Chapter 189 - CHAPTER 189:Products That Change War

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"Human common sense..." Hubby murmured, her expression tinged with confusion as she fell into deep thought.

Despite having absorbed vast amounts of information from the internet, much of it defied her mechanical logic, forged by the principles of Jikai.

"If you can't understand it yet, don't force it." Shen He gently pinched Hubby's soft cheek, his voice kind. "Understanding emotions—understanding people—takes time."

The feeling he got when holding Hubby resembled what he felt with Violet, yet the two were fundamentally different. Violet behaved like a loyal, well-trained pet, responding to affection and discipline. She was gradually learning basic human norms. But Hubby—she was more complex. According to Chaldea's original design records, for her to grasp the concept of a "heart," it required not logic, but the experience of overwhelming emotion.

And that… would take time.

"…Alright. I understand," Hubby finally replied with a gentle nod, choosing to fall silent and stopping her barrage of questions.

After a fair amount of effort, Shen He escorted both Hubby and Violet back to their respective quarters. Only then did he return to his own room, where Jeanne was already waiting. He lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist as they rested together.

It was late, but he felt no sleepiness at all.

His mind was still occupied with what Lelouch had said earlier. If they wanted to roll out the virtual world on a global scale… what would the Marvel Universe become?

The virtual world wasn't just a playground for games or fantasy entertainment. Mishandled, it could end up fundamentally redirecting the path of an entire civilization.

Back then, he hadn't even discussed this with Tony.

They all assumed it would be a long-term vision—nothing immediate.

And truthfully, neither Shen He nor Tony had been overly invested in humanity's collective technological advancement. The Marvel Universe, unlike other universes governed by structured laws, thrived on individual power. Civilization, no matter how refined or efficient, had historically played a limited role in confronting world-ending crises. Even a super-advanced race could fall to a single cosmic threat.

After all, entire civilizations—thousands of years ahead in development—had still been crushed by Thanos.

But—

A strange glimmer passed through Shen He's eyes.

This world's fundamental structure might favor superpowered individuals over technology or systems—but Chaldea was not of this world.

It was an anomaly. A miracle. Its core came from outside the Marvel reality. If harnessed correctly, it could provide a path forward. A different path.

The truths behind magic… the origin of parallel realities… the secrets of the Infinity Stones…

They were all threads in something larger.

Still, he reminded himself—rushing things would ruin them.

The night passed peacefully, warmed by Jeanne's soft breathing beside him. As morning light filtered in, he opened his eyes to the sound of her gentle voice, waking him with a kiss. With a full heart and fresh resolve, Shen He rose to begin a new day.

And first on the schedule—was a meeting.

Only Tony Stark and Coulson were invited.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Shen He said as he poured himself tea, his tone serious as he looked at them. "With humanity's current tech level and military strength, we can't resist alien civilizations."

Tony and Coulson nodded slightly. This wasn't news.

"Take the Chitauri invasion," Shen He continued. "We had the power to stop them—but the world, as a whole, was still under threat. Why?"

The answer was obvious. Coulson and Tony exchanged glances—they understood.

The common people—their people—were too weak.

There were too few heroes to shield everyone.

"If I revealed the design specs for my Iron Man suits…" Tony frowned, "Would it be possible to mass-produce a global Iron Army?"

"It's possible," Coulson quipped dryly. "But knowing how the world works, I'd bet Chaldea would be the first one targeted by it."

"Not just that," Tony said, shaking his head grimly. "Humanity would self-destruct. I've already seen it once—my uncle sold my weapons to terrorists. That's when I decided. I would never let my creations fall into the wrong hands."

As one of the world's wealthiest men—and a futurist—Tony understood this bitter truth all too well. Just as he did in the original timeline, when he backed the Superhero Registration Act.

Men like Steve Rogers could fight endlessly for freedom, for ideals—but Tony knew better.

Unchecked freedom was a lie. Without structure, without accountability, chaos would only escalate. The schism between governments and heroes would grow until it spiraled into war.

But Shen He… brought another path.

"You won't hand over your weapons," Shen He said quietly, his eyes locked on Tony's. "Because you know they'll never reach the people who need them most."

"In America, citizens are allowed to own guns," he continued. "The logic is to use violence to suppress violence. But when an alien army comes—when actual 'violence' descends on them—how many civilians can even lift a gun and stand up to fight?"

Tony's brow furrowed. "You're suggesting… I give my armor to civilians?"

He immediately shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. Not everyone who wears armor becomes a hero. If one of those suits falls into terrorist hands, it's over."

He wasn't wrong. Shen He's suggestion sounded like madness. Even if the suits were given to the military, most soldiers couldn't use them to their fullest potential—let alone civilians.

But Shen He just smiled faintly.

"Tony, do you remember that day?" he asked. "Those militia groups who fought back during the invasion—led by Jeanne d'Arc?"

Tony's expression froze.

"Ordinary people do have courage," Shen He said calmly. "All they lack… is training."

"Of course I remember." Tony sighed, throwing up his hands as if conceding. "You're not trying to sell me something—so I know you must have a plan. Just lay it on me."

With what he knew of Shen He, there was no way he'd call this kind of urgent meeting unless something concrete was already in motion. He wasn't one to deal in hypotheticals.

"The answer is the virtual world," Shen He replied without hesitation. It was a plan he'd deliberated over deeply the night before.

"Through the virtual world, we can train civilians—grant them a form of power that's controllable. Tony, can we let people control real-world armor through the virtual realm? Is it technically feasible? What's the unit cost for mass-producing mechanical armor on your current digital infrastructure? How strong is the average citizen's desire to personally take revenge on alien invaders? Or perhaps more critically—what is the ideological cornerstone behind ordinary citizens possessing weapons in your country?"

Each of Shen He's questions struck Tony like a direct blow.

He was no fool. Shen He had already brought things this far—he immediately grasped the full scope of what Shen He was proposing.

"We'll need to create a neural-signal synchronization converter for the armor interface," Tony said, abruptly standing and pacing across the living room.

"You're a genius," Shen He grinned. "Isn't that the easy part for someone like you?"

"We'll also need an impenetrable server backend. Something even I can't hack." Tony's eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration.

"Jarvis fits that bill." Shen He shrugged casually.

"The government might try to shut us down," Tony warned, already envisioning the legal barriers ahead.

"Your Constitution is our best armor," Shen He replied confidently, brushing the concern aside.

"River, you're brilliant!" Tony exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. He dialed Pepper. "Pepper! Prep the board—Stark Industries might be rebooting the weapons division!"

"What?!"

Pepper's shocked voice barely registered before Tony ended the call, already too excited to explain.

"Perfect. Let's talk specifics—process flow, infrastructure, logistics. I want this launched yesterday."

In Shen He's vision, Tony saw something even greater than just protecting Earth. He saw a future Earth: brilliant, radiant, unshakable.

That conversation lasted two days.

Although the timing and conditions felt favorable, there were still numerous intricacies to work through, especially if they hoped to avoid open conflict. During those two days, the Chitauri Legion reorganized in orbit and launched another large-scale assault. Their target was, once again, the Tesseract.

In the end, their mission was only half-successful.

That's because the site housing the Tesseract—Stark Industries—was guarded in rotation by three Chaldean agents.

While most of Manhattan fell into Chitauri hands, the area around Stark Industries stood strong. The aliens hadn't resumed their global advance, instead concentrating their forces into a compact zone.

The human military, by contrast, was outmatched. Chaldea lacked the manpower for a full-scale defense. Every time Shen He tried to summon reinforcements from the Chaldean headquarters, the Chitauri pulled back into orbit. The invasion was becoming a game of attrition. It was clear: Earth was being cornered by sheer numbers and time.

The public grew increasingly disillusioned with the military's performance.

Their firepower and tactics failed to even match the lone effort of the Black Bolt, who stood tall in the battlefield. With a single sustained scream, he sealed off the alien drop corridor for three hours—space itself littered with enemy remains.

Even nuclear force proved ineffective.

Two high-yield nuclear warheads were launched at the Chitauri mothership just days into the renewed assault—an act that stunned Shen He. In the original timeline—the cinematic one—such a strike had destroyed the mothership and ended the war.

But reality wasn't a film. This time, the Chitauri intercepted the nukes effortlessly using dual laser turrets. Not even a fragment reached the hull. Clearly, they'd analyzed Earth's capabilities and adapted. They now understood what a "nuclear bomb" meant—and neutralizing it was simple with their tech.

The myth of a surprise nuclear victory was just that—a myth.

Shen He noticed even more discrepancies when compared to the narrative of the original Avengers battle.

For instance, the Chitauri army appeared to lack any WMDs of their own. They held no equivalent to nukes or orbital beam cannons.

Furthermore, despite controlling a section of Manhattan, they didn't bother establishing fortified military positions. No bunkers, no shields. They arranged themselves in old-school phalanx formations—like something out of a medieval siege.

It reminded Shen He of that last movie he'd seen before all this—the one where Wakanda's warriors clashed with Thanos's forces in chaotic melee, hand-to-hand.

Something about it just felt...off.

Still, Shen He welcomed this bizarre status quo. If the Chitauri were too easily defeated, the world would never buy into his plan. Victory needed to feel out of reach.

Then came the seventh day of the invasion.

Faced with mounting pressure, some government officials began to shift blame. They accused Iron Man of hoarding technology. According to their narrative, the military couldn't hold the line because Stark Industries wouldn't share their Iron Legion.

Their argument was simple: the Iron Legion's combat efficacy far exceeded that of conventional military assets. Stark's refusal to arm the government, they claimed, was sabotaging humanity's survival.

This outcry wasn't spontaneous—it was orchestrated. Tony had confided in several well-connected members of Congress. And now, politicians hungry for power were weaponizing it to corner him.

Chaldea's growing influence had already rattled several power blocs. And naturally, some saw Tony's armor as the only way to regain leverage.

Unsurprisingly, the tactic worked.

The Iron Legion had been instrumental in protecting civilians. Survivors owed their lives to the suits. Mass-produced units had outperformed fighter jets and tanks.

So, the public began to wonder—what if this technology was mass-distributed?

Hope began to bloom.

To control the narrative, Shen He leaned into his virtual reality company's media division. They launched a global campaign behind the scenes to shape public opinion in their favor.

The World Council caught wind of it. But since the resulting pressure played into their hands, they allowed it to snowball. If Tony could be pressured into licensing his tech—even partially—it would tip the power scales back toward Earth's bureaucracies.

It was the perfect manipulation of the information gap.

With the world watching Iron Man's armor with growing anticipation, Stark Industries and Virtual Reality Corp announced a joint product launch.

Before the event, Tony made a bold public statement through his personal channels:

"This product will change the war. It's the first step toward an Earth that can defend itself—without relying on gods or alien tech."

Despite Tony's usual bravado, his inventions had never disappointed. Even the skeptical held their breath.

Pre-launch rumors exploded.

Whispers spread that Stark Industries would re-open its military division.

The world was ready.

And so, on that day, Shen He and Tony Stark stepped onto the stage together for the first time.

Both wore suits. Shen He, dressed in sleek black with polished shoes and neatly styled hair, for once eschewed his Chaldean robes. His demeanor was calm, confident, eyes sharp with clarity.

Tony grabbed the mic.

"People," he began, flashing a smile, "I know what you're waiting for. Usually at these launches, I'd bring out the dancing girls and lights—but we're at war. So today, we're skipping the theatrics and going straight to the game-changer: a new war machine, co-developed by Stark Industries and Virtual Reality Corp!"

Spotlights flared.

From beneath the stage, two devices rose slowly into view.

One was a fully-armed humanoid exosuit—sleek, bristling with energy weapons and AI-linked sensors. The other was a sleek pod—shaped like a cryo-chamber—wired with neural-sync conduits.

A new era was about to begin.

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