Chapter 23: Iron Man on Trial, Jiang Feng Ambushed

Chapter 23: Iron Man on Trial, Jiang Feng Ambushed

Hammer turned his gaze to Jiang Feng's workstation.

A still-unfinished suit of Iron Armor shimmered with a cold metallic sheen.

As he looked at Jiang Feng's finely crafted work, a confident smirk curled on Hammer's lips—his eyes burning with certainty.

He had personally tested the power of this half-finished suit.

Despite its incomplete state,

The advanced weapon systems and smart targeting and x-ray tech in the helmet—

Already made it far superior to any weapon produced by Hammer Industries.

It gave Hammer the confidence to go head-to-head with Tony Stark.

"Just wait, Tony. At your own Expo, I'll show everyone that Justin Hammer is the true king of technology!"

Hammer's heart surged with ambition.

He would show the world his own suit of armor,

And humiliate Tony—his former idol turned nemesis.

After watching Tony's speech with Jiang Feng,

Hammer finally made up his mind and committed to further investment in Jiang Feng's project.

He had already poured in five hundred million dollars—

But to shine at the upcoming Expo, to overshadow Tony Stark, to fulfill his lifelong dream—

Hammer had no choice but to pin all his hopes on Jiang Feng.

Clenching his teeth,

He added another five hundred million to the investment,

Demanding that Jiang Feng finish the Iron Armor before the Expo began.

Jiang Feng accepted the deal with a smile.

Since Hammer had to rush off to Washington that night to attend Tony's trial,

He left the lab after funding the project with flair.

Once again,

Jiang Feng was alone in the room.

"Trying to take down Iron Man with legal tricks? That's pretty much impossible."

He pushed up his glasses, clearly not optimistic about Hammer and the military's chances.

Getting their hands on Stark's tech wouldn't be something a single trial could accomplish.

Even the government and military couldn't just snatch a patent outright.

With Stark Industries' immense wealth,

They could hire the world's best lawyers and battle in court for a hundred years—and even turn the tables on the government.

As long as it wasn't tax evasion,

Everything else could be fought.

This was America, after all.

Years ago, a man named John Hinckley shot President Reagan and actually pierced a lung.

The bullet came within inches of the heart—nearly killing the president.

He almost single-handedly changed the course of the Cold War.

A terrorist like that should've been executed eight hundred times over.

But his wealthy family hired a top-tier legal team.

Under their defense,

John Hinckley was rebranded as mentally ill to escape punishment—and unbelievably, it worked.

Despite shooting the U.S. President, he didn't spend a single day in jail.

He pioneered the legal defense of "insanity" to escape justice.

So thinking the military could defeat Tony in court? Practically impossible.

Still, Jiang Feng wasn't concerned.

To him, this was just a minor side event.

"Time to farm some EXP."

Glancing at the dark night sky, Jiang Feng figured it was about time to complete his daily mission.

He clocked out immediately.

Not staying a second longer at the lab, he headed—as always—toward Hell's Kitchen.

Due to his recent rampage,

Criminals didn't even dare show their faces.

Hell's Kitchen, once infamous for its crime, had actually become a safe zone.

Even at night, few gang members could be seen.

Everyone feared the infamous killer.

Even the police had to admit:

Since this psycho showed up, crime in Hell's Kitchen—and all of New York—had hit record lows.

Arriving at his familiar hunting ground,

Jiang Feng silently slipped into a ruined alley, where piles of garbage reeked of rot.

He used the Reincarnator's backpack to instantly change outfits.

In an empty corner,

A split second later—

The blue-grade armor he had painstakingly crafted wrapped around his body.

A towering steel giant, over two meters tall, stood at the alley entrance.

The suit's sharp edges and rugged silhouette made Jiang Feng look even larger—

Like a monster of metal radiating raw power.

Compared to ordinary Iron Man suits,

The blue one didn't look too different from the outside.

But performance-wise,

It was easily twice as strong.

Compared to the half-finished suit he used in his first mission,

Jiang Feng's combat power had increased severalfold.

Even without an arc reactor,

He was confident that this blue-grade suit could defeat Iron Man in direct combat.

Fully equipped,

Jiang Feng roamed Hell's Kitchen—but found no prey.

He slowly scanned the empty streets.

This once-bustling haven of crime now felt like a dead city—no trace of any thugs.

Only a stray cat occasionally darted past a wall, briefly breaking the suffocating silence.

"Time to switch hunting grounds. I've already overfished this map."

Jiang Feng sighed with some regret.

It felt like he'd cleared Marvel's mandatory noob dungeon.

But he quickly adjusted his mindset.

"If Hell's Kitchen is done, it's time to move on to other maps."

After all, Marvel had no shortage of villains.

Thanks to Linglong's hacks,

Jiang Feng had obtained plenty of classified intel from this world's database.

In the Iron Man 2 timeline where he currently was,

There were no mutants.

But behind this seemingly sci-fi world,

Vampires and werewolves were very real.

They weren't few in number either—

Living hidden in the shadows,

These superhuman dark creatures had incredible strength—and were walking EXP farms.

Perfect targets for a hunt.

Just as he was thinking that—

Faint footsteps reached his ears.

They were still a hundred meters away,

But the Iron Armor's sensors picked them up instantly.

"Where did these guys come from? So… certain villains couldn't sit still and decided to come after me."

Jiang Feng suddenly realized he was being tailed.

Despite the armor's bulky appearance,

It was equipped with extremely advanced tech inside.

The helmet allowed Jiang Feng to scan and lock onto targets,

Instantly turning the surroundings into data displays on his retina.

Lifeform positions, enemy threat levels, environmental composition, material structures—

All of it at a glance.

Even though Jiang Feng was walking in just one direction,

He could monitor everything in a full 360° view.

And not long after he appeared—

The number of lifeforms nearby spiked dramatically, all converging on him.

Someone had set an ambush in Hell's Kitchen.

"How interesting. Linglong, start intercepting nearby communications."

Boredom faded from Jiang Feng's eyes, replaced by a flicker of interest.

Whoever could coordinate a strike in Hell's Kitchen must be one of the crime bosses—like Kingpin.

"Yes, Master!"

His AI assistant Linglong sprang into action.

Besides packing heavy weapons,

His Iron Armor could also unleash its full hacking potential.

As soon as he gave the order,

The radio chatter of the ambushers was instantly hijacked.

"All units, target has appeared—repeat, the target has appeared! Engage immediately!"

A tense voice echoed in Jiang Feng's helmet.

At first they tried to speak quietly,

But by the end, the man was yelling.

Almost simultaneously—

The darkness around Jiang Feng was torn apart like a stage curtain.

Dozens of gun-wielding figures burst out from every corner,

And without a word, they pulled their triggers.

When facing a killing machine like him, the only choice was to strike first.

Muzzles flared in the dark,

Bullets rained like a storm.

They pelted Jiang Feng's armor, sending sparks flying—

But didn't leave a single scratch.

In that moment,

Hell's Kitchen was once again engulfed in flames of battle—

And Jiang Feng stood at the center of it all.