The speeding cars roared across the track, wind whipping fiercely as engines rumbled like thunder. They shot past the spectators, leaving behind a trail of deafening cheers and frantic shouts rising from behind the iron fencing.
The black racecar Harry drove had been in the lead since the very beginning. It wasn't just because Harry reacted faster than anyone else at the starting signal—it was also his exceptional body, far beyond ordinary human capability. His enhanced senses let him perceive everything in slowed motion, allowing him to take the best racing line instantly.
"Harry! You're cheating! You must be cheating!" Tony shouted furiously through the headset.
Tony had looked into Harry before. Anything online, anything hidden, Jarvis could dig up. And even ignoring the possibility of powers, the data alone made it clear—Harry's physical qualities were impossibly high. He was anything but ordinary.
Tony's bright red racecar was extremely fast, but Tony was no professional driver. He couldn't keep up with Harry, who was far ahead, and even compared to the handful of racers in front of him, it was obvious he lacked their level of skill.
"I'm not," Harry said. Everything in his field of view had slowed almost to a crawl. His hands spun the wheel rapidly as he spoke with absolute seriousness.
"You have to be cheating!" Tony yelled again.
"No," Harry answered calmly, hands never pausing.
Racecars tore down the track at terrifying speeds. Anyone stepping onto the track at this moment would be shredded instantly—but there was still someone behind the iron fence willing to test that theory.
A burly man in an orange track-staff uniform pushed his way out from the crowd, opened the gate in the protective barrier, and stepped casually onto the raceway.
He looked about forty to fifty years old. He removed his work helmet, revealing messy shoulder-length hair, an unshaven beard, and a toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth.
The moment he walked onto the track, the crowd behind the fence shot to their feet in horror. Every camera turned to him, broadcasting the shocking scene live and stunning viewers watching from home.
The man tossed away his helmet without care and kept walking forward. As he did, he tore off the outer layer of his uniform, revealing devices strapped across his torso. A black racecar "whooshed" by him at high speed, the wind blowing back his messy hair and exposing a harsh, domineering expression.
Then he flicked his arms outward—two iron whips shot from his cuffs. The moment the long metal lengths hit the ground, streams of blazing particles rushed across their surface. The high-speed particle flow instantly burned away the rest of his orange uniform.
"That guy is Ivan Vanko, isn't he?" Harry murmured as his black racecar shot past, recognizing the madman stepping onto the track with just one glance.
To be honest, Harry sympathized with Ivan Vanko. If his father hadn't made a mistake and been expelled from the United States by Howard Stark, things could have been different. Their fathers once worked together on the arc reactor—there could have been a lasting partnership and friendship between Stark Industries and the Vankos. And with Vanko capable of building armor powered by an arc reactor, he and Tony might even have become close friends.
But that wasn't how things turned out.
Seeing that the reason he came here had already appeared, Harry sharply twisted the wheel. The black car slid into a long, drifting arc, fully reversing direction. Then he accelerated hard, racing back the way he came.
Even though Vanko's Whiplash armor was incomplete, the arc reactor on his chest was still worth studying. Harry thought it would be a pity if Tony destroyed it as roughly as in the original story.
"Tony, something's happening ahead. I'm turning back. Be careful," Harry said through the headset.
"There's a situation? Okay. Got it." Tony's voice instantly turned serious. He knew Harry wouldn't joke about something like this.
By the time Harry raced back, Ivan Vanko had already started whipping apart the passing cars.
The long particle-flow whips powered by the arc reactor sliced through the front of a racecar like it was paper. Sparks exploded as the car split cleanly in two. The shattered vehicle spun into the air with a booming crash, flipping several times before slamming into the protective fencing.
Pepper, watching the race from indoors, saw the glowing arc reactor on Vanko's chest on the broadcast and instantly understood—this man was targeting Tony. She immediately mobilized Tony's bodyguards. Grabbing Tony's portable armor case, she rushed toward the track.
With the sudden attack, race officials scrambled to evacuate the crowd. Cameras everywhere recorded the chaos as the grand event turned into a scene of horror in seconds.
By now, Tony had finally reached the section of the track Vanko had carved apart.
A high-speed racecar versus a man wielding a high-tech weapon that cut through metal like paper—they met at last.
Even with Harry's warning, Tony still fell victim to the same attack as the earlier cars.
Vanko's particle whip snapped down on Tony's racing car as it shot past. The sharp weapon proved its power again—one strike, two pieces. Both front wheels were severed instantly. The car flipped violently before crashing into the barriers.
"Tony, how are you? I'm almost there," Harry said urgently through the headset.
"I'm okay for now—but get here fast," Tony replied, already scrambling out of the wreck.
"Hold on. Almost there," Harry said.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko turned his whips leisurely, completely confident, as if everything was already in his grasp.
Dragging his heavy steps, he walked slowly toward Tony, ignoring the other racecars barreling toward him.
A thunderous bang echoed across the track—the racecar behind Tony swerved desperately to avoid hitting Vanko. The force tore the car in half, sending it spinning upward amid fireworks-like explosions. The scattered flames illuminated the wild silhouette of Ivan Vanko.
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