Chapter 118: Calming the Machine Soul
Tony Stark is not doing well these days.

Due to a series of events caused by the previous "nightmare", Pepper Potts suffered great damage.
All of this made Tony Stark feel deeply regretful and self-blame, and he was even a little afraid to face it.

So even if Pepper Potts moved out of the coastal villa at 10880 Malibu, he could do nothing but give both parties some time to think calmly.

Sorrow and worry surrounded his mind like a thick dark cloud.

At this time, he was a little confused.
I had previously been with that guy who called himself the Lord of Change, the God of Wisdom and Hope.

In order to gain more powerful strength, have you really done the right thing by accepting the "gift"?

The Ark Reactor has become one with me, and the huge amount of energy it generates continuously gives me life and extraordinary vitality.

The Iron Man suit also began to develop a deeper connection with his flesh and blood.
Ordinary knives, guns, sticks, and small-caliber bullets could no longer break through his skin, which was faintly shining with a metallic luster.
This tough tissue between soft and hard is very amazing.

The organs and tissues within the body and the internal texture are constantly changing with the passage of time.

It can even be said that the nervous system tissues that are inseparable and closely connected to the body have undergone some subtle changes.

Tony Stark has experimented and studied the changes that have occurred in his body.
Compared with the traditional neural signal transmission mechanism realized by ordinary humans using chemical substances such as neurotransmitters,
Tony Stark has begun to gradually transform into an inhuman being.

The transmission efficiency of nerve signals is higher, thinking is faster and more sensitive, and the speed of nerve reaction exceeds the human limit.

I have become more and more adept at controlling my physical body, and can often perform postures that I couldn't do before.

The human body is made up of trillions of cells.

Some cells in Tony Stark's body, especially the core nerve cells, have begun to undergo qualitative changes.

Bright silver appearance, with a texture between colloid and metal.
Therefore, in order to strengthen the connection between itself and the steel armor,

Tony Stark had some "minor surgery" done.
That is, the micro-connector tubes on his body surface are usually perfectly hidden, but will pop out when encountering special circumstances. They are all over his limbs and important joints.

That is a "neural docking port" that is modified and extended from the body's own nerve endings based on this characteristic.

Moreover, with the iterative upgrade of technology,

Tony Stark has developed ultra-long-range neural induction link technology.

Through the [neural connection port] in his body, he can remotely control and call the iron armor that supports this technology.

It is more lightweight and portable, while ensuring its original structural strength and protective performance.

Created Mark's 42nd Iron Man Suit - "The Prodigal Son".
Its novel modular design and the revolutionary technological advancement it represents,
They are all groundbreaking!

Slightly raising his hands, concentrating his thoughts, Tony Stark looked up.

"Om-"

The Iron Man suit on display in the distance, still in red and gold, but slightly different, responded quickly.
Each part of the body is folded and contracted, including the arms, chest armor, helmet, leg armor, back armor, etc., forming compact and portable "modules".
The built-in micro jet propulsion device gushed out a light blue light, "Boom——"

Tony Stark also felt that his mind had become one with the iron suit, and he could control it at will.

It seems that no extra equipment is needed. Just relying on the neural induction in the air, the steel armor can be freely manipulated.

Like a piano conductor,

Tony Stark raised his arm, as if waving an invisible baton.
"boom--"

Dozens of modules formed by the MARK-42 "Prodigal Son" Iron Armor centered around Tony Stark, flying and rotating in an orderly manner, swift but agile.
As if given life.

But no matter how agile and fast MARK-42 was, it could not catch up with Pepper Potts' determination to leave.

Thinking of this, Tony Stark froze, his thoughts became confused, and inexplicable sadness and sorrow once again enveloped his heart like a dark cloud.

The confusion naturally led to the MARK-42 "Prodigal Son" which was originally flying along a stable trajectory suddenly losing control.

Like a headless fly, it hit every corner of the underground laboratory recklessly, causing a commotion and even causing some damage.
Tony Stark narrowly avoided an armored module flying towards him, and managed to avoid getting his handsome face hurt.
"Stop, stop, stop!"

He waved his hand, adjusted his thoughts, and regained control of these armor modules.
Let them calm down from their restlessness.

Soothe the machine spirit.

Yes, machines have souls.
Originally, Tony Stark did not believe this nonsense.
But since receiving the "gift", Tony Stark has been able to vaguely sense the hidden restlessness and the invisible and intangible wonderful feelings in various mechanical creations.

But it is clearly visible.

And in the display cabinet, these steel armors are more like their own "offspring".
As the creator of them, Tony Stark can feel their influence on him.
That kind of vague "respect", "defending immortality", "dedication" and a series of complex feelings.

MARK-42 "Prodigal Son", the reason why Tony Stark gave this name is also to confirm the extremely lively and active "soul" contained in it.
Full of passion and activity!

I collected the armor modules scattered around the laboratory, wiped them and took care of them for a while.
After successfully calming the machine spirit, Tony Stark was about to stand up and take a hot bath to relax for a while.

"Sir, you have a new incoming call alert... from Nick Fury."

Tony Stark raised his eyebrows, obviously feeling a little strange that Nick Fury, who had not contacted him for a while, suddenly contacted him at this time.
But he still spoke calmly.
"Jarvis, answer."

Inside the laboratory base, Nick Fury's low, hoarse, and slowing voice was heard.
"Tony, I need your help. Listen, I'm in some trouble..."

Tony Stark's eyes became brighter as he listened to Nick Fury's words.

"Oh? It's about the Big Bang, right?"

"It's a coincidence. I'm also quite interested in this matter. I will give you a reply as soon as possible..."

(End of this chapter)