Chapter 162: Tony Stark, Questioning His Life
That night should have been a peaceful one for Americans.
Families sat on their sofas at home, holding their children, embracing their wives, and watching television together.
But unexpectedly, the program channel suddenly switched to a news broadcast.
A female anchor with considerable fame in America appeared on screen.
She was standing on a street. The camera she held was shaking slightly, and her voice trembled as she spoke into the microphone. Behind her, many people could clearly be seen screaming in terror and running.
One could also see orange-yellow and azure beams cutting through the night sky like rain.
In the sky, dense numbers of monster corpses no one had ever seen before were falling.
A huge amount of chaotic noise came through, causing everyone watching the footage to sit upright without realizing it.
Fathers and mothers instinctively reached out to cover their children's eyes.
The anchor's hoarse voice, tinged with sobs, came through their ears.
"It is now 8:13 p.m. This is CNN's breaking live coverage. I am currently on the streets of Manhattan's Thirteenth District in New York. We are witnessing an unprecedented emergency."
"As you can see from the footage behind me, the streets are in complete chaos. Large numbers of civilians are running and screaming in panic. Fuck!"
Just as the words left her mouth, not far away, a demon's corpse smashed into a car, wrecking it instantly. The anchor jumped in fright and cried out before her professionalism forced her to steady herself and continue.
"Only minutes ago, these monsters we had never seen before suddenly appeared and launched a surprise attack on Manhattan. According to our reporters' investigation, the affected area covers all of Manhattan."
"These unknown creatures suddenly flooded into the streets and attacked pedestrians. Many buildings have been damaged. Our reporters attempted to approach and observe them, but discovered that these unidentified creatures are extremely aggressive."
"We are still unable to determine the specific cause of this emergency, nor do we know the origin of these unknown creatures. We only know that the situation is continuing to deteriorate, and large numbers of civilians are being urgently evacuated."
"In addition, we can also see a force wearing special armor, as well as a group of female soldiers in red windbreakers. They have appeared and are fighting these monsters."
"We cannot confirm the origin of these people. Perhaps they are a secret force trained by the government. But their objective is very clear: kill those monsters and protect civilians."
"We are still unable to determine the specific cause of this emergency, nor do we know the origin of these unknown creatures. We only know that the situation is continuing to deteriorate, and large numbers of civilians are being urgently evacuated."
"All civilians in Manhattan and the surrounding areas, please remain indoors immediately, lock your doors and windows, do not go outside, and wait for further official notice. We will continue to stay on site and bring you the latest developments."
In the living room of an ocean-view villa on Long Island, New York.
Tony Stark, the infamous playboy known across America and a genius scientist with his iconic goatee, looked exhausted. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, barefoot, he held a heavy-bottomed glass of whiskey and stared blankly at the huge LCD screen across from him.
Listening to the female anchor's report and watching the live footage, Tony did not know what to say for a moment.
After a long while, his voice turned somewhat hoarse and dry.
"Jarvis, is today April Fools' Day?"
"I regret to inform you, sir, it is not. According to information and data gathered from multiple sources, Manhattan has indeed been attacked."
A gentle, magnetic male voice sounded in the living room.
This was the artificial intelligence developed by Tony Stark, named after his father's butler, Jarvis.
"Okay, so after I spent one day doing an experiment, I come out and see this?"
Tony asked again, clearly unwilling to believe everything he was seeing.
"Yes, sir. I have accessed surveillance footage from the areas surrounding Manhattan and confirmed that the battlefield has been deliberately contained within Manhattan. For now, there are no signs of it spreading. I recommend that you evacuate immediately. Would you like me to plan an evacuation route and notify your private jet to stand by for departure?"
Jarvis had danger protocols built in. In a dangerous situation like this, the artificial intelligence would immediately make the optimal decision.
It was the best way to ensure Tony Stark's safety.
But Tony remained unmoved.
He felt as if his entire worldview had shattered. Only after a long while did he take a sip of whiskey and calm himself down. Then he frowned and stared at the LCD screen.
His gaze locked precisely onto one scene captured in the footage.
It showed three Astartes soldiers in heavy power armor, wielding a battle axe, a spear, and a cross-shaped greatsword as they fought a group of demons.
Outside the frame, the agile figures of women in red windbreakers could occasionally be seen flashing past.
What truly shocked Tony was that despite wearing such heavy armor, these people displayed speed, strength, and explosive power far beyond ordinary imagination.
The three soldiers stood in a standard trinity combat formation. Their distance from each other in ground combat never exceeded five meters. Within that range, everything was covered by their attacks.
Any monster that tried to break through their defensive line was torn apart without mercy.
The monsters were numerous and swarmed forward together. They could also fire various kinds of energy beams, spit flames, and use other methods of attack, but when those attacks struck the armor of the three soldiers, they had no effect at all.
They could not even stir up the slightest ripple.
One had to know that Tony had just seen one monster's energy beam instantly pierce through a building by the street. Its power was astonishing.
Tony was one of the most outstanding scientists in the world. From just that simple footage, he could calculate the approximate power threshold of the energy being fired.
The material of that armor was very special.
And the physical structure and strength of those people far surpassed those monsters.
Tony keenly noticed that the reaction speed of those soldiers was enough for them to dodge the attacks, but they seemed to be choosing to endure them head-on in order to protect the fleeing civilians behind them.
Wearing such heavy armor, they were still agile, and the speed of their attacks was shockingly exaggerated.
The footage captured by the camera at the scene even showed afterimages.
"All right. This world has completely gone crazy. What the hell happened?"
Tony no longer knew what to say.
In a single night, he no longer recognized this world.
Had doing one experiment somehow sent him somewhere else?
Was this still the Earth he knew?
Could he have crossed over? Crossed into the Earth of a parallel universe?
Clearly, it was not only Tony. Everyone across America watching this footage through their television channels was thinking the same thing.
Panic, shock, and excitement spread across the entire country at once.
The events unfolding here had already begun spreading beyond America's borders to other countries.
After all, as the world's current superpower, anything that happened in the United States naturally drew global attention.