Battle at the Expo

After spending more than ten hours searching online with Tony, Lu Qi had finally helped him design a decent confession plan. Now all that remained was figuring out how to lure Pepper out.

According to Tony, what many people enjoyed was the feeling of being suddenly confessed to, so he planned to launch a surprise attack on Pepper.

Watching Tony spend an entire day studying online confession methods like some kind of romance expert, Lu Qi was utterly speechless.

Looking at the densely packed steps Tony had written out, Lu Qi felt that the guy had never been this serious even when building armor.

Checking the time, Lu Qi suddenly realized it was almost seven. Hammer Industries' presentation was about to begin.

Then the phone suddenly rang. Tony was furious. Who the hell called his home landline for no reason? Wasn't that interrupting his thinking?

Friends and people with urgent matters usually called his cellphone directly. The home landline was only there for outsiders, so Tony had never intended to have a proper conversation.

"I'll fucking—" Tony picked up the phone and cursed the caller out, then angrily hung up without caring about the consequences.

Even Lu Qi, who had been waiting to watch the show, froze. Why weren't you following the script? How were you supposed to get the idea to go to the expo later?

Just as he was wondering whether to tie Tony up and drag him there, the phone rang again. Lu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Ivan, you're a good man. Keep at it. After this, I'll leave you an intact corpse!

Tony was even more annoyed and told JARVIS to hang up immediately.

How could Lu Qi allow that? He stopped JARVIS. "Tony, this guy kept calling even after you cursed him out. Maybe it really is urgent. You should answer it."

Tony frowned, but he still set down the plan in his hands and picked up the phone.

"Tony Stark!"

Before Tony could speak, the person on the other end spoke first.

Tony's brows drew together. Something felt off. "Who are you?"

Ivan froze on the other end. I really didn't leave any impression on you at all? You can't even recognize my voice?

"I'm Ivan!" Ivan shouted angrily, feeling a little better afterward.

"How are you still able to make calls from prison?" Tony said helplessly. So it was this brat.

"I'm not in the hospital. I'm somewhere else. Guess where?" Ivan let out a villainous laugh, but Tony wasn't buying it.

"Why the hell would I waste time guessing? What's wrong with you? If you escaped, then you escaped. I'll send you back in a couple of days!" Tony grew increasingly impatient. Now that he had created the New Element, the Preliminary Technology Reactor was no longer that important. If someone offered enough money, he might even sell it.

After all, he now had the stronger, more durable New Element. Even in an energy competition, the other side could not beat him. Ivan naturally was no longer so important.

Ivan froze, becoming even angrier, but he couldn't exactly kill Tony through the phone.

"Tonight at the expo, I'll make you and your family pay! Mark my words!" Ivan roared before hanging up.

Tony helplessly dug at his ear. That guy's shout had made his ears hurt.

But remembering what Ivan had just said, Tony had JARVIS pull up tonight's expo schedule.

Tony discovered that tonight was Hammer Industries' presentation, and they were showcasing some Mechanical Soldiers. Combined with what Ivan had said, it gave him a bad feeling.

"JARVIS, call Pepper!"

Inside the venue, Pepper sat in her seat while Natasha sat beside her, arranging various matters.

Pepper looked exhausted. Over the past few days, she had barely rested properly. After Stark Group's transformation, there were countless matters to deal with. She had no experience handling them, and if Natasha had not been helping her, she truly would not have been able to manage Stark Group.

Thinking of those hosts who said she lacked experience and had no talent for taking on such an important role, Pepper felt angry.

But angry or not, she was now Stark Group's CEO. She couldn't exactly go down there and get into a public spat with a host.

Looking at the schedule Natasha handed her, Pepper felt exhausted, but she still had to persevere. She could not let Tony down!

Her phone rang at that moment. Pepper looked and saw that Tony was calling.

Pepper answered, only to hear Tony's anxious voice on the other end.

"Potts, are you at the expo right now?"

"Of course. I'm the CEO of Stark Group. How could I not show up at my own expo?" Pepper said with a smile.

"Damn it! Pepper, get out of there now! It's dangerous there. And hand the phone to Natasha. I need to talk to her!"

Pepper frowned, but she still handed the phone to Natasha.

After the two exchanged a few words, Natasha's expression suddenly changed, and she quickly stood up.

"I think we need to leave now!" Natasha dropped the ever-present smile from her face and spoke to Pepper coldly.

"Uh, what's going on?" Pepper was pulled to her feet by Natasha and led outside.

The two of them attracted quite a few looks. At that moment, Hammer also spotted them preparing to leave.

He frowned. Today was the day Hammer Industries showcased its weapons. If the CEO of Stark Group left, what would the guests think?

He hurried over to stop them, but when Natasha saw Hammer, she walked straight toward him.

"Where are you—"

Before Hammer could finish speaking, Natasha slammed him to the ground.

She viciously yanked his arm behind his back, making Hammer scream.

"Where is Ivan?" Natasha radiated killing intent. She was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents, not some delicate little girl.

"What Ivan?" Hammer still tried to act tough, but his arm was immediately dislocated, making him suffer even more.

"Hammer Industries! He's at Hammer Industries!" Hammer did not stay tough for long. Then again, he was a submissive little bottom, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

Natasha tossed Hammer aside, took out a walkie-talkie, said something into it, then quickly led Pepper outside.

At that moment, Tony and Lu Qi also arrived at the venue through a portal. JARVIS quickly located Pepper.

"What happened, Tony?" Pepper had yet to recover from seeing her own assistant pin Hammer Industries' CEO to the ground. When she saw Tony, she asked instinctively.

"Ivan was rescued by Hammer. He called to threaten me just now, saying he was going to destroy me. I have a feeling those Hammer Industries Mechanical Soldiers definitely have a problem!"

After briefly explaining the situation, Tony told Pepper to go somewhere safe, then flew toward the main hall with Lu Qi.

Lu Qi followed Tony closely with his flight boots and spoke to him through his earpiece.

"I'll stop Hammer Industries' Mechanical Soldiers. You go catch Ivan."

Tony nodded, but he still had to find Rhodey first. Rhodey was with the military, and if a fight broke out, they would need him to explain the situation to them.

"Hey, Rhodey, can you hear me?"

At that moment, Rhodey was beneath the stage in the main hall, standing with a group of Mechanical Soldiers. Soon, they would rise onto the stage through the elevator.

As the military's War Machine, Rhodey had brought his armor to Hammer Enterprises, the military's biggest partner, and replaced it with an entire arsenal of weapons, strengthening his overall firepower. It was not as technologically advanced as Iron Man's armor, but its firepower was even greater!

"Tony? What's going on?" Rhodey, who had not fought Tony like in the original story, sounded pleasantly surprised.

"Where are you?"

"I'm under the stage in the expo's main hall. I'm about to help Hammer Industries with some promotion. Seriously, man, you should come see the Mechanical Soldiers down here. It feels like I'll be out of a job before long."

Rhodey turned back to look at the Mechanical Soldiers and spoke to Tony.

"All the Mechanical Soldiers are there?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. There are a lot of them. Maybe Hammer Industries will make a fortune with these Mechanical Soldiers in the future."

"Listen to me, Rhodey. Destroy all the Mechanical Soldiers! Ivan made those soldiers!"

"What?" Rhodey was still confused when his faceplate suddenly turned red. He inexplicably entered combat mode as the elevator began to rise, carrying him and the Mechanical Soldiers toward the stage.

Rhodey frowned and tried to deactivate combat mode, only to discover that he had lost control of his armor.

"Hey! Tony, I can't control my armor! It entered combat mode, and now I'm rising onto the stage with all the Mechanical Soldiers!"

"Damn it!"

Tony cursed as he saw the elevator opening on the stage from afar.

"What is this now?" Hammer, who had only just gotten his arm put back in place, stared at the strange development onstage. What kind of performance accident was this?

But the moment the Mechanical Soldiers appeared onstage, their supposedly nonfunctional gun barrels automatically lifted and aimed at the approaching Iron Man.

After a brief silence, all the Mechanical Soldiers opened fire at once. Bullets and missiles of every kind shot toward Tony.

"Fuck!" Tony cursed fiercely, making an emergency evasive maneuver to escape the barrage. The continuous gunfire also threw the venue into chaos.

These people were all major figures from the business and military worlds. They could not be allowed to die here, or how could the Stark Expo ever be held again?

Lu Qi estimated the distance and teleported over. Not far from the venue, more than a thousand Shadow Ninjas appeared.

The Blade Soldiers charged at the Mechanical Soldiers onstage, while the Ninja Soldiers directly grabbed ordinary people one by one and carried them out of the venue.

The Sniper Mechanical Soldiers watched the approaching Blade Soldiers and rapidly turned their gun barrels. Directed by computers, they predicted the Blade Soldiers' paths and fired immediately.

Large-caliber bullets tore apart more than half of the Blade Soldiers' bodies, sending them back into the shadows.

Lu Qi frowned. He had not expected these Mechanical Soldiers to react so quickly, but he soon ordered the Blade Soldiers to move erratically and close in. However, the Mechanical Soldiers came in many different types and had actually formed a formation.

Under computer control, they coordinated perfectly and forcibly kept the Blade Soldiers outside.

Lu Qi moved closer and summoned the Troll Soldier.

The hulking figures pounced at the enemy formation, using both hands to block the incoming bullets and missiles before smashing apart the enemy's formation by force.

Blade Soldiers followed close behind, their sharp claws slicing open one Mechanical Soldier after another.

"Damn it, I'm about to take off!" Rhodey shouted as he looked at the information on his display.

Lu Qi hurriedly ordered several nearby Troll Soldiers to pin Rhodey to the ground.

The weapons on Rhodey's body automatically activated in an attempt to fight back, but Blade Soldiers rushed over and destroyed all the weapons on him in just a few strikes.

"Sorry, Rhodey, but Tony can give you better weapons later."

Rhodey looked regretfully at the Ex-Wife on his shoulder. He had not even gotten to try out a weapon with such an awesome name.

Although Rhodey's warning allowed the Troll Soldiers to catch him, some Flying Soldiers still managed to take off, leaving the attack range of the Blade Soldiers on the ground.

Tony arrived at that moment, and the lasers in his hands and precision missiles on his shoulders destroyed that group of Mechanical Soldiers.

"Nice! We shouldn't have any enemies left now! But can you let me go?"

Pinned to the ground, Rhodey shouted, but Lu Qi answered helplessly, "Sorry, but you're being controlled. Until you're freed, I can't let you go."

As he spoke, he took out a camera and snapped photos like crazy. Tony, standing beside him, was thoroughly frightened. He absolutely could not embarrass himself in front of this guy in the future.

"So can somebody save me?" Rhodey looked at Lu Qi, who was taking pictures beside him, and wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

"I'm on my way." Natasha's voice came through the comm channel. At that moment, she and Happy were heading to Hammer Industries.

Hearing the rustling of clothes from the other end, the men fell into an awkward silence.

"Tony, are you okay?" Pepper ran into the hall and saw the destroyed Mechanical Soldiers inside. Several police officers followed behind her, holding the chattering Hammer.

"It's safe here now, Potts." Tony walked over and gave Potts a comforting hug, but the steel armor hurt her.

Pepper pushed Tony away in disgust and looked over the scene.

"So, is it over?"

Lu Qi and Tony exchanged a look.

"No, there's still one guy left." Tony thought of Ivan, but he had no idea where Ivan was.

"Hey, Tony! Come out and fight me properly!"

An arrogant voice rang out from outside.