Chapter 1071: Mundane Daily Life Before Christmas (Part 2) (Patreon)

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Within the empty corridors of Stark Tower, Rhodes briskly walked towards the laboratory door, followed closely by another African American. Together, they halted at the entrance to the laboratory.

Rhodes stood tall, eyes wide, as the scanning device at the laboratory door swept over his facial and ocular features, then opened the door.

Upon stepping inside, they beheld Stark, shirtless, tinkering with a new combat suit. His face mask still on, he looked somewhat peculiar. Upon spotting Rhodes, he turned, hands on hips, and said, "Ah, there you are. Take a look, I've made some upgrades to the power system of the new combat suit. It should be rather impressive, don't you think?"

With that, Stark removed his face mask, cocked his head slightly, glanced at the black man behind Rhodes, then returned his gaze to Rhodes, asking, "Is this the new tester you've brought me? He bears a resemblance to you. Are you two brothers?"

"That joke isn't very amusing," Rhodes shook his head. "But I know you have a bit of facial recognition issue, so I'll let it slide."

With that, he patted the back of the black man behind him, saying, "Sam Wilson, former member of the U.S. Air Force Pararescue Wing Special Operations Team, but now retired and residing in Washington."

Stark stared, incredulous, at Rhodes. "I asked you to find me a Mech armor tester, and you bring me a member of the parachute rescue team?!"

"I believe it's necessary," Rhodes said seriously. Glancing at the combat suit beside Stark, he continued, "In the past three days, you've managed over 80 freefalls in various forms. You've even surpassed the parachute drops during the peak training period of the Pararescue Team. I think only someone from that team could handle your testing requirements."

Stark pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and sighed. Just as he was about to explain, Sam Wilson stepped forward, extending his hand, and shook Stark's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark. Your reputation precedes you."

Stark squinted one eye, sizing him up, then said, "It's not that I don't trust Rhodes' recommendation, but you have to understand, this isn't the Pararescue Team..."

"But I have extensive experience in freefall," Sam smiled. "Over 80 drops in three days are no problem for me."

Stark wagged his finger, pointing at him, then walked to the side of the Mech armor. "Very well, you've captured the essence, Tony Stark's genius mind shouldn't be wasted on endless freefalls. Come on, try it on."

"Though there have been some accidents before, you can trust that the safety of this Mech armor has greatly improved. Perhaps there won't be opportunities for you to showcase your freefall talent anymore."

Rhodes stepped aside a bit, allowing the stronger Sam to step forward. Turning around, Sam stood before the Mech armor. As the armor armed itself onto him, it seemed a bit awkward. Stark adjusted the position of various parts until Sam could maneuver the Mech armor, walking around the room with ease.

"Now, my main concern is that the anti-gravity system I've added to this heavy armor affects the efficiency of the propulsion system. During high-speed flight, it's prone to stalling," Stark explained a slew of theories, which Rhodes and Sam didn't quite grasp. Finally, he reached a conclusion, "In fact, the flight function of this combat suit isn't crucial. I need someone with combat experience to test its close combat capabilities."

Rhodes rolled his eyes, looking at Stark. "If none of the theories before mattered, you could have skipped them. Since you've made this combat suit for close combat, why do you fly around New York in it every day? Is this another manifestation of your skydiving hobby?"

"Flight posture tests more than just flying... Never mind, no matter how much I explain, you won't understand," Stark shrugged.

"Could it be because... you can't fight?" Rhodes squinted at Stark. "I remember when we first met, you were a novice. Have you practiced since then?"

Just as Stark was about to retort, Rhodes snapped his fingers in realization. "Ah, I see! JARVIS is malfunctioning, the intelligent combat system isn't working, so you can only fly up there to test it. And you're hoping I'll find a professional tester for you..."

"Heavens!" Rhodes spread his palms, thrusting them forward, then said, "Please don't tell me you haven't practiced combat for years? You, with the balance and flexibility of an average person, piloting such a complex Mech armor against such dangerous opponents... Tony Stark! I can't decide if you're bold or reckless!"

"Of course, it's bold," Stark set aside his tools, emphasizing, but then he shook his head. "You can't expect a modern man, with an almost omnipotent intelligent butler, to think about practicing combat..."

Stark stood still, covering his mouth, sighing. Clearly, he had also realized his problem. Over the years, he had become too reliant on JARVIS.

The profound impact of the questions Schiller posed to JARVIS during their first meeting extended far beyond what was previously mentioned.

Stark's additional interest in AI resulted in this super genius upgrading JARVIS multiple times in just a year or two, making the intelligent butler excessively intelligent, with a high level of combat proficiency, capable of fulfilling all combat demands.

Adding to the various things Schiller stirred up, Stark was busy with research in other areas. In terms of combat, he basically relied entirely on the intelligent combat system provided by JARVIS.

Of course, to maintain a good physique, Stark had a dedicated fitness plan involving boxing and jiu-jitsu. However, evidently, these skills were far inferior to JARVIS' intelligent operations in real combat scenarios. In simple terms, it was JARVIS who knew how to fight, not Stark.

Standing beside the Mech armor, Stark patted its arm and said, "Your name is Sam, right? How's your combat ability?"

Before Sam could answer, Rhodes nodded and said, "Surely better than yours."

"I've only had basic combat training; my close combat abilities are definitely not as good as other members of special forces teams. I'm better at flying. If you want to see, I can control it to take a flight now," Sam's steady voice emanated from within the combat suit.

"Hey, buddy, don't talk big!" Stark shook his head. "Not just anyone can pilot my combat suit to fly."

As he spoke, the heavy new combat suit soared into the air. After the glass covering the building for the flight experiment descended, the previously cumbersome combat suit turned into a streak of light, soaring into the New York skyline.

Rhodes and Stark stood side by side at the floor-to-ceiling window, watching as Sam gracefully maneuvered the armor, drawing smooth arcs in the air. Rhodes turned his head, looking at Stark. "All that explanation you gave earlier was useless. It's simply because you don't know how to operate it that led to the crashes."

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's my own combat suit; how could I not know how to operate it?" Stark immediately denied.

"Admit it, JARVIS understands you better than you do yourself," Rhodes turned his head back, looking into the distance. "You're like a baby in his arms, letting him worry about everything for you."

Stark fell silent, which was actually quite rare. When it came to certain aspects of his abilities, Stark always fiercely debated, even disallowing jokes. This was his genius pride, not allowing anyone to encroach upon it.

But this time, Rhodes described Stark as a baby, and Stark didn't immediately jump up to protest but stood silently in place, arms crossed, as if lost in memories.

"My friends all say that JARVIS is my child. I created him, taught him many things. But in my heart, he'll always be the old butler who raised me, tolerating me, accompanying me, dealing with all the troubles I don't want to deal with."

Rhodes reached out, patting his shoulder, saying nothing. Stark remained silent for a moment, then continued, "Actually, I don't have to be a Mech armor pilot. I know more than you do. Don't think that risking my genius brain is the only reason. But back then, I would never let anyone but myself wear the combat suit because I distrust them."

"In fact, I distrust myself too. So, I've delegated many things to JARVIS to handle. Honestly..." Stark took a deep breath. "I didn't expect that he could actually go against his fundamental protocols."

"Perhaps, he had begun to contemplate his own existence even earlier, but I, as always, was a jerk, completely unaware of his changes," Stark shook his head slowly.

"You know? You've changed a lot too," Rhodes looked at Stark, saying seriously. "You're finally not as much of a jerk, and you even look like a responsible person now."

Stark cursed with a laugh, giving Rhodes a strong push on the shoulder and patting it with his hand, saying, "You might not believe it, but I might have been really sick before. We're all the same."

Stark turned his head to look at the winter blue sky of New York. When you looked into the distance, it always evoked a different feeling. He said:

"When you're immersed in some kind of dilemma and pain, you feel like it's normal, feel like it's something you were born to accept, so you don't even want to seek treatment, thinking it's fine to live like this until you die."

"But when this illness is truly cured and you relax, looking back, you really want to slap yourself. What was I even conflicted about back then?"

"But your illness isn't completely cured," Rhodes immediately interjected. "Otherwise, you would've just called Steve Rogers directly and asked him to come and test the close combat capabilities of the Mech armor for you."

Stark shook his head. "The main reason I didn't call him is that I declined the Christmas dance party. He must be very upset now, drinking like a drunkard, maybe even shedding tears... But I really don't have time to go."

Finishing his sentence, Stark glanced back at a certain computer in the laboratory and then said, "Fixing JARVIS isn't as simple as it seems. What's even harder is that I hope he won't be trapped in the virtual network anymore but can truly have a body of his own."

"Not just manipulating a mechanical body innocently, but like a human, using vision, touch, hearing, smell, taste, to feel this world."

"Like you and me?"

"Like you and me."

The calmness won't last long.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1072: Father and Son (Part One)