Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

Obadiah lay on the ground, nonchalantly saying, "Heh, looks like you know everything."

“Yes, including evidence that you’ve been smuggling weapons all along,” Tony confirmed.

"Wow, it seems your methods are really clever. You figured everything out while in New York. Tony, I underestimated you."

Obadiah stood up. The virus helped him repair his physical damage, but it was also carrying him far away from humanity.

“…” Tony did not reply.

But Obadiah, in the last moments of his life, uttered all sorts of vicious words.

"Tony, don't get too cocky, and don't think you can become a hero. Those powerful weapons were all designed by you. How many people do you think have lost their families because of those weapons? In the end, you are the real devil!"

After saying that, the virus took full effect, and Obadiah's brain rapidly degenerated, turning him into a zombie who only wanted to devour flesh and blood.

Even if Tony wanted to reply, Obadiah couldn't understand him.

"Sir, this place is going to explode in thirty seconds," Jarvis warned.

Tony took off urgently, and soon after, the entire factory was engulfed in flames from the explosion, along with the evidence, which was destroyed.

At this point, Jarvis added, "Sir, Agent Phil Coulson from the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack and Logistics Agency would like to speak with you."

"Tell them to use the abbreviation!" Tony was quite annoyed by the long name. "What do they want to talk to me about?"

“Agent Coulson wants to talk to you about what happened on the highway not long ago.” Jarvis’s reply made Tony’s heart sink.

"I'm afraid the conversation will eventually turn to his armor," Tony thought to himself, but replied aloud:

“Tell him I’m busy and ask him to talk to Pepper first.”

Chapter 38 The Big Hand of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters occupies a small island. The hub is a cylindrical building with three annexes extending outwards, pointing in three different directions.

Searchlights illuminated the area as if it were daytime, and no unauthorized aircraft could fly overhead freely, as this was a heavily guarded military building.

An ordinary person observing from the other side of the island with binoculars would only think it's a building of unknown purpose. But once the alarm is triggered, fighter jets will take off, armored vehicles will block the way, and close-in weapon systems of various calibers will be deployed.

It took a long time to build this behemoth. Construction of the main structure began after the Strategic Science Legion was reorganized, and it was subsequently expanded.

This is the hub of S.H.I.E.L.D., brightly lit 24 hours a day, and divided into areas according to a hierarchy, with the top floor accessible only to senior agents.

Meanwhile, in the director's office on the top floor, Nick Fury had just received a mission briefing.

Tony Stark, clad in high-tech gear, battles three bio-weapons alongside the unknown life form Number Seven on New York's busiest highway.

Just seeing the first line of text was enough to make Nick Fury's heart skip a beat, and the pupil of his only remaining eye contracted slightly.

"This can't be kept secret anymore," Nick Fury said helplessly.

The last shopping mall explosion was relatively controllable, but this highway battle involved too many citizens, and coupled with the lack of timely control, it may have already spread.

Now that things have come to this, all they can do is try to control the direction of public opinion.

With that in mind, Nick Fury first sent an email to his confidant Coulson, and then made a phone call.

"Coulson, contact Stark and his assistant immediately to make sure that playboy doesn't say anything wrong and that the situation doesn't escalate too much."

"I understand, Director."

Coulson agreed, but knowing Tony Stark as he did, he knew the guy was unlikely to be a good talker, so he changed the subject and asked about another person on the briefing.

"What about Number Seven? Compared to that playboy, wasn't he the main force in defeating the bio-monster during the highway incident?"

Nick Fury looked at the briefing and replied, "Don't worry about him. Number Seven isn't a bad person. You just need to make sure that the language used to describe Number Seven isn't too harsh."

The briefing mentioned that after defeating the enemy, "Number Seven" transformed into a blackish-green form and repaired the personnel and damage on site.

Nick Fury deduced from this that Number Seven's nature shouldn't be too bad, but everyone has a temper. If Number Seven woke up to see a mountain of negative information about himself, he certainly wouldn't be in a good mood, let alone get along well with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Moreover, this repair ability seems incredibly useful. Even if Nick Fury doesn't know if there's a limit to this ability, he still feels that recruiting Number Seven is very valuable.

Coulson knew this was a conciliatory policy. His director didn't want to anger Seven because of a group of media outlets chasing sensationalism and attention. He had to let those guys know how powerful S.H.I.E.L.D. was and let them see the scale of a global intelligence organization.

"I understand," Coulson replied, then hung up the phone and got to work.

...........................

In the early hours of the morning, Li Ai had just returned to his residence, but he did not go straight to his room to rest.

The backpack containing the portable library and Stark Pass was casually placed on the sofa, and then he went straight to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and searched for food.

Glug glug————

To soothe his protesting stomach, he found some frozen steak, pasta, and meat sauce in the refrigerator and made himself a late-night snack.

Three thick-cut steaks sizzled in the pan, and the aroma alone was enough to ease the emptiness in my stomach.

While waiting, another figure came into the kitchen and asked Li Ai:

"You're back so late. Did you make new friends while you were out?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ai knew without turning around that this was her mother, so she first flipped the steak over, and then said in an ambiguous tone:

"No, I'm just stuck in traffic."

"Do you know what happened in New York tonight?" Ida Wong didn't press him about where he had been, but instead brought up something else.

What happened in New York tonight? Does it refer to the tyrant on the highway? Li Ai thought naturally.

Li Ai not only knew, but was also a participant, yet he still spoke from a perspective akin to an observer, after obscuring some of the truth:

"When I was passing by a gas station, I overheard people talking about how a three-headed monster had appeared on a highway, but the monsters were dealt with by two mysterious people."

Ada Wong has her own intelligence network, and with so many witnesses to the highway incident, it's easy for her to find out about it. She took out her phone and tossed it to Li Ai.

Li Ai caught the phone and saw the blurry photo on the screen.

Although the image is very blurry, the figures are still barely discernible.

The photo shows Li Ai in his Impact Mode battling the out-of-control Steel Tyrant. Tony Stark wasn't in the photo because he had already gone to settle scores with Obadiah.

“The composition is quite interesting, but the equipment is a bit lacking. If I had my camera, I could definitely have taken a better picture,” Li Ai tried to explain from the perspective of an ‘amateur photographer’.

Ada Wong took back her phone and said helplessly, "Never mind, it's good that you're alright. From now on, no matter what, you must put your safety first."

"Alright, I'll get back to making the midnight snack," Li Ai said with a smile, then turned to fry the steak.

"Don't eat too much," Ada Wong reminded him, then headed towards the second-floor room.

He finished his steak and pasta, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and murmured:

"The mall incident involved an insect-like cyborg, and now three tyrants have appeared in succession. New York is truly plagued by disasters."

One of the three Tyrants was specially tuned to wear an enhanced Iron Monger armor and possessed an Arc Reactor without Tony Stark's permission.

Li Ai suspects that Anton Vanko, who worked with Howard Stark on the project, may have provided the technology, and that Vanko's son, Ivan, may also have been involved.

Thinking about this, Li Ai felt that a powerful force had connected these elements one by one, ultimately resulting in the current state of affairs.

Although there is no evidence yet to determine which force is doing these things, Li Ai is very certain of one thing: those who disrupt peace are his enemies.

Chapter 39 The Sanctuary

The next day, at lunchtime

Li Ai heard some rumors at school about the fierce road battle last night. Some people even boasted that they had taken a photo at the time. Although the photo only showed a few blurry shadows colliding, it was enough to become a topic of conversation among the students.

"Let me tell you, I was so close to that guy who was glowing all over. He was incredibly strong. He could tear open a car door with a flick of his wrist and fight monsters bigger than armored vehicles. It was so cool!"

A boy is describing the scene to his female friend, and the "person who is glowing" he is referring to is Li Ai.

However, Li Ai, the person involved, had no recollection of this boy at all.

The boy's female friend, however, seemed uninterested and casually asked a question.

"Do you know the name of that mysterious person?"

"Um... he calls himself ZZZ, his full name is quite long." The boy carefully considered the information he saw on the online forum, and then revealed his true intentions.

"Okay, I just want to ask you to be my dance partner."

"Just order next time," the girl replied.

Listening to their conversation, Li Ai, who was storing her textbooks in her locker, paused for a moment, then suddenly realized:

"Oh, there's a Christmas party tonight, but there's no need to go."

He had no interest in the Midtown High School Christmas party, and he didn't have many friends there anyway. Going there would just mean eating snacks and drinking beverages in a corner, so he might as well stay home and improve himself.

He then closed the cabinet door and turned to go to the cafeteria for a meal.

Because of the event tonight and the upcoming holiday, the food provided by the cafeteria supplier is better than usual, with improvements in both taste and portion size.

Li Ai took a bite of the tender and juicy hamburger patty, then paired it with fried chicken nuggets and a cola, and remarked:

"These guys finally stopped wasting food."

He looked up and his gaze fell on the hanging television in the cafeteria.

The television program was not a teen-oriented drama, but rather a press conference that was broadcast temporarily.

"Mr. Stark will make a statement, but he will not answer questions from reporters. Thank you for your cooperation."

The image shows Tony's MIT classmate, Air Force Colonel James Rhodes, a key liaison between the military and Stark Industries.

The purpose of this press conference was to distance Tony from the 'armored man' who appeared last night, and the media even received a brief report upon entering.

Rod briefly explained the situation of the press conference, then stepped down from the podium, handing the stage over to Tony.

Although Tony was wearing a suit, he still looked tired, clearly having not rested well. Clutching a piece of paper with his prepared response, he addressed the cameras and reporters:

"It hasn't been that long since the last press conference, so I just read from the prepared script. Some people suspect that I was battling biological weapons on the highway last night..."

Tony read the words aloud while glancing at the note in his hand, increasingly feeling that he shouldn't have said that.

At this moment, a female reporter who hadn't followed the rules asked, "So, Mr. Stark, do you really think people will believe that you prepared high-tech armor for a super-powered bodyguard and then had him fight a bio-monster on the highway with another unknown superhuman?"

“I know it sounds amazing, and you can question the statement, but don’t imply that I’m a superhero,” Tony defended himself.

“I didn’t say you were a superhero,” the female reporter laughed.

"That's true. I have many flaws and I'm definitely not cut out to be a hero. I've caused a lot of trouble for everyone."

Tony's words gradually deviated from his prepared speech. Rhodes, who was standing next to him, noticed something was wrong, and Tony also thought about everything that had happened during this period.

How can a non-existent 'bodyguard' deter those bastards who covet the steel armor? Shouldn't I adopt a more comprehensive approach to confront those who attempt to disrupt peace?

Various thoughts raced through his mind, but finally, he put down his speech notes completely, looked firmly at the flashing lights, and said:

"Actually... I am Iron Man."

This statement was like a boulder thrown into a pond. Sensing a hot topic, media professionals quickly raised their cameras and microphones, trying to dig out as much information as possible.

Li Ai watched the chaotic scene on TV, finished the last piece of fried chicken, and got up to take the plate to the recycling area.

Because the setup for the party takes time, there will only be one class this afternoon, and club activities will be temporarily suspended. Students can go home early to prepare their party attire.

But Li Ai had no interest whatsoever. He preferred to take photos on the streets and familiarize himself with the layout of New York rather than go to parties.

Fortunately, he had nothing to do at the moment, and his mother had to change her plans due to unforeseen circumstances and needed to go on a business trip for half a month, so he could have some free time these few days.

Furthermore, starting next Wednesday, we'll have a ten-day holiday from Christmas to New Year's Day, which will allow us to relax a bit.

During this time, he came to Greenwich Village in the West Side of Manhattan.

The buildings here are not tall, mostly four or five-story red brick buildings and brownstone buildings, which inject a classical atmosphere into this modern city.

Li Ai strolled through the streets of Greenwich Village like a photography enthusiast who had come to admire the place. His actions seemed ordinary, but he actually had another purpose.

In this universe, besides various superpowers and advanced technologies, there are also mages who unleash magic through incantations and gestures.

The sources of power for mages are varied and bizarre. Some rely on special bloodlines, some on their own will, and some draw energy from other dimensions.

Among them, outer dimensions are a key point. They have a connection with Earth that ordinary people cannot detect, and they have their own names depending on the circumstances.

In the endless outer dimensions, there also exist some demons and gods that are not very friendly to Earth and humanity.

Meanwhile, a group of mages concealed themselves amidst the clamor and constructed three buildings at three special nodes, which together formed a magic array capable of defending against extradimensional demons.

These three buildings are known as the Holy Sanctuary.