Mr. Iron Man, is that car-turned-robot your new model? And why did you make it in the shape of a car? Is it for convenience when traveling? Will it eventually be available to ordinary people, becoming a 'car' that everyone can own?"
"Mr. Iron Man, as far as I know, the robot you just used looks very similar to 'Transformers,' which was released three years ago. Were you inspired by that movie to develop it? Is it a mechanical life form, just like in the movie?"
"Mr. Iron Man, please… Hey, Mr. Iron Man, don't leave! Please answer our questions, sir."
…Tony, driving the CLS, slowly weaved through the dense crowd. Spotting a gap, he immediately sped through it, finally escaping the 'siege' of a large group of reporters and gaining his freedom.
After he subdued the whip-wielding madman, the large robot that the CLS had transformed into, under Source's control, reverted to its car form, allowing Tony to step out.
Tony's first priority was to check on the madman's condition, and he immediately noticed a device on the madman's chest that looked almost identical to the Arc Reactor he had built.
This situation struck Tony as very odd. The Arc Reactor should only be known to those in the Stark family. How had this madman managed to build one?
Afterward, the madman was taken away by the Monaco police. To understand what was going on, Tony followed them to the police station, met with the madman, and learned his name.
The madman's name was Ivan Vanko, a Russian. As for why he attacked Tony and how he possessed the Arc Reactor blueprints, it was due to past family feuds.
According to Ivan Vanko, his father, Howard Stark, had collaborated with Ivan Vanko's father, Anton Vanko, on a technical project. However, Howard Stark later double-crossed Anton Vanko, directly leading to the decline of the Vanko family. Ivan Vanko sought revenge, which was why he wanted to kill Tony.
Tony naturally didn't believe Ivan Vanko's words, but this sudden revelation left Tony speechless, unsure how to refute it. All he wanted now was to return to New York, find his family's records, investigate this matter, and see what the truth was.
After Tony left the police station, he found many people gathered around the CLS he had 'exchanged' with Roan, wanting to interview him and learn about the car's features, among other things.
What was Tony supposed to say? Should he just say that this car was 'exchanged' from Roan and that he knew nothing about it?
Setting aside how he got the car, Tony simply couldn't admit he knew nothing about a high-tech item; it would make him lose face.
The best approach was to say nothing, quickly return to New York, get a good night's sleep, and then find Roan to thoroughly understand the car and the AI, Source, before saying anything.
It wasn't that Tony didn't want to research it himself; his initial thought was to do just that. But the item belonged to someone else after all, and Source within the car might just be a clone, meaning Roan should be aware of what he was doing.
Although Roan and he had some disagreements, Roan had at least helped him develop an antidote to palladium poisoning. Now that the car had transformed into a Transformer, he couldn't just dismantle someone else's property without a word and research it himself, could he?
Tony considered himself to have some moral compass; he couldn't bring himself to betray a friend—no, to betray 'someone else.'
The CLS drove along, followed by a Rolls-Royce. A moment later, the two cars arrived beneath a private jet, ready to fly to New York.
Meanwhile, at the De Paris Hotel on the other side of Monaco, Justin Hammer watched Tony Stark's CLS drive away on the live TV broadcast, a smile gradually forming on his lips.
"A car robot? This thing seems to have good prospects…"
Justin Hammer pondered for a moment, then pulled out his phone and sent a message. The message was very simple:
Get me that madman who tried to kill Tony Stark out of prison!
…One day later, in a secluded factory in New York, Justin Hammer set out what he considered a decent dinner and conversed with a man named Ivan Vanko.
Ivan Vanko was the madman Hammer had someone retrieve from prison, the one who wanted to kill Tony Stark. Over the past day, Hammer had learned a great deal about Ivan Vanko—his name, address, hobbies, and more—gaining a basic understanding of the man.
Most crucially, Hammer knew that this madman possessed the ability to build an Arc Reactor just like Tony Stark's—the core energy supply component of the Iron Man suit!
Months earlier, when Hammer first learned that Tony Stark had become Iron Man, he ordered his own Hammer Industries to develop an 'Iron Man' suit, hoping to steal Tony Stark's genius spotlight, and even directly crush Stark Industries.
As for why he did this?
It was due to jealousy and hatred. Hammer was the head of a mechanical technology company called Hammer Industries. Its main business was very similar to Stark's: weapons manufacturing, tech equipment, and so on.
But what was infuriating was that Hammer Industries could never compete with Stark Industries. It was always relegated to picking up orders Stark Industries didn't want, barely surviving.
Months ago, when Tony Stark announced the closure of his weapons manufacturing division, Hammer was overjoyed; he was practically jumping for joy.
However, a while ago, when Hammer encountered Tony, Tony belittled him into nothing.
Hammer was furious. From then on, Hammer resolved to bring down Stark Industries and make his own Hammer Industries the leader in the mechanical technology industry!
Yet, things were not that simple. Hammer first tried to replicate Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, but found that the technology simply wasn't up to par. Moreover, the most crucial part, the core of the Iron Man suit—the energy source to power the armor—remained unresolved, leaving Hammer completely stumped.
But yesterday in Monaco, Ivan Vanko's appearance gave Hammer hope. This man could replicate Tony Stark's Arc Reactor, which meant his technological talent was absolutely high. This was very good news for Hammer, who wanted to crush Stark Industries.
Looking at Ivan Vanko, who had already agreed to his terms, Hammer spoke again.
"By the way, buddy, do you have the confidence to build that car robot Tony Stark had at the racetrack yesterday? That thing looks incredibly valuable!"
Looking at the bespectacled, refined man in front of him, Ivan Vanko grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Of course, no problem."
Hammer stood up, "Okay, since you say you can, I'll go ahead and order the factories below to start production now, how about it?"
"Can do!" Ivan Vanko frowned slightly. He actually knew nothing about Tony Stark's car robot, but for the sake of his revenge plan, Ivan readily agreed.
"Hmm, let's go now, haha…" Hammer laughed happily. Ivan Vanko, this guy, was simply his lucky star…