Chapter Sixty: The Genius Scientist

After Jace stepped out of the Stark Group headquarters, someone followed him from behind.

Once they reached a slightly more secluded spot, Jeromi looked at the swaggering figure ahead and couldn’t help but speak. “I thought sparks would fly between two genius scientists, but it seems like there’s no use at all.”

“Genius scientist? Are you joking?” Jace crossed his arms and looked back at him.

“Oh, I forgot. Your IQ probably isn’t high enough to make such jokes. There’s only one genius scientist in this world… at most two.”

Jace paused and corrected himself, “As for that mortal you mentioned, Tony Stark, he absolutely does not belong in that category.”

He couldn’t understand why Viktor was so fixated on a mortal’s technological creation. What on earth was he thinking…

Lost in thought, Jace continued with an air of extreme arrogance, “As for you, a mere official knight, spare me your advice. I’m afraid I’ll burst out laughing.”

Jeromi’s muscles tensed, his ferocious aura revealing itself.

Jace glanced at him. “Wow~ An apprentice professional. How impressive, you’re as good as I was at ten.”

Jeromi didn’t retort. The man before him was indeed a genius; before he became a researcher, Jace had already broken through the apprentice threshold and reached intermediate rank. He hadn’t yet become an advanced professional simply because he devoted most of his time and energy to research.

“No matter what you say, if you don’t tell me who the enemy is, I’ll submit a report and request a replacement. The reason being, the investigator lacks any sense of cooperation—no, none at all,” Jeromi said seriously, looking at Jace.

“No! I forbid it!” Jace turned, glowering at Jeromi.

Jeromi didn’t argue further. Instead, he opened the Ouroboros emblem right in front of Jace, letting the page display before his eyes.

Some of the functions of the Ouroboros emblem had been designed and developed by the Hextech Institute, so Jace recognized immediately that Jeromi was showing the complaint page. The guy was truly ready to replace him.

“Fine. I can tell you, but from today onwards, you’ll completely obey my orders!” After a brief standoff, Jace chose to compromise. He couldn’t accept being replaced; he had to see Viktor.

“If your orders are correct.” Jeromi lowered his hand. He didn’t want things to get ugly; after all, Jace’s status and strength exceeded his own. Had Jace not gone too far, Jeromi wouldn’t have used the threat of a complaint.

“Hmph! I’m always right…” Jace paused, “most of the time.”

Jeromi shrugged. He could tell Jace must have suffered a setback recently; otherwise, he’d never have added that last phrase.

“This time, the enemy is Viktor—another genius scientist,” Jace began slowly.

“He’s different from me in that, before joining the Hextech Institute, he was a mage. What we share is his intellect; he’s at least much smarter than those who only repeat experiments in the lab.”

“He was also my… my only friend, until a month ago.”

At this, Jace’s expression grew despondent. Jeromi remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

“What I can’t accept is that he actually wanted to incorporate alchemical implants into the next version of the armor. That would improve every parameter, and ensure absolute obedience from the wearer—except their will would no longer be their own.”

Jace lowered his head, lost in thought, his voice fading.

“I believe that’s absolutely wrong, so I cut off the power supply to his personal lab. I swear, I didn’t know he was experimenting on his own arm.”

Jace took a deep breath. “And then he disappeared. The lab got word that the senior hunter Van Helsing had spotted him near New York. I checked all recent public reports—the only thing that might attract him is Tony Stark’s miniature reactor.”

“Because after leaving the institute, his energy supply and portable power would definitely be problematic. This might be the best substitute he can find right now. So I have to find him before he does something irreversible!”

“So, what should I do?” Jeromi spoke up.

Jace looked at him in surprise.

“Don’t get me wrong—I still dislike you. If I could, I’d gladly have another teammate. But as a knight, I won’t refuse to obey correct orders, and you seem decent enough,” Jeromi continued.

“Hahaha, I see there’s hope for you yet. When all this is over, I’ll personally give you a lesson—maybe your IQ will rise a little.” Jace laughed. His strength and status were above Jeromi’s, but Jeromi had the right to swap teammates. If Jeromi insisted, there was nothing Jace could do.

“I take back what I just said,” Jeromi replied coldly.

“That’s not important. Which knight path are you on?” Jace asked.

“In apprentice and official ranks, I followed the Bloodpath; for intermediate, I chose the bloodline route—the weakened Thunder Battlebear,” Jeromi summarized.

Jace scratched his head. He wasn’t very adept in this area, only able to grasp the meaning from the terminology.

“All right, follow that Pepper woman and protect her covertly. While I don’t think Viktor will take hostages, we should be prepared. She seems to have a close relationship with Tony Stark. If you have time, protect Stan as well; he and Tony Stark are apparently relatives.”

“As for me, I’ll stay close to Tony Stark to prevent Viktor from acting directly.”

Jace assigned the tasks.

“I’m not an assassin or a stalker. I can’t stay near Pepper without being noticed,” Jeromi glanced at Jace.

“Of course, I know that. In that company, it shouldn’t be a problem. When I went in, I checked their security—there’s even artificial intelligence inside. Viktor would find it hard to breach without causing a stir. Just follow Pepper once she leaves the company,” Jace continued. The special detector he carried had scanned all the defense personnel and weapons when he entered Stark’s company.

“Fine, give me a communicator. The Ouroboros-built ones are too expensive, especially for non-investigator contacts,” Jeromi extended his right hand.

“But those are secure—no legendary spell or ability can break its security barriers… never mind, why am I telling you this?” Jace said, pulling out a small disk-shaped object from his pocket and handing it to Jeromi.

“This isn’t as secure, but you don’t need high security for surface use. Stick it to your earlobe, inject any energy, and you can communicate remotely.”