Half a year later, America's number one most-wanted criminal, Jason, was once again broadcasting live to the entire nation, and all of American society instantly exploded into chaos.
The last time, in New York's Times Square, Jason used the media platforms to broadcast, and the viewership was only in the tens of millions.
But this time, Jason had used some unknown advanced technology to actually take control of all of America's internet users. The real-time viewership was approaching one hundred million people.
However, only a small fraction of them felt terror towards Jason and the Joker Organization, hating them with gritted teeth.
The majority of people had a very vague attitude toward Jason. After all, his main activities were in New York and Los Angeles. The perception residents of other cities had of him came entirely from TV news.
They hadn't personally experienced that despair, so how could they possibly empathize?
These people were watching the broadcast purely for entertainment. Many of them even hoped Iron Man would be a little late, so they could get a good look at the "charming scenery."
The American TV media reacted quickly. A few minutes after the broadcast began, all television programs were suspended, and they all patched into Jason's live feed. Anchors urgently swapped their scripts to give official commentary on this incident.
The last time Jason broadcast from Times Square, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent died, and he extorted five billion dollars.
This time, Jason was in the Hollywood Hills, and there was no telling which unlucky bastard would be next.
Besides the media, America's law enforcement agencies also reacted quickly.
The LAPD, FBI, CIA, NSA, S.H.I.E.L.D.... all these agencies were already in a chaotic mess.
Jason had pulled such a massive stunt, and these agencies had to bear the primary responsibility. The one with the most responsibility, of course, was S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency specifically tasked with capturing him.
In just a few minutes, S.H.I.E.L.D. had received hundreds of "cordial inquiries" from VIPs.
Among them were the UN Secretary-General, the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, members of Congress, the Governor of California...
Everyone was interrogating S.H.I.E.L.D., demanding to know why Jason was making such a huge move, yet S.H.I.E.L.D. had failed to gather any intel beforehand.
Why, after half a year, had the operation to capture Jason made zero progress? And why had the only breakthrough come from Tony Stark, a goddamn arms capitalist?
What the hell had S.H.I.E.L.D., the world's largest law enforcement agency, been doing for the past half-year? And where had all the massive funding from the UN gone?
The new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Hill, was getting completely reamed out by these VIPs. She felt aggrieved and furious, but she had no excuse to refute them.
For the past six months, they truly had been working hard to find Jason, but he was hidden too well. For six months, there hadn't been a single trace. They were truly powerless.
Hanging up the phone again, Hill said with a weary face, "Scramble fighter jets... no, send two drones to Los Angeles."
Coulson, sitting opposite her, said, "Two drones doesn't seem like nearly enough."
Hill rubbed her temples. "Think about it. Jason was silent for half a year, and now he suddenly pops up to publicly provoke Tony Stark. What does that tell you?"
Hill answered her own question. "It means the Joker Organization's power has grown explosively, and he wants to show off his strength in front of the whole country."
"And Tony Stark is just the scapegoat he's chosen. We know nothing about the Joker Organization right now. Sending more jets would just be giving Jason target practice."
Coulson said, "If that's the case, why should S.H.I.E.L.D. get involved in this mess? One drone costs over seven million dollars. We'd be better off saving that money for agent bonuses."
Hill said helplessly, "My phone is about to explode. If we don't at least put on a show and make a gesture, I'll end up just like Nick Fury, impeached by the World Security Council."
Coulson nodded. "I see. Understood. I'll get right on it."
*
Over 300 million people in America, from the President down to the common citizen, were watching the live broadcast.
But the main party involved, Tony Stark, was at home, dead asleep.
"Sir! Sir! Wake up!"
JARVIS yelled. The phone on the bedside table was vibrating frantically, but Tony still showed no sign of waking.
He had been in the lab yesterday improving the Iron Man suit, working all day and through the night, not getting to sleep until after noon today.
At most, he had only been asleep for four hours and was right in the middle of a deep sleep.
The phone's vibration and JARVIS's shouting were just background noise to him.
Seeing the shouting was useless, JARVIS's AI brain began processing at high speed, searching for a way to wake Tony.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
PSSSSSH!!
Directly above the bedroom, the smoke alarm was activated by JARVIS, and a massive spray of water gushed out.
Tony's smoke alarms were not like other people's. The stream of water from just one nozzle was equivalent to a normal household faucet on full blast.
And this alarm had eight nozzles.
The deluge of water sprayed onto Tony's bed, soaking his blankets and sheets.
The sleeping Tony sensed the discomfort and slowly began to frown.
As the water pooled and the blanket grew heavier, Tony finally couldn't take it anymore and snapped open his bloodshot eyes.
"Shit! JARVIS! The roof is leaking!" Tony yelled, wiping the water from his face as he threw off the heavy covers and jumped out of bed.
"Sir! Ms. Potts has been kidnapped by Jason!"
Hearing this, Tony froze, completely dumbfounded.
After a few seconds of shock, Tony asked anxiously, "How did this happen? Where was she taken? Where is she?"
JARVIS didn't answer, but instead turned on the television at the foot of the bed and played the recording of the live broadcast.
As the video played, Tony's brow furrowed, his expression growing more and more savage. A rage that felt like it could incinerate the world began to build in his heart.
When he heard Jason's line, "I'm going to rip off another piece of Pepper's clothing every minute," Tony's expression twisted. He didn't even bother changing out of his soaking wet clothes, sprinting directly into his underground lab.
Standing on the smart floor, the robotic arms rose from below and began assembling the Iron Man suit around him.
Tony used the moment to ask, "JARVIS, how many pieces of clothing does Pepper have left?"
JARVIS replied helplessly, "Sir, she doesn't have any clothes left. They were all gone five minutes ago."
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
Hearing this, the veins on Tony's neck bulged, and his entire face flushed red with rage.
He panted heavily, "JARVIS, why the hell didn't you wake me up sooner!"
JARVIS explained, sounding aggrieved, "Sir, with all due respect, you are simply too deep a sleeper. I must also remind you, this is clearly a trap set by Jason. Are you certain you don't want to reconsider?"
The metal faceplate snapped shut. Suit-up complete.
Tony said in an icy tone, "Don't worry. I have a way to deal with Jason!"
With that, the repulsors in his boots blasted.
Tony shot out of the villa at maximum speed, rocketing toward the Hollywood Hills.
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