Malibu Beach, Stark's private mansion.
The top-floor workshop, which used to be filled with heavy metal rock and the roar of mechanical arms, was eerily quiet at the moment.
Tony Stark, Dr. Banner, and Pepper were standing at a safe distance, munching on watermelon while watching the temporarily modified altar in the center of the workshop.
Lin Huai took a deep breath and stepped forward with a solemn expression. He opened the two lead boxes containing the [face rose] and the [Horn Crystal of a Mature Hornacis Gray Mountain Goat], carefully placing them on the altar.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;"
"The mysterious ruler Above the Gray Fog;"
"The king of yellow and black who wields good luck."
As the ancient and tongue-twisting Hermes Language was chanted from Lin Huai's mouth.
The two main ingredients on the altar dissolved silently into the air in a way that completely defied the laws of physics! Every high-precision instrument running in the workshop simultaneously burst with a blinding red light on their screens!
[(Unable to Parse)]
Amidst the piercing alarm, a blob of liquid with constantly shifting luster and colors emerged out of thin air in the void at the center of the altar.
While Tony and Banner were still in shock, Lin Huai calmly stepped forward, picked up the cup in his hand, filled it with the potion, and drank it all in one gulp without a second thought.
The potion entered his mouth as smooth as ever. It felt as if it were already a part of Lin Huai's body; it dissolved the moment it touched his tongue, turning into a pure and gentle torrent of spirituality that flowed smoothly into his limbs and bones, perfectly merging with his spirit body.
Everything was excessively calm.
"Is that... it?" Tony waited for a few seconds, and seeing Lin Huai standing there as if nothing had happened, he couldn't help but ask.
Lin Huai didn't answer, only giving him a mysterious smile.
The next second, he took a step forward, and his entire body suddenly folded backward in a joint-defying posture. His hands supported him on the ground as his legs nimbly passed through his armpits; like a boneless master of contortion, he completed an awkward yet elegant roll on the spot and stood back up steadily.
"WOW!" Dr. Banner exclaimed instinctively in admiration.
That wasn't all. Lin Huai casually pulled a playing card from the bar that Tony used for darts and twirled it elegantly between his fingertips. Then, with a sudden flick of his wrist in a posture impossible for an ordinary person to imitate, he threw the card!
Whoosh—!
That thin paper card didn't travel in an arc; instead, like a bullet from a gun, it carried a sharp sound of breaking air and pierced straight into a thick oak decorative wall several meters away! Most of the card disappeared inside, leaving only a small section vibrating slightly from the massive kinetic energy!
"Sir," Jarvis's voice sounded, still carrying a hint of confusion, "According to the analysis of the footage captured by the high-speed camera, the moment that card was released, it was achieved through extreme physical explosive power and perfect technique. Not only that, there seems to be a special energy attached to it. Unbelievable."
Tony's eyes widened; that wall wasn't made of drywall!
"The real performance begins now."
Lin Huai smiled and turned his gaze to Tony. The muscles on his face suddenly lost all vitality in an imperceptible way. It wasn't just a lack of expression; the natural tremors of all micro-expression muscles and even the sense of breathing from his pores were forcibly flattened in an instant.
In Tony's eyes, his face instantly turned into an incredibly lifelike yet lifeless mannequin mask.
"Sir," Jarvis's voice became even more solemn, "Facial scanning shows an anomaly. Mr. Lin's facial micro-expression data stream has completely cut off, and skin activity frequency has dropped to zero... According to model comparisons, this state cannot be identified as a human face; it is closer to a... static high-precision wax figure."
Pepper was startled by this eerie scene and took half a step back. The feeling was like staring into the eyes of a sculpture wearing human skin.
Then, the corners of the mouth on that mask slowly pulled back at a physiologically impossible angle, revealing an extremely exaggerated grin that seemed to reach his ears. That smile was full of joy, but paired with that lifeless face, it made one's scalp crawl.
The smile on Lin Huai's face receded like a tide, returning to normal.
Tony snapped out of his shock, his face breaking into a bright, extreme smile as he opened his arms wide in an exaggerated manner.
"This is just... too cool!!! But I like it!" He stepped forward and patted Lin Huai heavily on the shoulder.
He turned to Banner and said excitedly, "Bruce, did you see that? magic is just science we haven't figured out yet. Lin just completed a perfect version iteration update!"
Just as Tony's excitement hadn't faded, his private phone on the lab bench rang.
Tony answered the phone, but before he could show off, Rhodes's voice came through in a rush, filled with deep urgency: "Tony, you'd better get dressed and come to the Expo right now. The Congressional Hearing Committee and the Military people are already here, and they've named you specifically. I'm being driven crazy by those big shots! If you don't show up tonight, I guarantee that by tomorrow, Military legal letters will be piled high on your desk."
The excited smile on Tony's face instantly collapsed, and he said crossly into the phone, "Let them wait. I'm conducting a scientific research project capable of changing the World."
"Can your so-called research stop those congressmen from passing a bill tomorrow to forcibly nationalize your armor?" Rhodes's voice dropped even lower. "Tony, I'm reminding you as a friend; those big shots will do any kind of stupid thing for profit."
The call was hung up.
Tony irritably threw his phone on the table, his good mood from moments ago completely gone.
He looked at the innocent-looking Lin Huai and Banner, shrugging helplessly: "Gentlemen, it seems the celebration party is a bust. We have to go deal with a bunch of annoying bureaucrats and put on the monkey show they want to see."
Under the night sky, Flushing Meadows was brightly lit. Massive circular buildings and holographic projections turned the place into a temple of technology.
As the absolute protagonist, Tony completed his rock-star opening amidst deafening cheers. When he stepped off the stage and returned to the VIP lounge, a serious-looking man in a U.S. Air Force uniform immediately approached him.
It was Tony's former best friend, Colonel Rhodes.
"Tony, we need to talk." Rhodes got straight to the point, his voice lacking any of the party's joy.
"Hey, Rhodes! My brother!" Tony gave him a hug, but was pushed away subtly by Rhodes.
"I'm being driven crazy by those big shots in Congress." Rhodes's voice was very low, filled with warning, "The Military needs this technology. Other countries are secretly developing it, and the gap is being closed. I can't hold back the pressure anymore, Tony. Share the armor technology; it's the only way."
The smile on Tony's face vanished instantly. He picked up a glass of wine, took a sip, and his tone became cold and arrogant: "The only way? Rhodes, I am the only way. Give the technology to those idiots at the Pentagon? They don't even have the aesthetic sense to pick a color scheme for the armor."
"This isn't an aesthetic issue, it's a national security issue!" Rhodes's tone intensified... Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. Trident Headquarters.
Phil Coulson, holding a file, hurried into Nick Fury's office.
"Officer, the preliminary investigation report on the Sons of Baphomet cult is out." Coulson placed the file on the desk, "We analyzed unidentifiable energy residues from the sacrificial offerings left at the ritual site. It doesn't belong to any energy system we know, but it highly matches the contamination caused by mysterious energy previously described by our consultant, Lin Huai."
Fury didn't pick up the report immediately; his gaze remained fixed on a holographic screen in front of him. On the screen, reports of mysterious events related to Devil worship and soul trading from around the globe were scrolling.
"HYDRA, mysterious mages, and now scum from Hell are popping up..." Fury muttered to himself, a cold light flashing in his lone eye.
He tapped the table, his voice deepening.
"Coulson, consolidate all clues related to this matter and form a special investigation task force. I want to know what these cultists calling themselves the Sons of Baphomet are actually doing and what their purpose is for coming to Earth."