Tony laughed when he heard that.
His face, which always showed confidence and arrogance, now had a sincere smile.
He knew that he had made the right bet.
He walked back to the table and sat down opposite Shuri without any hesitation, as if he were the master of the place.
"Look."
He spread his hands, winked at Shuri, and his tone returned to his arrogant tone.
"I told you, doing business with smart people is so simple and efficient. Unlike my brother, who only knows how to solve problems with his fists, if he came, I guess he would just tear down your building, move the vibranium mine back home, and extort money from you for mental damages." Shuri was amused by his words. She found that she was beginning to acknowledge this arrogant creator of the future.
"Really? Mr. Stark," she retorted without hesitation.
"My brother is the same. If he knew I was discussing cooperation with a former arms dealer, I bet he would just put on his Black Panther Armor and tear your tin can into pieces."
"Hey! I have to correct you, Princess." Tony retorted immediately.
"First of all, I've retired from the arms trade. I'm now a billionaire dedicated to world peace and a part-time superhero. Secondly, I'm not a tin can; I'm a walking work of art. Lastly, and most importantly..."
He paused, then said in a boastful tone, "I don't know what your brother's Armor does, but from what you said, you can't fly with just a Black Cat Sheriff uniform."
Shuri:"..."
She found that arguing with this man was a very brain-consuming task.
"All right."
She gave up arguing about this frivolous issue.
"Since we have reached a preliminary cooperation intention, then, Mr. Stark, can we discuss the specific details of the cooperation?"
"Of course."
Tony snapped his fingers, and a security guard behind him immediately handed a tablet computer respectfully to him.
"This is our Stark Industries' preliminary cooperation plan on sharing Ark reactor energy technology and purchasing vibranium resources." He pushed the tablet in front of Shuri.
"You can take a look at it first. Of course, if you feel that any of the terms are unreasonable, we can always have a 'friendly' discussion."
Over the next few hours, the reception room became a battlefield of heated negotiations.
Tony and Shuri, two geniuses representing the most advanced technology on earth, engaged in fierce confrontation over every detail of the cooperation.
Sometimes they were like two merchants bargaining in the market, arguing fiercely over a fraction of 0.1%.
Sometimes they are like two rivals, lost in thought together over a complex technical problem.
Okoye, who was standing by, was speechless as he watched the scene.
She just felt that her heart could no longer bear it.
She found that she seemed to have no idea what they were saying.
In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the whole of New York golden.
Tony Stark whistled and walked briskly out of the gate of the Wakanda International Expansion Centre.
His face was filled with smugness and the expression of "I am the winner".
After five hours of negotiations, he finally reached a cooperation agreement with the difficult genius princess that satisfied both him and Wakanda.
Not only did he obtain stable purchasing rights for vibranium, but he also successfully promoted Stark Industries' clean energy technology to the mysterious African kingdom.
Most importantly, he also successfully tricked the princess into giving him a technical license for the Kimoyo Pearl.
Although he didn't know what this thing was, he still hadn't gotten it yet.
But that's his victory, isn't it?
"I gotta say, Jarvis." He got into the Bugatti Veyron, started the engine, and showed off proudly.
"I'm a genius at business negotiations. Did you see that? I tricked that little princess into almost giving me the throne of her country."
"Sir, according to my data records, you have given up a total of 5% of your core interests in this negotiation, and you also gave away an additional patent for artificial intelligence technology." Jarvis exposed his lie.
Tony's expression stiffened.
"Hey! What do you know, an old electronics expert?" He immediately retorted, trying to restore his dignity.
"That's not a concession! That's a strategic compromise! It's a necessary sacrifice to establish a long-term, stable partnership! That's the art of business! Do you understand?!"
" Yes, sir." Jarvis' voice still sounded calm.
Tony felt like he had punched cotton. He curled his lips and then forced himself to change the subject.
"Forget it. I won't bother with you, a guy with no business sense," he said.
"Where's that bastard Henry? Is he still floating in the sky? Hasn't he finished his damn sunbathing yet?"
"Yes, sir," Jarvis replied.
"According to real-time satellite monitoring, Mr. Henry is still in low-Earth orbit, his vital signs are stable, and his cellular energy reserves have reached a higher level."
"Really?" Tony heard this; a gloating are appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"That's amazing. It looks like he'll soon be turning into a glowing balloon due to excess energy. Then I might be able to tie him to the roof of Stark Tower and use him as the largest billboard in the world."
He was bickering with Jarvis while driving through Los Angeles' evening rush hour traffic.
When he returned to his Malibu villa, he didn't immediately go to the wine cabinet to pour himself a glass as usual.
He walked straight into the underground laboratory.
The laboratory was empty and seemed a little deserted.
Tony looked at the holographic screen that was still broadcasting Henry's sleeping posture in space. His heart, which had been a little dizzy due to the successful deal, suddenly calmed down for some reason.
He knew that the reason he was trying so hard to negotiate with Wakanda was to develop technologies that could change the world.
It's not just to prove that I'm better than that guy, Henry.
It's also because...
He wanted to protect him.
He wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the bastard who always liked to take on everything alone.
He wanted him to know that his brother wasn't just a useless person who would follow him around and enjoy the peace and tranquillity he brought.
"Jarvis," he suddenly said, his voice a little hoarse.
"Yes, sir."
"Optimize the base plan further," he said.
"Raise the security level to the highest level. Replace all the facilities inside with the best. I don't want that guy Henry to come back and see Banner and his men living in a place even shabbier than our guest room."
"Yes, sir."
"Besides."
Tony paused, then slowly walked to the nano Armor model.
"Get ready, we need to double the speed of all Armor development."
"I can't wait any longer."
×××××××××××××××
2 chapters will be uploaded on daily basis i.e. 14 Chapters will be uploaded every week apart from the bonus chapters.
1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded for every 50 Power Stones or 1000 Collections.
All interested readers can read advanced chapters on:
[email protected]/Heroicverse