First Meeting with Iron Man

"Jarvis, pull up all surveillance footage and analyze the routes the robbers might have taken!"

Inside the Mark IV Armor, Tony gave the order to the AI, Jarvis.

"Yes, sir!"

As an AI, Jarvis was remarkably efficient. He quickly used surveillance data from various sources to analyze and pinpoint the school bus's approximate route after it had escaped the police pursuit.

After a stretch of high-speed flight, guided by Jarvis's navigation, Tony soon found the school bus with its blown-out tires, along with the teacher and students inside.

After learning that the four robbers had taken a little boy hostage into the woods, he used the tire tracks left in the woods and surveillance footage from the roads to once again identify the robbers' vehicle and route, successfully locating the warehouse where they were hiding.

Compared to the police system, which relied on manpower to review surveillance footage bit by bit and conduct a search, the AI Jarvis was obviously much faster.

"Scan the warehouse's layout and determine the number of humans inside!"

Since the robbers had a hostage, Tony did not immediately charge in wearing his armor and take them out with a few repulsor blasts. Instead, he used the armor's advanced scanning system to scan the entire warehouse.

"Sir, there are five people in the warehouse: four adult human males and one human child. However, the four adult human males no longer show life signs!"

"What?"

Hearing Jarvis's report, Tony's face showed a look of surprise.

Boom!

A repulsor blast blew open the main door, and Tony walked into the warehouse in his armor.

"This... who did this?"

Blood, corpses, and U.S. dollars were scattered everywhere. The warehouse was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Clearly, someone had found these robbers before him and killed them all.

"Oh? The police found this place so quickly? That's pretty efficient!"

Jerry, who had been lying on the bed with his eyes closed, immediately rolled to his feet when he heard the tremendous noise outside.

Would this seem a little too abnormal?

An eleven-year-old boy had been kidnapped here by four vicious robbers, yet he was not afraid in the slightest and still looked completely calm. That did seem a little hard to explain.

After thinking for a moment, Jerry pulled out his wand and cast a spell on himself.

"Snot Curse!"

A faint magical glow shot onto his face, and two streams of snot immediately ran down.

This was the Snot Spell, a spell that made the target's nose run without stopping.

Because Jerry had deliberately reduced the amount of magic power when casting it, its effects were much weaker.

He put away his wand and rubbed his eyes hard until their rims turned red, making it look as though he had been crying. Then he added a hint of fear and terror to his expression.

Perfect. A normal little boy who had been kidnapped and frightened made his dazzling entrance.

A moment later, the wooden door was violently smashed open, and a tall figure in armor entered the room.

"Iron Man!"

Seeing the newcomer, Jerry, his face covered in snot, could not help crying out.

He had assumed the police had found this place. He had not expected Iron Man to show up instead.

"Oh, right, it's me, the incredibly awesome Iron Man. So don't worry, you're safe now. Come here, and I'll take you home!"

Hearing the reassuring voice coming from inside the armor, Jerry froze for a moment. Then he wiped away some snot and said innocently, "Iron Man, you're so cool!"

"Right, very cool. If you behave, I can consider giving you a small model!"

Tony did not take Jerry out through the warehouse's front entrance, which was filled with corpses and blood. Instead, he raised a hand and blasted through the room's wall with a repulsor, then walked out of the warehouse.

"Jarvis, contact the police who are still searching for the robbers. Send them this address, along with all records from the moment we entered to the moment we left!"

After giving Jarvis the order, Tony picked Jerry up and flew at low altitude toward where the school bus had been.

"What's your name?"

"Jerry!"

"Did you hear any strange sounds in the room just now?"

"I only heard some gunshots and shouting!"

"Shouting?"

"Yeah, idiot, bastard, bitch..."

"Alright, no need to say any more. Forget those bad words..."

"Are you really Iron Man?"

"The one and only!"

"Is it true that you said you'd give me a model?"

"Of course. It'll be delivered to your doorstep first thing tomorrow morning!"

And so, Jerry did his best to play the part of a normal child, chatting idly with Tony.

Looks like I need to find some time to bring over a flying broomstick!

Watching Tony fly freely through the air in his armor, Jerry could not help showing a look of envy.

Anyone with a free spirit dreamed of flying, especially freely soaring through the sky under their own control. Jerry was no exception.

Fortunately, Wizards had their own unique methods of flight.

The simplest and most convenient method was a flying broomstick. An ordinary flying broomstick, such as the Nimbus 1000, could travel at around one hundred miles per hour, roughly one hundred sixty kilometers per hour.

Better flying broomsticks could reach more than two hundred kilometers per hour, such as the Nimbus 2000 and the even faster Firebolt that came later.

Once he became powerful enough, he could even learn the Flying Charm, transforming into a streak of white light and flying without needing any other magical tools.

Of course, whether it was a flying broomstick or the Flying Charm, their speed definitely could not compare to Tony's Iron Man Armor. After all, in his previous life, he had heard a colleague say that Tony's Iron Man Armor could reach supersonic speeds.

However, Wizards only used flying broomsticks for short-distance travel. For long distances, they could use Apparition, a Portkey, or Floo Powder and arrive at their destination in an instant.

To ensure Jerry's safety, Tony did not fly particularly fast. After flying for a full hour, they finally arrived at the place where the school bus had stopped earlier.

By then, the school bus's location had been surrounded by a large number of police officers. When Tony found the school bus, he had sent its location to the local police department.

"Jerry! Oh, thank goodness you're alright!"

Almost all the students had been sent home under the police officers' arrangements. Only Teacher Bailey had insisted on staying behind, worried about Jerry's safety and waiting for news of his rescue.

Although Bailey was not very old, only around twenty-five or twenty-six, she was an extremely responsible teacher.

It had been obvious on the school bus when she stepped forward to protect the students and voluntarily offered herself as a hostage.

And Jerry, as her student, had taken her place as the hostage. If she could not confirm that Jerry was safe, she truly would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.

"Teacher Bailey, I'm... I'm fine!"

The moment Jerry landed, Teacher Bailey, her face full of excitement, tightly hugged him and kissed him. He was instantly stunned.