Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

"It can even change forms?!"

Alan's pupils contracted sharply, and he froze on the spot, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Outside the testing room, Estella stared intently at another set of Build Rider armor that suddenly appeared on the screen, her mouth agape slightly, her eyes filled with shock.

"Lady Black Tower..."

"Don't ask me, even this genius is seeing this for the first time."

A strong desire for exploration shone in the eyes of the Black Tower doll, and its fingertips flew across the keyboard, so fast that only afterimages remained.

Jiangning, Jiangning, keep bringing us more surprises!

I've been supporting you for so long, so please don't waste my time and energy...

Alan stared at the sudden change before him, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

It feels like you've finally managed to whittle down a boss's health in a game, only to have them suddenly activate the second phase, instantly creating immense pressure.

Jiang Ning raised his right arm slightly, and a silver-white short-handled pistol appeared out of thin air in his palm—it was the Flying Eagle Gatling gun.

Without system guidance, he could only replicate this high-quality weapon in the spare time between modifying and upgrading Assistant 1, taking advantage of the characteristics of the two energy bottles.

Although it cannot be completely identical to the original, after repeated adjustments and refinements, its compatibility with the energy bottle is now almost identical to the original.

Jiang Ning flicked his wrist, making the Gatling gun twirl neatly in his palm, and slowly aimed the muzzle forward.

"Let's continue, Alan."

As he pulled the trigger, a violent energy, a blend of orange and silver, rapidly converged at the muzzle of the gun.

"!!"

Alan reacted extremely quickly, immediately raising his broadsword to block in front of him.

The next instant, a barrage of energy blasts poured out like a torrential downpour, the violent impact pushing him backward step by step until his back gradually pressed against the cold bulkhead.

Jiang Ning smiled slightly, steadily maintaining his output rhythm.

Alan gritted his teeth and held on tightly to the broadsword, but the dense firepower of the Eagle Gatling gun made it impossible for a melee fighter like him to get close.

"There's no other way, we have to take a gamble!"

Alan hardened his heart, suddenly exerted force with his feet, poured all his strength into the blade, and swung it fiercely.

The immense force, accompanied by violent lightning, instantly blasted away all the incoming energy projectiles.

Jiang Ning was slightly taken aback upon seeing this, and was secretly shocked: the stats of this sports student are too outrageous.

Alan seized the fleeting opening, lightning crackling beneath his feet, and burst forth, instantly closing the distance between them.

He was gambling, betting on Jiang Ning's weaknesses after switching forms.

Such terrifying long-range firepower must have its weaknesses.

If the Rabbit Tank is geared towards all-around close combat, then the Eagle Gatling Gun, being a purely long-range weapon, will likely have its weakness in close-range defense.

He gritted his teeth, channeling all his strength into the blade, his forearm muscles tensing and straining.

A slash carrying the force of lightning struck straight at Jiang Ning's face, the lightning reflecting off the mask and almost instantly engulfing his entire field of vision.

—We won!

Boom! ...

A violent burst of lightning exploded, completely engulfing the area where Jiangning was located.

Alan stood there, panting heavily, looking at the messy metal floor, and a wave of regret washed over him.

"Oh no... I went too far."

"Oh no! Alan was too impulsive!"

"Ms. Black Tower, Mr. Jiang Ning... oh?"

Estella, who had been staring intently at the screen, felt a sudden tightness in her chest, but the next second, her gaze cleared.

"Phew, that almost crashed."

Jiang Ning's voice, tinged with lingering fear, rang out slowly.

"Varied……?!"

Alan's pupils contracted sharply, and he looked up abruptly.

Above the cabin, a pair of silver-white mechanical wings unfolded from the back of the Build Rider, hovering silently in mid-air.

"This armor can actually fly?!"

Jiang Ning shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

"I never said I couldn't."

Alan remained silent for a moment, then threw the broadsword to the ground, raised his hands above his head, and let out a long sigh.

Without anti-air capabilities, there's no point in fighting; it's better to just surrender.

Just as Alan was about to admit defeat, the loudspeaker in the corner suddenly blared, interrupting his words.

"Jiangning, flying is prohibited during this sparring session. Go down and continue fighting."

The Black Tower doll's voice echoed softly in the room, which was made of high-density alloy, yet it was like an iron hammer shattering the stalemate.

"Why?"

Jiang Ning was slightly taken aback.

"No way! You want me to fight him hand-to-hand? That's practically killing me! What if something goes wrong, Ms. Black Tower, your important research subject might..."

"Stop talking nonsense and do as I say."

"Hmm... OK, OK, OK."

Forced into a corner, Jiang Ning slowly descended the flight altitude, his feet landing back on the alloy floor.

"Alan, you heard it too, I was forced into this situation..."

Seeing Jiang Ning's tearful expression, Alan wanted to say something, but then she saw Jiang Ning's lips unconsciously curl up as he pulled out a pair of new energy bottles from behind him.

"Then I'll have you try other combinations!"

Alan's eyelids twitched wildly as he listened.

666, they're not even going to act anymore!

So, all along, I was just a living test subject for his equipment testing?!

"Perfect timing! Let me show you the power of a true 'genius'!"

【magic--! 】

[A doll—!]

[—The perfect match!!]

The next instant, a brand-new armor, interwoven with purple and black, instantly covered his entire body, replacing the previous Eagle Gatling form.

Alan was speechless for a moment, then sighed helplessly, raised the blade again, and accepted his role as a "guinea pig".

Lightning crackled across his skin once more, and Alan's eyes were fixed intently on Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning suppressed the smile beneath his mask and gently pointed with his hand.

The next moment, tiny, pale purple particles, like fine snowflakes, drifted gently toward Alan and surrounded him.

Alan curiously reached out to touch it; the touch was cool and soft, like a thin layer of snow falling on his skin.

The purple particles slowly seeped into his body.

"Mr. Jiang Ning, what is this?"

"Hehe, you'll find out soon enough."

Jiang Ning snapped his fingers.

At the same moment, Alan's body suddenly stiffened, and his pupils contracted sharply to the size of pinpoints in shock.

Jiang Ning didn't say much. He raised his hand and slowly aimed it at him, his five fingers spread out as if he were holding something in his hand.

As he moved his fingertips slightly, Alan's limbs swayed uncontrollably.

The feeling was extremely eerie, as if he were merely a puppet on strings, possessing strength yet unable to exert it, while Jiang Ning was the puppeteer who could manipulate the puppet at will.

With relaxed and casual movements, Alan's limbs were like an extension of Jiang Ning, at his mercy.

With the outcome decided, Alan gave up struggling and loosened his grip on the large knife.

Seeing that the sparring match was over, Jiang Ning reluctantly pulled out the energy bottle.

The armor dissipated into tiny particles, and his true form reappeared.

"What... I thought I could use this opportunity to experiment with more energy bottle combinations..."

Once released from control, Alan collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the earth.

Losing the sparring match was bad enough, but to have your body manipulated in front of Miss Estella in public was just too humiliating...

Just as the two were lost in their own thoughts, the hatch of the weapons testing room slowly opened.

Estelle rushed to Alan, reached out and helped him up, her face full of worry.

"Alan, are you alright?"

"Miss……?"

Alan's dazed gaze slowly focused as he looked at the girl's face before him and gently shook his head.

"I'm fine... I'm so grateful that Mr. Jiang Ning showed mercy, otherwise I would have suffered much more than just these scratches. I'm sorry, Miss, I've disappointed you."

As he spoke, he looked dejected again.

Estelle reached out and pressed her hand against his head, gently tapping his forehead.

"Silly girl, I'm just glad you're okay. Why did you risk your life like that? Winning or losing doesn't matter at all."

Alan regained his senses and turned to look at Jiang Ning with curiosity.

"Mr. Jiang Ning, could you explain the principle behind that?"

Jiang Ning raised the [Magic] energy bottle in her hand and waved it at him.

"The principle is actually very simple."

I condensed the power of the energy bottle into microscopic particles and diffused them throughout your body.

These particles penetrate the body through visual hypnosis, skin contact, and respiration, directly interfering with the transmission of your nerve signals, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the body.

Current experiments suggest that a maximum of five can be controlled at once; however, multiple controls come at a cost—the control strength decreases progressively with the number of units controlled.