Chapter 32: Trial Failed, Actions of Other Reincarnators

Chapter 32: Trial Failed, Actions of Other Reincarnators

"The truth is… I am Iron Man."

After a press conference,

this spontaneous declaration echoed through New York, stirring a frenzy in the hearts of countless people.

All across America—

and even the world—unrest surged.

Oscorp, Hammer Industries, Roxxon Energy Group…

Countless large corporations were anxious, cursing furiously in private.

Unanimously, they raged:

"Tony Stark is a bastard!"

This guy publicly shut down his weapons division,

pretending to wash his hands of the arms business.

But behind the scenes,

he personally built the deadliest weapon yet.

Just a few nights ago—

that armored battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger at the Stark Industries compound

was a wake-up call for every weapons manufacturer.

The era had changed.

The appearance of Iron Man signaled the arrival of a new age—

an age of superheroes.

The most advanced weapons

were no longer machine guns, cannons, tanks, or aircraft—

but powered combat armor.

Stark Industries had always been far ahead of the world in weapons tech.

Tony, who seemed like a playboy addicted to luxury,

had in truth pioneered a new generation of weaponry.

The debut of the Iron Man armor rendered every competitor obsolete.

Luckily for them, Tony was indeed arrogant.

He genuinely shut down his weapons division,

cutting ties with the military—

essentially severing one of his own arms.

Hammer Industries, eager to rise, seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

to become the military's new partner.

It might one day overtake Stark Industries

and become the new leader of the military-industrial complex.

Now—

The military and its new favorite, Hammer Industries,

like two venomous snakes, joined forces to launch a legal assault on Tony.

Under the guise of the law—

they tried to seize this world-altering technology for themselves.

Late at night—

after the Stark Expo speech concluded—

a court summons was delivered to Tony,

ordering him to appear in court in Washington immediately.

This sudden order was deliberate.

The military's goal was to catch Tony off guard—

to deny him time to contact a lawyer or prepare a defense,

and to deprive him of rest,

forcing him into court in poor condition.

They aimed to deliver a fatal blow at his weakest moment.

Unfortunately for them—

The trial still failed.

The opposition underestimated Tony's intellect.

Though not a professional lawyer,

he had a photographic memory and extraordinary learning ability.

Tony was a true genius.

No matter what he studied, he could master it quickly.

And with his sharp tongue and unconventional thinking—

Within a single night,

Tony transformed himself into a courtroom ace.

He cited precedents and cracked jokes with flair,

leaving everyone in awe.

Facing the judge's scrutiny and Hammer's constant jabs—

he responded with razor-sharp logic, cutting through traps with ease.

Without a lawyer—

Tony, with just his words,

left the judge and Hammer speechless,

winning praise from the entire courtroom.

Those who came to watch him fail—

were gradually won over by his charisma,

and applause erupted in waves,

shattering the military and Hammer's carefully laid trap.

Helplessly—

the military had to call off the hunt for Tony,

and shift their hopes onto Hammer.

They prayed the head of Hammer Industries

could finally bring them something worthwhile.

After the trial—

Justin Hammer slinked back to Hammer Industries,

defeated like a rooster who lost a fight.

His plans turned to dust.

He was unwilling to accept it but had no recourse.

"Don't think you got lucky this time.

This isn't over, Stark."

"Just wait.

When the Stark Expo kicks off—

that's when I'll truly defeat you."

Fire burned in Hammer's eyes

as he stormed into the lab

to personally check Jiang Feng's progress.

At the same time—

In a remote Siberian border town,

the bitter wind slashed through crumbling apartment walls.

Ivan Vanko curled up in a dark room.

His hair was wild like weeds,

and though his face was filthy,

the cold malice in his eyes was unmistakable.

In front of him sat an old, bulky TV.

On the narrow screen—

Tony Stark's spirited, confident appearance

stabbed at Ivan's heart like a knife.

"Stark! Your whole family are thieves!"

He cursed in heavily accented English,

his voice trembling with hatred.

"I will take back everything that should've been mine!"

Ivan stared at the reactor in Tony's chest,

his eyes flickering with madness.

"May the agony of palladium poisoning and its toxins drown you…"

He could already foresee Tony's looming crisis.

With a twisted grin,

his face under the dim light appeared even more sinister.

Ivan walked toward the workbench.

His calloused hands swept across the dusty surface,

raising clouds tinged with rust.

There—

lay two metal whips,

their cold gleam flickering in the dim light.

He pressed a button—

and in an instant—

The lab roared with electricity.

The black whips roared to life like awakened beasts—

blue arcs of electricity crackled across their surface,

snaking like lightning serpents,

filling the room with a strobe of electric flashes.

Staring at the electrified whips—

Ivan's smile grew even more twisted.

His yellowed real teeth and gleaming false teeth clashed together.

"Stark—

You think you're a god, untouchable?"

His raspy voice brimmed with hatred and insanity.

"I'll make the whole world see—

you're nothing but a fraud, a clown who stole someone else's work.

And I will drag you off your pedestal with my own hands!"

A new storm—

was quietly brewing in the shadows.

---

Elsewhere—

after the farcical trial against Tony concluded—

A bloodbath was quietly underway.

Though the defendant, Tony, walked away unscathed—

still swaggering and adding to his legend—

Senator Stern, who had aggressively questioned Tony in court,

became the target of silent hunters.

On his way home—

Gunfire suddenly rang out beside his car.

Bullets pierced the window and struck Senator Stern directly.

The very man who had just stood against Iron Man—

was now lying in a pool of blood, assassinated.

No explanation was needed.

This event was drastically different from the original timeline—

clearly the work of a reincarnator.

The recent murders in Hell's Kitchen had already stirred up a storm.

Ordinary people didn't understand what was happening—

but reincarnators had already sensed it.

They could feel it—

someone like them was responsible for those killings,

their actions wildly deviating from the plot.

And this bold killer

was almost certainly one of them.

Clearly, this person was already racking up reincarnation points by rampaging through the world.

The other reincarnators couldn't sit still any longer.

Jealousy and greed ignited like wildfire.

"If he can do it, why can't we?"

With that thought—

Many reincarnators began sharpening their knives.

They, too, wanted to stir things up and find opportunities in this world.

Reincarnators, at their core—

were parasites.

They roamed across infinite worlds,

reaping benefits through slaughter and narrative disruption.

If they were going to cause chaos—

Their first idea was to imitate the killer among them—

and target named characters from the original storyline

in order to earn reincarnation points.

And so—

Senator Stern was marked for death.