Hammer's Exhibition

Coulson left with his doubts.

Tony turned to Leo. "What wish of his can be fulfilled? World peace?"

"No, he wants to meet his idol, Captain America Rogers. It should be soon. Do you want to see him?"

"A nearly hundred-year-old man? No interest."

He turned back and continued working.

"Mr. Stark? How is the New Element research going?"

"Incredible. Such a strange elemental energy—its efficiency is probably ten times that of a palladium reactor."

Tony sighed. "And it seems to have some inexplicable effect on living organisms. The results are uncertain, so I want to conduct some biological experiments."

He turned around and watched helplessly as Leo packed the remaining six Vibranium Arc Reactor Mark Is into his little backpack.

"Leo, I still need to conduct further tests and make improvements. The New Element isn't that simple."

"Take your time improving it. I should head back. Peter called me yesterday and asked me to go home today and watch the show with him, so I won't be keeping you company."

Leo replied with a smile. Solid Golden Light wings spread from his back, and he shot away in a streak of light.

Tony looked at the spot where Leo had vanished, folding his arms as one hand rubbed his chin.

Do you think Iron Man Armor made from Carbon Nanotubes could withstand Leo?

In just over ten minutes, Leo returned to his garage.

There was no longer any high-quality metal at home for him to continue cultivating with, and the reactors in his backpack were safely placed in his small room.

Looking at Astral Projection lying in the bedside table, he realized he had not cultivated in quite some time.

He picked it up, looked at the Ancient Sanskrit on it, then put it back down.

"Forget it. No need to force it. I don't sleep often anyway; I basically spend that time cultivating. I just wanted to see what my soul actually looked like."

"I'll return it in a few days. I've practically memorized the book already."

Leo glanced at the living room. Peter had long been waiting for Leo to take him out.

He took off his gold-threaded shirt, changed into something more normal, and headed out with the excited Peter.

Everyone was planning to visit the Expo. New York was exceptionally lively today because of the Expo performance.

Not long after, a call came through to Tony's home.

"Missed call. Number unavailable, sir."

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded.

"I can take calls again. Great."

Tony sat down in front of the computer. "Coulson, how is Charming Wonderland?"

"Tony, how are you? Ha, I doubled the rotation speed." Ivan's mocking voice came through.

"You don't sound like a dead man."

"Neither do you. Hahaha."

Tony's smiling face tightened. He reached out and muted the call, preventing Ivan from hearing him.

"Trace the call," he told J.A.R.V.I.S.

"The Stark family history will be rewritten. What your father did to my family over forty years, I'll do to you in forty minutes."

"Sounds good. Let's have a nice chat," Tony replied.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., where is he?"

"Accessing the Oracle Phone Network. East Coast of the United States, Delta region, Manhattan and adjacent administrative districts..."

J.A.R.V.I.S. was rapidly tracing the signal, narrowing down the location level by level.

But the call had already ended, and the trace was cut off.

Tony panicked slightly. Ivan is alive. What is he planning to do?

Turning his head, he saw news on a nearby computer about tonight's Expo demonstration.

Justin Hammer's smiling face filled the screen, beneath the headline: "Defending Peace."

Tony seemed to guess something. He turned back to the New Reactor still undergoing testing.

Time did not allow him to hesitate any longer. He stepped forward, picked it up, and shoved it into the large hole in his chest.

"Sir!"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., test it like this. Assemble Mark VI immediately."

"We still aren't sure—"

"I don't want to hear that, J.A.R.V.I.S."

The New Reactor on Tony's chest slowly began to glow.

The black patterns that had reappeared across his chest gradually faded away with the light.

The new element slowly flowed into Tony's body, bringing about a subtle change.

As night slowly fell, Leo, who was taking the freshly fed Peter to the Expo, heard the Bluetooth Headset in his pocket ring.

He casually took it out and clipped it over his right ear. "Mr. Stark?"

"Leo, Ivan isn't dead. My last detection point put him somewhere unknown in the Manhattan District. I think his target is very likely tonight's Expo presentation."

"I'm on my way there now. Everyone at the venue is in danger. Ivan must have received some financial backing—tonight definitely won't be simple."

Leo glanced at the crowd around him. "I've got the Expo covered. Nothing will happen here. Go find Ivan directly."

"Alright, but make sure to protect the civilians. If anything happens, lure him somewhere open. Ivan's target is me! Help me look after Pepper. She's at the venue too."

"Mm."

Holding Peter's hand, Leo headed toward the Expo's main hall.

The broadcast was playing: '...Justin Hammer's presentation will soon take place in the main hall.'

Peter's eyes lit up when he spotted someone selling Iron Man Merchandise nearby, and he pulled Leo over.

For twenty dollars, he bought a glowing Iron Man Mask, which even came with a glowing Iron Man glove.

Watching Peter happily play with his new toys, Leo smiled as well.

Ivan, if you wanted to fight Iron Man, then fight Iron Man. But you had to bring out all these robots to wreak havoc and kill people everywhere. You dragged civilians into your hatred and nearly got Peter killed. You're beyond saving.

The two tried to enter the main hall, only to be stopped because they had no passes.

Leo took out a Stark Industries internal employee card that Stark had specifically issued to him.

Only then were they able to enter the main venue.

At that moment, Justin Hammer was giving a spirited speech onstage.

He mocked Iron Man's inaction, making Pepper frown deeply.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today, I will introduce you to the new face of the United States military—the Hammer Iron Soldiers!!"

The stage darkened, and several lifting platforms emerged.

"Army Iron Soldiers!"

Eight green Iron Soldiers with elongated cannon barrels mounted on their backs rose up.

"Navy Iron Soldiers!"

Eight light-blue Iron Soldiers with six-tube missile pods mounted on each shoulder.

"Air Force Iron Soldiers!"

Eight streamlined dark-blue Iron Soldiers appeared, armed with Rapid-fire machine guns on both arms.

"Marine Iron Soldiers."

Eight camouflage-colored Iron Soldiers appeared, equipped with grenade launchers and Rapid-fire machine guns on both hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce the first prototype: the Comprehensive Threat Response Combat Armor, along with its pilot, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes."

A more refined-looking Iron Armor stepped forward, with a six-barreled machine gun on its back, missile pods on both shoulders, and powerful machine guns and grenade launchers on both arms.

Every part of it proved that it was an Iron Armor possessing overwhelming firepower.

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

But at that moment, a tiny point of light appeared in the distance and rapidly approached.

The classic combination of gold and crimson, a stable Inverted Triangle on his chest—Iron Man had arrived.

Everyone around them unconsciously stood up, clapping and cheering with far more enthusiasm than before.

At the same time, Ivan had fully taken control of all the Iron Soldiers, as well as the system of Rhodes's Iron Armor.

In an instant, all thirty-three iron figures raised their left hands and aimed at Tony.

Tony did not react at first. "Rhodes, is that you?"

"It's not me! That's not me! I can't move—I've been locked down! I've been locked down!!"

Rhodes shouted, "Get out of here! The entire system has been taken over."

"Let's fight outside."

Tony did not even have time to search for Pepper in the crowd. He took off and swiftly flew away.

Every gun barrel tracked Iron Man's moving figure, countless sparks flashing from their muzzles.

Leo also stretched out his little hand.