Chapter 111: When Was the Last Time You Visited the Farm?

Tony was genuinely happy about Marcus's return.

After all, they'd met when Tony's parents were still alive. Though Marcus annoyed him endlessly, he was an old friend who'd known him for a very long time.

However, after hearing Marcus's latest comment, Tony couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Everyone said Tony had a sharp tongue, but facing this guy, it was hard to tell who was worse.

He hadn't seen Marcus for more than ten years, yet this guy was still just as irritating. Tony felt the urge to punch him after just one sentence.

"I won't argue with you about this. You disappeared for so many years—why come back now?"

Tony remained curious about Marcus's whereabouts. As the owner of the world's top technology company, finding someone wasn't usually difficult for him. He could send out notices and people worldwide would help track someone down.

But even with those resources, he hadn't been able to find Marcus for years, nor heard anything about him.

If Marcus hadn't shown up looking exactly the same, Tony might have assumed he'd died on some expedition.

"What, I can't come back?" Marcus responded.

"Sure you can. You're a shareholder of Stark Industries." Glancing at Marcus, Tony continued: "By the way, if I remember correctly, you should be over 50 by now. Why do you look younger than me?"

They'd first met in 1989, when Tony was 19 and Marcus was almost 30.

More than 20 years had passed since then, but Marcus hadn't changed at all, which struck Tony as strange.

Who between them was getting all kinds of cosmetic treatments?

Marcus was obviously older, yet Tony looked much older now, which depressed him a little.

"Hmm... is there a problem?" Looking at Tony who was practically sweating, Marcus responded with a smile. "Did you become Battery Man because you felt you were aging too quickly?"

According to when Marcus first arrived in this world and his actual age, he should be over 70 now.

But in reality, he wasn't that old. The time he'd spent traveling between worlds added up to more than ten years.

The flow of time differed in each world, and now that he'd become an undead void demon, age had lost all meaning to him.

Seeing Marcus teasing him again, Tony rolled his eyes helplessly. There was nothing he could do about Marcus, his parents' former personal bodyguard.

While Tony might talk trash to others who couldn't retaliate except behind his back, Marcus was different. This guy would attack directly.

Before Tony took over Stark Industries, he'd been beaten up by Marcus countless times. If Marcus hadn't lived in the country with Tony's parents, he would have suffered even more beatings.

"Whatever. But what are you planning to do now that you're back? Return to the countryside to be a farmer again?"

"Of course... not. I came back looking for someone, but I saw the news about you, so I figured I'd check in. You've really done a number on yourself."

Looking at the Arc reactor in Tony's chest, Marcus smiled and shook his head.

Tony now had no way to remove the reactor except through surgery, as the device was keeping him alive.

Seeing Marcus eyeing the reactor, Tony shrugged indifferently. It wasn't like he wanted this, but without it, he'd die.

As for why not get surgery?

The shrapnel fragments were too close to his heart. If the surgeon wasn't skilled enough, he'd be done for.

According to the hospital's report, his chances of surviving the operation were very low, with the highest estimate at only [?]% success rate.

He didn't want to die on an operating table. This lifestyle was good enough, and with the new element, he didn't have to worry about his lifespan anymore.

"Forget it. Looking at you like this, I guess there's no point in beating you up."

Tony couldn't die anyway, and Howard and Maria were still alive somewhere. If neither of them wanted to show up, why should Marcus care?

After finding a place to sit down, Marcus grabbed the blueberries Tony had set aside and asked while eating:

"How are your farm and mine doing these days?"

"How would I know? That iron-armed guy is taking care of everything now."

"When was the last time you visited the farm?"

"Not that long ago. Just haven't been back since they were gone."

Haven't been back since Howard and Maria 'death'?

Marcus glanced at Tony. Not long ago? Wasn't that basically never?

Seeing Tony's straightfaced expression, Marcus raised his eyebrows, then popped another blueberry into his mouth.

"What about Bucky? How's he doing?"

"Mr. Bucky is doing well. He seems to be in a relationship recently," Happy chimed in as he approached.

Though Tony never contacted Bucky directly, Happy had maintained communication with him, and their relationship had grown closer over the years.

Now Marcus and Howard's farms, under Bucky's management, had merged into an automated estate—complete with various high-tech weapons.

Tony had those weapons transported for Bucky, all powerful gear produced by Stark Industries.

Though Happy didn't understand why Bucky would transform the farm into a military fortress, it didn't stop him from getting Tony's authorization to provide the equipment.

While Tony didn't care much about the farm's situation, it was the last place his parents had lived, holding the final memories between him and them.

However, Happy's news shocked Marcus.

That "Iron Arm" was in a relationship now?

With whom? Someone he'd sculpted from clay?

Though Bucky had been considered quite handsome in the past, after being transformed into the Winter Soldier, he'd endured inhuman torture that changed his appearance dramatically.

Even with his stable life these past years, Marcus wouldn't have expected any woman to be interested in him.

"Looks like you're all living pretty good lives. Even Bucky's found himself a girlfriend. What about you?" Marcus asked, looking at Tony lounging in his chair.

"You're not still throwing pajama parties every day like before, are you?"

After Marcus said this, Pepper nodded silently. Though Tony had restrained himself since becoming Iron Man, he still hosted those parties every so often.

Especially recently—she didn't know why, but Tony had gone a bit crazy. Beyond his usual parties, he'd participated in various dangerous activities.

Thankfully, Tony had come to his senses after the battle with Hammer Industries' out-of-control robots, and had completely changed his attitude.

Now Pepper was satisfied with Tony's state of mind. Though he still didn't take much seriously, it was much better than before.

The reason might be related to their warming relationship. After all, things between them had become quite... delicate.

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