punch to the back of the head," when the "big smart guy" scrambled away and ran away.

Surprisingly, after Sherlock's "thoughtful" face-to-face "warmth-giving" approach, Justin Hammer, who was originally acting like a colleague pressuring a client, actually became obedient.

Not only did they not make things difficult for the Stark Industries exhibition, but they even finalized the plan overnight, as if they were afraid that Sherlock would actually come knocking on their door to offer help.

This action truly impressed Sherlock, proving that the old saying was absolutely right.

Justin Hammer is just incredibly shameless and a real hothead, perfectly embodying the saying, "A sapling won't grow straight if it's not pruned, and a person won't grow up properly if they're not disciplined."

Without Justin Hammer's interference, the entire Stark Industries exhibition progressed at a breakneck pace, both in terms of engineering progress and the list of exhibitors.

In less than half a month, the opening date of the entire Stark Industrial Exhibition was set, and the entire park was set up. All that was left was to wait for the date to arrive.

When the industrial exhibition actually started, Sherlock, Pepper Potts, and Black Widow stood backstage and watched almost helplessly as Justin Hammer, that brilliant strategist, held a press conference for his unmanned mechanical soldiers on his own booth.

Well, Sherlock originally thought Justin Hammer was just a brilliant but unlucky guy, but after witnessing his press conference, he realized that Hammer was nothing more than a pitiful man driven mad by Sherlock himself.

The reason why Justin, this brilliant strategist, sees Tony as a thorn in his side is quite simple: the two are simply too compatible. Originally, they were both unscrupulous businessmen, so it was fine for him to be the boss and I to be the second-in-command. But then he transformed into a hero admired by everyone.

On what grounds? Just because of the armor you're wearing, which is made with technology far beyond what is currently available?

It's no exaggeration to say that this brilliant strategist is a pure businessman version of Tony.

So much so that Justin's so-called press conference actually exuded Tony Stark's style from beginning to end, extremely glamorous.

Justin, on stage, acted like a winner in life, fully displaying his performative personality and desire to show off, even belittling Tony's Iron Man armor to the point of being worthless.

However, there is always a reason why someone is pitiful. What Justin still doesn't understand is that Tony is recognized by the public because of the sense of responsibility hidden under his armor, not because of the armor itself.

Even without his armor, Tony is still Iron Man, something that Justin can't compare to by creating some kind of unmanned mechanical warrior.

Without that sense of responsibility, even if you, Justin, were to rise to the heavens and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun, you would still be nothing more than a businessman.

That's why, when Tony, dressed in his armor, crashed through the stage roof and descended from the sky, Justin's popularity was almost instantly stolen by Tony's sudden appearance.

Even the Iron Patriot standing behind him, making his first appearance, couldn't salvage the attention that Tony had stolen.

All the boasts about how it completely surpassed Tony's armor turned into a resounding slap across Justin Hammer's face amidst the frenzied cheers of the crowd after Tony appeared.

So much so that when Justin, whose limelight had been stolen, looked at Tony's armored figure from behind, his expression began to twist.

What drove Justin even more infuriating was that shortly after Tony appeared, the land, sea, and air combat robots, originally intended to completely surpass Tony Stark Industries, were activated simultaneously, with almost all of their weapons aimed at Tony on the stage.

It wasn't just the Iron Soldiers; even the Iron Patriots they created immediately turned their weapons on Tony.

When the flashes from the mechanical soldiers' weapons illuminated Hammer's face, when Hammer despairingly discovered that the remote control in his hand was completely ineffective in controlling the riot on stage, when Hammer dialed Ivan Vanko's number only to be met with Ivan Vanko's mockery.

This pathetic 'imitator' who sees Tony as a thorn in his side knows that he and his Hammer Corporation are finished! Both the public and the military will regard this project, which he has spent a lot of effort and money to build and surpass Tony, as a ridiculous joke!

Chapter 157 The Right Nickname

Although Tony is currently fighting against multiple opponents and feels like he's being ganged up on, Sherlock is actually not worried about Tony's safety.

Tony's armor was several generations ahead of those so-called mechanical soldiers, and even the 'Iron Patriot' designed by Tony was more than a generation behind Tony. In addition, with Justin Hammer's deliberate neglect, Tony's side could at most be considered 'more dangerous than they appeared'.

Compared to Tony's side, Pepper's side is undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Putting aside the fact that Pepper Potts is Tony's safety valve, the fact that Pepper has no armor protection and that a single bullet could kill her is enough to make Sherlock dare not leave her side for even a moment.

Fortunately, Ivan Vanko seems to have forgotten or something, and the main focus of hatred is on Tony, with none of the Iron Soldiers paying any attention to Pepper.

But there's a reason why Pepper is called Pepper. When she was being "ganged up on" by Tony, Pepper didn't know if it was out of concern for Tony or anger at Justin Hammer, that brilliant strategist, for ruining the industrial exhibition she had been preparing for so long.

Pepper Potts, under the protection of Dorothy, Black Widow, Sherlock, and Happy, managed to break through the Stark Industries backstage area and race towards the Hammer Industries backstage area through sheer willpower.

She was even wearing high heels that were extremely difficult to move in the entire process, and she was so fast that her four 'bodyguards' didn't even have time to react.

Once Sherlock and the others realized what was happening, they naturally wouldn't let Pepper Potts be exposed to danger, and they quickly chased after her towards the back of the Hammer Corporation.

However, once Sherlock and his companions entered the backstage area of ​​the Hammer Corporation, they were still stunned by Pepper Potts' ruthlessness and shrewishness.

Backstage at the Hammer Corporation, Justin Hammer was yelling at two programmers operating computers.

"I don't care what method you use, I'll stop those damn robots! If that doesn't work, just blow those damn things up, as long as this damn riot ends!"

Faced with Justin Hammer's roar, the two programmers operating the computer were sweating profusely, their hands frantically typing on the keyboard.

But before Justin Hammer could finish speaking, Pepper Potts rushed in. When she heard that Justin Hammer wanted to have the robots self-destruct to solve the problem, her eyes were practically blazing with rage.

The sound of Pepper Potts' high heels as she burst in also caught Justin Hammer's attention, and he forced a smile through his flustered expression.

“Pepper, you’re here…”

Before Justin Hammer could finish speaking, Pepper Potts grabbed him by the collar and swung her other hand so wide it was like a giant electric cannon shot, hitting Justin Hammer directly in the eye.

Almost instantly, Justin Hammer's glasses flew off his face, his eyes turned bruised, and he was even pulled backward a step by the immense force of Pepper Potts's fury.

Pepper Potts clearly wasn't going to let Justin Hammer off the hook. Seeing him stumble and lose his balance, Pepper Potts went up almost without hesitation and delivered a high-heeled kick to his heart.

With that kick, Justin Hammer almost couldn't catch his breath, as Pepper Potts kicked him to the ground.

However, before Justin Hammer, the brilliant strategist, could even get up, Pepper Potts lunged forward and stomped on his crotch with a War Stomp.

Click.

Just one centimeter, that one centimeter difference, and the US would have a new eunuch nearly a hundred years after the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

Almost instantly, Justin Hammer's clothes were soaked with cold sweat. No, not only Justin Hammer, the brilliant strategist, but even Sherlock and Happy, who arrived later, as well as the two programmers who witnessed the whole thing, were covered in goosebumps.

Almost all the men present subconsciously squeezed their legs together.

Pepper ignored the fearful looks the men were giving her, staring intently at Justin Hammer, who was sitting on the ground covered in sweat, and asked him in a cold and murderous tone.

"Tell me how to stop those damn broken toys of yours."

"I...I...I've been trying my best. This isn't something I can just stop doing whenever I want. Give me some time, I need time!"

Startled by Pepper Potts' tone, Justin Hammer could only stammer a reply. Clearly, Pepper Potts was very dissatisfied with his answer.

Pepper Potts' eyes turned colder than ever as she looked at Justin Hammer, who was still fantasizing about resolving the incident. She turned around and pulled a pistol from the waist of a security guard not far away.

It wasn't pointed at Justin Hammer's head because Pepper knew she wouldn't dare kill anyone, and Justin Hammer also knew Pepper really wouldn't shoot herself in the head.

So after Pepper Potts got the gun, she pointed it at Justin Hammer's crotch.

Almost instantly, Justin Hammer was terrified. After all, a hit to the head or body could really kill him, but a hit to the groin would at most turn him into a eunuch.

"Pepper... calm down, calm down! I... I'm really thinking of a solution! You... you... trust me!"