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Chapter 48: Evil Begets Retribution

The weather in New York was gradually turning colder, with a thin morning mist clinging to the windows, leaving a hazy white layer that cast a faint yellowish hue around the newly lit street lamps.

Schiller, holding a cup of coffee, sat at his desk in Stark Laboratory, while Stark approached with a stack of data, saying, "We need to modify joint number 5 again and conduct a comparative experiment with joint number 13. Also, there seems to be an issue with the data on the outer armor of arm number 7. I'll have to readjust it later..."

Schiller remarked, "Can't you take a break? Aren't you tired?"

Stark, while spreading out the data materials on the table, replied, "You've asked me that question at least twenty times tonight, starting from 7 PM yesterday and continuing until 7 AM today."

"That's because you've had me working on experiments since 7 PM yesterday, and I haven't even had a moment to sip my coffee."

"Then what are you doing now? It's been three minutes; you must have finished your coffee. We still have two sets of experiments to conduct, and they must be completed by 8 AM today."

Schiller collapsed onto the table.

Peter, holding two documents, emerged from behind the laboratory's glass door and said, "Mr. Stark, it seems there might be an issue with the external support structure of the leg bones of Joint Number 5. In the third set of data that JARVIS just provided me, there appears to be an unstable trend in the bone support structure, with a risk of fractures in the support. While JARVIS recommends changing the material, using Dragon Bone that's too hard may compromise flexibility and agility..."

Stark took the materials from Peter and glanced at them, saying, "It's not a major problem."

He reached out and pointed to the design on the blueprint. "We'll add a buffering system to this joint, and then move it down by two centimeters..."

Peter, deep in thought with his hand on his chin, listened attentively. Stark then pulled Schiller up and said, "Normally, it takes you only three seconds to finish a cup of strong coffee, but now it's been almost five minutes. Get up and get to work."

"My magic abilities need to recharge..."

"I remember someone saying that it's a low-end operation, right?"

Schiller covered his eyes and said, "Can't you bring over a complete Mech armor suit, and I can use my magic on it once, and then you can use it directly? Why do you have to dissect it into individual parts for experiments?"

Stark, somewhat speechless, remarked, "Why do I sometimes feel like you understand this stuff well, but other times, you seem like a mechanical idiot?"

He spread the design blueprint on the table and pointed to the patterns on it. "See this? After you deal with the shrinking and expanding issues of the Mark 4 using your magic, I can focus on its performance and functionality. But once I enhance a part's performance and functionality, I have to test if it can still shrink and expand as intended or if its post-expansion functionality matches my expectations."

"So, I have to conduct a lot of modular experiments to test if a specific function, when shrunk and expanded individually, achieves the desired effect."

Schiller asked, "So, is there any component that didn't meet your expectations?"

"What if it's the next one?" Stark replied.

These damn meticulous science geeks, Schiller thought as he slumped onto the table again.

Peter added, "I agree with Mr. Stark. Making this Mech armor isn't child's play. Once you're flying at several thousand meters in the air and a component fails, it could be extremely dangerous."

"Not only that," Stark continued while organizing the design blueprints, "the performance differs at low power operation, high power operation, and even overclocked operation. You must ensure that it performs as close to perfection as possible at each efficiency output level."

Stark then grabbed Schiller's arm, pulling him over to the lab table. Peter handed over a component, which Schiller proceeded to disassemble and reassemble before Stark took it for testing. Peter then handed over another component, and the process repeated.

Peter and Stark seemed to be conducting experiments, but Schiller felt like he was simply turning lightbulbs on an assembly line.

The symbiote in his mind kept repeating, "Their heads smell so good, really good, I want to eat them, can I eat one? Just one, and I'll eat the other next time, I want to eat the one with the blue eyes first..."

Schiller noticed that the symbiote seemed to detect people's brainwaves. When someone's brain was working rapidly, he sensed a pheromone being released, and the faster the brain activity, the more enticing it smelled to the symbiote.

Unfortunately, Peter and Stark, being super geniuses, had brains that were like walking, irresistibly fragrant fried chicken to the symbiote.

For some reason, the symbiote had also learned to play the sound of swallowing saliva repeatedly in Schiller's mind, making him feel hungry.

After Schiller finished turning the last lightbulb, he said, "Let's go grab something to eat. Aren't you two hungry?"

Stark tossed him two compressed cookies and said, "Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new stuff, I can work continuously for 40 hours now."

Schiller took a deep breath and said, "Aren't you tired? And you, Peter, have you slept in the past two days?"

"I brought this kid here because he has way more energy than anyone else," Stark replied.

Peter shrugged, saying, "Ever since I got my powers, I only need short naps to stay energetic. I just had a 15-minute nap in the break room, and I feel fine now."

"Speaking of which, you're a sorcerer. Why do you feel tired? Don't you have any invigorating magic?"

Schiller wasn't actually feeling any physical fatigue; with the symbiote, he could go without eating, drinking, or sleeping. But anyone would still feel mentally weary after over 20 hours of tinkering with light bulbs here.

Schiller didn't understand a bit of their battlesuit design, but whenever Stark emerged excitedly from behind the glass door to showcase his new ideas, Schiller had to play cheerleader and applaud him. If he didn't, Stark would charge right back through the glass door, followed by a series of clangs and bangs, only to emerge with a new concept.

Stark said, "How can you be so indifferent to such a great endeavor? This is a milestone in the history of human science, perhaps even in magic! For the first time, we're merging the products of human science and technology with a new magical power. Don't you anticipate what they'll produce?"

"I'm more concerned about something else," Schiller said. "Are you planning to name this series of battlesuits 'Marc' as well? I think it should have a new name."

"A new name? How about the 'S' series? It starts with the initials of your name and mine."

"Peter would be disappointed; he also contributed to the creation."

Stark scratched his head, and Peter chimed in, "I don't mind that, but more than the name, I think the new battlesuit should have a cooler appearance, something entirely different from the Marc series."

"I think you can design it in blue," Schiller suggested. "It goes well with magic and can distinguish it from your Marc series."

"Then let's get going. Once we've tested all the components, we can start assembling it, and soon we can paint it a beautiful color. I think blue and silver would be nice."

"Furthermore," Stark looked at Schiller and said, "I think this Mech armor should have some magical attack capabilities."

"But I'm sorry, my magical skills don't have any offensive abilities," Schiller replied.

"What about that levitation spell? Floating objects could be useful."

"You could consider magnetic force," Schiller casually revealed Magneto, saying, "Perhaps magnetic force is stronger than you imagine."

When Natasha arrived, these three individuals hadn't slept for almost 50 hours. Schiller and Peter, thanks to their superpowers, still appeared relatively normal, but Stark had enormous panda eyes. Natasha said, "We were about to put out a missing persons notice for you. You've been gone for nearly three whole days."

"But we have an outstanding achievement!" Stark exclaimed.

Then, Natasha saw Stark pull out a cigarette, and the female agent smiled and said, "It seems you're still not getting with the times. Ever since I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I quit smoking."

"You're thinking about healthy living only now? Isn't it a bit late?" Schiller asked her.

"Healthy living? I didn't quit for that! Have you seen any Russians into healthy living? That damn cigarette smoke alarm in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office goes off more than 20 times a day. It was driving me crazy, and that's why I quit smoking."

"Hey, look here! What are you guys talking about? Look at me, look at my achievement!" Stark said.

He tossed the cigarette aside, and in an instant, a Mech armor made up of silver and deep blue materialized around him.

This Mech armor was indeed slightly different from the Marc series in design. It appeared sleeker, more streamlined, and tailored to Stark's physique. Moreover, there was no mechanical noise when he armed or moved in it. It was less of a Mech armor and more of a unique form-fitting suit.

Schiller stood up and said, "You used to be 10 centimeters taller than me in Mech armor, but now it's only 3 centimeters."

"Is that the focus here?!"

"Of course, because without the Mech armor, you're 2 centimeters shorter, sir," Peter said, "Not to mention your shoes."

Stark took a deep breath, leaped lightly, and the armor floated in the air with minimal noise. Stark said, "Thanks for the inspiration. I also feel like jet propulsion is losing its charm. However, this magnetic levitation system is still a bit immature; I'll need to improve it."

Schiller hurriedly asked Natasha, "Is Nick Fury looking for me for something? I can send him an invoice for any amount."

Natasha said, "Well, there is something, seems to be related to the group of Ninjas that Captain and Peter dealt with before."

"So, you're here for Peter, and Schiller..." Stark began.

"No, no, no. I've received a lot of money from S.H.I.E.L.D. I think it's necessary to give them all a basic psychological and emotional test, you know, it's important for some field agents. It can prevent them from going crazy due to anxiety."

"This time, it's free?"

"Of course!"