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Tony Stark naturally didn't believe such nonsense; he had always believed in the supremacy of science.
So, in his opinion, even if there really were demons in this World, they were most likely just some unknown aliens.
For example, the nationwide sensation of a battle that occurred on the streets of New York not long ago.
It was said that the monsters killed by the Thunder Warriors were the legendary "demons."
If it really was that kind of thing, Tony Stark was confident that he could kill quite a few while wearing his armor.
Immediately, he clicked on the video file of General Jeritt, the Base's commanding officer, being publicly executed by Mandarin, the leader of the Ten Rings Gang, during a live television broadcast.
Although he had already seen it months ago when Colonel Rhodes came to him for help,
at that time, he was focused on building new armor and didn't pay attention to such irrelevant matters, so he immediately dismissed it.
Fortunately, the video wasn't long, only a little over two minutes…
The beginning was all the melodramatic scene of that Middle East terrorist using a hostage to threaten President Matthew Ellis into compromise.
Tony Stark had no interest in this, so he fast-forwarded directly to the last part.
"WTF???"
When he saw Mandarin turn his right hand into a crab-claw-shaped mouth full of fangs, and then directly burn General Jeritt into a bubbling pool of flesh and blood, Tony Stark's stomach churned, and he almost vomited up the breakfast he had eaten that morning.
Wait, is this magic?
Or a "super-addict" created by Compound V?
Just then, Jarvis's voice sounded again, "Sir, according to data restoration, the heat released in yesterday's explosion exceeded three thousand degrees Celsius; any living creature within ten meters would be directly vaporized in the explosion."
Tony Stark immediately focused his attention on the virtual projection, looking at where Happy Hogan fell, and frowned, asking:
"Then were there any bomb fragments or gunpowder residue found within 5 kilometers around the theater?"
"No, sir… But after marking the thermal signals at the scene and filtering for heat changes across America that met the three-thousand-degree condition within the last six months, I retrieved a highly similar thermal signal."
As he spoke, the 3D holographic projection in front of Tony Stark changed, transforming into an "America-wide electronic sandbox" about one square meter in size.
A red temperature column, symbolizing high temperature, rose from the location of Tennessee.
Tony Stark raised his hand and lightly tapped it, and a news article from a few days ago immediately popped up.
"According to local witnesses, a physically disabled middle-aged man transformed into a Lizard Man monster during a shopping dispute, and then accidentally self-detonated while being pursued by the police, ultimately resulting in the deaths of six police officers and twenty-two injuries…"
Σ(°△°|||)︴
WTF???
What on Earth is wrong with this World? Why does everything seem so abnormal?
He was clearly investigating news related to the Ten Rings Gang, so how did it get linked to a Lizard Man monster?
Tony Stark suddenly seemed to remember something and then ordered: "Jarvis, I remember a Lizard Man also appeared in New York before, right?"
"Yes, sir, besides this incident, there have been two records of Lizard Man appearances so far. One occurred in Hell's Kitchen a few months ago. According to records in the NYPD and S.H.I.E.L.D. databases, a riot involving supernatural powers seems to have occurred there. Ultimately, a street hero known as Daredevil, and The Hand associated with him, were successfully defeated by a street hero named Spider-Woman and a Lizard Man;
The other occurred over half a month ago, when another Lizard Man killed dozens of researchers in the Osborn Group building, then engaged in a fierce conflict with police officers who arrived upon hearing the news, causing serious injuries to more than a dozen officers, and ultimately successfully escaped…"
"Damn it, again!"
Tony Stark rubbed his aching forehead and said impatiently:
"Enough, don't bother with that damned Spider-Woman. Continue searching for abnormal incidents in Tennessee… Also, please close all these news items unrelated to the Ten Rings Gang."
"Alright, sir, but you seem to have a visitor."
Jarvis then brought up a surveillance feed from outside the Villa.
On the screen, a young woman with shoulder-length curly hair was gently tapping on the curtain wall made of bulletproof glass.
"What?!!!"
Tony Stark, whose thoughts were interrupted, yelled somewhat angrily: "Who can tell me why someone is knocking at a time like this?"
"I just threatened a terrorist leader; shouldn't we be in a complete lockdown right now?"
"Also… who is this woman?"
Jarvis responded very humanly: "Sir, when you publicly announced your address in front of numerous news media, I was completely unable to block the relevant information."
"Also, I need to remind you… there are at least four television station helicopters tracking and filming in the air around your Villa right now."
"Fu*k!!"
Tony Stark couldn't help but curse, then, while entering the Mark 43 Hunter Armor, he ordered: "Let her in."
Villa main entrance.
The explosion-proof glass door slowly opened under the control of an electric device, and a young woman with brown curly hair walked in, full of curiosity.
"Who are you? Don't tell me you're Mandarin?"
Tony Stark, wearing the Mark 43 Hunter Armor, walked out of the Underground Room, flipped open his faceplate, and looked at the other party with a puzzled expression.
"Sure enough, you don't remember me anymore!"
The curly-haired woman rolled her beautiful eyes and laughed awkwardly: "But I'm not surprised at all…"
Tony Stark interrupted expressionlessly: "Sorry, I'm not specifically targeting you; it's just that I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast this morning."
"Alright."
The curly-haired woman nodded noncommittally, her expression gradually becoming serious, "Listen, don't worry, I'm not here to pester you… but there are some important things I need to discuss with you privately, and it's best not to do it here."
"Uh…"
It was Tony Stark's turn to feel awkward; he had clearly misunderstood and glanced upstairs with a guilty conscience.
"Normally, I wouldn't refuse a beautiful woman's request, but I'm currently in a relationship, so… you know."
"Tony!"
At this moment, Pepper Potts's voice suddenly came from upstairs, "Are we having guests?"
"Yes, it's Dr. Maya Hansen."
Tony Stark had just learned the other party's identity from Jarvis. As if afraid his girlfriend would make wild guesses, he quickly said loudly:
"Just an old friend from botany I had some contact with in the past, but we're actually not close at all."
Then, before Pepper Potts came downstairs, he whispered to Maya Hansen: "Please, don't tell me there's a twelve-year-old child of mine waiting in the car outside to recognize me."
"No, it's thirteen!!"
Seeing this playboy quickly distance himself from her, Maya Hansen said, both annoyed and amused:
"Alright, I wouldn't have a child for an irresponsible guy like you… Getting back to the point, I'm really here this time because I need your help."
Tony Stark breathed a long sigh of relief upon hearing that there was no illegitimate child of his outside, but then he looked at the other party with wary eyes and retorted: "Wait, why now?"
"Of course, because I saw the news…"
Maya Hansen said without hesitation: "Given what I know about those people, I don't think you'll make it through this week."
"Those people? You're not referring to the Ten Rings Gang, are you?"
Just as Tony Stark was about to ask more questions, Pepper Potts had already come downstairs and, like a hostess, smiled at Maya Hansen and said:
"I'm so sorry, since Happy is hospitalized, we never expected guests at this time… and someone's past girlfriend at that."
Well, she's a Master of subtle jabs right from the start.
However, Maya Hansen was clearly no pushover either. She glanced at Tony Stark and retorted coolly:
"No, I'm not even close to being his girlfriend. After all, we only had a one-night stand at most."
I just said I was his casual hookup, what's wrong with that?
"Ah, this…"
Tony Stark immediately felt overwhelmed and could only shrug helplessly at Pepper Potts, "I just made a mistake that every man makes."
"Yes, that's what you're best at."
Pepper Potts smiled nonchalantly, then turned to Maya Hansen and said: "Believe me, your choice was very wise; at least you saved yourself a whole lot of trouble."
"Listen, I'm not here to argue with you…"
Maya Hansen was about to say something, but a piercing alarm suddenly sounded in the hall, "Sir, three unidentified armed helicopters have been detected, locking onto your Villa with missiles."
"Missiles launched, estimated impact on the Villa in 9 seconds… 8, 7…"
"Those bastards finally dare to show their faces? Darling, immediately take Dr. Hansen to a safe area outside the Villa. I'll come back after I deal with these Invaders."
After a brief instruction, Tony Stark directly controlled the Mark 43 Hunter Armor to smash through the opposite glass curtain wall and fly out.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh—
Dozens of miniature high-explosive missiles launched from behind the armor, successfully intercepting the incoming missiles in mid-air.
Boom boom boom—
The Mark 43 Hunter Armor emerged from the smoke of the explosion, then launched two more powerful miniature Rockets from its arms, shooting down two outer armed helicopters attempting to continue attacking the Villa.
He then headed straight for the third helicopter attempting to turn and escape.
Zzz—
The laser weapon on his wrist successfully cut open the cabin door, then he looked at the bald man in the co-pilot's seat and said: "Bastard, we've got a lot to talk about now!!"
However.
Just as he was about to knock the other party out and then take him back to the Villa for interrogation, the bald man—Aldrich Killian's subordinate, Eric Savin, nicknamed "Cold Blood"—suddenly spewed a ball of flame from his mouth.
Caught off guard, Tony Stark was directly blasted away, "Alright, since you're not going to talk to me nicely, then go talk to God."
Jarvis had just scanned the other party's facial features and successfully identified him.
But to Tony Stark's surprise, the other party was Aldrich Killian's subordinate, the CEO of A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics).
And not long ago, the two had personally visited Stark Industries to discuss investment matters with Pepper Potts.
It seemed that A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) was very likely the financial backer of the Ten Rings Gang.
With old and new grudges combined, Tony Stark immediately decided to first take care of the thug sent by his love rival, and then personally go settle accounts with that self-important guy!!
Swoosh—
Boom—
A miniature Rocket accurately hit the armed helicopter attempting to escape. With a huge explosion, the helicopter turned into a massive fireball and plunged straight into the sea below.
Just as Tony Stark was about to return to the Villa, Jarvis's voice sounded.
"Sir, I just detected a high signal in the seawater that highly matches the heat source signal from the explosion site. The target is currently diving deeper."
As it spoke, it had already displayed a thermal imaging map in front of Tony Stark.
In the image, a large creature with a giant tail was still swimming in the Water, disappearing from the thermal image a few seconds later.
"Wait, did that bald man turn into a Lizard Man and escape?"
Tony Stark suddenly realized that the turmoil he was facing this time might be far more dangerous than he had previously imagined.
He then piloted the Mark 43 Hunter Armor back into the Villa.
At this time, Pepper Potts and Maya Hansen also cautiously walked in through the main entrance.
"Tony, thank goodness, it's so good that you're alright."
Pepper Potts patted her chest, relieved, and was about to walk over to give Tony Stark a big hug.
But who would have thought that the latter uncharacteristically ignored her, walked directly in front of Maya Hansen, raised his palm cannon, which glowed with a dangerous light, aimed it at her head, and asked with a cold face:
"Miss Maya Hansen, I'm afraid you must give me a satisfactory reason today to leave here alive…"