Chapter 50: Eighty-Five Thousand Feet
Meanwhile.
In the night sky tens of kilometers away from Malibu Beach.
Tony was weaving through the clouds with an arrogant swagger.
Feeling the G-force brought by the thrusters, Tony felt his blood boiling.
This is true freedom! This is the pinnacle of technology!
He would bet that even if the most advanced fighter jet were flown over right now, it would only eat his dust.
As for Luca?
He was probably still stamping his feet in anger back at the Villa right now!
Just as Tony was immersed in his fantasies, the screen suddenly flashed with a dazzling alarm.
"Beep, beep, beep!"
Jarvis issued a reminder.
"Sir! The radar system detects a high-density energy body rapidly approaching from behind!"
"The target's speed is extremely fast! It has already broken five Mach! It will reach your position in ten seconds!"
Tony was stunned for a moment, his brows instantly knitting together.
High-density energy body? Five Mach?
Besides the mark armor that Tony Stark had just developed, what else could fly this fast?!
Could it be a secret weapon of the Military? Or some blind alien?
"No, Sir! The data has been updated! Three seconds left!" Jarvis's voice sounded again.
"What?!"
Tony's voice had just fallen, before he even had time to let Jarvis pull up the footage.
"Boom!!!"
A strong storm brushed past the edge of the mark armor fiercely!
This air wave was incomparably turbulent.
The mark armor instantly lost balance and began to spin violently.
Tony was shaken so dizzy by the sudden turbulence that his stomach churned violently.
He firmly stabilized the control stick and shouted aloud.
"Stabilization system! Activate auxiliary flanks!"
Having managed to stabilize his posture in the air, Tony immediately looked forward.
He only saw an afterimage emitting dazzling white light flash past at the end of his vision, and then disappear into the dark night.
Tony was stunned for a full two and a half seconds before reacting.
"Jarvis! What the hell was that just now?!"
"This is definitely a Supervillain, right?! Or some secret aircraft from another country!"
"This absolutely cannot be Luca! How could human flesh reach that kind of speed?! He must still be looking for a broom to clean up dust in the Villa!"
Jarvis was just about to enlarge the footage captured just now to show Tony.
"Sir, according to the body shape scan comparison, the one who just flew past was indeed..."
Tony directly and loudly interrupted Jarvis's report.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear those useless data!"
"No matter what kind of Superpower user or alien spaceship that thing ahead is, no one's speed can surpass Tony Stark!"
Tony's eyes seemed to breathe fire as he gave a loud command.
"Concentrate all energy on the foot and hand thrusters! Turn the output power to maximum! I'm going to catch up to him and kick his ass hard!"
Jarvis responded helplessly.
"Understood, Sir. The reactor has outputted maximum power, and the propulsion system is running at overload."
The next second.
The thruster nozzles at the feet of the armor erupted with even more dazzling exhaust flames than before!
Accompanied by a roar, the armor suddenly accelerated, and Tony also turned into a stream of light and disappeared from the spot.
The violent wind whistled outside the helmet.
Tony stared intently at the tracking point on the screen.
However, one minute passed.
Tony quickly discovered in despair that no matter how much he increased the throttle, he couldn't shorten the distance between him and the red dot ahead!
What stung even more was that the red dot was slowly widening the gap between them!
"Damn Luca! How could he be this fast?!"
Tony broke down, completely unable to accept that his hard work couldn't even outrun a superhuman.
"Did he secretly install a micro-thruster in his suit?! Yes! Absolutely! He definitely cheated!"
Jarvis timely jumped out and dealt another blow.
"Sir, this suit was designed and created together by me and Luca. I can assure you that there are no micro-thrusters of any form installed inside."
"Mr. Luca's flight is entirely driven by a special energy field within his body. From the perspective of physics, this is a form of energy projection."
Tony was even more speechless.
Feeling his face being slapped left and right.
He just wanted to open his mouth to find some other excuse.
Just at this moment, the red dot on the radar suddenly stopped moving.
Through the camera, Tony saw that not far ahead, Luca had his arms crossed over his chest, quietly hovering mid-air.
A black cape fluttered slowly behind him.
The whole person looked full of unmatched dominance and oppressiveness.
At this moment, Luca looked at the flying Tony with a half-smile.
The meaning was self-evident.
"Bro, you're too slow."
Tony bit the bullet and flew in front of Luca, hovering to a stop.
For a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Tony was very glad that his mask was closed, otherwise Luca would definitely have been able to see his awkward look.
Luca didn't think that much.
Up and down inspecting the panting Tony, he raised his eyebrows with amusement.
"Bro, it looks like your mark armor still needs to go back and get some upgrades."
"The speed is so slow, I've been waiting here for a long time. Do you need me to introduce a few reliable mechanics to help unclog your exhaust pipe?"
Faced with Luca's sneers and taunts, Tony immediately raised his chin arrogantly.
"Don't get cocky too early, Luca."
"I was just testing the armor's cruising fuel consumption just now. As the older brother, I always have to give way to my younger brother a little. Understand? If I were really serious, you wouldn't even smell my exhaust fumes."
Luca knew Tony too well.
He knew he had already won in the speed competition, so he couldn't be bothered to continue bickering over this point.
The best way to defeat Tony was to crush him with facts.
Luca raised his head, his gaze looking toward the pitch-black night sky.
"Since you've already demonstrated your modesty in level flight speed, how about we play something more exciting?"
"Do you know what the highest altitude record for a reconnaissance aircraft is?"
Tony raised an eyebrow and immediately asked Jarvis.
"Jarvis, tell him the answer. Let this guy who hasn't attended many days of serious college know what professional data is."
"Sir, according to public records from the Global Aviation Administration, the current highest flight altitude record for a fixed-wing aircraft was set by the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, at a height of eighty-five thousand feet."
Hearing Jarvis's answer, Luca nodded in satisfaction.
"Eighty-five thousand feet. Sounds pretty high."
"However, records are created for the sole purpose of being broken!"
Luca beckoned to Tony.
"Come on, Tony. Let me see if you can actually touch the limit of the sky."
As soon as the words fell.
"Boom!"
A circle of white energy field suddenly surged around Luca!
This was a substantive radiance of energy, wrapping his entire body within it.
This was an ability Luca had only discovered today.
He called it the Monarch Force Field!
This scene left Tony looking dumbfounded.
"Good grief! What are these glowing things?! Did you turn yourself into a giant light bulb?!"
Luca couldn't be bothered to answer Tony's question.
This kind of thing couldn't be explained clearly in a few words.
He made a simple gesture, signaling Tony to get ready.
"Hold onto your steering wheel, Tony. We're taking off."
Seeing Luca's serious posture, Tony's unyielding drive was also stimulated.
"Jarvis, switch the propulsion system to vertical takeoff mode!"
The two quickly got ready.
The next second.
"Bang!!!"
Two deafening sonic booms sounded at the same time!
Luca and Tony turned into a white and a red stream of light and began to ascend into the sky.
Chapter 51: The First Richest Man in the Stark Family to Fall to His Death
Ten thousand feet! Thirty thousand feet! Fifty thousand feet!
As the altitude continued to climb, the surrounding air became thinner and thinner, and the temperature began to drop sharply.
However, Luca, protected by the force field, did not feel any discomfort.
The force field was like a protective shield, completely isolating the extreme cold, hypoxia, and low pressure.
Not only that.
As the altitude grew higher and higher, breaking through layers of obstacles,
Luca suddenly had a wonderful feeling.
He could clearly feel that as he moved farther away from the ground, the cells in his body were cheering!
It seemed that the higher he flew, the more terrifying his absorption efficiency of various radiation energies in the Universe became!
He quickly raised his head and looked at the sky above his head.
At this altitude, the Sun's rays refracted a gorgeous halo at the edge of Earth.
Luca knew that was the light of the Sun! It was the source of life and power!
He couldn't help opening his arms and slowly closing his eyes.
Wantonly enjoying the comfort of power continuously pouring into his body.
The cells were growing stronger! Muscle density was increasing! The range of the biological force field was expanding!
It seemed that because it was his first time getting so close to the Sun, the absorption speed was particularly fierce.
He was absorbing it at almost ten times his usual speed!
Of course, while his power continued to climb,
his ascending speed was also constantly breaking limits!
Mach 6! Mach 7! Mach 8!
On the other side, Tony, who claimed he would never lose, had long since been left behind unconsciously.
The record of 85,000 feet was instantly trampled under Luca's feet!
One hundred thousand feet! One hundred and twenty thousand feet!
That was more than 36,000 meters away from the ground.
Higher and higher! Higher and higher!
The surroundings had turned into a vacuum zone.
This was the edge of Earth.
The stars no longer twinkled, but were embedded in the curtain like static diamonds.
Luca knew that this flight altitude definitely far exceeded any record in human history!
Just as he was preparing to get a close-up experience of the real Universe,
suddenly,
he heard some faint sounds.
They came from far below, and it was Jarvis's voice.
"Sir! The external temperature is starting to drop! Potentially fatal icing has occurred!"
"The power system is failing! The joints are frozen solid!"
Hearing this voice, Luca suddenly opened his eyes and instantly stopped his dash.
Something happened!
He immediately looked down, his sight instantly locking onto an object.
In the high altitude about 50,000 feet away from the ground,
Tony's armor had been completely covered by a layer of dazzling white ice!
The reactor on the chest of the armor had gone out.
The indicator lights at the eyes had also gone out!
Having lost power, he was in free fall toward the sea below!
"Jarvis! Immediately deploy the auxiliary flaps on the back! Increase air resistance!"
Tony's desperate shout came from inside the armor.
However, the armor did not react at all.
"Jarvis? Jarvis! Answer me!"
That's right, the system had disconnected due to icing.
Luca shook his head helplessly.
"Such a face-saving guy. If you can't make it, don't fly so high, you just have to bite off more than you can chew. Do you really think a layer of armor can fight against nature?"
However, although he was complaining verbally, Luca's actions did not hesitate.
He immediately adjusted the force field around him.
Afterwards, maintaining a standing posture, Luca fell downwards at an extreme speed!
Due to the protection and boost of the force field,
Luca's falling speed was actually several times faster than Tony's, who was attracted by Earth's gravity!
"Rumble!"
Whistling sounds kept coming.
He was getting closer and closer to Tony.
Thirty thousand feet! Twenty thousand feet! Ten thousand feet!
Soon,
when there were less than 5,000 feet left from the ground, Luca finally caught up with the falling Tony.
He controlled the force field to keep his speed consistent with Tony's, and the two fell downwards parallel in mid-air.
Luca knocked on Tony's mask and spoke leisurely.
"Yo, isn't this our great Mr. Tony Stark?"
"It seems that this arrogant genius inventor has encountered a little icing problem."
Luca crossed his arms in front of his chest, his words full of gloating.
"So, may I ask this gentleman who almost created a World record, do you need your kind, righteous younger brother with powerful Superpower to lend a helping hand now?"
"As long as you shout for help, kind me will definitely make a move. How about it? Is this deal worthwhile?"
Inside the armor, the panicked Tony suddenly heard the taunting voice coming from outside.
He turned his head and saw the leisurely Luca.
Tony's self-esteem overcame his fear of death.
Even though he was about to be smashed into meat paste soon, Tony would never allow himself to bow his head in front of his younger brother!
"Get away! Not needed!"
"I often encounter such small scenes! I can solve it myself! This is just a trivial little problem! I will be able to restart the system soon!"
Although that was what he said,
Tony was still flustered and hurriedly tried to use physical strength to pry those frozen joints.
Luca held back his smile, feeling like he was about to get internal injuries from holding it in.
"Still being stubborn? If you keep falling down, you're going to discuss science with those flounders."
In the end, he didn't plan to continue teasing the other party.
Afterwards, below was the sea surface. If he really fell down, Tony would definitely ascend to heaven immediately.
So,
Luca grabbed the arm of Tony's armor!
The force field around him immediately split off a part to wrap Tony inside.
With the buffer of the force field, Tony's falling inertia was offset.
Without feeling any pulling force, he stopped in mid-air.
But seeing Luca forcibly intervening, Tony became even more anxious.
He felt that his face was about to be lost completely.
"Let go! I said I don't need help!"
Tony yelled inside the helmet, trying to break free from Luca's hand.
"You meddling bastard! Let go of me quickly! Jarvis will wake up soon! I'll be able to fly by myself right away!"
Luca couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Tony's impotent rage.
His eyes narrowed.
Two scorching laser beams suddenly burst out from his eyes!
The two laser beams swept across the surface of Tony's armor.
The ice layer on the surface of the armor quickly turned into a white vapor and dissipated.
It only took a single second.
The ice layer on the surface of the armor was cleared, and the frozen joints regained their vitality.
"Hum!"
The next second,
accompanied by the sound of the system restarting,
blue light lit up again at the eyes of Tony's armor!
The reactor on his chest roared again!
This meant that Jarvis had awakened!
"System reboot successful. Sir. Taking over the armor."
Jarvis's voice sounded in the helmet again, which was simply the gospel of an Angel.
"Boom!"
The thruster at the feet of the armor violently sprayed out a thick flame.
Tony broke free from Luca's hand and hurriedly stabilized his figure in mid-air.
At this time, the two of them had unconsciously flown above the urban area of Los Angeles.
Below were bustling streets and brilliantly lit skyscrapers.
Hovering in the night sky, Tony took deep breaths.
Recalling the weightlessness just now, his heart was still beating wildly.
Heavens, it was so close!
He was almost going to become the first richest man in the Stark Family to fall to his death!
Chapter 52 U.S. Exclusive Area
After calming down, Tony immediately gave an order.
"Jarvis! Record the flaws from just now!"
"High-altitude low temperatures will cause system crashes and mechanical structure freezing! The next version of the armor must improve this flaw! Adopt anti-icing coatings!"
"Recorded, Sir." Jarvis responded dutifully.
After dealing with the serious matter.
Tony turned his head and looked at Luca, who was holding back his laughter on the side.
To hide his embarrassment, Tony started complaining, trying to salvage a bit of face.
"Don't look at me with that kind of gaze, Luca."
"You know, a genius's brain processes a lot of information every day. Occasionally, there are times when some common sense is forgotten."
Tony spread his hands and argued righteously.
"The fact that it freezes at high altitudes was just a line of code I accidentally left out when designing the blueprints. This is definitely just an insignificant mistake, and it doesn't affect my greatness."
Seeing that Tony still had a stubborn, die-hard attitude, Luca really couldn't hold it in anymore.
He held his stomach and laughed out loud.
"Right, right, right, everything you say is right. This is just a small mistake. You are a great genius."
"A genius who almost became a frozen roasted duck."
Damn it!
Why was Luca laughing so uninhibitedly?!
It's over, this is the shame of the Stark Family!
Tony sighed helplessly.
He knew that in front of Luca, he really took a tumble today.
"Alright, alright."
Tony raised his hands and made a surrendering gesture.
"I admit, this is because I forgot to consider extreme weather conditions. But next time! I guarantee that the upgraded armor will definitely be able to fly to the moon!"
"Also, stop laughing, this really is just a mistake!!"
Luca also stopped laughing.
To be fair, the most useful way to educate an older brother is to let him experience some things himself.
If Tony didn't experience it personally, he would never admit defeat.
This is the personality of the Stark Family.
Their old man Howard was like this, he was like this, and Tony was like this too.
He flew in front of Tony, and his tone became serious.
"Tony, I told you long ago."
"Relying on external force has its limits after all. Only one's own strength is true strength!"
Tony didn't speak, just frowned tightly.
Luca knew what he was thinking, and immediately pointed at Tony's chest and started speaking.
"Think carefully, if I hadn't been flying alongside you during this test flight, what would you have done?"
"If the system never rebooted and you fell to the ground from tens of thousands of feet, what would you have done?"
"All your money, all your beauties, and Potts, would all be left to others. Are you reconciled to that?"
Tony opened his mouth, wanting to say something to refute.
But seeing Luca's incomparably serious gaze, Tony ultimately chose silence.
He knew that Luca was right.
This time he was indeed too arrogant.
Without Luca, he would already be a dead man now.
That's right, a dead-as-a-doornail kind of dead person.
Tony was a proud person; he wasn't accustomed to saying thank you to others, let alone admitting his own weakness.
But he deeply engraved this life-saving grace in his heart.
However, having said that, the two brothers' bond wouldn't break just because of an argument.
Seeing Tony choose silence for once in a blue moon.
Luca also knew that his words had worked.
Tony's pride needed to be knocked down a peg, but it couldn't be beaten too hard.
After all, no matter what, Tony was his biological older brother.
What else could a younger brother do?
Thus, Luca sighed and resumed his smiling, frivolous appearance.
"Alright! Put away that expression as if your old man died."
"The men of the Stark Family have always been daring and responsible. So what if you made a mistake? Just fix it!"
Luca raised an eyebrow at Tony, his words full of a bragging tone.
"Besides, failure is the mother of success. When I broke the longest duration record with the Swedish twins in the hotel back then, I was just two minutes short of completing a World record!"
"Although I failed that time because of a leg cramp, the second time, didn't I successfully exceed the record by half an hour?"
Before Tony could react.
Luca spread his hands with an open and frank expression.
"Look, I've never hidden this from the outside World. A real man must dare to face his own shortcomings."
Tony:...
What the f*** are you talking about?!
Tony, who was originally brewing emotions in his heart, instantly threw his touched feelings to the nine heavens.
"Shut up, you scum."
Subsequently, Tony puffed out his chest, unwilling to show weakness.
"If we really have to discuss that kind of record... I'm sorry, but I have more experience than you."
"Last month, when I was with the girls on the cover of Playboy magazine, I broke the record four times in a row."
"And I've never had a leg cramp!"
The two brothers looked at each other and burst into loud laughter together.
Of course, the gloomy atmosphere also dissipated in the laughter.
Between brothers, no extra words are needed.
After laughing.
Luca looked down below.
This was the bustling downtown of Los Angeles.
The lights illuminated half the sky, and the pedestrians on the street were as dense as ants.
"Alright, the warm-up exercise is over."
"Have Jarvis dispatch the demon armor. The citizens of Los Angeles have had too leisurely a night tonight; it's time to let them see some truly exciting shows."
Tony was stunned for a moment, not reacting for a while.
"What demon armor?"
"That demon armor we built in the lab!"
Luca frowned, not understanding how Tony's IQ had dropped.
Could it be that it was too exciting just now?
No, we have to throw a party to make up for it when we get back.
Those models from last time were pretty good; truly worthy of the U.S. Exclusive Area.
They are extremely professional in their usage of yes and no.
Tony was stunned for a moment, and only then did he react.
What Luca was talking about was that new set of armor they made specifically to act as the villain.
But the name demon armor...
Tony shook his head with a face full of disgust.
"Luca. I really have to remind you once again, your ability to give nicknames is still as terrible as ever."
"demon armor? This name sounds like a villain from a last-century comic book, completely devoid of originality!"
Tony touched his chin and put forward a suggestion.
"Since it has horns and looks so evil, I think calling it lucifer is way more imposing than your tacky nickname!"
Luca was somewhat speechless.
He didn't want to argue with Tony on this issue.
"Whatever you want to call it! lucifer is lucifer! It's just a name used for a target, what's there to argue about!"
"When the citizens are running for their lives, they won't care what the guy crushing their cars is called at all!"
Chapter 53: I Have a Plan to Make Both Sides Fight
Tony couldn't be bothered to continue bantering with him and casually issued an order.
"Jarvis, activate lucifer. Control it to fly out of the laboratory and raise hell in downtown Los Angeles for me. Smash a few cars and scare those passersby."
"Alright, Sir. lucifer has taken off and is expected to arrive downtown in two minutes."
Just as Tony finished giving the command and the two of them were preparing to fly over to save the World.
Suddenly!
Luca was stunned for a moment.
His ears twitched slightly.
Caught by his superhuman hearing, countless noisy sounds were instantly filtered out.
He heard a familiar and unexpected conversation in the city.
One of the voices sounded somewhat helpless.
"Director, do you really need to make this trip to Los Angeles in person?"
"Small matters like monitoring the Stark Brothers could completely be left for me to lead a team. As the Director, running out in person is too dangerous."
Immediately after, another deep and raspy voice rang out.
"Coulson. How do you think I got into the Director's seat?"
"That is professional spirit and the control over any unstable factors!"
That voice said coldly.
"The recent actions of the Stark Brothers are too abnormal."
"If I don't come to Los Angeles in person to secretly check on the two of them and figure out their trump cards, implementing my 'Avengers Initiative' will encounter huge trouble."
Hearing this conversation.
Luca raised an eyebrow.
Coulson?!
If he remembered correctly.
This was the person who wanted to recruit them at the Stark Industries press conference that day, only to be ruthlessly mocked and driven away by them!
That's right, this guy who claimed to be an S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent!
Luca immediately lowered his head, his gaze looking towards the urban area beneath his feet like lightning.
His line of sight penetrated the city lights and building after building of skyscrapers.
Very quickly.
Luca's gaze locked onto a certain remote street below.
Parked there was an unremarkable black off-road Chevrolet.
His vision penetrated the roof of the car.
He clearly saw that sitting in the passenger seat was a middle-aged White man with a receding hairline.
He was saying something into a walkie-talkie.
Luca nodded, becoming a bit interested.
"It really is you, Receding Hairline Agent, Coulson."
Afterwards, Luca's vision slowly shifted to the driver's seat.
But when he clearly saw the person sitting in the driver's seat.
Luca's expression turned weird, and then his brows tightly knitted together into a ball.
"Fuck!"
"What the hell is this thing? Pitch-black like a cotton picker on a farm?!"
"And it's even a one-eyed dragon?! Still wearing an eyepatch? Damn, this bald head, viewed from afar, looks simply like a refined black marinated egg!"
Tony, who was standing nearby getting ready to take off, instantly listened with a confused expression.
Tony looked at Luca with a head full of question marks.
"What cotton picker? What one-eyed dragon? What marinated egg?"
Tony felt that Luca must be hallucinating due to high-altitude oxygen deprivation.
"Luca, did flying too fast just burn out your cranial nerves? What are you babbling about?"
Facing Tony's mockery, Luca didn't get angry.
He withdrew his gaze and smiled very mysteriously.
"Bro, you don't understand the World of superhumans."
"I bet you definitely can't guess who I saw."
Tony shrugged and casually retorted.
"How could I possibly guess what a lunatic saw?"
"Could it be that you saw a marinated egg fall into the Mediterranean Sea?"
Luca was stunned for a moment, looked at Tony with newfound respect, and smiled while clapping his hands.
"Not bad, bro! I take back what I said earlier about you having no brain. You still have a bit of IQ!"
"How did you know I saw a black marinated egg?"
Tony:...
Tony was somewhat speechless.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to blast this younger brother to death with his repulsors.
"Enough! What on earth is it?! Did you find some beauty?"
Luca was just about to open his mouth to explain the appearance of that S.H.I.E.L.D. Director to Tony.
However, right at this moment!
He once again captured some conversation!
"Officer! According to exact news transmitted by the secret asset lurking inside S.H.I.E.L.D.."
"Nick Fury's motorcade route has been determined! It's that remote street ahead! They only have one car!"
"Snipers are in position! The heavy fire team has surrounded the intersection!"
From this voice, one could hear the other party's fanaticism and anger.
"Should we shoot him right now?! The damned S.H.I.E.L.D. actually dared to send people to bomb our Base! HYDRA cannot be insulted! Today, we must use Nick Fury's blood to wash away the shame!"
Hearing this conversation.
Luca was stunned at first, and then a smile instantly bloomed on his face.
He understood!
So the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director's name was Nick Fury.
John not only successfully detonated inside the HYDRA Base.
Furthermore, he also intensified the conflict between HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D.!
Right now, HYDRA's assassins have already been dispatched, directly launching an assassination against S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury!
This is the two major giants starting to bite each other like dogs right in the street!
Luca thought about it, and the smile on the corner of his mouth gradually became unbridled.
This is a god-sent opportunity!
Isn't this much more thrilling than them making up a fake villain themselves to go smash cars?!
The realism is maxed straight out!
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it felt, and Luca looked at the impatient-looking Tony.
"No, Tony. Change the plan."
"Immediately have Jarvis change the flight route! Don't go downtown anymore! Fly directly to the airspace above xxx Street and stand by!"
"Later, without my command, no one is allowed to move blindly! Everything acts according to my orders!"
Tony was stunned for a moment, his face full of puzzlement.
"Why? Didn't we agree to go downtown to be saviors and farm some citizen favorability?"
"Why bring lucifer there?"
Luca smiled meaningfully and reached out to pat Tony's chest armor.
"Trust me, bro. Just have Jarvis destroy his way along the streets near those businesses in downtown that suppress citizens all day long."
"You'll know in a moment. That stage is a hundred times more exciting than downtown!"
"Today, Lucas Stark is going to punish some truly heinous bad guys together with the great Iron Man!"
Catching sight of Luca's confident look.
Although Tony still had many questions.
But based on his analysis over the past few days, Luca must be scheming against someone again.
Moreover, as long as he followed Luca, there would definitely be a big scene to watch!
He just didn't know which unlucky bastard was targeted by Luca.
He could only silently mourn for the other party and secretly expressed satisfaction to ramp up the intensity.
Thus, Tony curled his lips and issued an order to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, do as he asks. Change lucifer's coordinates."
"Understood, Sir. Coordinates updated."
"Let's go, bro. The good show is about to begin!"
Accompanied by the sound of sonic booms.
Two figures flashed rapidly across the night sky.
Chapter 54 Peter Parker (Two Chapters in One)
Night had already fallen.
7:41 PM.
Near the Staples Center plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
This place could be said to be bustling with voices and brilliantly lit.
It was lively to the extreme.
Looking around, the plaza and the surrounding streets were packed with dense crowds.
Amidst a sea of people, everyone's gaze was fixed right here.
As for why so many people gathered here?
The reason was very simple.
Because tonight, the United States national pop diva had descended upon this place.
Moreover, Britney Spears, known as the Sweetheart, was holding an unprecedented large-scale open-air concert right here!
In this Universe, Britney's life trajectory was vastly different.
The Britney of this World had not encountered a crazy and overwhelmingly controlling Vampire father, nor had she experienced those messy family disputes.
Therefore, her life had always been wonderful, and her mental state was exceptionally healthy and perfect.
Even though her actual age now exceeded twenty-five.
But the years seemed exceptionally lenient with her, as if they had stopped on her face.
Standing on the stage, she was still radiant, with tight, fair skin and a hot, sexy figure.
She looked just like a youthful maiden who had just turned twenty, exuding charm all over her body.
Furthermore, even after debuting for so many years.
She still sat securely on the throne of the global entertainment industry's top diva, with no one able to shake her position.
As for why she could always maintain such high popularity and topicality?
Aside from her own top-notch professional abilities, there was another very important reason.
In recent years, Britney had always been the rumored partner of the famous playboy Lucas Stark!
All of Hollywood, and even the global entertainment industry, was extremely curious about this.
Could the Sweetheart be blind?
After all, people all over the World knew that Lucas Stark was a complete scumbag!
And a prodigal son who never took relationships seriously!
He changed women faster than he changed clothes.
Today he was having dinner with a Hollywood actress in Los Angeles, and tomorrow he might be throwing a yacht party with a Victoria's Secret supermodel in Paris.
In everyone's cognition, Luca was an Aquaman without any moral bottom line.
However, what made everyone's jaws drop!
Even knowing that Luca was a scumbag, Britney still liked Luca so much!
And it was an almost crazy infatuation!
Luca changed women every day, yet Britney didn't mind at all!
Not only did she not mind, but she also occasionally posted updates on social media publicly confessing her love to Luca.
For example, posting a handsome photo of Luca from a magazine, accompanied by a caption like "You are the most charming bastard I've ever seen."
But what made people feel both amused and helpless was.
Britney's humble and passionate confession ultimately only bought her a crazy night spent with Luca on a certain weekend.
Just a single night!
By the next morning, Luca didn't even stay to have breakfast with her before taking a private jet to fly to New York to attend another socialite's gathering.
After this matter was exposed by the paparazzi, melon-eating crowds all over the World were curious.
What on Earth was Britney after?!
What was so good about Lucas Stark anyway?
Worthy of a dignified pop diva being so devoted? Willing to throw away even her dignity?
Well, although everyone who had met Luca had to admit, this second young master of the Stark Family was indeed lawlessly handsome.
He had a perfect height of over 185, deep and three-dimensional facial features, and his eyes always carried a cynical, wicked smile.
Moreover, his figure was explosively good, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and smooth muscle lines.
Solely in terms of appearance and temperament, Luca was several tiers handsomer than most male stars in Hollywood.
Was it because he was handsome that Britney was so infatuated with him?
Or was it because Luca was one of the heirs to Stark Industries and truly the richest man in the World?
Well, thinking carefully, looking handsomer than a male star, having a better figure than a male model, and having endless money in his card that could never be spent over several lifetimes.
This reason might truly be the real reason why Britney couldn't extricate herself.
After all, regarding the experience of that one night, Britney once blushed and hinted during a private interview later on.
"His physical stamina simply doesn't seem like a normal person's; that was the most wonderful night I've ever experienced in my life."
But these gossip news were not the focus of tonight.
The focus was the concert venue at this very moment.
Britney had just finished a strong-rhythm song and dance on the stage.
The atmosphere at the scene was ignited, reaching the peak of madness!
"Britney! Britney! Britney!"
Tens of thousands of fans off the stage waved glow sticks, shouting their idol's name hoarsely.
The huge wave of sound seemed as if it would flip over the night sky of Los Angeles.
But in the media zone below the stage.
Reporters from various news media and entertainment newspapers were frantically pressing their shutters, and the camera flashes merged into a white ocean.
Of course, among the numerous media reporters, there were also employees from the Daily Bugle in New York.
That's right, the person sent by the Daily Bugle on a business trip to Los Angeles this time was none other than Peter Parker! (Tobey Maguire version)
Peter Parker was wearing a shirt today, with a DSLR camera hanging around his neck.
He was struggling in the crowd to find a better shooting angle.
And the reason why he appeared here was entirely because the company learned that Britney was going to hold a concert in Los Angeles.
This news made editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson feel that this was a great opportunity to sell a lot of newspapers.
Therefore, Jameson assigned a business trip task to Peter, promising that as long as he could capture high-definition exclusive photos of Britney, he would be given a generous bonus.
For this bonus that could afford next month's rent, Peter flew here from faraway New York without hesitation.
At this moment, taking advantage of the break while Britney was drinking water and resting on stage.
Peter Parker put down his camera, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and began chatting with neighboring reporter colleagues.
This colleague was a reporter from a small local newspaper in Los Angeles, chubby and very talkative.
Seeing the dense crowd around, the chubby reporter couldn't help shaking his head.
"Good grief, I feel like even the air I breathe is what others have exhaled."
The chubby reporter took a sip of mineral water and bantered half-jokingly.
"Hey, buddy."
"You say, so many people have gathered at the scene. If some villain or something suddenly fell from the sky at this time..."
"Wouldn't a lot of people die? This would definitely become the biggest news of this century!"
As soon as these words came out, several surrounding colleagues were amused.
"Oh come on, fatty. Have you watched too many disaster movies?"
"Exactly, this is downtown Los Angeles, where would a big villain come from? You'd better hurry up and take a few more pictures of Britney's long legs; that's the stuff that can be exchanged for money."
Colleagues laughed and bantered one after another.
However, Peter, standing aside, didn't laugh upon hearing these words.
Instead, his gaze flickered slightly, and some different thoughts began to emerge in his heart.
Recently, Peter's life had undergone Earth-shaking changes.
Not long ago, when he went with the school to visit the biological laboratory at the Osborn Building, he was accidentally bitten by a mutated spider.
Ever since that day, he discovered that his body had developed some strange yet very powerful abilities.
For example, his strength became exceptionally great, enabling him to easily lift heavy objects.
His reaction speed was shockingly fast, able to perceive the arrival of danger in advance.
Moreover, tough spider silk could be shot from his wrists, allowing him to swing freely between tall buildings.
However, Peter had never dared to use these Superpowers.
He was afraid of being discovered by others as a monster, and even more afraid of being caught by the government for sectioning and research.
Therefore, he had always cautiously hidden his secret, continuing to be an ordinary and cowardly student.
Yet, just hearing what his colleague said.
Peter's heart suddenly began to stir.
Looking at his own pair of powerful hands, a bold thought popped up in his mind.
If... if a big villain really appeared and threatened the lives of these innocent citizens.
Then could he justifiably use these Superpowers to save people?
Could he also become a hero worshipped by everyone like those superheroes in comics?
Just when Peter was stunned in place and letting his imagination run wild.
Suddenly!
The chubby reporter next to him seemed to have seen some incredible picture.
He widened his eyes and cried out, pointing at the sky!
"Fuck! Look at the sky, you guys! What is that thing?!"
Hearing the fat reporter's exclamation, Peter and the crowd all raised their heads to look at the sky.
The next second.
Everyone was taken aback.
In the dark night sky, a black and red ray of light was falling from the sky!
"Boom!!!"
A deafening roar came from afar!
The demon armor emitting black and red light heavily smashed down on the city hall building not far from the concert square!
Just in an instant.
The roof of the building was smashed into a huge deep pit!
Countless fragments fell down from the building one after another!
Because the music of the concert was really too loud, coupled with the fact that the landing position of that behemoth was still some distance away from the stage.
Therefore, in the very first few seconds, the audience at the scene did not immediately discover this terrifying existence.
But soon.
They would feel incomparable surprise and fear!
Just because the behemoth had already stood straight, beginning to display its destructive power.
"Hum!!"
The sound of energy charging rang out.
Lights suddenly lit up all over the behemoth's body.
Then, it raised its arms and fired dozens of lasers from its palms and shoulders!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The lasers ruthlessly swept across the structure of the city hall building!
For a moment, violent explosions rang out continuously!
The walls were cut open by the lasers, and the computer desks and chairs in the offices were blasted into pieces.
The soaring flames and thick black smoke lit up half of the night sky!
This time, the citizens at the scene and Britney on the stage were finally startled by this sudden explosion.
The music stopped abruptly.
Holding the microphone, Britney blankly gazed at the burning and collapsing city hall building in the distance, her face full of shock and bewilderment.
"Oh, God... What is that?"
The citizens at the scene were also seeing this kind of terrifying scene that only existed in sci-fi movies in real life for the first time.
Terrified screams instantly burst out from the crowd!
"Ah!!! Help!"
"Terrorist attack! It's a terrorist attack! Run quickly!"
The orderly square immediately fell into chaos.
Some people were scared out of their wits and began pushing each other, wanting to leave this dangerous place.
And some bolder young people took out their mobile phones and started filming the monster in the flames.
In the media area.
Peter Parker and the fellow reporters were still a bit dumbfounded.
Especially the colleague who had joked earlier about looking forward to a villain appearing was dumbfounded to the extreme.
The fat reporter swallowed hard and said tremblingly,
"Good heavens... I swear, I was really just talking casually just now! Was my mouth kissed by God?"
"I didn't expect a major villain to actually come?!"
Peter also had a dumbfounded expression, and violent waves churned in his heart.
He didn't expect that there would actually be villains destroying the city appearing in the World?!
Should he make a move?
Peter's hands clenched into fists, and his heart fell into a struggle and hesitation.
He hesitated not because he was afraid of the monster, let alone because he didn't dare to make a move.
But rather because he truly didn't want to expose his identity as an ordinary person!
If he rushed up to fight the monster now, then the whole World would know today that Peter Parker was a freak with Superpowers!
At that time, what about Aunt Mei? What about Harry? What about Mary Jane?
Could he and his family and friends still live normal lives?
However, now he didn't have anything on him to cover his face, not even a mask.
While Peter Parker was still wondering what to do.
But his colleagues had already recovered from the initial shock.
As news workers, they knew this was definitely a super big news story that could shock the World!
"Quick! Take pictures quickly! Pull the lens closer!"
"This is first-hand news material! Tomorrow our newspaper sales will definitely break records!"
The colleagues raised their long guns and short cannons one after another, aiming at the monster in the distance and started pressing the shutter.
Seeing that his colleagues were all working desperately.
Peter, who was still hesitating, was also very helpless.
In order to keep his job, and to get a generous bonus to pay the rent.
He could only temporarily suppress the impulse to go be a hero, and quickly started filming along with his colleagues.
"Click! Click!"
In the camera's telephoto lens, Peter finally saw the true appearance of the monster.
What everyone didn't know was.
This monster was naturally the demon armor remotely controlled by Jarvis for Tony and Luca!
In the lens, this monster was fully over three meters tall, huge and stalwart.
Its whole body was painted in black and red, its body lines were very smooth, and the aesthetic of violence was directly maximized.
Behind it grew a row of sharp barbs.
Most eye-catching was that atop its ferocious helmet also grew two black sharp horns!
This styling was already as evil as it could get.
But fortunately.
According to Luca and the others' instructions, Jarvis did not control the armor to indiscriminately attack innocent citizens.
He began to purposefully destroy some specific buildings from the downtown side here.
These buildings were all the results investigated by Jarvis through network big data.
Basically, they belonged to the properties of those black-hearted merchants who had long exploited citizens and had extremely poor reputations!
For example, that office building ahead belonging to a certain loan shark company.
The demon armor leaped with a kick of its legs, its huge body directly jumping from the city hall building and landing heavily in front of the office building.
"Boom!"
The demon armor raised its arm and blasted the door of the office building into fragments with one punch!
Then, an energy Impact sprayed out from its mouth, quickly burning the interior of the office building into a sea of fire!
Subsequently, the demon armor jumped again, leaping toward the next target.
This was a pharmaceutical company suspected of manufacturing fake drugs.
Just like that, the demon armor destroyed all the way, destroying towards the street designated by Luca.
Along the way, the sounds of explosions and collapses were endless.
Cars on the street were overturned, fire hydrants were knocked down, and water pillars sprayed very high.
Seeing this monster, the citizens were scared out of their wits, constantly fleeing and dodging on the streets.
For a moment, a huge crisis and despair enveloped the hearts of the Los Angeles citizens.
As luck would have it.
Because today was little sweetheart Britney's concert, the media area at the scene gathered media personnel from all over the World.
Therefore, this scene of the demon armor destroying the city was directly broadcasted in real-time to television screens around the World by the high-definition broadcast lenses at the scene!
For a moment, the World's attention was attracted to Los Angeles!
The directors of major TV stations, after seeing this picture, were all pumped up like they had been given a shot of adrenaline.
They cut off the soap operas and advertisements currently playing one after another, and began to urgently commentate and report on this sudden terror news.
The screen switched to the U.S. CNN news studio.
A male host looked with a face full of shock at the live footage playing on the big screen behind him.
"Dear viewers! Breaking news interruption! Just moments ago, downtown Los Angeles suffered a terrorist attack by an unknown creature!"
The male host pointed at the demon armor spraying lasers on the screen and reported loudly.
"Everyone can see that this monster over three meters tall is wantonly wreaking havoc on the streets of Los Angeles! It has successively destroyed the city hall building and multiple commercial buildings!"
"What on Earth is this thing?! Is it aliens invading Earth? Or the experimental product of a mad scientist?!"
"At present, the Los Angeles police have completely lost the ability to control the situation! We urge citizens in downtown Los Angeles to immediately find an Underground Room or a sturdy shelter to hide!"
The screen switched again, this time to Britain's BBC television station.
A blond female host frowned tightly and said to the camera in a heavy tone.
"This is the global connection brought to you from London. Los Angeles, the pearl of the U.S. West Coast, is experiencing an unprecedented disaster."
"According to the footage sent back by our frontline reporters, a monster with demon double horns is going on a killing spree in the city."
"We cannot help but ask, where is the U.S. Military? Taking hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer Military funds every year, can't they even deal with a single monster?"
Chapter 55 Gwen Stacy
Just as the female anchor uttered her challenge,
the footage on the television screen suddenly shifted.
Soon, the roar of helicopter propellers finally echoed through the night sky of Los Angeles.
Several armed helicopters belonging to the National Guard quickly flew above the demon armor.
The searchlights on the helicopters firmly locked onto the monster below.
"Unidentified individual below! Cease your destruction immediately! Get on the ground with your hands behind your head! Otherwise, we will open fire immediately!"
The Military personnel on the helicopters issued loud warnings through a megaphone.
However, how could the armor controlled by Jarvis possibly pay attention to these warnings?
It slowly raised its head, coldly staring at the helicopters in mid-air.
Subsequently, it raised its arm and aimed at one of the helicopters.
"Fire! Open fire immediately!"
Seeing this, the Military Commander immediately gave the attack order.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"
The airborne heavy machine guns beneath the helicopters instantly spat out long tongues of Fire!
Dense armor-piercing rounds fiercely poured onto the body of the demon armor!
However, what brought despair to the audience in front of the televisions and the Military personnel at the scene was that
those bullets only produced a clanging sound when hitting the demon armor.
Aside from scraping out a few insignificant sparks on the armor's surface, it was completely unable to cause substantial damage to this monster!
Ironically, not even a single scratch was left behind!
This could not help but make people doubt the supposedly invincible image of the U.S. Military.
"Officer! The bullets have no effect on it! The armor is too tough!" the pilot shouted in panic.
"Then use missiles! Blow it to pieces for me!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two Hellfire anti-tank missiles roared out dragging long trails of smoke, heading straight for the demon armor!
However, facing the incoming missiles,
the thrusters at the feet of the demon armor spewed a stream of Fire, instantly soaring into the sky!
It completed an incredible sideways roll in mid-air, easily dodging the attack.
"Boom! Boom!"
The missiles missed, slamming into a distant open space and blasting out two large craters.
Meanwhile, the demon armor flying in mid-air took the opportunity to raise both hands, and two laser beams instantly shot out, swiftly severing the tail fins of the two helicopters!
The helicopters lost their balance and spiraled down toward the street.
Seeing this scene, the audience across the World gasped in a cold breath.
The Military's bullets had no effect on this monster, and when shells were fired, it could even fly up to dodge them.
And it could even counterattack!
Even the Military had no way to deal with it!
Is Los Angeles really going to be finished?!
Meanwhile,
on the other side of the suburbs of Los Angeles,
Gwen Stacy, who had just walked out of the gate of a well-known university, carried a backpack and chatted happily with a female classmate beside her.
Gwen had beautiful blonde hair, a sweet appearance, and a tall figure.
At this moment, she was pondering whether to make a phone call tonight to report that she was safe.
Otherwise, her dad, who served as the Director of the New York Police Department, would definitely call to nag her again.
Ever since she was accidentally bitten by a spider some time ago, she had turned into Ghost-Spider with Superpowers.
Every night, she couldn't help but sneak out to swing around the city and incidentally crack down on street criminals.
This resulted in her indeed coming home very late every day.
By the way, this was not the university she originally attended.
The reason she came to Los Angeles was simply because she was an outstanding exchange student from New York University, here for a few months of study and exchange.
Just as Gwen was walking and thinking of excuses in her mind,
she inadvertently raised her head, her gaze shifting to an advertising screen on a distant plaza.
The screen had already switched to a live broadcast of emergency news.
Gwen stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening slightly.
Inside the screen, the demon armor wreaking wanton destruction in downtown Los Angeles was still committing evil.
The panicked and despairing voice of the anchor came out.
"The Military's attacks are completely ineffective! This monster is invincible! We need a miracle! We need a hero!"
Seeing the citizens fleeing everywhere in the footage, and seeing the helicopters easily shot down,
Gwen's gaze instantly turned resolute.
She knew that the Military could not deal with this monster.
Now was the time for her to make an entrance!
With great power comes great responsibility!
Thus, Gwen turned her head and smiled apologetically at her female classmate.
"Sorry, Maggie, I suddenly remembered that I left a very important piece of data at the library. You go back first, don't wait for me."
After sending the classmate away,
Gwen immediately turned around and briskly walked into a deserted alleyway.
She put down her backpack and took a deep breath.
A few seconds later,
a graceful figure wearing a pink, White, and black tri-colored tight combat suit leaped high out of the alleyway!
The combat suit's hood was worn on her head, and a White mask covered her features.
This was precisely Ghost-Spider! Gwen Stacy!
While still in mid-air, Gwen skillfully raised her wrist.
"Whoosh!"
A web strand shot out and quickly adhered to the wall of a tall building.
Utilizing the pulling force of the web, Gwen traced an arc in the air and continued to swing rapidly toward the direction of downtown.
After a few bounds,
Gwen arrived above that screen and steadily stood on its edge.
The night wind blew against her hood.
She looked down condescendingly at the downtown area ablaze with Fire.
Beneath the mask, Gwen revealed a confident smile.
"Don't be afraid, Los Angeles."
"Now, get ready to welcome your new hero!"
As her voice fell,
Gwen leaped forward, transforming into a White figure that quickly disappeared.
Chapter 56 Howling Commandos (Two-in-One)
The demon armor controlled by Jarvis had smashed its way all the way from downtown Los Angeles, nearing its destination.
Along the way, flames soared into the sky, and the sound of explosions was endless.
But there are always people who aren't afraid of death.
For example, the media reporters, who had always been very bold.
Given the current situation, they couldn't care less about any danger.
One after another, they closely followed the demon armor from a distance to broadcast live.
For these people, as long as they could get first-hand news materials, even risking their lives was worth it.
At this moment, the eyes of the entire World had gathered on Los Angeles.
Viewers around the World sat in front of their televisions, watching how this sudden crisis would eventually be resolved.
Of course, on the internet, as the live broadcast footage continued to advance, some sharp-eyed netizens also discovered some strange things.
On Twitter and major social forums, the discussions had already exploded.
"Hey! Guys! Have you noticed a problem? The route this monster is destroying doesn't seem to be random!"
"Right! I noticed it too! The buildings it destroyed along the way were all targeted with purpose!"
Enthusiastic netizens immediately checked the information on those destroyed buildings and then published the results on the internet.
"Good God! Everyone, look at the information I found!"
"The building the monster just destroyed is a black-hearted financial company that drove several college students to their deaths!"
"And that factory that was just burned to ashes! That's an unscrupulous enterprise that was exposed a while ago for using toxic materials to produce children's toys!"
"Those luxury cars it just crushed underfoot are all the rides of several notorious gang bosses in Los Angeles!"
With the exposure of these materials, the trend on the internet began to undergo some subtle changes.
What was even more incredible was that careful netizens pointed out the most critical point.
"Look closely at the live broadcast footage! So far, although the monster has destroyed so many buildings and caused property damage, there hasn't been a single casualty!"
"That's right! Every time it fires a laser, it intentionally pauses for a few seconds, as if giving the people inside the building time to escape!"
"Not a single innocent passerby was accidentally injured! Even the Police who shot at it were not dealt a fatal blow; it just flipped over their Police cars!"
For a time, some different voices appeared on the internet.
Some people began to feel that this was not a terrorist attack at all.
Could it be a messenger sent by God to punish those black-hearted capitalists and the incompetent government?
"This is the Dark Knight of Los Angeles! Specializing in punishing bad guys that the law cannot sanction!"
"Well done! Someone should have blown up that black-hearted factory long ago!"
However, voices treating the monster as a hero were ultimately just a minority.
For the vast majority of citizens, a behemoth looking like a demon running amok in the streets was in itself a very terrifying thing.
What everyone truly cared about was how this disaster would eventually be resolved.
When on earth would the Military be able to dispatch genuine heavy firepower to eliminate this monster?
But no matter how noisy the internet and news were.
Two people on the other side cared more about whether they could survive.
In the center of a secluded street.
A black Chevrolet SUV was parked sideways in the middle of the road, its body covered densely with bullet holes.
Nick Fury and Coulson hid behind the car in a sorry state, not daring to poke their heads out at all.
Just a few minutes ago, they were driving normally, preparing to head to their destination.
As a result, a group of fully armed guys suddenly rushed out from both sides of the street, lifting their rifles without a word and spraying their car with gunfire!
Fortunately, Nick Fury's ride was specially modified.
The car body adopted bulletproof armor, and the window glass was also specially made explosion-proof glass.
This greatly protected personal safety, preventing them from being shot into a sieve in the first round of attacks.
However, this car was not an invincible tank after all.
Under the continuous pouring of firepower, large areas of cracks had already appeared on the bulletproof glass, and the car's armor began to dent.
Given enough time, this car would sooner or later be smashed, and by then they would become turtles in a jar.
Therefore, after confirming a safe gap.
Nick Fury and Coulson decisively pushed open the car doors and rolled out of the car.
They used the modified car doors as cover, intending to counterattack against the enemy.
Holding a pistol with both hands, Coulson squatted beside the car door.
After cautiously poking his head out to observe the surrounding situation, he asked Nick Fury behind him.
"Director! What should we do now?!"
"The enemy's firepower is too fierce! And they are well-trained, with very tacit cooperation among each other; they are definitely not street gangsters!"
Coulson wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"The worst part is, none of us even know who the enemy is right now! Why are they attacking us?!"
Nick Fury, squatting on the other side, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Well, he was already a black man to begin with, and now that he was angry, he was so dark he almost blended into the night.
Of course, his single eye flickered with angry light in the darkness.
This wasn't a man's romance, but impotent rage from being backstabbed.
Nick Fury was extremely angry right now!
As the dignified Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the leader of the World's largest intelligence organization, he was actually inexplicably ambushed on the streets of Los Angeles?!
This was simply an extreme humiliation!
He could only keep thinking, who on earth was the enemy?
Almost in an instant, the name HYDRA appeared in his mind.
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA had been fighting for so many years, and the two sides had long been irreconcilable mortal enemies.
However, what Nick Fury didn't understand was.
HYDRA under normal circumstances were mice that couldn't see the light of day.
And usually didn't they love most to hide in dark corners and plot conspiracies?
When did they become so arrogant?!
They actually dared to carry out brazen assassinations on the streets of Los Angeles?!
This completely didn't match HYDRA's consistent style of action!
Were they not afraid of provoking a comprehensive encirclement and suppression by the U.S. Military?
"Never mind who they are!"
Nick Fury gritted his teeth, pulled a new magazine from his waist, and skillfully swapped it in.
With a click, the bullet was chambered.
"The most important thing right now is to confirm the enemy's firepower positions and then kill them!"
"Otherwise, we are suppressed here and cannot retreat at all!"
Coulson nodded, indicating he understood.
Just as he was about to poke his head out to observe the situation ahead.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A burst of intensive gunfire suddenly came from overhead!
Several bullets flew right past Coulson's scalp, splashing a string of dazzling sparks!
Coulson shivered all over in fright and quickly pulled his head back.
"Director! No way! There's a sniper on the opposite side!"
Coulson shouted loudly.
"Continuing like this is no good, the enemy's firepower network has completely sealed us off, and we seem unable to break through!"
Just as the two fell into a desperate situation and Nick Fury was about to use his trump card.
Suddenly.
The micro-communicator in Coulson's ear rang.
"Beep beep!"
This was an urgent reply sent to him by subordinates in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence department.
Coulson immediately pressed the communicator to answer.
Listening to the report coming from the communicator, his brow also began to furrow tightly, and the expression on his face became increasingly incredible.
The content of the report was very simple, which was an emergency notification of what had just happened in downtown Los Angeles.
Moreover, the subordinate also specially emphasized that the monster was currently moving toward a certain neighborhood!
"But when Coulson heard this, wasn't it—"
Wasn't the place the monster was coming to their very neighborhood?!
After hearing this news, Coulson immediately relayed the situation to Nick Fury.
After listening, the brows of both men furrowed tightly at the same time.
A huge mecha monster?
Where on earth did this thing pop out from?!
And it was wantonly destroying downtown Los Angeles? Even Military helicopters were shot down by it?
The most outrageous thing was that this monster was actually heading straight toward their direction?!
Coulson swallowed a mouthful of saliva, countless conspiracy theories flashing through his mind.
"Director, could this be HYDRA's conspiracy?"
"They knew that assassinating you in the city center would cause big trouble. Therefore, they intentionally released the monster to wreak havoc in downtown first, using it to attract the attention of the Military and the Police!"
The more Coulson thought about it, the more he felt it made sense.
"Once everyone's eyes are attracted by that monster, they can attack us here unscrupulously!"
"Perhaps they even intentionally lured the monster to our side, wanting to kill with a borrowed knife and use the monster to completely eliminate us!"
"Once you die, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be leaderless, and HYDRA can take the opportunity to fully invade!"
Coulson's analysis was not without reason.
Nick Fury did not speak immediately.
Instead, his single eye narrowed slightly, also rapidly thinking about this possibility.
After all, those guys in HYDRA were not good people to begin with; they were all a bunch of lunatics who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
For them, pulling off a feint to the east and strike in the west or killing with a borrowed knife was just routine.
Thinking of this, Nick Fury's face became even gloomier.
He absolutely could not die here! He still had a great plan unfinished!
Finally, Nick Fury looked at Coulson and asked in a deep voice.
"Coulson, where are the Defenders now?"
"After wrapping up during the day, is anyone staying near Los Angeles on standby?"
The Defenders team was a special team inside S.H.I.E.L.D. composed of people with Superpowers and top Agents, specially used to deal with troubles that conventional Military might could not solve.
Coulson immediately took out his tactical terminal and quickly checked the personnel positioning.
Afterwards, he shook his head with some helplessness.
"No, Director. The Defenders are not in Los Angeles. They went to the East Coast to execute another mission, and there's simply no time for them to rush over now."
Hearing this answer, Fury's heart sank to the bottom of the valley.
Was he really going to bite the dust here today?
Coulson hesitated for a moment, looked at another hidden coordinate on the terminal, then gritted his teeth and continued to speak.
"However... Director. Although the Defenders are not here, the Howling Commandos are!"
"The other day they were just transferred over to Los Angeles to execute a secret containment mission. Right now they are less than ten minutes away from our location!"
The Howling Commandos?!
Nick Fury was obviously stunned for a moment.
This team was his hidden trump card in hand!
And... this was a team composed of monsters!
Inside there were Vampires, werewolves, and some supernatural creatures that science could not explain!
Logically speaking, this team was absolutely not allowed to see the light of day.
They were only suitable for executing some covert missions in the darkness.
Once they appeared in the public eye and were photographed by the media, it would definitely cause panic in the World, and S.H.I.E.L.D. would also face huge public opinion pressure.
But...
Nick Fury poked his head out, looked at the relentlessly approaching killers all around, and listened to the faint sounds of explosions coming from afar.
Damn it!
This was already a life-or-death juncture, how could he care about so many rules anymore!
Nick Fury immediately issued a strict order.
"We can't worry about that much anymore!"
"Contact them! Rush over to save us immediately!"
"By the way, tell them to eliminate the approaching monster along with them! Absolutely do not let the monster ruin my plan!"
Coulson also considered that this monster team was not suitable to appear in front of the public.
But the current situation did not allow him to worry about this issue.
Hearing the Director's order, Coulson immediately began to execute it.
"Understood! I will issue the order immediately! At full speed, it will take them at most five minutes to rush over!"
...
On the other side.
Under Jarvis's control, the demon armor was getting closer and closer to the neighborhood where Nick Fury and the others were located.
Along the way, a large number of reckless gang members and security personnel were trying to attack it.
Civilians fled in all directions on the streets, with screams echoing continuously.
The Los Angeles Military also dispatched armored vehicles, attempting to set up roadblocks along the way to block it.
But all of this was of no avail.
Anything that stood in its way was either smashed to pieces or burned to ashes by lasers.
At this time.
Above the high-altitude clouds.
Luca and Tony hovered side by side in the sky.
Like two high-and-mighty gods, looking down condescendingly at everything happening in the city.
Seeing the invincible heroic posture of the demon armor, Tony couldn't help laughing proudly.
"Look at that, Luca! This is the armor created by the great Tony Stark!"
"How outstanding! How perfect! Even those self-righteous generals of the U.S. Military can only stare blankly at my masterpiece, completely helpless against it!"
Hearing Tony's cocky tone.
Luca rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Tony, stop singing your own praises."
"It's just because this is downtown Los Angeles, and the population is too dense. The Military folks just don't want to launch large-yield missiles for fear of causing civilian casualties."
Luca curled his lips.
"If it were in the desert, see if the Military wouldn't use bunker-buster bombs directly to teach you a lesson."
Tony was exposed of the truth, instantly losing face, and stubbornly retorted with a sentence.
"Nonsense! Even if they use heavy missiles, the armor can withstand them! You're just jealous of my talent!"
Chapter 57: Blow Them All Up to the Sky!
Luca couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this stubborn tsundere.
He put away his joking thoughts and began to seriously observe the position of the demon armor.
At this moment, the demon armor was only separated from the destination by one block.
"It is time to get down to business."
Luca took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes slightly.
His gaze penetrated the buildings and the night, starting to scan the battlefield ahead.
Very quickly.
His sight locked onto the riddled Chevrolet.
He also clearly saw the situation.
That was Nick Fury and Coulson hiding behind the car door, suppressed so heavily by HYDRA's firepower that they couldn't lift their heads.
Luca couldn't help laughing.
He laughed very happily and very evilly.
"Tony, have Jarvis start scanning the personnel distribution of that street ahead."
"After confirming the destination, find the exact location of the ongoing firefight."
"Then, have Jarvis immediately conduct indiscriminate firepower coverage on both sides!"
Tony was stunned.
He didn't understand why Luca wanted to do this.
After all, he still didn't know who the people shooting were, nor why they were fighting.
"Hey, Luca. Are you crazy?"
"We are here to be superheroes, not Terrorists! You haven't even figured out who the people down there are, and you're going to bomb them with missiles?"
Speaking of this, Tony paused.
Luca generally wouldn't do meaningless things.
Unless those people were enemies.
So...
Thinking of this, Tony asked with a puzzled face.
"What on earth is the situation below? What did you see?"
Luca looked at Tony and smiled mysteriously.
"Bro, do you still remember the organization named S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Hearing this name, Tony frowned and recalled for a moment.
"Of course I remember."
"Didn't that John mention this organization before?"
"He even mocked us, saying these guys didn't show up at all when we were assassinated."
"And, that high-receding-hairline Mediterranean person we met at the press conference also claimed to be an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.."
Speaking of this, Tony touched his chin.
"This organization is very mysterious, and I don't know if they are good or bad. I plan to have Jarvis thoroughly investigate their background after going back."
"But now... why are you bringing them up? What happened to them?"
Luca's smile became even more brilliant.
Then he pointed to the fire-splattered street below.
"I just found out."
"Because of the explosion John caused in the HYDRA Base this morning, the people of HYDRA have been enraged."
"Therefore, they sent a large number of assassins to block the street below, preparing to assassinate the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as that Mediterranean Agent named Coulson."
This could be considered quite explosive news.
Tony instantly widened his eyes, full of disbelief.
"You mean... the ones in a firefight down there are people from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"
"They are actually all here?!"
Luca nodded affirmatively, and the smile on his face was practically more villainous than a villain.
"That's right, bro. This is the real reason why I had Jarvis control the armor to come here."
"Since they are fighting so lively, how can we, as the hosts, not send a big gift?"
Seeing Tony's dumbfounded expression.
Luca spread his hands with an innocent look.
"I just want Jarvis to invite them to have a good taste of the power of Stark Industries' micro-missiles."
"As a weapon R&D company, is there any problem testing the company's products?"
After listening, Tony didn't immediately refute.
As for HYDRA, he hated them to the bone.
After all, it was these guys who planned the assassination and almost took his life.
Bombing HYDRA, he raised both hands in approval.
But.
Tony still asked somewhat confusedly.
"I can completely understand bombing HYDRA; they deserve to die."
"However, what about S.H.I.E.L.D.? Why should we attack S.H.I.E.L.D. together? According to my speculation, they should be a secret government department."
Luca was speechless.
Tony was usually quite smart, so why hadn't he reacted yet.
Therefore, he looked at Tony with a look of disappointment at his failure to live up to expectations.
"Bro, is your brain blocked by engine oil?"
"Didn't John say it very clearly?"
"Those guys didn't show up to protect us!"
"So I guess that the responsibility of these people who call themselves S.H.I.E.L.D. is to protect the safety of this World and protect important figures like us!"
"Moreover, there must be orders inside this organization regarding our protection!"
The more Luca talked, the more righteous he felt, and the angrier he got.
"But look at what they did?!"
"For so many years, we've paid so much tax to the government!"
"And the result? Including when we were kidnapped by Terrorists, not even a shadow of S.H.I.E.L.D. people ever appeared!"
"When we finally escaped back and held a press conference, they did show up, and shamelessly wanted us to join and work for them for free!"
Speaking of this, Luca snorted coldly.
"What's even more infuriating is that when we were assassinated by HYDRA's assassins, they disappeared again!"
"If I didn't have Superpower, if we hadn't taken precautions in advance, what do you think would happen now? We would have become two corpses long ago!"
Luca spread his hands and made the final summary.
"Although that group of trash from HYDRA can't beat me at all. Still, one thing is one thing!"
"Isn't this S.H.I.E.L.D. a classic example of taking money and not working?!"
"Since they haven't fulfilled their obligation to protect us, isn't it a very normal thing for us to attack them and demand a return and compensation?!"
"Otherwise, are we just going to suffer a loss in vain? I, Lucas Stark, have grown up so much and have never suffered a loss in silence!"
Tony listened quietly.
The dumbfounded him had a completely dumbfounded look.
He shockingly discovered.
Although Luca's words sounded shameless, and he was once again preparing to stab someone in the back.
But thinking about it carefully, he actually felt that what Luca said made a lot of sense.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was indeed a bit strange and, as Luca said, completely irresponsible!
Taking taxpayers' money, yet playing dead at critical moments.
An organization without a spirit of contract really deserved a beating!
This was as detestable as shipping goods while the other party refused to pay.
After his thoughts cleared up, Tony shrugged and readily accepted this statement.
"Fine, Luca. I must admit that in terms of being shameless, you will always be my mentor."
"I think what you said makes a lot of sense. If you don't work, you get beaten; this is the iron law of the market."
Right at this moment.
Jarvis's voice came from inside Tony's armor.
"Sir, the demon armor has arrived above the target street."
"Radar has locked onto all armed personnel! Including HYDRA assassins and S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel."
Hearing Jarvis's report.
Luca's gaze instantly became sharp.
Without any hesitation, he immediately gave a loud order.
"Job well done, Jarvis!"
"Don't mention it, open fire and attack directly! Blow them all straight up to the sky for me!"