Chapter 2: The Armor Development Plan, Astonishing Everyone
Hammer still had an expression of dissatisfaction on his face.
Seeing this, the secretary quickly flashed a sycophantic smile.
"Don't worry, Mr. Hammer. Tony Stark is arrogant and overconfident. Even if he enjoys the spotlight for a while, he'll eventually be knocked down from his pedestal."
"The military has already shown interest in working with us. Hammer Industries is the future leader in military industry."
This was a bit of an exaggeration.
The collaboration with the military had not been finalized yet.
But when Hammer heard the flattery, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, his face looking a bit better.
Tony Stark had closed down Stark Weapons Manufacturing, ending the partnership with the military, which gave other military contractors a chance to rise.
The most likely candidate to become the military's second partner was Hammer Industries.
"The students from Empire University are about to graduate. See if we can find some suitable talent."
"I refuse to believe that only Tony Stark is talented."
After his mood improved slightly, Hammer gave instructions to his secretary, who nodded eagerly in response.
Despite his mediocre abilities, compared to the likes of Iron Man, the Green Goblin, Ant-Man, and Bullseye, Hammer didn't stand out among these company owners.
But Hammer was not truly foolish.
It was just that compared to those geniuses, he was far behind. But compared to ordinary people, he was still quite capable.
He knew that with his current staff, they would never be able to develop the Iron Man suit.
Therefore, Hammer planned to dismantle the complete Iron Man suit, divide it into separate parts, and have multiple workstations develop them, layer by layer, with strict selection.
If they couldn't find anyone who could rival Tony, they would pool their collective intelligence and manpower, hoping to challenge Iron Man.
The task Jiang Feng received was to develop the arm portion of the suit.
The instructions were clear: fully replicate Tony's Mark III armor, with features such as flight thrusters, mini-missiles, and energy cannons.
Whatever Stark Industries had, Hammer's version couldn't lack a single feature.
If they copied, it had to be as authentic as possible.
Jiang Feng was not the only one working on this. Hammer had assigned at least three workstations to each part of the suit, developing them concurrently.
The final product would be based on the best-performing result.
Those who didn't make the cut would naturally be fired.
However, after pouring in massive manpower and resources, Hammer himself personally inspected the results.
All the products, without exception, failed to satisfy him.
Those items couldn't even withstand a fight against Iron Man, let alone function properly. It was considered a complete lack of progress, and it caused Hammer to erupt in anger.
At this moment.
Jiang Feng, calm and unhurried, walked up.
"Don't get too upset, Mr. Hammer. You haven't tested my product yet."
He raised the exoskeleton arm on his right hand and waved it in front of Hammer, the unpainted armor reflecting a metallic sheen under the lights.
Jiang Feng's sudden appearance successfully attracted the attention of Hammer and the employees around him.
"Jiang, you're finally here. I thought you overslept! Let me see how your weapon performs."
"I'll say this in advance: If your performance isn't good, you'll be treated just like the others. You'll be fired."
Hammer was unusually friendly toward this newcomer.
There was no special reason for his rare kindness.
It was simply because this young Asian man, who wore glasses and appeared harmless, was the high-achiever Hammer had recently hired at great expense.
Jiang Feng was a graduate of MIT, had won numerous awards, and had received high praise from mentors and industry professionals.
In Hammer's view, he was undoubtedly a powerful weapon to challenge Tony Stark.
"As for the performance, Mr. Hammer, you'll see for yourself. I can't claim to surpass Iron Man just yet, but compared to my colleagues, I believe my level is far ahead."
Jiang Feng spoke humbly.
Including the first world, he had only been a Reincarnator for two months. He had started from scratch in mechanical technology and had never touched the basics before.
He was a true newcomer.
Even with the gold finger, he was progressing at a superhuman speed, but Jiang Feng didn't think he could rival Iron Man.
At least not yet.
But in Hammer Industries, he was more than capable of standing out.
"Who does this guy think he is? So arrogant... Where did he come from?"
Hearing Jiang Feng's bold words, the employees immediately developed a sense of hostility, displeased and frowning.
Looking at Jiang Feng's unfamiliar face, they felt no recognition, assuming he was just a new employee, daring to act so arrogantly. They thought he was completely out of touch with reality.
"I'm curious to see what this Asian guy can create."
In an instant.
All the employees' eyes were on Jiang Feng, their expressions unfriendly, waiting for him to embarrass himself.
No one was willing to believe that a newcomer could produce armor on the level of Iron Man.
Even if it was just individual parts, it was impossible.
If someone that skilled existed, they'd be working at Stark Industries, not Hammer Industries. Even Osborn Industries next door was better.
Looking at his appearance.
Jiang Feng was unbelievably young, obviously just trying to draw attention.
Then, looking at the exoskeleton arm's design, it was impossible to judge the quality of Jiang Feng's equipment just from its appearance.
Similar items had been presented by other employees, but the actual performance varied, with most showing poor results.
Even a few teams had made some good progress, and their armor had combat capabilities.
But the issue was the power source.
The Arc Reactor was a Stark Industries patent, and no other industry could match that.
The power source used in the armor was weak.
They had to rely on miniature fuel cells.
Charging for ten hours only allowed ten minutes of combat—far from a qualified product.
Even though Jiang Feng's exoskeleton arm looked good, the employees were unimpressed, waiting for the show to unfold.
Hammer's attitude, however, was completely different. He liked people with strong personalities.
"Truly a confident young man. Reminds me of myself back in the day, and even has a bit of Tony Stark's style. Alright, let me see what you can do."
Hammer couldn't stop talking about Tony Stark.
Earlier, he had been infuriated by other employees, but now, all his hopes were riding on Jiang Feng's product.
"As you wish."
Jiang Feng didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and aimed his right hand at several nearby dummies.
Boom!
Whoosh!
Jiang Feng's attack frequency was incredibly fast.
In just a few seconds, the exoskeleton arm switched between three different attack modes, expertly and smoothly controlled.
The three types of weapons used were: armor-piercing darts, mini-missiles, and energy pulses.
The first dummy was riddled with holes, completely pierced.
The second dummy was blown into pieces, shattered into fragments.
The third dummy was completely destroyed, melted by intense heat and turning into glowing molten metal.
The entire process took only a blink of an eye.
The people around didn't even react before the three metal dummies were destroyed.
After a brief moment of stunned silence.
Hammer, standing nearby, was the first to snap back to reality.
His eyes widened, staring intently at Jiang Feng's exoskeleton arm.
He muttered to himself, his excitement hard to contain.
"Iron Man suit! This is the real Iron Man suit! It can rival Tony's product!"
Hammer's eyes shone with fervor, his tone filled with excitement, as though he wanted to devour Jiang Feng whole.
Unlike the previous employee products.
They either couldn't equip complex weapons.
Or were just a simple melee arm, useful only for enhancing strength and defense, making them useless in modern combat.
Or, after equipping multiple weapons, the exoskeleton arm became too bulky, too difficult to control, and incredibly clumsy.
Not to mention that without a proper power source, energy attacks were impossible, and normal combat would cause the suit to shut down in just minutes.
In contrast.
Jiang Feng's exoskeleton arm performed spectacularly.
The short demonstration had already proven that his product had none of the problems above, and its value was unprecedented.
The dazzling energy pulse was the cherry on top in Hammer's eyes.
The employees who had been scolded earlier were all left speechless.