Henry felt an indescribable warmth, as if he were soaking in the most comfortable hot spring. More light and heat were continuously pouring into his body through every inch of his skin and every seam of his Armor.
Without the thick filter of the Earth's atmosphere, the sunlight here was pure and raw. And, naturally, the most nourishing.
He could clearly feel every cell in his body greedily devouring this immense energy. The rate of absorption and conversion was many times faster than on the Earth's surface.
"Hey, Jarvis, I have to say this feels amazing," he said lazily on the comms channel, his voice full of contentment.
"It's better than the most premium spa. Do you think if I opened a solar-powered sunbathing membership service up here, it would be more profitable than Tony selling his scrap metal? VIP clients could even enjoy the added benefit of observing Earth up close. What do you think, isn't that a genius business idea?"
"Sir, considering the current number of clients who can reach outer space is close to zero, I do not believe this is a promising business model," Jarvis analyzed meticulously.
"Furthermore, you may be jointly sued by multiple nations' astronomical and aerospace agencies for illegally occupying orbital resources."
"Fine, how boring," Henry pouted.
"You old electronic just don't understand the high-end market. Whatever, I won't argue with you, a guy with no business sense."
He comfortably stretched, feeling a wave of warmth surge from his limbs to his brain, bringing with it a strong sense of drowsiness.
"I feel so warm, Jarvis. I think I need to take a nap," his voice became slightly slurred.
"Keep an eye out for me. If any strange-looking aliens try to plot against me while I'm sleeping, remember to wake me up immediately. I don't want to be kidnapped and subjected to strange experiments in my sleep."
"I will continuously monitor your status, Sir. Rest assured, the highest level of alert will be triggered by any unauthorized biological entity approaching."
"That's good," Henry muttered a final complaint.
"I hope your alarm system is more reliable than your 'Steve and dogs not allowed' security system."
With that, bathed in the golden sunlight, he slowly closed his eyes. He let his body drift freely in the silent, vast cosmos, like an infant who had returned to his mother's embrace—peaceful and serene.
After he closed his eyes, the rate at which his body absorbed energy began to climb exponentially. His Armor now seemed to have transformed into a miniature black hole, greedily sucking in all the surrounding light energy. A silent evolution was taking place within his body.
Time lost its meaning in this eternal silence.
He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a century, perhaps just an instant. The enormous blue planet beneath Henry had already rotated to the other side, turning day into night.
Just then, he suddenly opened his eyes. A look of initial confusion flashed in his deep eyes.
"F-ck!" he cursed subconsciously.
"Jarvis, how long did I sleep? Why does it feel like only a second passed? I thought I'd sleep for ages."
"Sir, according to the time log, you have been dormant for 10 hours and 23 minutes," Jarvis immediately responded.
"According to the local time in Los Angeles, it is now 10:47 p.m., and it is completely dark."
"Only 10 hours?" Henry looked incredulous.
"That's not very long. Why did I wake up? Was I woken up by the cold because there's no sunlight? Is the air conditioning in space set too low?"
"Sir, your bio-force field perfectly isolates the external low temperature. You can't be woken up by the cold," Jarvis explained.
"According to my energy monitoring data, it seems that after absorbing a colossal amount of energy, your body reached a critical point, spontaneously triggering a deep-level evolution. Simply put, your solar panel just completed a hardware upgrade, and its charging efficiency is now higher."
"Oh? Is that so?" Henry listened, then carefully felt his body, a surprised look on his face.
"Now that you mention it, I do feel a change. My eyes feel hot; they're a little itchy and uncomfortable. What's going on? Am I evolving heat vision? The kind where I can stare at someone and make them pregnant... No, I mean, the kind where I can stare at someone and cook them?"
"Sir, I have detected a special type of biological energy rapidly converging towards your ocular region. The energy intensity is continuously climbing."
"No need to just feel it," Henry lowered his gaze to his hands, which looked unchanged. Then he slowly looked up, and an intense red light suddenly flared in his eyes.
He smiled faintly, a seemingly wicked smile.
"Because I already feel like I won't have to eat beef anymore!"
The next second, two scorching beams of crimson light shot from his eyes!
The red light was filled with destructive energy, and it accurately struck a US military reconnaissance satellite quietly operating in the distant orbit at an extremely high speed.
There was no sound, no roar of an explosion. But against the silent backdrop of space, the expensive satellite melted and deformed like a plastic toy thrown into a furnace, then violently disintegrated, turning into a silent, dazzling fireworks display!
The red light didn't stop there. It continued to shoot forward, accurately hitting another communications satellite that was linking data with the first one. Another dazzling firework quietly bloomed in the deep cosmos.
"Absurd!" Henry looked at the scene before him, unconsciously muttering his usual complaints.
"Jarvis! Did you see that? I just wanted to test my eyes' new function, maybe roast some chicken wings, and I accidentally shot down the military's prized possessions. Did those things have insurance? They won't make me pay for them, will they?"
A few seconds later, the red light in his eyes gradually faded. Henry blinked. The burning and discomfort were completely gone.
"What a strange feeling," he said, touching his eyes. "It just feels warm inside, and then nothing. No side effects, not even a need for eye drops."
"Sir, based on the energy data analysis just now, the peak instantaneous temperature of the energy beams emitted from your eyes reached 1,600 degrees Celsius. I believe this is what you call heat vision." Jarvis's voice seemed to carry an undeniable astonishment.
"Furthermore, I must remind you that your actions just now not only destroyed two official satellites belonging to the US Department of Defense but may also cause a brief disruption of some GPS signals in the North American region."
"Oh, that's truly terrible," Henry said, though his face clearly showed a 'I couldn't care less' expression.
"But on the bright side, at least this space sunbathing session was incredibly effective! I feel like my physical abilities have increased again! Fast! This is so fast! This feeling of getting stronger is even better than making money!"
"Yes, Sir. Based on the latest energy estimates, your current baseline strength appears to have more than doubled. Your speed and defense have also been significantly enhanced."
"Doubled?" Henry calculated, then gasped.
"Does that mean my strength is now over 100 tons? Is this the joy of being invincible? It's too easy! I wake up from a nap, and I'm over a hundred tons strong. If I sleep in space every day, will I be able to punch the Earth soon?"
"Theoretically, your body is still continuously strengthening, Sir. With enough light energy, your power limit currently appears to be infinite."
"Infinite? I like that word." Henry nodded in satisfaction.
"But staying in space all the time is boring. No beautiful women, no champagne, not even anyone to bicker with. Jarvis, I think..."
Just then, Jarvis's voice interrupted him.
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