Chapter Eighty-Two: Heart of Steel

Heart of Steel!

Upon seeing this ability, Zhong Shenxiu found himself unable to look away for a moment. It had been mentioned before that in the hierarchy of passive abilities, anything named “Heart of Something” represented the highest tier. So far, among all the people Zhong Shenxiu had encountered, only Agent May had managed to reach this level, and even hers was but a “pseudo” version—meaning she had not truly ascended to the pinnacle of passive abilities.

But Tony Stark, at last, was the first person Zhong Shenxiu had truly witnessed attain the summit of passive power.

Heart of Steel… Truly worthy of being the number one in the MCU, one of the greatest geniuses in the Marvel Universe. Relying on nothing but his mortal flesh and the brilliance of his mind, he had managed to elevate this ability to such rarefied heights!

All the better—the more prized the fleece, the happier Zhong Shenxiu felt at the thought of shearing this particular sheep.

However, his original plan now needed a minor adjustment. He had intended to extract all the shrapnel from Tony at once, make a quick fortune, and then invest the proceeds into Stark Industries stock.

But now, he reconsidered. There was no need to rush—he could take his time.

In the original story, it was never clearly stated when Stark Industries’ stock price bottomed out, but Zhong Shenxiu estimated, based on his memory, that it must have been several months after Tony’s press conference.

First, Stark’s stock plummeted by at least fifty points, and a significant milestone during this period was Tony’s initial development of the Mark II suit. Even for a genius like Tony, designing an entirely new Iron Man suit couldn’t have taken just a few days.

Therefore, Zhong Shenxiu calculated he still had plenty of time.

Moreover, this passive ability available from Tony—Heart of Steel—was the highest echelon of such powers. Zhong Shenxiu could easily prolong the healing process, giving himself more opportunities to “draw the card” while treating Tony.

Thus, he had no intention of hastily curing Tony’s wounds here and now. Tony couldn’t run away, after all, and by the time the world reached the level of technology needed to heal Tony’s injuries perfectly, it would be years in the future—around the end of Iron Man 3.

With this thought, Zhong Shenxiu made up his mind and walked toward Tony once more.

Tony, seeing this, cooperated fully, puffing out his chest again with a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. At a glance, he looked like an old daisy ready for the picking.

Pepper, standing closest to Tony, widened her eyes in anticipation, focusing intently on the scene. Everything had happened so quickly just now—she hadn’t even seen what transpired, and so this time, she watched with extra care.

Happy, still trying to look cool with his hands behind his back, took off his sunglasses, wiggled over with his ample backside, and opened his small eyes wide.

Standing behind Zhong Shenxiu, Coulson had long grown accustomed to such wonders. Outwardly, he appeared the calmest, his face fixed in a formulaic smile; yet his darting gaze betrayed the turmoil beneath the surface.

A bit further back, Colonel Rhodes proved himself a true man of action—he had somehow produced a small video camera and was recording the proceedings. Presumably, he intended to submit this footage to his superiors as the most solid evidence for his earlier, somewhat outlandish claims.

Noticing this, Zhong Shenxiu obligingly shifted his position, making sure Rhodes had a clear shot.

Even the guards posted farther away, though their legs were forbidden to move by regulation, had all stretched their necks out like giraffes, their eyes brimming with anticipation.

At this moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on Zhong Shenxiu and his miraculous abilities.

Being the focus of so many gazes didn’t faze Zhong Shenxiu in the least. After all, his chaos magic was nothing like a healing spell; it inevitably emitted a green glow when activated. However, he could control minute amounts of chaos magic, rendering it as invisible as air and eliminating any risk of exposure.

Thus, Zhong Shenxiu began the treatment anew.

He repeated the previous steps, gently placing his hand on Tony’s chest and channeling a minuscule amount of chaos magic into Tony’s body, letting it circulate with his blood.

By inducing subtle vibrations in the chaos magic and reading the feedback, he was able to pinpoint the location of the shrapnel. Then, he enveloped it with chaos magic and wrenched it out, tearing through tissue directly!

This time, however, he deliberately slowed the extraction process, prolonging the use of his healing spell.

Shrapnel pierced Tony’s layers of tissue bit by bit; as it left, the healing magic worked to repair the damaged flesh.

At such a slow pace, it was Tony who suffered most. He had to endure, time and again, the sensation of shrapnel boring through every layer of his flesh—those most delicate and sensitive tissues within. Even if the pain receptors there were relatively few, repeating the process over and over was unbearable.

Tony felt as if a thousand ants were gnawing at him!

It was both itchy and painful, but more than that—it was a torment.

Looking at Zhong Shenxiu’s earnest expression, Tony’s mind was filled with an endless parade of metaphorical llamas:

Revenge! Pure and simple revenge—

The first shrapnel came out painlessly; why was the second extraction like this?

Yet he dared not call a halt, for fear of distracting Zhong Shenxiu and causing some irreparable consequence.

He could only grit his teeth and endure…

Fortunately, it didn’t last too long—after four or five seconds, with a soft swish, the second piece of shrapnel emerged from Tony’s shirt and landed in Zhong Shenxiu’s hand.

This time, the healing spell didn’t yield the jackpot, as expected.

Zhong Shenxiu was prepared for this; with only a one percent chance, statistically speaking, it would take about a hundred seconds for a hit. Four to five seconds wasn’t unreasonable at all.

Tony, seeing the second piece removed from his body, breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted.

He was about to step back, but after considering for a moment, he gritted his teeth and puffed out his chest a little higher. “Go ahead, I can take it!” he declared, with the resolve of a warrior heading to his fate.

But to his surprise, Zhong Shenxiu simply waved his hand. “We’ll continue next time.”

Tony was momentarily stunned. He let his chest drop and asked, “Is it about the money? Pepper, transfer another ten million to Mr. Zhong’s account.”

Pepper didn’t act immediately, as the amount exceeded her direct authorization.

“It’s not about the money… though don’t forget the million for the second piece,” Zhong Shenxiu replied. Then, glancing at Tony, he offered an explanation: “I’m just a bit tired right now. If I continue, the process will be about ten times slower—can you handle that?”

Ten times slower!

The mere thought of that torture sent a shiver through Tony. He managed an awkward grin. “Then… let’s do it next time.”

Perfectly handled.

Zhong Shenxiu nodded with satisfaction and reminded him once more, “Don’t forget the one million dollars. And when you’re ready for more treatment, come to Zhong Shen Clinic, 19 Ingram Street, Queens, New York.”

This last line was also directed at Colonel Rhodes standing nearby.