Chapter 29: For the Tribe...

Luke’s entrance immediately brought the atmosphere in the arena to a whole new level. Countless cameras and phones were trained on this unexpected guest who had appeared out of nowhere. The crowd buzzed with speculation and discussion about the identity of this mech.

Standing 1.2 meters tall and just as wide, its exterior combined the styles of DNF and Gundam. The design of the aerial combat mech, Gale, was novel and unfamiliar to everyone in the Marvel world.

There was no denying that Luke had shown his highest engineering prowess with this machine. The moment the mech appeared, most people’s eyes lit up.

Apparently, except for Warframe, everyone’s understanding of mech aesthetics was remarkably consistent…

Someone immediately concluded that this must be Iron Man’s new model!

“Did Iron Man bring reinforcements? Is this a mini Iron Man?” an excited Iron Man fan exclaimed.

“Iron Man! Take down your opponent!” shouted a man from Monaco.

“Oh my God, what an adorable model!” a female spectator shrieked, her cheeks flushed. “Tony, I love you! I’ll have your babies!”

Luke’s sudden appearance caused both Tony and Ivan, who were locked in combat, to pause in surprise. They simultaneously stopped fighting and kept a cautious distance from Luke.

Tony wondered, “What new trick is this from the enemy?”

Ivan Vanko thought grimly, “Damn Stark, trying to win by numbers? I won’t concede!”

His purpose tonight was to humiliate Tony Stark in front of the entire world, to make him lose face and become a laughingstock. He wanted Tony’s promises to become jokes.

Tony had once publicly assured everyone that the arc reactor could not be replicated within ten years, arrogantly claiming that no one dared challenge Iron Man one-on-one.

Ivan was acting both as the will of his deceased father, seeking redemption for his family, and as a personal vendetta. If he could kill Stark in front of so many people, it would be ideal. Even if he couldn’t, as long as he proved to the world that Stark wasn’t invincible, he would consider it a victory.

With these thoughts, Ivan glanced at the newly arrived mech, his expression turning fierce. He raised his electric whip and, catching Tony off guard, wrapped it around Tony’s neck.

He unleashed the full power of the arc reactor in his suit, sending a powerful current through the whip!

Inside the suit, Tony’s virtual screen trembled, the intense current causing some interference, though thankfully nothing critical. The Mark suit, now in its fifth iteration, had been improved to resist external voltages, low temperatures, and even strong radiation. With Tony’s intelligence and Jarvis’s assistance, every detail had been considered.

The only compromise was portability, which had slightly reduced the armor’s thickness—something Tony wasn’t entirely pleased with. Still, the Mark V was nearly perfect.

Tony decided to force his suit to withstand the current, gripping the whip so Ivan couldn’t escape, inching closer to his adversary.

Suddenly, a dark figure flashed by, and Ivan was sent flying. His whip slipped from his grasp, and he landed heavily on a wrecked race car.

The 1.2-meter mech struck a punching pose. Luke had precisely controlled his strength; otherwise, Ivan’s chest would have had a hole in it instead of an arc reactor.

Even so, the punch knocked Ivan out cold. His plan for the night was over.

Luke had no intention of killing Ivan—it offered him no benefit. Killing Ivan would alter the trajectory of Iron Man 2, and Luke wasn’t foolish enough to invite trouble upon himself.

The police “finally” arrived.

In such situations, the police always seem clever enough to show up at the last moment. A group of officers cuffed the unconscious Ivan Vanko and dragged him away like a dead pig.

As for Tony and Luke, the police pretended not to see them, stepping around the pair as if they were invisible.

Only Luke and Tony remained in the arena.

Spectators on the sidelines were somewhat disappointed that the show had ended too abruptly, leaving them unsatisfied.

With a hiss, Iron Man’s mask lifted, revealing Tony’s face. He looked at Luke and asked, “Who are you?”

Luke’s voice came from the mech’s poor-quality speaker. He didn’t answer, instead remarking, “High-tech prosthesis, huh?”

This joke had become well-known. At a congressional hearing, Tony had refused to acknowledge Iron Man as a weapon, instead describing it as a “high-tech prosthesis.”

Tony feigned surprise and said, “Don’t tell me you’re my crazy fan? I have to admit, your machine is… hmm, quite unconventional. Just a bit too small. If it were me, I’d make it human-sized—able to be piloted directly, or remotely.”

Luke curled his lip and replied, “Black Widow was right, you’re a narcissist.”

“Black Widow? What’s that?” Tony asked.

Due to changes in the plot, Tony didn’t know Black Widow yet.

“Nothing. Goodbye,” Luke said, and piloted his mech into the sky.

This place wasn’t suited for a fight—the stands were too crowded. While his mission was to stir things up, he didn’t want to harm innocent people. That was different from taking down gangsters. Luke had his own bottom line.

As expected, Tony wasn’t willing to let the matter rest. He lowered his mask, jets fired beneath his suit, and he soared into the air.

Tony flew up beside Luke, studying the mech curiously. He said, “You shouldn’t be here, right? Remote piloting? It’s a novel idea, but there are a lot of limitations. Mainly network interruptions and data anomalies.”

Luke ignored him, so Tony continued, “Looking at the size, there’s no way a person could fit inside. Unless you’re a kid? That’s absurd. Impossible.”

Tony immediately dismissed the thought. It wasn’t just illogical; he simply refused to believe a child could build such a mech.

Jarvis had already analyzed some of Gale’s data parameters, and Tony had to admit the design was remarkably mature—it must have been made by a veteran. Only a genius of his caliber could create something like this.

“None of your business,” Luke replied, continuing to fish for information.

He was waiting for a chance to strike. He had already decided to have a showdown with Tony tonight—for the tribe, for glory!

Poor Tony had no idea, and kept doggedly flying alongside Luke, chattering away.

“Look, since you showed up and helped me take care of a problem, should I thank you? Of course, even without your intervention, I could have handled it easily. So maybe I won’t thank you. But this shouldn’t end here. I think we need to have a private talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Luke suddenly accelerated his mech, trying to fly away.

Tony reached out and grabbed the mech’s ankle.