In the following days, Tony completely set aside all work and stayed with Pepper until January 1, 2011.
Tony called Harvey directly, knowing that Harvey was home alone, and wanted to come over for a big meal.
Harvey did not refuse, as he had been eating fast food for the past few days and was looking forward to a change of taste.
In the year that Harvey was away, Stark Industries paid Harvey another 1.8 billion in dividends.
As Stark Industries gained a firm foothold in the energy industry, its annual profits increased.
This brought Harvey's current liquid assets to over 2 billion, allowing him to collect money effortlessly.
Harvey went directly to Tony's home, where Pepper had just had a lavish meal prepared.
"Happy New Year, Mr. Harvey! In the new year, Tony will still need your care and guidance."
Pepper saw Mr. Harvey arrive, bowed slightly, and spoke politely.
After their joyful days together, Tony told her a lot about Xandar.
She also learned that Tony had received a lot of funding from Mr. Harvey; otherwise, the development of the Gravity Device would not have progressed so quickly.
Moreover, she had seen the footage recorded by Jarvis, though it wasn't as real as seeing it in person.
But she had seen hundreds of people bowing in worship to Mr. Harvey.
At the same time, Mr. Harvey's enormous body, over two hundred meters tall, brought great shock to Pepper's heart.
"Miss Pepper, there's no need to be so polite."
"Tony's abilities are strong enough; he doesn't need much care from me. On the contrary, his talent has brought me a lot of money."
"I don't need to worry about liquid funds for now."
Harvey said with a smile, seeing how polite Pepper was.
"Regardless, I must thank you for giving Tony the opportunity to venture into the Universe."
Pepper knew this was Mr. Harvey's polite remark, so she still expressed her gratitude.
"Pepper, go get the other food first."
Tony saw Pepper like this and said directly.
"..."
Pepper heard these words, looked at Tony, found his expression somewhat serious, and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Harvey, you've seen something embarrassing."
"Pepper wouldn't normally be like this; it's all my fault for mentioning the New Year Pilgrimage on Xandar before."
"After I showed her the video, she became like this."
"If there was any offense, please forgive me."
While Pepper was away, Tony came up to Harvey and said somewhat awkwardly.
"Miss Pepper is not you after all. She has never left the Blue World to see the broader World, so it's understandable."
"You don't need to worry about me getting angry or anything like that; after all, I've experienced more troublesome situations than this."
Harvey didn't mind, saying.
On Xandar, if he wanted to go out, he could just leave, like this time returning to the Blue World.
Sonia would never offer any opinions; her asking when he would return this time was already an exception.
But if Harvey wanted to walk around on the Void Island, Sonia would take it very seriously, constantly reminding him to be mindful of his actions.
Even if Sonia left for some time, even just half a day, she would still be worried.
"No wonder you said you wanted to return to the Blue World to play."
"It's free there, but not completely free, right?"
Tony heard Harvey's words, pondered for a moment, and understood.
On Void Island, he had good relationships with many Void God Cult members, but few had the privilege of meeting Harvey.
Clearly, Kassadin's identity required Harvey to be mindful of his behavior.
"Yes, on Xandar, I eat well, drink well, and sleep well, but in terms of freedom, the identity of Harvey is more at ease."
Harvey didn't stand on ceremony in Tony's home, directly sitting at the dining table.
"I feel more at ease on Xandar."
"Because there, I don't need to hide my identity as someone who has grown younger, and I can fully display my strength."
Tony said with some emotion upon hearing this.
On the Blue World, he had to wear his Iron Man Armor when going out and absolutely could not take it off, or his secret would be revealed.
"Tony, you just returned a few days ago. Even if you want to go to the Universe, you should stay home for at least half a year."
Pepper came up with food at this moment, heard Tony's words, and spoke.
"I know, you don't need to be so nervous; I might be away even longer."
Tony said, unafraid.
"Tony, if you have something to tell me, just say it directly."
"I don't like people beating around the bush in front of me."
Harvey saw Tony's demeanor, didn't stop his actions, and spoke directly.
"Alright, I just want to ask what kind of trouble I'll have this year."
"I know that heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, but you can at least give me a general direction, right?"
"Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep soundly."
Tony realized Harvey had detected his intention and stopped beating around the bush, asking the question he had been pondering and struggling with for the past few days.
"A general direction? It's related to the Avengers."
Harvey knew that Tony wouldn't seek him out unless something was up, but he looked up at Tony and still gave him a hint.
"An external invasion?"
Tony heard Harvey mention the Avengers, frowned deeply, and spoke.
The Avengers currently consisted only of him, but he also knew the conditions for the Avengers to be deployed.
That was when an external enemy threatened the Blue World; as for conflicts between nations, Nick Fury couldn't persuade him.
"Whether it counts as an external enemy depends on how you define an external enemy."
Harvey thought for a moment, stopped what he was doing, pondered, and then spoke.
The Blue World, strictly speaking, belonged to Asgard's territory. Although Loki was adopted, he was still a Prince of Asgard.
However, Loki would indeed bring Thanos's army later.
So Harvey also didn't know whether it was better to describe it as an internal conflict or an external invasion.
"Will God King Odin or Sorcerer Supreme Gu Yi not intervene in this matter?"
Tony's expression also became serious upon hearing Harvey's words.
"No."
Harvey could give a definite answer to this question.
Odin was deceived by Loki, and Ancient One, seeing that Thor was willing to resolve the situation, also found it difficult to intervene, which was why Loki had such a good time.
"Then I can handle it."
Tony heard that the two great figures would not be alarmed, knew that this external enemy was not that strong, and his expression softened, saying with a relaxed look.
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you can handle it now."
Harvey did not deny it.
Loki only became very strong after he grew old and studied countless magic.
However, the Loki he was about to meet at this stage only had a relatively strong physical body.
He could trick some heroes, but when facing truly strong opponents, Loki's strength was insufficient.
Thor, on the other hand, was different. Normal Thor's strength was decent, but once Thor entered 'thinking about his father' mode, his strength would skyrocket to an incredibly absurd level.