Rolling his eyes, Tony circled the two suits of armor once.
His fingers gently traced his gold and red nanotech armor, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"To be honest, your suit of armor is way cooler than mine," Tony said, pursing his lips.
"Black and gold, understated yet arrogant, and you don't even need to wear a faceplate, it's practically cheating."
Xiao Han's lips curled slightly: "You don't have to wear the mask."
"And then the media took a picture of me rolling my eyes?" Tony rolled his eyes.
"Never mind, I still prefer my high-tech style."
He walked to his armor and patted the arc-shaped reactor on his chest, where a miniature artificial sun was now embedded, with golden energy slowly flowing inside.
"Jarvis, start the test program."
"Initiated, sir."
Tony's armor instantly disintegrated into countless nanoparticles, which flowed like liquid metal and quickly covered his entire body.
The next second, the gold and red armor closed perfectly, and the eyes on the mask glowed blue.
Xiao Han stood in front of his black battle armor, his super vision scanning the structure of every nanounit.
The golden S-shaped emblem on the chest of the armor gleamed under the light, and its overall lines were simpler and sharper than Tony's.
"Your armor really doesn't need a faceplate? I still don't understand." Tony walked over and curiously poked the neck design of Xiao Han's armor.
"No need." Xiao Han smiled slightly. "My eyes are the best sensors."
Tony pursed his lips: "OK."
"How does it feel?" Xiao Han asked, seeing Tony examining his armor like a curious child.
"Fantastic!" Tony's voice came through the armor's speakers, brimming with excitement.
"The energy flow is much smoother than before, it's like...like liquid sunlight flowing through my veins!"
Xiao Han nodded, and with a flick of his finger, the black armor instantly decomposed into countless nanoparticles, which wrapped around his body like living things.
In less than a second, the armor was perfectly donned, with golden patterns flowing and shimmering on the black base.
"Jarvis, start the test program." Tony raised his arm. "Let's start with the basic functions."
The laboratory floor suddenly sank, revealing a huge testing field.
Various targets, obstacles, and simulated enemies rise from under the floor.
"Same as always, whoever scores lower treats." Tony looked at Xiao Han provocatively.
Xiao Han's lips curled slightly: "Are you sure you want to bet on this?"
"Hey, this time it's different!" Six miniature thrusters deployed from the back of Tony's armor. "Based on the technology you provided, I've upgraded all the systems."
"Let's begin then."
Before the words were even finished, two figures shot out simultaneously.
Tony fired first, his palm cannon shattering three targets. The nanotech armor moved nimbly at high speed, changing direction with almost no inertial lag.
He whistled triumphantly: "See? The magical properties of Uru metal have increased the armor's reaction speed..."
His words came to an abrupt halt, for Xiao Han had already silently hovered in front of him, and all the targets around him had been precisely cut off by thermal vision.
"That's not fair!" Tony protested. "You used superpowers!"
"You said it was a test of armor performance." Xiao Han spread his hands innocently. "This is the performance of my armor."
Tony muttered a few words, then suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the other end of the test track: "Let's get serious!"
The armor's arms spread out, unleashing dozens of miniature missiles, while palm cannons fired continuously, creating a dense network of fire.
Xiao Han chuckled lightly, his figure vanishing instantly, darting through the barrage of comments at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
"Sir, you have almost no chance of winning against Mr. Xiao in this kind of contest," Jarvis warned.
"Shut up, Jarvis, I'm working miracles!" Tony gritted his teeth and continued his attack.
Suddenly, all the missiles froze in mid-air, as if they had crashed into an invisible wall.
Xiao Han hovered in the center of the testing field, his eyes shining brightly with golden light.
"It's my turn."
He gently raised his hand, and the missiles changed direction, all pointing directly at Tony.
"Wait! This isn't scientific!" Tony frantically activated the defense system. "How can you control my missiles?"
"Telekinesis," Xiao Han said with a smile. "How about it, want to learn?"
The missiles suddenly all self-destructed, but the flames of the explosion were bound by some force field, forming a perfect fireball that slowly drifted toward Tony.
"Are you admitting defeat?" Xiao Han asked.
Tony's visor snapped open, revealing a helpless expression: "Alright, alright, it's on me tonight. But..."
He suddenly flashed a sly smile, "Let's test it one more time!"
Xiao Han put away his armor and landed lightly on the ground: "What?"
"How about trying to fly?" Tony suggested.
"Are you sure?" Xiao Han's expression was somewhat strange.
"Absolutely!" Tony grinned, and the thrusters on the soles of his armor instantly activated, propelling him like a rocket towards the laboratory's skylight.
Xiao Han leaped lightly, his figure instantly breaking the sound barrier, leaving a white shockwave in the air.
The two rushed out of the building one after the other, leaving a dazzling trail in the New York night sky.
"Jarvis, activate full speed mode!" Tony shouted excitedly.
"Warning, sir, speed exceeds safety threshold!"
"Who cares!"
Tony's armor thrusters were at full power, and his golden-red figure shot into the sky like a shooting star.
Xiao Han followed casually to the side, and could even leisurely turn his head to look at him.
"Are you sure you can keep up with me? How's the noise reduction mode on the armor?" Xiao Han teased.
"The wind speed at high altitudes is quite high."
"Shut up!" Tony's voice came through the communicator. "I'm wearing the most advanced armor in the world!"
"Is that so?" Xiao Han chuckled, then suddenly accelerated, disappearing from Tony's sight in an instant.
"Hey! Cheating!" Tony's eyes widened, and his armor radar scanned frantically, but he couldn't find any trace of Xiao Han.
The next second, Xiao Han's voice came from behind him: "You're too slow."
Tony turned around abruptly and found Xiao Han hovering behind him, arms crossed, looking relaxed.
"Damn it!" Tony gritted his teeth. "Jarvis, activate overclocking mode!"
"Sir, overclocking mode consumes a lot of power, we recommend..."
"start up!"
Instantly, Tony's armor thrusters erupted with blinding blue light, his speed soared again, and he even left a series of sonic boom clouds in the air.
Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes: "Not bad, you've improved."
After saying that, his figure disappeared again. This time, he broke through the atmosphere and rushed into outer space.
Tony followed closely behind, and the alarms inside his armor blared frantically: "Warning! Oxygen supply in the air is decreasing! Outside temperature is dropping rapidly!"
"Shut up, Jarvis! I can do it!" Tony gritted his teeth and persevered, constantly adjusting his armor to withstand the pressure from the thin atmosphere.
Finally, his vision opened up: the pitch-black universe and the azure arc of the Earth.
And, not far away, Xiao Han, bathed in sunlight.
Xiao Han turned his head and smiled slightly at him: "Welcome back to space, Tony."
Tony paused for a second, then burst into laughter: "Ha! This feeling is insane!"
He looked down at the earth, where the lights of New York City were faintly visible beneath the clouds, and the waves of the Atlantic Ocean reflected the moonlight.
"I never imagined that one day I would be able to fly here wearing armor I made myself." Tony's voice carried a rare hint of emotion.
Xiao Han hovered beside him, his gaze fixed on the distant starry sky: "This is just the beginning."
Tony turned to look at him: "You've gotten used to this perspective by now, haven't you?"
Xiao Han smiled and said, "Habit? No, every time I see it, I'm amazed."
The two remained silent for a while, enjoying the tranquility of the universe.
P.S.: There are only a few chapters left before the recommendation phase starts, and to be honest, I'm a little nervous, even though this is my third book. Readers who like this book can give it a thumbs up, leave a positive review, or even a small gift—free is fine too. Your actions over the next seven days will determine the book's success!