I'm having a blast in Marvel!

Page 109

Chu Hang temporarily shelved the extremely tempting plan of [Dimensional Invasion] and picked up the pitch-black Dormammu energy crystal again.

He planned to analyze it carefully to see if this pure power of devouring and corruption could bring him a new, unorthodox approach to the path of multi-law fusion.

Meanwhile, in Malibu, California.

The atmosphere in Tony Stark's mansion was so tense it was almost palpable.

Pepper Potts, dressed in a smart business suit, was holding a stack of documents that needed his signature, his face etched with helplessness and exhaustion.

“Tony, you haven’t slept for three days straight.” She looked at the man who was frantically banging on a bunch of holographic projections, her voice tinged with a hint of pleading. “The war in New York is over. You have to move on.”

"I can't get over it!"

Tony whirled around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on her.

“You haven’t seen it, Pepper! You have no idea what that is! That damned wormhole, those endless alien armies! We almost died! And I, just a human in a metal shell! How could I protect you? How could I protect this world?”

His voice was sharp with emotion, filled with undisguised anxiety and a deep-seated fear. The Battle of New York had left an indelible scar on his mind.

"So you just lock yourself in here and keep building these metal lumps like a madman?" Pepper pointed to the rows of brand-new but cold steel armor in the workshop, from Mark 7 to Mark 42, like a row of soulless soldiers waiting for inspection.

“They’re not lumps of iron!” Tony roared hysterically. “They’re security! They’re the answer!”

The two had a heated argument and parted on bad terms.

Pepper placed the documents on the table in disappointment and turned to leave. The moment the door closed, Tony felt all his strength drain away, collapsing wearily onto the sofa.

When he closed his eyes, all he could see in his mind was that bottomless black wormhole and the lifeless gray face of the Chitauri.

A strong feeling of suffocation instantly gripped him.

He sprang up from the sofa, gasping for breath, the blue light from the arc reactor on his chest flashing rapidly, like a heart on the verge of collapse.

“Jarvis.” His voice was hoarse.

"Sir, I've always been here."

"Just... just activate any suit of armor and have it come over to keep me company."

"Okay, sir. Mark 42 is being deployed for you."

A moment later, the gold and red Mark 42 armored vehicle flew in from a distance and landed somewhat clumsily on the living room sofa with a loud "bang," causing the expensive leather sofa to sink deeply under its weight.

Tony turned to his side, curled up like a wounded child, and gently rested his head against the cold metal breastplate.

Chapter 128 Tony's Anxiety

Inside the underground base, the black crystal formed from the dark energy of Dormammu hung silently in mid-air.

Chu Hang stared at it as if it were an unsolvable Rubik's Cube.

He wanted to try to understand Dormammu's cosmic overlord-level energy.

But he failed; neither the super-powered photocopier on his body nor the several laws it possessed could analyze this energy.

He then tried to infuse his own cosmic energy into it to see if it would mix.

The result was like pouring a bucket of water into the Sahara Desert; the energy entered but remained stagnant, not even a bubble appeared. The crystal, instead, became even darker and denser.

"This is really difficult," Chu Hang cursed, and withdrew his hand.

Just then, the satellite phone supplied by Fred in my pocket rang. Encrypted line, untraceable.

A low-resolution, one-eyed dragon head icon popped up on the screen.

"Frey," Chu Hang answered the phone, his voice languid.

“Chen,” the voice on the other end of the phone was deep, with the roar of an engine in the background, “can you do me a favor?”

"I'm retired. I'm enjoying life, please don't disturb me."

“You said the same thing last time, and the next day you went to Harlem and wrestled with some big green guy.” Fury was clearly too lazy to waste words with him. “Stark is in trouble.”

He quickly summarized Tony Stark's current situation in a few words. After the fighting in New York, he went mad. He suffered from insomnia night after night, plagued by nightmares, locking himself in his studio, building metal shells like a madman. The latest model was already the Mark 42.

“He’s ruining himself, and Pepper Potts is almost driven crazy by him.” Fury’s tone was heavy, revealing a suppressed anger. “An out-of-control, mentally unstable Iron Man is more difficult to deal with than ten Lokis. He’s your major shareholder and, to a large extent, your friend. You should talk to him; it would be more effective than me sending ten psychologists over.”

Chu Hang leaned back in his chair and didn't say anything.

Tony Stark is a crucial piece in his future plans, and one of the few not-so-boring people he's met since arriving in this era. This piece can't just be wasted.

"Alright," Chu Hang finally spoke, "The reward."

“Speak,” Fury said curtly.

"Vibranium powder, 50 grams, purity over 99.9%. Ultra-pure Californium-252, 10 milligrams."

There was silence for about ten seconds on the other end of the phone. When Fury's voice came through again, it sounded like it had just been taken out of the freezer.

“You’re robbing people, Chen. Do you know what these things can do together? Wipe half of New York off the map.”

“I know. You don’t have to give it to me.” Chu Hang didn’t care at all. “Then wait and see a billionaire who has gone through a mental breakdown drive his dozens of battle suits, randomly select a lucky city in the sky, and set off a grand fireworks display.”

“…Deal.” Fury’s voice sounded like it was being squeezed out between clenched teeth. “Deliver it to your designated location within three days. Take care of Stark, and turn him back into that annoying but at least somewhat normal jerk.”

Chu Hang smiled and casually tossed the phone aside. He stood up, and the surrounding air distorted like ripples on water before his figure vanished instantly.

The next second, he appeared in a cliffside mansion in Malibu Beach, California.

The studio looked like it had been ransacked by a tornado. Empty energy drink cans, half-eaten pizza boxes, and all sorts of discarded parts and circuit boards were scattered all over the floor.

Tony Stark was slumped over the huge holographic control panel, his eyes bloodshot, his hair a mess like a bird's nest, his expression a mixture of excitement and dejection.

On the control panel was an extremely complex diagram of the human nervous and circulatory systems, upon which floated dense streams of biological data. A model of a miniature arc reactor was being virtually implanted into the diagram, next to the heart.

He is researching the prototype of the extinction virus. He wants to combine the technology of the arc reactor with biotechnology to directly extract energy from the human body and transform humans into bioenergy cores.

"It seems you are quite ill."

Chu Hang's voice rang out in the studio without warning.

Tony sprang up from his chair like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and the mechanical arm next to him extended its weapon module with a "whoosh" and aimed it at Chu Hang.

"Damn it! Couldn't you just go through the door once?" Tony gasped for breath, only letting out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Chu Hang. He then waved to the robotic arm.

"The door is too slow." Chu Hang pulled up a chair and sat down as if he were in his own home, pointing to the blueprints on the control panel. "Trying to turn yourself into a human bomb? Not a bad idea, very creative. But it won't work."

"You know nothing!" Tony waved his hand irritably and turned off the holographic projection. "I'm just preparing. The next time those alien bastards fall from the sky, I'll need even more power."

Tony paused for a moment, then said, "Next time, I don't want to see you going on a solo adventure into space."

“What you lack isn’t power, Tony.” Chu Hang looked at him and said something that hit the nail on the head. “What you lack is a sense of security.”

Tony was completely stunned.

"That battle in New York opened your eyes. You saw gods, monsters, and an endless alien army. In that bizarre world, the iron shell you were so proud of was as brittle as paper."

Chu Hang's voice was calm, as if he were talking about everyday matters.

"You're scared. Because for the first time you realize that you're no longer the predator at the top of the food chain. You're afraid you can't protect Pepper, you can't protect the world, and you can't even protect yourself. So you frantically build these metal shells, thinking that quantity can overcome quality. But you know better than anyone that even if you build a hundred, when the next enemy beyond your imagination comes, you'll still have to kneel."

Tony's breathing became rapid, and his face turned pale. He wanted to open his mouth to retort, to retaliate with a sarcastic joke, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.

Because everything Chu Hang said was correct.

"Then what should I do?" He slumped into the chair as if all his bones had been removed, his voice trembling slightly without him even realizing it. "I'm just a person."

"Me too," Chu Hang said calmly.

Tony looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“You’ve seen my abilities, Tony. I can tear through space, withstand nuclear bombs, and crush gods.” Chu Hang’s eyes were deep, like a starry sky hidden within them. “But I also feel fear. Because I know that this universe is bigger and more dangerous than you and I can imagine. Above me, there are even stronger beings. What we see is always just the tip of the iceberg.”

He stood up, walked over to Tony, and patted him hard on the shoulder.

"True security doesn't come from how many layers of armor you have. It comes from knowing your own capabilities. You've gone astray. Stop foolishly focusing on quantity; it's time to improve quality."

"Quality?" A glimmer of light finally appeared in Tony's eyes.

"Your armor is strong, but the materials are garbage," Chu Hang commented bluntly. "There's a metal, from outer space, that's the most molecularly stable substance in the known universe. Only a shell made from that metal deserves to be called armor."

"What metal?" Tony's eyes lit up completely, his tech geek instincts overriding his anxiety.

"Vibranium," Chu Hang uttered two words. "Go ask your one-eyed friend; he knows where to find it. But let me warn you, the little bit he has is probably only enough to make a pot lid."

Having been given a new technological goal, Chu Hang felt it wasn't enough. After some thought, he decided to add another layer of insurance for the star-crossed lovers.

Pepper was walking in with a cup of coffee when she saw Chu Hang suddenly appear. She was startled and almost dropped the cup.

"Don't be nervous, Miss Potts." Chu Hang smiled at her. "As a token of appreciation for Tony's hard work, here's a small gift for you, consider it your year-end bonus."

After saying that, before the two could react, he raised his right hand and tapped his fingertips lightly twice in the air.

A tiny golden glint, the size of a grain of rice, emerged from his fingertip, then split in two, like two slow-moving fireflies, flying into Tony and Pepper's chests respectively, flashing and disappearing without a trace.

Both of them subconsciously touched their chests, but felt nothing.

"What is this?" Tony immediately became alert. "Jarvis, scan me!"

“Sir, the scan results show that there are no foreign objects or abnormal energy fluctuations in your body.” Jarvis’s voice also sounded somewhat confused.

“A protective charm,” Chu Hang explained. “Magic. When you two are about to die, it will automatically deploy a spatial shield that will protect you for five seconds. Remember, it’s only once; once it’s used, it’s gone.”

Magic? A spatial shield?

Tony's mind was completely blank. He understood quantum physics, he understood celestial energy, but this stuff was entirely beyond his comprehension. He couldn't analyze it, couldn't understand it, and certainly couldn't replicate it. This feeling was driving him crazy.

Just as he was about to press for an explanation of the underlying principles of this unscientific contraption, Chu Hang's expression suddenly changed.

He turned his head slightly, his brows furrowing, as if listening to some distant sound.

A voice that was distant, urgent, yet incredibly familiar seemed to have traversed countless light-years and penetrated countless dimensions, ringing directly in his mind.

The voice carried the lingering power of thunder and an undisguised anxiety.

"Chu Hang, Asgard needs your help!"

Chapter 125 A Cry for Help from Asgard

A voice exploded in Chu Hang's mind.

The sound didn't reach his ears; it was pure will, mixed with the noise of thunder and the tearing of metal, traversing an immeasurable distance and crashing directly into his consciousness.

The scene then surged in, fragmented, and chaotic.