Chapter 62: War Machine Modification — The Guilty White
Because Ivan's identity was special and he was well-versed in the art of concealment, he could not reveal himself openly at this time.
Thus, the task of modifying the Iron Man armor had to be handed over to someone else.
Inside a secret room within a military base—
The veteran engineers of Hammer Industries, led by White, were working feverishly, like a swarm of bees building a hive.
They were carefully installing various Hammer Industries weapons onto a silver, gleaming suit of armor.
Among these weapons—
Was the infamous Ex-Wife Missile, a top-secret project personally ordered by Justin Hammer himself.
Hammer stood not far away, his face full of smug satisfaction, his heart swelling with pride.
"When this Iron Man suit shines on the battlefield, I'll make sure those high-ranking military officers witness the power of my Ex-Wife Missile with their own eyes!"
He could already envision the glorious future where he would be surrounded by applause and admiration.
However—
White, who was responsible for the weapons installation, was trembling with fear, his forehead dripping with cold sweat.
He never imagined that in such a short amount of time, that foolish Hammer had actually managed to get his hands on a fully functional Iron Man suit.
It was simply unbelievable—like something out of a nightmare.
White regretted it deeply, wishing he could turn back time.
Because—
It wasn't just Jiang Feng and Ivan who had been slacking off; he too had taken shortcuts and cut corners whenever he could.
During the development of the Ex-Wife Missile—
He had openly skimped on materials, slacked on his duties, and never really took Hammer's orders seriously.
But White's abilities were limited.
Unlike Jiang Feng or Ivan, who both possessed extraordinary intelligence and cunning, White lacked the talent to secretly plot for his own benefit while keeping up flawless appearances.
He knew very well—
That the Ex-Wife Missile he had been responsible for was unreliable.
Forget making it shine on the battlefield—he wasn't even sure if it would explode properly.
He had assumed Hammer wouldn't be able to obtain a real Iron Man suit anytime soon, giving him more time to continue slacking off and collecting his paycheck.
But now—
With that silver-white armor about to be deployed in battle, his hidden deceit and laziness were about to be exposed under the light of day.
White's mind turned sinister.
"Looks like… I'll have to make my subordinates suffer for this."
He was already racking his brain, searching for a foolproof way to protect himself.
The most direct and effective method—
Was, of course, to shift all the blame onto the innocent employees working under him.
At that moment—
Hammer, lost in his grand ambitions, had no idea that his trusted senior engineer was already plotting such a treacherous scheme.
Meanwhile, far away at Hammer Tower—
Ivan's eyes glowed dangerously as he stared at the computer screen.
Using Hammer Industries' network system, he was secretly hacking into Colonel Rhodes' captured Iron Man suit, trying to seize control of it.
Like manipulating a puppet, he was quietly setting up a more intricate game—one aimed solely at achieving the vengeance buried deep within his soul.
To utterly destroy Tony Stark.
In the days that followed—
White lived in constant fear, as if walking on the edge of a blade every single day.
He personally witnessed the silver-white armor being gradually upgraded and transformed under the urging of the military and Hammer himself.
Layers of thick, black alloy plating were added, giving it a bulkier and far more intimidating appearance.
On its forearms—
Heavy machine guns were mounted, loaded and ready to unleash hell, along with missile launchers capable of massive area damage.
But the most terrifying of all—
Was the Vulcan cannon mounted on its shoulder, over a meter long, its dark muzzle exuding destructive menace.
Though Hammer Industries' weapons had always been criticized as inferior compared to Stark Industries' masterpieces—
They were still among the most formidable in the global arms industry.
This newly modified armor, named War Machine—
With its fierce appearance and overwhelming firepower—quickly won the admiration and obsession of the military's top brass.
They treated it like a priceless treasure.
As for Hammer—
He secretly sneered. "They really have no idea. I still have something even stronger hidden right here in my company."
He could hardly contain his excitement.
When the Stark Expo opened, he planned to unveil his true trump card to the world.
Then even the proud and arrogant military would grovel before him, desperate to curry favor.
At that moment—
Hammer finally understood Tony Stark's arrogance and carefree confidence.
As long as one held advanced technology and weapons beyond human imagination—
Even the proudest of powers would eventually bow their heads in submission.
However—
Hammer's confidence didn't last long. A sense of unease began to gnaw at him.
His most capable subordinate, Jiang Feng, whom he had placed great hopes in, had vanished mysteriously since that bizarre absence—
As if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Despite countless phone calls and expensive search efforts, there was no trace of him—nothing but silence.
"Could it be… Jiang is the mysterious man behind those frequent terrorist attacks?"
Hammer frowned deeply.
A bold suspicion crept into his mind.
Now that he possessed an Iron Man suit as a deterrent, he was finally relaxed enough to read the news again—
And that was when he noticed the terrifying pattern.
Ever since he had hired Jiang Feng, the world had seen the rise of a killer who resembled Iron Man—
Wherever he went, there was blood and chaos.
First in Hell's Kitchen, and more recently, a horrifying daylight attack on an island nation.
Someone capable of creating a combat suit that powerful—
There were only a handful of such people in the entire world.
And coincidentally—
Hammer personally knew three of them.
If he ruled out Tony Stark and Ivan, who was under his nose—
Then the only possible answer was… Jiang Feng.
Even Hammer, slow as he was, finally realized the truth.
The mysterious killer wreaking havoc in a steel suit was very likely Jiang Feng.
But—
Hammer kept his mouth shut.
After all, if he could tolerate Ivan—a man who had attacked Iron Man and slaughtered more than ten people in a heartbeat—
Then he certainly didn't care about Jiang Feng's moral standing.
The only thing Hammer valued was talent—the kind that could make him money and power.
Besides—
With organizations around the world now hunting the armored killer like sharks smelling blood, Hammer saw no reason to reveal that Jiang Feng had once worked for him.
He didn't want to drag himself into the deep, deadly whirlpool.
So he buried that secret deep within his heart.