It wasn't just Tony's side—the same went for Qin Xiao. Out of the corner of his eye, Qin Xiao spotted a dozen or more suits of armor rising into the air, each fitted with unfamiliar metallic components.
Every single suit surrounding him—whether out of bullets or still firing—was wildly flashing red across the chest plates.
"Tony! Let's go!" Qin Xiao shouted frantically into his earpiece.
Tony didn't want to leave just yet, but at least seven or eight suits were closing in around him. He spun his thrusters desperately, trying to shake off their pursuit.
"I'd like to go too, but… I think I love my armor a little too much. You go first?"
"Trust me, the trouble I'm in is way bigger than yours!"
Qin Xiao glanced around at the twenty-plus suits encircling them and said calmly…
…
When Tony saw Ivan Vanko, he had J.A.R.V.I.S. send the news directly to Rhodey.
Rhodey was an upright man, but sometimes merciless. He waited until Justin Hammer led a team to retrofit the armor systems and complete the weapon setups. Only then did he strike, arresting Justin Hammer.
Alongside J.A.R.V.I.S.'s report, there was a video documenting Tony's descent from Hammer Industries' lobby elevator all the way until he finally saw Ivan Vanko.
The evidence was irrefutable. Even if Justin Hammer later testified against Senator Stern and Francis, he would still be implicated for colluding with terrorists.
Major events like the Monaco hospital bombing, regardless of the perpetrators' motives, were universally classified as acts of terrorism.
Unfortunately, Justin Hammer had just been escorted out of the facility…
A single sniper bullet ended Hammer's life.
The shooter wore a base soldier's uniform and, after firing, boarded a fighter jet and flew away.
Within a minute, the jet had vanished from the base's radar.
Meanwhile, at the World Security Council in Alexander Pierce's office…
Senator Stern, who had been strutting arrogantly in front of Justin Hammer just moments before, now trembled as he stood at Pierce's desk.
Buzz… buzz…
The phone on the desk vibrated. Stern suddenly looked up at the device.
Alexander Pierce picked it up with a hum, then looked at Stern and said:
"Hammer's dead. And I've cleaned up after you too. If it weren't for your position in the Senate being useful, your next brain would've been squeezed dry!"
Stern took a deep breath at Pierce's venomous tone, almost collapsing in relief.
"I really don't know what you were thinking. You even teamed up with Francis. Did you honestly think the two of you could control the Insight Initiative? Did you think that once I was gone, you could take over North America? Fool!"
Pierce grabbed a folder from the desk and slammed it onto Stern's forehead.
Stern didn't dare move.
"Go! And remember, speed up the Senate's push on the Insight Initiative, or else…"
Pierce left the threat hanging. Stern nodded rapidly, then hurriedly left.
…
In a manor on the outskirts of New York, three super soldiers who had survived thanks to Qin Xiao sat dazed in chairs.
Surrounding aides cut open the wounds in their bodies, using tweezers to remove bullets from muscles and bones. Yet the soldiers' faces remained expressionless, as if the knives had done nothing.
Francis sat on an antique sofa, staring at the three blank-faced soldiers.
He recalled the recent encounter with Qin Xiao and Tony Stark in vivid detail.
"Seems Qin Xiao is more interesting than the armor itself. Such combat power and defense… is this really the effect of the Super Soldier serum? I'm increasingly intrigued by you!"
…
Just before the Hammer building exploded, Tony had pulled Qin Xiao out of the building.
Tony's new weapon, a high-powered laser beam, had cut through all enemy armor in the corridor at the last second.
As they escaped, they ran into each other—Qin Xiao swinging his armor like a weapon, breaking through the tight siege.
The explosion occurred, and they finally emerged together from the building.
Unfortunately, their main target, Ivan Vanko, managed to escape.
He also took a large amount of armor from Justin Hammer's stockpile.
Before leaving, Qin Xiao saw armor technicians holding various metallic components.
Tony quickly realized these were likely custom suits built by Ivan Vanko himself.
This was exactly like what Vanko had done in his Afghan cave: creating seemingly unrelated pieces and then assembling them into a complete suit of armor.
Judging by the super soldiers' capabilities, Ivan Vanko should have been under strict supervision, dedicated solely to building reactors and armor.
Yet Qin Xiao and Tony's intrusion had given him a chance to escape.
"It's a pity Hammer was assassinated directly. Otherwise, we might have gotten the truth from him. Who's the mastermind behind all this? There are five super soldiers. Justin Hammer doesn't have this capability."
Black Widow had already reported the incident directly to Nick Fury.
Qin Xiao was the only one present who clearly knew this was a Hydra operation—but that might not have been Alexander Pierce.
You know, in the films, Alexander Pierce always maintained a restrained persona. With Dr. Zola's Insight Initiative, he wouldn't risk revealing his true identity now.
In contrast, the manner of Hammer's death closely resembled Pierce's methods. Only Pierce had the capability to kill safely within the U.S., even inside a military base.
If Ivan Vanko didn't know his current hiding spot, and had secretly been building this armor, combined with Loki observing Thor from above, Qin Xiao might have already confronted the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director.
It seems that after these two matters conclude, Captain America will have to step in early and confront his old Hydra adversaries.
"There's nothing to regret. Ivan Vanko's target was me. He couldn't have taken all that armor quietly. If he doesn't try to kill me, he won't do anything else. If I move, he will too. I'll contact Rhodey—Stark Expo is the perfect stage to showcase military power!"
Final chapter update was a bit late. Go to bed earlier today. Tomorrow's update will be delayed in the morning. Still the same four chapters!
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