◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 90 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
It was unclear if Reed Richards was moved by Tony Stark's almost 'fantastical' persistence or infected by his passionate speech, but he continued the conversation, imagining, "If that's the case, then in the future, the only things that can threaten Earth and humanity will be humans themselves and those giant monsters hidden deep in the oceans?"
"Exactly."
Tony Stark excitedly clenched his fist, his smile growing even more enthusiastic, as if he had already foreseen a beautiful future. "I'm glad to reach a consensus with a smart person like you... I think before we officially start working, we should first give this new project a nice code name!"
"Tony, actually, even before you arrived, I had already initially completed the basic underlying architecture for the new AI."
Reed Richards quickly tapped a few keys on the keyboard, then used the laboratory's holographic projection device to project a complex, blue, brain-like neural network model in the space in front of them, introducing it proudly:
The lab lights shone on the model, reflecting a strange glow.
Reed Richards proudly introduced it: "I call it the Ultron System!!"
"This is truly beautiful; these look like beautiful and moving active neurons, as if they are thinking."
Tony Stark quickly leaned in to observe. As a master in the field of artificial intelligence, he understood the advanced nature of the Ultron System before him far better than anyone else, and a look of admiration for Reed Richards couldn't help but appear on his face.
The other party truly deserved the reputation of 'the smartest man on Earth'!
However, Tony Stark was not far behind him; he immediately raised his hand and pointed to a spot on the edge of the large blue network model.
"Although not yet fully formed, this is truly a very good architecture... However, the data processing unit in this area seems like it could be further optimized!"
A true expert reveals his skill with a single move!
Reed Richards said, convinced, "You're right, Tony, this is exactly where I need your help."
Then he pulled up another set of data, "Now look at this..."
As their discussion deepened, the laboratory was soon filled only with the sound of keyboards tapping and the intense but brief arguments that erupted when their opinions diverged.
As two of the smartest scientists in the World, both Tony Stark and Reed Richards, their arguments were always limited to the research itself and would not escalate to other matters.
Clatter—
Tony Stark stood in front of a huge electronic display, his fingers rapidly sliding across the keyboard, his gaze focused and passionate.
Reed Richards sat in front of his computer, his brows furrowing and relaxing, occasionally tapping the keyboard to calculate relevant data.
"Reed, look here, we can try to adopt this brand new algorithm; it can greatly increase the speed of data processing."
Tony Stark gesticulated excitedly, his eyes full of sparks of inspiration.
This man, with his profound knowledge in AI artificial intelligence, had unknowingly become completely immersed in this brand new project.
Moreover, from time to time, during the clash of ideas with Reed Richards, he would come up with some exquisitely brilliant new concepts and meticulous improvement suggestions.
"Tony, you truly live up to your name!"
Reed Richards' eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded, truly convinced. He immediately propped his chin with one hand and began to carefully consider whether the improvement suggestion he proposed could be further extended.
...
Of course, during their leisure time for breaks, Tony Stark's gossip curiosity was equally strong. He slid his chair over to Reed Richards' desk and asked mysteriously:
"Reed, don't you think Nick Fury is a bit too enthusiastic about the Titan Hunter Mecha Project?"
Reed Richards looked puzzled, asking somewhat belatedly, "What aspect are you referring to?"
"Of course...all aspects."
Tony Stark narrowed his eyes, deliberately lowering his voice, as if sharing a major secret. "I used Jarvis to secretly investigate earlier, and during the Battle of Washington, the sudden enlargement of the MUTO might be related to a black technology called Pym Particles."
"And now, Nick Fury is so actively promoting the Titan Hunter Mecha Project, perhaps he wants to use Pym Particles to enlarge all the newly built Hunter Mecha!"
As he spoke, he used his phone to project a comparison image of the MUTO before and after it was enlarged into the air.
"You mean..."
Reed Richards quickly reacted, his expression becoming serious, and his eyes revealing a hint of worry, "Director Fury is preparing to unite with the PPDC Organization to fight against the Hyperspace Group's Kong Proxy Service?!"
"Hehe, besides that, I can't think of any other reason why that old schemer Nick Fury would be so active."
"I just don't know how much S.H.I.E.L.D. accounts for in this cooperation..."
Tony Stark leaned back in his chair, propping his feet on the corner of the desk, a peculiar 'you should understand' expression on his face.
Just then, the laboratory door suddenly opened, and Nick Fury, dressed in a black trench coat, strode in from outside.
But to the surprise of both Tony Stark and Reed Richards, the figure who followed Nick Fury in was none other than the former head of the Monarch Organization: Serizawa Ichiro.
However, compared to his previous high spirits, Serizawa Ichiro's demeanor had become much more reserved since 'rejoining the force,' and his face held a cautious expression.
"Gentlemen." Nick Fury's single eye swept over the two, his gaze sharp, and he eagerly asked, "How's the progress?"
"I say, Fury, aren't you a bit too impatient?" Tony Stark retorted with dissatisfaction, provocatively raising his chin to express his displeasure.
I'm here to help you for free, and you're rushing me?
Do you have any shame?
"Director Fury, everything is going smoothly."
Reed Richards, who had been completely brought under control, naturally didn't have the guts to complain like Tony. He quickly stood up, his face wreathed in smiles, and interjected, "We are currently optimizing the data processing unit."
As he spoke, he pointed to the data on the computer screen.
"Very good."
Nick Fury nodded in satisfaction, but still couldn't help but remind them sternly, "I hope you remember one thing: time is life."
"Although Ghidorah has been eliminated, the threat from the Titan and Kaiju still remains. No one knows when the next attack will come."
"The new batch of Titan Hunter Mecha has officially gone into production, so I hope both of you can complete the development of the AI artificial intelligence as soon as possible..."
At this point, Nick Fury seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to point at Serizawa Ichiro, who stood silently like a ghost beside him. "Oh, by the way, let me introduce you two. This is the former head of the Monarch Organization, Serizawa Ichiro... But now, he has become our S.H.I.E.L.D. employee, and will henceforth be specifically responsible for the concrete follow-up issues of the Titan Hunter Mecha Project."
With that, Nick Fury turned and left on his own.
"Gentlemen, please guide me in the future."
Serizawa Ichiro stood up humbly, then bowed deeply, a standard 90-degree bow, to Tony Stark and Reed Richards, who were still recovering from their surprise.
His movements were stiff yet earnest.
This strange scene made Tony Stark and Reed Richards look at each other in bewilderment.
They looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion, thinking: No, is this person perhaps crazy?
Why are you bowing to us for no reason?
...
Time flew by, and several days later.
Night fell.
In front of a 24-hour ATM at a street corner in Queens, New York.
Four suspicious middle-aged men, each carrying a large backpack, first stood outside the ATM, looking left and right. After confirming that no one was passing by, they each pulled out an Avengers member mask from their respective backpacks and put them on their faces.
"Hehe, I can't wait to see the power of these 'new guys'!" One man's voice was very low, revealing a hint of excitement.
"That's right, this time it's finally for real." The man wearing the Iron Man mask excitedly pulled out a homemade energy cutter with a rather crude manufacturing process from his backpack.
However, at the position of its energy part, a purple glowing crystal was embedded.
If a S.H.I.E.L.D. employee, or anyone else who had personally experienced the Battle of New York, were here, they would recognize at a glance that this purple crystal was the 'purple energy crystal' used by the Chitauri Legion.
Although this 'purple energy crystal' stored extremely high energy, it was also highly unstable, often self-destructing after a certain degree of impact.
It was for this reason that Karl, when equipping the Thunder Warrior Battalion with new weapons, ordered Samuel Sterns to replace the energy supply core of the new weapons previously modified by the Hydra based on this 'purple energy crystal' with more stable and efficient custom energy blocks storing the mind stone's energy!
Now, having obtained the Reality Stone and the Space Stone, it was even simpler and more convenient to create energy blocks with different functions.
However, these four thugs, intent on robbing the ATM, clearly did not know how dangerous their homemade weapons were.
After putting on their masks, the four immediately rushed into the ATM.
Sizzle—
The thug wearing the Iron Man mask aimed his homemade energy cutter at a corner of the ATM and pulled the trigger.
A purple energy ray shot out, like a hot melting laser, easily leaving a deep cut on the ATM's hard casing.
"Haha, with this high-tech toy, dealing with these ATMs couldn't be easier!!" The thug shouted excitedly, his voice echoing inside the ATM.
"Yeah, that money was really well spent..."
As the Iron Man masked man rotated his arm, in just over ten seconds, he successfully cut out an irregular closed area on the surface of an ATM, then turned to a man wearing a Captain America mask behind him and said:
"Alright, now it's your turn to perform."
"Hehe, leave it to me."
The man wearing the Captain America mask immediately pulled out a homemade anti-gravity weapon with three suction-cup-like ends from his backpack and aimed it at the freshly cut area on the ATM.
Hum—
A blue tractor beam was immediately released from the three suction cups at the front, directly pulling the heavy ATM body, which had been successfully cut but was still perfectly embedded in the wall, easily out of the machine.
"Oh, yeah!!"
"Beautiful!!"
The four men immediately let out a cheer.
The other two men, wearing Hulk and Thor masks, quickly stepped forward and pulled out money boxes from the safe connected to the lower part of the machine. They then quickly opened the money boxes and stuffed stacks of neatly arranged banknotes into their backpacks.
"I can't believe we got away with it so easily this time!"
"Looks like we can hit 6 more locations tonight..."
"We're rich now."
"Yeah, after this job, not only will we have recouped the capital we spent on these two 'new guys,' but the remaining money will also be enough for us to live it up for several months!"
"Hehe, this time, no matter what, I'm going to Hell's Kitchen to find a couple of Irish girls and have a good time."
"Why Irish girls? Aren't E Ross women good enough?"
"You don't understand, Irish girls are the best..."
But just then, a graceful figure silently swung out of the darkness outside the ATM.
Gwen's body moved like a gymnast, performing a beautiful 360-degree spin in mid-air, then landing lightly and gracefully at the entrance of the ATM.
"Hey, guys, did you forget to bring your bank cards? Do you need me to call you a police car?"
The four thugs, who had been focused on their robbery, were startled by the sudden voice and all turned to look at Gwen.
"Damn it, it's Spider-Woman!!"
The man wearing the Thor mask was the first to react, pulling out a shotgun and aiming it at Gwen, warning her viciously:
"Spider-Woman, I advise you not to meddle, or you'll regret it!"