The press conference scene descended into chaos. The glass dome had just been shattered by the drone mechas' gunfire, and large chunks of glass fell like rain with a sharp clatter.
Everywhere, civilians were screaming, with sparks and flashes of electricity flying in all directions.
Yet, there was still a small group of people who, despite the dAtreus, held their ground.
Yes! They were the photographers! The timid had fled, but the brave remained.
A couple of these daring souls focused their 4K HD cameras right at the center of the scene, capturing the white mecha that radiated a rugged beauty.
"Boom, boom, boom!" The loud thud of the land-battle drone mecha's cannons reverberated through the sky, but they were all bark and no bite.
Because they couldn't hit the target!
It was as if, driven by the boosters on the back of the Unicorn Gundam, the mecha performed a breathtaking 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in just one second.
This sudden movement, from extreme stillness to extreme action, severely disrupted the drone mechas' logic systems.
In contrast, the Hammer Company's mechas appeared more cumbersome than ever.
With a standard Z-shaped dash, the Unicorn Gundam streaked like a terrifying flash of light, weaving through the three land-battle drone mechas positioned in a triangular formation.
The Gundam made its move!
A beam saber, glowing with a fearsome golden light, easily sliced through the armor of the Hammer Company's robots, which were supposedly resistant to direct hits from 40mm grenade launchers.
This scene stunned the top brass at the Department of Defense who were watching the live broadcast.
Tony, piloting his Iron Man suit, had a small live broadcast window open in the corner of his display. Swallowing hard, Tony felt a pang of discomfort.
Even without outside input, just by visual inspection, Tony himself thought that this mecha called "Gundam" was the real deal!
With its refined exterior armor, extreme mobility, and that exaggerated beam saber, it absolutely looked like a high-tech creation.
If Tony hadn't personally built this metal shell, he might have believed it himself.
The truth was—the Gundam was powered by an older generation of Iron Man's arc reactor, a scaled-down version at that, leaving Atreus's metallic shell with only half the thrust of Iron Man Mk2. The "mecha" didn't have any weapon systems, not even a smart computer—there wasn't even a display screen inside.
The Gundam's head had only two small eye holes through which to see outside, providing an incredibly narrow field of vision.
As for the supposedly powerful "beam saber," it was just an ordinary titanium-alloy battle blade Tony had made for Atreus back in the day.
Tony knew very well that those two flashy but useless swords couldn't even scratch the Hammer mechas.
This meant that aside from the small power boost provided by the exoskeleton system, all the combat prowess on display was purely Atreus's own skill.
"We're screwed! The Department of Defense is going to get totally ripped off," Tony muttered.
"What?" Tony had forgotten he was still on a mic with his old friend James.
"Nothing! I said the Department of Defense almost got screwed by Hammer Company." Tony quickly switched to cover-up mode. As the biggest arms dealer, he knew exactly what the top brass liked.
The bigwigs at the White House and the Department of Defense weren't afraid of a single powerful individual; in their eyes, anyone could be overwhelmed by superior technology and industrial might. What they preferred were mass-producible war machines, preferably unmanned.
If Atreus ever built a Gundam army, these guys wouldn't be able to sit still.
As Tony mocked the "monster" in his head, he continued his grand aerial battle.
On the ground, Atreus was having the time of his life!
The clunky land-battle humanoid mechas couldn't keep up with his moves.
The pure white humanoid mecha charged toward its enemies like an enraged lion.
"Fire! Fire!" Outside the arena, Justin Hammer was hopping mad over the loss of control of his mechas, unable to bear watching the mass-produced drone mechas—developed at great expense—getting taken down by some random Gundam.
He believed he was the man who would secure the Department of Defense's contracts for the next 25 years, not just a background player.
But unfortunately, some people remain background players for life!
Whiplash remotely controlled the land-battle mechas, ordering them to launch short-range combat missiles.
A string of earth-shattering explosions tore through the scene, turning chairs and the shattered floor into debris, as if a giant cluster bomb had gone off at the venue.
The intense heat from the explosions twisted aluminum chairs into noodle-like shapes. The blast radius covered half the venue, turning everything in its path into ash.
However, something unbelievable happened for everyone watching the live broadcast.
The two-meter-tall white mecha, like a god descending from the heavens, was encased in a halo of electrical arcs. Its hands parted the billowing explosion clouds, storming through the blast wave with unstoppable fury. Everyone saw the red eyes flashing on the Gundam, beneath its iconic V-shaped antenna.
A violent beauty, filled with the elegance of metal, radiated from this machine, dominating the ruined battlefield with destructive power.
The Hammer Company had only produced a limited number of drones—just eight units in total. One was already down at the start of the battle. After launching their deadliest missiles, the remaining seven were left with just their 20mm cannons and a tactical knife that even Justin Hammer didn't have much faith in.
The white mecha made its move!
It leapt into the air.
The boosters on its back seemed to grant it the propulsion of a fourth-generation fighter jet, launching it like a cannonball into the chest of the nearest land-battle drone mecha.
That was where the control system was located.
The blinding "beam saber" sliced through its target with ease, piercing the chest of the mecha.
Under the heat of the saber, the thick alloy armor melted like butter. Through high-definition cameras, the Department of Defense executives could even see the molten state of the armor on the mecha's chest.
As the white mecha struck "its own," the remaining land-battle humanoid mechas finally showed their inhuman side, unleashing a barrage of 20mm cannon fire, hitting both friend and foe alike.
To Justin Hammer's despair, the machine-gun rounds, capable of shredding armored vehicles, did nothing to the white mecha. Sparks flew as a few rounds made contact, but the bullets harmlessly bounced off the tough armor.
Only later, during a military review, would they discover that invisible energy ripples had emanated from the mecha, deflecting the rounds.
At that moment, the scene resembled a ricochet in action.
Without giving the land-battle drones any further chances, Atreus effortlessly cut down the seventh mecha. Then, in a dramatic act, he rammed into the final mecha, knocking it down, and together, they fell into the giant sewer surrounding the venue...