Tony's Return Gift, First Encounter with General Ross

Lin Ye did not go far.

At the next street corner, his body instantly transformed into an element, becoming an imperceptible current that sped along the power lines by the street. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to the luxury apartment awarded by the system.

Materializing inside, Lin Ye surveyed his new home. The apartment was located in the heart of Manhattan, lavishly furnished with an excellent view. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows lay the bustling cityscape. Most importantly, it was spacious and private enough.

"System products really are premium. This saves me a lot of trouble." He nodded in satisfaction and took the beginner artificial intelligence chip from the system space.

The chip was only the size of a fingernail and glinted faintly with a metallic sheen. According to the system's instructions, it needed to be connected to a host for activation.

His gaze fell upon the top-of-the-line desktop computer in the living room.

"Let's give it a try."

He opened the case, found a compatible port on the motherboard, and carefully inserted the chip. Almost the instant it connected, the monitor lit up on its own. Countless lines of code cascaded wildly down the screen, while the cooling fans inside the case began spinning at high speed.

A few minutes later, everything settled down. A gentle, gender-neutral electronic voice sounded throughout the room:

"Initialization complete. Hello, Host. Beginner artificial intelligence at your service. Please assign a name."

Lin Ye stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "You were born from lightning, so I'll call you... Remy."

"Name confirmed. Remy at your service. All smart devices and network connections within this apartment have been taken over. Host possesses advanced permissions and may issue commands."

"Very good, Remy." Lin Ye snapped his fingers, and a small burst of electric arcs erupted from his fingertips. "First, create an airtight legal identity for me and cover every database. Second, monitor the global network, especially information related to Thunder, Lightning Dharma King, Ten Rings attacks, and Tony Stark. Report immediately if there are any significant developments. Third, screen New York City and its surrounding areas for possible abnormal energy signals or unusual incidents."

"Commands received. Beginning execution." Remy was highly efficient.

With this assistant, Lin Ye felt much more at ease. It could handle many trivial matters for him.

He walked to the window and looked down over New York beneath him. Mind Network quietly spread out. While it could not cover the entire city, every electromagnetic signal and life fluctuation within ten kilometers was within his grasp. That sense of control was intoxicating.

"JARVIS..." Lin Ye suddenly thought of Tony's famous artificial intelligence. "I wonder how it compares to my Remy."

As if answering his thoughts, the smart TV in the room suddenly turned on by itself. Static flickered across the screen, followed by a virtual avatar with a sexy little mustache forcibly taking over the display. Who else could it be but Tony Stark?

"Hey! You guy who illegally broke into someone else's home system! I know you're watching!" Tony's virtual image wore exaggerated sunglasses, his tone full of irritation and curiosity. "I have to say, your firewall is practically made of paper... Hm? And you've got a newborn little AI? Interesting."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow, unsurprised. He had not deliberately concealed his movements before. With Tony's technology and capabilities, tracing him back here was only a matter of time. It seemed the other man had delivered his "return gift."

"Mr. Stark, invading someone else's home system without permission is hardly gentlemanly behavior," Lin Ye said calmly to the screen.

"Gentlemanly? You weren't thinking about manners when you stole my stuff! My blueprints! My reactor!" Tony's virtual image waved his arms. "And that damned title, 'Lightning Dharma King'! What awful taste!"

"Same to you. Your Mark I design was pretty crude too," Lin Ye shot back. "As for the reactor, consider it payment for saving your life."

"..." Tony choked for a moment, then grew excited again. "Fine, fine, forget old scores. That ability of yours... what exactly is the principle behind it? Abnormally stimulated bioelectricity? Or some kind of exoskeletal energy armor? The energy signature completely defies physics!"

"You want to learn? I can teach you." Lin Ye smiled teasingly.

Tony: "...Thanks, but this genius prefers doing his own research. Listen, whoever you are, you're being watched now. Those S.H.I.E.L.D. guys, the military, and even some more annoying flies have caught your scent. You'd better be careful."

It sounded like a warning, but Lin Ye could hear the awkward undertone of Only I get to study you.

"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Stark. But if flies get too noisy, just swat them dead." Lin Ye's tone was calm, yet his confidence was beyond question.

Tony's virtual image stared at him for several seconds, seemingly trying to find any trace of bluffing on his face, but failed.

"Hmph. I hope you can still talk that tough when trouble finds you. Oh, right, I left you a little gift. Hope you like it! Goodbye, mysterious lightning kid!"

As his words fell, the television screen instantly went black, and Tony's forced connection was cut off.

Almost simultaneously, Remy's voice sounded. "Warning. An encrypted data packet from Stark Industries has been forcibly transmitted. Accept?"

"Accept it. Isolate and scan it."

The data packet opened. It was not a virus, but a processed surveillance video and a text message.

The footage showed the outskirts of a military base. A gigantic green monster was battling the army. Tanks were flipped over like toys, and bullets were useless against it. Its destructive power was astonishing.

The text message contained only one line: "Mr. Thunder, interested in this big guy? There's a good show north of New York, in Brooklyn. —Your dear arms dealer friend, T.S."

"The Hulk?" Lin Ye immediately recognized the monster in the footage. It appeared Dr. Bruce Banner had accidentally been forced into transforming by General Ross, and the location had shifted from the usual Harlem to Brooklyn?

That really was Tony's style—throwing a problem at him as both a "return gift" and a test of his capabilities.

[Ding! Major plot event detected: Hulk rampage.]

[Emergency choice triggered:]

[Option One: Go to the scene and forcefully suppress the Hulk, displaying absolute power to the military and the world. Reward: [Armament Haki (Intermediate)], [Military (General Ross) hostility greatly increased].]

[Option Two: Go to the scene and secretly guide or help Hulk escape, forming ties with potential ally Bruce Banner. Reward: [Advanced Biological Energy Concealment Technique], [Dr. Banner's Favorability].]

[Option Three: Ignore it and continue familiarizing yourself with the environment and developing within New York City. Reward: [Basic Physical Enhancement], [Presence Reduced (Slightly)].]

The choices were here!

Lin Ye barely hesitated. He immediately ruled out Option Three. It was too cowardly and did not fit his goal of rising quickly. The reward for Option One, [Armament Haki], was extremely practical. It could greatly strengthen his close combat and defense, especially against special attacks he might not be able to evade by elementalizing, such as magic or enchanted weapons. But directly becoming enemies with the military would be troublesome.

Option Two involved helping Hulk escape and forming ties with Dr. Banner. The man would be a future super-genius and powerful fighter, so his favorability was highly valuable. The concealment technique reward was not bad either.

But... Lin Ye looked at the footage of Hulk wreaking havoc on the screen, and an excited curve rose at the corner of his lips.

"System, I choose Option One!"

He chose to suppress him directly! He did not just want power—he wanted to seize this chance to make the name Thunder enter the sight of every major figure in this world in the most forceful way possible! Military hostility? Once he beat fear into them, it would naturally become awe!

With the decision made, Lin Ye did not waste another moment. His figure vanished from the apartment in an instant, turning into a streak of lightning that shot through the window and raced toward Brooklyn at astonishing speed!

An abandoned industrial district in Brooklyn.

It was already a complete mess, as though it had been bombed by missiles. Tank wreckage spewed black smoke while soldiers desperately dodged the green giant's frenzied smashing.

General Ross stood inside the command vehicle, his face livid as he roared into the radio, "Stop him! Damn it! Use the heavy weapons! We can't let him enter the residential area!"

Hulk let out an enraged roar and grabbed a jeep, preparing to throw it.

Just then!

BOOM!

A thick blue-white bolt of lightning descended like Divine Punishment, striking precisely between Hulk and the jeep!

The deafening blast and blinding light froze everyone in place!

As the lightning faded, a figure wrapped in electric arcs slowly descended, standing between Hulk and the army.

General Ross saw that figure through his binoculars, his single eye filled with shock. "It's him?! The one from the desert..."

Enraged by the sudden attack, Hulk dropped the jeep. His crimson eyes locked onto Lin Ye as he let out a threatening growl.

Lin Ye rolled his neck and crooked a finger at Hulk, calling out loudly:

"Big guy, your opponent..."

"...is me now!"

(End of Chapter)