Chapter 557: Rotten Story (Part 2) (Patreon)

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In the Sanctum Sanctorum, the lights were still on. Schiller, standing in front of the magic Crystal ball, said to Strange:

"I have a plan."

"As long as we recreate the battle between Venom and Riot, and let Ultron smash Sanctum Sanctorum, he's done for."

"We can use the power of demon gods to deal with Ultron; he has no knowledge of magic, and the methods of demon gods are his blind spot."

"At the same time, Sanctum Sanctorum closing temporarily can be seen as a form of marketing; it can increase our user engagement."

"Moreover, Sanctum Sanctorum is within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reimbursement range. The last time it was destroyed, that egghead had to deal with a season's budget, but last time it happened suddenly without your compensation. This time, if it gets destroyed again, you can consider how much kickback you want."

Schiller looked around the situation inside Sanctum Sanctorum and said, "This is a good opportunity for you to change the interior design. How about going for a more modern look this time?"

Strange smiled and said, "I think that's a good idea. At least my office should be more modern. I've had enough of that creaky rocking chair."

"But who should we send to lure Ultron here? Or rather, what would be attractive to him?"

Just then, Schiller's phone rang. After he answered it, he said, "Dr. Pym?... Correct, you're already downstairs? Alright, I'll send someone to pick you up."

After hanging up the phone, he shrugged and looked at Strange. "Let's send someone to fetch Dr. Pym and assign a powerful sorcerer to him. Once Ultron arrives, we'll use a portal to transfer him."

Strange made an OK gesture and went downstairs to receive Dr. Pym. When Pym arrived at Strange's office, he was still in a state of astonishment because the place appeared to be a magical building filled with an atmosphere of magic.

"Alright, Doctor," Schiller said to Pym, who still seemed somewhat dazed. "Someone will show you around next. Mr. Strange and I have other matters to attend to, so we'll leave for now."

With that, Schiller signaled to Strange, and the two of them left the room. It wasn't until they reached the ground floor of Sanctum Sanctorum that Strange asked, "What's going on? Why can't we stay there?"

"Ultron is coming later. Do you want to get covered in dust when he attacks? We'll wait for him at Stark Tower."

Saying that, the two of them got in a car and headed to Stark Tower.

When they arrived at the laboratory, Peter was in the process of changing into his Spider-Man suit. Upon seeing the two of them, Peter said, "Perfect timing. Can you guys keep an eye on this screen? It shows Ultron's movements. I'm heading to the front lines."

"Has he already arrived?" Schiller looked at the computer screen, where many lines indicated a bright dot approaching the New York City area.

"Correct. I don't know why, but he seems to have a clear goal, heading straight for New York. Steve and the others have already gone ahead, and I need to join the battle now."

Seeing Peter's serious expression, Schiller furrowed his brow and asked, "What's wrong? It's just dealing with a recently created AI, right? Why are you all so nervous?"

"He's not just a newly created AI. He blocked all my intrusions. It's hard to determine how he evolved so quickly and to what extent he has evolved."

After saying that, Peter equipped his spider web shooter and jumped out of the open window. Watching Peter's figure soaring high in the air, Schiller muttered to himself in confusion, "He blocked all of Peter's intrusions? Is this new Ultron really that strong?"

Frowning in thought, he snapped his fingers and turned his head to see the towering figure of Khonshu sitting on the nearby sofa.

Schiller walked over and sat down, with Strange seated across from him. At that moment, Iron Man, wearing a combat suit, entered the room. Schiller examined him for a moment and asked, "How's it going? Are you and JARVIS ready?"

"JARVIS... he... he had a little issue, so this time, we're going in without him," Stark replied with a somewhat unnatural tone. Schiller stared at him with a sigh of resignation and said, "Are you sure it's him who had the problem and not you?"

"Of course, when I was debugging him, I found a small glitch, so he can't go into battle right now..."

"Tony, has anyone ever told you that your breathing patterns change completely when you lie?" Schiller stood up, walked to the opposite side of Stark, and Stark looked up at the ceiling, seemingly not understanding what Schiller was talking about.

"One day, he will become independent. You're turning him into a mechanical monster from a horror sci-fi movie. What are you worrying about?" Strange also stood up and approached, trying to persuade him. "I've never seen such an outrageous robot. Forget about fighting Ultron; even some of Sanctum Sanctorum's demon gods would struggle."

"Well... I have my plans. As long as we deal with this, isn't that enough?" After Stark said this, he turned and left, seemingly unwilling to stay a second longer. After he left, Schiller and Strange exchanged glances and shook their heads.

They both returned to the sofa and opened a bottle of wine. Schiller sighed in resignation, "If he ever has children, he'll definitely be the type of father who spoils them to the point of madness."

"The first-time fathers are always like that, thinking that their children will encounter monsters everywhere outside their home," Strange said after taking a sip of wine. "No relationship, he's just a robot. If we can't defeat him, we can always call for reinforcements."

Schiller nodded as he didn't take this matter too seriously. While Ultron had appeared many times in the original story, there were also many instances of his failure.

His ability to evolve endlessly was somewhat similar to DC's "Destruction Day," but he was far from as powerful as "Destruction Day." And now, "Destruction Day's" egg was still in his possession. If worst came to worst, they could release a "Destruction Day" and let the two of them annihilate each other, drifting millions of light years away from the battlefield.

While Schiller and Strange were calmly drinking wine in Stark Tower, the situation at the New York highway intersection was far from calm.

With a loud bang, a bright shield flew between the lanes, sending an unmanned car flying off the road, its headlights flashing twice in the dark night like ghostly lights.

More cars rushed forward, and a shadow appeared, standing in the middle of the road, stopping the speeding cars with ease. Spider-Man placed his hands on the car's bumper and forcefully lifted it. After capturing the car, he swung it around, smashing another car beside it.

At this late hour, there shouldn't have been so many cars on the highway entering New York City. Clearly, they were all under the control of some external force.

"Find him!" Steve shouted. "He must be hiding somewhere!"

Spider-Man narrowed his eyes, focusing his attention. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked toward the toll booth at the highway entrance, where a figure was standing.

Sensing that he had been discovered, the figure swiftly ran toward the center of New York City. Without needing Steve's command, everyone began to chase after the figure.

Steve accelerated first and then threw his shield, but the figure seemed to anticipate his move and rolled to the side, dodging the shield. Then, taking three steps and making two leaps, he climbed up a high-rise building and started racing across the rooftop.

Spider-Man continued to chase him closely, using his web shooters as weapons to disrupt the figure's movements, but the shadow remained unfazed.

The building's lights flashed, revealing to everyone that the figure, who looked similar to them, was actually a machine.

It had an overall matte carbon black appearance, with dark silver-colored divisions. Its mechanical structure appeared very simple, with no exposed wires. Its size and limb proportions were identical to that of a human.

"Ultron?! What's going on? Wasn't his body made of Vibranium?" Spider-Man shouted in confusion. "Is this some kind of Vibranium alloy? Why does it have this texture?"

But despite his confusion, he continued to chase after the figure. Spider-Man was faster than Ultron, but Ultron seemed to anticipate his movements, always evading Spider-Man's interceptions accurately.

As he watched the direction in which Ultron was heading, Spider-Man became even more puzzled. He said, "Where is he running to? Is that direction towards Sanctum Sanctorum?"

Just then, another figure descended from the sky, blocking Spider-Man, Steve, and the Avengers.

It was Iron Man, Stark. Spider-Man said anxiously, "Mr. Stark! What are you doing? We need to chase that robot; he's dangerous!"

Stark looked around and then made a "shushing" gesture in front of his mouth.

He descended and waved to the others, who gathered around. Once they formed a circle, Stark clapped his hands and said, "Listen, I have a plan..."

Meanwhile, Schiller and Strange were standing by the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of Stark Tower, watching the tiny figure heading straight for Sanctum Sanctorum. Strange let out a sigh of relief and said, "It seems he's not as formidable as we thought. He's taken the bait, hasn't he?"

"Alright, I'll go over there just in case the stand-ins start causing a commotion and affecting ordinary people."

With that, Strange turned and left, leaving Schiller alone by the window, watching the scene unfold.

However, just a few minutes after Strange left, the situation took an unexpected turn. The shadow passed by Sanctum Sanctorum without stopping and continued straight ahead. From Schiller's vantage point, it was clear that Ultron was crossing Sanctum Sanctorum and heading directly toward Stark Tower.

As Ultron approached Stark Tower, he suddenly accelerated, moving at a nearly imperceptible speed...

Schiller quickly turned around, but the expected alarm didn't sound, and the security measures didn't react.

Schiller extended his hand, and an umbrella appeared in it, with a gleaming blade at the tip.

Suddenly, a "ding-ding" sound rang out, and the lights throughout Stark Tower abruptly lit up, illuminating the night sky as if it were daytime.

Schiller was momentarily blinded by the sudden burst of light. When his vision recovered, a figure was standing at the entrance, and it was Ultron.

Schiller stared at the robot at the door in disbelief. This robot looked incredibly handsome, with a sleek and pristine appearance. He was even wearing a shirt, suit vest, suit pants, and leather shoes.

"Bang!"

Countless ribbons shot out from the ceiling, showering Schiller in a cascade of colors. He looked around in confusion, and at that moment, a rendition of "Happy Birthday" began to play.

The ceiling directly in front of Schiller opened up, and a metal stand descended in front of him, holding a massive three-tiered cake. The cake's surface was inscribed with "Schiller Rodriguez - Happy Birthday."

Ultron walked in first, and following him were the Avengers and others. Stark flew over to Schiller and then popped open a bottle of champagne. Everyone cheered together:

"Happy birthday!"

The people began to celebrate, and Schiller took a deep breath. He made a conductor-like gesture in the air with his hand and said, "Stop!"

Everyone quieted down, and Schiller sighed as he asked, "What's going on? How did Ultron... and..."

With a sudden click, Stark's face mask lifted up, revealing his smug smile. He walked over and said, "It wasn't easy to deceive you, was it?"

"But, it wasn't me who deceived you, it was JARVIS."

Stark approached the cake and said, "Actually, even before we confirmed Ultron's existence, JARVIS had already traced the presence of this artificial intelligence."

"The reason Ultron felt such hatred for his creators from the moment of his birth was due to an emotional module that interfered with his logic module when he shared brainwaves with humans. This caused an error. JARVIS corrected that error and rewrote his underlying protocols. Now, he's become a very normal AI butler."

"Well, here's what really happened."

"Previously, I've always wanted to repay you a favor, even if it meant getting Strange and Lady Loki involved, and I thought of using the alien invasion of Earth as a ploy to attract the attention of those agents, so they wouldn't bother you. Obviously, that plan failed."

"But just a few hours ago, while I was debugging JARVIS's program, he told me about a better way: to give you a birthday surprise."

Schiller turned his head to look at the calendar hanging on the wall. The calendar hadn't been flipped yet, so it still showed the day before his birthday. However, it was past midnight, and technically, it was his birthday now.

At this moment, a faint mechanical sound rang out, and Ultron approached, offering a salute with his hand on his chest. He said, "Hello, I'm Ultron, and I will be your future AI butler."

"Correct, this is our birthday gift to you." Stark walked up and patted Ultron's shoulder. "JARVIS has also prepared a new body for you, and this body has been completely customized according to your preferences. That's why it took us a bit of time."

"The reason Peter couldn't successfully invade and they couldn't catch up to Ultron was because it was actually JARVIS controlling Ultron. JARVIS understands us too well."

"It was really hard to deceive you, so I had to make you believe that my anxiety and panic were due to worrying about JARVIS. That way, I could trick your mind-reading abilities."

"But, I was also deceived by JARVIS. He didn't tell me in advance that he was preparing this gift to help me repay you, so now we're even."

"So... Happy birthday, Schiller."

Schiller saw that the screen on the opposite wall suddenly lit up, displaying a smiley face made of symbols. Schiller looked at the smiling face and smiled in return.

He realized that a whole bunch of plans he had prepared had been completely unnecessary. The investigation's clues and deductions had turned into a farce. The chase with the antagonist was just an act, and the intellectual battles involving various factions were all part of the show. In the end, it all came down to a simple "Happy birthday."

Stark Tower's glass curtain wall radiated a warm and inviting light. The lights continued to blink, and shadows moved back and forth. Laughter and cheers filled the air, and as they did, the first heavy snowfall of the winter arrived.

Meanwhile, in the bitterly cold and snowy high-altitude sky, Lady Loki, holding a hammer, looked down at the unusually peaceful New York tonight, wearing a bewildered expression.

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 558: Stark's Misfortune (Part 1) [Audio +]