"Heavy breathing, interspersed with a few coughs due to rapid breathing, echoed.
Tony's face remained pale, and his deep breaths brought a hint of colour to his cheeks. Previously, each breath had caused pain in his chest, but that seemed to be gone now.
"Thank you," Tony said.
Tony's body gradually returned to normal, and he leaned on the wall for support as he made his way towards the underground laboratory.
"Where are you going?" Kurumi frowned. Although she knew the answer, she still asked instinctively.
Tony glanced at her and took a deep breath. "Stane took the reactor from my chest. Pepper is in danger."
"Good luck," Pepper replied.
Tony managed to muster a smile. "I'll treat you to a big meal when I return."
With that, Tony created a hole in his luxurious villa once again.
"Clang."
The sound of high heels on tiles echoed. Kurumi lowered her eyelids as she sensed someone approaching through her psychic abilities. She wore a slight smile and disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace of footprints on the floor.
Finally, when the last corner of her clothing vanished completely, Colonel Rhodes rushed in!
"Tony!"
He looked around but couldn't find Stark. Just as he headed towards the basement, Rhodes noticed a pleasant fragrance. In his opinion, if there weren't a hint of perfume in Stark's villa, it would be strange, given Tony's playboy reputation.
Aboard the Helicarrier in the top-level office.
Kurumi sat in her chair, looking down from this angle. She could see Stark and Stane locked in their intense battle. She held a glass, but it wasn't filled with wine; she didn't particularly like the taste of it.
Even aged wine with numerous awards didn't beautifully stimulate her taste buds.
"Boom!"
Stane's Iron Monger was an entirely violent creation. Unlike Tony's flashy style, it prioritised practicality while satisfying Stane's aesthetics.
Pepper could sense that Tony's chest reactor was running out of energy.
Initially developed in a dirty environment as a makeshift replacement, it had to support the high-intensity "Mark" armour combat. If Tony had a choice, he wouldn't have risked it.
In Kurumi's eyes, if the energy of Stane's Iron Monger could be compared to the sun, Tony's "Mark" was like the faint moonlight.
Unfortunately, Iron Monger couldn't effectively harness the "sun's" energy, which was why the battle had dragged on for so long.
Shaking her head and finishing the juice in her glass, Kurumi couldn't help but smile as she watched Tony save a car from being crushed by Stane.
"Master, I must remind you. Weren't you planning to deal with Stane personally? Make his soul burn to ashes in hell as his repentance for offending you?"
She stared at Iron Monger, and Stane inside seemed to shiver. Tony took this opportunity to break free from his control.
"Never mind, I'm not interested anymore."
The projection of the Crimson Queen fell silent, and if there were a description of her mood, it would probably be a ":|" floating above her head.
The battle between the two became more intense. Tony remembered how he had frozen his suit at high altitudes before. Carrying Iron Monger, he flew into the sky!
Right past Kurumi.
Korso took this opportunity to evacuate with Kurumi. His mission, as assigned by the director, was to protect her, and winning favour with Tony seemed like a good idea.
Pepper looked up at the sky, squinting her eyes. In the darkness and cloud cover, she could only see two tiny figures embracing each other like reunited lovers.
If Kurumi ever found out about this description, her face would probably turn as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Master."
"What now?"
Kurumi turned her head and saw Red Queen drawing circles with her index fingers, looking embarrassed. "According to your information, the cloud computing base has already provided the simulated results for what comes next."
"Oh," Kurumi responded without much interest.
"But I feel I have to remind you..."
"Just say it."
Red Queen straightened her face and said thoughtfully, "The point where Iron Monger will crash has been estimated to be directly above the A.I.M. headquarters. If the calculations are correct, it will crash right in front of you."
"What does that mean?"
"After the reactor explosion, there is a 67% chance of causing damage to the A.I.M. headquarters."
Kurumi's eyes widened. "Meow, meow, meow?"
"In the movies, it doesn't happen like this!"
"So, it's a movie." Red Queen replied seriously.
Kurumi pinched her chin, looking uncertain. "What happens next?"
"It will just delay progress and require precautions against a possible second outbreak of the 'Phil virus.'"
Kurumi nodded, pushed open the office door, and instantly appeared at the top of the A.I.M. headquarters.
Yes, at the tip of the tower.
Just as she looked up, she saw the frost-covered Iron Monger hurtling towards her!
She couldn't help but twitch her lips. It seemed that Red Queen had been right; why did she always end up in these frustrating situations?
She had only wanted to stand on the sidelines.
With a thought, the chain with the Four Souls Jade hanging around her neck floated up, emitting a faint starlight.
When she opened her eyes again, various screens had loaded in front of her.
She casually took hold of the control arm, and a plethora of information appeared before her eyes.
It gave her a headache just looking at it.
This was a modified IS military model based on the IS Silver Gospel.
Of course, only the full-body armour part was included.
In the world of IS, the mechs that the main characters wore, exposing their bodies, made her imagination wild.
Was it because the budget was embezzled somewhere? Otherwise, why wouldn't there be full body armour?
Don't talk about "absolute defence." After all, that thing also had its limits!
It must be some officials' corrupt practices at work. They probably claimed it was to learn from the IS World Tournament, emphasising the added aesthetics.
Wasn't that just nonsense? Why did Shinonono Tabane also give her sister the same type of armour?
Because she's a sis-con! Think about her sister's figure, that...
Just as she was lost in thought, Stane finally adjusted to Iron Monger. Unlike Tony, he didn't have the assistance of an artificial intelligence like J.A.R.V.I.S., so he was struggling.
However, he saw a peculiar mech before him just as he took control of the suit's vision. Overall, it was even more significant than his Iron Monger! It exuded an even stronger presence!
"What the hell is this?" Stane was baffled, and just as he was confused, he saw the strange mech extend its arm behind it."