Chapter 77

The revelation of the Sentinel robot project immediately heightened the mutants' alertness. Key members were swiftly dispatched to the West Coast.

At the now-occupied Stark Industries, Iron Man suits were being mass-produced on assembly lines. Many personnel donned these suits to head to the front lines or maintain control in their base city, Yorkton.

During the hacking of Stark Industries' central computer, the mutant known as Cypher discovered something crucial: J.A.R.V.I.S., the AI, was missing. He also uncovered the beginnings of a project where Tony Stark aimed to create a global iron legion to maintain world peace, led by an AI capable of self-updating and evolving strategies against enemies.

Cypher realized Tony Stark got this idea from observing Su Chen's abilities. "Are you sure you found Tony Stark's body?" he asked.

"Yes, it was already decayed!" someone confirmed. Stark's infamous crater had become a Utopian relic, a symbol of mutant rebirth. They had dug up some corpses, including Stark's, encased in broken armor.

"Damn it!" Cypher cursed, suspecting Tony might not be dead. "Tony might have uploaded his consciousness to a network, creating a new AI."

Cypher's theory was based on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records of Arnim Zola, a scientist who had uploaded his consciousness after death. If Zola could do it, Stark likely had a backup plan too.

"How do we find him?" the others asked, respecting Cypher's expertise as the newly appointed "White Knight."

"I'll search for traces in the network," Cypher replied, confident Stark was hiding somewhere, preparing a new body.

Suddenly, Cypher noticed multiple mutant murders on Yorkton's riverside streets. Surveillance captured a man in hospital garb brutally killing mutants.

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On Yorkton's riverside, a man in hospital attire was recklessly slaughtering his fellow mutants.

"Sorry, I have to kill you, or Gorr won't let me out," he said in a childlike voice, his demeanor disturbingly innocent. The arriving mutants were horrified, especially when they saw him treating an Iron Man suit, complete with its occupant, as a toy—shrunken and struggling in his hand.

The man laughed joyfully, childishly swinging his "toy," until he accidentally crushed it, blood seeping from the broken armor. He wiped the blood on his striped hospital gown, then grew anxious, "Uncle Gorr, does this count as a kill?"

Deciding it did, he resolved to kill everyone present to meet his quota, filling the air with a terrifying aura. His cheerful hopping only added to the horror.

Just then, a cold voice interrupted him, "Having fun?" A man in a black hoodie emerged from a spatial ripple—Su Chen.

The man in the hospital gown, David, paused, sniffing the air, "You smell like the old man. Did you kill him? No, he's not dead, his psychic waves are still there."

Then, his playful face turned serious. "I was playing hide and seek with the old man. Give him back!"

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