'This guy really plans to build an energy projection device, huh?' Seeing this, Tohka could only silently complain in her heart.
So, it could work like that after all. But she didn't refuse—after all, if you eat someone's food or take their stuff, you can't turn them down so easily.
So, without waiting for Tony to say anything more, Tohka walked up to the machine, placed her hand on the "USB" port, and then a massive stream of energy surged from her body into the machine.
Immediately, the entire machine activated, and Tohka could see the particles inside spinning wildly.
She was shocked—was Tony even human? He could make something like this?
As she continued feeding in her energy, the entire room became brighter and brighter.
The machine in front of her was overflowing with her energy, spinning like crazy. At the same time, Doctor Octopus, who was resting upstairs in Tony's villa, was startled.
After last night's incident, he'd become extremely sensitive to energy.
But Tony hadn't granted him access to the basement.
If he forced his way in, he might trigger an attack from Iron Man's suits. And without his tentacles now, he'd be shredded even if he survived. So all he could do was pace anxiously, unable to do anything.
"Stop! It's going to explode!" Tony, who had been proudly admiring his creation, suddenly noticed a problem. Tohka wasn't stopping—at all—and the energy tank was about to reach capacity.
Only now did Tony remember Tohka's typically unreliable personality.
He didn't dare gloat anymore and urgently shouted for her to stop.
This thing might not be as dangerous as last night's disaster, but it was enough to blow him and the HIS entire villa sky-high.
Knowing how overwhelming Tohka's energy could be, he wasn't even sure his armor could hold up.
"Okay."
Tohka, who had been zoning out while staring at the machine, snapped back when she heard Tony's voice.
She stopped injecting energy and then realized—somehow while spacing out, she had completely filled the device. At the same time, upstairs, Doctor Octopus also relaxed as the overwhelming energy finally stabilized.
"Is a monster or something? That much energy and not even a hint of strain she..." Tony had seen Tohka's face, and he was beyond frustrated.
Every time he'd asked her for energy before, she just casually gave him some.
It was never lacking—but it made Tony feel a bit humiliated. He had built this massive system to impress her, hoping to surprise her—
Yet she casually filled it up while zoning out. No fatigue, no reaction—just completely calm.
"Well, not bad. The energy is very stable.
So far, there's no sign of it going berserk."
Despite his frustration, Tony immediately began checking the device.
To his surprise, Tohka's energy was incredibly stable—far more so than he expected.
"All done. It's fully charged now."
Hearing Tony's analysis, Tohka nodded. But she also discovered something odd—
The energy she had injected into the machine was still under her control. That meant if she wanted it to explode—she could make that happen.
Of course, she didn't say this aloud.
Previously, when she gave Tony energy, it was "dead" stored power.
But this time, due to Tony's machine design, it became "living" energy—still connected to her.
"Excellent. Now I can continue my research. Though it's obvious I'm still way behind you. Damn, I really wanted to try that firepower overload from last night."
Tony sighed. He now knew there was no catching up to Tohka. This machine was already maxed out in capacity—he literally couldn't build one any bigger.
Some of the internal materials were things he found in his company's warehouse, possibly from meteorites that had landed on Earth decades ago. There was no way to get more.
"Okay, I'm leaving."
Once Tony confirmed everything was stable, Tohka didn't feel like hanging around anymore. After all, the energy she used was just basic spirit power—it hadn't cost her anything significant.
So, she wasn't interested in sticking around. Besides, Miku Izayoi was still at her house. She didn't want to spend more time with middle-aged Tony than necessary.
"Hey, hey, you're just leaving?" Tony opened his mouth but couldn't stop her.
Couldn't she let him have even a little satisfaction? He'd spent so much time researching this—
Used up so many precious materials, possibly the only ones of their kind on Earth. And now she just walked away like it was nothing. Tony was emotionally devastated.
"You're back! Let's go out for a walk. This time, let me buy you a new outfit—how's that sound?"
Back home, Tohka was greeted by Miku Izayoi, who was just about to head out.
Seeing Tohka fly back, she enthusiastically invited her. After all, she had been eating and living off Tohka for a while now.
Tohka never said anything about it, but Miku, being proud as she was, couldn't stand freeloading forever. She didn't have money before, but last night's concert had brought in quite a lot of income.
"Um… uh…" Hearing her invitation, Tohka instinctively took a step back. She suddenly remembered their last shopping trip in San Francisco—
It had nearly left her crawling out on her hands and knees.
"Now, now, Tohka… You absolutely must not refuse. Otherwise, some very bad things might happen, you know?"
Seeing Tohka's hesitation, Miku Izayoi narrowed her big eyes and smiled sweetly at her. But something about her tone felt… ominous.
"Got it. Let's go right now."
Seeing that expression, Tohka instinctively broke into a cold sweat. In the end, she forced a smile and agreed obediently. She had a strong feeling that if she didn't, Miku might just pull a knife out from who-knows-where.