After returning home, Happy reminded Merlin to stay safe before driving away. Due to the transformation of Stark Industries, the company's stock price had skyrocketed after the building was rebuilt. As a result, Stark and Pepper were busier than ever. Pepper was managing the company's affairs, while Stark was holed up in his villa, focused on studying the Cybertronian AllSpark.
After the war, most of the Decepticons, including Starscream, had fled the scene early. Only Brawl (due to his bulky tank form) was left behind and torn apart by Iron Monger and the others. Merlin had released his AllSpark during the chaos. Stark, of course, bought the AllSpark from the R-Star Mall. Having already sold his Arc Reactor, Stark was likely looking for new ways to invest his wealth. Recently, he had been working from home, likely trying to solve the problem of palladium poisoning.
Although palladium solved the largest issue of cold nuclear fusion, it caused severe health problems when embedded in the body, leading to palladium poisoning. Stark was probably hoping to find a new element or develop alternative energy sources by studying the energy contained within the AllSpark.
When Merlin opened the door to his home, he noticed everything was clean and tidy—someone must have taken care of it during his month-long absence. Grabbing a bottle of Coke, Merlin sat on the sofa and turned on his computer, starting to think about how to integrate androids into his plans.
Just then, a notification popped up—a new email from Hammer Industries.
Ding!
*[Hey, Merlin, I heard you've been discharged from the hospital. Are you interested in attending the Monaco Formula 1 race next week?]*
The Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco is one of the four most famous circuits in the world, using city streets as its track. It's also the shortest F1 circuit, featuring the iconic tunnel and the slowest corners, requiring immense skill. Winning this race is a dream for many racing drivers.
Merlin, seeing this email, immediately sensed Hammer's ulterior motives.
Originally, after Stark shut down his weapons business, Hammer Industries had the perfect opportunity to become the leader in the military-industrial sector. With the surge in defense weapons orders, they seemed poised for success. However, when Stark revealed his identity as Iron Man, Hammer Industries found themselves struggling again—especially with the rise of cold fusion energy technology.
Not long ago, Justin Hammer had lobbied Congress, hoping to force Stark into handing over his Iron Man suit technology by means of moral condemnation. Instead, he was humiliated in court, with all the embarrassing details of Hammer Industries' failed attempts to develop mechanical armor exposed.
When Merlin saw Justin Hammer's email invitation, an idea struck him. If he was concerned about producing bionic humans, this could be his solution. Merlin quickly replied to Hammer, agreeing to attend the Monaco event. Solving the issue of bionic humans would also pave the way for mass-producing satellites and weapons vehicles.
"Huh... What do we have here..." Merlin mused. "Hey, hey, hey..." He thought excitedly. The potential of bionic technology couldn't be wasted.
He swiftly began modeling on his computer. Characters like Rem, King Da Mao, 02, Nezuko, and Esdeath flashed across his screen. However, for now, he set aside the professional chips.
Ding!
Just as Merlin was finalizing one of his plans, another pop-up window appeared on his screen. This time, it was a muted notification—indicating something had happened offline.
Los Santos? Recently, the offline platform had been expanding toward Los Angeles, but it hadn't yet recruited any players, focusing solely on exploration.
Merlin clicked on the notification and a surveillance video opened. It showed a relatively remote street at night. The area was eerily silent, with no one in sight.
At that moment, a dark figure suddenly shot out, only to fall to the ground as if struck by a powerful blow. Merlin leaned in closer to his screen, intrigued by the figure's true identity.
"Xenomorph?" he murmured.
On the screen, a creature resembling a Tyrannosaurus rex walked on two legs. Its entire body had a skeletal, steel-like structure, with exposed teeth and a long skull that extended down its back. Sharp claws, bone spurs, and a tail that resembled a layered whip made it a natural killing machine. The sudden halt in its movement was caused by a large humanoid figure emerging from the shadows—a Predator. Wearing a simple, bloodstained mask and exuding the aura of a savage hunter, the Predator confronted the Xenomorph.
The two creatures clashed like wild beasts, and after a brutal fight, the Predator emerged victorious, tearing off the Xenomorph's head.
Boom!
Zizzizi... The surveillance camera was destroyed, and the screen went black.
"Hmm... an unexpected bonus!" Merlin said excitedly, gazing at the still frames of the Xenomorph and Predator. "Sol, keep tracking and see if there are any other Xenomorphs. It would be even better if you can locate their lair."
Although Merlin wasn't too concerned about the Predator, the appearance of the Xenomorphs piqued his interest. Their presence added a sense of urgency to his plans. He immediately shifted his focus to designing his own Transformer armor. This time, he planned to upgrade Arcee, but instead of altering her original form, he aimed to expand her size and enhance her engine, transforming her into a Gundam-like figure.
He envisioned achieving a seamless connection between human and machine, and without delay, Merlin began drafting the blueprints based on the ideas racing through his mind.
-----
Hope you enjoyed
Stay Safe and comment your thoughts
Get advance chapter in my Patreon:patreon.com/Asriel_sain