Henry chuckled inwardly. This guy was still so arrogant. He would rather rot inside than reveal anything bad about himself, as if pretending everything was fine would make it so.
"Is that so? Are you sure?" Henry exposed him ruthlessly.
"Do you want me to remind you that your palladium poisoning levels are about to cross the critical threshold? I'm guessing you've been checking the mirror a lot lately to see if you're turning into an Avatar? The Super-Soldier Serum may have temporarily suppressed the spread of the toxin by enhancing your cell activity, but that's just treating the symptom, not the root cause. It's like inflating a tire that's about to explode; it'll just make the explosion louder."
"I'm guessing in a few days, even if you become Captain America, you'll still die of organ failure. Unless you can be a real genius and find a stable element to replace palladium."
Tony was completely stunned. He knew that in front of this monster of a brother, any pretense was futile. This bastard always managed to speak the most precise truths with the most vicious words.
But he still wouldn't admit defeat. His damned arrogance made him immediately change the subject.
"Why talk about useless stuff!" he insisted stubbornly, forcing an impatient look.
"Come on! Don't waste time. It's time to test this priceless new body of mine! Let me see how far I am from becoming the most popular man in America!"
"I think you've already exceeded the goal of becoming the most narcissistic man in America. Seriously, you could run for the lifetime honorary president of the Narcissism Association," Henry mocked him relentlessly.
Tony ignored him. He looked around, seemingly searching for a prop to showcase his strength. His gaze finally settled on an arm-thick alloy bar on a nearby workbench. He walked over, grabbed it, and flashed Henry and Ethan a provocative smile.
"Look at this, mortals!" he announced confidently, like a strongman about to perform on stage.
"Witness the moment of a miracle! Cheer for me! Cheer for your genius, Tony Stark!"
With that, he took a deep breath, flexing his arms to try and bend the alloy bar.
One second, two seconds...
The alloy bar remained rigid. Tony's face began to flush. The veins on his forehead popped out. He was straining with all his might, looking like a patient who hadn't had a bowel movement in half a month. The alloy bar remained rigid.
"..." The air was thick with awkwardness.
"Ahem." Tony let go with some embarrassment, put the alloy bar back on the table, and casually patted his hands.
"It's just a mistake. I didn't warm up just now; it was an accident. You know, every great performance needs a rehearsal."
He picked up the alloy bar again, and this time, he used all his strength. Still, the bar didn't move.
Just then, Jarvis's prompt sounded precisely.
"Sir, I must remind you that the object you are holding is a composite test alloy. Based on theoretical calculations, it requires at least 60 tons of instantaneous explosive force to cause permanent physical deformation."
Tony: "..."
He felt his face burning with humiliation.
"Hahahaha!" Henry finally couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter.
"Tony! Are you performing a comedy routine? I have to say, that constipated look on your face deserves an Oscar! The world's richest man attempts to bend an unbendable iron bar. How's that for a news headline? Isn't that explosive?"
"It was just an accident!" Tony paused, then tossed the alloy bar back onto the table, refusing to admit defeat.
"I just didn't want to damage such expensive experimental material! Yes, that's it!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Henry smiled, nodding. Then he turned to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, don't let him embarrass himself anymore. Analyze his current physical status and tell him so he can have a clear understanding of himself and stop doing foolish things beyond his capability."
"Affirmative, Sir," Jarvis immediately responded.
"Based on the combined analysis of the serum transformation data and the biological model, Mr. Tony's current maximum strength is approximately 17 tons, which is three times the enhancement effect of the original Super-Soldier Serum. Theoretically, you are now equivalent to three Captain Americas."
"Three Captain Americas? Sounds decent," Henry evaluated, rubbing his chin.
"At least when you're fighting, one of them can fight, one can cheer, and the third can take photos to post on social media, showing off that he has two strong brothers?"
"Not bad. It seems it didn't meet expectations," Tony said, though his smugness couldn't be concealed.
"While I'm not as freakish as you, who's from some unknown planet, it's enough. After all, I'm not a brute who only relies on raw strength; I rely on intelligence."
"Yes, you rely on intelligence—the kind of intelligence that tries to bend an unbendable iron bar and makes people laugh their heads off," Henry hit him with another devastating blow.
Tony ignored the argument. He strode toward the specialized testing area on the other side of the lab.
"Jarvis! Record everything! I'm going to show a certain person who looks down on me what real power is!"
"Ready at any time, Sir."
Henry and Ethan followed him. Henry didn't forget to keep complaining, "Oh? Is that so? I want to see if you're going to try to head-butt that force-measurement plate this time. I should remind you that things are much harder than your head."
"Shut up!"
Tony took a deep breath and took a standard boxing stance. Then, he delivered a powerful punch, slamming it onto the heavy, specially alloyed force-measurement plate!
BANG!
A dull thud. The entire plate shook violently, and the screen instantly displayed an astonishing number.
"Instantaneous explosive force: 8.6 tons," Jarvis reported.
"Not bad," Tony shook his hand, looking completely relaxed, as if he had just casually swatted a fly.
"It seems I haven't even tried yet. Warm-up is over."
He walked towards the weight section, where various specialized testing equipment was placed. He picked up the equipment effortlessly, like he was shopping at a supermarket, even doing bicep curls one-handed. It was as if he were lifting cotton candy, not metal.
"Too light; it's no fun," he complained, tossing the equipment back onto the rack with a loud clang.
"How about this?" He walked towards another, larger piece of equipment.
For the next half hour, Tony was like a child with a new toy, testing every piece of equipment in the lab.
After testing everything, Tony looked at his hands, which were full of explosive power yet completely undamaged. His excitement and smugness slowly faded. He looked somewhat lost in thought, still savoring the unprecedented feeling of strength.
He suddenly became serious, turning to Henry, his eyes shining with a determined light.
"Come on, Henry," he said.
"Now that we possess this power that shouldn't belong to humans, I think we need to talk seriously."
×××××××××××××××
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