Ron, are you intentionally trying to provoke me? I kindly invited you to the opening ceremony of the Cheese Daily, so why would you release such things?!"
Tony walked up to Ron, and the first thing he did was block the projector on Peter's shoulder with his hand, then he turned around and angrily said to Ron.
"Uh, don't you think that's cool? The clash between steel and steel is simply a manifestation of Earth entering the high-tech era, Mr. Stark, oh no, Mr. Tin Man, what do you think?"
Ron chuckled with a mischievous expression and then said to Tony.
"This is my territory, and you're broadcasting someone else's image without permission. This is already a crime, Ron, I can totally take you to court!"
Ron used a long and strange word; 'Tin Man' here refers to a person made of scrap metal, implying that Tony Stark is not human at all. So, when Tony heard the meaning of 'Tin Man,' he became even more furious, pointing at Ron and speaking in a threatening tone.
Ron shrugged, looking indifferent: "Bring it on, my Daily Bugle has dozens of lawyers who happen to have nothing to do lately. A lawsuit wouldn't be bad, it'll keep them from being idle."
Tony was clearly not someone to be trifled with. Seeing that Ron wasn't giving him any leeway, he immediately said, "My Stark Industries also has a legal team of over a hundred lawyers, who's afraid of whom?!"
"Not bad, Mr. Tin Man, I admire you." Ron smiled, then said to Jessica, who was beside him, "Jessica, call Tina and tell her to prepare the legal team to sue Tony Stark."
"Oh… okay, boss." Hearing Ron's words, Jessica's sparkling eyes moved away from Tony, and she took out her phone, ready to make a call.
"…" Tony patted his head, then sighed helplessly and said to Ron, "Alright, I'm scared of you, okay? I invited you here today for something else. After the celebration, let's have a good chat, okay?"
"Something else?" Seeing Tony compromise, Ron no longer had any intention of arguing with him. He said to Peter, "Alright, Peter, turn off the projector. Enjoy the celebration; there's a lot of good food here."
As for the other matter Tony mentioned, Ron observed Tony's physical condition for a moment and roughly understood what Tony was referring to.
Tony's body was poisoned. The arc reactor in his chest—no, it should be called the Arc Reactor now—the palladium element within the Arc Reactor had caused Tony's body to suffer from palladium poisoning. Although it was still very slight, Tony had already discovered it. He came to him, probably for this very reason.
Sure enough, after Tony returned and finished his speech for the opening of the Cheese Daily, he came to find Ron, found a secluded spot, and spoke to Ron seriously.
"Ron, I'm just running the Cheese Daily for fun, not to compete with your Daily Bugle. I invited you here this time because I wanted to ask you a very serious question."
"What is it?" Seeing Tony's serious demeanor, Ron didn't argue with him this time but prepared to listen to him.
"I want to ask you…" Tony's expression changed from serious to conflicted. He struggled for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Ron, I want to know, is the reason you've always opposed me because you like Pepper? Is it because of Pepper that you've always opposed me, wanting to snatch Pepper away?"
"???" Ron was a bit stunned. Weren't you supposed to talk about your poisoning? How did it get dragged back to Pepper, and even claiming I like Pepper? How is that even possible?
Ron realized that without mental probing, just guessing, he really couldn't predict what others would do next with 100% accuracy, just like this strange guy, Tony Stark.
Ron knew he couldn't let Tony truly misunderstand, so he quickly explained, "Mr. Tony Stark! I truly have no interest in Miss Pepper, honestly, I…"
"Are you gay then?" Tony stepped back, looking at Ron: "I have no prejudice against homosexuals, but Ron, I need to tell you, I'm straight. You won't have a chance, understand?"
"MMP!" Now it was Ron's turn to get angry. He cursed, then loudly said, "I'm not gay, damn it! The reason I'm against you is precisely because I'm interested in Miss Pepper, how about that?!"
"That's fine…" Tony seemed to smile as if his trick had succeeded, but then his expression became conflicted again: "Ron, you can pursue Pepper. If you can truly win Pepper over, and Pepper agrees, I won't object to you two. I wish you happiness."
"…" Ron didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He finally understood what Tony was thinking. This guy must have known he was poisoned and wanted to start making arrangements for his affairs.
But even if you have palladium poisoning, you could still live for another half a year, right? How long has it been, and you're already thinking about making arrangements? That's too pessimistic, isn't it?
Anyway, Ron couldn't stand Tony's misunderstanding anymore. He directly said, "Alright, Tony Stark, I know. You must have been afflicted with an incurable poison, which is why you're acting this way, right? I'm telling you, I have a way to cure you. Please stop trying to force Miss Pepper on me, okay?"
"How did you know I was poisoned?" Tony became wary. Only he and Jarvis knew about his palladium poisoning; he hadn't even told Pepper. How did this guy Ron know?
Could Ron have installed some monitoring device on him that even he couldn't detect?
Or, could Ron actually be a mutant with amazing telepathic abilities, able to know what he was thinking?
Regardless of the outcome, it wasn't what Tony wanted to see. So, in an instant, he regarded Ron as an enemy, ready to run out and put on his Mark IV suit to protect himself.
"Alright, do you remember who I am? I'm a doctor in biochemistry, with an official title and medal from Empire State University. I've experimented on countless animals. I just carefully observed your complexion and knew you must be poisoned, which is why I asked you, understood?"
Seeing Tony's cautious look, Ron explained.
"Oh, so that's it…" Although still a bit unconvinced, Tony's guard had noticeably lowered.
Ron was right; as a researcher of regeneration agents, Ron certainly wouldn't lack research in biochemistry. It wasn't particularly strange that he could tell he was poisoned.
Since he had already been discovered, Tony hesitated for a moment, but finally told Ron about his poisoning.
"I'm poisoned with palladium…"
Tony said, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the Arc Reactor on his chest, and continued, "When I was kidnapped by the Ten Rings a few months ago, many missile fragments entered my heart. Now I can only rely on this Arc Reactor in my chest, which can attract those fragments, to prolong my life."
"But while the Arc Reactor is prolonging my life, the palladium element inside it is also eroding my body. If I keep using it, I'll die of palladium poisoning in less than half a year. So, to ensure Pepper has a good future, I thought of you. If you're not gay, then you must be interested in Pepper…"
"That serious?" Ron feigned surprise, then he mimicked Tony from before, stepping back: "While that sounds quite alarming, what I want to say is, can you please cover yourself back up? Otherwise, I'll suspect you're gay, understood?"
"Alright…" Tony covered himself back up, his previously heavy mood lightening somewhat.
Ever since he learned about his palladium poisoning, he felt his future life had become bleak. He actually knew that if he didn't continue to use the Iron Man suit, he could still live for a long time even with the poisoning.
But having already experienced the powerful strength of the Iron Man suit, how could he not use it? Not to mention not using it, he was now using it even more and had developed more models of the Iron Man suit. It was like an addiction; he simply couldn't stop.
As a mortal who hadn't experienced the immense power of the Iron Man suit, how could Ron understand his feelings?