Son of the Sun

Xiao Han broke through Earth's atmosphere, his black combat uniform drifting soundlessly in the vacuum.

He looked back at the receding blue planet, a smile curling across his lips.

"Stark Industries' satellite..."

A flickering point of light appeared in his field of vision. Xiao Han adjusted his posture, then burst forth with super speed, leaving a faint streak of light across the dark void.

Seconds later, he hovered beside a silver-gray artificial satellite.

The prominent STARK INDUSTRIES logo was printed on its surface, while its solar panels gleamed beneath the starlight.

Xiao Han grinned and raised two fingers at the satellite's surveillance camera, flashing a V sign.

"A little souvenir."

Xiao Han turned and fixed his gaze on the enormous fireball at the center of the Solar System.

"Now, let's go see the real sun."

His body tilted slightly forward as a golden glow formed over his skin, created by his Biofield.

The next instant, Xiao Han became a streak of light and flew toward the sun at an astonishing speed.

As the distance closed, the sun gradually transformed in his vision from a tiny point of light into a blazing fireball that filled his entire field of view.

Even with Xiao Han's current Steel Body, he began to feel the temperature rising sharply.

"System, analyze my current energy absorption efficiency."

[Ding! Detected that the host is absorbing Yellow Solar Radiation. Energy reserves are increasing... Current efficiency: 137%]

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow.

Back on Earth, his energy absorption efficiency had peaked at only 100%, yet it had now surpassed that limit.

It seemed that approaching the sun at close range truly could bring a qualitative leap.

When he was still one million kilometers from the sun's surface, Xiao Han stopped.

Even he could now feel the crushing heat. His skin began to redden, like metal being roasted in a furnace.

"Still not close enough." Xiao Han gritted his teeth and continued forward.

Five hundred thousand kilometers... three hundred thousand kilometers... one hundred thousand kilometers...

The temperature had already climbed to an unimaginable level.

Yet Xiao Han's skin began to take on a strange golden sheen, as though it were adapting to this extreme environment.

[Energy absorption efficiency has exceeded the critical threshold: 500%... 700%... 1000%...]

The system notifications kept ringing in Xiao Han's mind, but he could no longer spare attention for them.

Every ounce of his focus was devoted to resisting the most violent source of energy in the universe.

When he was only ten thousand kilometers from the sun's surface, Xiao Han finally stopped.

This distance was an absolute forbidden zone of death to human technology, yet for him, it was the ideal breeding ground for evolution.

"Here." Xiao Han spread his arms, allowing the sun's plasma storms to wash over his entire body.

Every cell in his body rejoiced, greedily absorbing this nearly infinite energy.

[Energy reserves: 300%... 500%... 1000%...]

The numbers soared without end, and Xiao Han felt unprecedented power surging through his body.

His eyes became a pure gold. The temperature of his Heat Vision rose in a straight line, while the range of his Biofield expanded by more than tenfold.

"Still not enough. I'm going in." Xiao Han made a mad decision.

He took a deep breath, though there was no air in space.

Then, like a diver, he plunged headfirst into the sun's surface.

In an instant, the world became nothing but pure light and heat.

The environment inside the sun surpassed all human imagination. The temperature reached fifteen million degrees Celsius, while the pressure was 250 billion times that of Earth's surface.

Here, hydrogen nuclei fused into helium under extreme conditions, releasing immeasurable energy.

Xiao Han felt as though he had fallen into a golden ocean, surrounded by boiling plasma.

Fine cracks began to appear across his skin, only to be repaired instantly by newly born energy.

[Warning! The host's body is undergoing fundamental reassembly]

[Steel Body evolving... 1%... 5%... 15%...]

Comfortable—indescribably comfortable! It was as though he were soaking in a hot spring.

Second by second, Xiao Han became completely immersed in the process of evolution.

His cellular structure was being reassembled, his atomic arrangement optimized, and his energy channels expanded.

[Steel Body evolution completion: 100%]

[New ability unlocked: Matter Reassembly (Beginner)]

Elsewhere

The lights in the Stark Industries laboratory had remained on for thirty hours straight.

Tony Stark stood before the workbench, the dark circles beneath his eyes showing that he had not rested in a long time.

Three holographic projectors operated at once, displaying two completely different armor designs.

"Adjust the chest plate's curve by another 0.5 degrees," Tony said to the air, his fingers moving over the hologram.

"Remove all facial obstructions. I want his expression to be clearly visible."

The robotic arms immediately carried out the command, adjusting the details of the pure black armor floating at the center.

The armor's surface reflected no light at all, as if it could absorb every ray around it. Only a simple golden S-shaped emblem on its chest broke that absolute darkness.

"Sir, you have been working continuously for over thirty hours," JARVIS reminded him. "Miss Potts has sent her twelfth warning."

Tony downed a mouthful of espresso. "Tell her to wait until I finish this work of art."

He ran a hand over the armor's surface. "What are the test results for the alloy replacement layer?"

"Its compatibility with Mr. Xiao's Biofield has reached 99.2%," JARVIS replied.

"However, its defensive capability is only equivalent to 15% of the Mark 3."

Tony grinned. "That's enough. That guy can't even be killed by extreme heat. This armor is purely for style."

He took two steps back to admire his work. "Only black suits a Superman's temperament—powerful, mysterious, unstoppable."

"Sir, based on analysis, Mr. Xiao's defensive capabilities appear to make armor unnecessary. Even if we build it, he may have no use for it."

"JARVIS, you wouldn't understand. This is a man's joy." Tony glanced at the armor and muttered under his breath.

"He gave us a meeting gift. We should give him a little surprise."

Deep within the sun

When the system notification finally sounded, Xiao Han opened his eyes.

To his surprise, he discovered that he could actually see normally inside the sun.

The violent plasma now looked like gentle streams in his eyes. He could clearly distinguish the path of every flow of energy.

"So this is the sun's perspective?"

Xiao Han extended a hand and gently touched an energy vortex.

To his shock, the high-temperature plasma actually changed its direction of flow in accordance with his will.

[Matter Reassembly allows the host to influence the state of matter at the atomic level. Current applicable range: non-living matter. Volume limit: 100 cubic meters]

Xiao Han smiled.

This ability was simply absurd. Although it was still limited for now, given enough time, he might even be able to create things from nothing.

"System, how long have I been inside the sun?"

[Calculated according to Earth time: 37 hours and 42 minutes]

Xiao Han nodded.

He gave this golden world one final look, then kicked off with both legs and shot toward the sun's surface like a rocket.

Leaving was a hundred times easier than entering.

His evolved Steel Body almost completely ignored the sun's terrifying environment. Xiao Han passed through layer after layer of plasma like a fish swimming through water, breaking out of the sun's surface within minutes.

On his way back to Earth, Xiao Han tested his new abilities.

His super speed could now reach half the speed of light, the temperature of his Heat Vision had risen dramatically, and his Biofield had expanded tenfold.

His senses had become sharper as well. When he closed his eyes and focused, he could see every person's life energy on Earth, like countless tiny points of light flickering across the planet's surface.

When Xiao Han reentered the atmosphere, his Biofield automatically prevented a sonic boom.