At that moment, a streak of fire appeared in the distance.
"Missile???"
Guests panicked, until the streak drew closer and the spotlights illuminated it. Everyone saw it clearly—flying toward them was… Iron Man?
The figure descended in classic superhero style, landing on the exhibition platform.
No way!
The arrival of Iron Man caused a sensation. Even Tony Stark himself looked stunned.
Most of the audience instinctively stood up.
Then, the Iron Man suit on the platform began to mechanically disassemble, rising from the floor as robotic arms exposed the man inside.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the BTI exhibition. I am Zod Heath of Blade Technology Industries," Zod said with a smile. Tall, handsome, and radiating charisma, he caught the attention of many women—but most eyes were glued to the Iron Man suit itself.
Urd was equally stunned. She had never imagined her boss' epoch-defining weapon would be this… and it truly was a weapon ahead of its time.
"I'll skip the boring introductions—you're here for the main event. Yes, the Iron Man you just saw is the centerpiece of today's exhibition: BTI's war machine. It will redefine weapons systems for this century—agile, fast, powerful, precise. It's a flying tank, a mobile fleet of fighter jets," Zod explained.
As he spoke, robotic arms attached the Iron Man components to a humanoid frame rising from the floor.
My God!
The audience was left dumbfounded. Even the weapon specialists and research teams from various nations couldn't tear their eyes away. Just walking onto the stage in the suit would have impressed them—but flying in? That was another level entirely.
"The maximum flight speed reaches Mach 2. Radar-absorbent coating on the surface, steel-alloy composite armor, powered by a palladium arc reactor, capable of continuous combat for twenty-four hours before replacing the palladium. Fist strength: 3 tons. Arm strength: 5 tons. Defense: can withstand anti-materiel sniper rounds; only armor-piercing or depleted uranium rounds can penetrate. Equipped with ten anti-tank missiles, range 300 meters, laser and heat-targeting systems. Palm-mounted energy cannon, capable of penetrating 40mm steel at a range of 100 meters. Rapid activation, can switch to three-round burst mode…"
Zod hadn't overloaded the Iron Man suit with weaponry. The anti-tank missiles and palm energy cannon were already more than sufficient. At most, a shoulder-mounted machine gun could be added—like the War Machine.
Tony Stark's gaze locked on the suit, especially the reactor in its chest. Miniaturized arc reactor technology—the very thing he had been working on—was already perfected and integrated into Zod's weapon.
Everyone in the room understood immediately the strategic significance and value of this epoch-defining weapon.
"Mr. Heath, enough. I just want to know—how much does it cost?"
A representative from the U.S. military and defense department stood.
It was impossible not to be tempted.
"The Iron War Machine—$400 million. Or, if you prefer, payment in secondary Kryptonium… but that would be even more expensive," Zod replied.
$400 million…
"Don't think it's too expensive, gentlemen. Its performance in both aerial and ground combat far surpasses most weapons currently available," he added, seeing the representatives' silent hesitation.
The strategic value of this Iron War Machine easily justified the price. In fact, Zod had initially considered $800 million per unit—well within the budgets of the U.S., China, and Russia. But for a first release, he decided to hold back.
War Machine 2? $800 million. War Machine 3? $1.6 billion.
Easy to remember—and the initial $400 million price seemed like a bargain, even though Zod knew it would spark a global arms race, driving Blade Technology Industries' profits sky-high.
After all, $400 million wasn't enough for some nations to buy in bulk… but once the U.S. deployed them, other powers like Russia or China would have no choice but to follow suit. Britain, France—they'd all need them to stay competitive. Even terrorist organizations could conceivably afford a few units, enough to change the battlefield.
After the exhibition, Tony Stark tried to corner Zod to discuss the micro arc reactor. He hadn't expected someone so much younger to leapfrog his progress. But Zod had Urd refuse the meeting. Blade Technology Industries had entered a new era, and they might surpass Stark Industries' size and influence before Tony even considered shutting down his weapons division.
It couldn't be helped. Zod had unveiled two epoch-defining, century-altering technologies in one exhibition.
The War Machine had been built by Anton and Ivan Vanko. Zod provided the technology and then stepped back. Originally, they considered adding even heavier firepower, but Zod insisted that be reserved for War Machine 2.
Urd watched the exhibition in awe, realizing that Blade Technology Industries had fundamentally changed.
Like secondary Kryptonium, foreign representatives initially planned to reverse-engineer the War Machine. But they quickly discovered it was impossible. Its structure was simple, but the true breakthroughs were the micro arc reactor core, the integrated AI, and—most importantly—the shock absorption system derived from Kryptonian armor technology, functioning at near-bug-level efficiency.
Realizing that the War Machine, like secondary Kryptonium, could not be copied, the U.S. reallocated funds from other military orders to purchase it. A significant portion of these canceled orders had been destined for Hammer Industries, hitting Justin Hammer hard, and Stark Industries felt the impact too.
This only deepened Obadiah Stane's dissatisfaction with Tony Stark. Compared to Zod Heath, Tony was no longer the unrivaled genius of the arms industry.
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