051. Reality Is Far More Cruel Than the Movies

Just as Iron Man was about to meet a tragic end, a figure who had been sitting quietly in the corner of the audience suddenly let out a sigh.

“One after another, do I have to step in every time to turn the tide? These so-called superheroes should just be called super couriers—the efficiency with which they deliver themselves to defeat is impressive!”

Knowing there would be a spectacle tonight, Su Ye had of course come to join the fun. He just hadn’t expected Iron Man to be so disappointing; less than thirty seconds after appearing, he was already down.

In the midst of his sarcastic commentary, a strand of web shot out, latching onto War Machine’s cannon.

“I’ve been annoyed with you for a long time. Why is it that yours can rest on your shoulder, while mine can only coil around my waist?”

The web went taut in an instant, yanking War Machine’s body to the side. The mini-missile poised on his shoulder fired off at an odd angle, hit an Iron Soldier not far away, ricocheted to the ground, and spun around, turning into a shower of sparks.

But at this moment, no one cared whose shoddy product that sparkler was. The few brave spectators who hadn’t fled stared wide-eyed at the sight of the several-hundred-kilogram War Machine being hoisted into the air and swung around like a morning star.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Where the morning star swept, rows of Iron Soldiers were instantly smashed to the ground like felled gourds.

Seizing the moment when the Iron Soldiers were down and unable to aim, Su Ye leaped up, using his web to swing through the shattered glass window and land on the roof of the exhibition hall.

This was the very hall where the Stark Expo’s opening ceremony had been held. At the center of the roof, a circular opening had been reserved for Iron Man to enter and exit freely.

The electric net set up to intercept Iron Man was also installed over that circular area, and much of the rest of the glass roof had already been shattered by stray bullets.

When Su Ye landed on the roof, the Iron Soldiers below were struggling to get up, while Iron Man, having lost power and no longer under guard, had fallen onto the stage, crashing into a pile of Iron Soldiers.

A fall from dozens of meters wasn’t enough to cause Iron Man much harm. Back in the day, the hand-made Mark I in that cave had survived falling from the sky into the desert without a scratch.

He was just that lucky; a fall was nothing to him.

Nevertheless, Su Ye still used his web to pull him out of the pile and directly onto the roof outside.

Knock, knock!

Su Ye tapped on Iron Man’s awkward faceplate. “Hey, Tony Stank, are you alright?”

Now, outside the shielded zone of the hall, Jarvis’s signal finally came through. The Iron Man suit began to reboot. Dizzy and battered, Tony Stark didn’t bother to thank him; instead, he retorted sarcastically.

“It’s Stark, not Stank. So, Spider-Man, are you illiterate? Can’t even pronounce a name right?”

It was their first meeting, but the setting and mood were far from friendly.

“Heh,” Su Ye shrugged. “I have a speech disorder, so my pronunciation’s off. If it bothers you, you’ll just have to get used to it.”

While they spoke, the suit finished rebooting. Though the back still looked battered and rough, it didn’t hinder movement.

On the ground, the Iron Soldiers had already gotten up again. War Machine and the Air Force Iron Soldiers were even preparing to take off.

“We’re running out of time. I think we’ll have to find a chance to chat later,” Tony Stark said, lifting off into the air and once again reclaiming the commanding presence he’d had at the expo’s opening—though his back was still in a state that any neat freak would find intolerable.

“What comes next isn’t for you to handle. Find a place to hide and hurry home!” With that, Iron Man accelerated and flew off into the distance.

Inside the hall, War Machine and the Air Force Iron Soldiers shot out from the roof in pursuit, ignoring Su Ye crouching to the side as they chased after Iron Man.

The Navy Iron Soldiers on the ground, however, raised their cannons, aiming them at Su Ye on the roof.

Clearly, chasing Iron Man was their top priority, but if they had the chance, they wouldn’t hesitate to take out Spider-Man, the uninvited guest who had ruined their plans.

Ratatatat!

By the time bullets started flying, Su Ye was nowhere to be seen on the roof. He wasn’t stupid—no point staying put and waiting to be shot when he knew they’d attack.

Outside the exhibition hall, chaos had erupted across the expo grounds.

Iron Man, having flown out, was being chased and fired upon by War Machine and the Air Force Soldiers, dodging their shots with aerial maneuvers. As for the bullets originally meant for him, whether they shattered buildings or endangered bystanders was now the least of his concerns.

In the movie, this sequence was portrayed theatrically.

The Air Force Iron Soldiers chased Iron Man’s tail, firing away and shattering observation deck glass, yet the tourists inside were miraculously unharmed.

One Air Force Iron Soldier, hit by friendly fire, crashed into the fleeing crowd, tumbling dozens of meters, and still the surrounding bystanders were fine.

Even as Tony Stark was being attacked from both ground and air, fleeing like a dog, he still managed to drop from the sky and rescue a little boy wearing an Iron Man helmet with perfect timing.

From the moment he landed, aimed at the Iron Soldier opposite, to when he took off again, there was a pause of almost five seconds.

If those pursuing Iron Soldiers hadn’t all been frozen in place, their guns simultaneously silenced, five seconds would have been more than enough for several volleys.

Such is the magic of movies.

In reality, when the glass windows shattered in the hall, countless spectators were injured, some seriously enough to be rushed off in ambulances.

When Iron Man burst out followed by the Iron Soldiers, a hail of bullets rained down on the crowd, injuring countless bystanders.

Some unlucky enough to be struck by crashing Iron Soldiers didn’t even need an ambulance.

As for the little boy in the movie, the one saved by Iron Man in his helmet, he was indeed outside the hall, bravely raising his glowing palm at the oncoming Iron Soldiers amid the fleeing crowds—a conspicuous figure in the chaos.

But Iron Man, hounded like a dog, had no time to care. His suit had taken damage during the chase. At this point, he was lucky just to stay mobile and avoid being hit.

The Iron Soldiers’ orders were to attack Iron Man. The little boy’s helmet was recognized as Iron Man’s, so the gun barrel extended mercilessly, ready to unleash a burst right at the boy’s face.

If those bullets had really been fired, there might not have been a Spider-Man in this world—since it’s said that this boy was the future third-generation Spider-Man, Holland.

For Su Ye, perhaps that would be a good thing?

Without the kid, he’d be the only Spider-Man in this world.

Whoosh!

Just as the Iron Soldier was about to fire, a dark shadow flashed past. A black batarang shot into the Iron Soldier’s chest arc reactor.

With a crackling sound, the Iron Soldier powered down.

“Kid, Iron Man can’t save you. Go home!”

The boy, reportedly Holland in his Iron Man helmet, turned to look, but saw only a tall figure in a black cape, soaring up into the sky.