Leaving aside its function, is its appearance really that different from a light bulb?"
Harvey said with a smile, seeing Tony Stark looking anxious enough to stomp his foot.
"'Leaving aside its function' indeed…"
Tony Stark was amused and annoyed by Harvey's attitude of 'leaving aside the facts.' He had wanted to explain the Ark Reactor's capabilities to Harvey in detail.
But soon, he realized that Harvey Anberaka was just using such words intentionally to keep him from being so negative.
"Although your words aren't very pleasant, thank you anyway."
So, realizing this, Tony Stark also offered a word of thanks.
"And you're right, this Ark Reactor has put some burden on my body."
"I've tried to replace some elements, but I haven't found a suitable substitute yet."
Immediately, Tony Stark pulled open his shirt, exposing the Ark Reactor on his chest, and said with some helplessness on his face.
Although the palladium had not yet caused any problems for his body, nor would it affect him.
However, he knew that if he continued to use the current Ark Reactor, palladium poisoning would kill him before long.
"Besides finding a substitute element, there's another way to restore your body to normal and prolong your life."
Harvey's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he spoke.
"If you're going to talk about removing the shrapnel from my heart and not using the Iron Man Armor anymore, then don't bother."
"Knowing there are external threats, without the Iron Man Armor, I'd be no different from sitting around waiting to die."
Tony Stark waved his hand and said directly when he heard this.
If Rhodes had agreed to be the Iron Man Armor pilot before, and he hadn't experienced the power and feeling of piloting the Iron Man Armor.
Then, even without anyone else telling him, he would have found a reliable Doctor to perform surgery to remove the shrapnel.
But he had already experienced the Iron Man Armor, and he also knew that Blue Star's future would hold many dangers.
How could he be content to be just an ordinary person, even if that ordinary person was very rich?
But Tony Stark knew that when a true crisis arrived, money was not omnipotent.
"Of course, I wouldn't suggest something as low-level as having surgery and never using the Iron Man Armor again."
"But since you don't want to hear it, just pretend I didn't say anything."
Harvey also decided not to speak further upon hearing this.
"Not surgery… then what method?"
Tony Stark looked at Harvey Anberaka with a puzzled expression upon hearing this.
"Let's talk about your masterpiece, the Iron Man Armor."
"Your original intention in calling me over must have been to show off your technological achievements, right?"
Harvey ignored Tony Stark's question and walked with interest to a suit of armor.
"…"
Tony Stark looked at Harvey Anberaka, who clearly didn't want to discuss that matter anymore, feeling some regret.
Harvey Anberaka was incredibly mysterious, seemingly knowing countless things; since he said there was a way, it must be extraordinary.
Yet he had just presumptuously missed the opportunity to know.
"Let's not talk about the armor for now, how about we continue our previous topic?"
Tony Stark struggled internally for a moment, wanting to steer the conversation back to how to deal with the palladium that was poisoning him, his tone carrying a hint of negotiation and pleading.
"Fine, I'll help you this once. Hold out your hand."
Harvey turned and glanced at Tony Stark, feigned contemplation for a moment, and then spoke.
"Does this have anything to do with solving my physical problems?"
Tony Stark extended his hand while asking.
"Based on my estimation, you'll be unconscious for a minute or two. It'll be over quickly."
Harvey held Tony Stark's hand with his left hand and gave a reminder.
Tony Stark heard that he would be unconscious for a minute or two, and before he could react or say anything, his vision went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.
Afterward, Harvey's left hand transmitted some life energy to maintain Tony Stark's vital signs.
At the same time, Harvey's index finger lightly sliced open the skin on Tony Stark's chest.
Tony Stark's heart was exposed. Ordinary people might feel uncomfortable suddenly seeing a living heart and other internal organs.
However, Harvey's eyes showed no change upon seeing this bloody scene; instead, he focused his attention.
The blood vessels and everything else encased within Tony Stark's body were incredibly clear in his eyes.
The Void Power condensed on Harvey's right hand glowed purple, transforming into countless thin, silken threads that penetrated Tony Stark's body, extracting the remaining shrapnel.
Subsequently, under the infusion of life energy provided by Harvey, some subtle injuries within Tony Stark's body, as well as the cut on his skin, healed at a visible rate.
Harvey laid Tony Stark flat on the ground, placing the extracted shrapnel directly on a nearby table.
Tearing open the chest, removing the shrapnel, and healing—all of this happened within ten seconds.
And with the infusion of life energy, in less than two minutes, Tony Stark regained consciousness.
Tony Stark felt as if his vision had just gone black for a moment, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw the ceiling.
Tony Stark immediately got up, and strangely, he did so effortlessly, standing up with ease.
Moreover, his eyesight seemed to have improved, and not only that, the faint stinging sensation that had always bothered his chest, and the headaches that had persistently troubled him, were now gone, replaced by a feeling of complete clarity and lightness.
It made Tony Stark feel as if his body had been completely healed.
Tony Stark was no longer young, already thirty-eight years old, with no major health issues.
However, as one ages, various senses and bodily functions naturally decline; for instance, minor aches like feeling sore in certain parts of the body were common small ailments.
But now, those subtle aches he frequently felt had completely vanished.
"What is the principle behind this?"
Tony Stark looked at Harvey Anberaka, asking with incomprehension.
"You don't need to worry about the principle."
"I've helped you remove the shrapnel from your body, and I've also completely cleared the palladium poisoning from your system."
"This will give you more time to find a substitute element."
Harvey had no intention of explaining, merely stating simply what he had done.
He possessed the ability to absorb life energy from living beings to heal himself.
Naturally, he could also separate life energy and thus achieve the ability to heal others.
There were several steps to winning Tony Stark's faith in the Void.
However, the initial and most crucial step was to make Tony Stark feel his body healed, rejuvenated, and strengthened.
No one could resist the feeling of prolonged life and a body returned to youth, or even stronger.
As long as Tony Stark experienced this feeling, then even if Tony Stark obtained his father's notes and created a new element from them.
He would no longer be plagued by palladium poisoning, but Tony Stark would never forget the feeling he had now.
Therefore, once the time was right, without Harvey needing to intentionally persuade him, Tony Stark would actively inquire about it, seeking the opportunity to enhance his physical body.
At that time, when he formally explained it to Tony Stark, it would easily spark Tony Stark's desire, and he would naturally come to believe in the Void and join the Void.
Tony Stark heard that the palladium had completely vanished, and he quickly ran to a nearby table, opened a box, and took out the palladium testing device.
He performed a test and found that the trace amounts of palladium that had been in his body had indeed completely disappeared.
This made Tony Stark's eyes widen in disbelief.
Immediately, Tony Stark smelled some blood.
Following the scent, Tony Stark found some small, dark shrapnel with traces of blood on a desktop ten meters away.
Tony Stark closed his eyes and felt for a moment, realizing that there was truly no longer any strange sensation in his chest.
"Jarvis."
Tony Stark came to a screen and called out.
Jarvis directly turned the display into a mirror, reflecting Tony Stark's current appearance.
Tony Stark pulled open his shirt, looking at his chest.
There were still specks of fresh blood on his chest, but he couldn't see any wounds.
"Jarvis, how long was I unconscious for?"
Tony Stark asked after seeing this scene.
"Sir, you were unconscious for a total of 72 seconds."
Jarvis had been watching and immediately responded to the inquiry.
"Harvey Anberaka, is this your superpower?"
Tony Stark looked at Harvey Anberaka, ten meters away, asking in disbelief.
"That's just a small trick, but according to your understanding, you can interpret it as a superpower."
Harvey nodded faintly upon hearing this and spoke.
"If a battle happens later, and someone on our side gets injured, and you help heal them, wouldn't that make us invincible?"
Tony Stark's heart was incredibly excited upon hearing these words. He quickly strode over to Harvey, speaking with immense anticipation.
"Tony Stark, I know you're very excited right now."
"But don't forget what I just told you."
Harvey knew Tony Stark would be excited, but he hadn't expected Tony Stark to be this excited, so he reminded him.
Tony Stark's excited mind instantly calmed down considerably upon hearing this reminder.
"Harvey Anberaka, I don't even know how to repay you."
Tony Stark gripped Harvey's hand, his expression incredibly serious as he spoke.
He had originally only wanted to seek information from Harvey Anberaka and show off his achievements to him.
But tonight's experience had made him understand too many things, and his body had actually been healed by Harvey Anberaka.
"I only recently bought shares in Stark Industries."
"I'm counting on you to drive up Stark Industries' stock."
"If you, the chairman, were to die, causing the stock to plummet, I'd suffer a huge loss."
"So, I just helped you out casually; it's nothing like a great favor."
Harvey said with a playful tone upon hearing this.
Of course, he couldn't directly ask Tony Stark how to repay him; compared to directly asking for something, personal favors and kindness were often harder to repay.
"But…"
Tony Stark wanted to say something upon hearing these words.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Just remember not to reveal my name."
"Also, I only came because you said you had food here."
"It's been so long, where's my dinner?"
Harvey interrupted Tony Stark's words and immediately changed the subject.
"Jarvis?"
Seeing that Harvey didn't want to continue the topic, Tony Stark also followed up with a question.
"Dinner has been prepared and placed on the second floor."
"It's just that you gentlemen were in such a heated discussion, so I didn't want to interrupt."
Jarvis immediately responded upon hearing this.
"Then let's go up and eat."
Tony Stark looked at Harvey and said.
Harvey nodded and followed Tony Stark upstairs.