"WTF!?"
Stane stared through the Iron Monger's video feed, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
A frying pan had actually blocked his anti-tank missile!
Could someone explain the science behind that!?
Tony, a top scientist himself, had one thing to say: I wanna know, too!
Stane forcibly suppressed the absurdity roiling inside him and stared at Du Mu. "I recognize you. You're Tony's bodyguard."
Du Mu tried to talk him down. "Stane, give it up. Your daughter's waiting for you to come home for dinner."
Stane: "?"
Wait, how did you know that?
"Whoever you are, anyone who gets in my way dies!"
Stane let out a cold snort and charged at Du Mu in the Iron Monger armor. Its massive metal fist swung high before slamming down at Du Mu with all its strength!
Du Mu neatly rolled out of the way. A crater appeared where he'd been standing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Du Mu pulled out the Golden Desert Eagle and fired shot after shot, bullets showering sparks across the Iron Monger armor.
"Hahaha! It's useless! My Iron Monger armor is invincible!"
Stane laughed arrogantly. The Iron Monger armor raised its arm, and the Gatling gun barrel began spinning again!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
A dense storm of bullets erupted, sweeping toward Du Mu!
Du Mu immediately dodged with nimble footwork, sprinting and rolling with fluid movements. He was a seasoned pro at evading attacks!
They were basic moves from all those Soulslike games he'd played. Dodging had long been etched into his DNA.
Even after a full round of fire, Stane couldn't so much as graze Du Mu's clothes.
Even more infuriating, Du Mu kept taunting him while he dodged.
"Old lady crossing the street, old lady doing square dancing, old lady taking a step back..."
Fuck you and your old lady!
Stane's blood pressure shot up, and his face visibly flushed red.
"Stane!"
Tony wasn't about to sit back and watch. Seizing his chance, he raised a row of micro-missiles from the shoulders of his Mark III, locked onto the target, and fired!
Kaboom!!
The tremendous explosion engulfed the Iron Monger armor, sending thick black smoke and flames surging into the sky.
But as the saying went, where there was smoke, there was no damage.
Heavy metallic footsteps rang out. The Iron Monger armor emerged from the flames completely unscathed. Its surface hadn't even been dented; it was just blackened by the explosion.
Du Mu jumped over to Tony and muttered, "This boss's defense is way overpowered. It's a lot tougher than your armor."
Tony: "..."
Fuck, I'm going to build an even bigger one when I get back!
"His armor's too tough. This isn't working. Tony, I have a plan!" Du Mu suddenly said.
"What plan?"
"Don't ask. I need to get something ready first. Keep Stane busy as long as you can, then lure him to this place. I'll take care of the rest." Du Mu gave him a location outside the city.
"Fine."
At this point, Tony had no choice but to trust Du Mu.
Watching Du Mu turn and run, Stane taunted him. "Tony, looks like your bodyguard's abandoned you."
"Just like your wife abandoned you back then? Then you got yourself a second wife and made her daughter your assistant?"
When it came to snark, there weren't many people who could outdo Tony.
"You're dead!"
Stane flew into a rage. Forgetting about Du Mu, he went after Tony again.
After a few exchanges, Tony quickly fell behind. The Iron Monger armor pinned him to the ground and pummeled him until the Mark III was reduced to a battle-damaged wreck.
Still, the shock-absorption system in the armor was nothing short of insane.
Normally, no matter how sturdy the armor's shell was, the person inside should have been crushed to a pulp or suffered a severe concussion from impacts with that much force.
Yet aside from feeling dizzy, Tony was still full of life. It was as if the armor itself was his health bar, and as long as it remained intact, he couldn't be hurt—just like the armor-breaking fights in certain games.
Bang!!
Tony was sent flying by the Iron Monger armor for what had to be the umpteenth time!
He immediately activated the thrusters in his hands to steady himself, hovering in midair in a rather embarrassing pose, like a girl.
Seeing this, Stane laughed wildly. "Not bad. You've made some improvements. But I've upgraded a few things myself!"
As soon as he finished speaking, brilliant flames burst from the Iron Monger armor's feet. Its massive body wobbled as it rose into the air!
Copycat!
Tony Stark ground his teeth in fury, then ordered Jarvis to head for the location Du Mu had mentioned.
Stane followed close behind, his legs blasting flames like rockets and spewing clouds of black exhaust that seriously polluted the environment.
The two chased each other through the air and soon reached a place on the outskirts.
"Remaining energy below five percent."
As soon as they landed, Tony heard Jarvis's voice.
After such a long battle, the armor had very little energy left.
"Where the hell did Du Mu go? Did he run off?"
Tony grew anxious and searched the area, but couldn't find Du Mu anywhere.
Bang!
Suddenly, Tony heard a heavy thud behind him.
He turned around and saw the Iron Monger armor land behind him and grab him in a crushing embrace.
Stane sneered. "Tony, is this the grave you picked out for yourself?"
As he spoke, the Iron Monger armor tightened its arms, performing a Bear Hug Crush. The Mark III groaned under the strain.
Jarvis kept reporting: "Left arm severely damaged. Most weapons offline. Climate control functioning..."
"Flares!!"
Tony shouted. Flames erupted from the legs of the Mark III, forcing the Iron Monger armor to let go. He barely managed to break free.
"Remaining energy at two percent. Activating emergency backup power," Jarvis announced again.
This was bad!
Tony realized he was in trouble.
With its energy depleted, the Mark III had lost most of its functions. All it could do now was move around.
Stane had recovered, too. Looking at the dimly lit Mark III, he immediately understood what had happened and said mockingly, "How ironic, Tony. You said you wanted to get rid of weapons, but instead you built an even more powerful weapon."
"Now die by the weapon you made with your own hands!"
Stane controlled the Iron Monger armor as it walked toward Tony, ready to send his nephew to join his dead father.
Suddenly, a voice called out from a distance.
"Hey, look over here."
Stane turned toward the voice and saw Du Mu aiming an RPG Rocket Launcher at him.
Stane gave a disdainful laugh. "You think that thing can hurt my armor?"
"One won't be enough. How about a hundred?"
"?"
Before Stane could think it through, Du Mu pulled the trigger!
Whoosh—!
The rocket trailed flames as it shot straight toward Stane... or rather, the ground beneath him!
Kaboom!!!
The tremendous explosion tore the ground apart!
Stane felt the ground drop away beneath him. The Iron Monger armor lost its balance and plummeted uncontrollably!
Amid the swirling dust, Stane realized in shock that he had fallen into a huge underground chamber. The surrounding clumps of dirt and stone were bizarrely regular cubes, with clear signs of excavation.
Scattered across the bottom of the enormous pit were countless objects made of the same red-and-white blocks, flashing with rapid white lights.
Three glaring letters were clearly printed on them:
TNT!