Tony shook his head, sounding somewhat helpless: "I don't know their true identity for now."
"The technology of the armor on these two people definitely surpasses the existing technology of any country on Earth, and it can even rival my Iron Man suit."
"Especially the way they left after defeating the monster; it looked like a game-style teleportation. It should be some kind of spatial jumping technology."
"This is the crucial point. If they have mastered spatial teleportation technology, their scope is not limited to New York or even the United States. Trying to find their identity with just a few clues is like searching for a needle in a haystack."
"We can only wait for them to reappear actively."
"Also, the appearance and disappearance of that monster are extremely bizarre and difficult to explain with existing science."
"Do you think perhaps both the monster and the two Riders came to reality from another world that has a similar game style?" Pepper suggested jokingly, an idea popping into her head.
"Theoretically, if multiple parallel dimensions exist, it's not impossible that among the infinite number of parallel worlds, there is one governed by laws and a style similar to the video games in our world."
"However, the parallel universe theory is only a hypothesis so far and cannot be confirmed. I am more inclined to believe that someone has mastered special technology far exceeding the current level of Earth's technology, perhaps even technology left behind by an extraterrestrial civilization." Tony attempted to explain. According to what the two people said, the monster was born due to some 'Bugster Virus.'
As for the two suits, Tony believed, based on probability, that the armor technology of the two self-proclaimed Kamen Riders was far more likely to come from advanced alien technology than to be visitors crossing from a parallel universe.
The piece of information that Li Hua and Elena referred to themselves as "Doctors" during their conversation was subconsciously ignored by Tony, who believed the two were trying to confuse the public or using some kind of metaphor.
In any case, the armor worn by the two self-proclaimed Kamen Riders was clearly intended for combat, just like his Iron Man suit. Why would they find two doctors to operate them?
Moreover, since they were concealing their identities, why would they deliberately reveal their professional information?
Therefore, Tony was quite sure that their self-reference as doctors was either a metaphor or a deliberate attempt to mislead him with false information.
This goes to show that sometimes, overthinking can actually lead one further away from the truth.
"Then what's with those monsters in the fight?" Pepper was very confused about the monster that simply vanished into thin air after being defeated, just like clearing a level in a game.
"According to data analysis, this monster may be a kind of special energy life form. That's the only way to explain its complete disappearance after being defeated," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, simultaneously displaying the analyzed data spectrum on the screen.
"Energy life?" Pepper's mouth rounded slightly: "Could such a form of life really exist?"
"At least it's more probable than a creature that traveled from a parallel world," Tony said with a smile.
"I don't understand any of this anyway, so whatever you say makes sense," Pepper rolled her eyes at Tony and lightly snorted.
"However, their actions were clearly aimed at fighting the monster, so they shouldn't be bad guys, right?"
"We can't jump to conclusions yet. The available information is simply too little."
"We know nothing about their identities. Even though we recorded their voices, we can't be sure they weren't subjected to voice alteration. It's probably impossible to find the people based on their voices alone."
At the very least, Tony Stark could easily process the voice within his Iron Man suit if he wanted to; it was not a difficult task.
"But those monsters seem to be extremely destructive and hard to deal with," Pepper said worriedly, looking at the Bugster monster on the screen.
Conventional weapons seemed incapable of inflicting effective damage on this monster. Iron Monger had absolutely no power to fight back against it. If many more monsters like this were to appear in the future, it would certainly be a huge disaster.
"It's a shame the monster disappeared immediately after being defeated. There's no way to collect samples and analyze and study this so-called Bugster Virus. Otherwise, we might be able to find a way to deal with this monster," Tony sighed regretfully in his heart.
"However, although this monster has high resistance to ordinary firepower, the attacks of those two guys who call themselves Kamen Riders seem to be very effective against it. Is it because they use energy attacks?"
"Or do they have some special method? They call the unknown substance that creates this monster the 'Bugster Virus,' so are their attacks similar to an antibody having a particularly effective striking effect against a virus?" Tony fell into a long period of contemplation as he thought this over.
Pepper chuckled and shook her head at the sight. Tony often entered this state of oblivious immersion when conducting research, and she was quite used to it. In fact, perhaps it was this very trait that made him so attractive to her, which was why she had stayed by his side as a secretary for so long and could tolerate his outrageous behavior.
"Don't forget to attend the board meeting! I have work to deal with at the company, so I'll be leaving first," Pepper reminded him.
"Got it, I'll have J.A.R.V.I.S. remind me," Tony replied, his head still bowed, immersed in his own world.
Stark Tower, in the central conference hall reserved for board meetings.
"Is Mr. Tony Stark going to attend this meeting or not? It's already half an hour past the scheduled start time," one of the board members looked at his watch and asked Pepper, who was sitting at the head of the table, sounding urgent and impatient.
"Don't be too anxious. Don't you know the style of our Mr. Tony Stark? Isn't being late for meetings like this a common occurrence? Forget our internal board meetings, he even shows up to various press conferences whenever he feels like it," another board member nearby spoke calmly and with great composure. He was clearly used to it and maintained a relatively peaceful mindset about Tony's tardiness.
"Everyone, please be patient for a moment. Tony will arrive soon," Pepper suppressed her internal anxiety, placated the board members present, and prepared to contact Tony to urge him to hurry to the location.
Just then, a faint rumbling and vibrating sound suddenly came through. Pepper frowned slightly: "What's going on? Did Tony fly directly to the company in his suit? That would be too reckless!"
She immediately tried to connect with Tony's communication to give him a good scolding for his ridiculous and absurd behavior.
"What's wrong?" Tony's playful voice came through the established communication line.
"It's one thing for you to show off usually, but this is a board meeting organized by Stark Industries Group itself. You really have no sense of proportion," Pepper sounded a little exasperated.
"I'm still at home. I'm just a little late again. This is a meeting for my own company; how is that showing off?" Tony sounded quite baffled.
"Then the commotion on my end is..." Pepper was slightly surprised. The vibrating sound was becoming more obvious, and it seemed to be mixed with slight cries of panic and distress. A sense of unease rose in Pepper's heart.
"This is the Head of Security. An unknown monster has suddenly appeared inside the tower and is causing widespread destruction. All board members, please do not leave the conference room for the time being. Stay in a safe place." The security chief of Stark Industries suddenly communicated.
"A monster?"
"What's happening?"
"A terrorist attack?"
"Is someone using a bioweapon to attack?"
The board members began to chatter among themselves.
Since the founding of Stark Industries Group, nothing like this had ever happened in decades.
"Pepper, what's going on?" Tony Stark, in the communication, sensed something was wrong and immediately asked.
Pepper composed herself: "The Head of Security reports that it seems a monster has invaded Stark Tower and is causing widespread destruction."
"Pepper, don't panic. Stay somewhere safe. I'll be right there," Tony reassured her.
"I know."
At Tony's seaside villa.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., immediately access the Stark Tower security surveillance system footage and prepare to suit up in the Iron Man armor," Tony commanded.
"Understood, Sir!"
J.A.R.V.I.S. initiated the protocol to suit Tony in the Iron Man armor and simultaneously brought up the Stark Tower security system footage, projecting it onto the screen in front of Tony.
"Although the appearance is slightly different, it's clearly the same type of Bugster monster we encountered that day," Tony calculated in his mind, seeing the humanoid monster, which looked like it was pieced together from countless yellow spheres, causing massive destruction on the screen.
"It's a good thing I was still at home right now. If I had encountered this monster at Stark Tower unprepared, I would have been completely defenseless," Tony muttered to himself with a flippant tone.
"While you frequently and arbitrarily arrive late to various meetings due to your capriciousness, this time you are correct, Sir. Fortunately, you did not arrive on time. Otherwise, you might have collided head-on with this monster," J.A.R.V.I.S. concurred.
Tony's mouth twitched at that. He closed the Iron Man mask: "Deploy!"