Chapter 45: A New Target, The Hand
"What is he doing?!"
Jiang Feng's unimaginably fast hands and seemingly physics-defying production efficiency made Ivan pause for breath.
What kind of hand speed was that? What kind of craftsmanship?
This guy was building an extremely complex Iron Suit faster than a seasoned street vendor could assemble a sandwich.
His movements were fluid, precise—like an art form.
It didn't even look like he was building armor. He was faster than a veteran chef tossing together street food.
"This… this guy… is an absolute monster!"
Ivan couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
Jiang Feng not only possessed strength far beyond that of ordinary people—as if he weren't even human—but even his production speed had reached a terrifying level.
Watching his focused figure at work, Ivan sighed with emotion.
Sure enough, in a vast world, there were wonders beyond comprehension; there's always someone better out there.
He once considered himself a genius.
But now he felt an unprecedented sense of awe.
To be born in the same era as a monster like Jiang Feng—was it fortune, or misfortune?
The laboratory space was spacious and well-equipped.
"No, other people's business has nothing to do with me. I just need to complete my own goal."
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Ivan quickly found an idle workbench.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the waves in his chest.
His eyes swept across the dazzling array of materials. The shock in them gradually gave way to a burning determination.
He began focusing his mind, using these resources to begin crafting his own revenge armor.
"Tony Stark… Everything you once did to me, I will return a hundredfold! I'll wash away my shame with your blood."
Ivan's eyes turned cold as he swore a bitter oath.
He would make the Stark family pay a bloody price for robbing his father of his honor.
That hatred, like a raging fire, drove his hands to create a weapon powerful enough to destroy everything.
Days passed silently.
In the research lab of Hammer Tower, on the surface, everything appeared lively and productive. Two mechanical geniuses occupied opposite ends of the room.
Jiang Feng was in charge of upgrading the Iron Monger suit.
Under his improvements, the heavy armor gradually shed its roughness and became more refined and imposing.
Beneath the cold metal shell lurked terrifying power.
On the other side, Ivan was boldly pushing forward with a mass-production plan for unmanned combat suits.
One steel soldier after another lined up neatly in the lab's corner, gleaming with a chilling, metallic light.
Seeing both men so diligent in their work, Hammer couldn't stop smiling. He felt he had struck gold with these two "gods" he had invited.
Ambition gleamed in his eyes.
To him, these cutting-edge weapons were about to bring him endless wealth and fame.
The throne of the future arms king was already beckoning him.
However—
How much of the world is ever what it seems?
Beneath the surface harmony, undercurrents stirred.
Jiang Feng and Ivan were both deeply scheming men with their own agendas.
When it came to Hammer's assigned tasks, both of them, without any discussion, chose to go through the motions superficially while secretly slacking off—dragging their progress deliberately, like oxen pulling a broken cart.
Their real energy had long been secretly redirected toward their private endeavors, turning Hammer Industries' valuable resources into fertile ground for their personal ambitions.
On Jiang Feng's side, he continued to pour his heart into building his breakthrough armor.
His eyes burned with determined focus as he tirelessly mass-produced scattered components.
As for Ivan, the vengeful Russian from the icy north—though his speed was slightly slower than Jiang Feng's inhuman efficiency—it was still astonishingly fast.
The Whiplash armor had begun to take shape under his hands. A terrifying metal frame now stood tall.
However, this crafty Russian was a shrewd operator to his core.
During the process, he deliberately only built the armor's shell and weapons.
When it came to the core arc reactor, he never mentioned it, nor did he make any attempt to craft it.
His intentions were clear.
The core tech was his trump card. Ivan clearly had no intention of exposing it to Jiang Feng, whose depth remained unfathomable.
Ivan had already made up his mind—he would secretly build it at a more secure time.
Jiang Feng, however, wasn't concerned at all.
He knew perfectly well—
If Ivan wanted to power his suit, the miniature arc reactor was essential.
Jiang Feng's AI assistant, Linglong, had already become an invisible ghost, manipulating most of New York's surveillance systems like toys in her hand.
She had woven a nearly flawless digital net.
In this city of steel, there was hardly a single corner that could escape her ever-present electronic eyes.
The moment Ivan started working on the power core, every action and operation would be completely exposed to Jiang Feng.
With Jiang Feng's monstrous learning ability—
Just watching a single surveillance recording would be enough for him to grasp Ivan's core techniques and fully absorb their essence.
Ivan was undoubtedly a genius—a brilliant inventor of his generation.
But when it came to software programming and artificial intelligence, he was nowhere near Jiang Feng's level.
He couldn't detect Linglong's surveillance, let alone gain the upper hand in this invisible duel.
How could his little secrets escape Linglong's godlike oversight?
Ivan might never realize until the day he dies—he had been someone else's prey from the very beginning.
Therefore—
Jiang Feng didn't rush to reveal his hand.
He maintained a polite, distant colleague relationship with Ivan, minding his own business, waiting for the bait to be taken.
As the noise of the day faded—
Each night, as the city lights flickered on, Jiang Feng would leave Hammer Tower and step into the darker side of New York—the sleepless city.
His hunting map quietly shifted.
Hell's Kitchen, once a place of rampant crime, had been thoroughly swept clean by his earlier raids. Now, it was a shallow pond with few fish left.
He could hardly find prey that interested him anymore.
So—
Jiang Feng set his sights on an even larger villain organization: The Hand.
Not long ago, when he was ambushed by Kingpin's men, he had casually killed one of the Hand's Five Fingers—Madame Gao.
That battle made Jiang Feng realize—
This trial world held within it the ancient and powerful force of the Hand.
Even though the line between the Marvel movie universe and TV universe was blurry—and the TV settings were incomplete—
That didn't dampen Jiang Feng's curiosity.
This time—
He wanted to personally investigate whether the Hand in this world possessed the legendary Dragon Bones.
A treasure said to allow people to transcend the limits of mortality and live for centuries—Jiang Feng's desire for it burned like wildfire.
Whether the Dragon Bones could directly boost his strength, Jiang Feng wasn't sure.
But just the chance to extend his life was worth the risk.
With his "Exceptional Bones" talent—
If the Dragon Bones, Super Soldier Serum, and Heart-Shaped Herb merged in his body, they might produce a miraculous reaction, unlocking even greater potential.