Yes, Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM).
Luca wasn't interested in them because of the Extremis virus they produced. That thing was too unstable; even the upgraded Centipede Soldiers carried the risk of exploding.
What Luca cared more about was the plan of AIM's boss, the guy named Killian... specifically, his plan to control the President.
In Iron Man 3, Killian seduced the US Vice President, whose daughter had a leg disability, using the regenerative capabilities of the Extremis virus.
The plan was to use terrorist attacks to eliminate the current President, install the puppet Vice President, and thereby control the United States.
It sounded ridiculous. In a capitalist society, the US President didn't have absolute power anyway.
And in the end, his plan was thwarted by Iron Man. The President was saved, and the Vice President was arrested for colluding with terrorists.
But if Luca could get leverage on the Vice President during this process and help cover up his dealings with Killian...
Perhaps he could gain a "loyal ally" in the political sphere.
But the first explosion just happened? No rush then.
Thinking this, Luca ordered Hakimi to keep monitoring the situation and waited for events to unfold.
In the following period, classes resumed at the Dalton School.
Luca only went occasionally to tease "Gwen Two" and relieve stress.
Most of his time and energy went into designing the foldable, transformable base.
Of course, although Luca rarely managed company affairs directly, the Aurantius Group was growing explosively.
Several more police departments across different states followed New York's lead, adding the Arbiter pistol to their procurement lists.
The Aurantius Materials factory was completed and began small-scale sales of E-Carbon Alloy, earning the new materials company a solid reputation and influence.
As for the collaboration with Osborn Bio, although Norman seemed distracted lately, the release of several new specialty drugs opened up the market, putting that venture on the right track.
And in Sokovia, things were moving even faster. Weapon production lines, pharmaceutical companies, and parts manufacturing plants were all being established.
Raina even planned to acquire several small-to-medium daily necessities companies, aiming to cover every aspect of life in Sokovia with Aurantius Group products.
In short, the entire Aurantius Group was expanding at a terrifying rate.
Even Tony Stark, during their occasional chats, would remark that investing in Aurantius Group was one of his best financial decisions.
However, just because the big picture was rosy didn't mean everything was smooth sailing.
At least recently, Luca hit a wall in item collection.
Yes, although Luca spent a lot of energy in the lab and had gained decent R&D capabilities from the Conan dream world...
He never forgot his foundation. In between experiments, he always made time to scour shopping districts, flea markets, or even leech off Tony, hoping to stumble upon new items.
It wasn't that he found nothing these past few days.
But the two items he synthesized were... well, pretty useless to him right now.
---
[Dragon Radar]
Source: Dragon Ball (1/5)
Creator: Bulma
Status: Finished Item
Item Description: A small handheld radar with a scan radius covering the entire Earth. Although the display is primitive, it is simple to operate and can pinpoint the energy fluctuations emitted by the Dragon Balls anywhere in the world.
Warning: With this, you never have to worry about finding the scattered Dragon Balls again~
---
Luca synthesized this from an old pocket watch found at a flea market.
The problem was, the [Dragon Radar] only tracked Dragon Balls. The Marvel Universe didn't have Dragon Balls. So the radar scanned absolutely nothing.
Helplessly, Luca tried to dismantle it to learn some Dragon Ball tech.
But even with Aurantius Haro and Baymax activating their "combo skill," they couldn't figure out how this tiny handheld device achieved global scanning.
In the end, this potentially awesome item was left to gather dust in the warehouse.
I'll just treat it as progress toward unlocking the Dragon Ball world 5/5 reward.
Luca comforted himself.
However, that wasn't the end of it.
After the Dragon Radar, Luca got another item that seemed even more magical.
---
[Shrinking Pill]
Source: Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (1/5)
Creator: Wolffy (Gray Wolf)
Status: Finished Item
Item Description: A magical white pill created by Wolffy to sneak through the Sheep Village gate. Upon ingestion, it instantly shrinks the user's body by ten times. Strength, speed, and other attributes shrink proportionally.
Warning: Since the effect is permanent, it is recommended to use with an Enlarging Pill~
---
Um... how to put this.
The [Shrinking Pill] was indeed magical, as described.
It shrank you by 10x instantly. But the key was, Luca didn't have an [Enlarging Pill]. If he took it, he'd be permanently tiny.
If he ate it, his only hope would be Dr. Hank Pym's Pym Particles to save him.
But if Luca could get Pym Particles, the Shrinking Pill would be redundant anyway.
The only use Luca could think of was to prank someone. Or use it as a weapon.
Shrinking an enemy by 10x permanently would definitely neutralize them.
But getting it into an enemy's mouth was hard. And since he only synthesized this single pill, Luca was reluctant to waste it.
As for its origin, Luca didn't find this one while shopping.
Its "Core Component" was actually a failed batch of APTX-4869 developed by Sherry. Luca found the discarded pill in her lab by chance.
However, after synthesizing it into the [Shrinking Pill] and asking Sherry to analyze it for replication...
The result was: It's just a complex jelly bean.
Sherry thought Luca was bored and pranking her, which annoyed her so much that Luca almost ate the pill just to prove his innocence.