Continue Your Performance

"The fifteen-mile journey to the outskirts of Gulmira could only be described as a road into hell..."

"The recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign soldiers, known to the locals as... the Ten Rings."

"They are heavily armed and driven by a clear purpose..."

"The refugees can only wonder whether anyone will come to help them..."

Oaks and Dr. Yinsen watched the news report expressionlessly.

The footage was clear. As Dr. Yinsen looked at those familiar people and familiar weapons, the corner of his eye twitched violently.

"Raza Hamidmi, the leader of the Ten Rings. It seems he still isn't willing to accept his previous defeat."

Dr. Yinsen had once thought he had gotten rid of that man.

"Looks like he not only survived the last explosion, but has made a comeback... 'Made by Stark Industries'... Heh. It seems Tony is facing a major crisis now."

Though the markings had been erased from the weapons used by the Ten Rings in the news footage for some reason, Dr. Yinsen recognized them at a glance.

They were high-end weapons produced by Stark Industries, the former military-industrial giant that should have shut down its weapons division months ago.

No one else in America—or even the entire world—could produce weapons of this caliber, not even Hammer Industries, which desperately tried to ride Stark Industries' coattails.

"Oaks... will Tony know about this?"

Watching his countrymen being forced from their homes, Dr. Yinsen slowly removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I believe in Tony. He's a man who keeps his word. I watched the recording of the press conference where he announced the weapons division's closure, but now..."

"Don't worry. He'll handle it."

A faint smile curled Oaks's lips, and he suddenly felt an urge.

"Dr. Yinsen, do you know the exact coordinates of that place?"

"Yes, I do, but..."

"Tell me. I think someone is getting restless... Want to see some firsthand footage?"

Dr. Yinsen stared blankly at Oaks. After a long while, he smiled.

"Yes, I do."

In the town of Gulmira, the Ten Rings' new Armory welcomed a steel warrior seeking revenge today.

After pulling off the classic "real men never look back at explosions," Tony used his newly developed hand-mounted energy cannons to destroy the entire Armory.

But just as he was preparing to leave, his radar picked up something strange.

"Sir, an interesting creature is watching you. It is exceptionally rare."

"He... llo?"

Tony stared at a Falcon perched on a rock, its head cocked as it watched him. They held eye contact for ten seconds.

"Listen, I don't know whether birds like you are supposed to be here, but I absolutely cannot tolerate the camera hanging around your neck."

"That is a Falcon, sir, though much larger than an ordinary Falcon."

Jarvis promptly supplied the information.

"And while its range does include the Middle East, this one does not appear to be a local subspecies."

Then Tony watched, the corner of his eye twitching, as the unusually large Falcon stood on one claw and used the other to give him the middle finger.

"Holy shit!"

"Looking pretty flashy, buddy~ Keep up your performance~"

The Falcon grinned in mockery. God knew how a bird managed to smile.

"But you got hit by a shell just now, right? I got it all on camera~"

"I'm going to roast you!"

"Whoosh—!"

A flash of emerald light shot out, and the Falcon instantly soared into the sky, on the verge of vanishing from sight.

"Jarvis, get me after that bastard!"

Tony burst out laughing.

"Oaks! You little chick who doesn't even dare drive a car, and you want to compete with me in the air?!"

Shooting skyward, he caught up within seconds with the Falcon, which was surrounded by a thin emerald-green glow.

"You switched careers and became a reporter?! Weren't you supposed to turn into a little swallow?"

"A Swift. A Swift, thank you. That was my high-speed form; this is my aerial combat form."

Oaks tilted his head.

"Dr. Yinsen was worried you might do something stupid, so I came to take a look. But you can handle the rest yourself—

Don't forget to come get the necklace. I'm off!"

Tony gaped as a glimmer flashed. The Falcon instantly transformed into the tiny Swift he had seen before. Green light flashed, a sonic boom rang out, and it vanished without a trace.

"Shit!"

Tony cried out.

"Jarvis! How can that guy fly so fast?!"

"Yes, sir. Dr. Oaks just reached Mach 5. At the Mark III's speed, we cannot catch him."

"What kind of normal bird can reach that speed?!"

Tony cursed, though then he remembered that normal cheetahs could not turn invisible either...

"Sir, you have been radar-locked."

"..."

He finally understood what Oaks had meant by saying he would have to handle the rest himself.

"Hey, who is this? Rhodey? Static? I'm driving a convertible!"

"Huh? Panting? Of course not, I'm jogging in a canyon."

"Driving? Right, I drove to the canyon to go jogging."

Jarvis said, "Sir, you have been locked on by two F-22 fighter jets."

"Oh, shit, I need to get off the highway!"

Oaks had already returned to Benevolence Society headquarters.

Mach 5? That had only been his initial speed.

In Swift form, empowered by Nature Force, his current top speed could reach Mach 10—ten times the speed of sound!

While Tony was still tangling with the F-22s, Oaks had returned in less than an hour.

"That was truly spectacular."

After watching the firsthand footage Oaks had recorded, Dr. Yinsen carefully put the camera away as though it were a treasure.

"This is one-of-a-kind footage, immensely valuable as a memento—

I never expected him to have upgraded the armor to such an extent."

Thinking of the Mechanical Prosthetic he had developed, he rubbed his chin and shrugged helplessly.

"See? That's the gap between genius and ordinary people. But what happens next?

Now that Tony has done this and been spotted by the U.S. Military, this will not be a small matter. The military will one hundred percent want that technology. Tony is in serious trouble."

"It's fine. They have no evidence. Current military radar cannot capture an image of someone that small."

Oaks naturally knew how things would turn out, but Tony's exposure was inevitable.

"He probably won't stay quiet after this. With Tony's brain, there's no way he can't figure out who set him up.

Those Stark Industries weapons undoubtedly came from the board of directors, or at least from a director with real authority.

What his counterattack will look like is something worth looking forward to."

"Oaks, if Tony runs into danger..."

Dr. Yinsen trailed off.

"Don't worry. I can't bring him back from the dead, but as long as he still has a breath left, I can save him."

After thinking for a moment, Oaks could not help teasing him.

"Dr. Yinsen, I have to say, after your personal instruction, Tony is becoming more and more inclined to 'act outside the plan.'"

"Huh? Is he?"

Dr. Yinsen scratched his bald head and laughed awkwardly.

"Perhaps that's a good thing too. Science always needs all kinds of accidents, haha, hahahaha..."