Yes, I Am Iron Man

While Egghead was in a meeting, the war continued.

Although Triskelion Headquarters had been brought under control, so many bases around the world—especially the more important ones, such as research facilities and secret prisons—were still teetering amid Hydra’s flames of war.

Using Zola’s name, Skye ordered some Hydra members to walk into the trap. The method was right, but there were problems with the execution.

Though she would become S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Director in the future, she was still too young. She had yet to be tempered by iron and blood. Sheltered by Old Wang, everything had gone smoothly for her, leaving her far lacking in her judgment of situations and grasp of schemes. Hydra quickly noticed that some of her orders were suspicious, while even more people simply refused to carry them out—

Not every Hydra agent was a rabid Zola fan like Sitwell. There were not many fanatics like him. Most were more reserved. They would not throw themselves into Zola’s arms just because he called out; instead, they acted according to their own ideas.

Zola had long been a relic discarded by the old era. What right did he have to order me around in the new century?

When it came to schemes and intrigue, the future Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was unreliable. The current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the true master.

Having just escaped the United Nations Security Council’s questioning, Egghead received a call from Old Wang.

"Want to hear some news?" Old Wang’s warm greeting came through the receiver, and Egghead’s heart felt as warm as spring.

"Master Wang."

He forced a relaxed smile, then realized the person on the other end could not see it and returned to a serious expression. "Today has been nothing but bad news. I hope this time will be an exception."

"I caught Garrett."

Old Wang asked with a smile, "Does that count as good news?"

Garrett?

That traitor who looked like S.H.I.E.L.D. on the surface but was Hydra at heart?

Pierce’s most trusted man, a strong contender for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s deputy director position?

Egghead was delighted inside but remained reserved on the surface. "Given the current situation, he isn’t important."

"Not even a Level 8 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is important? Then by that logic, a destroyer isn’t important either. It’s mine."

Without giving Egghead a chance to refuse, Old Wang changed the subject. "I caught Zola."

Zola?

Egghead froze, not quite understanding what he meant.

Of course he knew Zola. Zola had been one of the most important figures in Operation Paperclip and had made outstanding contributions to S.H.I.E.L.D.

It was said that when Operation Paperclip had first been carried out, both Ms. Carter and Dr. Howard had opposed it. They believed that while the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, some scientists could not be recruited—Whitehall and Zola, for instance.

They were too dangerous.

Zola was naturally far more famous than Whitehall.

Ms. Carter had ultimately suppressed Whitehall, but she could not withstand pressure from all sides. The Strategic Scientific Reserve took in Dr. Zola.

Later, when S.H.I.E.L.D. was established, Zola had continued serving S.H.I.E.L.D. until he died of a terminal illness in 1972.

The facts proved that Zola had always worked diligently. Under the watchful eyes of Ms. Carter and Dr. Howard, he had never done anything out of line. The concerns of those two had seemed unnecessary.

Caught Zola?

What did that mean?

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Old Wang briefly explained the situation, then asked, "What do you think?"

Egghead’s eyes lit up.

He had far too many ideas!

In an instant, he came up with more than a dozen plans, each capable of dealing Hydra a devastating blow.

"Master Wang, hand Zola over to me."

Egghead took a deep breath. "We can discuss the terms."

"Terms? You can’t even get past the Security Council. Forget your position—whether S.H.I.E.L.D. itself can survive is uncertain. What terms can you offer me? Would the terms you offer even count?"

Old Wang smiled. "Skye will contact you. I’ll have her listen to you until this war ends. That is my greatest concession."

Egghead fell silent.

He knew very well how valuable Zola was, but since the other side refused to let him go, there was nothing he could do. Cooperation was the best choice.

"Fine," Egghead answered.

"You owe me another favor." Old Wang hung up and rubbed his temples.

Whether in the life before his previous one, his previous life, or this one, he had never been a qualified commander.

Though he had served as the supreme commander of the Seventh Legion and the Azeroth Alliance, led the Burning Crusade, the Northrend Campaign, and expeditions to Argus and the Pantheon, most of the time he had simply been a hands-off boss.

He let the people below him handle the details and personally issued only the most important orders.

It was the same now.

Though he intended to build his own power base, he had no plans to do it personally. All he needed was to find a group of capable subordinates.

He knew exactly what he was worth. He was not good at schemes, strategy, or tactics. What he did best was fighting.

The most important points in this war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had already been settled. What came next had nothing to do with him.

There was too much to do, and his schedule was packed. He had no time to hunt down Hydra.

"Good luck, Egghead."

Old Wang soon contacted Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and the others. After confirming that there had been no unusual movements at the San Juan military base, that Commodore Talbot had not done anything out of line, and that Ghost Rider had recovered and quietly left the battlefield, he looked west.

That was the direction of Los Angeles.

After the battle at the City of Freedom villa, Tony’s secret could no longer be hidden. Once Iron Man stepped into the spotlight, he would inevitably draw countless eyes.

The military, the government, the media, and ordinary people.

As well as enemies.

But Tony was no longer the Tony he had once been. Iron Man’s upgrades had come several times faster than before.

Those enemies…

Were you really ready?

Early the next morning, international news across the country and even the world focused on Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

Especially the latter.

The attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters had been terrifying on such a massive scale, but because it was remotely located in an uninhabited area, and because all sides had reached a tacit understanding, a simple "military exercise" was enough to conceal everything. Internal matters had to be resolved internally; the public could not be allowed to know.

But the City of Freedom villa had always drawn plenty of attention because it was the residence of Stark Industries’ chairman.

The villa was located on the famous Malibu Mountain, where luxury homes covered the hills and many powerful people lived.

Once it was attacked, it naturally could not be concealed.

Faced with questions from all sides, Egghead had no choice but to make time for Coulson to pay a visit. Working with Colonel Rhodes from the Department of Defense, they prepared a speech full of loopholes for Tony.

As expected, Tony threw it away.

"Yes, I am Iron Man."

When this world-famous playboy spoke those long-overdue words,

another named Super Hero was born after Captain America.

Yet unlike Captain America,

this cash-level hero, brimming with personality, wealth, power, influence, and far too many flaws, was bound to face even more criticism, as well as…

attacks.

Queens, New York, Hammer Industries.

Watching the live report on the screen, Justin Hammer was in a terrible mood.

Tony’s armor had clearly been upgraded. It was faster, higher, and stronger than before. Yet after several months, his own armor was still stuck at the prototype stage. Though it had seen some improvements and been fitted with plenty of high-tech weapons manufactured by Hammer Industries,—

the most important energy problem remained unsolved.

Although he had secured the Department of Defense and obtained a large amount of research funding, what would await him if he ultimately failed to fulfill his promise?

At the thought of those politicians and generals—their expressions and their methods—Justin shuddered.

There was only one Tony Stark in the world. He was irreplaceable.

But there could be a second Justin Hammer, or a hundredth. He was not important at all.

"Arc Reactor, Arc Reactor…"

Justin frowned in misery.

What if… I stole one?

Moscow.

In a filthy, rundown cave, an elderly man lay on a bed, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

"Ivan… Ivan… that person… should have been… you…"

"All I can leave you… is… knowledge…"

Outside the door, Ivan, who looked like a vagrant, turned his head. Looking at his father, who had finally left this world, he sighed.

He grabbed a bottle of vodka and drained it in one gulp, then let out several mad roars before finding a few blueprints.

Blueprints for the Arc Reactor.

Below the blueprints was a line reading "Stark Industries," alongside two signatures.

Anton Vanko. Howard Stark.

Ivan clenched his fists.

His father’s name came first.

The Arc Reactor was his father’s masterpiece. Howard was the shameless thief!

A.I.M., Vanguard Technologies.

"Tony, Tony. He’s still as impressive as he was ten years ago."

Killian praised him from the bottom of his heart, and hated him from the bottom of his heart as well. "Watching someone like that fall from the peak into the abyss must feel amazing, right?"

"It would feel amazing, better than sex. But first, we need to solve the stability problem of the Extremis Virus."

A beautiful blonde woman swayed her hips as she walked over. Maya Hansen’s eyes gleamed. "Once we solve that problem, the Extremis Virus can change the world. It’s more perfect than Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum!"