mtl008 Chapter 4706 X Royal Clash (2)
Chapter 4706 X Royal Clash (2)
Chapter 4706 X Royal Family: Fierce Battle (Twelve)
The special status of the main universe has inflated the ambitions of each member of the Avengers in that universe. However, if they weren't originally that kind of person, it wouldn't make them more extreme; Spider-Man is a good example. The Spider-Man of the main universe didn't change his personality just because he's from the main universe. It can only be said that most Tony Stark members have an interventionist streak in them.
The saying goes, "The bigger your heart, the bigger your stage." But now it's the other way around: the bigger your stage, the bigger your heart. The multiverse platform gives the main universe the opportunity to showcase itself, and naturally, the ambitious ones among them will be more extreme, but that doesn't mean people from other universes won't be.
There's no doubt that the Iron Man in the local universe is also eyeing the Redgate Orchid factory. He doesn't intend to use it to control Earth; he simply wants to acquire some technology to upgrade his armor. Given such an opportunity, he likely wouldn't pass it up.
Even if he possessed technology superior to that of the Redgate Orient factory, he wouldn't have refused. This is because the Redgate Orient factory's technological approach differed from his own, making it valuable for research. What truly shocked the local Iron Man was that the Iron Man of the central universe could actually restrain his desire to explore new technologies.
“Didn’t you mention that?” Iron Man asked Spider-Man. “The Redgate factory might be using Shiar Empire technology. No, not just possibly. I’ve checked with them myself. They’ve used not only the technology, but also the materials.”
“He knows,” Spider-Man said, “but he’s not really interested in alien technology either. Overall, he’s not much like you. Not like a machine that’s tirelessly exploring the universe and almost burns itself out. He’s gentle and quite restrained.”
“Then he wouldn’t be Tony Stark,” Iron Man said, making a startling statement. “No Stark could control his curiosity. How could he not want to explore the universe?”
“I don’t know,” Spider-Man said. “Why don’t you talk to him?”
“How am I supposed to talk to him? I can’t go to Clarkia,” Iron Man said. “Don’t you know how special you are? Only you can swagger into the enemy’s headquarters while the two sides are still at war!”
The others chimed in, clearly finding the whole thing utterly absurd. After all, with a weapon like the Redgate Orchid factory hanging over their heads, mutants were unlikely to give them a friendly look. And for Spider-Man to visit Clarkia under such circumstances—it was hard to say who on either side was more audacious.
“Perhaps you could make a phone call or something,” Spider-Man said. “I can go back to Clarkia and set up communication between you. What do you think?”
But Iron Man suddenly became somewhat resistant, saying, "Do you think this communication is meaningful? Do you expect me to persuade him to take over the factory?"
“Oh, wait a minute,” Captain America said, “The Avengers didn’t say they agreed with the government and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s decision. We still support you, Tony.”
Iron Man's expression didn't improve. He knew perfectly well that his teammates supported him because of their good relationship. But he also knew that, objectively speaking, the Iron Man of the central universe was more suited to control the factory than he was.
If the two of them made a phone call, wouldn't that mean he was admitting defeat to Iron Man in the central universe? Although he knew it would be difficult to beat him, he was unwilling to admit it to his face.
“You don’t have to talk about this,” Spider-Man said. “Maybe we can just discuss some technical issues with the factory. Communication is always beneficial, isn’t it?”
Everyone looked at Iron Man, but no one spoke. They felt that only Iron Man could make the decision. After all, no one can exist in isolation from their own perspective. Science knows no borders, but scientists do. Any conversation inevitably touches on politics, which would make Iron Man feel very awkward.
“I’ll give it a try,” Iron Man said. “I just want to know what kind of person he is. Maybe it’s a good last resort.”
Nixon breathed a sigh of relief. Having the two Iron Men talk was far better than having Spider-Man persuade Iron Man. Spider-Man was unlikely to get to the heart of the matter, while the two counterparts could communicate on a much larger scale. As Iron Man said, even just convincing Stark in the central universe to intervene and save the situation if it became irreversible would be considered an achievement.
Captain America patted Iron Man on the shoulder, a gesture of comfort. Thor added, "We'll be with you. If he dares to say anything disrespectful to you, we'll yell back."
Doctor Strange, of course, needs no further explanation. He simply looked at Iron Man, who had stood up, with a slightly worried gaze. He could completely understand how frustrated Iron Man was. But now, with inferior skills and bad luck, giving Iron Man to the central universe was better than giving him to the main universe.
Spider-Man went to Clarkia again to set up a communication channel between the two Iron Men. However, he didn't do it exactly as Nick Fury said; instead, he secretly sent a message to Spider-Man in the main universe.
"Hey, those two are going to have a negotiation. Are you sure you don't want your universe's guy to come?"
“God, do you want to destroy Iron Man?” the Spider-Man from the main universe replied. “He’d be furious if he knew they were making a deal. It would imply that he’s inferior to the one from the central universe.”
“I want him to ruin this negotiation. It’s good for all three of them,” the local Spider-Man said. “Iron Man in the central universe won’t be morally blackmailed, my Iron Man won’t be forced to bow down, and your Iron Man won’t be driven mad.”
"Wow, that's a brilliant idea!" The Spider-Man from the main universe immediately realized, sending a string of thumbs-up emojis. "But if we do that, is there any hope for the factory?"
"Actually, I've always wanted to ask, what is the point of that factory's existence? Why can't we just blow it up?"
"Isn't that for defense against mutants?"
“That’s for genocide,” the local Spider-Man said. “The super Sentinel that’s produced will indiscriminately slaughter all mutants. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that.”
“Of course I didn’t know, our universe doesn’t have that yet.” The Spider-Man from the main universe sent a surprised emoji, then said, “You’re right. Genocide is always evil. Let’s blow it up.”
"Although I would love to do it this way, I'm afraid it would be very difficult. There are just too many people watching the factory, and their technical level is extremely high. It would be very difficult for the two of us to crack it."
"Were all the researchers in the lab taken to Krakya?"
"That's right, they must be in the mutants' anti-gravity lab."
“There must be a lot of them who want to destroy the factory,” the main universe Spider-Man said, “because as long as the factory exists, they won’t have real freedom. Every faction will want them to help control the factory. Only by completely destroying this thing can they go back to their lives.”
“That’s a brilliant idea,” the local Spider-Man said, “but I’m not sure if the mutants will let me have access to them.”
"Of course they will, you're Spider-Man."
After arriving on Clark Island, the local Spider-Man went to see Stark first. Stark was a little surprised to see him. When he heard that the local Iron Man wanted to talk to him, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "I know you guys still want to persuade me to take over, and it won't be easy to convince the other me. Although I won't agree, I can still give him face."
As soon as he said that, Spider-Man knew it wouldn't work. However, the Iron Man in the central universe was indeed too good-natured; anyone else would have given up long ago. But the Iron Man in the central universe was willing to answer the phone again to save face for the local Iron Man.
"Thank you so much," Spider-Man said sincerely, after all, he was also under pressure if he didn't complete the mission.
“Thanks to Clarkia,” Stark said. “This place puts me in a good mood. Maybe we can actually talk about some technical issues.”
The call connected quickly, but the local Iron Man, seemingly unsure what to say, remained silent. Stark had to speak first: "What do you think of the technology at the Redgate Orchid factory?"
"They use a lot of advanced technology, including some artificial intelligence technology used in manufacturing the master mold. However, without certain special materials and key information, the factory probably wouldn't be able to complete it easily."
“That’s what I’m referring to. Do you know where the Shi’ar Empire’s technology came from?” Stark asked.
“Who knows where they got it from,” the local Iron Man said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the US government had contact with any alien civilization. I just don’t know what they sold out in exchange for this.”
“Don’t you find it a little strange?” Stark said. “What on Earth could possibly interest the Shi’ar Empire, especially something a government could actually provide?”
The local Iron Man seemed surprised he brought this up. He asked, "Do you think there's something wrong with the origin of this technology?"
"Technology isn't worth much to the Shi'ar Empire, after all, their technological level is far superior to yours. But those crystals shouldn't be something you can easily obtain, right?"
"Crystal? You mean source energy superconductor?"
“Yes,” Stark said, “I don’t think those crystals are cheap, common stuff in the Shi'ar Empire. On the contrary, they’re not compounds that can be easily synthesized. Why would the Shi'ar Empire be willing to give so much to humanity?”
Iron Man fell silent again. Stark sighed inwardly. He had already made it clear, so why couldn't he understand? Was this universe too far removed from interstellar warfare?
Stark was about to say something more when a commotion erupted from the other end. Two almost identical voices were arguing. Stark raised an eyebrow. Could it be Iron Man from the main universe arriving?
He was right. The main universe's Iron Man had come to cause trouble, because he absolutely couldn't let the locals hand over the factory to the central universe's Iron Man. He stormed into the conference room. The two Avengers were locked in combat again.
Stark hung up the phone with a hint of exasperation. "You'd better keep causing trouble. Wait until the Shi'ar Empire activates the source crystal, opens the portal, and their army comes crashing down on you. You'd better still have time to cause trouble here!"