Malibu villa, underground laboratory.
Soon, the gigantic city model was reassembled in the center of the lab.
The entire space seemed to have traveled back to the era of Howard Stark's youthful ambition.
Tony was like a child with a new toy, circling the model, his face filled with excitement and curiosity.
"Alright, let me see," he ordered J.A.R.V.I.S.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., activate the highest precision... laser scanner! And then scan it with... X-rays and gamma rays from every angle! I want to know exactly where in the corners and crevices the old man hid his private property!"
Tony didn't have much good to say about his father.
But though his words were harsh, his heart was full of anticipation.
Soon, the scan results were out.
"Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice carried a hint of regret.
"Based on the scan results, no abnormal hidden metal objects or encrypted information were found inside the model."
"What?" Tony was stunned.
He walked up to the model and, unconvinced, knocked on one of the buildings.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! That old man loved to play these mysterious tricks! He must have hidden the thing somewhere I didn't notice!"
Like an unwilling child, he began to manually dismantle the model.
"Hey, stop it, you barbarian!" Henry couldn't watch any longer. He grabbed Tony's hand.
"Are you dismantling a model or demolishing a building? Do you want to tear the only relic Dad left behind into a pile of scrap?"
"Then what do you suggest I do?!" Tony threw his hands up.
"There's nothing here!! Maybe he didn't leave anything behind."
"Tony, I really have to say, you're a genius, an engineer, so why do you look more like the Hulk right now?" Henry rolled his eyes.
A look that said I knew you'd be like this appeared on his face.
"I have to admit that so-called genius brain of yours is sometimes really stupid."
"Holy sh*t! What did you say?!"
"I said," Henry walked up to the model, looking at it admiringly, and slowly said.
"You, the engineer who only knows how to use a hammer, you were looking in the wrong direction from the start. It's not a container. It is the information itself."
"What do you mean?"
Tony frowned. For some reason, he felt like his IQ dropped every time he was around Henry.
"It means," Henry snapped his fingers.
"You're trying to find a key inside a safe. But you didn't realize that the safe itself is the blueprint for that key."
"J.A.R.V.I.S.," he turned and spoke to the air.
"Flip the model over. Perform a complete high-precision topographic survey scan of the entire model, and then render the layout of all the buildings into a three-dimensional structural model."
Tony was stunned.
He looked at Henry, then back at the giant model, and it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.
The next second, a structural model composed of countless light points and lines appeared in the air of the lab as a holographic projection.
It was a new element that had never appeared on the periodic table.
Tony stared blankly at the model, his genius brain instantly comprehending everything.
This was not a simple model.
This was a letter from his father, Howard Stark, spanning time and space.
A fatherly love puzzle that only he could solve.
He remembered his father's perpetually stern face, his harsh demands, and he realized...
He didn't not love me.
He was just loving me in his own way.
Tony's eyes were slightly red-rimmed.
"Hey, Tony, you're not about to cry, are you?" Henry's voice sounded beside him at an inappropriate moment.
"I have to remind you, there are surveillance cameras here. If you cry, I'll definitely upload the video to the internet with the title: Shocking! Billionaire Tony Stark Sheds Tears Over a Model!"
"Get out!"
Tony immediately collected the emotions he had managed to muster. He glared fiercely at Henry, then reverted to his arrogant facade.
"Fine, I'll give you credit for being somewhat knowledgeable."
He walked up to the holographic model, arms crossed over his chest, and began to evaluate it.
"The old man's design concept is a bit outdated, and the structure is a bit simple, but it's acceptable. Of course, it's still far inferior to mine."
"Yeah, yeah, you're the greatest." Henry couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore.
"Alright, stop being sentimental here," Tony clapped his hands, an excited smile on his face.
"Since the new element is in hand, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work! Let me see if the two geniuses of the Stark family working together can create a real miracle!"
For the next dozen hours, the entire underground lab turned into a workshop.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.! Set the power to ninety percent! No! One hundred and twenty percent!"
"Henry! You idiot! Pass me that tool quickly! Not that one! The bigger one next to it!"
"You're the idiot! Are you synthesizing a new element or building a small grenade?!"
"I'm conducting a bold experiment! What do you know! Scientific progress is achieved through continuous trial and error!"
"That's not trial and error, that's a death wish! Quickly point that damn thing at the reaction core! Do you want to blow our house to kingdom come?!"
They were both seamless partners and bitter rivals, frantically busy in the laboratory.
Holographic formulas and data models flew in the air, various high-tech instruments roared, and different lights illuminated the entire lab as bright as day.
Finally, after dozens of failures and several minor incidents that nearly blew up the lab.
Accompanied by a dazzling blue light, a stable new element quietly hovered in the centre of the reaction core on the display screen.
They succeeded.
Silence fell over the laboratory.
Tony and Henry stood in front of the control panel, looking at the small, glowing object, both somewhat lost in thought.
Henry was also momentarily dazed. Although he had long known of its existence, as a highly educated person, he understood what this represented.
"We did it," Tony murmured.
"Of course," Henry flashed a brilliant smile.
"Look at who was leading this experiment."
"Hey! I was clearly the one leading it!"
"Come on, you were just the one handing me the wrench."
They started bickering again.
But this time, there was no hostility in their voices, only joy.