Tony frowned the moment he heard that familiar voice. He instantly remembered who it was. As he pressed the mute button, he also instructed Jarvis to trace the location of the incoming call.
All of this took place in just a few seconds. Once everything was set, Tony's expression hardened as he said in a low voice,"Ivan, didn't expect you to still be alive."
Ivan's raspy laughter came through the speaker."Hahaha, you too, Tony. I thought by now you'd have died in agony from palladium poisoning."
"Looks like you found a way to delay death for a while. But it's pointless. You still can't escape your fate."
Tony, merely stalling for time, replied evenly,"So, got any good advice? We can talk about it."
Ivan ignored his tone and continued on his own,"The advice you gave me wasn't bad either, Tony."
"That suggestion you made back in the Monaco prison—I took it. The Arc Reactor's output is indeed much higher now."
Hearing that, Tony's expression darkened.What he said back then in prison had only been sarcasm—mockery toward a man about to die.
But he hadn't expected Ivan to actually survive, much less under someone's protection.
Tony spoke into the phone,"It's Hammer, isn't it? He's the one who broke you out of prison."
"It seems you've already guessed." Ivan's voice came through, a toothpick clacking between his teeth.
Then he continued coldly,"Forty years ago, your father did something to my family. In the next forty minutes, I'll return the favor to you."
"Hope you're ready."
Tony tried to keep him talking—he knew the trace was almost complete.
But things rarely go as planned. Just as Jarvis was about to pinpoint Ivan's exact location, the call was cut off.
"Damn it!" Tony swore, glaring at the disconnected signal and dead line.
Then his gaze landed on the advertisement for Hammer Tech's showcase at the Stark Expo.
In that instant, it all clicked—what Ivan was planning.
He turned sharply and barked,"Jarvis! Assemble the armor compatible with the new reactor, fast!"
"As for the new reactor—skip the tests. I need it now."
Grabbing the freshly completed prototype from his desk, Tony began preparing to replace the core in his chest.
Just then, the phone rang again.
He turned, puzzled, and saw it was the same number—Ivan's.
"Sir," Jarvis prompted, "this number matches the previous call. Do you want to trace it again?"
"Do it!" Tony ordered immediately, hurrying back to the desk and pressing the call button.
"Hey! I knew you hadn't finished talking. How about you tell me how you got out? What'd you do, crawl through a pipe like in The Shawshank Redemption? Whose hammer did you borrow?"
Afraid Ivan might hang up again, Tony spoke rapidly, words tumbling out in a rush.
When he finally stopped, the other end was dead silent.
After a few seconds, a hoarse but unfamiliar voice came through.
"Uh, Tony, are you okay? Did you take something wrong?"
Tony's eyes widened. Recognition hit him."Mr. Ghost? How—how is it you? Where's Ivan?"
Meng Ran's calm voice replied,"Relax. I've already taken care of him."
"Did you find the answer to your puzzle?"
Tony still had a dozen questions swirling in his head, but hearing Ivan was gone, he finally let out a breath.
"Yes," Tony said, "I've found the new element. I solved it."
Meng Ran nodded to himself on the other end. Good. With that settled, it was time for him to move on—to New Mexico.
He continued,"Although Ivan's been dealt with, there's still a lot of cleanup to do."
"For example, the remote drones he set up at the Stark Expo—and the bombs he planted inside them."
"Also, the suit you gave the military. He infected it with a control virus."
"You'll need to handle all that with S.H.I.E.L.D."
Tony nodded silently. Those were indeed serious problems that needed immediate attention.
"Oh, and one more thing," Meng Ran added suddenly, as if remembering something important.
"Those drones—I want you to keep them secured. You personally."
"I don't ever want to see them appear anywhere outside a storage room. You understand?"
"I understand," Tony replied firmly.Even if Meng Ran hadn't said it, he'd have done the same. Those drones were too dangerous to be left unchecked.
After giving those final instructions, Meng Ran ended the call. The rest would be up to Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. to handle—and Justin Hammer certainly wouldn't walk away unscathed.
Pulling himself back from his thoughts, Meng Ran looked around the room. Several people lay unconscious—the two guards assigned to watch over Ivan, and Ivan himself.
As for how Meng Ran had found this place and taken Ivan down—it went back to just a short while ago.
He'd been searching everywhere for where Hammer was hiding Ivan, growing more anxious by the minute.
The Stark Expo presentation was about to start. If he couldn't find Ivan before that, he had been ready to storm the venue and force Hammer to talk.
He hadn't expected Xiaobai to fail in locating Ivan's position for so long. If he'd known, Meng Ran would've gone straight to Hammer from the start and beaten the truth out of him.
Logically, it should've been simple—they knew who had taken Ivan and that he was hidden somewhere inside Hammer Industries. Finding him should have been straightforward.
But Meng Ran hadn't anticipated just how skilled Ivan was with computers. He'd hidden his location so perfectly that there wasn't a single digital trace left.
If not for Ivan's last call exposing that he was in Queens, Meng Ran might have missed him entirely.
The experience had taught him a few lessons.
First, never underestimate these villains—even ones he remembered from his previous life's stories.
Because of those memories, he had a subconscious bias, believing these "familiar" villains wouldn't be too difficult to handle.
But he'd overlooked one crucial fact—In this world, they weren't fictional caricatures. They were living, breathing people, with unpredictable thoughts and actions.
Second, when things go beyond expectations, act decisively.
If he couldn't find Ivan, he shouldn't have waited for more data—he should've gone straight to Hammer, slapped him a few times, and forced the truth out.
After reflecting on all this, Meng Ran cleared the scene of any trace of himself and silently left the hideout.
Ivan was dead—after Meng Ran had absorbed his abilities. This time, the possession only slightly enhanced his intelligence.
Through this, Meng Ran realized something: possessing ordinary people no longer gave him much of a boost.
After checking with the system, the conclusion was clear—As Meng Ran's own powers grew and Venom kept evolving, even extraordinary humans were no longer enough to advance them.
If he wanted to keep getting stronger, he and Venom needed to target beings of greater power—or those with unique traits.
Like his next target: Thor, the God of Thunder.
Thinking of that, Meng Ran couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation.
He set his aircraft's destination for New Mexico, reclined in his seat, and closed his eyes—quietly resting as the autopilot took over.
-----------------------
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