Inside the reception room, Jessica looked at the man named 'Shaun' beside her. Seeing 'Shaun' nod at her, she used the journalistic skills she had been forced to develop and began the interview.
"Mr. Hammer, I know you're in a hurry, so I'll get straight to the interview. Mr. Hammer, how did you come up with the idea of manufacturing and then actually manufacturing the Iron Patriot armor?"
"Because I love my country, Miss Jessica." Hammer had originally wanted to chat with Jessica a bit more, but he didn't expect her to jump straight into the interview. Fortunately, Hammer was an old hand, used to facing cameras, and showed no fear.
"Miss Jessica, you should know that a country can protect its people because it has many hardworking soldiers who serve the nation tirelessly. Only then can the country remain stable and not be harmed by ill-intentioned individuals or organizations."
"And to protect our soldiers, to protect their lives, I developed the Iron Patriot armor, which has powerful offensive and defensive capabilities. That's how it is!"
Jessica nodded, then her eyes narrowed slightly: "Hmm, but Mr. Hammer, I heard that your Iron Patriot armor was modeled after Tony Stark's Iron Man armor. Is that true?"
Hearing Jessica's question, a few black lines appeared on Hammer's face, and he quickly denied it: "Nonsense... How... how could that be."
"Iron armor has existed for decades; it's just that the technology level wasn't advanced enough to create such a thing back then. I merely upgraded the armor. How could it be modeled after that show-off Tony Stark?"
"Oh..." Jessica let out a long 'oh', then asked again: "By the way, Mr. Hammer, I also heard that you're recently preparing to research the car-robot that Tony Stark used a few days ago in Monaco, Europe. Is that true?"
Hearing this, the black lines on Hammer's face grew darker, but he was facing a reporter and cameras. For the sake of his good businessman image, he endured it.
"Of course not, that's just a rumor circulating outside. Car-robots are completely useless in our daily lives. As a successful businessman, why would I create something that offers no benefit to society or human lives!"
"Then, Mr. Hammer, I've heard rumors that your talent in mechanics has been low since childhood. Is this true?"
"That's absolute nonsense! My talent is not bad at all; I just don't want to show it, understand?" Hammer's face grew angry as he retorted.
Jessica remained relentless: "Oh, really? Then I also heard that you once pursued Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's assistant. Is that true too?"
"I told you I didn't, I didn't! Do you understand?" Hammer couldn't hold back anymore. A trace of panic, exposed, flashed across his face, and he roared.
"Then I also heard..."
Hearing Jessica about to ask again, Hammer finally broke down.
"Sister, you win, I beg you, please stop asking, okay?"
"Not okay..."
"..."
---
A dozen minutes later, a man and a woman walked out of the Hammer Industries building with smiles, approached an ordinary sedan, and got in.
As the man sat down, his face suddenly began to twist, changing from its previous resolute and rugged appearance to a somewhat gaunt look, yet one that would never make anyone think he was weak.
If anyone saw this man's appearance, they would surely recognize him as Ron Brunstad, the one who had developed the regeneration serum, and who had been reported on daily in the news recently.
"Boss, why did you make me come to Hammer Industries to interview that Justin Hammer guy? What's so special about him that's worth interviewing?"
After getting into the car, Jessica, beside Ron, directly took off her professional attire, revealing the trendy hip-hop clothes underneath, and pouted as she complained to Ron beside her.
"Weren't you having a great time asking questions? Justin Hammer's expression was so funny, wanting to get angry but not daring to show it in front of the camera. Wasn't that entertaining!"
Ron, who had returned to his original appearance, smiled. This time, he wasn't faking it; he was genuinely smiling, from the bottom of his heart.
Over this period, the things Ron had done to challenge Tony, the New York government, and other newspapers had indeed enriched his emotions considerably. Now, Ron could feel more things that made him happy, which greatly improved his increasingly cold demeanor from before.
Coming to interview Justin Hammer this time, Ron also intended to find some amusement from him. Although it might be a bit unethical, making others unhappy is just a way to make oneself happy, isn't it?
Of course, Ron's objective wasn't that shallow. He also came this time to understand the progress of his previous 'Transformers' project. Justin Hammer played no small role in this project. To express his guilt, he naturally had to visit this poor guy and give him a heads-up in advance.
After leaving the Hammer Industries building, Ron immediately took Jessica to Tony's villa.
Just as Ron was heading to Hammer Industries, Tony called him, saying there had been some progress regarding the Source and asking Ron if he wanted to check on its status.
It had been several days since Tony took the Source from him. Since Tony said there had been research progress, then Tony should have already obtained the things his father left behind from S.H.I.E.L.D. by now, and be close to researching that new element, right?
Yes, Ron had never intended for Tony to research the Transformers' Allspark. All he wanted was for Tony to combine that new element with the Transformers.
The Transformers' Allspark is not just a simple energy source; it is essentially the soul of the Transformers. Without the Allspark, a Transformer is merely a robot operating according to intelligent programs, with no true life to speak of.
Although Tony Stark's technological talent is high, to research a life form, he might have to wait until he creates Ultron, as in the movie universe... However, Ron's materialization ability can already materialize some life forms. When his universe began to form galaxies, his materialization ability underwent a significant leap, like jumping directly from the first floor to the tenth floor, becoming much more powerful.
After gaining the ability to materialize life, Ron thought about many things he wanted to materialize, but in the end, for convenience, he still chose the Allspark as the first life he materialized, to add fun to Ron's life.
To materialize the Allspark, Ron stayed in his universe for an unknown amount of time, almost unable to bear the loneliness, before he finally materialized the Allspark, possessing the first life he had created.
Although beyond life there are still space, time, dimension, universe, void, planes, and infinite unknowns, at least Ron had made a huge step forward, getting closer to those things that could make him even stronger.