Chapter 38: Prelude to the Show

The combat suit equipment for the super soldiers still required a lot of fine-tuning and refinement, despite the fact that the technology was readily available.

For example, the tactical goggles.

Could the tactical goggles be used right out of the box? That was wishful thinking. This was a demanding piece of equipment that required strict requirements from the users.

First, the weapons and hands needed to be fitted with the components provided by the tactical goggles. These small parts served the purpose of positioning and rangefinding.

Second, the firearms used had to undergo multiple tests, with all the data, including muzzle velocity, stored in the tactical goggles.

Lastly, the tactical goggles worn on the head had the ability to scan the environment, process and calculate data, and display the results. The effect was the real-time display of bullet trajectories on the goggles, allowing users to aim even without assuming standard shooting positions.

But let's be clear, the tactical goggles didn't provide automatic target acquisition. It wasn't like the ones in games that would automatically lock onto enemies once activated. This was something that Warren had already tested.

The goggles couldn't control the user's hands, they could only provide a bullet trajectory. If the user had never had any experience with shooting, using the goggles would give them a gaming-like shooting experience. But for elite soldiers, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Furthermore, Harry planned to maximize the detection capabilities of the tactical goggles, including night vision, infrared, and a communication system. Real-time mapping was a must.

...

"Boss, I've been thinking, and I believe unmanned drones are necessary."

Warren and Harry were discussing while Tony Stark was still on the plane returning.

"Unmanned drones?"

Unmanned drones were indeed a good thing, and Harry's foresight and ideas were reassuring.

"Tell me about your thoughts."

"Okay, initially, I intended to integrate more features into the tactical goggles. However, I realized that doing so would inevitably increase the size and weight of the goggles, exceeding the design parameters. So, I thought, why not transfer some functions elsewhere?"

Harry had obviously put a lot of thought into it. "If certain features are only integrated into the goggles, there are limitations. But drones are different. Drones have a broader field of view. They only need to transmit what they see back to the goggles. As long as the goggles have anti-interference measures, it should work... That's my idea."

Clap, clap, clap.

A good idea deserved applause.

"This is the drone platform, weighing 17 kilograms, equipped with two surveillance drones."

Two triangular metal drones with a sci-fi design, with cameras on the bottom.

The palm-sized drones were fixed to a backpack. There were also many palm-sized discs next to them.

"What are those round ones?" Warren asked.

"They're drones too, but compared to the two expensive surveillance drones, they're low-cost disposable ones with plastic shells. They're not bulletproof."

"Disposable drones?"

"More precisely, they're disposable flying discs. We've filled them with spider silk solution. When they explode, they can instantly cover an area the size of a basketball court with spider silk. Of course, they can also be filled with explosives. If I fill them with the new type of explosive I obtained from the micro-missiles, they become powerful weapons."

"Oh, I see."

"With their field of view combined with the tactical goggles, it's like having a wallhack cheat in a game."

"That's a good metaphor."

"Next is the firearms. After much consideration, instead of using traditional firearms, I used the pistol from your... um, exoskeleton."

The pistol from the exoskeleton?

Warren didn't immediately react but later understood that Harry was referring to the exoskeleton on the Black Cat Luna.

"...I remember it's a pulse pistol," Warren said, intending to skip the topic related to the exoskeleton.

"That's right, but it's also the best weapon to reverse-engineer."

It was something that gave Harry a sense of accomplishment, and he remembered it vividly.

Of course, he also remembered the super propulsion unit and the laser defense matrix that gave him a sense of frustration.

"The pulse pistol has been successfully reverse-engineered. As for the pulse rifle, I plan to leave it to the father and son, Ivan and Alexander."

Although he had been dealt a heavy blow by the two geniuses, Harry still admired them. So he wanted to give them something to work on.

"Sounds good."

"As for the flying skateboard and the exoskeleton armor, I can handle those. We should be able to see the finished product in another two months."

The flying skateboard was already a finished product, but the exoskeleton armor?

"Are you sure about the exoskeleton armor?"

"No problem. Big White's construction gave me a lot of experience and inspiration. Our exoskeleton armor will take it to the next level."

Oh, it turned out he had learned from the father and son. That was reassuring.

...

After ending the call with Harry, Warren contacted Jason.

Jason had a keen business sense and boldness. He had decisively given up when Warren was about to seize Worthington and victory was assured. Because of that, Warren had promised him something.

Worthington Energy.

The fusion power reactor on the Black Cat Luna couldn't be replicated at the moment. Even just the reactor wall material wasn't available, as it was a new material.

Warren had also acquired the "Dangerous Wanderer," a giant nuclear-powered robot, but compared to the small fusion power reactor on the Black Cat Luna, the Dangerous Wanderer's power reactor was too big.

The technology on the Black Cat Luna was more advanced, and it wasn't easy to make it so small. So Warren only kept the small fusion power reactor, while he abandoned the Dangerous Wanderer.

Although it could be kept as a technological reserve, considering the inflation of technology in the Marvel world... yes, Marvel technology was subject to inflation, Warren decided not to keep the Dangerous Wanderer because he had Ivan and Alexander Wanko.

Once Tony Stark appeared in his Iron Man armor, these two would probably be able to replicate it at a glance. Was there any point in making a large-scale nuclear reactor? It was much better to build an Ark fusion reactor and sell clean energy.

And now, with some time left before the birth of Iron Man, Worthington Energy had a lot to do.

Batteries.

That's right, batteries. Even the batteries in the tactical goggles were a form of black technology. Although they fell slightly short of fusion power reactors and Ark fusion reactors, they were still better than any batteries currently on the market.

Once they could be reverse-engineered, it would definitely bring in profits worth several gold mines. After all, the battery market was a super huge cake, as many devices such as smartphones and computers relied on batteries.

...

"As long as everything goes smoothly."

"Because of our technological breakthroughs and the appearance of your exoskeleton last time, many people are interested in partnering with us."

"Wait until the new batteries are made. With the technology, we can negotiate prices with them properly. That's where you excel."

"Of course, I won't let you down."

Jason was also satisfied with his current position. Although he was only a branch of Worthington, his future prospects were limitless. And staying in Worthington Energy allowed him to maintain a friendly relationship with Warren. He could do whatever he wanted to establish his iron rule within Worthington Energy.

"By the way, there's a Stark Industries press conference coming up. We must watch it."

"What's going on? Is there something exciting happening?" Jason asked.

"Absolutely," Warren replied with a smile.

"I handed over the evidence of Obadiah's collaboration with terrorists to the FBI."

"Obadiah colluding with terrorists?"

Jason pondered for a moment and then exclaimed, "That's going to be quite a show. I definitely won't miss it."

So Obadiah had colluded with terrorists? That meant the recent high-profile Stark Weapons leakage case was actually Obadiah selling weapons to terrorists? And Tony Stark had paid them to kill him?

Exciting!

Too exciting!

In light of this revelation, Stark Industries' stock price was bound to plummet... no, it had already plummeted below the horizon recently. This time, it might even sink into the depths of the sea.

Jason could already imagine the scene at Worthington Headquarters. His former colleagues were probably sharpening their claws in anticipation.