novel bin Page 75
Page 75
Chapter 88 Iron Man VS Whiplash
The air in Monaco is salty and humid, mixed with the smell of burnt tires and money.
The roar of the engines came in waves, making one's heart tremble. F1 Grand Prix, a playground for the rich.
Chu Hang sat in the top-of-the-line VIP box, overlooking the sun-baked racetrack. He was dressed in a casual suit; his identity was Anthony Chen, the second-largest shareholder of Stark Industries.
He held a glass of champagne, the bubbles rising and bursting. He had no interest in racing, nor in this expensive, noisy spectacle. He was here for only one thing.
Take a piece of the spoils.
The atmosphere in the private room was far from as relaxed as he was.
"Tony, you can't do this!" Pepper Potts was frantic. Dressed in a smart business suit, she was trying to pull Tony away from his racing suit. "This is too dangerous!"
"What's so dangerous about it?" Tony shrugged nonchalantly as he put on his fireproof suit. "This is my team, my race car. I want to go up and do a couple of laps, give the audience a little treat, is that not allowed?"
He was chatting with the team manager when, on a whim, he decided to take the field himself. This decision threw the entire team into chaos.
"This is a huge problem!" Pepe's temples throbbed with anger. "You're a CEO! Not a race car driver!"
“Relax, Pepper.” Tony zipped up his jacket and winked at her. “I’m a better pilot than most. Driving a car is no big deal.”
Standing to the side, Happy Hogan, the loyal bodyguard, looked utterly dejected. He wanted to offer some words of comfort, but he knew he couldn't. He could only resign himself to picking up a helmet and examining it closely.
Chu Hang watched this scene with great interest. That's Tony Stark for you—always living in the spotlight, enjoying the adrenaline rush. His inherent adventurous spirit is both his greatest charm and his greatest weakness.
“Let him go, Miss Potts.” Chu Hang put down his wine glass and walked over. His voice was flat and emotionless. “No one can change his mind. All we can do is trust him.”
Pepper glanced back at Chu Hang. This man was always like this, as if nothing concerned him. She sighed and gave up. She knew Chu Hang was right.
Tony gave Chu Hang a thumbs up, put on his helmet, and strode towards the red Stark Industries-painted race car.
The roar of the engine instantly rose, like a beast awakened from its slumber.
The game started.
A dozen or so race cars shot off like bullets. Tony's skills were indeed excellent; although his start was a bit slow, he quickly caught up to fifth place thanks to the car's superior performance and his daring driving style.
The atmosphere in the box was extremely tense. Pepper's hands were clenched tightly, and her eyes were fixed on the in-car camera footage of Tony's race car on the screen.
Chu Hang leaned back on the sofa and poured himself another glass of champagne. His senses were like an invisible net, enveloping the entire arena.
He did not find his target in the stands or the pit lane.
"Looks like I'll be making my debut right on the track," he thought to himself.
The race entered the third lap. Tony was preparing to overtake at a sharp turn when the accident occurred.
A man in an orange mechanic's uniform slowly emerged from a pit lane beside the track. His steps were steady, completely ignoring the race cars around him traveling at over 300 kilometers per hour.
"Who is that? Is he crazy? Where's security! Get him out of here!" the commentator shouted in alarm.
An uproar erupted in the audience. Everyone thought he was a crazy person seeking fame.
But Chu Hang's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Ivan Vanko.
Ivan removed his orange coat, revealing a crude and rudimentary mechanical exoskeleton. A circular reactor, similar to the one on Tony's chest, emitted an ominous blue light. In his hands, he gripped two metal handles.
He flipped the switch.
"Zi la——!"
Two blinding bolts of lightning shot out from his hands, stretching into two electric whips several meters long in the air. The whips writhed like venomous snakes, scorching the air with a crackling sound.
He casually waved his arm.
One of the electric whips, like a red-hot knife, lashed out hard at a speeding race car.
There was no loud crashing sound.
There was only one sickeningly loud cutting sound.
The multi-million dollar race car was neatly sliced in half like a hot knife through butter. The metal at the cut instantly melted, turning red-hot, before exploding into a fireball with a deafening roar.
The racetrack instantly turned into hell.
Screams, alarms, and the sounds of race cars crashing out of control mingled together. The audience rose in terror from their seats and scattered like headless flies.
Inside the private room, Pepper let out a short scream, her face turning deathly pale.
For the first time, Chu Hang's face showed an expression of interest.
"interesting."
He watched as the two dancing plasma whips in Ivan Vanko's hands, and the system's analysis panel automatically unfolded in his mind.
[Target identified: Ivan Vanke]
[Ability detection in progress...]
[Class B capability detected: Plasma Energy Confinement and Shaping (Rough Version)]
【Copy? 】
“Grade B… rough version…” Chu Hang stroked his chin.
His level wasn't high, and his evaluation was poor. But this idea of shaping energy into the form of melee weapons was a good supplement for him. His own cosmic energy and spatial abilities were either for large-scale attacks or precise point-to-point strikes, lacking this kind of flexible form at mid-range.
"Copy," he murmured to himself.
[Copying begins... Capability template construction in progress...]
[Copy complete! Gained Grade B ability: Plasma Energy Confinement and Shaping!]
A vast stream of information instantly flooded Chu Hang's mind. How to construct a miniature magnetic field bottle, how to adjust the magnetic field frequency to change the shape and hardness of the plasma, how to efficiently guide the energy out... all the technical details about the plasma whip became incredibly clear, as if he had been researching it for ten years.
Rough, but useful.
Chu Hang immediately thought of more than a dozen ways to improve it. For example, using spatial curvature to assist in constraint could reduce energy leakage to almost zero. Or injecting cosmic energy into it could create an energy attack that could cut through freely changing forms.
On the track, Ivan Vanko walked step by step toward Tony's wrecked and immobilized race car. His expression was filled with the pleasure of revenge.
"Happy! Hurry! Drive!" Pepper screamed, grabbed a red briefcase, and rushed out of the private room.
Happy reacted quickly, immediately starting the Rolls-Royce parked next to him, and carrying Pepper, he recklessly drove against the flow of traffic onto the track.
He floored the accelerator and rammed into Ivan Vanko.
Ivan was thrown into the air by the impact, but his exoskeleton protected him. He quickly got up and angrily swung his electric whip, slicing the front of the Rolls-Royce to shreds.
Taking advantage of the lull, Happy tossed the red briefcase to Tony, who was climbing out of the race car.
"Finally here." Tony wiped the oil off his face.
He stepped on the middle of the suitcase and pulled hard.
"Click! Click! Click!"
A series of rapid mechanical clicking sounds rang out. The suitcase unfolded instantly, like a Transformer. Countless tiny mechanical parts quickly climbed, assembled, and locked onto Tony's limbs and body.
A set of red and silver, lightweight and highly streamlined steel armor covered Tony's entire body.
Mark 5, Suitcase Armor.
Ivan Vanko's electric whip came whistling through the air.
Tony had just finished dressing when he raised his arm and precisely blocked the attack. The plasma collided with the alloy of the armor, erupting in blinding sparks. A charred mark immediately appeared on the arm of the armor.
“Nice design.” Tony’s voice came from inside the armor, tinged with a hint of mockery. “However, your reactor technology is too outdated. If you’re going to steal something from my house, at least steal the latest model.”
He grabbed the electric whip and pulled hard.
Although the Mark 5 was lightweight, its strength still far exceeded that of an ordinary person. Ivan stumbled and was pulled to the ground.
Tony gave him no chance, lunging forward and pressing his hands firmly against the reactor on Ivan's chest, pulling it outward with force!
"Zi la——!"
The pipes connecting to the reactor were violently severed, sparks flying everywhere. Ivan Vanko's exoskeleton and electric whip instantly lost their power supply and went dark.
The battle is over.
Police swarmed in and pinned Ivan Vanko to the ground.
He looked at Tony as he approached, a look of resentment on his face, and whispered in Russian, "I haven't lost yet."
Tony frowned, not understanding.
In the VIP box, Chu Hang finished the last sip of champagne in his glass.
He looked at the mess downstairs, then at Ivan Vanko being taken away by the police, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
He knew that it wouldn't be long before Justin Hammer would use his connections to get Ivan Vanko out of prison.
The curtain has just risen on a great show.
Chapter 89 New Skill: Dimensional Whip
The air in the room where the congressional hearing was taking place was stuffy and humid.
Rows of politicians and military leaders in suits stood there, their expressions solemn, as if they were attending a funeral. Flashbulbs shone incessantly on Tony Stark in the witness stand, as if they were free.
“Mr. Stark,” Senator Stern’s voice was dry and hard, “the whole world saw what happened in Monaco. A terrorist, using technology similar to the thing on your chest, caused enormous chaos. This proves that your so-called 'Iron Man' is essentially a superweapon that can be copied and abused!”
He slammed his hand on the table, making the water glass on it jump.
"We can no longer allow such an uncontrolled weapon to remain in private hands. On behalf of the U.S. government, I once again request that you transfer the technology of the Iron Man armor to the military!"
Tony leaned back lazily in his chair, chewing gum and sporting an smug grin. He glanced at Justin Hammer, who was sitting behind Senator Stern. Hammer was grinning at him, a grin full of schadenfreude.
“Senator,” Tony deliberately drew out his English words, full of sarcasm, “first of all, that thing isn’t a weapon; I prefer to call it a high-tech prosthetic. Secondly, I am Iron Man; the armor and I are one. You can’t expect me to give myself up, can you? That sounds a bit weird, not ergonomic.”
A suppressed laugh came from the scene.
Stern's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. "Mr. Stark, this is not the time for jokes!"
“I’m not kidding.” Tony’s smile faded, and he became slightly more serious. “The truth is, other countries, including some of our ‘competitors,’ are desperately trying to copy my technology, but they’ve all failed. Why? Because they don’t have me. That guy who popped out of Monaco, his technology is at best a 20-year-old half-finished product. You want me to hand over my technology so you can perfect this half-finished product and fill the world with lunatics in metal suits?”
“We have the capability to control it!” Senator Stern raised his voice. “We have top-notch experts, Mr. Hammer!”
Justin Hammer immediately stood up, like a peacock eager to spread its tail feathers, and carefully straightened his tie.
“Yes, Senator.” Hammer cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, “Hammer Industries is confident and capable of safely and efficiently replicating and mass-producing this system under military oversight. We will turn it into a solid shield to protect the nation, not some billionaire’s private toy.”