Several Transformers that had just been brought to life slowly stood around Tony, each holding a sniper. Tony threw the one who fired directly in front of Max.
"Kill him, or let him go, you decide. I will bear all the consequences," Tony said calmly.
Tony wasn't joking. No matter what Max chose, he would take responsibility for it. What if he really killed a police officer and ended up in prison? Not to mention his status as a major shareholder, he also held the Military's Lieutenant position—even if that Lieutenant title was purely a bargaining chip, he was still a Lieutenant. The Military and Police were fundamentally two different systems. Moreover, Tony controlled the Dionesium Factor Technology for creating Super Soldiers, and until the Military fully mastered it, they wouldn't do anything to him.
He truly wasn't afraid to kill a police officer in broad daylight. So what if he killed him? If he was truly pushed too far, he would call Magneto. You'd see if Old Man Magneto wouldn't flip New York City upside down to take him away.
Max's talent was truly astonishing. He had already transformed into a more advanced semi-energy lifeform, possessing infinite potential. Even if Tony were to venture into the Cosmos in the future, Max could still be his most capable assistant.
Today, Tony absolutely had to take Max with him.
"I, I..." Max stared blankly at the painfully screaming sniper, the power to decide a life now in his hands. He could see Tony's bio-electric field, as warm as the Sun. Tony hadn't lied to him.
A warm current flowed through Max's heart. This poor man had never had friends before, but now he finally did, and his name was Tony. He was already clumsy with words, and now, anxious, he couldn't speak at all.
Tony wasn't in a hurry. He simply waited quietly for him, completely ignoring the warnings and shouts of the surrounding police officers. At their level, unless a regular army showed up, no one could have the slightest effect on them.
Thwip!
A white web-line shot out, landing on the fallen sniper, sticking to him and dragging him away instantly. Several more web-lines were sprayed out, sticking to the other snipers. The web's owner tried to pull hard, but all of them were held tightly by the Transformers and couldn't be moved at all.
A red figure leaped over, soaring dozens of meters, swinging between skyscrapers before landing to the side of the two, maintaining a cautious distance of dozens of meters.
New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man had arrived.
Max had caused quite a commotion. When he consumed the underground electricity just now, the entire Queens experienced a momentary impact. Many people wouldn't even take the flickering signals or lights seriously; a brief moment of surprise and then it was over.
But Spider-Man noticed it. The powerful sixth sense from his Spider-Sense blared loudly, and the hairs on his body suddenly stood on end. When Electro appeared in Times Square, Spider-Man, not far from here, suddenly felt something was wrong. When Tony stepped forward, that sense of crisis amplified to the extreme, far exceeding what he felt when he faced Lizard that day!
It was a deadly threat!
His sixth sense was right; tonight, Tony absolutely had to take Max with him. Max's value to him was far too great, whether it was Max's peculiar control abilities or his truly great potential. Furthermore, Tony suspected that Electro's strength might have the potential to advance even further in the future.
Level 4 was basic, but Level 5 was possible, and even higher possibilities existed.
Tony had long made up his mind to take in Electro, not hesitating to take risks.
Anyone who dared to block his path would be killed.
Tony wasn't afraid to kill at all, nor did he care about killing. Tonight, anyone who blocked his path would have to face his rage.
Another web-line shot towards Tony. Tony caught it head-on, then, with a powerful yank, he violently dragged the unsuspecting Spider-Man over. A Transformer then delivered a fierce punch from the side, sending Spider-Man flying a long distance with a bang, smashing him into a car.
"Scram, Little Spider, you shouldn't interfere," Tony said unequivocally, looking at the person in the full red Spider-Man suit.
"You're discussing murder, openly killing a public police officer in front of the media? What on earth are you thinking?" Spider-Man stood ready for battle, the intense sense of crisis almost suffocating him. An unending chill permeated his body.
This sense of crisis was so strong for him; as a high school student, he had never felt this level of killing intent before.
"So Max deserved to be shot even though he did nothing? That shot was aimed at his head!" Tony then turned and asked Max. "So, Max, do you want to kill that person? If you do, tell me, and I'll kill that sniper no matter what."
It was indeed difficult for Tony to take down Spider-Man, a super-human with a power level of over twenty tons, especially since the opponent also had an unreasonable sensory talent like "Spider-Sense." But Tony truly dared to kill. The chill Spider-Man felt wasn't just Tony's direct threat to him, but Tony's utterly unrestrained killing intent that made him feel endangered.
Max's blue-glowing eyes stared at Spider-Man, and he slowly shook his head. "Never mind, maybe the sniper's gun just misfired..."
Tony nodded. As for misfires and such, Max probably didn't even believe it himself; he was just looking for a way out.
He waved at Max. "Come with me. My team is waiting for you; it's a good time to introduce them. Hmm, the cake got dusty. It's fine, I'll order a new one right now. I'll get you a five-tiered cake. Tonight, cake will be the main course for us."
"Thank you, sir, thank you!" Max felt warm inside, following behind Tony somewhat reservedly. From today onwards, his life was sold to Tony.
Honest Max had already started thinking about how he should greet Tony's team. "Hi, I'm Max, thank you for celebrating my birthday..." No, that's not good. That might make everyone think I'm too arrogant, not even willing to say a few more words.
At this moment, Max felt a little anxious, wondering if the other members would accept him, or if they would dislike his blue-glowing form. What should he do? Friends were an unthinkable luxury in his life, yet soon, he might suddenly have many.
For some reason, his nose felt a little sore?
"Stop, you can't do this! You two are breaking the law, endangering public safety, damaging public property..." Spider-Man said uneasily, trying to intervene while crouching on a car.
"All damages, including medical expenses, will be recorded on my tab. I will compensate for each one," Tony said, looking around at the people. "Does anyone else have a problem with this? Does anyone else want to arrest me and my subordinates?"
(end of chapter)