A Father and Son at the Game

The World of Warcraft gathering was being held in New York's Central Park. It wasn't very crowded; it had simply been organized by players from one particular server. When Luo Xia and Violet arrived, they saw a group of World of Warcraft players dressed in all kinds of cosplay outfits, celebrating.

The scene was quite lively, with everyone from middle-aged men in their forties and fifties to children barely four or five.

Everyone seemed to have dressed up as their in-game characters. At a glance, Luo Xia spotted elf girls and even undead, though the makeup left something to be desired. It was nowhere near as impressive as the god-tier cosplay he'd seen in later years.

The program was simple, too: a few skits based on stories that had been prepared in advance, followed by eating and drinking. Luo Xia used Violet's account information to get himself a free lunch, then wandered around for a while. That was enough to satisfy Violet's wish.

Violet, however, said to Luo Xia with utmost seriousness, "Commander, please upgrade the AllSpark as soon as possible."

"What brought that on all of a sudden?" Luo Xia asked curiously.

"In my memories, the AllSpark can create robotic bodies. When the time comes, please make one for me. I want to attend cosplay as myself, openly and proudly!" Violet said with absolute seriousness.

Luo Xia didn't know what to say about using that as motivation to upgrade. Why were all the robots activated by the AllSpark such oddballs? What kind of bizarre setting was this?

Luo Xia was speechless, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Still, Violet's desire for a robotic body made him realize that the technology would be quite useful. He could make a large number of robotic soldiers and build an army of his own.

In the end, he still needed to upgrade the AllSpark as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, making an Energy Activation Device required a large amount of nuclear material. For now, Luo Xia could only rely on Stark Industries and hope he could upgrade the AllSpark to its second stage soon.

Luo Xia found a seat in a relatively quiet spot. He wasn't a World of Warcraft fan, so he felt somewhat out of place at the event.

As it happened, he met a man here who seemed just as awkward as he did.

The man looked to be in his thirties. He was rather thin, and his pale complexion made him look less than healthy. He seemed interested in Luo Xia's Asian appearance and struck up a conversation. "Hey, are you Chinese American or Japanese American?"

"Chinese American. Why?" Luo Xia asked.

"No reason. I just thought we were alike—we both seem a little out of place here. Did you bring your kid, too?" the middle-aged man asked.

"I was just brought along by a friend. Do I look like someone else's father?" Luo Xia said with a smile.

"Then you'd better not get married and have kids too early. Take it from someone who's been there. If you don't believe me, look over there."

The man pointed toward the gaming area. Luo Xia saw a child of about five or six playing with his friends, holding a plastic greatsword. A pack of unruly kids were running around like maniacs, and the noise alone made his scalp tingle.

Luo Xia watched them for a while, then sighed. "Honestly, being with your family already makes you luckier than a lot of people. My family aren't around anymore, so to me, your troubles seem like a blessing."

"Sorry," the middle-aged man said awkwardly.

"No need to apologize. By the way, I'm Luo Xia. And you?" Luo Xia held out his hand.

The middle-aged man grasped Luo Xia's hand firmly and was about to introduce himself when a child's excited shout rang out.

"Dad! Look at my Whirlwind!"

The child came spinning toward them, plastic greatsword in hand.

"Harry, be careful!" Afraid his son would spin himself dizzy and fall, the man let go of Luo Xia's hand and rushed over to pick him up.

Seeing this, Luo Xia found it rather heartwarming. But just then, Violet reported, "Commander, someone is using electromagnetic interference equipment. Wireless communications in this area have been blocked," she explained.

Electromagnetic interference? Luo Xia suddenly had a bad feeling. He looked around. No one else seemed to have noticed, and he worried it was directed at him. To avoid dragging anyone else into it, he quickly left the gaming area and headed for the most secluded part of Central Park.

The middle-aged man had just picked up his son and was about to say goodbye to Luo Xia, but he found that Luo Xia had already disappeared.

"Dad, what are you looking at?" Harry asked in a babyish voice.

"A rather interesting young man."

"What made him interesting? Can he cast Fireball?" Children always had unrealistic fantasies.

"He can't cast Fireball, but it's rare to see an Asian with that kind of confidence. Harry, you should grow up to be confident, too. Understand?" the middle-aged man told his son.

"Got it, Dad! I'll use Whirlwind to defeat all my enemies!" Harry made whooshing sound effects for himself.

Luo Xia had no idea any of this was happening. He was focused on getting away from the crowd.

However, he hadn't gone very far when a group of men in black suits emerged from every direction and surrounded him.

"What a show of force. This isn't because I accidentally stepped on the grass, is it?" Luo Xia said with a smile.

Soon, a tall figure pushed through the crowd and came to stand in front of Luo Xia. His burly, heavyset frame and bald head made him easy to recognize: Obadiah Stane, CEO of Stark Industries and a trusted elder to Tony.

"This is quite a surprise," Luo Xia said, not bothering to hide his astonishment.

He'd assumed someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. had set their sights on him, but he hadn't expected it to be Obadiah Stane.

Shouldn't he be busy moving Stark Industries' assets or stealing Tony's Arc Reactor data? Why would he take an interest in an inconspicuous "nobody" like Luo Xia?

"Mr. Luo Xia, do you have time? I'd like to invite you to a meal and discuss a potential partnership," Obadiah Stane said.

"A partnership? Am I not already a technical consultant for Stark Industries?" Luo Xia asked.

Obadiah Stane reached into his coat, and Luo Xia's eyes narrowed. If Obadiah Stane pulled out a gun, Luo Xia wouldn't hesitate to activate his Sensor Glove and start killing.

Even if it caused a lot of trouble, Luo Xia had never been willing to put his life in someone else's hands.

Obadiah Stane did pull out a pistol, but Luo Xia didn't immediately attack, because of the unusual shape of the gun in his hand. It had an ivory-white casing and dazzling blue energy channels. It was none other than a Pulse Pistol Luo Xia had made using energy from the AllSpark.