Even though the Hammer Industries incident had completely destroyed both the military and Hammer's armor projects, the Stark Expo was still on.
The original problem had been the shortage of Arc Reactor power and at least some combat suits to support the show.
Ivan Vanko had caused such a massive commotion that even the armor supporting the event had disappeared.
Yet the government had still spent huge amounts of money, using the suits Tony had given to Rhodey to save face.
Besides the heavily modified suits Rhodey had retrofitted, the government had also used the opportunity to manufacture dozens of other decent suits.
In reality, most of them were just plastic shells with metal plating.
The LED lights on their chests served as makeshift Arc Reactors.
Sure, these suits couldn't actually fight, but standing there with Rhodey saluting made anyone unaware of the truth feel safe.
Of course, most of the audience was watching from home on live broadcast—Tony wanted to lure the "snake out of the cave."
Almost everyone present was military personnel. Aside from a few staff responsible for filming and broadcasting, the rest were soldiers or government agents.
"I really don't know what the government was thinking. They knew this would be dangerous, yet they sent so many media teams to cover it," Qin Xiao shrugged, puzzled.
"That's why you'll never be a politician. My father once told me, if you want to be a proper politician, first you must learn to speak in dreams… and never speak the truth."
"But it's exactly because of this broadcast that Ivan Vanko believed it was all real!"
Tony, in his armor, stood beside Qin Xiao. He had publicly announced that he would attend the government's armor exhibition today.
"All right, it's almost my turn to take the stage!"
"Tony!"
Qin Xiao shouted, feeling as though he'd forgotten something.
"Hm?"
"Never mind. You go ahead first."
Qin Xiao thought for a moment and realized nothing seemed wrong.
Tony gave him a curious look, closed the helmet, circled the sky, and finally descended smoothly, landing beside Rhodey.
"Oh, it's Tony Stark, our Iron Man. Today, he's here to compete with our War Machine, to see whose suit is truly the strongest?"
The host provocatively handed the microphone to Tony's armor.
"Actually, I'm here to check my homework—see how well my imitators have copied me. That's right!"
As always, Tony's words were sharp.
Before the host even handed over the microphone, War Machine's right arm extended, several barrels aimed directly at Tony.
"Oh! Look at our Colonel Rhodey (who was just promoted from Lieutenant Colonel!). He truly has the soldier's spirit—responding directly with fire to provocation!"
The host passed the microphone.
"Move aside!"
Rhodey's urgent voice came through.
"What?"
The host thought he had misheard.
"I said move! I'm not controlling the armor—I'm being controlled by someone. Tony, you're the target. Damn it, my armor is out of control!"
Rhodey shouted frantically.
At that moment, Qin Xiao slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he had forgotten.
Rhodey's armor had also been modified by Hammer—not just the weapons system, but the entire control system had been made compatible with Ivan Vanko's remotely controlled armor.
Ignoring the shock this revelation would cause the world, Qin Xiao yelled at Black Widow and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents:
"Evacuate! Everyone evacuate! Rhodey's armor is under Ivan Vanko's control!"
"Tony! Rhodey's armor is out of control! Get him out!"
Qin Xiao's voice came through Tony's earpiece.
Outside, the staccato of machine-gun fire echoed.
"You should have realized this sooner. Now everyone knows!"
Tony's armor thudded repeatedly, clearly absorbing a hail of bullets.
Though the soldiers and agents were highly trained, in front of the armor, they were no different from ordinary people.
During evacuation, everyone moved efficiently and quickly.
Even so, most of the crowd did not leave immediately.
Tony, drawing the fire, realized that wasn't a solution. He leapt into the air, heading straight toward the bullets' origin.
"Qin! I won't attack Rhodey directly. Find a way to destroy that damn reactor on his chest!"
As Qin Xiao ran out, he saw Tony take off, while Rhodey's armor raised both arms, continuously firing at him.
Just as Qin Xiao tried to pass by, Rhodey's suit fully engaged its thrusters, accelerating to chase Tony.
Its weapons systems locked fully onto Tony's armor. Gun barrels appeared behind him, along with a few miniature missiles targeting Tony.
"If you want me to destroy his reactor, you'd better step aside first—or figure out how to turn me into Hawkeye!"
Qin Xiao watched the twin trails of exhaust streak across the sky.
Meanwhile, in the distant sky, a swarm of suits with flaming thrusters launched upward.
The armored force followed Tony and Rhodey, rapidly closing in.
"Damn! How many suits did he bring last time? Think of something, Qin!"
A group of armored soldiers followed them, firing at Tony recklessly.
He had to be careful not to lead them into populated areas.
The pressure suddenly intensified.
"What else can I think of? Rocket launchers on the ass, or maybe a hot-air balloon!"
Qin Xiao jumped up from the ground.
"I should have gotten you something that can fly. Damn it, why didn't you tell me earlier!"
Tony's voice came through, amidst explosions and machine-gun fire.
"You should've said this yourself. I'm Chinese—I'm shy. Stop the nonsense. Everyone here is almost gone. Bring them back to me. I'll find a way to take down Rhodey first. Don't you have a one-shot laser-cut production line?"
Qin Xiao scanned the area, empty, and shouted:
"The future!"
Tony suddenly shot straight into the sky, waiting until all the armor followed his lead.
He sharply turned, flying rapidly toward the exhibition area.
"Is that it? I'm on my way!"
"Come on!"
"Wait, everyone, don't you want to ask for my opinion?"
Rhodey's voice came through the earpiece.
"Shut up, traitor!"
Qin Xiao and Tony shouted in unison.
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