Tony took the bait. Seeing that, Rowan smiled and decided not to keep him hanging.
"Yes. And I can supply as much of it as you want."
His voice brimmed with confidence.
Tony's expression turned to outright shock.
"Are you saying this is really an alloy? And not just that it can be mass-produced?"
"What else would it be?"
"What do you call it?"
"Kroluminum."
"You invented it?"
For the first time, Tony gave Rowan a serious look-over.
"You could say that."
"Do you understand the implications? If you're telling the truth, this could completely revolutionize the entire metallurgy industry!"
"I know. That's why I came to partner with you."
Tony paused. He understood now.
And really, what better advertisement could there be than Iron Man himself?
It all clicked into place.
A gifted young man with ambition to match his talent.
Tony's gaze toward Rowan was now filled with appreciation. He no longer saw him as some naïve teenager, but as a peer someone in the same league.
"In that case, let's talk price. How much do you want to sell it for?"
Tony sighed with resignation. He knew full well Rowan was angling to make him an unpaid spokesman, but he had no choice.
"Four million dollars."
Rowan answered cleanly.
"Four million?"
"Deal."
Tony agreed without hesitation. Right now, he was desperate for high-performance materials. If spending four million solved his armor's material problems, it was worth every cent.
He clinked his glass with Rowan's and drained the drink, a wide grin on his face.
"Give me your bank account. I'll wire the money right away. Also, do you have more of that Kroluminum? I'll need a whole lot more."
Tony's excitement spilled out as he put his glass down.
"I do. I'm planning to start a company dedicated to producing and selling Kroluminum. All grades of it will be available. If you need more, just go through official channels when the time comes."
Rowan said calmly.
"A company? Great idea. Wait did you say different grades of Kroluminum?"
Tony stiffened. His glass slipped from his hand onto the couch.
"Yes. There are ten grades in total."
Rowan smiled and finished his tequila, then met Tony's eyes.
"Then... the one you gave me, what grade is it?"
Tony asked, still dazed.
"Tier Three," Rowan said, holding up three fingers, still smiling.
"!"
Tony was stunned.
Even with his world-class intellect, it took him several seconds to process what he'd just heard.
By the time he had, Rowan had already set down his glass, left a note with his account number, and walked out.
Tony sat there in silence, letting the shock settle in.
Finally, he looked down at the paper slip Rowan had left.
"JARVIS, transfer four million dollars to this account."
"Yes, sir."
"JARVIS, do you think he was telling the truth? That metal only Tier Three?"
"Sir, based on all lie-detection metrics, he showed no signs of deception."
Tony went quiet.
JARVIS held the world's most advanced lie-detection protocols. If it couldn't detect anything, then either Rowan hadn't lied or he was something else entirely.
Logically, Tony struggled to believe it. The properties of Kroluminum were decades ahead of current tech.
But emotionally, Tony trusted him.
Because Rowan carried that same kind of pride and certainty Tony recognized in himself.
People like that didn't bother with lies.
"JARVIS, run a background check on Rowan."
"Sir, his records are classified."
"Classified?"
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like this kid isn't ordinary."
He picked up the glass from the couch and poured himself another drink. After a moment, he chuckled.
As the sun dipped beyond the coastline, Tony let out a low laugh and smirked.
"Now this is going to be interesting."
"JARVIS, run projections for armor performance with Kroluminum incorporated."
"Right away, sir."
…
On the other side of the city, Rowan had already driven back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York branch.
By the time he got to the apartment, it was nearly eight o'clock.
He swiped his access card and stepped inside. The lights were on.
"Home this late? Where were you?"
Maria Hill appeared, dressed in cozy loungewear, carrying a steaming clay pot out of the kitchen with a warm smile.
"I went to meet Tony Stark. We had some business to discuss."
Rowan laughed as he took off his shoes.
"Tony Stark?"
Maria's brows rose in surprise.
Wasn't her little brother supposed to be working on a small side business? How had it escalated to Stark Industries?
She frowned slightly, concerned. She knew Stark Industries had been turbulent lately.
"What kind of business?"
She placed the clay pot down on the dining mat and stepped closer, her expression serious.
Seeing the concern in her eyes, Rowan smiled and gently rested a hand on her shoulder, guiding her toward the table.
"Relax. I just sold him some alloy."
"Alloy?" Maria was confused. What kind of alloy could impress Tony Stark?
"Yeah. A special alloy I synthesized myself. Stark tested it and was impressed. We're looking at a serious opportunity here."
"Impressive."
Maria looked him over again. She knew her brother was smart, but he was usually more focused on physical training than engineering. She hadn't expected him to develop something on this level in secret.
He'd once told her high school had nothing left to teach him. Apparently, he hadn't been bluffing.
"Of course. I am a genius."
Rowan grinned and lifted the lid of the pot.
A rich aroma immediately filled the air.
"You've really mastered this stew, huh?"
Inside was a hearty broth made with bamboo shoots, cured pork, pork belly, tofu knots, scallions, and garlic slow-simmered to perfection.
It was a fully authentic Chinese-style comfort stew.
Under Rowan's influence, Maria's tastes had shifted dramatically. Western cuisine barely interested her anymore.
When he was away, she often cooked simple Chinese meals like tomato and egg stir-fry or shredded pork with peppers.
Today's stew was one of the simpler recipes Rowan had taught her.
It was essentially a one-pot dish. Toss in the bamboo shoots, salted pork, pork belly, tofu knots, scallions, and garlic, and simmer it all together. The only real trick was balancing the seasoning.
Hearing Rowan praise her cooking made Maria beam.
"Obviously. I'm a genius too!"
Rowan laughed.
"Genius and genius. No wonder we're siblings."
Maria giggled, gave him a playful knock on the head, then ladled him a bowl of soup.
The two of them enjoyed a cozy, laughter-filled dinner.
Afterward, Rowan took a quick shower and headed back to his room.
From the inner pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into his desktop.
There was only one file on it.
The title: Basic Ten Forms.
He opened it and saw a video demonstration something between yoga, martial arts, traditional calisthenics, and even elements of qigong-inspired movement.
Ten complete training routines, targeting every major muscle group in the body.
Rowan followed the video through once. By the end, his muscles ached with heat and tension it clearly worked.
"No wonder the Extreme Dojo uses this as its foundational training. The efficiency is insane."
Rowan was amazed.
It looked basic, but the methodology was sharp and refined. It had to have been created by the Grandmaster himself.
After running through it a second time, Rowan was exhausted.
He'd been moving around all day without feeling tired. But now, just two rounds of this routine had him beat.
"Time to sleep. From now on, this'll be my main workout."
Feeling content, Rowan turned off the lights and went to bed.
Tomorrow morning, he had a meeting with Howard Zhou.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Hi everyone! More chapters are on the way just leave a review, share your thoughts in the comments, and toss in a Power Stone to show your support!