"Sir, what do you plan to do if we find out who's behind this?"
Jarvis asked Tony Stark a surprisingly pointed question.
Even though Tony Stark was arrogant and self-assured, he understood that he couldn't handle the person pulling the strings behind the scenes.
When his parents were killed, their status, influence, and everything else were far beyond his own.
And yet, they were still murdered.
Let alone himself now.
Against an enemy of that level, relying on the police, the military, and the FBI would be utterly useless.
Moreover.
What Tony Stark wants isn't for the puppet master to be brought to justice.
It's for the other party to die!
And this, is not something the current Tony Stark can do.
So after thinking it over, it seems there's only one way!
Superheroes!
Only if he, like those superheroes recorded in the diary, masters extraordinary power, can he accomplish all this!
"So~ Iron Man, what kind of power does he possess?"
"Controlling metal?"
Tony Stark fell into contemplation.
From the literal meaning.
The three words "Iron Man" indeed refer to someone with the ability to control metal.
But how does a person gain such an ability?
Too bad there isn't more recorded in the diary.
"By the way, sir, just a reminder."
"The military will be presenting you with the Extremis Award in two days."
Jarvis's voice interrupted Tony Stark's thoughts once more.
Two days, huh?
Tony Stark raised an eyebrow slightly.
According to the diary, the day the Extremis Award is presented is a crucial time!
Is it finally here?
"Anything from the Ten Rings?"
Tony Stark asked Jarvis with a serious expression.
"Sir, nothing to report at the moment."
Jarvis's answer didn't surprise Tony Stark.
If Jarvis had found anything, he wouldn't have waited for the question; he would have told him immediately.
So... What conspiracy were the Ten Rings brewing that was so secretive, so watertight?
Even with the day of his kidnapping approaching, no trace had been revealed? How could that be possible?
Kidnapping someone of his status would require a whole series of actions behind the scenes.
Impossible to be completely clean!
The Ten Rings aren't some intelligence agency like S.H.I.E.L.D., do they even have that kind of ability?
What Tony Stark couldn't have imagined was that the Ten Rings had already started taking action.
They'd already met with Obadiah Stane multiple times, and the specific time and location of the operation had been determined.
Operation plans, escape plans, and a series of other plans were all finalized.
The only problem was...
The Ten Rings still didn't know that their target was Tony Stark!
It wasn't until after the kidnapping was complete that they discovered Tony Stark's true identity.
Even Obadiah Stane's request was to kill, not to kidnap.
Kidnapping was a spur-of-the-moment decision by the Ten Rings.
In this case,
even if Jarvis was incredibly capable, how could he possibly find out?
After all, the Ten Rings hadn't actually planned to kidnap Tony Stark!
"Fifteenth journal entry completed!"
"I wonder what kind of reward the Overgod will give me this time?"
Unlike Tony Stark's anger and confusion,
Zhou Cheng looked incredibly excited, as if he'd just won the lottery.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at the diary.
It was simple.
According to the rules set by the Overgod, Zhou Cheng would receive a reward after writing fifteen consecutive diary entries.
He had just reached that milestone!
[Diary update count reached the target.] [Congratulations to diary owner Zhou Cheng for receiving a random gift pack!]
Sure enough.
In the next moment...
Zhou Cheng's mind was filled with a strange sense of anticipation.
Whoosh!
A ray of light immediately burst forth from the diary, shooting into Zhou Cheng's body.
Then, it vanished.
As if nothing had happened.
Zhou Cheng was slightly taken aback, caught off guard by the light.
But then, he became filled with anticipation.
This time, the reward was different from the last.
It seemed, somehow, more impressive! And immediately.
Zhou Cheng's mind was immediately filled with a corresponding piece of information.
[Item: Adamantine Body] [Attribute: Constitution] [Origin: Calabash Brothers Realm] [Detailed Description: Derived from the Third Calabash Brother's Adamantine Body, this body is as hard as steel, impervious to blades, arrows, and artillery fire.]
"Whoa, awesome, this is amazing!"
After a quick look through, Zhou Cheng instantly became excited.
Adamantine Body!
This is a great thing!
What exactly is the Adamantine Body?
To put it in the language of American comics, isn't this the equivalent of an Iron Body?
Like Thor, Captain Marvel, Superman, Aquaman, and so on, the standard equipment of those top-tier superheroes.
It's both practical and cool.
After all, if you're already a superhero, having to dodge bullets and stuff is just a bit…low.
To put it bluntly.
With this thing, Zhou Cheng finally has the capital to truly establish himself in Marvel.
He finally has the power to truly protect himself! Otherwise.
Even if his wings were as slick as could be, he'd still go down from a single bullet.
This was the fundamental reason Zhou Cheng had only dared to pick on some second-rate pushovers the last time he harvested Source Points.
But now, it was different.
Zhou Cheng's weakness of high attack and low defense had been, one could say, completely patched up by the diary.
The current Zhou Cheng had output and defense.
One could say that he basically had no obvious weaknesses.
Even without any other enhancements, in his current state, he was already capable of handling most crises.
"This reward pleases Me greatly!"
"Let me see this Adamantine Body!"
Zhou Cheng, impatient, ripped off his outer clothes the moment he reached the mirror.
Good heavens!
Just one look, and Zhou Cheng almost exclaimed, "Good heavens!"
Was that guy in the mirror really me?
Look at that body, filled with power, like it was cast from steel.
Look at those sexy pecs, look at those well-defined eight-pack abs!
Six six six!
Zhou Cheng could be sure.
With this near-perfect body right now, going out for a stroll would definitely cause screams.
Went to the kitchen and grabbed a butter knife. Zhou Cheng brought the knife down on his arm.
Clang!
It actually sounded like metal clashing.
He examined his arm closely. Forget about a wound; there wasn't even a scratch.
"Excellent!"
"Truly worthy of the Adamantine Body!"
Zhou Cheng was beyond pleased.
(End of chapter)