Chapter 98 The Tenth Day

As Pepper Potts gazed upon Tony Stark’s “Iron Arm,” she couldn’t help but furrow her brow and ask, “Tony, didn’t you tell me you don’t make weapons anymore?”

“This isn’t a weapon,” Tony replied. “It’s a flight stability device with no destructive power.”

Before he could finish speaking, a loud boom echoed through the room as a pillar of energy burst from the palm of his “Iron Arm.” The wall in front of him was instantly blown open and the force of the reaction sent Tony flying backward, knocking over an array of equipment before he crashed to the ground.

“That’s not what I was expecting…” Tony muttered as he lay there.

Obadiah Stane had rushed to New York to deliver two pieces of bad news to Tony Stark. First, the stock of Stark Industries had plummeted 56 points, and the outlook was bleak. Second, the board of directors of Stark Group had stripped Tony of his decision-making authority, citing emotional trauma, and removed him from management.

Tony, of course, refused to accept this and Obadiah offered to help if Tony would share the shrinking technology of the Ark Reactor. Tony rejected the offer and the two went their separate ways.

On the seventh day, Tony Stark created another “energy-emitting Iron Arm,” using his Ark Reactor as the core and a pair of Iron Arms and Iron Boots as the foundation to construct a complete flight system. He also used data he had collected to conduct numerous simulated tests.

On the eighth day, eager to try out his new creation, Tony donned the Iron Boots and Iron Arms and performed a live experiment after completing the necessary safety checks.

“Be careful, take it slow, no joking around…let’s start with a one percent thrust, ready, three, two, one…”

In the underground garage serving as a temporary testing site, Tony adopted a pose with slightly bent legs and palms facing downward. As he counted down, bright white flames burst forth from his hands and feet, propelling him off the ground. The thrust from his hands allowed him to stabilize his balance and make slight adjustments to his flight direction, avoiding a repeat of his first attempt where he flipped over.

After getting a bit of practice, Tony landed back on the ground and increased the thrust for another try: “One more time, increase thrust to 2.5%, three, two, one…”

Tony Stark soared over a meter high, carelessly flitting around the garage. He ended up ruining the paint on several cars before crashing back down to earth with a thud, muttering to himself in satisfaction, “There we go, I can fly.”

“$hit! Why did I have to say that out loud…”

On the ninth day, Tony Stark began building the main body and headgear of the Iron Man suit. With the core and foundations already in place, and the flight system fully functional, the rest was a breeze for him.

On the evening of the tenth day, a shimmering silver Iron Man stood in the center of the garage. It was the fully completed Mark II suit. Tony Stark’s voice boomed through the external speakers, “Jarvis, are you there?”

In the built-in headphones, Jarvis’ electronic voice responded smoothly, “At your service, sir.”

“Import all optimization programs.”

“Right away, sir.”

“I think it’s ready now, what do you think?”

“Programs uploaded, sir. We are ready.”

“Check the surface control devices.”

“Understood.”

As the shimmering silver metal of the suit glided and flipped open for the automatic inspection, Jarvis’ voice resounded once more: “Inspection complete. Please prepare to cut power for further diagnostic measures.”

“About that… I’ve changed my mind. Could you check the weather forecast and air traffic control, and start listening for ground instructions?”

“Mr. Stark, we have a significant amount of calculations to complete before we can truly commence flight.”

“Jarvis, sometimes you have to start running before you learn how to walk.”

“… “

After Tony Stark silenced Jarvis with a paradox, he straightened his body within the Iron Man suit, half-extending his arms and placing his palms on the ground. “Ready?” he asked, “Three, two, one…”

A dazzling white flame erupted from the soles of the Iron Man’s feet and palms, lifting Tony Stark off the ground. He leaned forward and soared towards the inclining garage tunnel, propelled by the burning jet thrust.

Tony Stark’s inaugural flight was unlike anything Saint had ever experienced. As he soared through the air, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of exhilaration wash over him. His armor scraped against the walls of the garage passageway as he burst out of the mansion and into the night sky, leaving behind a trail of sparks as he accelerated at lightning-fast speeds.

Before he knew it, Tony had mastered the art of fine-tuning his flight direction through the movements of his arms. He deftly navigated the coast of New Jersey, his movements as graceful as those of a professional fighter pilot. As he reached the brightly lit city of New York, he pulled off a series of acrobatic aerial maneuvers that left onlookers in awe.

It was as if Jarvis’ super assist had triggered a miraculous chemical reaction with Tony’s natural talent, propelling him to new heights. “It feels like a dream,” Tony thought to himself as he soared through the air, his senses heightened by the rush of adrenaline.

Just as Tony Stark let out a despairing cry, Saint watched in disbelief as a dazzling beam of light shot up from the bustling city below, slicing through the floor beneath him and passing through him before disappearing into the ceiling above…

“Dammit!”

Saint cursed in Chinese. Without even checking the basement, he knew that the three cube energy blocks had surely been extinguished. Scanning again with his sense of breath, he detected the air of a normal person flying at breakneck speed in the sky above his head. Without even needing to closely identify the characteristics of the air, he knew it had that grandson Tony…

You did this on purpose, didn’t you?