New York
Top floor of Stark Tower
Tony Stark swirled his wine glass, the amber liquid shimmering under the light.
He narrowed his eyes, sizing up the young man before him, a mocking curve on his lips.
"Let me guess," Tony drawled,
"Are you a scientist who escaped from some lab? Or S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest consultant?"
Xiao Han did not get angry, merely gazed at him calmly.
"I want 5% of Stark Industries' shares." (The protagonist doesn't care about money; this isn't important and won't be described much later.)
Tony scoffed, "Look at this, Jarvis, our unworldly guest. He has more advanced technology, yet he's staring at the shares in my hand."
"I don't need money," Xiao Han said indifferently.
"What I need are resources, channels, and legal status. In exchange, I can guarantee that you will never be in any life-threatening danger again in your lifetime."
Tony put down his wine glass, spread his hands, and said in an exaggerated tone, "Wow, what a touching deal! Unfortunately, I, Tony Stark, don't need anyone's protection."
Xiao Han sighed softly.
"It seems you need to see it with your own eyes."
Tony's smartwatch suddenly flashed red light.
"Detecting abnormal energy fluctuations!"
The next second, Xiao Han's eyes glowed with a fiery golden light.
Zzz! Boom!!!
Two beams of Heat Vision instantly pierced through Stark Tower's bulletproof glass, accurately hitting a distant abandoned factory.
Rumble!!!
A huge explosion sound came, and a building in the industrial area turned into a sea of fire in the high temperature.
Tony suddenly stood up, his pupils constricting.
"Jarvis! Energy readings!"
"Sir, the temperature of the beam just now reached 5500 degrees Celsius, equivalent to the surface of the Sun."
Tony's breathing quickened slightly, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.
"Nice trick, a laser weapon? Or some kind of energy projection device?"
Xiao Han did not answer, but slowly floated off the ground, his black suit gently fluttering in the windless environment.
Tony's expression finally changed.
"Anti-gravity technology?"
Xiao Han smiled slightly.
"No, it's pure power."
Before Tony could react, Xiao Han instantly appeared in front of him and grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait, what are you doing..."
Bang!!!
A sonic boom cloud exploded, and the two shot up into the sky at a speed beyond human visual perception!
0.5 seconds later
Tony's eardrums were almost torn by the pressure difference. He gasped frantically, finding himself standing on.
Earth orbit.
In the dark Universe, the blue Planet slowly rotated beneath their feet.
"Wait, I'm going to die..." Stark's face immediately turned pale.
Xiao Han glanced at him, raised his hand, and a layer of golden force field enveloped Tony.
Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, Iron Man.
At this moment, he stared blankly at the scene before him like a child.
"This is impossible..." he murmured.
Xiao Han's voice calmly sounded in his ear:
"Now, do you still think I'm talking nonsense?"
Tony stiffly turned his head to look at the man who had effortlessly taken him through the atmosphere. He no longer questioned why he could speak in space.
"Who exactly are You?"
Xiao Han's clothes fluttered in the vacuum without wind, and the sunlight formed a brilliant halo behind him.
"Haven't You already guessed?"
Tony's throat bobbed, and he struggled to utter the name.
"Superman?"
Xiao Han shrugged.
"Correct guess, but no prize."
Back in Stark Tower, Tony slumped onto the sofa, his fingers trembling slightly.
As a top scientist, he knew exactly what this meant.
Breaking through the atmosphere and withstanding re-entry temperatures are realms that human technology has not yet reached.
"Are You really Superman?" Tony's voice was dry.
Xiao Han's gaze deepened: "Probably. You can call me Superman."
"Like in the comics? Kryptonian? Power granted by a yellow Sun?" Tony subconsciously began to analyze.
Xiao Han smiled slightly: "More or less. But my story is much more complicated."
Tony suddenly seized on the key point: "Wait, why did You say the deal was for Stark Industries' shares? With your abilities, You could completely..."
"Because I don't want to rule the World, Tony," Xiao Han interrupted him.
"I need a legal identity, a platform I can operate from. And You are the most suitable person."
"5% of the shares, in exchange for You never having to worry about being kidnapped, assassinated, or troubled by any threats."
Tony was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked up, his eyes no longer arrogant, but filled with a complex look.
"Deal."
For the next half hour, Tony was like an eager student, constantly asking various questions.
Xiao Han patiently answered some, cleverly avoiding others.
"So You can hear everything on Earth? See through walls?" Tony suddenly thought of something, and his face became strange.
"Then aren't You..."
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in other people's privacy," Xiao Han said helplessly.
Tony walked to the bar, poured himself a drink, and downed it. The alcohol calmed him down slightly.
"5% of the shares..." he muttered to himself, "The board will go crazy."
"You can say I represent some offshore fund," Xiao Han suggested, "Or just say it's your private decision."
Tony suddenly showed his signature sly smile: "How about this, You help me solve a small problem first, to prove your sincerity?"
Xiao Han had expected this step, but he wasn't going to do it himself: "The reactor in your chest is poisoning You."
Tony subconsciously touched the Arc Reactor on his chest: "That's right. But I've tried every element on the periodic table."
"The World's Fair model your father left behind," Xiao Han said softly, "The answer is there."
Tony suddenly looked up, shock flashing in his eyes: "How do You know..."
"Trust me, go check that model," Xiao Han stood up. "I'll be back at this time tomorrow. We can discuss the shares in detail then."
Before Tony could respond, Xiao Han's figure had vanished into the night sky, leaving only the gently swaying curtains.
Tony stood in a daze for a long time, then suddenly said to the empty room: "Jarvis, pull up all the information on the 1974 Stark World's Fair."
"It's ready, Sir," the AI responded. "Shall I contact Miss Pepper now?"
Tony shook his head, a long-unseen look of excitement on his face: "No, prepare the car for me first. I'm going to the warehouse."
While Tony was driving to the warehouse, the alarm had already been raised at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
Nick Fury stared at the figure breaking through the atmosphere on the satellite feed, a dangerous light flashing in his single eye.
"Find him," Fury told Black Widow on the other end of the screen, "Before anyone else does."
And in a certain dark conference room, Alexander Pierce was looking at the same footage.
"Winter Soldier program is temporarily suspended," he ordered into the phone. "We need to re-evaluate this guy's threat level."
In the night sky, Xiao Han hovered above the clouds, his super hearing catching every conversation related to him on Earth.
He knew he had caused a stir, but this was exactly what he wanted.
"The game has begun," he whispered, his figure merging into the brilliant star river.
Towards further away, towards the Sun he flew.