Biological Field

"Arcee, stay home and behave. I'm in a terrible mood right now, and I'm going to settle some scores. I don't want you getting hurt if you stay by my side."

"Fine, but remember to go easy on them. Don't end up killing anyone."

"Of course. I promise."

After explaining things to Arcee, Leon went down to the first basement level. Tony was still energetically tinkering with his Mark 4, seemingly having stayed up all night.

"Morning, Tony."

"Morning, Leon."

"You look pretty fired up. Whose trouble are you going to find?"

Tony set down his screwdriver, took the coffee Dum-E handed him from nearby, and asked.

"Don't mention it. You haven't seen today's headlines yet, have you?"

Leon's mouth twitched. He told Tony to see for himself while opening the glass case storing the Iron Man armor and reaching for Mark 3.

[Question: Would you like to perform today's sign-in?]

*System, I don't need to say anything else, do I?*

"Activate!"

[Ding! Today's sign-in has been completed. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained "Biological Field."]

[Biological Field: Just like Superman's. You deserve it. Its specific effects are related to the qualities of the life-form.]

[Description: Leave it to me. You can leave anything to me.]

"Yes!"

"Bro, I freaking love you!"

System, I love you three thousand times!

With that said.

Under Tony's baffled gaze, Leon smashed through the window of Tony's Wonderful Workshop and, unable to wait any longer, made a leap of faith into the Pacific Ocean.

Then.

After a brief silence.

Leon let out an excited shout and shot up from the depths of the sea. The waves he stirred rose dozens of meters high, while even the clouds in the sky considerately parted for him!

This time.

His body clearly wasn't glowing, meaning he wasn't using the Starlight Template's superpowers, yet he was still streaking through the air at incredible speed.

This was the Biological Field.

Aside from breaking all kinds of physical laws, its greatest use was allowing Leon to completely cast off the restraints of gravity and his dependence on external energy, letting him soar freely through the sky.

But the Biological Field and the Starlight Template's superpowers were not mutually exclusive.

At that moment.

With his speed already exceeding Mach 5 and still climbing, golden light began to shine from Leon's body. He accelerated a second time in midair, instantly breaking past Mach 10!

"Woohoo!"

"Flying is the highest form of enjoying freedom!"

New York, Manhattan, Upper East Side, a detached apartment.

Christine, who had spent the entire night busy rushing out an article, was luxuriating in a bath at home.

Her entire body was submerged in the milky bathwater, with only her head and a pair of jade-like feet exposed, resting on opposite ends of the bathtub.

Her beautiful blonde hair had been rolled into a bun and secured with a purple butterfly hairpin.

Her eyes closed, she hummed softly in contentment.

It was only after soaking for a full hour that Christine finally rose from the bathtub in satisfaction. Once she had dried herself, she left the bathroom with only a face towel casually covering her OYO.

After all, she was in her own home. There was nothing to hide from.

However.

"Ah—mmph!!!"

The instant she stepped out of the bathroom, Christine instinctively screamed.

A man had appeared out of nowhere in her home. His back was turned to her as he flipped through the draft of the article she had rushed out last night.

But before Christine could fully cry out, the man nearly teleported behind her. One arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand covered her mouth.

"Shh~"

"Calm down. Take a deep breath, Christine."

"Leon?"

The moment Leon spoke, Christine recognized him immediately.

"It's me."

Leon lowered his hands and turned the startled Christine around to face him. However, the towel in her hand that had been concealing her fell to the floor.

At once.

Everything was exposed.

"I... you... this..."

Christine stammered incoherently, her brain still unable to process what she was seeing.

"How did you get in?"

Though she was clearly in her own home, Christine lowered her voice as if she had a guilty conscience.

"Obviously, I used the key to open the door. What else did you think?"

Leon shook the key ring in his hand, helping Christine remember that she had given it to him along with the photos from Gemira after their last conversation.

"So—"

"How could you be certain it was me? If you had mistaken someone else for me, had you considered the consequences? Stark Industries' legal department isn't paid to sit around. You know what I mean!"

Leon roughly slung Christine over his shoulder, tossed her onto the living-room sofa, and questioned her from above.

"The moment I got that photo, I recognized you. Does something like that need a reason? Even if you turned to ash, I'd still recognize you."

"And besides..."

"Even if I really did mistake someone else for you, I wouldn't lose a piece of meat. I might even gain one."

After her brief panic, Christine quickly adapted. Her usual composure returned as she leaned against the sofa, crossed her legs, and smiled at Leon.

"Even if that was me, why did you call yourself Shield Boy? Shield Hero, Superman, Steel Body... wouldn't any of those sound better than Shield Boy?"

Leon pressed on.

The superhero nickname Shield Boy was seriously ridiculous.

"Darling~"

"It was just a little play~"

Her crossed legs switched positions, revealing an absolutely eye-catching forbidden zone.

Christine licked her lips and complained, "Who told you to have such huge news without giving me a heads-up? You made me stay up all night rushing an article for you."

"Could it be..."

"You're really that petty? You won't even let me be a little willful~?"

"Petty? Heh—"

Leon lifted Christine's chin, making her raise her head and look up at him. "You exposed my identity like that. Aren't you afraid of making me angry?"

"Of course not."

"Oh?"

"You never intended to hide your identity anyway. That half-mask is no different from the towel I used to cover myself just now. Its psychological effect is greater than its actual effect."

"As long as someone bothered to run a facial-data comparison, they'd quickly discover it was you."

"I merely moved that moment forward a little."

"Darling, am I right?"

Christine took the initiative to press her chin into Leon's palm as he tried to withdraw his hand. Blinking at him with pitiful eyes, she spoke in a sweet voice.

"..."

It had to be said that Christine was practically the worm in Leon's stomach. She had guessed almost everything he was thinking.

Leon truly had never planned to hide his identity from the very beginning. Tony had the same idea.

The two brothers had originally discussed—

Once their company's stock had fallen as far as it could, they would take the opportunity to buy back as many shares as possible from those turncoats on the board of directors who had sided with Obadiah, then finally play this pair of trump cards.

They would use the celebrity effect of superheroes to let Stark Industries rebound from rock bottom and rise from the dead.

They would also take the chance to heavily promote clean new-energy technology centered on the Arc Reactor.

But the timing was about right now.

Taking advantage of Christine's assist, Leon planned to cast the net and reveal his real name outright.

After all, he didn't want to keep carrying such a down-to-earth superhero nickname as Shield Boy.

Being too relatable wasn't good.

It didn't show off his handsomeness at all.

Before the public's impression of him as a superhero became completely fixed, he had to steer everything back onto the right track.

But.

Before that.

"Christine, I'm in a terrible mood right now. Are you ready to bear the full force of my anger?" Leon's large hand slid over Christine's still-damp hair and pressed down like a Five-Finger Mountain.

Christine looked at Leon with fiery eyes and playfully said:

"Spare me, Your Majesty~"