The surgery began quickly and ended just as quickly.
Under Henry's near-miraculous control, the metal shrapnel that had once threatened Tony's life was enveloped in an invisible energy field and slowly lifted out of his chest.
Then, they clinked as they dropped into the metal tray next to him.
Not a single drop of blood was shed throughout the entire process.
Henry looked at the shrapnel, then at the still-sleeping Tony, and laughed, That guy really has nine lives.
Then, he used the same method to remove the circular reactor that was slowly releasing toxins.
But he did not implant the new reactor into his chest. Tony's current recovery ability no longer required it to save his life.
After doing all that, Henry let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked at the skin on Tony's chest, which was gradually healing, with a relaxed smile on his face.
He knew that from this moment on, the shackles that had once bound Tony had been personally severed by him.
"Alright, J.A.R.V.I.S.," he clapped his hands and then gave a new instruction.
"Help me contact the Wakandan diplomat stationed in the United States. Yes, the one who always wears those very expensive-looking, ethnic-style clothes. Book a time for me. Tell them that the co-owner of Stark Industries wants to discuss a big business deal about Vibranium. Tell them I need to meet with him within the next two days. If possible, I'd like to meet with their King."
"Yes, sir. Contacting now."
This was part of Henry's plan. He had unlimited money and was the richest man in the world.
Therefore, he usually wouldn't resort to violence for something money could solve.
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from the spiral staircase of the laboratory.
Henry opened his mouth lazily without turning his head.
"Hey, Pepper, aren't you supposed to be at the company handling your endless pile of documents? What brings you back?"
"How did you know it was me?" Pepper was startled. She looked at Henry, who had his back to her, her face filled with surprise.
She walked into the lab, saw the scene before her, and froze completely.
"What happened?" She looked at the instruments still running around her and then at the gigantic city model.
"You guys didn't stay up all night, did you?"
Then, her gaze fell upon Tony, who was lying unconscious on the medical platform.
"Tony! Oh my god! What's wrong with him?!" she gasped, rushing over.
"Is he just sleeping?"
"Something like that," Henry replied.
"He just underwent surgery on how to live a little longer."
"Surgery? What surgery?" Pepper turned around, utterly confused.
Then, she saw the shrapnel and the circular reactor in the tray nearby.
"You mean that thing was going to kill him? Oh, my heavens! What on earth is going on?"
"It's exactly what you see," Henry shrugged.
"He was about to be poisoned by that old lightbulb, and then we found a new, brighter lightbulb that doesn't leak electricity and swapped it for him. He's fixed now. He won't die; he has a long life ahead."
Pepper looked at Tony's peaceful, albeit unconscious, face, and her eyes instantly welled up.
Tears slid uncontrollably from her eyes.
Hearing Henry's words, she suddenly snapped out of it, haphazardly wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
"That jerk, he better not die," she said, choking back a sob.
"Don't worry, he won't die," Henry chatted with her for a while, offering a few comforting words.
Pepper's emotions gradually calmed down.
"I have to go back to the company," she glanced at the clock on the wall.
"There's a damned press conference waiting for us at three in the afternoon. Those reporters are probably ready to tear down the doors of the conference hall. Make sure you two aren't late."
With that, she took another deep look at the still-sleeping Tony.
Then she turned and hurried away.
Henry looked at her slight figure retreating and shrugged innocently.
"What a contradictory woman."
Henry shook his head, then said to the air, "J.A.R.V.I.S., invite our two guests to come down."
That's right.
In his powerful perception, Banner and Blonsky hadn't dared to leave and had been staying in the rooms on the second floor.
These two couldn't stay in his house forever; he had no room for other men.
"Yes, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. immediately responded.
Henry stretched, walked to the control panel.
He pulled up the Armor design blueprints and chatted with J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Honestly, J.A.R.V.I.S., what do you think of my current aesthetics? Isn't it ten thousand times cooler than Tony's tomato and egg scramble? You have to tell the truth, or I'll deduct your power bill."
The blueprints he pulled up were for his usual Black God Armor, but now he was comprehensively upgrading and replacing the materials.
Every detail exuded an aura of I'm very expensive and I'm very strong.
The previous Armor had been damaged by the Abomination and the Hulk.
Although the Armor was just a decoration, it was his treasure.
He had quietly kept a mental note, and this time, the Armor must be upgraded.
"Based on my aesthetic database and global fashion index composite analysis, sir, your design scores higher in simplicity, strength, and mystery, aligning more with current mainstream high-end aesthetic trends. Mr. Tony's design is more inclined towards flamboyance and visual impact, resembling a mobile fireworks show."
"Oh, come on, you old electronic device just doesn't understand art," Henry scoffed. Although J.A.R.V.I.S.'s answer was satisfying, he still wouldn't let up.
"Black is an eternal classic, the base colour of the universe, understood? Tony's colour scheme looks like a tin clown who just escaped from the circus, and the kind specifically meant to be thrown tomatoes at."
As he spoke, he replaced all the Armor materials with the symbol for Vibranium, adding a little bit of other alloys.
Then, he reserved a significant amount of internal space and filled it with the symbol for nanite particles. The whole operation was fluid.
He also strengthened the power and energy-dampening functions to prevent anyone from breaking the Armor again.
"Alright, mine is done."
He nodded contentedly, admiring the blueprint on the screen, and then pulled up the design for another suit.
It was Tony's Mark III Armor.
"As for this tin can..." he stroked his chin and began making drastic modifications to Tony's design.
"The weapon system is too sparse, gotta add more! Laser cannons, micro-missiles, cluster cannons... put it all on! Also, this energy core is too small, not bright enough, not flashy enough; it needs a bigger one! Ideally, it should be able to blind everyone when my brother makes his entrance, so they know what truly blinding means!"
"Sir, your ideas are very advanced," J.A.R.V.I.S. commented appropriately.
"Naturally," Henry had an air of self-evidence.
"A genius's ideas are always one or two steps ahead of their time."
Soon, a red and gold Armor blueprint, full of sleek lines and a muscular feel, and distinct from Tony's, was completed.
For the exterior, Henry referenced Tony's future Mark 85 Armor.
He tasked J.A.R.V.I.S. to optimize the details based on his ideas, then opened a new window, his expression becoming focused.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., collect all data on nanite particles. Yes, the thing that sounds like science fiction but has existed in theory for a long time. I need to figure out how to bring this thing into reality now."
"Yes, sir."
Countless pieces of data, papers, and hypothetical models about nanite technology were projected into the air of the lab.
The complex formulas and structural diagrams were enough to cause a mental breakdown in any ordinary person.
Regarding nanite technology, there was one other place on Earth where it was quite mature.
That was Wakanda, the nation that liked to use Vibranium spears and thought firearms were primitive.
The Black Panther's suit was a Vibranium nanite Armor.
Thinking of this, Henry suddenly remembered that Vibranium wasn't exclusive to Wakanda; it seemed to be in Antarctica too.
But based on his memory, that place didn't just have Vibranium; it also had other bizarre things.
For example, in one comic issue, the Avengers went there and found it to be a jungle, where they experienced a series of weird events.
Henry thought he might check it out when he had time.