A sudden roar rose from around the lively racetrack.
Staff shouted loudly, trying to stop this guy who dared to storm onto the track.
The man ripped open his shirt, revealing a reactor on his chest identical to Iron Man's.
He stretched out both hands, and the electro-whip weapon powered up to full effect.
Corin couldn't help but comment, this entrance was really domineering.
This man was Ivan Vanko. His father, Anton Vanko, had once worked with Howard Stark, Tony's father, to jointly develop arc reactor technology.
Later, after smuggling arms, he was driven out by Howard.
On his deathbed Anton grabbed his son Ivan's hand and told him that the Starks were thieves, that they stole his technology and everything the technology brought.
Everything Tony Stark now possessed should have belonged to Ivan Vanko.
Clearly, another Obadiah had appeared.
From then on, Ivan firmly believed the Stark family had stolen his father's research and was determined to take revenge.
He made an improved reactor and an electric-whip weapon himself, and finally got his chance. He started his revenge plan at the racetrack.
He lashed out at a speeding car coming toward him and split it in two with one strike.
Sparks flew everywhere and the upturned car body stunned the entire audience.
At that moment Tony's racecar approached. The man swung the electric whip again and instantly cleaved Tony's car in half.
Seeing Tony's car flip over with huge momentum and slam into the ground, Corin flashed and moved to the broken car body.
He gently lifted and righted the car.
After all, Tony had been giving him rides these past few days; Corin wouldn't just stand by and watch Tony get wrecked, but that was where his help ended.
If he acted in Tony's stead, that would be another price.
"Argh! W-What's happening?"
Tony struggled out of the cockpit.
Corin looked at the "whip-striker" striding over with a face full of victory and warned kindly, "Tony, this guy seems to be coming for you."
"What?"
Before the words finished, a whip shimmering with electricity lashed at Tony's face.
Bare-handed Tony was no match.
After a few moves, Tony was on the back foot; after all, anyone whose weapon could slice a racecar in half would reduce a body to two halves on contact.
In desperation Tony shouted, "Mr. Silver Duke, help me!"
The whip-madman seemed to be targeting only Tony, which gave Corin a chance to make some other moves.
When he had just flipped Tony's car, the system prompt had appeared in his sight: [Damaged Formula Racecar → Valuation: 2.1 million dollars]
Looking at the smoking wreck of the car split in two, Corin exclaimed, "F1 really is something, still worth so much even split in half."
He then looked at another car cut in two; the driver had just struggled and escaped.
He glanced at the stands. Facing the emergency, everyone had turned into escape experts, focused on getting away as fast as possible. No one continued to pay attention to the track.
"Redeem!"
[+2.1 million, redemption successful. Account balance: 4,155,000 dollars]
'Not bad, not bad!"
Corin ran over to another crash that was about to explode:
[Damaged Formula Racecar → Valuation: 1.8 million dollars]
"Redeem!"
[+1.8 million, redemption successful. Account balance: 5,955,000 dollars]
Seeing his account balance jump to 5 million dollars, Corin felt a bit more secure.
If he stayed this poor much longer, he wouldn't even be able to pay Alyssa's salary.
Suddenly hearing Tony's cry for help, Corin's eyes lit up, 'There you are, my wallet.'
He recalled the information about the man in front of him.
'This was not a minor character; the price shouldn't be set too low.'
After thinking for a moment, he said aloud, "Tony, you seem to have forgotten my identity… please respect my profession, thank you."
Tony, fleeing for his life, wasn't surprised by Corin's reaction but still cursed, 'Even at a time like this, are you going to haggle? Damn… I really hate this guy!'
'If my new suit were here, would I be put through this?'
'I shouldn't have come out partying with Potts, and there's Silver Duke! Unpayable ungrateful wolf, all he knows is money money money.'
Cursing aside, as Tony was about to give Corin a price, the crackling electric whip lashed again.
"Shit!"
Tony scrambled with arms and legs, narrowly avoiding the whip.
At that moment Happy crashed Tony's Rolls-Royce onto the track, smashing Ivan hard into the guardrail.
Bang~
Tony's eyes brightened as he hurried to the car, "Perfect timing!"
Zzz!
Just as Tony opened the door, a bolt of electricity sliced the door in two.
Corin, watching, knew this would cost tens of thousands in repairs and cried waste.
Happy was furious, his beloved Rolls, which he pampered daily and never wanted to leave a scratch on, had half its door cut off in one stroke.
He floored the gas and rammed into Ivan. One hit wasn't enough, he wanted more.
The Rolls Royce lurched back and forth in front of Tonym
Ms. Potts inside was holding the armor case and couldn't get it out; she felt increasingly nauseous.
This worried Tony greatly, "Just get me the suit first~"
Bang!
After two more impacts, the steering wheel airbag popped and hit Happy in the face.
Ivan waved his right hand; the electric whip sliced through the car body, cutting away almost half the vehicle, destroying the Rolls Royce.
"So wasteful."
Corin watched the Rolls with a face full of pity.
Although the body was now half open, Pepper was finally able to toss the case to Tony.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief; he was about to vomit.
Next came the exciting moment.
Tony placed one foot on the center of the case and activated the switch.
Two handles popped out from the case, and as Tony grabbed and pulled, a brand-new armor suit quickly unfolded to cover Tony's whole body.
This was the result of Tony's month of seclusion and development, handsome is the only word.
Donned in the suit, Tony now had the strength to face Ivan.
"My turn!"
Tony kicked the car away, sending Happy and Pepper out of the combat zone.
With no worries behind him, he could fight the enemy freely.
He raised his arm to fire a charged shot, but Ivan's whip struck and broke his attack.
After a few lashes, Tony's proud new suit suffered severe damage, but he did not back down.
"I'm poisoned and won't live long. I snuck out to have some fun for two days, and you come to ruin it, damn you!"
The angrier Tony got, the more he gritted and bore the damage. He gripped the electric whip and wrapped it around himself, using it to get close to Ivan.
Without the whip Ivan naturally lost his offensive power; after a few punches he saw stars.
With a final over-the-shoulder throw, Tony ripped the reactor off Ivan's chest.
The sparks that powered the electric whip vanished instantly.
JARVIS displayed the reactor's construction on the screen; Tony couldn't believe someone had manufactured a reactor just like his.
The police arrived belatedly and took Ivan Vanko away for wreaking havoc at the racetrack.
Putting aside the fact Tony had seen a reactor in another's hands and the huge curiosity it sparked in him.
Watching the fight inspired Corin. Empty talk alone wouldn't make people believe. Why not get the thing first, then talk price with Tony?
He was sure that by then Tony would be happy to sit down and discuss properly.
With that thought, Corin bade farewell to Tony, who was looking full of thoughts, and boarded a plane bound for Washington.
Thinking of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters on the small island between Washington D.C. and Virginia, Corin felt a little excited, "The Triskelion building, huh~"
"This time I'll get a close look…"
[🎉 Shoutout to Kaustup, Gonzalo, Tiago and Roger for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]