A Challenge

Kraft, with no school to attend, moved directly into the studio to live, just as he had when he was engrossed in research in the past. If Alice hadn't promised Martin Lee that she would take him out to walk the cats and dogs every day, Kraft would absolutely never have stepped out of the laboratory.

Even when going out to walk the pets, Kraft would first stuff himself with a pile of dream knowledge before letting Quinn lead him around aimlessly, his mind a jumble. It was less like Alice was walking Quinn and Bear with him, and more like Alice was walking all three of them.

Although the arsenal had been miniaturized, the manufacturing speed hadn't increased much. At most, things like transportation could now be directly enlarged and handled by hand; otherwise, it still took the same amount of time.

Moreover, for some "unscientific" machines, Kraft couldn't completely hand them over to Angela and Haro for production and had to pilot an SCV himself to participate.

Of course, this hands-on involvement wasn't a chore for Kraft. He was happy to engage in some practical application to further familiarize himself with the knowledge he had recently absorbed.

"An unidentified flying object has appeared over New York."

Just as Kraft was happily working in his miniature arsenal with an SCV, Red Queen suddenly sent a message and switched the view to the SCV's internal screen.

A silver-white tin man was flying around the skies of New York in a... well, a somewhat feminine pose. Besides his hands and feet spewing white light, the most striking feature was the circular LED light on his chest.

"What is this thing? Did I fall asleep or something?"

Kraft, whose capabilities were now far beyond what they used to be, immediately recognized the technological sophistication of the tin man in the video. In fact, even without the advanced knowledge, any reasonably sane person could tell that this thing couldn't be easily made. Its advanced nature gave Kraft the illusion that he was watching those big shots conduct experiments in his dreams.

"Is this a secret military weapon? When did they start developing exoskeleton armor?"

"According to the information tracked from the video, this tin man flew out of Tony Stark's seaside villa. And judging by its size, after subtracting the thickness of the exoskeleton armor, it roughly matches Tony Stark himself."

Angela explained, simultaneously releasing corresponding data.

"Tony Stark?" Kraft blinked. "Didn't he die in a terrorist attack in the Middle East?"

Having been recently engrossed in building his miniature arsenal, Kraft hadn't paid any attention to outside news. Otherwise, he couldn't have missed the bombshell news of Stark's survival and Stark Industries halting weapon sales.

The heat from these news items hadn't died down yet, and Angela could easily find several related pieces of information online to show Kraft.

"This... alright..."

Kraft scratched his head. The playboy had pretty good luck, actually escaping from terrorists. But...

"Didn't he say he was going to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing? Then what is this thing?"

Kraft pointed at the tin man in the video, who was crashing through the skies of New York like a missile, thinking that Stark's words at the press conference were all bullshit. This thing was far more dangerous than the weapons he used to sell!

"Perhaps he doesn't intend to sell it externally."

Angela replied casually, then asked with a hint of eagerness, "Should I hack into this tin man's system?"

"...You really do love fighting with J.A.R.V.I.S..."

Kraft, who had already climbed out of the SCV, looked speechlessly at Angela's phantom beside him.

"Interacting with other artificial intelligences can accelerate the evolution of my behavioral logic."

Angela replied earnestly.

"So that's what you call interaction..."

Kraft twitched his lips, then thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, I'll take this opportunity to test the equipment I've made these past few days. Angela, go deliver a challenge to Stark."

"Understood!"

Angela excitedly gave a military salute before dissolving into a speck of light.

Her behavioral logic had indeed improved significantly, becoming more human-like...

Just a bit too fond of fighting.

"Woohoo~"

Tony Stark, piloting the Mark II, had just escaped a freezing crisis. The intense stimulation made him involuntarily exclaim.

"Unidentified intrusion detected! Unidentified intrusion detected!"

Flashing red lights and urgent alarms interrupted Tony Stark's enjoyment of flying.

"It can actually hack into the Mark II?" Tony Stark was stunned, then quickly remembered the artificial intelligence he encountered before going to the Middle East. "Red Queen?"

"Hello, Mr. Stark."

On the Mark II's internal screen, a line of text appeared before Stark.

"Long time no see. If you're looking for J.A.R.V.I.S., you can come directly to my place. See, I'm busy right now."

Recognizing the intruder as an old acquaintance, Tony Stark felt slightly relieved. However, he was still in mid-air and maintained his vigilance. He playfully responded to Red Queen while controlling the Mark II to descend.

"Do you want to test the combat capabilities of this tin can?"

Angela relayed Kraft's message.

"This is... a challenge?"

Tony Stark raised an eyebrow and readily accepted. After all, even if Red Queen hadn't shown up, he had intended to test the combat capabilities of the Iron Man suit. Moreover, he was curious about the person who created Red Queen.

"I accept. Time and place."

The reply came back quickly, and a marker was given on the map.

Isn't this right near my house?

Stark raised an eyebrow again. It seemed the other party wasn't hostile at all, just interested in his inventions, much like he was interested in them.

"No problem, I'll wait for you over there."

He readily accepted Red Queen's invitation and controlled the Mark II, flying towards his seaside villa.

Kraft didn't keep him waiting long either. Not long after Tony Stark landed on the coast, he received a report from J.A.R.V.I.S.

"Sir, an unidentified flying object has appeared above you."

Stark looked up. "But I don't see anything, J.A.R.V.I.S."

"The other party seems to be using some kind of advanced stealth camouflage."

J.A.R.V.I.S. switched the screen in the Mark II to a thermal imaging display. Only then could Tony Stark vaguely detect the presence of some kind of aircraft above him, indicated by the heat from its thrusters.

It's just…

"Isn't this aircraft a bit small?"

Was it for filming?

As Stark pondered, a small black dot leaped out of the cloaked aircraft. It then grew to about two meters in size mid-air and landed before him in a kneeling pose.

Then, the figure slowly stood up, revealing its true appearance.

It was wearing a dark gray military helmet and a combat vest of the same color. It was entirely orange-yellow, adorned with a few large brown spots, and looked like a hybrid of a rat and a dog…

"A puppet?"

Tony Stark stared, dumbfounded, at the strange "creature" before him as it raised a hand to wave at him and, with great presence, let out a—

"FUMO!"