Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
Feigning exhaustion, Alan took advantage of the night's cover to leave the building. He used the excuse that he was hungry and needed to find something to eat before driving away.
To his delight, no one followed him. After all, in the eyes of many, he was just Walter's insignificant sidekick.
This allowed Alan to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, what neither he nor Walter knew was that MODOK had quietly implanted tracking devices into both of their bodies. As soon as they entered any location deemed "dangerous," MODOK would be instantly alerted.
Fortunately, Alan was heading to the residential district where the Avengers lived. Very few people knew that this was the Avengers' private housing, so MODOK had not listed this area as a danger zone in his system. Consequently, Alan's actions did not trigger any alarms.
Alan arrived at the neighborhood and, following Walter's instructions, made his way to Mike's front door.
He took a deep breath, his muscles bulging as he tensed up. He raised his fist and then... knocked gently on the door.
At the break of dawn, a burly, muscular man knocking on a door was a strange sight.
If ordinary people lived in this house and saw this scene, they would surely be startled.
But there was no movement from Mike's house.
"What's going on?"
Looking at the sky, which was already showing a glimmer of light, Alan grew incredibly anxious.
It would be strange if there was any movement...
Mike and his family had already left for a vacation three days ago.
Alan knocked again. Seeing that there was still no response, his knocking became increasingly forceful and loud.
Just then, Tony Stark, who was sound asleep, was woken up by his home's intelligent butler system.
"A fugitive?"
Tony sat up in bed, looking grumpy as he opened his eyes, which had only recently closed.
"If there's a fugitive, just call the police directly."
Tony muttered speechlessly. He looked at Pepper, who had also opened her eyes, and said helplessly, "Forget it, I'll go see which lucky fugitive it is."
Pepper Potts shook her head with amusement and said to Tony, "Be careful."
"Don't worry." Tony winked at Pepper. "I can equip the Iron Man suit at any time now; you don't need to worry about me."
Besides, having injected the Extremis virus, he could no longer be considered an ordinary human.
"I'll be right back."
Tony kissed Pepper and touched her cheek gently. "Go back to sleep."
"Mhm."
Pepper responded lazily. She watched Tony leave, then waited quietly.
Wearing his pajamas, Tony left his house yawning. He squinted his eyes and saw Alan standing at Mike's door, banging on it with all his might.
He raised an eyebrow and quipped, "Hey, this big guy is actually kind of cute. He even knows to knock before robbing the place?"
"Friday, identify him."
As soon as the words fell, a screen popped up above his wristwatch.
Tony glanced at it and then closed it.
According to the data, he was just a common criminal.
Did he escape during the prison incident last time?
Muttering to himself, Tony walked up behind the man and reminded him, "The family is out on vacation."
"What? On vacation at a time like this? I..."
As Alan spoke, he turned around. His eyes suddenly widened to their limit.
Iron Man!
Subconsciously, he took a step back, turned around, and prepared to run.
But after taking two steps, he froze in place.
Why was he running?
Wasn't he here to deliver a message?
He was currently the underling of a mole inside the enemy organization; he could practically equate himself with the Avengers!
Thinking of this, Alan suddenly felt enlightened. Under Tony's look—which suggested he was looking at an idiot—Alan walked back quickly with a smile on his face.
Does this guy have some special ability?
Tony remained wary of the man, ready to attack at any moment.
"This is great! I finally found you! Avenger!"
"?"
Tony paused for a moment.
What did that mean?
Was he... provoking him?
The arc reactor on Tony's chest glowed slightly brighter.
"I have news to tell you! About MODOK!"
"MODOK? Who is that?"
Tony asked with a frown.
"MODOK is the current boss of A.I.M. He is secretly conducting something called the Nano Soldier Project!"
"Nano Soldier?"
Tony's pupils constricted.
Because his own nanotechnology had been stolen recently, he was extremely sensitive to the topic.
"What do you know? Tell me everything!"
Early morning.
Walter, who hadn't slept all night, was woken up by MODOK's subordinates knocking on his door to deliver breakfast. He ate the meal as if it were his last.
Alan had not yet appeared, which made him extremely uneasy.
He ate very slowly, chewing and swallowing every bite with great deliberation.
But the breakfast was small. Under the patient gaze of MODOK's men, he eventually finished every last bit.
Trying hard to feign calm, Walter wiped the corners of his mouth.
"Take me to him. MODOK must be waiting impatiently."
He followed the subordinate out of the room and went to MODOK's laboratory located on the top floor.
"Mr. Walter, please go in."
"Mm."
Walter tried his best to control his trembling legs. Moving his feet with difficulty, he walked into MODOK's laboratory.
"Haha! You're finally here!"
MODOK smiled at Walter, his expression thick with triumph.
"Quick! Come and look at my experimental subjects!"
He laughed happily, leading Walter around to introduce his experiments one by one.
Looking at the people who were in a state of paralysis, not yet activated, Walter felt a chill in his heart.
There were dozens of people here! Had they all become lab rats just like that?
"This man used to be blind, but my nanotechnology can give him vision clearer than before. I can even make his eyes achieve the effect of a sniper scope. This way, as long as I equip him with a gun, he will become a sharpshooter who can execute assassination missions for me."
"This one lost a leg in combat previously. To achieve consistent results, I removed his other leg as well. Using nanotechnology, he can run faster than the fastest athlete—several times faster, in fact! He will become a Super Soldier!"
"And this one, his arms..."
Listening to MODOK's introductions, Walter's body turned cold.
Under MODOK's modifications, these people had been thoroughly turned into weapons.
"They have had parts of their memories wiped by me, becoming works of art that obey my commands!"
"What do you think? Isn't it wonderful?"
MODOK laughed happily, his oversized face full of pride.
"It's very impressive."
Suppressing his fear, Walter went along with MODOK's words and suggested, "But your modifications are incomplete. Furthermore, the nano-devices on them look too crude. If you could completely modify a person—turning them into a super-strong warrior while retaining their original appearance—that would be true perfection."
Walter spoke from his experience modifying cars.
A car might look unchanged on the outside, but the internal parts could be completely overhauled to run faster than a sports car, shocking everyone who saw it. That was the satisfying way to do things!
"Well said! That is exactly what I was thinking!"
MODOK laughed delightedly. He extended his arm—which appeared petite and cute relative to his massive head—and patted Walter gently on the shoulder. "That is why I intend to turn you into exactly what you described!"
Walter was startled, but he continued to feign calm as he looked at MODOK, narrowing his eyes. "This joke isn't funny at all. Or perhaps... do you want to die!?"
"A joke? No, no!"
MODOK grinned.
"As for dying... I am right here. Kill me, let me see what you are capable of."
MODOK's eyes were full of mockery.
The ominous feeling in Walter's heart grew stronger.
" considering that during this time you treated me..."
"Cut the crap!"
MODOK interrupted impatiently. "Did you really think I didn't notice? Did you really think I was a fool?"
"I have already investigated your background thoroughly. The only reason I haven't touched you for so long is that I thought keeping a pet was quite amusing."
At this point, MODOK stared at Walter intensely. "You are just an ordinary person!"
Hearing this, the calm on Walter's face vanished instantly. He spoke with terror, "Please, let me go! I'll do anything you say!"
MODOK feigned surprise. "So, you really have been lying to me all along? I was just bluffing, but I didn't expect... You have truly disappointed me!"
Upon hearing this, the corner of Walter's mouth twitched, and his face quickly returned to a calm demeanor. "I was just playing along with you!"
"Pfft! Hahahaha!"
MODOK laughed joyously.
"Your reaction speed is quite fast!"
Accompanied by MODOK's mocking voice, invisible psychic energy wrapped around Walter. Amidst Walter's terrified screams, he was lifted and deposited onto the experimental table.
"This is the only thing you can do for me now."
MODOK whispered. Walter's consciousness was gradually hypnotized by MODOK's psychic energy, and he fell directly asleep.
MODOK had previously participated in A.I.M. experiments, which transformed him into his current appearance.
After the previous Starfall incident, he took the opportunity to take over A.I.M. and had been developing quietly until now.
Because of his mutation, MODOK was much smarter than before, and he had even mastered supernatural powers.
He could attack using psychic energy and create force field barriers.
"You know? Ever since I became like this through experimentation, my favorite thing to do is to perform experiments on people like you. Watching you change bit by bit, then holding you in the palm of my hand as you become obedient dogs under my command."
MODOK muttered to himself as he injected nanobots into Walter, transforming him into a Nano Soldier.
After that, it would be time to wipe the other party's memory, turning him into a soldier in his hands.
"You will be the third perfect soldier in my collection."
MODOK waved his hand, and a virtual screen popped up from his floating chair. His hands typed rapidly on it.
Nanobot injection progress...
10%, 15%, 30%...
Soon, it reached one hundred percent.
"Injection complete. Next is the memory wipe!"
MODOK began to feel a sense of anticipation.
The memory wipe began, but he suddenly frowned, turning his head to look at the comatose Walter.
What is going on? This resistance is a bit too strong...
MODOK looked at Walter with rising interest. He felt as if some power had awakened within Walter's body and was beginning to fight back against the newly injected nanobots.
Just then, accompanied by a flash of fire, a large hole was blasted into MODOK's laboratory.
Startled, MODOK hurriedly looked up, only to see a figure descending from the sky and appearing in front of him.
"Iron Man, Tony Stark?"
MODOK cried out in surprise, unhesitatingly using his ability to create a protective force field around himself.
In the next instant, two ruby-like beams shot toward him, colliding violently with his force field.
Sizzle!
Red specks of light splattered everywhere, looking like red fireflies dancing in the wind.
"Tony Stark! You are violating private property! You are committing a crime!"
MODOK shouted loudly while rapidly activating the surrounding Nano Soldiers.
"A crime?"
Tony muttered. The repulsor beams vanished, and he sneered at MODOK. "Don't think that a criminal becomes a law-abiding citizen just because he puts on a suit!"
"You conduct human experiments on innocent people, secretly support terrorist activities, and even stole nanotechnology data. Use that head of yours—which looks like it's bloated with gas and full of shit—to think: are you fit to be called a law-abiding citizen?"
As Tony spoke, he charged his attacks, analyzed MODOK's force field, and then transformed his hands into two sharp blades as he rushed toward MODOK.
Frost energy condensed on the blades, leaving two trails of frost behind him. Accompanied by drifting ice crystals, he caught up to the retreating MODOK and slashed down viciously.
Bang!
With a crisp sound, MODOK's force field blocked Tony's attack, but streaks of frost appeared on the barrier.
MODOK breathed a sigh of relief. Observing Tony's suit from a close distance, he asked in amazement, "What kind of armor is this?"
Tony sneered. "When your ridiculous big head makes intimate contact with the floor, you'll know what kind of armor it is!"
MODOK began to grow angry. The gem headband on his forehead lit up.
This gem headband was not a decoration, but a weapon he had developed for himself to help focus his power.
But...
Tony's arms, which had turned into blades, began to vibrate at a peculiar frequency.
In the next second, the blades sliced through the force field, cutting down toward MODOK.
MODOK shrieked, firing a compressed beam of psychic energy at Tony.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, both Tony and MODOK were sent flying.
Tony stabilized his body. As he prepared to chase after MODOK, the activated Nano Soldiers immediately surrounded him.
Tony huffed coldly. The screen before his eyes flashed rapidly, locking onto the enemies one by one. Massive flames erupted from his suit, turning him into a burning man, and the fire crashed into his surroundings like an ocean wave.
Boom, boom!
The battle between the two sides grew intense.
Meanwhile, Walter, who was about to have his memory wiped, woke up.
He felt he was in extreme pain, yet he also felt stronger than ever before.
A power within his body was growing rapidly.
Leave this place!
Looking at the laboratory that had turned into a battlefield, Walter knew this was an excellent opportunity. However, MODOK was blocking the only exit.
He shifted his gaze to the window not far away.
Jump down from there!
A crazy idea appeared in his mind.
But there was also a voice roaring in his heart, telling him that it would be easy.
Panting heavily, he climbed up from the experimental table. The muscles on his body bulged out block by block. He stomped violently on the table, leaving a deep footprint, and leaped a distance of more than ten meters. He smashed directly through the glass and plummeted toward the ground below.
(End of Chapter)