Chapter 63: Icarus Makes Her Debut
Tony was very happy today because Lan Xingyu had actually asked him to teach him everything about mechanics and Materials science.
Why was Lan Xingyu suddenly in such a hurry to learn from Tony? The reason lay in that mysterious white unknown metal given to him by the Immortal Grandpa last night.
After Lan Xingyu returned yesterday, his body indeed began to absorb the metal. Once Lan Xingyu had completely absorbed it, he inexplicably understood the new ability he had gained.
After gaining this ability, Lan Xingyu's first thought was: he had originally wanted to buy some figurines, but why buy them now? He could just manufacture an identical one himself.
Originally, Lan Xingyu's 'Icarus, Sky Queen Project' was something to be implemented depending on the situation. But with this ability, it truly became possible to create her.
Because the ability Lan Xingyu gained was called 'un-elemental matter.' That's right, it was the superpower of the Academy City's second-ranked Level 5, Kakine Teitoku.
Moreover, it had been enhanced by the Immortal Grandpa, and combined with Lan Xingyu's current strength, he felt he could create anything.
What is un-elemental matter? 'un-elemental matter' is matter that does not exist in this world. It's not 'not yet discovered' or 'theoretically should exist,' but something that truly does not exist, so it does not apply to existing Laws of physics.
In other words, Lan Xingyu could create all sorts of Materials that would make physics giants roll over in their graves, and they'd have no way to argue. Talk about infuriating.
Suddenly, Lan Xingyu had a thought: if I first create a spear that can penetrate anything, and then create a shield that can defend against everything, what would happen if the two clashed?
Shaking his head, Lan Xingyu abandoned this highly tempting thought.
Go to sleep early; I need to start working hard for my 2D waifus tomorrow.
In the future, Lan Xingyu would also arrogantly say: I may be an otaku, but I'm a technical otaku. And the kind that spends 24 hours a day defying physics giants.
So, that led to the scene in the morning where Lan Xingyu sought Tony as his teacher.
Tony was beyond happy. What do you call this? This is called the son carrying on the father's legacy! No more words needed—arrange it!
Afterward, Lan Xingyu skipped school after breakfast and eagerly ran to the lab with Tony.
Watching the comical behavior of this father and son, Pepper Potts felt both gratified and helpless. Now she had to go to the school again to request a leave of absence for Lan Xingyu, and she didn't even know for how long.
And so, Lan Xingyu began his learning career with Tony, which also showed Tony what a true Genius was.
That's right, Lan Xingyu directly activated his long-unused Super Brain, possessing calculation power exceeding the strongest known human computers and learning ability surpassing strong Artificial Intelligence. The combination of the two was a terrifying existence.
Tony finally understood why Lan Xingyu could learn all the magic of Kamar-Taj at the age of six.
Because if he considered himself a Genius, then Lan Xingyu was a Prodigy—no, 'Prodigy' could no longer describe him. Can you imagine a question being asked, and Lan Xingyu actually answering faster than Jarvis?
Later, in order to focus better on learning the knowledge he needed, Lan Xingyu stopped teaching the Captain and the others himself. Instead, he sent a Clone to help them develop strength that was theoretically the same as his own.
As a result, Lan Xingyu's Clone started having fun with it. To teach someone, one must look the part, right? To teach Haki, naturally, Old Man Rayleigh should be the one to do it.
Then, Lan Xingyu's Clone transformed into a lean and somewhat imposing old man in front of Captain America and the others, holding a wooden stick to instruct them.
If that were all, it would be fine, but another of Lan Xingyu's Clones was standing nearby with a camera filming, complete with voice-over narration.
"Hello everyone, I'm Xingyu Grills. Reporting for you now is Avengers' Back-to-the-Forge Enhancement Project..." One Clone taught with great joy, while the other filmed with equal delight, leaving Captain America and the others with faces full of black lines.
After all, it's natural to make a fool of oneself while learning, but what are you doing filming all our embarrassing moments? There was no choice; they couldn't beat him, it was so frustrating!
However, Lan Xingyu also gave them an incentive: once they mastered everything and felt they could injure the Clone teaching them, he would give them the tapes. Otherwise... followed by the sinister laughter of Lan Xingyu's two Clones.
The days passed productively like this. Two months later, in Tony's lab, Lan Xingyu was tinkering with machines and manufacturing the Materials he needed.
Over these two months, Tony finally experienced the kind of despair his own teachers must have felt. Having a student who is too smart is also a form of torture. But since Lan Xingyu was his own kid, this psychological conflict tormented Tony for a month, only ending when Tony said, 'You have graduated.'
And now, Lan Xingyu had already begun manufacturing his 'Angeloid for Entertainment.' Her energy core was a Stellar-class core with energy like the sun, created by combining un-elemental matter with the power of the Mera Mera no Mi.
Meteor Shower also carved magic runes onto her body, plus a pocket dimension to house her ultimate weapons: the Final Weapon Apollon and the Uranus System.
These two were weapons with planet-extinguishing power. When Tony saw the specs for these weapons, he almost thought Lan Xingyu was going to destroy the Earth. At that moment, Tony was incredibly grateful to the world's game and anime companies. They had saved the world!
Without a word, Tony immediately bought the largest game and anime companies. For no other reason than to have them produce more games and anime. And he couldn't let Lan Xingyu know about this!
Just like in the original work, Lan Xingyu equipped Icarus with all the weapon and defense Systems. They were:
Artemis II: Similar to guided tracking missiles. The power can be adjusted from the level of a hand grenade to nuclear peace level.
Final Weapon Apollon: Extremely high destructive power with a massive blast radius, a planet-extinguishing weapon.
Aegis II: As long as the energy is not depleted, it can even block attacks of a single-Universe level! It reflects attacks after calculating the error.
Dual Variable Wing System: Grants Icarus powerful movement and flight capabilities.
Hephaistos II: An upgraded version of the Ultra-High Heat Compression Anti-Ship Cannon I, with significantly increased power and performance.
Movable Armor: Greatly improves maneuverability by reducing its own armor, achieving acceleration upon acceleration.
Uranus System: Icarus's current final equipment, resembling a multi-functional mobile artillery base controlled by Icarus. It is also Icarus's personal armory, with powerful ultimate destructive force at the planet-extinguishing level. It is also stored in Icarus's pocket dimension.
Now, Lan Xingyu's Icarus had reached the final step: importing the Artificial Intelligence, Icarus!
As Icarus's chip was placed, streaks of light flowed across Icarus's body, performing the final checks and synchronization.
Shortly after, Icarus opened her eyes with a dazed and cute expression. Her wings gently unfurled, and as pink feathers fell, it was as if an angel had descended to the human world.
With light steps, she walked in front of Lan Xingyu and hugged him, though he was still small compared to her. Her wings slightly enveloped them as she said, 'Imprinting begins.'
A chain extended from Icarus's neck and wrapped around Lan Xingyu's hand.
Then she released Lan Xingyu, and her wings parted. She bowed to Lan Xingyu and said, 'Nice to meet you. I am an Angeloid for Entertainment. I will fulfill all your wishes, my Master!' This is the original line from the anime; those with dirty minds, go stand in the corner!
Before this, Lan Xingyu had already modified Icarus's chip, following everything from the anime. He had even gone to the Immortal Grandpa to have her enhanced. So now, Icarus could no longer be considered just an Artificial Intelligence.
The only difference between the current Icarus and the one in the anime was that she didn't have the wish-granting Universal Cards.
However, Lan Xingyu thought that after he absorbed the Reality Stone later, he might be able to create one.
"No need to call me Master. My name is Lan Xingyu, just call me Xingyu. This is a gift for you!" Lan Xingyu said as he pulled out a spherical object.
Since he was the one who set her parameters, he naturally knew exactly what Icarus liked.
Seeing Icarus holding the ball and stroking it cutely, Lan Xingyu said, "Come, I'll take you to meet our family." With that, Lan Xingyu pulled Icarus along to meet Tony and Pepper Potts.
At this moment, Tony and Pepper Potts had been called by Lan Xingyu to welcome the new family member.
"Tony, what do you think Lan Xingyu's first creation is like? Is it like that engine you made when you were little?" Pepper Potts asked Tony.
"Uh... I hope so, but... cough... you'll see for yourself in a moment." Tony didn't know what to say. He had watched Lan Xingyu's entire manufacturing process; he even felt Lan Xingyu had created a life! And those weapons that could extinguish planets at the drop of a hat—damn it, this isn't even the same art style as me! Tony only felt his heart was very tired at this moment.
A moment later, Lan Xingyu came out. Seeing the girl Lan Xingyu brought out, not just Pepper Potts, but even Tony, who had watched the whole process, was surprised once again. Lan Xingyu had brought an angel!
Now, the pink wings behind Icarus's back slightly opened. Seeing the two people at the top of the stairs, she picked up Lan Xingyu and slowly flew up, arriving in front of Tony and Pepper Potts.
"Hello, Mr. Tony, Ms. Potts. I am an Angeloid for Entertainment. Nice to meet you, please take care of me." However, this wasn't exactly the Icarus from the anime; her emotions were a bit richer, and she learned faster. But her personality was still that of a 'kuudere.'
"Tony, Sister Potts. From now on, let's leave the protection of our home to Icarus! It'll be absolutely safe!" Lan Xingyu said confidently.
Exactly! This was Lan Xingyu's ultimate goal in creating Icarus (again, friends with dirty minds, go stand in the corner). After all, the safety of those around him was always Lan Xingyu's greatest concern.
Now Pepper Potts had Amber for protection, so she wasn't in much danger outside. But once Amber left, the house wouldn't be safe. What if one day, like in Iron Man 3, someone suddenly used missiles to blow up Tony's house? What if Tony didn't have time to put on his suit then?
Just because it didn't happen in the original story doesn't mean it won't happen now. With Lan Xingyu in this world, who knows what changes might occur. So Lan Xingyu decided that from now on, our high ground would be guarded by Icarus.