Because of Tony Stark's announcement,
the press conference erupted into total chaos.
Over a hundred reporters surged forward,
as if they might storm the stage any second.
Seeing this, Rhodes immediately grabbed Tony and bolted.
The two sprinted all the way backstage.
Rhodes pointed at the television, which was broadcasting the chaotic scene live.
Frustrated, he snapped:
"You see what you've done, Tony?!"
"Didn't we agree earlier? Just read the script!"
Tony, unfazed, tried to calm him.
"Hey, take it easy, man."
"You heard that reporter, didn't you?"
"No one's buying the whole 'movie shoot' excuse."
"I mean, I don't blame them."
"You can't treat people like fools. I just told the truth."
"So don't blame me for this."
Tony Stark was clearly trying to pass the buck.
"Ugh…"
Rhodes let out a long sigh, speechless.
But deep down, he knew,
he really had no way of stopping Tony.
"…Fine. Let's just get out through the back before it gets worse."
As he spoke, Colonel Rhodes suddenly paused.
He glanced around.
"…Where's General Ross?"
Tony shrugged.
"How should I know?"
"Maybe you shut the door too fast earlier. Old guy like him couldn't keep up?"
With that, Tony headed straight for the exit.
Pepper, standing nearby, hurried after him.
Rhodes gave the TV one last look.
Sure enough, General Ross was now surrounded by a sea of reporters.
As one of the three official speakers at the conference…
…and with the other two already gone…
…the reporters had only one person left to bombard with questions.
Even though Ross had a few soldiers protecting him,
the sheer number of journalists was overwhelming.
A handful of soldiers, even trained, couldn't hold off a crowd of nearly two hundred.
And with the cameras still rolling,
they couldn't exactly use force either.
All they could do was shield Ross as best they could.
"Oh my god…"
Rhodes cursed and rushed back out the door to help.
, ,
A reporter shoved a microphone right in Ross's face.
"General, what's your response to Tony Stark's statement?"
Ross's expression was dark, but he still maintained a veneer of civility.
"Sorry. I'm not him. I don't know."
"General, do you have any comments on Iron Man… and Superman?"
"…No comment."
, ,
On the TV screen,
General Ross was being hounded from all sides,
his escape route cut off.
Even with bodyguards nearby,
there was no way he could get through the mob of reporters.
And worst of all?
They kept throwing questions at him, questions he couldn't possibly answer.
Just moments ago, Tony Stark had revealed his identity as Iron Man.
So now, all the media's attention had shifted to that.
No one was asking about the Hulk, or the Abomination,
or even about the destruction in the streets from that night.
Despite his frustration,
Ross couldn't help but feel a faint sense of relief.
It seemed none of the reporters cared about Hulk, Abomination…
…or the citywide damages.
Which meant,
he wouldn't be held responsible.
Looking at how things were playing out,
General Ross realized something:
Tony revealing himself as Iron Man… might not be such a bad thing after all.
At the very least, the pressure on him had lessened greatly.
No scrutiny, no blame, he'd stay in the clear.
"Tony actually dragged me into this too?"
Back at home, Carl raised an eyebrow at the chaos unfolding on screen.
Still, he didn't really mind.
After all,
He had already told Tony:
Say whatever you want.
He wasn't trying to stay hidden in the first place,
so he had no reason to care about exposure.
Thinking of something,
Carl opened up Stark Industries' stock data.
Sure enough,
After Tony Stark publicly confirmed his identity,
Stark Industries' stock had skyrocketed.
Its current market cap was now
just a little below where it was before Tony was kidnapped.
At this rate,
the value would only keep climbing.
, ,
After checking on the stock market,
Carl opened up the chat group.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
?﹏?Another day of work… I'm so exhausted.
[Blood-Pumping Spiderko]:
Ugh, me too.
Fighting monsters every single day…
[Blood-Pumping Spiderko]:
Still, at least I've evolved several times.
I gotta level up fast and finally take human form!
[Blood-Pumping Spiderko]:
└（^o^）┐ Let's gooo!
[Shirley]:
Uhh… wow.
Spiderko, you're really full of energy.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
That's awesome! Keep it up!
[Thousand-Hand Princess]:
Cheering for you.
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Go for it.
[Blood-Pumping Spiderko]:
??? Thanks!
[Blood-Pumping Spiderko]:
Now that I think about it…
Keisha hasn't popped up in a few days, has she?
Spiderko spent every day grinding monsters in an underground labyrinth.
It was honestly pretty boring.
So she tended to chat in the group a lot,
one of the most active members, in fact.
She was pretty familiar
with who was usually online and when.
And originally,
Keisha was very active.
Sometimes even more than she was.
So it wasn't strange for her to notice something was off.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Now that you mention it… yeah.
Keisha, what's up?
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Did something happen?
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Hmm…
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Something has… happened in my world.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
What is it?
Is it dangerous? Do you need Carl-sama's help?
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
I don't think it's dangerous…
It's just,
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Angels suddenly appeared in my world.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Angels?
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
You mean like, the ones from myths and legends?
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Exactly.
My world has always had ancient stories about angels.
Some people believe deeply in them.
Others think they're just folklore.
I was always on the fence.
But recently, someone claimed
they'd seen an angel with their own eyes.
And for some reason,
my parents have been extremely worried ever since.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Worried?
Why? Aren't angels supposed to be good guys?
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Why would your parents be worried?
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
…I don't know either.
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Alright then.
But if anything dangerous happens,
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
Be sure to post a request in the group right away!
[What To Do If My Sister's a Chuunibyou]:
After all, Carl-sama is still here, right?
@[God Among Men]
[Heavenly Blade Queen]:
Alright. If anything comes up, I'll post a task.
[God Among Men]:
Yes.