Smash a Wineglass, and I Lose

Apocalypse said, "I won't use my woman as a wager against you."

"Then do you have a race car?" Hammer taunted.

At that moment, Iron Man cut in. "I'll wager my Iron Man armor on behalf of my friend. Hammer, if you win, not only will I give you the armor, but also its design blueprints and patent rights. Everything. From then on, you'll be Iron Man!"

"Gasp..."

A wave of sharp inhales rose from the crowd.

Everyone had witnessed the power of the Iron Man armor. It had even caused a scene in Congress before, when a group of officials had tried to force Tony to hand it over, only for Tony to defuse the matter with ease.

They had merely demanded the armor's production technology, but Iron Man, weary of war, had refused no matter what. Let alone the patents and design blueprints.

With the patents and blueprints, one could produce countless Iron Man armors and practically monopolize the arms trade. That was a massive trillion-dollar market.

Even the wealthy and powerful people around them could not help but feel their hearts race in the face of such astronomical wealth.

Afraid Iron Man might go back on his word, Hammer hurriedly called out, "A deal is a deal! Ladies and gentlemen, you all heard Tony. If he dares to renege, you'd better testify for me."

"I never go back on my word. But you, trying to trade one race car for my armor? I'm afraid that isn't enough."

Now it was Hammer's turn to struggle. For the moment, he truly had nothing equivalent to the Iron Man armor to wager.

He gritted his teeth. "How about twenty percent of Hammer Industries' shares, plus this race car?"

Although those shares were worth a great deal of money, they were nowhere near enough compared to the Iron Man armor.

Iron Man did not care whether the stakes were equal. He mainly wanted to back Apocalypse up.

So he nodded. "Whatever. Looking at how poor you are, you probably can't afford anything valuable anyway."

Hammer's face flushed crimson with anger, but he could not refute him. The people around them were all rich and powerful; everyone knew perfectly well what was valuable.

Although Hammer Industries was world-famous, it was still a tier below Stark Industries.

"Hmph! Tony, you'll pay for your arrogance."

His bodyguard was not only an underground fighting champion, but had also been injected with the latest human serum, breaking through the limits of humanity.

Captain America had been famous to all since World War II.

Countless companies wanted to replicate Captain America's serum, and Hammer Industries was one of them.

They had already seen some initial success, making this the perfect opportunity to test it out.

The predecessor of Abomination—Blonsky—had received serum developed with help from Hammer Industries.

Although it could not compare to Captain America's Super-Soldier Serum, it had laid the foundation for Blonsky, allowing him to survive the later injection of Hulk's blood without bursting apart.

However, this was highly classified, and even Iron Man did not know about it.

Hammer secretly rejoiced. Even if this Oriental man knew Eastern martial arts, there was no way he could be a match for his bodyguard.

Once Apocalypse lost, the Western beauty at his side would leave him too.

At the thought of gaining both the armor and the beauty, Hammer could not help laughing.

Unfortunately, Hammer was still on too low a level and lacked access to certain top-secret information.

Or rather, Nick Fury had kept Apocalypse's information too well concealed.

If he had known that even the real Captain America would not be able to withstand a single punch from Apocalypse, he probably would not have been laughing so happily.

Hammer said, "There are too many people here. To avoid accidental injuries, let's change locations."

Apocalypse said, "No need. Right here is fine. Let both your men come at me together. Forget accidental injuries—even if you break a single wineglass, I lose!"

"Wow..." The crowd immediately erupted. Wasn't this far too arrogant?

What if the other side cheated and simply smashed the wineglass in their hand against the floor? Wouldn't that mean they won?

"Good! Good! Good! This is the first time I've seen such an arrogant Oriental man. You said it yourself. Tony, don't go back on your word later."

Hammer seized the opening and signaled to his bodyguards. If they could not win, they were to cheat.

He did not believe his two super bodyguards could not even manage to break a wineglass.

The first bodyguard stepped forward with a snort. "Kid, don't beg for mercy later."

The rich and powerful guests instinctively backed away, leaving behind a wide-open space.

Only Iron Man, Pepper Potts, Black Widow, and the others remained where they were. Happy knew Apocalypse was powerful, but not exactly how powerful. He had wanted to retreat, but seeing that Tony and the others had not moved, he could only stay where he was.

With only them left in the open space, they stood out all the more.

Hammer said, "Tony, even if you're Iron Man, you aren't wearing your armor. You'd better stand farther back."

Iron Man swirled the wine in his glass and smiled. "I'll raise the stakes. If your men can make even a single drop spill from my glass, I'll give you my winery in Europe."

The crowd erupted in another round of shocked cries.

European red wine was famous worldwide. Many wealthy people liked buying estates there, both to entertain guests and to store fine wines for themselves.

As one of the world's top billionaires, Iron Man's winery was naturally worth a fortune.

Many of the powerful guests present had been invited to visit it before and knew its tremendous value, so they naturally marveled at Iron Man's extravagance.

Hammer instead became somewhat uneasy. Could this Oriental man be Tony's secret weapon, injected with a Super-Soldier Serum just like his bodyguards?

On second thought, even if that was the case, he was facing two opponents alone. One could hold him off while the other cheated and smashed a wineglass. How would he handle that?!

Apocalypse said, "Come on. Hurry up and finish this so we can watch the race. This banquet is boring."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The first bodyguard charged forward like a humanoid tank. The finely crafted wooden floor exploded beneath his feet, splinters flying everywhere and making the noblewomen around them shriek.

Apocalypse remained calm and composed. As the bodyguard neared him, his left arm around Black Widow did not move at all, while his right hand suddenly rose high.

Heaven-Flipping Hand Seal!

The bodyguard's eyes widened. He was clearly larger than Apocalypse, yet as that palm descended, it felt as though the entire sky were pressing down on him. He could not help unleashing all his strength and raising both hands to block Apocalypse's palm.

Bang...

A dull boom sounded as wood chips and chunks of dirt exploded outward, making everyone nearby retreat several more steps in fright.

When they looked again, they saw the bodyguard standing motionless with both hands raised. His entire body had been driven straight into the ground, with less than a third of him remaining exposed.

Apocalypse slowly lifted his hand, as if he had merely swatted a fly.

Fortunately, the bodyguard had also been injected with serum. Though his muscles and bones were shattered, he had at least kept his life. Had it been an ordinary person, Apocalypse's palm would have reduced him to pulp.

"Gasp..."

The entire venue inhaled sharply once more!

The fight had been far simpler than they imagined, yet far more terrifying than they imagined.

The floor was made of hard oak. Even that alone would have been difficult for an ordinary person to break, and beneath it was a layer of cement.

A hulking man built like an iron tower had been forcibly slammed into the cement, yet his body had somehow retained its shape. His physical strength was comparable to reinforced steel.

Even more terrifying was the person who had slammed him into the ground!

Hammer had not expected Apocalypse to be so terrifying. He shouted, "The wineglass!"

The second bodyguard moved at once, lunging toward the nearest noblewoman.

The noblewoman screamed, "Ah..."

At that moment, Apocalypse was more than ten meters from the second bodyguard, while the noblewoman stood within a single stride of him. The bodyguard's hand was about to touch her.

A sudden gale swept through the venue. A blur flashed, and Apocalypse appeared between the noblewoman and the bodyguard.

With another simple Heaven-Flipping Hand Seal, the second bodyguard was driven into the ground just like his colleague.

It happened so quickly that the noblewoman had not even finished screaming before it was over.

Apocalypse gently steadied the wineglass in her hand. "Beautiful lady, please hold on to your wineglass."

Still shaken, the noblewoman saw how powerful Apocalypse was, and her eyes lit up. She said, "Which Eastern family are you from, sir? Why don't you leave your contact information? I'd like to thank you properly another day."

Black Widow, standing in the distance, secretly grew angry. She stared intently at the noblewoman, already considering a thousand ways to retaliate.

Seeing that the duel had failed, Hammer's heart hardened. He viciously hurled the wineglass in his hand toward the ground, but just as his hand moved, it suddenly froze in place. Then he cried out, "Ow... it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

Everyone looked over and saw that Hammer's hand had somehow been gripped by another hand, leaving him unable to move. The faint sound of bones cracking could be heard.

It was Apocalypse!

"Mr. Hammer, cheating isn't very gentlemanly," Apocalypse said, staring at him.

"Let... let go... my hand is going to break."

Apocalypse said blandly, "You still have something to say."

"I... I lost, all right?"

Apocalypse held out his hand!

Hammer jumped in fright. His small frame could not withstand a palm strike from Apocalypse. But when he saw the hand remain still before him, he immediately understood and hurriedly placed a key in Apocalypse's palm.

After taking the key, Apocalypse slowly turned around and returned to Black Widow's side. "Natasha, come to think of it, I've never given you a gift before. I'll borrow flowers to offer Buddha this time. Shall we go see whether you like it later?"

"Sure. I crashed my last sports car not long ago, and I happen to need a powerful one," Black Widow said with a smile as radiant as a flower.

In Apocalypse's memories, Black Widow seemed never to have driven ordinary cars. She either drove sports cars or high-performance motorcycles.

In any case, he had no use for a car. It was not even as fast as his jumping ability. Giving it to his wife was only natural.

"As long as you like it." Apocalypse turned to Iron Man. "Tony, I'll leave the shares to you."

"Hahaha! With so many important people here as witnesses, I doubt he'll dare to deny it," Iron Man said with a laugh.

At Congress before, Hammer had joined forces with a bunch of fat pig officials to pressure him into handing over his armor. Iron Man had yet to settle that score, so naturally he would not show mercy now.

Hammer's face darkened. Ignoring the bodyguards still stuck in the ground, he covered his hand and turned away.

This time, he had lost face completely. Not only had he failed to win the beauty, he had also lost a large portion of his shares.

The moment Hammer left, the entire hall became lively again.

The powerful guests all approached Tony to greet him, probing indirectly about whether the Super-Soldier Serum had made new progress and whether Captain America could be mass-produced.

Most of them believed Stark Industries had developed the Super-Soldier Serum and assumed Apocalypse was merely one of Iron Man's subordinates, so naturally they sought out Iron Man.

Just as if Hammer had won, those powerful guests would never have gone over to chat with the two bodyguards.

As for the noblewomen, they openly set their sights on Apocalypse. Handsome and capable Oriental men were not common here, and their enthusiasm was so intense that even Apocalypse could not endure it.

Weren't many of these noblewomen here with their husbands? What did it mean when they handed him business cards and flirted with him?

Black Widow's eyes brimmed with killing intent. If Apocalypse dared accept any one of them, that noblewoman's family would be in serious trouble.

After making the rounds, Tony and Apocalypse took advantage of the break before the host announced the race's start and quickly escaped by claiming they needed the restroom.

Restroom.

Iron Man splashed water on his face, sighed deeply, took out a small device, and pressed it. A steel needle pricked his finger, drawing a little blood for analysis.

Toxin concentration: 53%.

"Still haven't found a solution?" Apocalypse casually took out several Recovery Potions.

Seeing the Recovery Potions, Iron Man's expression improved slightly. "No. Unless I find a clean new element to replace it, the palladium radiation will keep building up endlessly, until I use up all my Recovery Potions."

Apocalypse did know where the new element was, but he hesitated over whether to tell Iron Man. Then he thought about it again. Iron Man would discover it eventually anyway, so it would be better not to alter the plot and trigger another butterfly effect.

"I want some fresh air. I'll get on the track later and drive to relax," Iron Man said.

Sure enough, Iron Man was still Iron Man.

In the original plot, Iron Man believed he did not have much time left and directly stole a driver's race car to drive. Although things were not as urgent now as in the original plot, the thought of driving had still surfaced.

Apocalypse said, "Then be careful."

Very soon, the race began.

Because Iron Man was participating, the host and broadcasters deliberately emphasized it and heavily promoted the event, drawing countless people's attention. Ratings and buzz were even higher than in previous years.

The roar of engines echoed across the entire track.

Dozens of Formula One race cars sped around the circuit like the wind.

Apocalypse glanced at Iron Man's position. It was actually not bad—eighth place. Among a field of world-class drivers, that was already impressive.

Of course, this was only the early stage. Race drivers needed not only skill, but also tremendous endurance. In a rally race lasting several uninterrupted hours, the final contest was one of stamina and patience.

Given Iron Man's current physical condition, he obviously could not complete the full race.

After only a dozen or so laps, a long-haired, muscular man in a yellow protective suit slowly climbed over the barrier and stepped onto the track.

"Ah... someone's there! Watch out!" someone screamed.

The cars on the track were traveling at hundreds of kilometers per hour. A graze could injure, a collision could kill. The man's behavior was no different from suicide.

The first race car to spot him violently jerked its steering wheel to avoid him. The vehicle lost control and slammed into the barrier beside the track.

With a boom, its fuel tank caught fire and exploded.

The scruffy, bearded man who had intruded onto the track was Ivan Vanko from Siberia.

The plot of Iron Man 2 had begun.