"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So I blew through millions of dollars without even realizing it…"
After hearing Tony's words, **Pichu** couldn't help but click his tongue, astonished inside.
More than three million dollars in just three months—rounding out at three million for simplicity.
If he converted that to yuan, even using a rough 1:6 exchange rate, that was 18 million RMB.
He'd never seen so much money in his life.
And yet, his **electric bill** for just three months had reached that staggering amount.
No wonder Nick Fury threw him at Tony with such urgency after barely a month. Turns out, Fury just wanted to save his own budget!
The top dog at S.H.I.E.L.D.—if he skimmed even a little from any operation, that would add up to a ton of money.
Pichu refused to believe Fury didn't have a "small" stash of his own.
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled in billions—sometimes tens of billions—a year in funding.
Yet just a few million in electricity bills, and Fury panicked?
Tsk, what a cheapskate.
Weren't they supposed to be "strategic partners," at least?
Shaking his head in silent scorn at Nick Fury's stinginess, **Pichu** typed out:
> "That much? You couldn't cover it even if you sold me off. Why don't you get that baldy to reimburse you? He's the one who dumped me here to eat you out of house and home."
Tony shot him a withering look.
"Who says I couldn't make it back selling you? If you'd let me study your body structure, I could probably pay you a hundred million in reward money. Ever think about it?"
At the end, Tony gave Pichu a sly, mischievous grin.
"You wish."
Pichu rolled his eyes.
He knew exactly how special a specimen he was.
In a world overflowing with black-tech, if he ever let some scientist get his DNA, who knew what kind of monster experiments they'd cook up?
The Banner situation was a classic example.
Banners tried to help eliminate the Hulk by giving Dr. Stern a drop of blood… resulting in Stern quietly copying endless samples for later.
"Alright, alright, just kidding."
Seeing Pichu roll his eyes, Tony grinned and rested his chin atop his hand thoughtfully.
"But honestly, this problem's gotta get solved.
I'm rich, but throwing millions at the electric company just feels… off. I need a win-win solution."
"Like what?" Pichu wondered.
"Well, for example—I could just build my own power plant."
Tony nodded like he found the answer.
"At the end of the day, I've already got an arc reactor. If I put together a generator powered by the arc reactor, the electricity output should be enough to keep you charged for ages."
"Hmm… that's an idea…"
Hearing this, **Pichu** nodded slightly.
The original name of the arc reactor was "plasma arc reactor"—a small, controlled nuclear fusion reactor that generated massive energy with almost zero pollution.
Just one arc reactor could power all of New York for a long time—months or even years, Pichu seemed to recall.
After Tony shut down Stark Industries' weapons robotics, he tried to move the company into clean energy based on arc reactor tech. Together with his reputation as Iron Man, the company's value soared well past its old peak.
If Tony used the arc reactor as a personal power source for Pichu, that really was the best case scenario.
Thinking of the arc reactor, **Pichu** mused to himself:
> "System, can I absorb energy directly from an arc reactor?"
**System:** "Not yet, Master. The basic arc reactor generates nuclear energy. Even though it converts that into electricity, it's still technically not pure electric energy. Only the *upgraded* arc reactor's energy comes close to the 'source energy' my system recognizes."
"Got it."
Pichu immediately understood.
The current arc reactor ran on palladium, fusing elements to create nuclear energy—but it didn't quite meet the 'original energy' threshold for the system.
With later upgrades, the arc reactor would swap to a new core element (Space Stone–level energy), and the resulting nuclear energy would finally cross that threshold.
As for why the system said "barely" source level?
Pichu could guess: after nuclear fusion, the Space Stone energy would be diminished, but the base energy level was so high that even after conversion, it still surpassed ordinary sources.
"So, another year or so and I won't have to sit around plugging into wall sockets. I can just carry an arc reactor around, absorb energy nonstop, and rack up evolution points 24/7."
The thought left Pichu in a great mood.
"Pichu, what are you daydreaming about?"
Tony's puzzled voice cut in—the guy had apparently noticed Pichu spacing out again.
This is *your* problem, Tony thought helplessly. Shouldn't you be the one worrying the most?
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