"Lucas, I think you owe me an explanation today."
"That so-called Skrull god—was he just an actor you hired?!"
Inside the executive hall of the Saiyan Company headquarters in New Los Angeles, Tony Stark stood in front of Lucas with a serious expression, openly questioning him.
"Tony," Lucas replied, confused, "I literally just came back from another dimension, and this is how you greet me? With an interrogation?"
After settling matters with Hela earlier, Tony had immediately found him and insisted they needed to talk about something important in person.
He had even specifically requested that they meet at Lucas's new company headquarters in Los Angeles.
The whole situation had left Lucas baffled.
However…
When he remembered that Stark Tower in New York had been completely destroyed during his battle with Kly'bn, Lucas forced himself to suppress the urge to punch Tony in the face.
"Stop pretending, Lucas," Tony continued confidently.
"I know that Skrull god was definitely an actor you hired to put on a show."
Tony spoke rapidly, almost like a machine gun.
"You and him clearly planned everything in advance."
"You destroyed New York while making sure no civilians were harmed."
"That way, your company could secure the New York reconstruction project."
"After all, you already proved you could do it with New Los Angeles."
"And from what I've heard, your company made quite a fortune from that reconstruction project."
"Not to mention the weapons contracts your company signed with the California state government."
"You do realize your company hasn't even gone public yet, and investors already estimate its value at 550 billion dollars?"
"And the number keeps increasing every day."
"Now if you add the New York reconstruction project, your company's valuation could easily reach 700 billion dollars."
Tony crossed his arms proudly.
"Then once your company goes public…"
"Based on Jarvis's projections, Saiyan could reach a valuation of at least 3 trillion dollars."
"You'd instantly become the owner of the most valuable company on the planet."
"So?"
"Am I wrong?"
At that moment, Alpha, Lucas's AI assistant, spoke.
"Apologies, Mr. Stark. According to my predictive models, if the company goes public, the minimum valuation would likely reach five trillion dollars."
Tony's eyes lit up.
"See?! Even your own AI calculated it!"
"And you still say you're not interested?"
Lucas calmly took a sip of hot milk before replying.
"Tony… have you been watching too many detective shows lately?"
Seeing Tony's smug expression reminded Lucas that the actor who played him in another universe also played Sherlock Holmes.
Maybe that version of Tony had possessed him.
"Impossible!" Tony immediately objected.
Then he stared at Lucas intensely.
"Then tell me this—why New York?"
"Why not somewhere else?"
"Isn't it because you calculated that New York currently has the highest reconstruction value in America?"
"Los Angeles was second place—your practice run."
"Washington was third."
"And now you're targeting the number one spot, right?"
Lucas placed his empty cup down.
"Tony… the guy showed up in New York on his own."
"I didn't choose the location."
"And I already minimized the damage as much as possible."
"Otherwise, forget New York—the entire West Coast would probably need reconstruction."
"If profit was really my goal, why didn't I just flatten the entire West Coast?"
Tony frowned.
"That's true…"
"But I still feel like this whole thing was directed by you from the start."
"Tony, what the hell is wrong with you?" Lucas sighed.
"Fine."
"I know what you're really trying to get from me."
"I'll agree."
Tony suddenly stopped talking.
He stared at Lucas suspiciously.
"Wait… you're serious?"
Lucas smirked.
"You just want me to rebuild Stark Tower on its original site in New York, right?"
Tony burst out laughing.
"I knew it! You must have mind-reading powers!"
He snapped his fingers.
A floating chair behind him activated its engines and glided into position.
Tony casually sat down and added:
"When you build the new tower, I want the interior design and materials to match your headquarters here."
"But the AI systems and internal layout will be redesigned by me."
"No problem, right?"
Lucas rubbed his forehead.
He had already given up trying to complain about Tony.
"Do whatever you want. It's your company anyway."
Tony immediately stood up and gave Lucas a huge hug.
"Lucas, my dear friend, thank you so much!"
Lucas pushed him away helplessly.
"You'd better leave before I change my mind."
"Okay, okay! I'm going!"
Tony wasted no time.
The moment he got what he wanted, he left immediately—true to his personality.
Lucas shook his head with a laugh after Tony left.
Although it looked like he had suffered a loss by giving away a skyscraper, the reality was different.
For someone who had rebuilt an entire city, constructing a single tower was practically nothing.
Besides, Saiyan corporation handled everything in-house:
materials
construction
interior design
furniture
appliances
energy systems
With the company's current resources, building another Stark Tower was incredibly cheap.
And after all…
Tony's headquarters had indeed been destroyed during Lucas's battle.
Compensating him with a new building was only fair.
At least this way Tony would stop claiming everything was part of Lucas's grand conspiracy.
After that thought, Lucas shifted his focus to the real problem he needed to address.
His strength.
Improving spiritual power couldn't be rushed.
It required slow accumulation over time.
Even if there were shortcuts, Lucas wouldn't take them.
If something went wrong with energy, it could be dispersed and rebuilt.
But if something went wrong with the mind, the consequences could be devastating.
Recovery might take a very long time.
And during the process of seizing the divine domain earlier, Lucas's mind had already endured two major trials:
the spiritual shock from the domain's core
the construction and simulation of the domain's structure
Both had strengthened his mental power far beyond what it had been during his battle with Kly'bn.
Lucas didn't know how this world classified levels of spiritual power, so he couldn't accurately judge his own level.
But one thing was certain.
His spiritual level now far exceeded his energy level.
Lucas was confident that even if he broke through to Super Saiyan 3 right now, he could still fully control the energy within his body.
So spiritual growth could continue naturally.
There was no need to deliberately accelerate it.
Which meant the next area he needed to focus on was—
energy.
.....
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