Young People Have No Martial Virtue

Anti-gravity technology.

It was still just a fantasy in the real world, but in the dream world, there were simply too many related technologies.

Not counting those mystical levitation techniques or the ones limited by materials, Kraft alone could already replicate more than ten kinds of floating technology. So Stark thinking he could seize air superiority was really wishful thinking.

"Could you not hit me in the head? Uncle Tony is getting old. Heavy metal rock is a little too stimulating for Uncle Tony."

After doing two flips in midair before steadying himself, Stark rubbed his buzzing head and flew back up to negotiate with Kraft.

"FUMO (No problem)."

Kraft nodded, put away the electric baton and anti-riot shield in his hands, then pulled out a shark-shaped rocket launcher and rested it on his shoulder.

"Oh… shit!"

Seeing the vicious-looking rocket launcher, as well as the huge shell it fired—far larger than an ordinary rocket—Tony Stark turned and ran.

Aside from its arc pulse hand cannons, the Mark II prototype had no other weapons. He had no intention of testing the defensive capabilities of his Mark II with that terrifyingly large shell.

"Are kids these days all this hot-tempered?"

The Mark II performed a beautiful sideways aerial roll, dodging Kraft’s Fishbone rocket launcher.

The shell that missed Stark continued soaring into the sky before suddenly exploding overhead.

"Bang!!! Crackle crackle crackle—"

Massive golden fireworks lit up the entire coastline, countless sparks raining down from the sky like a golden downpour.

"Fine, he likes pranks, but overall, he’s still a good kid."

Realizing he had been played, Tony Stark shrugged and held up a hand toward Kraft, who had switched to a heavy machine gun.

"Wait! This armor was only just completed, and it doesn’t have any weapons, so…" Stark asked in a negotiating tone, "How about we exchange some hand-to-hand techniques?"

Although Kraft had KAOed him twice with that baton earlier, he had only been hit because he had been caught off guard. Besides, Tony Stark had at least learned some boxing from his bodyguard Happy, so he did not think he would lose to a plush doll in close combat.

Kraft thought for a moment, put away the six-barreled Gatling gun, and assumed a fighting stance.

"FUMO (Sure)."

"You’re not using that stick from earlier?" Stark pointed at Botakun’s round little hands and kindly reminded him, "Those soft, squishy fists of yours probably don’t have much power, right?"

"FUMO (Take this)!"

Kraft offered no further explanation, and Botakun’s voice system could not have explained much anyway. So he chose to charge forward and let Tony Stark experience the power of the λ-Driver system firsthand.

"FUMOFUMO (Black Tiger Steals Heart)!"

The λ-Driver system converted its pilot’s emotions into a special kind of energy that attached itself to the AS and whatever weapons it used. After trying it a few times, Kraft discovered that shouting the names of finishing moves while attacking could effectively amplify his emotional output. It was a little embarrassing, but nobody could understand Botakun’s language anyway.

Faced with Kraft’s fierce punch, Tony Stark instinctively raised both arms and crossed them in front of himself.

"Bang—!"

The soft, fluffy fist struck Stark’s arms with a tremendous impact.

Along with it came an overwhelming force far beyond Stark’s expectations, passing through the metal shell of the Iron Man suit and into his body.

"WTF?!"

Tony Stark was completely stunned as he was sent flying. The enormous strength could be attributed to the plush doll’s superior performance, but what the hell was with that destructive power?

Tony Stark glanced at the Mark II’s status display. It showed that the arms he had used to block had suffered a certain degree of damage. That punch had been much more powerful than the electric baton from before.

"What kind of weird technology is this now?"

Tony Stark had always been the one pulling out all kinds of black technology and startling other people. Today, he finally understood how those people had felt.

Originally, he had merely wanted to meet the person behind Red Queen and see whether there might be some surprises. Now, it seemed…

"There are a little too many surprises."

Stark pulled himself together and took up the boxing stance he had learned from Happy.

"Come on, kid! Uncle Tony is going to get serious now!"

Then Kraft chased him down and beat the crap out of him.

Tony Stark had only learned boxing from his bodyguard for a few days, yet he wanted to use it to teach Kraft a lesson. He was dreaming. Kraft might not know any martial arts, but back in Hell’s Kitchen, he had fought with groups of bad boys every other day, with bigger brawls every three days. Taking care of a half-baked amateur like Stark was effortless.

Mr. Tony Stark was feeling very gloomy right now.

From the moment he saw Kraft’s Botakun, this test had spiraled wildly toward farce. If he could, Stark would have ended it long ago. But if it really ended like this, Mr. Stark would be extremely unwilling to accept it.

Because from start to finish, he had been pinned down and beaten by that unknown kid controlling this ridiculous plush doll. Surrendering in a battle as absurd as this was something the proud Tony Stark could not accept.

"Sir, a call from Miss Pepper."

Jarvis’s voice sounded at just the right moment, finally giving Stark an excuse.

"Wait! I need to take a call!"

Stark hurriedly called for a stop to Kraft’s pursuit and eagerly answered Pepper’s call.

"Hey, Little Pepper~ Did something happen at the company again?"

Pepper frowned on the other end of the line. "Are you sick, Tony?"

He had actually taken the initiative to ask about the company. If his voice and tone over the phone had not been as familiar as ever, Pepper would have thought she had dialed the wrong number.

"…Fine, my head was a little muddled just now."

Choked up by her response, Stark rolled his eyes and casually brushed the matter aside.

"So, what did you call for?"

"It’s nothing important…" Pepper could hear Tony Stark’s evasiveness, but she knew that if he did not want to say anything, no amount of questioning would help. "It’s just that a huge firework suddenly exploded over there. Tony, are you throwing a party at home?"

"Oh no, of course not," Tony Stark immediately denied it. Unlike before he was kidnapped, he was now planning to settle down, so he did not want Pepper to misunderstand. "I was just setting off fireworks to celebrate—celebrate my, uh, new life. Right! That’s it!"

"…All right, Tony. No matter what you’re celebrating, please keep it down a little. Stark Industries’ shareholders really can’t take any more excitement."

"OK~ Got it."

Just as Pepper was surprised by how agreeable he had become, Tony Stark had already ended the call and shrugged at Kraft.

"You heard her too, right? The commotion we made earlier was too big. How about we call it here for now? We can do it again sometime."

Stark did not mention who had won or lost at all, and Kraft did not care either. He had recorded the battle footage anyway.

"FUMO (Okay)."

Kraft nodded, then controlled Botakun as he flew into the sky. A beam of light suddenly shot out from the empty heavens and shone onto Botakun, seemingly guiding him into that invisible aircraft.

Then Tony Stark watched that ridiculous yet powerful plush doll rapidly shrink until it disappeared.

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark threw parties and tried to hook up with the undercover Black Widow because he knew he did not have much time left, so he started letting himself go again. At this point, he had not yet discovered the palladium poisoning, so he should still care quite a bit about what Little Pepper thought of him.

Last night, I learned in the newly added author group that Group Nine was all in the light novel section, so I asked, "Are there any big shots in the group? River of Wang, Like a torrent, like a whisper, people like that?"

Then the chat went dead for a long time…

Did I say something wrong?

Also, there are seriously so many writing monsters in the group… They casually update ten thousand words a day, writing 1K in ten minutes. Are you fucking serious?

I was so devastated I nearly shut down…