"Oh my god! Was that lightning that just struck the building?"
"Wait… was there someone up there?"
"Don't joke around, at that height you can't even breathe!"
…
Empire State Building.
The tallest skyscraper in the U.S., standing 1,250 feet tall with 102 floors. Half of it rose above the clouds!
Cold winds howled, yet Saitama stood firmly on the rooftop, unmoved.
The Gauss sniper rifle lifted steadily. Its dark barrel shimmered faintly as it aimed at the distant "Hammer Industries Expo."
"Sir, according to your instincts, an incident will occur at this expo. As instructed, all Hammer Industries battle suits have been locked and marked."
The tactical lens projected countless data windows.
Truly a super-intelligence at least a century ahead of the world.
For Jarvis, America's national security network was like a backyard—Hammer Industries included.
Relying on network positioning, hundreds of Hammer battle suits across New York were already locked.
Earlier, the random mission required destroying 1,000 drones.
Saitama didn't care much, only worried that the enemy didn't even have 1,000… now that would sting.
"Not bad at all. Artificial intelligence really is handy. Oh yeah, how's my hamburger? Toasted well yet?"
Saitama sighed.
Unfortunately, Jarvis could only be used in the Marvel world. In other worlds, he was useless.
And the hamburger?
Yes.
When Saitama left the villa, he casually brought along a toaster.
One hand gripped the Gauss sniper rifle.
The other held a portable toaster.
Now, on the 102nd floor rooftop of the Empire State Building, he grilled burgers in the cold wind, with iced cola on the side. The feeling… was unbeatable.
…
Expo Hall.
Iron Man Stark landed handsomely, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.
Cool to the extreme!
After his recent low-profile actions, Iron Man had become almost universally known, a true superhero.
By comparison, the dazzling Hammer was dim and unimpressive.
"This is bad. Everyone's in danger—we need to save them."
Stark walked toward Rhodey, putting on a friendly act while waving at the crowd.
"Danger?"
Rhodey looked confused.
"Ivan Vanko is still alive."
"Alive? But wasn't he—?"
Rhodey was shocked, unable to believe it.
Just as Stark was about to question Hammer about Vanko's whereabouts, Rhodey suddenly screamed.
"Oh oh oh oh! No! No! No no!!"
His War Machine armor moved on its own without any command!
Attack data flashed across his HUD.
The shoulder-mounted Gatling gun rotated, locking onto Stark.
"Stark! I'm out of control!!! It's not me! I'm locked out! The system—NO!!"
Rhodey shouted in panic.
Stark's face darkened as he barely took off into the sky.
War Machine followed, Gatling spitting bullets like mad.
The glass dome of the expo shattered, raining shards onto the fleeing, screaming crowd.
At the same time—
the display suits, Hammer's armored drones, suddenly launched skyward!
Streaks of light chased after Stark like a sci-fi blockbuster come alive.
"Damn it!! What's going on?"
Rhodey shouted, panicked.
"Sir, Silver Mark III's control has been hijacked. Do you wish to reclaim it?"
"Reclaim? You mean—?"
Stark froze. His armor's firewall was unbreakable unless linked to a network. Jarvis couldn't hack it.
"Yes. A week ago, Mr. Saitama had me implant a backdoor into the Silver Mark III. Activating it now. Forcing override…"
As Stark fired back at Rhodey, he noticed the HUD colors shift from red to green.
With a boom, the armor's control returned to him!
…
Manhattan, Hammer Industries.
Ivan Vanko was remotely controlling, but suddenly froze.
"Damn it!"
War Machine, his prized unit, was the only one close to Stark's level. Yet its connection failed!
Before he could react, he noticed dozens of drone signals winking out on his monitor—like a spreading virus.
In mere moments, over a hundred drones were gone!
"What?! This is impossible! That idiot Stark couldn't have done this!" Vanko roared, nearly smashing his laptop.
…
On the Empire State rooftop, Saitama bit into his burger, feeling refreshed.
The Gauss sniper rifle's long barrel gleamed like a silent killer in the night.
Its terrifying 10Hz fire rate made it the ultimate energy weapon of a first-tier civilization.
From the muzzle shot out streams of blue light—
silent, dense, like a dazzling cascade of laser waves.
Passersby below stared up, marveling at the "beautiful lines" in the sky, thinking them a spectacle.
"…Stark… you feel it? Something's wrong."
Regaining control, Rhodey frowned. His radar showed the pursuing drones dwindling rapidly.
"What is that? Blue lines! That's too—"
He gasped. A blue line grazed his Gatling, passed through, and pierced three drones in a row!
The $30 million Gatling instantly vaporized into energy ash.
Not just that.
At the chaotic expo center, countless drones fired into the fleeing crowd.
But none caused real harm.
Because—
"Hey!"
Countless blue lines rained down.
They extended endlessly, piercing drones without resistance, striking directly at their cores.
In an instant, the high-energy particles melted them into slag!
One line could pierce through multiple drones—absolutely terrifying!
Armors designed to withstand sniper fire were nothing before the deathly blue lines.
"Seriously?! So this is… the Gauss sniper rifle? That baldy doesn't even leave me a chance to look cool?"
Stark grimaced. Iron Man, forced into the background, felt utterly humiliated.
…
Empire State rooftop.
"Ah-choo! Who's talking about me?"
The bald hero rubbed his nose, kept eating his burger, and steadied the Gauss rifle against the railing.
"Jarvis, let me know when it's about wrapped up."
"Don't worry, Mr. Saitama. How's the auto-lock function?"
(End of Chapter)
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