Wen Wu appeared very relaxed.
Tony, however, couldn't afford to relax.
His slightly smug expression turned serious.
He had just thought he gained the upper hand, but now it seemed that was only because the opponent couldn't unleash his full strength in close quarters quickly.
By creating distance, Wen Wu had, in fact, made a risky move.
Tony suddenly realized Malrick's assessment of this Ten Rings Gang leader was very accurate.
If it had been him a month ago, right after receiving the Death notice, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance, even against a hundred opponents.
Tony felt the situation growing complicated.
But he certainly couldn't lose face.
He shot back, "Does an old sourpuss still ask others for candy? Then come on, if you beat me, this candy's yours."
Wen Wu sneered, and the Ten Rings began to flow fluidly around his hands.
His style shifted—movements both rigid and smooth, like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, or a winding stream through a mountain gorge.
The energy of the Ten Rings merged and stacked.
Suddenly, he threw a punch.
The Ten Rings locked together and exploded in a burst of blue energy, striking toward Tony.
Tony instinctively activated his thrusters to evade, but the Ten Rings pursued relentlessly.
He had no choice but to condense a Fungus Shield with both hands for defense.
Upon contact, the shield shattered immediately without resistance.
The black fungus instantly died under the overwhelming energy, scattering into the air.
Tony was embarrassingly knocked to the ground.
When he stood, a large chunk of his chest armor was missing.
But with abundant energy, the mycelium rapidly divided, repairing the armor gap in seconds.
The fungus, from the Resident Evil World, was truly unreasonable.
Tony remembered well.
In the other world, fighting alongside the New Human army against zombies, those super zombies would suddenly grow from human size to mountain size without warning after reaching the third stage.
It was as if they ignored the basic laws of mass conservation.
Tony guessed this was a unique Biohazard World mechanism converting energy and mass interchangeably.
So, he cultivated a new fungus strain and applied this mechanism to his armor.
Now, as long as he had energy, his armor could reproduce infinitely—it was practically indestructible.
"That punch hurt; I admit you've got some strength."
Tony twisted his neck as giant blades and swords reformed in his hands.
Wen Wu favored long-range attacks, so Tony naturally had to close the gap.
Even if it became a war of attrition, it didn't matter.
The Fungus God Armor, fueled by reactor energy, could feed back to him, replenishing stamina.
He was confident he could fight like this all day.
Tony shouted, "Come on!" and with thrusters propelling him, charged low toward Wen Wu, blades ready.
But this time, Wen Wu didn't engage closely.
He lightly tapped the ground and retreated gracefully, like willow catkins drifting on the wind.
"Damn, Wen Wu knows Light Footwork?"
Malrick, watching Wen Wu glide across the grass, felt like he was watching a martial arts movie from another life.
With such graceful footwork, how could Tony catch him?
After chasing back and forth, they never closed the distance.
Moreover, Tony couldn't hit Wen Wu, but Wen Wu continuously attacked with the Ten Rings.
Still, Tony's superb regeneration—body and armor—made him like a cockroach.
No matter the hits, he remained in peak condition.
After more than ten minutes of this stalemate, neither could land a decisive blow.
Both grew frustrated.
Tony abandoned close combat.
His hands shifted to laser beams.
He wielded two crimson lasers, resembling a Jedi Knight.
Wen Wu stopped running and assumed a Tai Chi-like stance, circulating the Ten Rings' energy.
When the lasers met the Ten Rings, they dispersed easily.
The Ten Rings, undiminished, stacked and slammed into Tony's chest.
Again, the Fungus God Armor was torn apart.
This time, even the Reactor was smashed to scrap.
But Tony still floated midair, casually pulling a new Ark Reactor from his pocket and attaching it to his chest.
The armor restored instantly.
"Again and again..." Wen Wu gritted his teeth.
He retracted the Ten Rings, recharged, and attacked once more.
This time, he unleashed a barrage, relentlessly pursuing Tony.
Each time Tony's armor repaired, the Ten Rings smashed it again.
One flying, the other chasing on ground—the roles reversed.
"This is a truly even match," Malrick exclaimed. "If Tony's combat skills were sharper, he might break the deadlock."
In moments, their battle extended beyond the grassy field.
Wen Wu occasionally took blasts.
Tony was even knocked off a cliff by the Ten Rings.
Malrick wanted to follow, but Wen Wu, without looking back, ordered and leapt off the cliff.
"Capture Tony Stark's brother; I want to see if he'll surrender the armor for his brother's sake!"
Malrick turned and saw dozens of Ten Rings Gang members, some in training gear, others in ninja outfits, glaring fiercely.
"Actually, we could sit down and talk this out," Malrick said, spreading his hands.
But the gang had already drawn guns and swords.
"Alright, then let's try another way."
Malrick's eyes glowed red.
A second later, he flew toward the cliff amid their helpless cries.
Before reaching it, dull thudding sounds echoed.
Thump, thump, thump!
Like giant hammers striking the cliff.
He even heard Wen Wu cursing the monster below.
How long had it been? What was happening beneath?
Malrick hovered over the seaside and looked down.
"Holy sh*t!"
He couldn't help but curse.
There was no sign of Tony under the cliff.
No, Tony beneath wasn't human anymore.
A stretch of beach at the cliff and sea junction was covered in clumps of dark mycelium, blanketing the entire coastline.
The cliff face and sea level below were black with mycelium.
Lush green bushes turned to shriveled, dead branches.
Fish were tangled in mycelium, reduced to dry bones within seconds.
At the center of this bleak coastline stood a giant black fungal humanoid over ten meters tall.
Tony's chest and cheeks were visible.
His limbs and head were submerged within the massive fungal body, connected by mycelial strands growing from thin to thick.
When he waved, the giant fungal body waved too.
But the giant had no feet, so it couldn't move.
"Tony turned into a Tyrant from Resident Evil!?"
Malrick was stunned, but then realized: "Wait, his consciousness is clear. No sign of corrosion. This is all under his control."
"He's controlling the fungus to reproduce massively, draining nutrients from the coastline to expand the fungal body, amplifying himself."
"In other words, this isn't a Tyrant but a fungal Gundam."
"What the hell? Tony's piloting a Gundam?"
Malrick slapped his forehead.
Tony's style was a bit... unusual.
Was this still Iron Man?
He couldn't tell for a moment.
But the giant fungal armor was undeniably powerful.
Tony, controlling it, slapped Wen Wu like swatting a fly.
He shattered the Ten Rings' defense and even grabbed Wen Wu by the ankle, smashing him on the ground like dough.
"The strength amplification is between five to ten times... this giant fungal armor's strength is roughly a thousand tons," Malrick assessed.
"Though strange, it's impressive."
Minutes later, Wen Wu, held by Tony, screamed as the fungus drained him dry, turning him into a mummy.
Tony sighed in relief.
He looked around, then up at Malrick in the sky, his tired expression vanishing instantly.
"Malrick!" he called, lifting his chin and spreading his hands. "How's that? Did it blow your mind?"
"My Fungus God Armor isn't bad, right? Solved a Ten Rings Gang leader with one slap!"
Malrick descended to Tony's side.
"Well... it looks good."
"But what now? This fungus can't stay here, can it?"
"I can control their growth, no worries."
Tony's mind shifted, and the fungal mass fixing his left hand receded like a tide.
He rotated his left hand on the Ark Reactor.
"Reverse the energy flow, and they'll quickly lose vitality."
The Ark Reactor glowed brightly.
The mycelium's bioelectricity converted back into electrical energy through Tony's body.
Malrick saw the tips of vast mycelium areas on the sea turning grayish-white.
But then he frowned.
"If all that bioenergy converts into electricity, it might overload your body."
"Ah!"
Before Malrick finished, Tony screamed in pain.
Blood vessels on his chest burst, and his heart began expanding, about to explode.
The reverse energy was overwhelming.
"Damn it," Malrick grabbed Tony, pulled out the Ark Reactor, and crushed it with his bare hands.
"Knew you weren't reliable."
His eyes flared with heat rays, incinerating the mycelium, cliff, and coast within breaths.
The lush green coastline instantly turned to lava.
Seawater covered it, leaving only a dark black rock wall.
Tony, panting heavily, watched and gave a wry smile.
"Supposed to be controllable, but something went wrong... need to adjust the energy return path again."
Several spots on his body glowed crimson, and super regeneration kicked in.
"You still want a next time? Just don't use the Gundam form if you can avoid it."
Malrick landed beside Tony and walked toward where the Ten Rings had fallen.
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