American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

Luke Field wasn't ecstatic about Tony Stark's proposal, even though he knew very well that what Tony Stark was talking about was indeed a very profitable business. Once it scaled up, it would be even more profitable than the arms industry, which could greatly alleviate Hephaestus's financial pressure. On the contrary, precisely because he knew the potential for huge profits in this business, Luke Field was even more calm. He knew that this matter couldn't be decided solely by Tony and him shaking hands. There would inevitably be a considerable amount of haggling afterward, and even if they decided to cooperate, they would still face disputes over issues such as profit distribution.

"Does Pepper agree?" Luke Field asked. Although Tony Stark had begun to step into the limelight and lead Stark Industries' affairs and development direction, he was more like a symbolic figure, just like Luke at Hephaestus. Apart from the general direction, the specific affairs were mostly handled and decided by Pepper Potts.

"She's my person, always has been," Tony Stark said, proudly raising his head.

"What about the board of directors?" Luke Field asked again.

"I just cleaned them out once, and the ones who are left are temporarily very obedient," Tony Stark said with a satisfied smile. He had long disliked some of the old guys inside, and taking advantage of the stock crash and the Obadiah-induced incidents, Tony found many excuses to deal with some people. Stark Industries couldn't be said to be completely under his control, but in the core business, he now had a firm grip on things.

"Can I trust your words?"

Luke's suspicious gaze stung Tony Stark. It wasn't Luke's fault for doubting, it was just that Tony Stark had a long history of broken promises, treating promises as jokes, and being reported for playing tricks on people more than once or twice. He even enjoyed this game of teasing people, although he was no longer the frivolous and arrogant person he used to be.

"My word is my bond! Kid!" Tony Stark said, uncharacteristically exasperated.

Tony Stark, of course, didn't come on a whim for no reason. He had investigated for a long time, conducting thorough screenings, and based on numerous subtle clues, he had determined that Luke Field was most likely the one who helped him that night. After all, in terms of technology alone, Luke Field was well-known, and five years ago he had successfully created his own robotic dog, and Hephaestus Industries had always been a leader in high-end mechanical industrial technology.

Before meeting Luke, he had always thought that Luke Field was a little fan of his. He understood this! After all, as one of the few smart people in the world, a fellow genius, with similar privileged family backgrounds, and similar industrial technology companies, he had always thought that Luke was quite like him, and he had always been a little smug that Luke was his little fan.

But after meeting Luke, he immediately realized that Luke was definitely not his fan. He had seen too many of his fans, whether they were entertainment fans or technical fans, those who wanted his body, those who wanted him to invest, those who wanted to discuss technology with him, he had experience with them all!

In less than half an hour of meeting and talking, he had been choked by Luke several times. Now, he felt that Luke had a big misunderstanding about him! He felt that his image in Luke's mind was somewhat distorted, even collapsing!

"Okay, okay," Luke said, shifting his attention back to the food in front of him, his stomach still not full.

"Do you know how rare this opportunity is? How many companies, even those congressmen, want to invest all their wealth in my energy company?" Tony was a little annoyed by Luke's perfunctory answer and expression. All along, provoking and being sarcastic had been his specialty, he was the one who could make people feel ashamed and unbearable with a single sentence. Especially this time, he really came with goodwill and gratitude.

'I know. But shouldn't these business matters be discussed and resolved by Ina and Ms. Potts?' Luke raised his head blankly, pointed to himself with the fork in his hand, and then pointed to Tony Stark, "What problems can we solve by just talking here?"

Tony Stark was stunned.

...

"He looks a little embarrassed?" Ina Sandra, after finishing her social engagements, came to Luke's side, looking at Tony Stark's somewhat disheveled figure, a little surprised.

"He wanted to discuss technology with me," Luke replied.

"And the result?" Ina Sandra was very curious about what kind of sparks two smart minds could create together.

Luke casually replied again: "I refused."

"Refused?" Ina Sandra raised her eyebrows in surprise. She thought Stark would have a good chat with Luke.

"He wanted to discuss the technical issues of the Iron Man armor with me. But I refused him with 'Come back and talk about equal exchanges when your technology catches up with mine,'" Luke pulled over the newly served dish and began to devour it.

"So he is?" Ina Sandra glanced again at Tony Stark, who was surrounded by a crowd and had become the soul of a core circle.

"He's just broken down, don't worry about him," Luke said casually while chewing his food.

"Also, Stark Industries may be starting a company with us recently, with both parties cooperating on energy. As always, Stark and I are responsible for technical issues, and you and Ms. Potts are responsible for business issues," Luke reminded. Ina Sandra's eyes lit up instantly when she heard this. Energy technology was originally Hephaestus Technology's next profit center, but it was too sensitive and there were too many concerns. Now that Stark Industries was fully operating and taking the lead in shielding them from the wind and rain and sharing the pressure, Ina Sandra was naturally overjoyed.

The mechanical watch on her wrist suddenly vibrated, and the phone next to her lit up at the same time, popping up a message.

Luke picked up the phone on the table, glanced at the popped-up message, and his expression became a little strange.

"What happened?" Ina sensitively noticed that something had happened that Luke cared about.

"Tell me, what day is it today? Why are uninvited guests coming one after another?" Luke Field shrugged, put down the fork and half-eaten food, stood up and said: "I have to go back and solve some trouble, I'll take two of Snoke's men with me, and leave the others here."

"Do you need me to go back with you?" Ina grabbed Luke's arm.

"No, you are the hostess here. I can solve the problem over there," Luke hugged her and comforted her.