“Want something to eat?”
“Yeah.”
A series of names then began rolling upward from the bottom of the screen.
However, the audience members gradually stood up and left.
Seriously, it wasn’t as if the movie had a post-credits scene.
Apart from the few particularly obsessive people who insisted on waiting until the credits had completely finished, most people started leaving as soon as the main movie ended.
Gao Ming and Sophia were no exception.
As soon as the credits appeared, they stood up with everyone else and walked out of the theater.
They had gone to Starbucks for coffee and then watched a movie at the theater.
By the time they came out, the sky was gradually darkening.
Checking the time, Gao Ming saw that it was 7:23 p.m.—not particularly late.
However, after having Sophia accompany him for most of the afternoon, Gao Ming felt bad about asking her to continue wandering around with him, so he said, “It’s getting late. I’ll take you home?”
Sophia nodded.
“Okay.”
Gao Ming turned around and bent down.
Sophia naturally knew what he wanted her to do next.
Although she was still somewhat shy, she no longer acted coyly.
She moved closer to Gao Ming.
Then, as if suddenly finding the courage, instead of placing her hands on his shoulders, Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck, appearing especially affectionate.
Sophia’s sudden move startled Gao Ming so badly that he nearly jumped up on instinct.
Once he realized what was happening, however, he was overjoyed.
Looks like I’ve successfully increased her affection toward me.
Maybe there’ll be a chance to take things further in the future?
After being single for a combined forty-eight years across his past and present lives, Gao Ming fell into a fantasy about finally finding a girlfriend, and his mood instantly became cheerful.
Just as Gao Ming finished getting Sophia onto his back and was about to set off, Sophia suddenly remembered something and quickly told him, “Oh, right. I live in Queens now.”
Hearing this, Gao Ming stopped mid-step and stared in disbelief.
“What? Didn’t you live in Hell’s Kitchen? Why did you suddenly move? And…”
And you live in Queens too, just like me?
Gao Ming didn’t say that last part aloud.
Sophia gave him a sly look.
“No, it’s just that the university I got into is in Queens, so I rented an apartment there for convenience.”
Only then did Gao Ming realize that this girl was actually a college student.
He inexplicably felt a little impressed.
Still, wasn’t this way too coincidental?
Although Queens had quite a few good universities, Manhattan also had plenty.
How could she have coincidentally ended up attending a university in Queens?
Unable to figure it out, Gao Ming could only chalk it up to coincidence, completely forgetting that he had accidentally let it slip the last time he took Sophia home.
Gao Ming asked, “Where do you live now?”
“Oh, it’s…”
Sophia gave him her new address.
Gao Ming had spent this period running all over Queens in order to maintain public safety, so the moment he heard the address, he immediately knew where it was.
It didn’t seem that far from his own home.
He could get there after walking a few blocks…
Gao Ming subconsciously calculated the distance between Sophia’s home and his own.
When he came back to his senses, he cursed himself inwardly.
Damn, what am I thinking?
Am I actually planning to visit her every day?
How shameless…
Although… going over occasionally shouldn’t hurt, right?
“Ahem.”
Gao Ming coughed and banished those thoughts from his mind.
“All right. Prepare for takeoff.”
Remembering how fast Gao Ming could fly, Sophia instinctively tightened her arms around him.
The consequence was that Sophia’s full chest, separated by several layers of clothing, pressed tightly against Gao Ming’s back.
Damn, that sensation…
This feels freaking amazing!
Gao Ming’s face was already filled with a foolish grin.
Under Sophia’s “buff,” Gao Ming failed to control his strength when he took off and accidentally stamped his foot against the ground.
This unnecessary push sent cracks spreading across the previously flat pavement.
The damage covered an area of roughly a dozen square meters.
“Hmm? What was that sound?”
Sophia seemed to hear something and was just about to look down when Gao Ming silently flew away.
Gao Ming said seriously, “Nothing. You probably heard wrong.”
Time to bail.
The area where Gao Ming and Sophia were currently located was still Manhattan, so on their way back to Queens, they would inevitably pass by Manhattan’s iconic landmark—Stark Tower.
Because the building was located in Manhattan in the real world, Stark Tower had not changed after Gao Ming arrived in this world.
It still stood proudly in Manhattan, receiving the admiration of the local residents.
Neither Gao Ming nor Sophia had much interest in this somewhat unconventional skyscraper, which had a prominent “Stark” logo on it.
So Gao Ming had no intention of stopping as he passed by.
But the commotion below caught their attention.
“Look! Something seems to have happened!”
Sophia exclaimed.
Gao Ming focused his gaze and quickly spotted the cause of the disturbance.
Iron Man, clad in red and gold armor, was battling the enormous and imposing Iron Monger.
The two exchanged blows while the innocent civilians around them frantically fled the combat zone.
Damn!
Iron Man versus Iron Monger is happening today!?
Gao Ming felt that his luck was truly terrible.
He had originally intended to stay as far away from these troublesome events as possible, yet somehow, by sheer coincidence, he had run straight into one.
For a moment, Gao Ming even wondered whether some invisible hand was manipulating everything.
(A certain author who refuses to reveal his pen name: You’d better not know too much.)
Gao Ming inexplicably shuddered.
He felt that something was wrong, but after thinking it over, he couldn’t find anything suspicious, so he simply stopped dwelling on it.
Gao Ming hesitated over whether he should go down and deal with Iron Monger.
Then he heard Sophia whisper worriedly:
“Why would something like this happen?”
“…”
Damn it.
Back then, because he didn’t want to disrupt the plot, he had deliberately refrained from destroying the original Iron Man armor.
Given the current situation, Gao Ming was partly responsible.
If he hadn’t rescued Tony Stark, he could still have said with a clear conscience that this was an inevitable event.
But Gao Ming had deliberately allowed Iron Monger to appear because he was concerned about preserving the plot.
To say he had no guilt over it would be complete bullshit.
Looking at the civilians fleeing in all directions below, crying and screaming, Gao Ming gritted his teeth and made his decision.
Consider it making up for my mistake.
From now on, I can’t allow preventable disasters to happen just because I want to preserve my advantage of knowing the plot.
Gao Ming landed on the roof of a building and put Sophia down.
“Wait here for me. I’ll be back soon. I’m going to take down that big guy.”
The moment he finished speaking, Gao Ming flew off again.
He didn’t head toward the center of the battle between the two armored figures.
Instead, he flew at full speed in another direction.
His home was still some distance away.
At full speed, it would only take a few minutes, but Gao Ming was so anxious to save people that he unconsciously accelerated even further, shortening the journey once again.
When Gao Ming rushed home, grabbed his uniform, and put it on, he immediately hurried back toward the battlefield.
In his anxiety, Gao Ming failed to notice the golden sparks of electricity flashing from his eyes.
…
Iron Monger raised his heavy foot and stomped down on Iron Man again and again, venting his rage.
Then he grabbed Iron Man and hurled him into a nearby bus.
Iron Monger—or rather, Obadiah Stane, who was wearing the armor—was furious.
As a shareholder of Stark Industries, he had always wanted to replace Tony Stark and take control of the company.
To accomplish this, he had hired terrorists to kidnap Tony, hoping to use the opportunity to eliminate him.
But he never expected Tony to return alive!
And this arrogant playboy had immediately announced that he was stopping weapons production upon his return.
Having already regarded Stark Industries as his own, how could Obadiah tolerate Tony ruining his wealth and power?
If Tony’s secretary hadn’t discovered evidence of his dealings with the terrorists and threatened to expose him to the relevant authorities, he wouldn’t have desperately stolen the reactor from Tony’s chest.
This armor was his final trump card.
And now he had been forced to reveal it completely.
He had originally thought that after stealing Tony’s reactor, Tony could only wait to die.
But Tony hadn’t died!
Instead, he had appeared wearing a new suit of armor and was fighting back against him!
Obadiah had no way out anymore.
He had completely descended into madness.
His only remaining obsession was to kill Tony Stark!
A missile launcher rose from Iron Monger’s shoulder.
An infrared targeting system locked onto Iron Man, who had crashed into the bus.
The missile was launched instantly.
Reality was different from the movie.
In the movie, the missile hits the bus and causes an explosion, sending Iron Man flying into the air while leaving him unharmed.
But that didn’t necessarily mean the same thing would happen here.
Tony had been battered dizzy by Obadiah’s series of attacks and had crashed inside the bus.
He had just managed to stand up when his AI butler, JARVIS, urgently warned:
“Sir, there’s a miss—”
Before JARVIS could finish speaking, Tony saw the missile streaking straight toward him, flames blazing from its tail!
At this distance, at this speed, there was no time to dodge!
The missile was about to hit him.
At that moment, Tony’s life flashed before his eyes, just like it does for anyone facing death.
His loving mother.
His stern, old-fashioned father.
His clumsy driver, Happy.
Colonel Rhodes, who had always supported him.
And Pepper Potts, who had somehow taken on such an important place in his heart…
My life as Tony Stark…
Looks like it ends today…
Beneath the Iron Man helmet, Tony quietly closed his eyes.
Whoosh—
The sound of the missile slicing through the air.
Next would come the impact, followed by the deafening explosion…
But at this critical moment, a white figure suddenly descended from the sky.
It slammed heavily into the ground, creating a large crater and sending clouds of dust swirling through the air.
Standing in front of the bus, the newcomer swiftly extended one finger.
A white light illuminated the fingertip.
Accompanied by the newcomer’s shout, it shot toward the incoming missile!
“Bird!”
Huh?
Tony was completely baffled by the inexplicable shout of “Bird.”
He opened his eyes in surprise and then witnessed the most worldview-shattering scene of his life.
The missile struck by the white light had actually transformed into a bird!
The “missile bird” fell to the ground, fluttered a few times, and then completely stopped moving.
It didn’t explode.
As the dust settled, the mysterious savior who had arrived in time finally revealed himself.
The mysterious figure wore a white, skin-tight suit decorated with several golden lightning patterns.
A highly stylish helmet covered his head, gleaming with a metallic sheen.
His eyes were filled with dazzling golden electrical light.
The ground beneath his feet was covered in extensive cracks from the impact of his landing.
The mysterious savior was none other than Gao Ming, who had hurried to the scene.
Gao Ming deliberately deepened his voice by vibrating his vocal cords.
He turned toward Tony and greeted him:
“Hey, Mr. ‘Shit Stark.’ Miss me?”
“Godfather!?”
The superhero Godfather had officially made his debut!