Ivan Vanko at most just wanted to kill Tony Stark; his goal was clear, his business specialized.
But you, Green Goblin, you just start with indiscriminate attacks, without any professional ethics!
What kind of skill is it to involve innocent bystanders?
The enormous steel globe, propelled by its thrusters, advanced like a moving hill, slowly pressing towards the main plaza with an air of crushing everything in its path.
The screams of the crowd had turned into desperate wails, and Spider-Man's webs were stretched into terrifyingly taut lines.
Beneath his red and blue suit, every muscle groaned in pain, and the connection points between the webs and the globe had begun to tear.
Iron Man was tightly entangled by Whiplash.
"Stark! Look at your feet! This is your masterpiece! Bury yourself with your father's sins!"
Whiplash's voice was filled with the pleasure of revenge.
Tony ignored him; at the moment, he was more concerned with the rolling steel tomb.
He couldn't let this happen, absolutely not!
The Arc Reactor's energy overloaded without reservation.
"Get out of the way!"
Boom!
The Iron Man suit erupted with unprecedented power, forcefully breaking free from the energy whip's restraint.
He didn't even have time to fire another shot at Ivan Vanko, his body twisted forcibly in the air, and all the missile launchers on his back and shoulders opened!
"Jarvis! Blast that damned globe with all my missiles!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A dozen miniature missiles, trailing white exhaust, arced through the air in graceful, deadly curves, precisely striking the giant globe model!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of violent explosions erupted, with flames soaring into the sky!
The giant globe was blown to pieces, and countless twisted steel fragments rained down like scattered flowers, but ultimately, it lost that terrifying, crushing momentum.
In the plaza, the crowd, having narrowly escaped death, erupted in cheers of relief.
"Well done!"
Spider-Man, who was about to go rescue people, couldn't help but shout when he saw this scene.
No one noticed the malevolent and crazed glint in Whiplash's bloodshot eyes.
Tony Stark, to save those ants, had completely exposed his vulnerable back to him!
"Die, Stark!"
Ivan Vanko let out a beastly roar, injecting all his remaining energy into the recently recovered long whips!
The blue electrical light erupted again with unprecedented brightness, and the two energy whips merged into one, transforming into an incredibly thick lightning spear that shrieked as it tore through the air, fiercely striking Iron Man, who was suspended in mid-air, having just saved the World!
"Sir! Watch your back!"
Jarvis's warning and the sound of the whip cutting through the air occurred almost simultaneously.
Tony's pupils beneath his faceplate suddenly constricted.
He wanted to dodge, but the thrusters, having just undergone maximum output, were in a brief cooling-down delay.
Everything happened too fast.
Pfft—!
The lightning spear struck Iron Man's back squarely.
The sound of tearing metal rang out, and sparks flew!
The armor on Iron Man's back was violently ripped open, leaving a huge gash.
But that wasn't all; as Iron Man fell, Whiplash roared again, striking his chest with another whip.
Tony let out a painful groan, and all systems within the suit immediately flashed red.
At this moment, he was like a shot-down meteor, trailing black smoke, falling helplessly from the sky, and crashing heavily onto the dome of the botanical garden's greenhouse below.
Crash—!
The glass dome was smashed, creating a large hole, and Iron Man's figure disappeared into the wreckage.
"Mr. Stark!" Spider-Man's cry of alarm was almost imperceptible amidst the chaotic battlefield.
"Well done."
The Green Goblin's voice carried a hint of approval, as if praising a talented junior.
"You're much stronger than that Hammer waste."
Whiplash retracted his energy whips, arcs of electricity crackling around him. He ignored the Green Goblin, just stared intently at the greenhouse where Iron Man had fallen, his eyes filled with the satisfaction of revenge and a hint of emptiness.
The entire battlefield experienced an eerie pause due to Iron Man's fall.
Two gazes, one crazed and one malevolent, simultaneously focused on the only red and blue figure still standing in the arena.
Spider-Man's Spider-Sense, at this moment, wailed even more shrilly than an alarm bell.
He felt like a pitiful rabbit targeted simultaneously by two prehistoric Beasts.
"Alright, the troublesome My Lord has been dealt with."
The Green Goblin slowly descended on his glider, as if toying with his prey.
"Now, it's your turn, little bug. You just... bumped into me, didn't you?"
Whiplash also dragged his energy whips and walked towards Spider-Man.
Since the main target was dealt with, it was time to clear away this annoying, jumping-around nuisance.
"Hey, gentlemen, I think there might be some misunderstanding between us."
Spider-Man quickly retreated, trying to defuse the crisis with his verbal barrage.
"Look, he (referring to Green Goblin) is a psychopath, you (referring to Whiplash) are a fanatic, and I'm a spider. We have nothing in common, so why don't we just part ways and meet another time?"
His answer was a whistling pumpkin bomb and an energy whip that tore through the ground!
Spider-Man let out a yelp, his body flipping backward at an angle that defied the laws of physics.
He shot out a web, swinging himself into the air, narrowly dodging the pincer attack from the sky and the ground.
Boom!
The pumpkin bomb exploded where he had just stood, while the energy whip plowed a molten trench in the ground.
The battle instantly reversed.
What was just a fair two-on-two duel had now become a lopsided two-on-one.
Spider-Man was completely embroiled in a bitter struggle.
The Green Goblin continuously hurled various bizarre bombs from the air: some exploded, some released smoke, and there were even gas bombs that could temporarily paralyze nerves.
Meanwhile, Whiplash pressed forward on the ground, his two energy whips extending like his arms, with an enormous attack range and tricky angles, sealing off almost all of Spider-Man's escape routes.
One focused on high-altitude suppression, the other on ground lockdown. Two villains, who normally had no connection, at this moment, displayed a tactical coordination that could be called perfect.
Spider-Man was like a fallen leaf in a storm.
He could only rely on his superhuman reactions and Spider-Sense to navigate frantically through the explosions and electrical flashes.
His red and blue suit quickly showed damage and scorch Marks.
The tips of the energy whips grazed his body several times, causing excruciating pain as his skin was torn.
"Boss..."
In a corner of the ruins, Tandy and Tyrone had completed their initial rescue and returned to William's side.
They looked at the lone figure trapped in desperation in the distance, their faces filled with worry.
Tandy's light even began to become somewhat unstable.
William's expression, however, was much more complex than theirs.
He wasn't worried about Spider-Man; that kid was incredibly tough.
Just now, the moment Tony Stark fell, an unprecedented, even somewhat urgent system notification blared in his mind!
[Warning! "Customer 008: Tony Stark" detected to have suffered a fatal attack! Life signs rapidly declining!]
["Genesis Prototype All-Dimensional Protection Protocol" highest level emergency clause -- "Heart of the Arc" has been triggered!]
[Damage Assessment: Mark 6 armor chest armor torn, core energy "Arc Reactor" structure damaged, energy leakage 78%, immediate risk of catastrophic explosion!]
[Do you wish to immediately initiate the "Emergency Claim" procedure?]
[Yes / No]
William stared at the crimson, constantly flashing "Yes" in his mind, feeling his heart clench.
Was there even a choice?
"Yes!"
[Claim procedure initiated!]
[System has automatically determined and executed the optimal "Risk Mitigation Plan" -- Inject "Kree Empire Standard Energy Stabilizer (trace amount)"!]
["Kree Empire Standard Energy Stabilizer" has been injected into the target's body via system channels... Injection successful! Target's life signs are rapidly recovering...]
Before William could react to the system's "efficient" operation, he felt an unprecedented, vast and pure torrent of information, like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens, fiercely rushing into his brain!
[Claim settlement complete! Congratulations to the host for receiving a special reward!]
[Ability "Spark of Inspiration (Basic)" has evolved into "Spark of Inspiration (Intermediate)"!]
[Ability Description: Passive ability. You now possess a Beast-like keen intuition for machinery, energy, and high-tech creations. You can see through their design logic, operational principles, and core flaws. When you focus on a technical problem, your brain will automatically perform ultra-high-speed deductions, providing you with several feasible solutions, even ones that surpass current technological levels.]
William felt as if his brain had transformed into a supercomputer; countless fragments of knowledge about machinery, energy, and physics formulas collided, merged, and recombined in his mind.
Just as William was immersed in this ocean of knowledge, in the greenhouse, the Arc Reactor, which had been on the verge of extinction, was suddenly injected with a strange, soft blue energy.
It was like a shot in the arm, instantly smoothing out the violent energy leakage within the reactor, miraculously stabilizing the core that was about to explode.
Almost simultaneously, a faint light flashed through Tony Stark's body; the injected energy seemed to be catalyzed by some mysterious force, rapidly repairing all the damage within him.
His pale complexion visibly regained its color, and the violent coughing in his chest completely stopped.
"Sir..."
Jarvis's almost interrupted electronic voice sounded again, carrying a hint of confusion that could not be understood by programming.
"Unknown benevolent energy intervention detected, reactor temporarily stable. Target's life signs have returned to optimal status, all damage cleared."
Tony Stark suddenly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, sat up from the ground, stretched his limbs, and felt an unprecedented lightness and strength.
He had fully recovered!
"William? The insurance... it's really... damn useful!"
He cursed softly, his voice filled with the relief of having escaped death and a hint of incredible surprise.
-------------------------------
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