“Arcee, you stay here at home.
I’m absolutely furious right now and going to settle a score.
I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire.”
“Alright, just go easy.
Try not to kill anyone.”
“Of course, I promise.”
After explaining things to Arcee, Leon went down to the first basement level.
Tony was still working on his Mark 4 armor with high spirits, looking as though he hadn’t slept all night.
“Morning, Tony.”
“Morning, Leon.”
“Who are you planning to terrorize looking all aggressive like that?”
Tony put down his screwdriver, took the coffee handed to him by Dum-E, and asked.
“Don’t even get me started.
I take it you haven’t seen today’s headlines yet?”
Leon’s mouth twitched.
He let Tony see for himself while he walked over to the glass display case housing the Iron Man armor and reached his hand toward the Mark 3.
[Query: Do you wish to perform today’s sign-in?]
*System, I don’t need to say more, do I?*
“Do it!”
[Ding!
Today’s sign-in is complete.
Congratulations to the host for obtaining ‘Bio-Field’.]
[Bio-Field: The same model as Superman, you deserve it.
Specific performance is directly related to the physical quality of the living organism.]
[Description: Leave it to me.
You can leave everything to me.]
“Yes!”
“Bro, I fucking love you!”
*System, I love you three thousand!*
With that said…
Under Tony’s completely bewildered gaze, Leon crashed straight through the window of Tony’s high-tech workshop.
Taking a leap of faith, he plunged headfirst into the Pacific Ocean.
Then.
After a brief moment of silence.
Leon let out an excited cheer, soaring straight up into the sky from the depths of the ocean.
He kicked up waves dozens of meters high, and even the clouds in the sky seemed to understandingly part way for him!
This time.
Even though his body wasn’t glowing—meaning he wasn’t using the superpowers of the Starlight Template—he was still hurtling through the air at extreme speed.
This was the Bio-Field.
Aside from breaking various laws of physics, its greatest function was allowing Leon to completely free himself from gravity and any reliance on external energy sources, letting him soar through the sky as he pleased.
However, the Bio-Field and the superpowers of the Starlight Template were not mutually exclusive.
Right then.
With his speed already exceeding Mach 5 and still climbing, a golden light began to shine from Leon’s body.
With a mid-air double-acceleration, his flight speed instantly shattered the Mach 10 barrier!
“Woohoo!”
“Flying is the ultimate expression of freedom!”
New York, Manhattan, Upper East Side, a townhouse.
Christine, who had been busy all night rushing a story, was enjoying a lovely soak in her bathtub.
Submerged in a milk bath, only her head and her beautiful feet were exposed, resting on opposite ends of the tub.
Her gorgeous blonde hair was rolled into a bun, held in place by a purple butterfly hairpin.
She closed her eyes and hummed softly, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
After soaking for a full hour, Christine finally got out of the tub with satisfaction.
After wiping herself down, she simply used a small face towel to cover her lower half and walked out of the bathroom.
After all, she was in her own home, so she didn’t feel the need to be overly cautious.
However…
“Ah—mph!!!”
The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, Christine instinctively started to scream.
A man had appeared out of thin air in her home.
His back was turned to her, and he was flipping through the manuscript draft she had rushed to finish last night.
Before Christine could fully scream, the man moved almost like he was teleporting.
He instantly appeared behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist while covering her mouth with his other hand.
“Shh…”
“Calm down.
Deep breaths, Christine.”
“Leon?”
The moment Leon spoke, Christine recognized him.
“It’s me.”
Leon released his grip and turned the startled Christine around to face him.
However, the towel she had been using to cover herself fell to the floor.
Instantly.
Everything was laid bare.
“I…
you…
this…”
Christine stammered incoherently, her brain still struggling to process the scene before her.
“How did you get in?”
Even though she was in her own home, Christine asked in a hushed whisper, as if she were the one sneaking around.
“With a key, of course.
How else did you think?”
Leon jangled the keychain in his hand, helping Christine recall.
This was what she had handed to him, along with the photos of Gulmira, after their last encounter.
“So—”
“How could you be so sure it was me?
If you got the wrong person, did you ever stop to think about the consequences?
Stark Industries’ legal department doesn’t mess around.
You should know what I mean!”
Leon rather roughly hoisted Christine over his shoulder, tossed her onto the living room sofa, and questioned her from a commanding height.
“The moment I got that photo, I recognized you at first glance.
Does something like that even need a reason?
I’d recognize you even if you turned to ash.”
“And besides…”
“Even if I did get the wrong person, it’s not like I’d lose anything.
I might even gain something.”
After her brief panic, Christine quickly adapted.
Leaning back on the sofa, she crossed her legs and smiled at Leon.
“Even if that is me, why did you have to name me ‘Shield Kid’?
Shield-Man, Superman, Man of Steel…
wouldn’t literally any of those sound better than Shield Kid?”
Leon demanded.
The superhero moniker “Shield Kid” was simply embarrassing.
“My dear~”
“It’s just a little playful tease~”
She switched the crossing of her legs, her bare skin drawing the eye.
Christine pursed her lips and complained, “Who told you to have such a massive scoop and not give me a heads-up?
You made me stay up all night rushing the draft for you.”
“Are you…
really so stingy that you won’t even allow me a tiny bit of self-indulgence~”
“Stingy?
Ha—”
Leon reached out and pinched Christine’s chin, forcing her to look up at him.
“You exposed my identity just like that.
Aren’t you afraid of making me angry?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh?”
“You never planned on hiding your identity anyway.
That half-helmet is no different from the towel I just used to cover myself—the psychological effect is greater than the actual use.”
“As long as someone with a mind to do so runs a facial data comparison, they’d quickly figure out it’s you.”
“I just moved that timeline forward a bit.”
“Am I right, dear?”
Christine proactively leaned her chin into Leon’s hand as he tried to pull it back, blinking her eyes pitifully as she spoke in a sweet voice.
“…”
It had to be said that Christine practically lived in Leon’s head; she had guessed almost everything he was thinking.
Leon indeed had never planned to hide his identity from the start, and Tony shared the same thought.
What the two brothers had originally agreed upon was…
To wait until their company’s stock fell as low as it possibly could, take the opportunity to buy back as many shares as possible from the traitors on the board who had sided with Obadiah, and then play this winning card.
Through the celebrity effect of being superheroes, they would make Stark Industries bottom out and spring back to life.
And they would use the opportunity to aggressively promote their clean energy technology, featuring the Arc Reactor.
But the timing wasn’t too far off either.
With this assist from Christine, Leon planned to reel in the net and reveal his real name.
After all, he didn’t want to carry around a superhero nickname as down-to-earth as “Shield Kid.”
Being too accessible wasn’t a good thing.
It didn’t show off his handsome looks at all.
He had to steer things back on track before the public’s impression of his superhero persona completely solidified.
However.
Before that.
“Christine, I’m absolutely furious right now.
Are you ready to face the full brunt of my wrath?” Leon’s large hand ran through Christine’s damp hair, pressing down like a mountain.
Christine looked at Leon with a sultry gaze and playfully said:
“Have mercy, Your Majesty~”