The Stark Industries Expo was a major high-tech event across the United States.
Famous companies from all over America showcased their latest research results at the Expo to attract investment and partnerships.
Visitors flocked from all over New York and the entire US.
The most attention-grabbing exhibit at this Expo was the Hammer Industries booth.
After Justin Hammer secured the help of Ivan Vanko, he immediately and impatiently announced that Hammer Industries would manufacture an armor system comparable to Tony Stark's Iron Man suit.
The finished product was scheduled to be officially displayed at this very Expo.
He even secured a partnership with the military, arranging for them to hand over the Mark II Iron Man suit, which Rhodes had taken from Tony, to Hammer Industries for weaponization and modification.
This generated significant buzz and naturally attracted massive attention.
Meanwhile, Tony had successfully created a new Arc Reactor based on the materials left by his father, which he had obtained from S.H.I.E.L.D. He was now wearing a new model of the Iron Man suit and was rushing to the scene.
Ivan Vanko, driven by a desire for revenge against the Stark family, planned to defeat Tony during the critical event of the Expo, held at Stark Industries' most iconic structure—the Stark Industrial Park.
He intended to completely destroy the building and the event that best represented Stark Industries Group at the same time.
Thus, after remotely controlling the combat drones manufactured for Hammer Industries and Colonel Rhodes' Iron Man suit, he immediately called Tony to provoke him.
George Stacy arrived at the Tree of Life Foundation's exhibition booth with his wife and Gwen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will now present the Tree Of Life Foundation's latest technological achievement."
"The full-coverage exoskeleton armor counter-terrorism equipment—the G3 Armor System!" the host on the stage announced with excitement.
"The G3 Armor System is a full-coverage protective armor system developed by the Tree of Life Foundation for urban counter-terrorism operations."
"The external armor system of the reinforced suit allows the wearer to exert power as immense as heavy machinery."
"It also provides extremely strong defensive capabilities, capable of resisting attacks from various common weapons."
"The built-in AI system can autonomously collect information to assist the wearer in responding to various situations."
"The stronger the wearer's overall abilities, the stronger the capabilities the G3 Armor System can unleash."
"..."
After introducing the G3 Armor's performance, the host invited George Stacy, the New York City Police Commissioner and a cooperating partner, to come on stage and experience it firsthand.
Just as George was about to finish donning the G3 Armor System, a huge roar suddenly erupted from not far away, and explosions flashed in the sky.
A missile landed in an empty area nearby, blasting a huge crater.
Faced with the sudden catastrophe, the visiting crowd instantly panicked and scattered.
It was Ivan Vanko controlling Hammer Industries' combat drones and Colonel Rhodes, who was wearing the Iron Man suit, launching a siege against Tony, who had just arrived.
"Looks like we can conduct a live-fire exercise right away."
George looked at the combat drones causing chaos, put on the helmet, and asked the host, "Do we have weapon attachments?"
"This is only a demonstration. There are not many weapon attachments installed, only the standard sidearm pistol."
George's mouth twitched slightly, and he drew his pistol.
"Gwen, take your mother and leave immediately."
George instructed Gwen, then leaped up to face the destructive combat drones.
Gwen touched the game gashat in her pocket, but decided to first pull her mother away from the danger zone.
"Is this the G3 Armor System's ability to assist the wearer in combat? Enhanced neural response speed and the ability to stimulate human potential?" George easily dodged the drone's gunfire, looked at the information displayed on his screen, and was slightly surprised by the ease and freedom of his movements.
Following the route analyzed by the system, he quickly closed in and punched the vulnerable leg joint connection of the Hammer Industries combat drone.
The combat drone immediately lost balance and stumbled to the ground.
The thrusters on its back attempted to activate, but George quickly plunged his hand into the structural connection, destroying the core control circuits.
This instantly paralyzed the combat drone.
"The strength is enormous, and the feeling... it's as if it's the strength of my own body."
"It seems to amplify the body's strength rather than simply operating a machine."
"I don't know how they manage to make the user feel this way, but it certainly allows the user to control the armor's power much better," George evaluated the G3 Armor System while fighting the combat drones.
However, Ivan Vanko controlled a large number of combat drones. Although most were sent to besiege Tony, quite a few were left behind to continue the destruction. Other drone systems detected their comrade being destroyed and immediately rushed to assist.
George immediately grabbed the wreckage of the destroyed drone and hurled it at another drone flying toward him.
Seizing the moment the drone crashed, he sprinted closer and leaped up.
He delivered a powerful punch, directly smashing the drone's head off.
However, the other drones quickly adjusted their strategy, using long-range suppression fire and avoiding close-quarters combat with George in the G3 Armor.
Although George relied on the G3 Armor System's assistance to evade most of the threatening projectiles, he was completely suppressed by the combat drones without any long-range firepower.
"Damn it, if I had long-range firepower, taking care of these rigid combat drones wouldn't be a problem," George dodged a missile blast with a roll, cursing inwardly.
"Outer armor damage exceeds 50% in multiple areas. Please disengage from combat and repair immediately," the AI system flashed a red warning in front of George.
Although George managed to destroy over a dozen combat drones by utilizing the environment and buildings, relying on the G3 Armor System's powerful defense to withstand the fire, the armor had suffered severe damage from prolonged fire and was quickly nearing the point where it could no longer sustain the fight.
Gwen, who had returned after bringing her mother to safety, saw George in danger and was about to intervene.
Suddenly, several missiles rained down from the sky, destroying all the combat drones besieging George.
It was Colonel Rhodes. The armor system on his suit had been restored by Natasha, who had arrived at Hammer Industries, and Colonel Rhodes regained control of the armor.
Tony was thus freed up to return to the Industrial Park and clean up the destructive combat drones.
He happened to see George being cornered by the drones and took the opportunity to eliminate them.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., what's with that armor the guy is wearing?" Tony asked, looking at George in the G3 Armor.
J.A.R.V.I.S. searched the data and replied: "Based on the retrieved data, the armor worn by the gentleman appears to be the G3 Armor System. It is an enhanced armor exoskeleton developed by the Tree of Life Foundation and is currently being exhibited at the Expo."
"G3 Armor, looks interesting."
"But it seems to lack a weapon system and can only engage in close-quarters combat. It also doesn't have a flight device. Aren't the flaws too significant?" Tony shook his head and offered his assessment.
"Tony Stark, what is the meaning of these drones?" George demanded aggressively.
Tony raised an eyebrow, hearing George address him by his full name: "J.A.R.V.I.S., who is this guy?"
"According to the on-site surveillance, the individual in the G3 Armor is Mr. George Stacy, the New York Police Commissioner."
Tony sighed softly and replied: "Commissioner Stacy, these drones have nothing to do with me. They are all products of Hammer Industries. That idiot Justin Hammer was completely exploited by Ivan Vanko."
"This entire incident was Ivan Vanko attempting to retaliate against Tony. He even took control of my suit," Rhodes landed nearby.
(End of this chapter)