69novels Chapter 104 Tony: Leave My House, Alien Fury
Chapter 104 Tony: Leave My House, Alien Fury
Chapter 104 Tony: Leave My House, Alien Fury
When Tony Stark returned to his seaside villa, the sky was already tinged with a grayish-blue dawn.
He placed the Mark armor on the dismantling platform, and the robotic arm automatically extended to remove the breastplate, shoulder armor, and arm armor piece by piece.
The soft clicking of screwdrivers and clips echoed in the empty workshop.
He stepped off the platform, grabbed a towel draped over the back of his chair, wiped his face, and tossed the towel onto the control panel.
"Jarvis, that dagger that guy was using just now, was it vibranium?"
"Confirmed." Jarvis's voice came from the ceiling speaker.
"Judging from the cutting efficiency of the blade against the Iron Monger armor, it is a perfect match with the known properties of vibranium material."
"This dagger is made of the same material as Captain America's shield."
Tony's expression turned grim.
His Mark III's outer armor is made of gold-titanium alloy, which does indeed provide sufficient defensive redundancy against conventional weapons.
It can withstand rifle bullets, fragmentation grenades, and even shoulder-fired rockets.
But he had just witnessed Li En use that dagger to cut off Iron Monarch's legs and arms with just two casual strokes, as if slicing cardboard.
Gold-titanium alloy is nothing compared to vibranium.
The difference in materials between the two is not a generational issue, but a matter of dimension.
"Does our company have enough vibranium in its warehouse? Enough to make a suit of armor?"
"Stark Industries currently has zero vibranium inventory and there are no vibranium purchase records in the supply chain."
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"Where can I get it?"
Jarvis remained silent for a fraction of a second.
For a super AI, this pause is almost as speechless as a human.
Then a holographic window is projected above the console, with a dense stream of data scrolling within it.
Web searches, dark web crawlers, vulnerabilities in classified military procurement lists, and non-public documents leaked from the margins of congressional hearings.
Every trace that could be found was traced.
"Vibranium trading does exist on the black market, but each transaction is measured in grams, and the price is extremely high."
"Based on the current average black market price and the total known supply worldwide, Stark Industries' liquid assets will be exhausted before the procurement is completed, and the company will enter bankruptcy proceedings in order to gather the amount of vibranium needed to build a complete suit of armor."
Tony stopped holding his coffee cup near his mouth.
He never cared how much money was in the company's accounts.
He always approved the budget for the R&D department, and Pepper was responsible for filling in the numbers.
But Jarvis wouldn't make a mistake in this calculation.
The vibranium raw materials needed to assemble just one suit of armor could bankrupt the world's most valuable arms conglomerate.
"What's the news about tonight?"
He placed his coffee cup on the edge of the console and walked over to the sofa to sit down.
A holographic screen immediately unfolded in front of him, scrolling through live feeds from various news channels.
The helicopter aerial footage on the screen is fixed on the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street.
The overturned car, the asphalt road with deep craters, and the mangled remains of the Iron Monger lying in the middle of the street, surrounded by a yellow and black police tape cordon.
In the scene, Mark Armor is seen holding the open side wing of the Iron Monger cockpit with one hand, talking to a field commander.
All the shots focused on the gold and red Mark armor.
In the corner of the screen, the spot where Li En had just stood was now empty.
No one captured his face on camera, no one captured him swinging the knife, and no television station broadcast the scene of Iron Monger being cut open by that dagger.
"The media have uniformly adopted Iron Man as your title."
"Currently, the search volume for this term on global social media has surpassed that of all trending news items during the same period."
"Judging from the data trends, the acceptance rate is very high."
Tony leaned back on the sofa, staring at the scrolling comments on the screen, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Iron Man is pretty good.
Jarvis's voice suddenly took on a subtle uncertainty.
"There is a related early search record, the source IP address is the Manhattan Police Department precinct intranet, and the operator's login identity is Officer Li En."
"Search time: about a month ago, search keyword: Iron Man."
Tony jumped up from the sofa.
"What?"
He took two steps to the holographic screen and tapped the copy of the search history that Jarvis had brought up.
Date, time, IP address, internal device number, login credentials—each item is highlighted in red and marked next to it.
He stared at the date for several seconds, mentally working backwards.
Just over a month ago, he hadn't returned from Afghanistan, and hadn't yet chipped out the first breast plate of the Mark I in Doctors' Cave.
Even the arc reactor is still serving as a temporary pacemaker under the magnet on his chest.
No one in the world knew that he would create a set of red armor in the future.
But the officer at the Manhattan precinct, who always had a poker face, was already using the police department's intranet to search for Iron Man.
Did that guy know he would build the Mark Armor back then?
impossible.
Those tough, disciplined soldiers didn't look like charlatans who practiced prophecy at all.
He sat back down and stared at the short search history on the screen.
He tapped his fingers on the sofa armrest several times before looking up.
"Jarvis, you have hacked into Umbrella Corporation's internal servers."
"Sir, this practice constitutes [illegible] under the framework of federal law."
"I know, I'll do it."
Jarvis remained silent.
The row of data indicator lights next to the console began to flash at a high frequency, and the data stream rolled across the holographic screen at such a speed that it was impossible to see any single byte clearly.
Ten minutes later, all indicator lights returned to a stable green color.
A file directory window popped up in front of Tony, and the directory tree unfolded layer by layer.
Organizational structure, financial statements, personnel files, laboratory logs, special projects.
Tony dragged the window in the air, pulled the folder marked "Special Item" to the center of the screen, and opened it.
He first saw an analysis report about aliens.
The accompanying image is a set of high-powered microscope photographs of cell sections, with comparative data with human cells labeled next to them.
The report's conclusion was concise: it can be deformed at will and perfectly simulate the human form; the blood, after being removed from the living body and treated in a specific way, turns back to blue, and was directly identified by Li En through blood screening.
Tony flipped down a few pages and saw the keyword "Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." and frowned.
He then opened another document: Vampire.
Video footage: There is a short video shot with a mobile phone, and the picture is very shaky.
In the laboratory, a humanoid creature with grayish-white skin was strapped to an operating table, with two sharp canine teeth protruding from its mouth and a bullet hole remaining on its forehead.
The skin around the bullet hole is healing at a visible rate.
Below the file was a complete set of blood analysis data, including cell activity, self-healing rate, and response thresholds to silver and ultraviolet light.
Tony stood there, reading the two documents from beginning to end, and then opened the third one: Dragon's Blood Potion.
The initial version of the cell nutrient enhancement solution has completed human testing, has no side effects, and can improve the overall physical condition of users and treat severe injuries such as paraplegia and amputation.
After reading this document, he reached out and touched his chest.
The light from the arc-shaped reactor shone through the cotton fabric of the T-shirt, casting a faint blue ring on my palm.
The shrapnel was still a few millimeters away from the heart.
If the dragon blood potion can enhance his own cellular regeneration, then he can find a few surgeons to remove all the fragments inside.
"Jarvis, can you replicate the alien detection spray and the dragon's blood potion?"
"The detection spray requires alien blood as a basic ingredient, and the dragon blood potion requires G virus and T virus as basic ingredients."
"Both of the above core materials are unknown in existing databases and public networks, and therefore cannot be produced."
"Then I'll have to go there in person and talk to Li En face to face."
Tony stood up and walked to the French windows.
He recalled the memorial service held in Central Park a few months earlier for the amusement park tragedy.
He went up to give a speech, announced the establishment of a foundation, and donated 30 million yuan, which was met with applause from the entire audience.
After he stepped down from the stage, he walked to the hamburger cart, wanting to get a hamburger but not having any cash. Li En took out ten dollars and slapped it on the counter, telling him to hurry up and get the hamburger and leave.
The way Li En looked at him was no different from how he looked at the mayor, the reporters in the audience, and the disaster victims queuing up to donate money.
That kind of gaze doesn't fawn over you or pressure you from below; it simply lingers on your face for a moment, then moves away.
Tony had almost never seen anyone look at him like that before.
Even the officer named Frank, who was standing next to him eating a hamburger, glanced at him sideways.
He clearly caught a glimpse of a deep-seated contempt for the rich and powerful in that gaze.
He could completely understand Frank's contempt.
But Lee Eun is different; it's pure equality without any attached background.
"Sir, someone has come in."
Tony turned his head and saw a black man in a black trench coat and an eye patch walking down the stairs leading to the living room.
The leather boots clicked on the marble steps at a leisurely pace, as if they were returning home.
"Jarvis, why did you let this guy in?" Tony's voice trailed off with a hint of displeasure.
"I'm sorry, sir, he bypassed our security protocols through the external interface. I have taken back control."
Tony smirked. The man was already in the middle of the living room; what was the point of taking over now?
He placed the empty coffee cup on the coffee table, lightly rubbed the soles of his shoes on the polished marble floor, and walked casually toward Mark Kishin's assembly platform.
"May I ask what's the matter? — Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Nick Fury."
Fury paused for a moment.
Logically speaking, Tony Stark shouldn't know his identity.
The existence of S.H.I.E.L.D. is kept secret from the outside world, and the director's name cannot be found in public databases.
But he didn't dwell on this part; since the other party already knew, there was no need to introduce himself again.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his posture ramrod straight, his face extremely somber.
"Now that you know who I am, things are simple."
"One of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. was your father—Howard Stark."
"Our ties with Stark Industries go much deeper than you realize."
"Right now, there's trouble in the bureau."
"Troublesome." Tony continued walking toward the assembly platform without turning his head.
"Where was S.H.I.E.L.D. when Obadiah Stane nearly smashed me, armor and all, into a pulp?"
"Now that your department is in trouble, you've finally remembered me?"
He walked to the designated spot on the assembly platform, stopped, turned around, and faced Fury.
"My father is the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.? How come I've never heard him mention that?"
"The past involved is very complicated and cannot be explained in a short time." Fury's one eye did not leave Tony's face.
"Tony, you possess wisdom beyond the reach of ordinary people. The Earth is very fragile right now, and we really need your help. If we can't get through this, humanity may be doomed."
"Humanity is doomed—that's your problem, Mr. Nick Fury, the alien."
The moment Tony finished speaking, several robotic arms extended simultaneously from both sides of the platform, their movements precise to the millisecond level. In a short while, all the outer armor of the Mark II was fastened.
The arc-shaped reactor on his chest lit up, and a pale blue light spread outward from the reactor core.
He raised his right hand, and the cannon in his palm began to charge, with white light condensing in the center of his palm.
"Please leave my residence now."
"Fuck you! I'm not an alien. The person standing in front of you is me." Fury muttered under his breath.
He looked down at his right hand, then at the increasingly bright energy in Tony's palm, before taking a small knife from his waist, extending his left hand with the blade facing his palm.
"Skrug blood is blue, completely different from human blood, and I can prove it to you."
He gently ran his hand across his palm, and a thin, long cut appeared. Dark red blood gushed from the wound, flowing down the lines of his palm and dripping onto the marble floor, splashing out a small red droplet.
Tony, beneath Mark's armor, remained expressionless.
He had seen the alien blood analysis report on the Umbrella server.
The alien who became Fury's double also bled red blood when he was first cut.
It undergoes special processing by Banner and Connors—centrifugation, heating, and catalysis.
It takes a whole process to restore the blood to its original blue color.
The person standing in front of him now, regardless of the color of their blood, cannot prove that they are not an alien.
Unless he's taken to the Umbrella lab and Banner personally draws a vial of blood to go through the whole process, or if that spray is used, it won't work.
"Fuck you." Fury could read Tony's complete attitude from his unmoving palm.
As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he personally ran out of his hideout, risking being discovered by Hydra.
They flew all the way to New York to meet a billionaire wearing a metal suit, but the billionaire didn't believe a word they said.
He came today intending to bring Tony into the Avengers program, but it's no use saying anything now.
He turned and walked toward the stairs, his leather boots clicking on the marble steps, his pace much faster than when he came.
"I will send someone with you to the Umbrella School, where you can verify in person whether he is an alien."
""
Fury didn't turn his head, pushed open the door and walked into the sea breeze outside the garage.
He decided to have Coulson connect with Tony.
Coulson and Lee had met face-to-face, and Coulson was the kind of nice guy who could put everyone at ease.
It would be most appropriate for him to take Tony to Umbrella.
The school not only houses Bruce Banner, a key figure in the Avengers program.
There's also Connors and the Hellsword squad, whose fighting prowess defies explanation.
If Lee En, Frank, Bright, and Lester could join the Avengers program together.
This team's fighting strength may even exceed his most optimistic estimate written in the memo.
But Lee hates him, and Fury knows it very well.
Trust is something that is established from the very first meeting.
He sent a double to Umbrella, and Lee En directly used the knife.
If Coulson goes, maybe things can be salvaged a little.
Freya opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.
The sound of the engine starting was scattered by the morning sea breeze.
He picked up the laptop from the passenger seat; the screen was lit up, displaying the Avengers recruitment list.
Let's go find Captain America first.
The remaining work on the Avengers project was handed over to Coulson, Natasha, and Melinda.
His primary task now is to pull the snakes out of the snake den one by one.