The Man Behind Iron Man

This was not simply a punch carrying ten tons of force. Kyle had concentrated all that power into his fist and unleashed it under the control of exquisite combat technique. Even steel could not withstand this full-force blow.

With Venom fully covering him, Kyle’s scarlet eyes gleamed with an eerie light. The Black Demon’s face wore a cold, savage grin, while his tall frame bulged with muscles from the tension and stored force of battle.

A third of his thick, dark right arm had sunk into the center of the Iron Machine’s chest, nearly reaching Stanny’s flesh within. Its steel shell caved in and cracked downward, while the new Energy Core crackled with white arcs of electricity.

Kyle stood where he was and exerted force with his right hand, lifting the Iron Machine off the ground until it was held above his head.

The Iron Machine’s engine died. Its steel limbs dangled limply, like a defeated beast in the wild.

The sight was undeniably breathtaking.

Tony did not blink for a long while. He merely held his breath and stared, feeling that extraordinary sense of power and the unparalleled standard of combat ability.

Pepper covered her mouth with both hands in shock, using that to force down the cry rising in her throat.

"It’s over." Kyle shook his head and flung the Iron Machine forward. The several-ton machine flew several meters before crashing onto the third-floor rooftop like scrap metal, kicking up rolling clouds of dust.

Thick blood dripped from the hole in the Iron Machine’s chest, flowing down its damaged steel shell like some kind of special motor oil.

Kyle’s punch had not landed directly on Stanny, but its impact had traveled through the Iron Man Armor. Stanny’s ordinary human body could not endure it at all.

"It couldn’t even serve as a warm-up." Kyle clapped his hands with slight boredom. The dark biological outer layer gradually receded, returning to an ordinary trench coat draped over him.

That was the difference between technology and mutation. Technology focused on Black Technology tools, while mutation focused on superpowers and physical constitution.

The ideal state was to possess both technology and mutation, like Kyle himself, Captain America, Black Panther, and the future Little Spider.

As for Tony…

Kyle turned to look at Tony and only then realized that Tony had already fainted. He lay half-reclined on the rooftop terrace, his helmeted head resting in Pepper’s arms. The old core on his chest burned through its last trace of energy, and its daytime glow dimmed and went out.

Sitting on the ground, Pepper held Tony tightly and looked at Kyle with tear-filled eyes. "Godfather, hurry and save Tony! Tony looks like he isn’t going to make it!"

"Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, he won’t die."

Kyle spoke calmly as he walked over and drew three cards from Card Space.

One day later.

Tony’s villa, master bedroom.

In the early morning, a gentle breeze lifted the curtains beside the bed, and warm sunlight streamed into the room. Tony frowned slightly on the bed, then his mind gradually cleared and he opened his deep black eyes.

The scene of fighting the Iron Machine flashed through his mind. Tony abruptly sat upright in bed and stared blankly at his hands.

His hands suddenly clenched the hem of his clothes. He tore open his shirt and anxiously lowered his head to look at his chest.

The skin there was smooth and pale. There was no fatal hollow wound! No glowing steel Energy Core! There was not even the slightest scar!

"What exactly is going on?" Tony reached out to touch it, wearing an expression as if his entire worldview had collapsed. He muttered, "Could everything I discovered before have just been a dream?"

As if disturbed by his words, Pepper, who had fallen asleep while keeping watch beside the bed, murmured and woke up. When she saw Tony touching himself while muttering to himself, she immediately snapped in embarrassment, "Tony, what are you doing?!"

Tony was even more shocked when he saw Pepper. "Pepper. Why are you here? Stanny didn’t hurt you, did he?"

"Are you still half-asleep?" Pepper rolled her eyes at him, reached out to touch his forehead, and reminded him worriedly, "Did you forget? Stanny was defeated by Godfather."

"So Godfather saved me?" Tony was still touching his chest. The enormous, fatal wound had vanished without even the faintest mark, which was truly unbelievable.

Pepper answered with lingering fear, "That’s right. Godfather was really amazing. I was crying in panic the night before last, but instead of taking you to the hospital, Godfather drove you back here."

Recalling the miraculous scene from the previous night, Pepper could not help sighing. "Then Miss Yutong used a scalpel to quickly remove the Energy Core and shrapnel from your chest. The amount of blood that sprayed out was terrifying."

"She removed the shrapnel directly?" Tony’s mouth fell open. He said blankly, "Then how did I survive until now, and even recover completely?"

"That’s what makes Godfather so miraculous."

Pepper kept him in suspense before saying gravely, "The moment the shrapnel was removed, you really were about to die. The bleeding couldn’t be stopped at all. Then Godfather fed you a bean… to be precise, half a bean. In just a few seconds, your wound healed itself."

"A bean?" Tony was dumbfounded.

The troublesome injury that had plagued him had been resolved by half a bean?

"Oh, right. Before Godfather left, he also left something for you." Pepper took an envelope from her suit pocket and handed it to Tony.

Tony accepted it with both hands and carefully opened it, discovering that it contained only a yellowed draft folded into a square.

The aged draft contained an atomic structural diagram of some kind of element, with a line of English text and signatures beneath it.

‘The energy source of future technology, a new element—Kryptonium!’

‘Founders: Howard, Kyle.’

"Father wrote this." Tony stared at it absentmindedly, carefully tracing the draft with his fingers.

"Tony." Pepper took a deep breath and looked at him. "Godfather said that you don’t need to have so many concerns. You can follow your heart and do what you want to do. No matter what happens in the future, he will be behind you as your unshakable support."

"I understand."

After a long silence, Tony finally nodded. He put away the Kryptonium blueprint, and his eyes became as resolute as steel.

Only then did Pepper secretly let out a breath of relief. Taking up her work schedule in her capacity as executive secretary, she explained, "S.H.I.E.L.D. handled Stanny’s aftermath and is working with the military to come up with an excuse for the media to cover up what happened to you. However, they need your cooperation to clarify things at a press conference."

"To clarify that I’m not Iron Man?" Tony smiled for no apparent reason, then said seriously, "Arrange the press conference now. In thirty minutes, I’ll give the media an answer!"

Pepper froze. For some reason, seeing Tony’s solemn face made her heart suddenly skip with unease.

Meanwhile, on a bustling street in Queens, New York.

Wearing a hood and sunglasses, Kyle stopped before the entrance of a luxurious, fashionable skyscraper with Yutong, dressed in a long black gown, linked through his arm.

"As expected of you. The location and transportation here are excellent, and it’s not far from either Stark Industries or S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. It’s quite suitable as the Karl family’s branch base for dealing with the outside world."

Kyle praised her, and Yutong, wearing a sunhat, smiled slightly.

"Viss. Contact the owner of this building immediately. I want to buy the entire building." Kyle considered it as he spoke to the smartwatch on his wrist. "Also, register a company with a card as its logo, under the name of the Patriarch of the Karl family."

"The company’s name will be the Supernatural Agency!"