As the smoke of battle faded, only the yawning chasm and a field strewn with the lifeless remains of the insectoid horde remained. Human warriors moved among the bodies, clearing the battlefield and confirming the extermination of all hostile creatures.
Nearby, a group of reporters broadcasted the scene live from City Z.
"The Zerg have been defeated! They were brought down by a single man in a silver battle suit!" the reporter exclaimed, signaling the cameraman to focus on Su Xun. "There he is—the hero in steel. Let's see if we can get an interview!"
Viewers across the city held their breath, eager to learn the identity of this mysterious savior encased in metal. They wanted to see the face behind the armor. They wanted to know who he was.
But just as the reporters approached, Su Xun ascended into the sky.
"What a shame! We missed the interview!"
"We didn't even catch a glimpse of the hero's face!"
"Regardless, he is our very own Iron Man!"
Disappointed but undeterred, the reporters were already brainstorming headlines for tomorrow:
[Iron Man vs. the Zerg Swarm!]
[The Light of City Z: Iron Man!]
[Our Guardian Hero: The Iron Avenger!]
Thus, Su Xun was unanimously crowned with the moniker "Iron Man."
Meanwhile, Guo Ning, who had been helping clear the battlefield, silently looked down at a slip of paper in his hand—left behind by Su Xun. On it was written: Want a suit like mine? Contact me: 133***.*
His pupils contracted. A glimmer of light danced in his eyes. If everyone had access to such armor, who would ever fear the Zerg again?
It struck right at the heart of the problem—and that was exactly the effect Su Xun intended. Guo Ning quickly relayed the message to his superiors.
What none of them knew, however, was that the glorified "Iron Man" being hailed by the media was, at that very moment, struggling with a far less heroic problem—he was running out of power.
Su Xun had barely left the battlefield and begun enjoying the thrill of flight when the surface of his armor began frosting over. The power reserves plummeted. Moments later, a red alert blared across his visor: Energy Depletion Imminent.
His face fell.
He was still airborne. Running out of power now meant falling straight from the sky.
"This... this is straight out of a movie. Damn it—I should've just walked off the battlefield. Why did I have to show off?!"
Wobbling in the air, he quickly guided the suit into a descent. Luckily, he had already cleared the city and reached the outskirts, where a forest below could help cushion the fall.
BANG! CRASH! THUD!
Su Xun crashed through the trees and hit the ground hard. Gasping for breath, he opened the faceplate and muttered, "So many problems with the first-gen—power drain, freezing at high altitudes... and I still need to upgrade the AI."
Staggering to his feet, he adjusted the battered armor and took a hidden path back to his workshop. Though the suit's main energy core was drained, it still had enough reserve power for basic movement, allowing him to make it home swiftly.
Back at the lab, Su Xun shed the damaged suit and placed it on a lathe. Examining its scarred and dented surface, he clicked his tongue.
"First battle and already beat to hell. At least it's not a total loss like the Mark I in the movies. I can still patch this up."
He immediately began repairs. After replacing the damaged shell and restoring its structure, he moved on to addressing the freezing issue.
"I could install an airflow regulation system."
Thanks to his trait of Clarity of Mind, Su Xun didn't need the system's help to design or build it. In no time, he had fitted a lightweight intake system into the armor. Aside from a slight bulge around the waist, it looked unchanged.
Taking a seat, he opened the system's exchange panel—now it was time to tackle the biggest issue: intelligence.
"System, how much virtual value is required to exchange for the J.A.R.V.I.S. AI system from Iron Man?"
[Detected: High-tier AI system 'J.A.R.V.I.S.'. Exchange cost: 10,000 virtual value.]
"..."
He paused, rubbing his chin. "What about the blueprint to develop it myself?"
[Blueprint exchange cost: 1,000 virtual value.]
He groaned. After all that effort, he had only earned 550 points.
Still far too short.
Su Xun scratched his head in frustration. If only the monsters would just show up at his door...
As if on cue, a blood-curdling shriek echoed from outside the workshop.
Creak... creak...
Hearing the sound, Su Xun's lips curled into a faint smile. "Coming to me on your own, huh?"
He knew that this abandoned factory district had once seen Zerg activity, but ever since the anti-insect mesh had been installed, they hadn't appeared again.
"Looks like it tracked me all the way from the Rift."
Su Xun crouched down and pulled a case from beneath a workbench. When he opened it, a prototype plasma rifle was revealed—a weapon he had crafted early in his research. Its flaw: a limited charge that allowed only twenty plasma rounds per cycle.
"Old friend, your turn."
He took the plasma rifle and walked toward the entrance. The massive iron gate of the factory screeched and scratched as something clawed at it from the outside.
Clang!
With a sharp metallic shriek, the gate was torn open. A warrior bug lunged through the breach.
The moment it saw Su Xun, it charged at him.
But before it could close the distance, Su Xun had already raised his rifle. A flash of brilliant blue surged forth—a high-frequency electromagnetic pulse tearing through the air. The bug's neural spine was pierced in an instant. It twitched violently, then collapsed, unconscious.
[Virtual Points +10]
Su Xun smirked. Just as he was about to complain about the stingy reward, more sounds echoed from outside. Moments later, several more warrior bugs crawled inside—followed by a grotesque creature, slug-like and sprouting stubby limbs: a Brain Bug.
"Ssssshhhhh..."
The Brain Bug opened its maw and let out a strange, grating screech.
Su Xun's eyes narrowed slightly. "As expected. If they were able to tunnel beneath Z City and breach the defenses, it had to be because of a Brain Bug. Question is—how many of them are there?"
"Ssssshhhhh..."
"Ch-ch-chk!"
Several Carriers followed, hauling the Brain Bug into the factory. These creatures, also known as Worker Bugs, resembled giant cockroaches and measured nearly 90 centimeters in length. Like their real-world analogs, they were notoriously difficult to kill.
As the Brain Bug advanced, it opened its mouth again and launched a strange wave of energy toward Su Xun, trying to dominate his mind.
Su Xun, however, smiled at it, completely unaffected. "Don't waste your tricks. I'm immune to psychic manipulation through high-frequency electromagnetic waves. That little stunt of yours won't work on me."
The creatures froze. A flicker of confusion crossed the Brain Bug's eyes. It clearly didn't understand why its mental attack had failed.
"Well, since you brought yourself to my doorstep, I'll show no mercy."
Su Xun raised the plasma rifle, aimed at the encroaching swarm, and whispered, "Bye."
He pulled the trigger.
In a dazzling display of blue fire, several warrior bugs and carriers fell. The Brain Bug, unable to move on its own, began to squirm in place. From its gaping mouth extended a grotesque, needle-like siphon, pulsating and retracting rhythmically in a grotesque attempt to intimidate.
"That's just disgusting."
Boom!
The plasma cannon fired again, and the Brain Bug's massive head exploded into a gory bloom.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have slain a Zerg commander. Virtual Points +500]
"Just a moment ago I was worried about how to get more points," Su Xun chuckled. "Problem solved."
He glanced around at the factory, now covered in grotesque Zerg fluids, and muttered, "Time, clean this up."
From a dark corner, a cleaning bot rolled out and began sweeping up insect limbs and greenish ichor.
Meanwhile, Su Xun grabbed a welding tool and a steel plate, walked to the torn gate, and began repairs.
Once the gate was secured, he returned to the control station and summoned his system interface. "System, redeem the design blueprint for the Jarvis AI system."
[Redemption complete. Congratulations, you have acquired the initial blueprint for the Jarvis AI System.]
A thick stack of blueprints materialized before him.
"The initial version… I can upgrade it later."
Su Xun took the blueprint and moved to the workbench. The key to constructing an intelligent system lay in creating a chip capable of supporting it.
Of course, if he had access to a supercomputer, this would've been a trivial matter. Unfortunately, he only had a second-hand PC—heavily modified, yes, but nowhere near capable of storing and running a true AI.
Fortunately, Su Xun had studied chip welding techniques and was proficient in computer systems. Combined with the boost from his Clear Mind attribute, he now rivaled experts in the field.
He quickly absorbed the blueprint's content, then picked up a soldering iron and a chip template to begin crafting.
First came the microcircuit engraving.
Once that was complete, he would carefully solder each component—capacitors, resistors, relays—into place, one by one, according to the intricate circuit design.