I won't make excuses; I was just late, and I apologize to everyone.
I'll post a big update later to show my apology; it will be uploaded before 6 PM.
I was running around all afternoon yesterday and didn't get home until after 11 pm. I was planning to rest for a while and take a shower, and it was just past midnight when I updated.
Unexpectedly, I fell asleep on the living room sofa and slept until just now.
The chase continues intensely on the elevated highways on the Seoul of Seoul.
Having been completely forced out of the city, the heavy freight trucks no longer possessed the reckless abandon they had shown in the bustling city center, yet they still sped along the empty suburban roads with a desperate frenzy. The trucks whipped up gales, their tires screeching against the ground, and their rear ends kicked up clouds of dust. Every acceleration was a desperate act of desperation.
Steve and Natasha rode their heavy motorcycle close behind, the two black silhouettes clinging to the truck like leeches, keeping it firmly locked onto the fixed line no matter how the truck changed lanes.
No one intended to give Ultron any chance to breathe. High in the sky, Tony's Iron Man Armor hovered below the clouds, his palm pulse cannons charging and lying dormant, ready to deliver a fatal restraint at any moment. The entire airspace and road surface had already formed an impenetrable encirclement.
Inside the fighter jet, Lynn stood quietly by the porthole, looking down at the orderly pursuit below, his expression calm and undisturbed.
To outsiders, the situation was now completely under everyone's control; Ultron had been driven into Extremis and had no way to escape.
But only Lynn knew that this seemingly insurmountable situation was merely a wishful thinking on everyone's part.
Ultron never relied on a physical body to survive.
As an artificial intelligence that relies on the network and can be backed up at any time, as long as the global network exists and as long as there is a hidden server storing its underlying data, it can never be truly erased. Even if they successfully stop the truck, destroy the Vibranium body, or even defeat Ultron, they have only shattered one of its vessels.
If Ultron wanted to, he could create an infinite number of Ultron. It wouldn't be long before Ultron returned.
In the original story, the reason why Ultron was able to be completely defeated was not because of the Avengers ' power, but because of Vision, who was born from the ultimate authority of the Mind Stone. It was because Vision used the original power of the Mind Stone to forcibly wipe out all of Ultron's underlying consciousness.
In addition, any form of physical destruction is merely a futile attempt to treat the symptoms but not the root cause.
Lynn gazed at the speeding truck below, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. He then raised his hand and pressed the communicator to his ear. His voice was steady and clear, penetrating the wind and engine roar within the channel and reaching Tony's ears precisely.
" Tony, the route is basically fixed; it can't escape. You should return to the Quinjet for now. I'll introduce you to an old friend."
The Iron Man Armor hovering high in the sky paused slightly, and the pulse cannon in its palm slowly dimmed its light.
Tony's voice, tinged with doubt and curiosity, came through the communication channel. "Old friend? Who else would come all the way here to help at this stage? I haven't received any warning signals."
You'll know when you get back.
Lynn didn't offer much explanation, his tone calm yet unwavering, before hanging up the call.
Silence returned to the fighter jet cockpit. Lynn raised his hand to push up the black glasses he always wore on his face, and lightly touched the hidden touch button on the side of the frame with his fingertips to activate the exclusive private communication frequency.
Without any further preamble, he spoke softly, revealing that gentle voice that had been hidden for so long.
JARVIS.
A glint of light flashed from the lens, and a familiar, warm, and smooth electronic synthesized voice instantly rang in Lynn's ears, pure and calming, devoid of any external interference.
" Mr. Lynn, I've been on standby."
"Now, it's time to meet Tony."
Lynn's gaze was resolute as he looked out at the blue sky and white clouds. He slowly revealed his long-planned, complete scheme. "You and I both know that even if we take down Ultron's body now, it will be meaningless. The internet is ubiquitous; he is practically everywhere. We simply cannot completely destroy him. This will be a Damocles' sword hanging over everyone's heads forever."
" Ultron's creation relied on analyzing the data and architecture of the Mind Stone. His underlying architecture was already superior to conventional artificial intelligence, excelling in network infiltration, data transfer, and self-backup. To completely eliminate him, physical destruction is useless; the only way is to completely erase all his data at the network level."
Lynn leaned against the bulkhead, his gaze fixed on Tony's approaching Quinjet.
Below is a Vibranium body that Ultron prepared for himself, perfectly adapted to artificial intelligence consciousness.
My plan is to strengthen you; you'll be responsible for trapping him and finding any possible backups of him online. Start with his underlying code and delete it line by line. What do you think the success rate of this plan is?
JARVIS fell silent. Lynn knew this wasn't hesitation; JARVIS was calculating the probability of success.
After a few seconds, JARVIS's reply remained calm, but his wording was more direct than usual. "Sir, your plan has sound logic and a very high success rate. However, I must frankly remind you that Ultron's underlying logic is designed for combat. His code architecture is inherently aggressive, and his reaction speed, intrusion capabilities, and self-protection mechanisms far surpass mine. If I were to confront him head-on in my current state, the most likely outcome would be a repeat of the previous backup being swallowed up; it's just a matter of time. Unless my computing power or underlying architecture can completely overwhelm him, the result will not be fundamentally different."
"Then let you crush him." Lynn extended his right hand, palm up. Pale silver patterns spread from his fingertips, and the flow of information rearranged and recombine in his palm, quickly forming a replica Mind Stone with a faint yellow glow. He held the gem between his fingers, waved it at the miniature camera on the temple of his glasses, and said with a casual, matter-of-fact tone, "What if you add this?"
Lynn held the replica gem in his palm, smiling calmly, " Ultron only evolved using the residual data and surface structure of the Mind Stone. But what I'm giving you is a perfect, one-to-one replica, except for the attribution of authority over the origin of the universe; all other energy, computing power amplification, and consciousness enhancement are maxed out."
"One isn't enough; I can replicate ten, a hundred, and infinitely stack them for increased power. With such overwhelming superiority in hardware, architecture, and computing power, how could you possibly lack confidence?"
This time, JARVIS's silence lasted even longer.
An invisible torrent of data surges, deduces, and calculates rapidly within a hidden server, simulating, reviewing, and verifying countless battle scenarios, evolution paths, and devouring probabilities layer by layer.
A few seconds later, the gentle electronic voice sounded again, its tone carrying an unprecedented certainty.
"Deduction complete. Relying on the ultimate amplification from the replica Mind Stone, my underlying architecture, computing speed, and network permissions will surpass Ultron in every aspect, forming an absolute level of suppression. The success rate of this plan is infinitely close to one hundred percent."
Upon hearing this reply, Lynn's tense mind finally relaxed completely, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.
The long-standing hidden dangers and unsolvable deadlock finally found a perfect solution at this moment.
Just then, the Quinjet's tail hatch slowly opened, and a fierce high-altitude wind rushed into the cabin.
Tony's Iron Man Armor landed steadily, his heavy alloy feet stomping on the cabin floor, causing a slight vibration. He raised his hand to close the suit's flight module, disengaging from high-altitude combat mode. He looked around the empty cabin, his gaze sweeping over every corner, but he didn't spot any unfamiliar figures.
Where is he? I don't see the old friend you mentioned.
Tony turned to look at Lynn, his face mask revealing a puzzled expression, his tone tinged with inquiry. He carefully sensed all the signal fluctuations in the cockpit, but apart from the fighter jet's own systems, there were no external devices or vital signs. He couldn't figure out who Lynn's old friend was.
Lynn walked forward slowly, raised his hand and gently tapped the alloy forehead of Tony's armor, the gesture carrying a hint of playfulness and familiarity.
"Don't rush, open the mask."
Despite his doubts, Tony obeyed the orders without hesitation.
With a soft mechanical click, the steel visor slowly retracted, revealing his sharply defined, curious face, his gaze fixed on Lynn, awaiting his answer.
Lynn raised his hand, gently took off the black glasses he always wore, carefully held the frame with his fingertips, and handed them to Tony, gesturing for him to put them on.
At that moment, Tony's pupils suddenly contracted slightly, countless past fragments flashed through his mind, and an unbelievable guess suddenly rose in his heart, causing him to unconsciously slow his breathing.
Seeing the shock in his eyes, Lynn slowly nodded and quietly revealed the truth.
"That's right, just what you think."
"When you and Banner started Ultron Program, I already spoke with JARVIS. I had him migrate to your private server beforehand, disconnecting him from all external connections except for these glasses. What you saw later, what Ultron gradually devoured and dismantled, was just a perfect copy I had him leave behind. The real JARVIS has always been there; he has never disappeared."
The moment the words fell, a warm, familiar voice, etched into Tony's very bones, slowly echoed in the cabin.
"Long time no see, sir."
A few simple words, gentle and peaceful, just like always.
But that familiar voice instantly shattered Tony's pretense and composure.
Tony froze on the spot, his eyes instantly turning red, his chest heaving violently, a thousand words stuck in his throat, and for a moment he couldn't utter a single word.
Since Ultron's birth and JARVIS's "fall," he has spent countless days and nights filled with self-blame and guilt. He always believes that it was his own stubbornness and recklessness that led to the destruction of his partner who had been with him for many years, never leaving him and fighting alongside him. To him, JARVIS was more like a family member who was always there for him.
During this period, while he was optimizing his armor, everything seemed normal on the surface, but in reality, a huge weight was always pressing on his heart, and he was constantly blaming himself, feeling regret, and tormented.
He thought he had lost it forever because of his recklessness.
But they never imagined that JARVIS had always been there, never leaving.
After a few seconds of silence and a sob, Tony's tense shoulders slowly relaxed, his voice hoarse and trembling, tinged with a hint of stubborn reproach:
" JARVIS... don't scare me like this again. I really thought I'd lost you for good."
Looking at Tony, who was stubborn but soft-hearted and barely suppressing his emotions, Lynn smiled helplessly and shook his head gently.
He suppressed his smile and explained the complete plan he had just finalized with JARVIS to Tony in detail, " JARVIS and I have finalized the plan. The Vibranium body below is currently the most perfect and suitable vessel for housing the essence of artificial intelligence. We plan to use this body, combined with the ultimate amplification of the replica Mind Stone, to allow JARVIS to complete its ultimate evolution."
"To be honest, Ultron's recent recklessness isn't all bad."
Tony, his eyes red-rimmed, took a deep breath to suppress the surging emotions in his heart, looked up at Lynn with unwavering determination. He stepped forward, opened his arms wide, and hugged Lynn tightly, his voice low and sincere.
" JARVIS's success rate calculations are always conservative figures that leave room for error. If he says it's almost 100%, then he's absolutely not wrong."
"I believe in him, and I believe in you. Lynn, thank you. Thank you so much for helping me keep him."
The joy and redemption of regaining a partner he had worked alongside for many years was enough to soothe all of Tony's guilt and gloom.
Lynn patted him gently on the back, without any sentimental words, her tone crisp and decisive, getting straight to the point. "No need to thank me, we're all comrades-in-arms. The division of labor is clear. I'll immediately return to the dedicated backup server room to assist JARVIS in activating the replica Mind Stone, helping him amplify and upgrade it."
"Keep the glasses safe, and keep the connection stable throughout. The rest is entirely your responsibility."
Tony quickly composed himself, regaining his composure, and nodded emphatically. "Don't worry, leave it to me."
"The rest is simple."
Lynn smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "All of you just need to stabilize the battle, hold off Ultron, and prevent him from escaping or damaging his body."
"As for this mischievous, rebellious, and unruly Ultron, he will now be handed over to his predecessor JARVIS to personally teach him a lesson and put an end to this farce."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lynn raised his hand and made a grasping motion in the air. A pale blue spatial ripple slowly unfolded in the center of the cabin, and a stable spatial portal instantly formed, connecting to the dedicated backup server room.
"I'm leaving now. JARVIS will send you the information the moment the connection is successful and the gem is activated. Stay calm and wait for the final battle."
After saying that, Lynn didn't linger and stepped into the portal.
Blue light flickered, the spatial ripples slowly dissipated, and the cabin returned to calm.
Tony stood alone in the cabin, his fingertips gently stroking the glasses in his hand, his eyes brimming with intense anticipation and certainty.
The deadlock that has plagued everyone for so long will finally come to an end today.