United States Riot!

"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening!"

"Tonight's news includes:"

"Stark Industries stock has plunged dramatically over time, and the company's market value is now only 15% of its peak!"

"A large number of shareholders have expressed extreme disappointment in Tony Stark."

"Beginning early this morning, power outages occurred across most parts of the country. The cause is still under investigation."

"Stark Industries CEO Obadiah Stane stated that Stark Industries had successfully developed the Arc Reactor, whose energy could supply the nation's power needs for nearly a hundred years."

"To ensure residents could use electricity normally, the Stark Industries Arc energy system has now been connected, and power supply has returned to normal."

"..."

Carter watched the news report on television.

As an agent, she instinctively felt that something about this was unusual.

"A massive blackout? Stark Industries?"

For some reason,

Yu Xian's faintly upturned smile suddenly appeared in her mind.

"The captain wouldn't know about this, would he?"

Carter turned to look at Yu Xian, who was playing cards beside her, and her expression darkened.

No, no. This guy wasn't a god. How could he know everything?

"Still, the losses this time won't be small! The power facilities in more than twenty states were attacked, and the key point is that we haven't even seen a trace of the enemy!"

"This isn't something an ordinary person could pull off!"

Carter watched the news footage,

showing the grieving, helpless wails of the families of those killed by the sudden massive blackout,

and anger surged in her heart.

No matter who it was,

who committed such evil,

they would be caught sooner or later,

and justice would be given to the dead.

"Number One, come in."

"Number One here, over!"

"How are things on your end?"

"We've followed the clues and found the hideout of those who attacked the power facilities!"

Number One looked up.

In the pitch-black factory buildings in the distance,

the faint glow of a bright corporate sign flickered. The blue word "STARK" stood out sharply in the darkness.

"Wait, this is Stark Industries?"

Number One sucked in a sharp breath.

He had never imagined that the investigation would lead them here.

Number One quickly called over his two teammates,

asking them to take photos and gather evidence.

This was huge news.

The group moved forward,

arriving before a massive factory building.

The ground was covered in enormous footprints, far too large to have been made by any human.

"What the hell left these behind?"

Number Three crouched down,

shining his flashlight over the strange marks.

"Looks like some kind of mechanical device."

Number One looked up at the slightly opened side door of the factory building.

After a brief moment of thought, he made his decision.

"You two stay outside and cover me. I'll go in and take a look. If I'm not out in ten minutes, retreat immediately and send the intelligence back to headquarters."

Number Two frowned.

"That's too dangerous. We should wait for reinforcements."

Number One checked his weapon.

"There's no time! If this really has something to do with Stark Industries, every second counts."

Number One silently approached the small door,

took a deep breath, and bent down to squeeze inside.

The instant he stepped in,

the sight before him stunned him.

In the distance,

hundreds of steel suits stood in neat rows, silently stationed on the ground.

Each suit stood roughly three meters tall, blue light flashing from its chest.

—that was the light of an Arc Reactor!

Number One recognized it.

He had seen the device on Tony Stark's chest in the news.

Above them,

a black, powerfully built suit hovered in the air,

delivering a speech—it was Obadiah Stane!

"Well done, my soldiers!"

"Half of the nation's electrical facilities and transmission lines have now been connected to Stark Industries!"

"Now, our target is the other half. Once we complete this, the lifeline of the nation's energy operations will be firmly in our hands!"

"By then, we will be the rulers in the shadows. Whoever we want to live will live, and whoever we want dead will die!"

"Soldiers, you have three days to accomplish this great feat!"

The tall black suit swung its arm.

With a thunderous roar, it shouted:

"Move out!!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One after another, the steel suits below spewed flames from their feet and shot into the sky.

They scattered through the air like a swarm of bees, flying in every direction.

Number One held his recording device with a stunned expression.

He had never expected to witness something like this.

Just then,

he suddenly noticed the black suit's gaze shift in the video before instantly turning toward him.

A chill shot up Number One's spine.

"Little bug, what are you doing???"

"Ahhh~~~~~"

The two teammates waiting anxiously outside suddenly heard Number One's scream.

Their expressions changed drastically, and without hesitation, they turned and ran into the distance.

That was the rule they had agreed on with Number One.

If any one of them ran into trouble, they were to retreat immediately.

No rescue attempts—the important thing was getting the evidence out.

Buzz~ Buzz~

As they ran, the two suddenly felt the light above them darken.

The moonlight was completely blocked by some unknown object.

A huge humanoid shadow appeared on the ground.

Sensing something was wrong, the two glanced upward.

They found an enormous steel construct hovering in the air,

silently watching them.

The steel suit's scarlet eyes were like an eagle's gaze fixed on weak prey, impossibly sharp.

The two were horrified.

One of them even said with trembling lips:

"What kind of monster is that???"

Before long,

two screams rang out from the Stark Industries factory district.

But they were quickly swallowed by the silent night.

The entire factory district fell quiet once more.

Manhattan Police Department, New York.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!"

"Is anyone there? Respond if you can hear me!!!"

"Damn it!"

Chief Joe Ferguson listened to the busy signal in his ear.

He knew that his subordinates had likely met with disaster.

"The Stark Industries factory?"

Joe Ferguson's face was filled with rage.

He turned his gaze toward the location of Stark Industries on the map standing before him.

At the same time,

the large number of standardized steel suits sent out by Obadiah Stane

destroyed vast stretches of power facilities across the country.

The entire United States began to suffer widespread blackouts.

The entire United States descended into chaos.

The desires buried deep within people, once suppressed by all kinds of electronic devices, were awakened.

The bolder ones had already begun making plans,

turning their attention toward major jewelry stores and luxury brands.

The desires in others' hearts were ignited as well.

Without the usual restraint of electronic devices, they completely let themselves go.

Robbery, destruction...

People who had once lived at the bottom of society

acted as though Christmas had arrived, wildly celebrating in the streets.

Street racing, arson, home invasions...

Gunshots, people's screams, the roar of motorcycles, shattering glass...

Countless sounds mixed together, forming a scene straight out of hell.

Blood, blood, blood—blood was everywhere!!!

Fire, fire, fire—everything was burning!!!