Rimuru had no idea how much of a stir her actions had caused in the Nine Realms and numerous dimensions.
Life for her hadn't changed much.
On television, news about the Abomination's battle in New York and the timely intervention of the Silver Armored War God and Iron Man was everywhere.
The major media outlets this time spared no praise, lavishing compliments on both Rimuru and Iron Man.
Even The Daily Bugle, which loved to find fault, couldn't pick any nits!
Actually, this was quite easy to understand.
The U.S. also valued political correctness, in some aspects even more strictly than the Eastern powerhouse.
One could understand this by looking at the "blackwashing" trend in Hollywood blockbusters over the years.
The Abomination's attack on New York this time had an impact no less severe than 9/11.
Politicians, news media, and celebrity professors—each shrewder than the last—naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to cause trouble for themselves at this time.
The military was left humiliated by the Abomination; although Lenny Ross took the blame, this couldn't hide the fact that the U.S. military's performance was terrible this time.
However, the military's series of operations really opened Rimuru's eyes.
Despite the U.S. military's poor performance and battle failures, the U.S. military high command, with a stroke of the pen, heavily promoted the "monster threat theory."
Hulk and Abomination were both dragged out for public shaming, and Iron Man and Rimuru were also brought out for comparison.
After a series of arguments, they came to a conclusion—a new era had arrived, and the United States faced unprecedented challenges and major threats.
In short, the U.S. military's weapons were becoming outdated and needed more research and development funds.
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the military actually succeeded; Congress directly approved nearly five billion U.S. dollars in funding!
This operation was simply astonishing!
Aside from Lenny Ross, who took the fall, the military saw significant personnel changes.
Clearly, this was another round of political maneuvering.
The winners advanced, the losers were out, but none of this had anything to do with Rimuru.
"We now interrupt with some unfortunate news: while Iron Man Tony Stark was battling the Abomination, Mr. Stark's Malibu coast villa was attacked by unidentified armed individuals."
On the screen, the scene shifted to the shattered ruins of the Malibu villa, reduced to rubble.
"The terrorists' target was the Iron Man suit; clearly, this was a very malicious, premeditated terrorist attack. Fortunately, Mr. Stark had already designed an anti-hijacking system in the suit, and all the suits self-destructed, preventing them from being stolen by the terrorists."
"We strongly condemn the terrorists, and this station will continue to follow up on the subsequent investigation results."
Rimuru was startled by the news report.
Armed individuals went to steal Tony's suit while Tony was battling the Abomination?
That was too unscrupulous; being infamous for eternity would be an understatement!
Rimuru immediately thought of HYDRA; HYDRA had been coveting Tony's suit for a long time.
Senator Stern, who was at the hearing, was a hidden HYDRA member.
Rimuru and Tony's relationship was still very good.
As a friend, when something happened to his home, she should definitely go and see him!
After communicating with Pepper, Rimuru directly opened a portal to another one of Tony Stark's villas in California.
Although this villa didn't open directly onto the Pacific Ocean, the environment was still very beautiful, and the villa's décor was exceptionally good.
When Rimuru arrived, Tony was listening to music and sipping wine, looking incredibly relaxed and carefree.
Rimuru was surprised; this was a bit different from what she had imagined!
His home was bombed into ruins, and his beloved suits were almost stolen; didn't he care at all?
Any normal person would be extremely angry!
Something was off!
Seeing Rimuru emerge from the fiery red portal, Tony Stark's eyes lit up.
"Is this a magic portal? It's truly amazing; don't close it yet, let me study it!"
Tony Stark said, then began to analyze and study, quickly becoming completely immersed.
Soon, he had built numerous models.
Tony's way of interpreting magic through science made Rimuru's eyes light up.
Did Tony have a talent for magic?
It's hard to say in the MCU Universe, but in a short comic called What If?, Tony Stark replaced Doctor Strange and became the Sorcerer Supreme.
This was a story that took place in the parallel universe Earth-9810, where Iron Man and Dr. Stephen Strange met by chance at a banquet. The two found common interests and quickly became close friends who could talk about anything.
After the banquet, a drunk Tony insisted on dragging Strange for a drive, and then, unfortunately, they had a car accident. Dr. Stephen Strange broke both hands, ending his career as a doctor.
A guilt-ridden Tony vowed to heal Strange's hands. After trying all scientific methods without success, he unexpectedly learned of Kamar-Taj's existence.
So he took Strange to Kamar-Taj for treatment, and as a result, he was appreciated by the Ancient One and became the new Sorcerer Supreme.
Soon after Tony became Sorcerer Supreme, Dormammu invaded Earth.
Tony invented an Iron Man suit that could cast magic intelligently, and then he piloted this suit to defeat Dormammu.
And Strange's hands, in the end, were still not healed!
Of course, this is a story from a parallel universe; in the MCU universe, it's hard to say.
Seeing Tony engrossed in his research, Rimuru smiled, feeling somewhat relieved.
Iron Man truly lives up to his name; no matter what difficulties he faces, they cannot defeat him!
This is perhaps the greatest quality of a true superhero!
Seeing the fine wine on the counter, Rimuru couldn't help but lick her lips. Tony was so rich; she thought he wouldn't mind if she tried a little!
Drinking Tony's treasured fine wine, Rimuru felt no heartache at all.
Pop!
The cork was opened, and Rimuru poured herself a glass.
She sipped it; the taste was indeed excellent!
As expected of Tony's collection—thumbs up!
Drinking from a glass was still too troublesome. Glug, glug, glug—Rimuru picked up the bottle and chugged it down.
Bottle after bottle, it was exhilarating!
Drinking wine casually—Tony's life was truly comfortable.
Half an hour later…
Tony Stark, who had built hundreds of models, had basically figured out the principle of teleportation.
But it was completely impossible for him to open a portal himself!
It was like knowing the principle of how an airplane flies doesn't mean one can build an airplane.
Moreover, Tony always felt that opening a portal seemed to be missing a medium—something like a key.
Coming back to his senses, Tony sniffed, and his expression suddenly changed.
When he saw Rimuru holding a wine bottle and drinking it like a beverage, especially when he saw the large pile of empty wine bottles beside Rimuru, Tony's face instantly contorted.
"NO! NO! NO!"
Tony was a lover of wine, and the red wines he treasured were all exquisite.
Many were even out of print, with only the last bottle remaining in the entire world.
The meaning of collecting them was greater than drinking them; some bottles were even worth millions!
But now, Rimuru had drunk them all as if they were plain water.
The blow this dealt to Tony Stark was hundreds of times more severe than his several defeats or his home being stolen today.
"Rimuru, you little menace, I'm going to fight you!"
.....
This novel has over 170 chapters on Patreon.com/zeaser