Marvel's Venom, starting with a Hydra undercover agent.

Pepper was followed by several agents. She recalled information about Area 16 in her mind while observing her surroundings in the dim light.

She knew that there was some danger in following these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but when she thought of Tony's safety, she didn't want to wait outside and wanted to do what she could within her capabilities.

Finally, after walking for a long time, Pepper saw some images flashing on an instrument not far ahead.

As she and her agents approached, she saw that the image depicted a massive steel armor, with a message on the adjacent screen stating that it was fully loaded and in the process of being activated.

The moment Pepper saw these things, she immediately realized what was happening and frantically shouted to the agents around her, "Obadia's steel monster has activated! Run!"

As she finished speaking, a pair of eyes suddenly lit up in the dim light behind the instrument. A huge steel armor slowly rose from the ground, looking down at the group of people below like a small giant.

Amidst a series of mechanical noises, the massive steel armor that Obadiah called the Iron Monarch broke free of the chains binding it, and then, with a tremendous roar, swung the chains at the fleeing agents and Pepper.

"You came to arrest me? I'm right here, you're not getting away!" Obadiah's arrogant shouts came from inside the Iron Man suit.

Clearly, this massive steel armor gave him immense confidence; he now felt as if he could overturn the entire world.

Those bullets that could have easily pierced his flesh now couldn't even scratch the surface of his steel armor; they could only clatter to the ground, turning into a pile of deflated, useless shell casings.

Seeing that the bullets had no effect on him, Coulson frowned slightly, and then took out a rocket launcher from the box next to him while Iron Monger was chasing the other agents.

The dim light did not hinder Coulson's aim. He slightly pulled the trigger, and the rocket launcher shot straight at the Iron Monger as it lunged forward, hitting it squarely.

"Boom!"

The explosive flames instantly engulfed the Iron Monger, but unfortunately, the impact of the explosion only caused the Iron Monger to lose its balance slightly, smashing the nearby equipment, but it did not cause him any real damage.

Moreover, this rocket launcher directly drew Obadiah's attention to Coulson, allowing him to immediately spot the man who was clearly the leader of the special agents.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? A laughable, trashy secret organization. Let me show you the power to dominate the future." Obadiah said as he raised his arm and fired two small missiles in Coulson's direction.

Coulson anticipated his actions and quickly moved aside just before the missile launch, leading the other agents through the security checkpoint.

"Boom! Boom!"

The two small missiles slammed into the wall, directly blasting the alloy door that held the access control system, causing it to become deformed and twisted.

Thinking that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Pepper had already passed through the access control, and now the walls and doors of the access control were deformed and blocked by his smashing, Obadiah snorted coldly and then jumped straight up.

Under the propulsive force of the flames from the armored feet, the Iron Monger armor slowly and heavily broke through the ceiling of the hidden space, crashing straight towards the floor above.

He planned to use the most primitive method, spending the shortest time and taking the shortest distance to intercept them.

As the Iron Monger continued to break through the floorboards, Coulson, along with agents and Pepper, rushed out of the main entrance of the research and development center.

As soon as he left the R&D center, Coulson immediately gave the order through his headset to target all the heavy firepower around the R&D center building.

He knew, of course, that the access control and traditional walls were no match for Obadiah, who was piloting the Iron Monger, so he was prepared to wait for him to show himself. As soon as he did, all the heavy firepower around him would be poured on him in an instant.

After making these arrangements, Coulson tapped his earpiece and asked Holm, who was also on the channel, "Clint, how's it going on your end? Did you manage to rescue Tony Stark?"

As Coulson asked this question, Holm had just jumped from the ventilation duct to the ground and snapped the neck of a security guard responsible for overseeing the area.

Looking at the route Daisy had planned for him, and estimating the time and distance, he replied to Coulson, "I'm very close to Tony Stark now; his situation is about the same as before..."

"Those scientists must have also learned of the changes happening outside, so they wanted to take Tony Stark to a more secluded chamber..."

"But it doesn't matter, I'll stop them before they even see the Chamber of Secrets, and then Tony Stark will naturally regain his freedom..."

Upon hearing Holm's reply, Coulson also raised his wrist to check his watch, estimating the three minutes Holm had mentioned.

While he was lost in thought, the ground of the research and development center suddenly began to rise and crack.

The crack, visible to the naked eye, continued to widen, eventually splitting the small square in front of the research and development center in two.

Accompanied by the clattering of machinery and heavy footsteps, a steel monster crawled straight out of the cracked ground.

"Where do you think you can run to?" Iron Monger's gleaming electronic eyes were fixed on Coulson, and Obadiah's excited yet murderous voice came from under the steel armor.

Chapter 100: Leave Request and Publication Notice

I'm taking a day off today. It's really hard to write about my hometown, and I don't want to just write something to fool my readers. I'll start writing as soon as I get back tomorrow afternoon.

I've already spoken with the editor and it'll be available for purchase on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, which is the day after tomorrow. I expect to release five or six chapters on that day, so I hope you all will support me and give me a big first-day subscription! Love you all!!!

Chapter 101, The Special Reactor

“I said, could you please change the battery before we can continue? It’s almost out of power, and I can feel the shrapnel gradually coming off its restraints,” Tony, strapped into his wheelchair, said to the lab technicians and guards beside him.

At this moment, he was being pushed by these people to run wildly towards a more secluded place, and the battery he was holding in his arms was almost shaken off.

Hearing Tony's words, the lab technicians next to him exchanged a glance, then continued pushing him while explaining, "We'll be there soon, and the power shouldn't run out before we get there."

They knew exactly how much power a battery could hold, so they knew Tony was exaggerating. Even if the battery was indeed low on power, as long as there was power, the shrapnel in his chest wouldn't come loose.

Tony, hearing this, continued to endure the bumpy ride while helplessly pursing his lips and letting the others push him. He had originally wanted to stall for time, but he hadn't expected these people to be so uncooperative.

"Click".

With a metallic clang, a heavy iron door slowly opened after they had verified their information.

Just as they were about to push Tony into the next level as before, several guards standing behind them suddenly flew backwards.

Upon hearing this unusual movement, the experimenters and the remaining guards hurriedly turned around, only to find that the guards who had just been thrown back had fallen to the ground, their heads and bodies separated. In the pool of blood from their wounds, a man was waving at them with a kind smile.

"Clint?!" Tony exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise and delight at the sight of Holm. He had been pondering how to escape when Holm suddenly appeared.

Just like last time, this time when they met, one was the rescuer and the other was the trapped person.

However, unlike his previous vomiting reaction upon witnessing Holm's methods, Tony felt an overwhelming sense of security upon seeing the same scene this time.

He had witnessed Holm's methods and strength, so he knew that as long as Holm appeared here, he would most likely have no worries.

“We meet again, Stark, sir…” Holm said with a smile as he looked at Tony.

However, the guards didn't give them any more time to chat. Before Holm could even finish his greeting, they immediately picked up their guns and started firing!

"Da da da!"

Short, rapid gunshots echoed throughout the space, and Holm's figure moved swiftly through the hail of bullets like a ghost.

As the guards kept turning their guns to fire at him, Holm continued to wield the black blades formed from his hands, severing their hands one by one as he approached them.

Gunfire began to decrease, while screams, some short and some abrupt, began to increase.

Gradually, the gunshots ceased in the entire passage, leaving only the dull thud of figures falling to the ground.

The not-so-long passage was now gradually filled with flowing blood, which began to thicken and dry, and its color gradually darkened.

“Interrupting someone is very impolite, but... you should be considered punished now.” Holm said as he walked up to Tony and simply waved his hand to cut all the chains binding him.

“Alright, Mr. Stark, the crisis is over. You can come out of here with me now. We’re going to have some big moves planned, but we’ll have to get out of here first.”

Hearing Holm's words, Tony, still clutching the battery, staggered to his feet. The prolonged confinement had restricted his blood circulation, causing numbness in his hands and feet even after his sudden recovery.

“Obadia… how is he? Did you capture him? He stole my Arc Reactor, and I think he probably wants to build a suit of Iron Man armor too…” Tony asked Holm with some concern.

Although Obadiah hadn't told him anything about the armor, he could sense the other's ambition and true intentions from the series of actions and tactics he had used against him.

They spared his life to extract all the technology about shrinking and building the Arc Reactor from him, and they stole the Arc Reactor from his chest because they currently have no way to even replicate it or power the Iron Man armor.

Based on his conversations with these researchers, he could deduce that they were currently helping Obadiah create a more powerful steel armor, but since it was of significance to him, he didn't know the exact progress of the project.

"We are currently conducting an operation to capture Obadaia. We also have some intelligence regarding the armor he intends to manufacture. According to our speculation, he is currently..."

"Boom! Boom!" Before Holm could finish speaking, several loud noises came through the thick walls.

At the same time, the entire passageway began to shake, as if it had suddenly been hit by an earthquake.

The researchers crouching in the corner were also terrified. They were already anxious because of Holm's methods and didn't know if they could save their lives. Now, they were even more desperate in this situation.

"It seems his armor is finished, and it's caused quite a commotion... In that case, we need to hurry so as not to affect our plans later on." Holm said, supporting Tony who almost fell, feeling the tremors gradually subside.

"I didn't expect him to act so quickly..." Tony said in a deep voice with a solemn expression after hearing Holm's words.

He anticipated that Obadaia's actions wouldn't be slow, but he certainly didn't expect it to be this fast. In such a short time, the enemy's armor was already completed, and judging from the current situation, this armor would only be stronger than his design.

Therefore, his arc reactor is both an irreplaceable core component and the last crucial part; otherwise, the current situation would not have occurred.

"Wait a minute, there's something else important." Tony said in a deep voice as he forcibly took a box from the hands of a researcher in the corner.

Seeing how reluctant the researchers were to let go even under these circumstances, it seemed that the box contained something extraordinary.

Before Holm could think any further, Tony had already taken out an arc reactor that emitted a ghostly blue light from the box.

However, compared to the previous arc reactor, this arc reactor did not shine very brightly, and its shape was also much larger than before, so it seemed that it could not be directly inserted into his chest.

Chapter 102, What is a Genius? (Please Subscribe)

Even though the Arc Reactor was much larger than the hole in his chest, Tony still grabbed the Arc Reactor with one hand without hesitation, while the other hand held the wire connecting the battery to his chest, seemingly intending to pull it off.

"Mr. Stark!? What are you doing! You should know that this is just a failed half-finished product. It can neither match the void in your chest nor provide energy properly..." Seeing Tony's actions, the bald scientist, who was the lead researcher, also hurriedly stood up.

He was worried about both Tony's life and the failed, unfinished product, since only if Tony lived could they conduct a more comprehensive and in-depth study of the Arc Reactor.

Even so, this failed, unfinished product was still the closest they had ever come to success, and he didn't want to let this achievement be wasted along with Tony's.

Hearing the bald scientist's words, Tony turned his head and looked at him coldly. Then he yanked the wire off his chest and said disdainfully, "A failed half-finished product? This is just something made to show you."

As Tony spoke, he continued to manipulate the Arc Reactor in his hands, causing its size to visibly shrink. Small parts fell to the ground as Tony disassembled it.

"It was just disguised as a defective product. I built the real Arc Reactor right under your noses a long time ago."

As Tony finished speaking, the defective product underwent a magnificent transformation, becoming a small and exquisite finished product after his dismantling and modification.

Even the faint blue light it emitted was far more dazzling than before, making it look like a true work of art.

"Even if you put these shackles on me, you can't trap me." Tony said in a deep voice as he threw the battery in his arms to the ground and then put the Arc Reactor in his hand to his chest.

The Arc Reactor continued to operate stably, emitting a soft light, and as the out-of-control shrapnel was once again firmly restrained, Tony's face was no longer as pale and powerless as before.

"This! How is this possible?! This...!" The bald scientist involuntarily gaped, staring in disbelief at everything happening before his eyes.

He couldn't believe that Tony Stark had built a complete Arc Reactor right under their noses, and had even managed to disguise it as a defective product, allowing them to study it to their heart's content and lament its failure.

After the initial shock and disbelief, a deep sense of powerlessness and bitterness lingered in the bald scientist's heart. A genius is a genius, an existence they could never reach.

In the past few days, they even thought they were about to catch up with Tony and would soon make progress, and would soon be able to replicate the Arc Reactor.

In hindsight, this was merely a perception Tony deliberately created for them; in reality, they lacked the ability and talent to truly understand and appreciate his ideas.

"Phew~ I should have thought of that..." The bald scientist took a few steps back weakly and slumped down in the corner where he had just stood up.