"No! No need!"
Tony shouted in embarrassment, and finally, with a crisp "crack," he forcibly tore off the severely deformed Mark 5 breastplate and crawled out from the pile of smoking scrap metal, panting.
He straightened his messy, dust-covered shirt, still as stubborn as a dead duck:
"Cough... this is just a technical adjustment. You know, like a car, new models always have some break-in issues."
He pointed to the hallway behind him with a sincere expression, though his eyes flickered: "Since you're already here, wait a moment. I'll go inside and get the cash."
After saying that, Tony didn't even wait for Reze's answer and turned to rush into the armory behind him.
His back looked a bit hurried; he even tripped over the carpet.
"Get cash?" Far away in Hells Kitchen, Su Modie rolled her eyes and couldn't help but complain: "Who's he kidding... this old fox is definitely going to change into a bigger suit."
Reze naturally understood as well, but she didn't choose to press her advantage. Instead, she started rummaging through the fridge as if she weren't a stranger at all.
Sure enough.
In less than thirty seconds.
Click—Hum—!!
The armory door burst open.
This time, what walked out was no longer the paper-thin Mark 5, but the Mark 4 conventional armor with much tougher lines!
Tony Stark regained his confidence.
A confident man.
"Alright, Miss Alien."
The mechanical voice echoed in the hall with a sense of overwhelming pressure: "I was afraid of hurting the flowers and grass outside just now. Now, this is my territory."
"One last warning—get out of my house!"
All weapon systems instantly locked onto Reze, who was sitting on the sofa taking small sips of Coke.
Facing this heavy firepower threat that was practically in her face.
Reze just tilted her head, her fingers stopping as they toyed with the pull ring on her collar.
She looked up, her emerald eyes watching the fully armed Iron Man.
"Is this where your confidence comes from, Mr. Stark?"
The next second.
Without hesitation, Reze's finger hooked the pull ring and gave it a sharp tug!
"Click."
"BOOM—!!!"
Without any nonsense, a violent explosion instantly swallowed the slender girl's body.
Tony only felt a dark shadow flash before his eyes.
"Boom!"
The terrifying recoil from the explosion sent the transformed Reze flying like a cannonball, crossing the distance of over ten meters in 0.1 seconds.
Too fast!
So fast that Tony's finger hadn't even had time to pull the trigger of the palm repulsor, and even Jarvis's lock-on frame couldn't keep up with her speed.
Clang!
A dull, heavy sound of metal clashing.
Before the smoke even cleared, that monster was truly like a Xenomorph, stuck tightly to the Mark 4 armor.
Her legs gripped the armor's waist like iron pincers from behind. One hand, covered in fuses, grabbed the armor's neck, while the other—the one sparking with fire—was pressed firmly against the glowing Arc Reactor on Tony's chest.
"Jarvis! Fire! Blow her off!" Tony roared.
"Warning! Sir! You cannot fire!" Jarvis's warning voice exploded in his ear. "Target detected to be in an extremely unstable state! If you attack now, or use Impact, she might detonate instantly!"
"According to calculations, if she self-detonates at this distance, even with the Mark 4, your survival rate is still... 0%."
Tony froze.
He didn't dare move a muscle.
Where the girl's head had been, it had now turned into a streamlined black bomb.
Two rows of jagged fangs slowly opened, spewing hot steam, yet her voice remained as sweet as a young girl's:
"You see, Mr. Stark?"
The hideous bomb-head leaned close to Iron Man's faceplate, less than five centimeters away.
No breath, only the pungent smell of burning gunpowder.
"As long as I release even a little spark..."
"Or if your trembling finger moves just a bit..."
The claw pressed against the reactor suddenly tightened, making a metal-grinding sound:
"You and this pretty red dress of yours will melt together, turning into an inseparable mass of molten iron and flesh... Doesn't that sound romantic?"
"Then you'll truly be an Iron Man."
「villainess value +50」
「simulation value +80」
Lunatic.
This was a complete female lunatic!
Tony Stark's cold sweat instantly soaked the shirt on his back.
As a scientist who prioritized rationality, he wasn't afraid of those who didn't listen to reason; he was afraid of those who didn't care about their own lives!
Especially a bomber who wanted to blow herself up while hugging him!
The air froze for three seconds.
As the heat radiating from Reze grew higher and higher, the Mark 4's red alerts blared in unison.
"OK! OK! Calm down!" Tony suddenly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
Hiss— The faceplate opened instantly.
Tony Stark's face, which had been full of killing intent just a moment ago, instantly switched to a standard "Stark-style PR fake smile."
Although his forehead was covered in sweat.
"Um... Miss Creeper, I think young people these days are too impulsive. Is that good? It's not good."
"Why can't we sit down, have a cup of coffee, and talk business?"
Reze blinked, and the high heat on her body instantly faded, as if it had never been there.
She let go, hopped lightly off the armor, and transformed back into that well-behaved girl next door.
"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done this earlier?" She straightened her slightly messy short purple hair and reached out: "Two million, cash."
「villainess value +14」
Why did the price go up?
Tony suppressed the urge to complain and let out a long breath, feeling like he had just walked back from the gates of hell.
He stepped out of the armor, his movements a bit stiff.
"Two million, no problem. A very fair price." As Tony walked toward the safe, he couldn't help but look back at the purple-haired girl: "You know, cash is heavy and inconvenient to carry. Is a bank transfer okay? Or Stark Industries stock? Trust me, there's a lot of room for appreciation."
Su Modie certainly believed Tony's stock would appreciate, but she believed in Jarvis's abilities even more.
Taking stock or a transfer meant leaving a trail.
With Tony's technology, he could trace her main body through the network in minutes.
Of course, even without taking the stock, with Su Modie's current crude conditions, it was only a matter of time before Tony or S.H.I.E.L.D. found her.
It all depended on whether she could develop enough before being found so that these people couldn't do anything to her.
"No, I can just about carry two million." Reze interrupted Tony's sales pitch: "I only want cash. Old bills are best, and no sequential numbers.."
"Alright..." Tony opened the safe and busied himself for a while, finally lifting a heavy black travel bag with effort.
When he handed the money over, he didn't let go immediately but stared at Reze with a complex gaze: "By the way, although I know this might involve privacy... what on earth are you?"
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