Tony, after John's 'thoughtful' comfort, found his originally mild anxiety becoming even more severe.
Coupled with the recent, constant terrorist propaganda from the Mandarin, he became even more engrossed in making Iron Man suits.
It must be said that Tony has extraordinary qualities to become Iron Man.
For example, his liver is truly excellent.
Sleeping for one or two hours, running until he's dry heaving during the day, and still having the energy to build Iron Man suits at home while also researching Chitauri technology.
Even a 'Liver Emperor' would feel their knees buckle and kneel before such dedication.
Tony didn't sleep after waking up; he walked into the underground laboratory and started building Iron Man suits.
Only he could treat this kind of thing as a pastime to alleviate anxiety, building armor in a money-burning fashion.
Pepper didn't know about this; Tony, this master of time management, was always able to conceal his anxiety well.
In the midst of his retaliatory Iron Man suit production, the year was also gradually coming to an end.
In the laboratory, Tony held an injection gun, biting down on a towel as he injected micro-sensors into his arm.
"Micro-sensor installation complete."
"As you wish, sir," the thoughtful butler Jarvis introduced, "I have also prepared a safety briefing for you to ignore."
Wiping the bloodstain off his arm with the towel, Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course I'll ignore it."
"Alright, let's begin."
Tony had the robotic arm DUM-E, wearing a special 'idiot' hat, sweep the floor clean.
He even practiced a set on a wooden dummy as he passed by.
"Sir, you haven't rested for 72 hours," Jarvis expressed his concern.
Tony walked to the center of the laboratory, where numerous models of Iron Man suits were displayed.
He called this place the 'delivery room', where he 'delivered' new Iron Man suits.
He was going to test the latest one.
Mark 42.
If Ivan knew this iteration speed, he would probably question his life.
In just over half a year, he went from Mark 6 to Mark 42.
This was a level of productivity that even a sow couldn't match.
Compared to Ivan, who was still painstakingly hand-crafting his Fighter Armor Mark 3, Tony was completely showcasing the ugly face of a fully automated production line.
Standing on the platform, Tony struck a summoning pose.
Compared to Mark 6, Mark 42 not only added the micro-sensors that could be implanted in the arm but also set up gesture control, allowing the suit to be controlled in multiple ways.
Summoning, disassembling, attacking, remote control...
One gesture to solve all problems.
Tony struck the pose, but there was no reaction. He resorted to his universal method for dealing with equipment.
He tapped the micro-sensor inside his arm twice.
There was a reaction.
The Mark 42 arm component placed on the desktop flew towards him. He reached out and caught it, completing the installation on his left hand.
Next came the shoulder pad, completing the suit coverage on one arm.
He then extended his right hand, summoning the right arm suit component to cover it.
After two successful attempts, Tony, somewhat carried away, was overflowing with confidence. "Alright, bring it all over."
At his command, the full set of Mark 42 suit components flew towards him.
The speed was too fast, leaving Tony extremely flustered. The crotch piece of the suit even almost ended the Stark lineage forever.
"Slow down the speed a bit." After Tony reduced the speed, he was finally able to catch them.
He caught the faceplate with a cool Superhero landing pose.
Just as he was about to admire his new suit, a suit component flew in from behind, causing him to completely disassemble, spin, and land face down on the ground.
Jarvis uncharitably spoke up, "Watching you work is always my greatest pleasure."
Well, 72 hours without rest was starting to take its toll even on Iron Man.
Just as he was about to rest, wiping the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth and sitting on the sofa, he saw the Mandarin's terrorist propaganda.
Music with a terrifying atmosphere, coupled with colors and visuals full of Death.
This video had hacked into all channels.
"Thirty-nine hours ago, the U.S. military's Ariosalim Air Force Base was attacked."
"Yes, that's right, I did it."
"An ancient military church filled with women and children."
"At the time, the soldiers were out on exercise."
"The warriors were not present."
"President Ellis, you have consistently refused to accept my teachings... Now, you can only obediently listen."
Tony sat on the sofa, the light from the video hitting his face, his expression serious.
He stared at the Mandarin in the video, looking at that aged face.
He fell into deep thought.
Tony was not John; his deep thought wasn't about commenting on how professional the other party's filming technique was.
Instead, it was about the Mandarin and his terrorist attacks.
At the end of the video, the explosions and the soldiers' shouts faded away.
President Ellis, who was called out by name, also responded to this video.
Using his own method.
Introducing a new character.
Iron Patriot.
Hmm, that's War Machine.
Changed the color, painted with America's red and blue.
This strongly made people suspect if it was a tribute to Captain America.
It was a bit ridiculous; it could be seen that the New York War had a significant impact on them.
The government's intention to create a new Superhero was very clear.
Previously, Rhodes had traveled abroad to combat terrorist forces; now, it was just a return to his old job, with a name change on the side.
At least when John saw this news, he thought it was good news.
This meant that the Secretary of State and the President had discussed the Superhero era.
"They're starting to think about what truly matters, instead of focusing on things like whether someone is foreign or not."
Hattie heard John's words.
She was certain that John was definitely mocking the name Iron Patriot.
"Why didn't he just change his name to Iron Captain?" John pushed the signed document aside. "A tribute to Iron Man and Captain America."
There was a knock, and Dr. Helen walked in.
She was here to deliver a report.
"He showed no rejection. We re-tested him, and his physical ability has increased threefold."
Dax had recovered. With the help of the Regeneration Cradle, Dax, who now had a new spine, felt his body was so strong for the first time.
Although he had left Taran Industries, he still came back every night for check-ups to prevent any accidents.
After a month of continuous check-ups, Dax had gotten used to the changes this spine brought him.
Hearing this, John picked up the report. That spine was made using vibranium and the limited stock of Adamantium alloy.
For this, he even took two scraps from the Destroyer and fused them. The three metals were used to create a Super Spine with the Regeneration Cradle.
The strength of that thing was so immense that even if Thor's spine were pulled out, it wouldn't be as strong.
With this thing supporting his body, coupled with the runes John added for him, Dax's strength advanced by leaps and bounds.
He was no longer the Night Ghost he used to be.
Looking at the data points and his body's resistance to attacks.
Dax benefited from his misfortune. Now, while he couldn't tear Iron Man apart with his bare hands, he could at least withstand a few explosions and then rush over to punch Tony a few times.
"I think he can't wait to get revenge." John picked up another document; this was the information about Killian that had been investigated during this period.
He planned to hand this person over to Dax to deal with.
It wasn't just revenge but also a form of training.
The weapons department had already remade a new battlesuit for Dax.
The new battlesuit had upgraded materials based on the original.
Furthermore, brand new vibranium weapons were prepared for him.
If Dax were to encounter Extremis Soldiers now, it would be a slaughter.
As Dax put on his battlesuit in Stark Tower, Pepper was meeting with a former colleague.
"Pepper."
"Killian?"
Looking at the completely transformed Killian, Pepper couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.
In her impression, Killian was still stuck with the image of long hair and being a bit sloppy.
But the current Killian was completely different from before.
Killian smiled at her, with calculation and a hidden possessiveness in his eyes.
"You look really good."
Hearing Killian's words, Pepper reacted, "Oh my gosh, you look good too, I..."
This situation had the feeling of seeing someone in a completely new light after several years of separation.
Behind Pepper, Stark's head of security, the former Iron Man bodyguard Happy, sensed a hint of crisis for his boss.
A guy who was rich, good-looking, and always wanted to ask his boss's woman out had appeared.
Staring at Killian with vigilant eyes, he felt it was necessary to inform his boss.
Guard against fire, guard against theft, and guard against the other guy.
Killian had come with a purpose.
His former subordinate Savin had died on the street.
This made him realize that he needed to keep a low profile. He didn't know who killed Savin, but the soldiers transporting the Black Sky later gave him a guess.
Perhaps it was Daredevil, or maybe it was Night Ghost.
It must be said that he didn't suspect John.
John hadn't shown his face among the citizens during the New York War, and they didn't know who caused that terrifying sky phenomenon either.
The importance of information was highlighted.
Killian was preparing to take a different approach to complete his Ultimate Creature.
For example, by borrowing the brain of a certain smart person to complete it.
***********
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