Congress The air in the hearing room was stuffy and humid.
Rows of politicians and military bosses in suits and ties had serious expressions, as if they were attending a funeral. The flashlights kept shooting at Tony·Stark on the witness stand as if they were free of charge.
"Mr. Stark." Senator Stern's voice was dry and hard, "The whole world has seen what happened to Monaco. A terrorist, using technology similar to that on your chest, caused huge chaos. This proves that what you call 'Iron Man' is essentially a super weapon that can be copied and abused!"
He banged the table and the water glass on the table jumped.
"We can no longer allow such an uncontrolled weapon to be in private hands. On behalf of the United States government, I once again ask you to hand over the technology of the Iron Man armor to the military!"
Tony was lazily leaning on the chair, chewing gum, with a smile on his face. He glanced at Justin Hammer, who was sitting behind Senator Stern. Hammer was smiling at him, and his smile was full of gloating.
"Senator," Tony deliberately pronunciated the English pronunciation for a long time, full of ridicule, "First of all, that thing is not a weapon, I like to call it a high-tech prosthesis. Secondly, I am Iron Man. The armor and I are one. You can't ask me to hand over myself, right? This sounds a bit weird and not ergonomic."
There was a burst of suppressed laughter.
Stern's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. "Mr. Stark, now is not the time to joke!"
"I'm not kidding." Tony put away his smile and became a little more serious, "The fact is that other countries, including some of our 'competitors', are desperately trying to copy my technology, but they have all failed. Why? Because they Without me. That guy who popped up in Monaco, his technology is at best a semi-finished product from 20 years ago. Do you want me to hand over my technology because you want this semi-finished product to become more perfect, and then the world will be filled with lunatics wearing iron sheets?"
"We have the ability to control it!" Senator Stern raised his voice, "We have the top experts! Mr. Hammer!"
Justin Hammer stood up immediately, like a peacock eager to open its tail, and carefully adjusted his tie.
"Yes, Mr. Senator." Hammer cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone, "Hammer Industries has the confidence and ability to safely and efficiently copy and mass-produce this system under the supervision of the military. We will turn it into a solid shield to protect the country, not a billionaire's personal toy."
He spoke impassionedly, as if he was the savior.
Chu Hang was sitting not far behind Tony. As the second largest shareholder of Stark Industries, he was qualified to attend. He looked at Hammer's face full of hypocrisy and ambition and felt a little funny.
He felt Tony's body tense slightly due to anger. Tony's patience was about to run out.
Chu Hang took out his phone, typed quickly, and then turned the phone screen to Tony.
It read, "Ask him, which crime sounds more suitable for today's hearing, 'illegal misappropriation of private intellectual property' or 'forced technology transfer'. Remind him that Stark Industries's legal department is not a vegetarian."
Tony caught a glimpse of that line of words from the corner of his eye. He was stunned for a moment, and then the curvature of the corner of his mouth became more sarcastic.
He ignored Hammer and looked directly at Senator Stern: "Senator, I have to remind you. All the technologies of Iron Man's armor are the commercial secrets and intellectual property rights of Stark Industries and are protected by law.. You are here today, in front of the world's media, asking me to hand it over for free. What do you call this? Robbery? Or, United States Congress is now planning to set a precedent. In the future, the government can take away the core technologies of all technology companies if they want?"
As soon as these words came out, whispers immediately broke out on the scene. The expressions of the representatives from other technology companies in the auditorium changed. They realized that this was not only against Stark Industries, but also a threat to all of them.
Senator Stern obviously did not expect that Tony would fight back from this angle, and was speechless for a moment.
Tony pursued the victory. He turned to Justin Hammer and smiled brightly, "As for Mr. Hammer's 'confidence'... JARVIS, can you play an interesting video for me? It's the one where Hammer Industries gave a Drone demonstration to the military last time."
"I am at your service, sir."
On the big screen at the hearing site, the screen changed and began to play the video of Drone of Hammer Industries losing control at the test site, bumping around like a headless fly, and finally falling into the ground. Hammer's furious yelling and cursing could also be heard in the video.
The whole place burst into laughter, and this time, no one could suppress it anymore.
Justin Hammer's face changed from pig liver color to death gray. He felt like he had been stripped naked and thrown in front of the whole world.
"Enough! Turn it off!" Senator Stern roared.
Tony spread his hands and looked innocent. "Look, this is the 'top expert' you are looking for. Senator, I will hand over the technology to him, can you sleep at night? I suggest that you should wait honestly for five or ten years. Maybe Hammer Industries can build a decent toaster by then."
The hearing ended in a farce. The government's request was shelved indefinitely, and Tony won a resounding victory.
Walking out of the hearing building, Tony breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Anthony." He said to Chu Hang beside him, "Your message came at the right time."
"It's easy." Chu Hang said calmly, "I'm just protecting my own investment. Stark Industries's stock price cannot withstand such a torment."
The two walked to the parking lot and got into Tony's Audi car.
"How is the investigation going for that guy named Ivan·Vanko?" Chu Hang asked casually.
"Dead." Tony started the car and said in a dull tone, "The official statement is that he committed suicide in prison. But I always feel that things are not that simple."
"Oh?" Chu Hang looked at the retreating street scene outside the window, "A person who has put so much effort into seeking revenge on you in front of the whole world gives up so easily in prison? It doesn't sound very reasonable."
"Really? I think so too." Tony frowned.
"I do think that in this matter, one person's luck is a bit too good." Chu Hang's voice was very soft, as if he was talking to himself.
"Who?"
"Justin·Hammer." Chu Hang said the name, "Think about it. The emergence of Ivan·Vanko perfectly created a 'Iron Man technology' Then, Hammer Industries was pushed to the forefront as a 'solution'. If you hadn't withstood the pressure today, he would have already received a large order worth several billion from Department of Defense. Isn't all this a coincidence?"
Tony's hand holding the steering wheel tightened suddenly. The car made a harsh tire friction sound.
He is not a fool. Chu Hang Just clicked lightly, and he instantly figured out the key.
"You mean..."
"I didn't say anything." Chu Hang interrupted him, "I'm just a businessman, used to analyzing problems from the perspective of interests. Ivan·Vanko is dead, who is the biggest beneficiary? Isn't the answer obvious? By the way, I heard that the private security company responsible for transporting Ivan·Vanko has an unclear equity relationship with Hammer Industries."
The car fell into silence.
Tony's face was terrifyingly gloomy. He realized that he was being targeted by a poisonous snake.
"I know what to do." After a while, he said.
Chu Hang smiled and said no more. He knew that his goal was achieved.
That night, Chu Hang returned to his villa on the Los Angeles beach.
He stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the dark sea outside. He stretched out his right hand, palm upward.
"Zi..."
A small ball of blue-white plasma appeared out of thin air in his palm, beating like an unstable flame and making a slight electric sound.
I learned this from Whiplash [Plasma Confinement and Shaping].
"It's too rough." Chu Hang shook his head.
The energy restraint is extremely unstable, and the energy is lost in the form of light and heat. Moreover, the shaping ability is also very poor, and it can only barely maintain the shape of a whip.
"It's time to upgrade."
He closed his eyes, and the Cosmic Energy in his body began to flow slowly. This time, he did not let the energy explode directly, but guided them carefully like the most precise embroidery needle.
First, there is the energy source.
He gave up simulating the plasma of Arc Reactor and directly called the purest Cosmic Energy. Arc Reactor is essentially the use of electrical energy, and the level is too low. And his Cosmic Energy is one of the cornerstones of reality, which is purer and more dangerous.
Then, there are constraints.
Ivan·Vanko uses simple magnetic field constraints, just like using a fishing net to fish for water, it will always leak. What Chu Hang wants to do is to create a perfect bottle. A bottle made of space itself.
His thoughts moved slightly, and a strand of space energy, thinner than a hair, began to weave quickly above his palm, building an absolutely smooth "pipeline".
This is an energy channel made of space itself.
Then, he carefully injected a small stream of Cosmic Energy into the space pipe like loading a gun.
There was no dazzling light, no popping sound.
That violent Cosmic Energy, after entering the space pipe, was perfectly restrained in the slender space. The energy density was compressed to an astonishing degree, showing the purest destructive power.
Chu Hang opened his eyes and looked at the "masterpiece" in his hand.
It was an almost transparent whip, and only at a specific angle, you could see a slight distortion in the air. It was as quiet as if it didn't exist, without any sound, and without emitting any temperature.
But Chu Hang knows that the edge of this whip is a pure space crack. It no longer relies on high temperature to melt objects, but directly cuts off the connection of matter from the Dimensional Layer surface.
He waved his hand casually.
Quietly, it passed by a table made of a single piece of titanium alloy next to it.
Nothing happened.
The table was still the same table, intact.
Chu Hang retracted the whip. He stretched out his finger and touched it gently on the table.
The extremely strong titanium alloy table seemed to be made of sand. It silently split into two halves along an extremely smooth cut and slid to the ground.
The cut is as smooth as a mirror, even reflecting the smiling face of Chu Hang.
"This move is called [Dimension Whip]" he thought with satisfaction.