After Francis was finally dealt with, Robert and Wade left the wrecked deck separately.
Wade called up his Indian driver friend again, eager to get Vanessa home as soon as possible. Robert, on the other hand, didn't join them. With his newly scavenged stash of weapons and gear, he hopped on the motorcycle he'd claimed from the battleground and sped back to his apartment. He had some serious upgrades to plan.
Today's battle had exposed the flaw in his so-called "Three-Thousand Strike" plan.
Originally, the idea was simple: his high-powered shotgun would break through Gina's defenses, and a follow-up grenade would finish the job. But reality had slapped him hard. Even with the firepower he had used, Gina's body had tanked it all—and it took a full load of C4 explosives to finally take her down.
If that wasn't a wake-up call, nothing was.
"Shotguns weren't enough… grenades barely scratched her… I need something stronger," Robert muttered, pacing around his living room with schematics and blueprints scattered everywhere. "Maybe it's time to bring out the real cannons."
Yes—he needed a rocket launcher.
Someone once said: Truth only exists within the range of artillery fire. And Robert had always considered himself a very reasonable guy. If he wanted his enemies to understand his reasoning, he needed something loud, explosive, and impossible to ignore.
Meanwhile, on the bar's TV screen, a news broadcast was running. A sharply dressed man with a stylish goatee stood confidently before a wall of reporters.
"I've come to a realization," said the man. "We can do more for this world than just manufacture weapons. Effective immediately, I'm shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division until we can determine a better path forward—one that aligns with the greater good."
The man on screen was none other than Tony Stark, head of Stark Industries.
Robert sat back on the couch, sipping a cola and raising an eyebrow.
After Tony Stark's mysterious disappearance in Afghanistan, the world had assumed the worst. Stark Industries' stock had crashed, and investors panicked. But now, here he was—alive, well, and throwing the entire military-industrial complex into chaos by announcing an end to his company's arms business.
The news blindsided everyone. Stockholders who had just begun buying back shares in celebration of Stark's return were now raging. One could only imagine how many rooftops would be crowded with regretful investors by morning.
Behind the bar, the weasel was polishing a glass and scoffed. "This guy's been brainwashed for sure. An arms dealer who quits arms dealing? What's he gonna do now, open a juice bar?"
Robert took a sip of cola and replied dryly, "Maybe he's planning to become a blacksmith."
But only Robert knew the real meaning behind this announcement—Iron Man had arrived.
And that was when the screen in Robert's vision suddenly flickered.
[Achievement Title Unlocked!]
["Great Inventor – Completable"]
[Unlock Requirement: Defeat Iron Man (Tony Stark) in a high-tech battle suit you built yourself – (0/1)]
[Reward: Title – "Super High School Level Inventor"]
Robert nearly choked on his soda. He coughed violently and barely missed spraying cola all over the weasel.
What kind of joke was this?!
Defeat Iron Man in a suit you built yourself?!
That wasn't just absurd—it was practically suicide.
Tony Stark wasn't some back-alley villain. He was a billionaire genius with tech no one else could replicate. Robert estimated each suit of Stark's armor cost hundreds of millions to build. The man didn't just have firepower—he bathed in it. Missiles, energy cannons, flight capabilities, onboard AI—Stark's suits could fight gods.
And Robert? He could barely wire a toaster.
Compared to Stark's arsenal, the most Robert could craft was a wearable tin can that might stop a BB gun on a good day.
And Stark didn't just have one suit—he had dozens. Each model stronger than the last. Some were built to fight tanks. Others to battle the Hulk.
Even if Robert miraculously built a battle suit, what the hell would he use for materials? Titanium? Vibranium? Those weren't things you could buy at a hardware store. At best, Robert might cobble together something that could walk, maybe jump, and possibly explode on command—but nothing that could go toe-to-toe with Iron Man.
"And what? Am I supposed to outsmart him with my brain?" Robert muttered to himself. "Please. The guy built his first arc reactor in a cave."
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the mission seemed. This wasn't just "hard." It was mission impossible.
And yet, the system had triggered it.
Which meant there had to be a way.
Robert sighed, looked at the flashing system notification one last time, and took another gulp of cola.
"Fine. If I'm gonna fight Iron Man, then I'd better start learning how to build like him…"
He glanced over at the weasel.
"…Do we still have that copy of 'Engineering for Idiots'?"
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