Father and Son on the Playground

The World of Warcraft offline event was held in New York's Central Park, though the turnout was modest, as it was merely organized by players from a specific district. When Luo Xia and Violet arrived, they saw a group of Warcraft players dressed in various cosplay outfits, reveling in the festivities.

The scene was quite lively, ranging from middle-aged men in their forties or fifties down to children as young as four or five.

Everyone seemed to be dressed as their in-game characters; at a glance, one could see everything from elf maidens to undead, though the makeup was a bit lacking, falling far short of the god-tier cosplay seen in later generations.

The program was simple: a few pre-prepared storytelling performances, with the rest of the time dedicated to eating and drinking. Luo Xia used Violet's account information to snag a free lunch, and after wandering around for a while, he considered Violet's wish fulfilled.

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

"What's this about? Why bring it up all of a sudden?" Luo Xia asked curiously.

"In my memory, the AllSpark possesses the ability to create bionic bodies. When the time comes, please be sure to craft one for me. I want to participate in cosplay as my own self, fair and square!" Violet stated with utmost sincerity.

Luo Xia didn't know how to respond to her using this as motivation for an upgrade. Why were all the robots activated by AllSpark energy such oddballs? What kind of bizarre setting was this?

Luo Xia was speechless, yet he had no way to change it.

However, the technology for Violet to obtain a bionic body was actually quite useful. If he could manufacture a large number of bionic robots, he could form an army of his own.

Ultimately, he still needed to upgrade the AllSpark's level as quickly as possible.

It was just a pity that manufacturing an Energy Activator required a large amount of nuclear material, and for now, Luo Xia could only rely on Stark Industries, hoping to upgrade the AllSpark to its second stage soon.

Luo Xia found a relatively quiet spot to sit down. He wasn't a fan of Warcraft, so he felt somewhat out of place in the venue.

Right there, he happened to meet a man who shared his awkwardness.

The man looked to be in his thirties, a bit thin, with a pale complexion that didn't look very healthy. He seemed interested in Luo Xia's Asian heritage and took the initiative to strike up a conversation: "Friend, are you Chinese-American or Japanese-American?"

"Chinese-American. Is there something you need?" Luo Xia asked.

"No, I just felt we were the same—both a bit uncomfortable with the atmosphere here. Are you here with a child too?" the middle-aged man asked.

"I was just brought here by a friend. Do I look like someone's father?" Luo Xia laughed.

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

The man pointed toward the gaming area, and Luo Xia saw a child of about five or six playing with a plastic greatsword alongside other friends. A group of rowdy kids were running around like madmen, and the noise was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Luo Xia watched for a while and sighed, "Actually, being able to be with family is already luckier than many. My family is no longer around, so from my perspective, your troubles are actually a form of happiness."

"My apologies," the middle-aged man said, feeling embarrassed.

"No need to apologize for that. By the way, I'm Luo Xia, and you?" Luo Xia reached out his hand.

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

"Daddy! Look at my Whirlwind!"

The child came charging over, spinning in circles with the plastic greatsword.

"Harry, be careful!" Fearing his son would trip while spinning, the man had to let go of Luo Xia's hand to run over and scoop up his son.

Seeing this, Luo Xia felt it was quite heartwarming. But just then, Violet suddenly reported, "Commander, someone has deployed electromagnetic interference equipment. The wireless communications in this vicinity have been jammed," Violet explained.

Electromagnetic shielding? Luo Xia suddenly had a bad premonition and scanned his surroundings. The others didn't seem to have noticed, and fearing this was directed at him, Luo Xia quickly left the gaming venue, heading toward the most secluded part of Central Park.

The middle-aged man, having just picked up his son and intending to greet Luo Xia, found that he had already vanished.

"Daddy, what are you looking at?" Harry asked in a milky voice.

"A very interesting young man."

"How is he interesting? Can he cast Fireball?" Children always had unrealistic fantasies.

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

"I know, Daddy! I'll use Whirlwind to defeat all the enemies!" Harry made sound effects for himself.

Luo Xia naturally knew nothing of this; he was busy trying to distance himself from the crowd.

However, Luo Xia didn't get very far before a group of men in black suits emerged from every corner, surrounding him.

"Such a big turnout—surely this isn't because I accidentally stepped on the grass?" Luo Xia smiled.

Soon, a tall figure stepped out from the crowd and arrived before Luo Xia. His burly, obese frame and bald head were very easy to recognize: Obadiah Stane, the CEO of Stark Industries and an elder whom Tony trusted deeply.

"This is quite a surprise," Luo Xia made no effort to hide his astonishment.

He had expected someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. to be tracking him, but he never imagined it would be Obadiah Stane.

Shouldn't he be busy transferring Stark Industries' assets or stealing Tony's Arc Reactor data? Why would he be targeting a "nobody" like him?

"I wonder if Mr. Luo Xia has some time? I'd like to invite you to a meal to discuss a potential collaboration," Obadiah Stane said to Luo Xia.

"Collaboration? Aren't I already a technical consultant for Stark Industries?" Luo Xia replied.

Obadiah Stane reached into his coat, a movement that made Luo Xia's eyes narrow. If Obadiah Stane pulled out a gun, Luo Xia would activate his Sensor Glove without hesitation and start a massacre.

Even if it caused massive trouble, Luo Xia never intended to leave his life or death in someone else's hands.

Obadiah Stane did indeed pull out a pistol, but Luo Xia didn't strike immediately, because of the unique shape of the gun in his hand. With its milky-white casing and dazzling blue pulse energy slots, it was none other than the Pulse Pistol Luo Xia had crafted using AllSpark energy.