Chapter 34

In Afghanistan, Tony used a pile of scrap metal to build the prototype for Iron Man, known as the Mark 1.

After he piloted the Mark 1 to escape his cage, the armor ran out of power and crashed into the desert, falling apart into pieces.

Braving the scorching sun, he finally waited for the U.S. military's rescue before he could die of heatstroke. However, the shattered prototype armor was left behind in the vast sea of sand until it was found by the Ten Rings.

Obadiah slaughtered the members of the Ten Rings, seized the iron suit, and then opened Section 16 beneath the giant arc reactor at Stark Industries, gathering his best engineers to secretly build a massive iron suit.

Stark Industries was the world's largest arms company; although it had ostensibly banned arms trading, many shady deals still occurred behind the scenes under Obadiah's direction.

Initially, Stark Industries had a total of fifteen sectors, but now, to build the iron suit, the Section 16 project was fully launched.

The engineers worked day and night, and the prototype of the iron suit had already appeared, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not create the energy core—the arc reactor—needed to power the suit.

With no other choice, Obadiah had to steal it himself. He tore the core from Tony's chest, leaving him to die. Fortunately, the disobedient mechanical arm saved his life, and he only survived by inserting the discarded first-generation arc reactor into his body.

"Tony!" his good friend Rhodey shouted, running over in a panic when he saw Tony collapsed on the ground.

The pale Tony finally found a bit of strength. The first thing he did upon climbing up was to grab Rhodey's arm and ask, "Where is Pepper? Is she in danger?"

Rhodey felt a bit helpless. I'm the one who came to save you, so how can you keep talking about Pepper? You really are someone who prioritizes romance over friendship, completely heartless.

However, seeing the weak Tony, Rhodey couldn't be bothered to complain. "She's fine. She's with five agents, and they've gone to capture Obadiah now."

"Five isn't enough," Tony said worriedly.

Rhodey suddenly remembered something and replied, "No, it should be six. One of them isn't an agent; Pepper said he's a special consultant!"

Three Fords, led by an Audi, sped toward Stark Industries. With a sharp screech of brakes, the four cars pulled up at the back entrance. William, Coulson, Pepper, and four agents stepped out and marched forward.

What came into view was the majestic arc reactor, its blue light arc shimmering and incredibly spectacular. Two agents stood beneath it, gazing up in awe.

William, however, curled his lip. No matter how good it looks, it's going to explode soon anyway.

Pepper quickly found the door leading to Section 16, but her keycard didn't seem to work. Coulson pulled out a small explosive device, stuck it to the door, and blew it open with ease.

"Everyone, be careful!" Coulson said, drawing his gun. The other agents followed suit, but William was the only one without a weapon in his hand.

It wasn't that he was trying to look cool; S.H.I.E.L.D. simply hadn't issued him a gun, only his credentials. It was obvious that Nick Fury knew William's abilities were powerful enough that he didn't need extra weapons.

The group walked deep into Section 16. It was quiet, with no lights and the surroundings cast in gloom; occasionally, one could hear the sound of running water.

They hadn't gone far when an agent thought he saw a figure ahead. He immediately fired, the bullet hitting it with a ding—it sounded like it had struck metal and ricocheted off.

"Don't fire blindly!" Coulson ordered. As they continued forward, they realized it wasn't a person, but a suit of armor.

It was a worn-out iron suit, crudely made, roughly the size of an adult, hanging in mid-air by thick iron chains. In the darkness, it looked just like a person, which was quite terrifying.

"Mark 1," William whispered. He knew this was the first-generation Iron Man armor Tony had built, and Obadiah had used this suit's design to copycat his own.

"So Obadiah really did build something like this." Coulson, however, didn't know about the Mark series yet; he assumed this armor was something Obadiah had built himself.

Pepper, meanwhile, noticed something was wrong, because according to the blueprints for the Section 16 project, the suit Obadiah intended to build should have been much larger than this.

Just then, a strange sound came from the darkness—faint and elusive, impossible to hear unless one listened carefully. Pepper had excellent hearing, and she caught the sound; it was like metal scraping against the floor.

Deep in the darkness, a spot was blocked off by thick chains, and the sound seemed to be coming from there. Pepper's heart hammered against her ribs. Could Obadiah be hiding inside?

Thinking this, she slowly moved closer, but just as she reached the chains, the strange sound stopped.

Just as Pepper was about to let out a sigh of relief, a pair of bright eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness, staring fixedly at her!

Coulson had originally thought the armor Obadiah built was just the one they had seen, but then he spotted a massive platform. On the platform were severed wires and metal pillars used for anchoring.

Next to the platform was a control panel, and on the screen was a blueprint and data for a mysterious iron suit. This suit looked much larger, more imposing, and more ferocious than the previous one.

In other words, a behemoth had truly existed here, only it was gone now!

"Help!" With a thunderous boom, Pepper screamed and fled. Right behind her, a massive shadow charged out from the darkness, moving with incredible speed and smashing everything in its path.

Amidst the group's shock, a hulking iron giant came into view.

The iron giant stood nearly three meters tall, its entire body covered in heavy metal plating. Its arms and shoulders were bristling with weapons, equipped with laser beams, guns, and cannons. It was powered by a magnetic turbine engine, granting it the ability to fly via jet propulsion.

Its strength was immense, and the ground shook with every step; it was as unstoppable as a wild beast.

This was the final boss from the Iron Man 1 movie—the Iron Monger!

"Main quest initiated!"

"Rise of Iron Man: Protect Iron Man Tony Stark, eliminate Iron Monger Obadiah Stane."

Unexpectedly, the moment the Iron Monger appeared, Athena's voice rang out. Ever since the Skull Gang mission ended, William hadn't triggered a new main quest until today.

Protect Iron Man, eliminate the Iron Monger—a tough battle had begun!