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Chapter 50: The Opening of A New Era
🕑 Added 2025-03-28 19:58:17 +0000 UTC"The truth is, I am Iron Man!"
As Luo Chen watched Tony Stark publicly declare that he was Iron Man during the press conference, he couldn't help but feel a rush of emotions.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen this moment. In fact, he had witnessed it more than once in the movies. But this time was different—he was actually watching Tony Stark’s speech on real TV.
Although the experience wasn’t identical to his previous life, Tony Stark had still made the same choice.
What did this mean? It meant that character determines destiny.
Tony Stark’s character had always been like this. He had too much pride to hide behind a mask or secret identity. The idea of operating in the shadows, like others, wasn’t something he could accept. That’s why he had no qualms about admitting he was Iron Man.
This was the difference between Tony Stark and others. Sure, there were other rich people who became superheroes—like Batman, for example—but Batman never publicly revealed that he was Bruce Wayne. Superman had to hide his identity with glasses and a disguise.
Tony Stark's pride was evident in this moment.
However, Luo Chen wasn’t concerned with that. Tony Stark could do whatever he wanted. There were benefits to being public, just as there were advantages to keeping one’s identity hidden. Both had their merits.
This was a legendary moment.
Luo Chen paused for a moment, reflecting. He had come to this world, perhaps, to witness moments like these. He had seen it unfold before his eyes, but there was no excitement this time, not like the first time he had witnessed it.
Perhaps it was because, in this short period of time, his own strength had grown exponentially, and with it, his mindset was undergoing a subtle shift—one that he wasn’t entirely aware of.
In any case, with nothing pressing to do, he decided to write in his diary.
['The truth is, I am Iron Man!' No one could have imagined that these words would open up such a glorious era. This sentence marked the beginning, and it would eventually mark the end. Since then, whether it was the retirement of the older generation or the struggles of the new one, the era of secrecy and shadows was finally over.]
Inside his mansion in New York, Tony Stark let out a sigh of relief as he got rid of the annoying reporters.
The matter with Obadiah had been fully resolved.
However, dealing with the internal fallout of a massive corporation like Stark Industries was no simple task. The attention of Congress, the government, and the military was all aimed squarely at him. Calls from various parties were already starting to flood in.
To make matters worse, Obadiah’s death added an even greater complication. A prominent capitalist had died without explanation, and the power struggles between different factions were starting to take their toll on Tony.
This was the world of capital—there was no such thing as favor, only profit.
At the press conference, Tony had rejected the draft written by the military and boldly announced, "I am Iron Man."
The public reaction had been explosive.
The press conference wasn’t originally intended to be anything groundbreaking, but footage from the fight between Tony Stark and Obadiah, particularly the battle between their two robots, had been filmed. It wasn’t just special effects; it was real action, and it immediately drew the attention of millions.
The public couldn’t ignore it, and they quickly spread the word. Tony couldn’t hide it anymore, and more than one or two people had captured moments of the battle on camera. Even if the shots were distant, the blurry footage still showed glimpses of the fight.
In particular, Pepper Potts had also been caught on camera. From there, it didn’t take long for the connection to Tony Stark to become apparent.
But then there was Luo Chen. Despite being in the vicinity, no one could capture his image clearly. Every time a camera tried to focus on him, his figure appeared distorted, as though a mosaic effect was being applied.
Tony Stark understood the reason behind this. Luo Chen wasn’t interested in revealing himself to the public. Using his unique force field, he had distorted the surrounding air, creating the distortion that made him appear as a blur on camera.
While those present at the scene didn’t notice much, cameras couldn’t capture his image clearly.
Naturally, Tony Stark knew how to handle such situations. Everyone around him suggested that he not reveal the truth about Luo Chen and simply claim that he was his company’s bodyguard. After all, no one had a clear shot of the person in the armor, so the identity of the man inside remained a mystery.
Though reporters weren’t foolish, they could still be misled without concrete proof.
But Tony Stark chose to go the other route.
He revealed his identity. He was Iron Man—Tony Stark, the playboy, the genius, the inventor, the billionaire, and the philanthropist.
Every aspect of his identity was public, and he had no intention of hiding any of it.
His pride was immense, and this was the moment he chose to stand tall and declare who he was.
Now, with the most troublesome matter behind him, he could focus on handling the follow-up issues.
"I am Iron Man. A good opening remark. But do you think you're the only superhero in this world?" someone said, interrupting his thoughts.
