Suddenly, he reached out and tore a large piece of steel plating off the Iron Monger’s chest.
“It’s all raggedy now. I don’t think you’ll like looking at it.”
Without stopping, Gao Ming began to dismantle the Iron Monger armor.
Chest plate, back plate, left leg armor, right leg armor…
Each tear forcibly ripped a component from the Iron Monger.
This brutal disassembly left Tony’s heart pounding in fear, cold sweat pouring down his face.
“JARVIS, uh…” Tony called softly, but then realized his own suit had already run out of power, and his connection to JARVIS was naturally severed.
He had hoped JARVIS could scan and calculate Gao Ming’s current strength, at least to get some rough data, which he could then use to enhance the performance of his future armor designs.
But now, unable to contact JARVIS, Tony had to estimate it himself.
The current publicly known human strength record was 457.5 kilograms, but that didn’t even account for famous boxers.
The average strength of world-class champions was around 500 to 800 kilograms.
But from Gao Ming’s posture, he wasn’t even trying his hardest.
The human scale simply didn’t apply to him at all!
Tony frowned as he tried to estimate Gao Ming’s strength.
However, Gao Ming’s current power couldn’t be measured by concrete numbers.
If he had to find a point of reference, Gao Ming, when exerting his full strength, was now close to sixty or seventy percent of the Hulk’s power—specifically, the base state of the nerfed movie version.
The comic book version was too exaggerated to compare.
The angrier the Hulk got, the stronger he became, meaning there was theoretically no limit to his power.
Gao Ming obviously couldn’t compare to the Hulk now, but it was important to note that this was only his current level.
While his maximum strength was now sixty or seventy percent of the Hulk’s normal state, the future was uncertain.
The power of the Talisman was fundamentally different for each person; how much of it could be unleashed depended on the user’s potential.
Even the Talisman’s original owner, the Holy Lord of the Fire Demon, had never fully awakened its power.
The ultimate limit of the Talisman’s power remained unknown to this day.
Therefore, Gao Ming’s current strength was merely his baseline.
As for his ceiling—what level he could eventually reach—the answer might only be found in the high-risk dimension of Marvel…
Future matters were too distant to consider for now.
Before Tony could even reach a conclusion in his estimations, Gao Ming’s “demolition project” was already nearing its end.
The Iron Monger armor had been completely dismantled by Gao Ming, leaving only the iron helmet still covering Obadiah’s head.
Gao Ming casually flicked his thumb, sending the helmet flying high into the air.
It landed on the ground with a loud *clang*, revealing Obadiah’s face.
The once-arrogant major shareholder of Stark Industries was now a shadow of his former self.
His eyes were dull and unfocused, his face twitched slightly from pain, and he let out intermittent, broken groans.
With no interest in continuing to torment a defeated foe, Gao Ming covered his mouth and yawned.
“Stark, he’s all yours. I’m leaving.”
Before Tony could even respond, Gao Ming vanished from his sight, startling him once again.
*Was he just too fast, or did he turn invisible?* Tony wondered.
If it was the former, he’d already witnessed Gao Ming’s incredible speed.
But if it was the latter, it meant Gao Ming had just revealed a new ability—and the strength he’d shown so far was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Tony frowned as he looked at the shattered remains of the Iron Monger armor.
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
*It was my first suit of armor, after all… but this is just too thorough…*
Seeing Gao Ming disappear, hope rekindled in Obadiah’s eyes.
He scrambled to his feet, cradling his fractured arm, and fled in the opposite direction without looking back.
The moment Tony saw Obadiah try to escape, he instinctively straightened up, turned his palms downward, and made a motion to activate his jet boosters to give chase.
***
Fine, Tony had forgotten that he was completely out of energy.
He had no choice; he couldn’t let Obadiah get away.
Not only had Obadiah tried to kill him time and time again, but if he let him escape today, he’d be living in constant fear later.
Tony wasn’t worried about his own safety—with the Iron Man suit, he was more than secure.
Instead, he was worried that the people he cared about would be harmed.
Driven by this thought, Tony rushed to give chase.
But then he realized something even more miserable: this suit was manually donned.
So, unable to remove the armor himself, Tony had to keep wearing the gold-titanium alloy suit.
His running speed was naturally abysmal.
Every step was, quite literally, “a struggle to take.”
“S… stop, Obadiah! You… you can’t… get away… Give up… now…”
After running only a few steps, Tony was already panting heavily.
Though he kept shouting relentlessly, his strides grew smaller and his pace slower.
“Shut your damn mouth, Tony! After I escape, sooner or later, I will definitely make you and the people around you pay for today’s defeat ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times over!”
Obadiah’s arrogant words immediately enraged Tony, giving him the strength to keep chasing, though it remained a futile effort.
The two of them, locked in their chase, were completely oblivious to one crucial fact: the entire area had been cordoned off.
At the perimeter of the lockdown zone, beyond the medical personnel and a few fearless onlookers, a phalanx of armed police officers stood guard, ready for action.
Moreover, after the Iron Monger armor had blasted the few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had accompanied Pepper to capture Obadiah into oblivion, Director Fury had likely dispatched more reinforcements.
A group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents blended into the crowd, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Therefore, Tony didn’t need to chase Obadiah at all.
Without his Iron Monger armor, Obadiah was completely harmless, like a lamb oblivious to danger, walking step by step into a trap…
***
After tearing the Iron Patriot to pieces, Gao Ming truly vanished from sight and flew away, landing on the rooftop of the building where he had left Sophia earlier.
Sophia was gripping the rooftop railing, leaning forward slightly.
It seemed she had been watching the situation below all along.
When Gao Ming landed on the rooftop and deactivated his invisibility, walking up behind her, Sophia still hadn’t noticed.
“Boo!”
Gao Ming let out a sudden shout, and sure enough, it gave Sophia a fright.
If the railing hadn’t been there to stop her, she might have actually fallen forward from the ten-to-twenty-story building.
Sophia gripped the railing tightly and turned around in panic, only to relax when she saw Gao Ming taking off his helmet.
She patted her chest lightly, causing her towering peaks to tremble slightly.
Gao Ming’s gaze instantly locked on, unable to look away.
“You scared me to death! You’re so mean…”
Sophia didn’t notice the coquettish tone in her voice.
The dual assault on his sight and hearing left Gao Ming’s heart pounding.
Soon, Sophia noticed Gao Ming’s dazed expression.
Following his gaze upward, she realized what he was looking at.
Her pretty face flushed, and she slightly tightened the bodysuit she was wearing.
Sophia’s slight movement snapped Gao Ming back to his senses.
He withdrew his burning gaze and smiled awkwardly.
“Uh, I’ve dismantled that hunk of iron. The danger is over.”
The two were gradually becoming more comfortable with each other.
While some details still caused a bit of awkwardness, it wasn’t as paralyzing as it had been during their first meeting, where the slightest issue could lead to unbearable tension.
Sophia didn’t really mind Gao Ming’s gaze.
After all, she was an American woman, and her inner nature was relatively open.
Besides, the last time he’d rescued her, she’d exposed a large area of her snowy-white skin.
Subconsciously, she felt that since he’d already seen that, it wasn’t a big deal if he stared at her while she was fully clothed.
Of course, if Gao Ming had stared shamelessly without relenting, it would have been repulsive.
Sophia turned around, finally focusing her attention on Gao Ming’s uniform.
It had to be said, the white, tight-fitting leather suit accentuated Gao Ming’s lithe and slender figure, adding a touch of nobility and heroic spirit.
The lightning-shaped patterns, faded by the heat of the flames, didn’t detract from the suit’s beauty.
Instead, as marks left by battle, they exuded a palpable aura of lethal intent.
Looking at Gao Ming now, Sophia couldn’t help but feel her heart race, a look of admiration unconsciously appearing on her face.
“Cough, cough… I was hoping to find a time to let you properly see my new uniform,” Gao Ming said, feeling a bit helpless.
“I never expected an emergency to happen, and now the clothes are all dirty.”
Sophia shook her head, murmuring as if in a dream, “Not at all… I think you look very cool…”
Sophia: “…”
Once again, the atmosphere turned awkward.
“Um, ah, it’s getting late. I should send you home.”
Gao Ming timely changed the subject.
The blush on Sophia’s face had not yet faded as she nodded in agreement.
Putting his helmet back on, Gao Ming felt strangely more at ease with his face covered.
Suddenly, on a whim, he joked, “I’ve carried you on my back twice today. Do you want to relive the princess carry again?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gao Ming immediately felt the urge to slap himself.
Why had he suddenly gone crazy?
Sophia’s face flushed a deep crimson.
Just as Gao Ming was flustered and didn’t know what to do, he heard Sophia say in a very low voice, “It’s not like I’d be against it…”
Gao Ming froze.
He subconsciously looked over and saw Sophia’s shy, drippingly sweet face.
White steam gradually fogged up her glasses, obscuring the eyes beneath that looked like spring water.
*So damn cute…*
That was Gao Ming’s only thought at this moment.
Since she hadn’t refused, Gao Ming, a grown man, couldn’t afford to be timid or play dumb.
He kept cheering himself up: *Didn’t I already have experience with this last time?
Don’t wuss out…*
Taking advantage of that split-second distraction, Gao Ming cast aside all his hesitation.
He lunged forward, bent his body, and swept Sophia into his arms.
Without giving either of them a moment to prepare, Gao Ming leaped into the air without a word, soaring high into the sky and speeding toward the Queen’s District.
*A soft, fragrant body in my arms…
I must remain calm!*
Gao Ming told himself, frantically using his Super Regeneration to stabilize his emotions.
Cradled in his arms, Sophia felt an immense sense of security.
A serene, gentle smile graced her lips as she secretly pressed her temple against his chest, listening to the slightly erratic thumping of his heart.
Before long, Gao Ming arrived at Sophia’s new residence, landing in front of an unpretentious apartment building.
Bright lights shone from many of the residents’ windows, and pedestrians strolled along both sides of the street, bound to pass the building and spot Gao Ming in his uniform soon.
Though the uniform concealed his features, the white leather suit would still draw attention on the dark street.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Gao Ming immediately turned invisible after setting Sophia down.
Seeing Gao Ming suddenly vanish, Sophia couldn’t tell if he had turned invisible or simply left.
Curious, she reached out to feel the empty space in front of her.
Before she could touch anything, a hand gently grasped her wrist.
“Hey, Sophia, I’m still here.”
Gao Ming’s voice came from ahead, yet the space was empty.
Even under the glow of the streetlights, no shadow of Gao Ming’s appeared on the ground.
This was the true power of the Snake Talisman—its invisibility was absolute.
Not only did the body vanish, but the shadow did too.
Releasing Sophia’s hand, Gao Ming hesitated, as if about to say something more.
In the end, he only managed a soft, “It’s getting late. Get some rest. Goodnight, Sophia.”
“Goodnight… wait…” Sophia replied instinctively, then quickly realized, “Aren’t you going to leave me a way to contact you?”
“Oh, right. I almost forgot. My number is…” Gao Ming suddenly remembered and repeated his phone number several times.
Once Sophia had finished typing it into her phone, he took his leave.
Sophia felt a gust of wind sweep past, and then silence fell.
Knowing Gao Ming had gone, she smiled softly.
“Goodnight.”
(End of Chapter)