Chapter 4: The Sovereign

Although Tony’s mind was filled with questions and he wanted to look back at the ‘football kid,’ the voice from his communication device quickly pulled his attention back to the battlefield.

“Stark, we need your support on Sixth Avenue. Another alien transport ship from the Chitauri has appeared there!”

“Got it, I’m on my way!”

Hearing Clint Barton, Hawkeye, alert him, Tony did not hesitate for a moment and immediately turned to fly toward Sixth Avenue. However, the communication didn’t end there. Seeing Tony take off, Hawkeye took the initiative to ask, “By the way, what was that streak of light just now? A new feature on your armor? It looked pretty powerful!”

“Hey, Robin Hood, focus on your battlefield observation duties!” Tony responded, deliberately avoiding a direct answer to the question about the flashy attack.

It wasn’t that Tony Stark wanted to take credit for the move. Rather, recalling the ‘pencil box kid’s’ distinctly youthful appearance, it was clear he was quite young. Tony didn’t want to involve the boy in this ‘war,’ even if the kid might have helped in dealing with other alien warships.

Especially since Clint Barton himself was a SHIELD agent, Tony was even less likely to reveal the truth.

...

Back in the room with the hole in the wall, Luca wasn’t particularly surprised to see Iron Man’s armor jet away, the thruster flames blazing. After all, Manhattan was overrun with invading Chitauri, and someone as vital as Tony Stark probably didn’t have time to worry about a stranger’s minor oddities.

Instead of focusing on Tony’s departure, Luca’s attention was drawn to the pair of [Enhanced Agility Shoes] he had just recently assembled.

Turning off the ankle knob, he flexed his right foot, which had suddenly lost its sense of power. Despite having delivered such a powerful kick earlier, Luca didn’t feel any muscle soreness or rebound injury caused by overexertion.

‘So it really is a Conan-style gadget... That special effect—tsk tsk—no wonder it’s the perfect tool for the Detective Elementary School movie!’

In fact, it wasn’t just about power or leg protection.

Considering the force behind Luca’s kick, his left foot, which had no ‘motor acupoint’ enhancement, should not have been able to support him so steadily during the shot.

Yet, in reality, his left leg didn’t feel any excessive strain at all. It was as if he had merely taken a normal soccer shot.

More absurdly, Luca was hardly a soccer enthusiast. He wouldn’t dare claim he could score a precise shot from hundreds of meters away, or even from an open goal just a dozen meters out.

This made him immediately recall the description on the synthesis panel when he created the [Enhanced Agility Shoes].

‘Great power without injuring the foot, guaranteed hits without hurting others?’

‘It seems Conan never knocks anyone out, no matter how hard or powerful the kick is.’

‘Looks like I should pay more attention to the item descriptions on the panel from now on.’

Unfortunately, once an item was synthesized, Luca couldn’t see the panel information again. He would have to wait until he obtained other ‘core components’ to consider studying his own cheat codes.

Putting these thoughts aside, Luca glanced at the ongoing battle outside before turning back.

He had intended to discuss with his mother, Gina, whether they should stay hidden in the previously mentioned storage room or try to evacuate.

After all, their home wasn’t on the ground floor; if another Leviathan warship were to crash in, causing the building to collapse, no storage room, no matter how sturdy, could guarantee their safety.

But when he turned, he found Gina lying on the ground. Her futuristic-looking pistol had fallen beside her.

Luca rushed over in three quick strides and checked her breathing.

“Breathing is steady, heartbeat normal, no obvious head wounds, and the cervical spine seems fine.”

Thinking for a moment, he pried her eyelids open to confirm her pupils’ light reflexes were normal.

She was merely unconscious, which brought Luca a slight sense of relief.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness!”

He had earlier been grateful that, since arriving in this world, he still had both parents. Had an accident happened just days after his arrival, leaving him an orphan again, he might have doubted his own fate.

But recalling the series of experiences from his previous life, he thought,

‘Better to save a living person first!’

With this in mind, Luca rummaged through his original memories and quickly found the family’s medical kit.

Fortunately, the kit was intact, its contents undamaged, and he immediately began simple bandaging on Gina.

Despite the pain during the process and several safe methods Luca tried to awaken her, Gina remained unconscious.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to proceed with the treatment.

Firstly, his limited first aid knowledge couldn’t determine the exact cause of her coma, and he feared causing secondary injury.

Secondly, given the current chaos outside, seeking professional help seemed unlikely. It was probably better to wait quietly here.

‘As far as I remember, this Chitauri invasion won’t last too long. Whether you can hold out until professional medical aid arrives depends on your fate.’

Luca shook his head helplessly.

Having done everything he could, he suddenly remembered the experimental pistol Gina had used earlier. It seemed to emit the faint white glow characteristic of a ‘core component.’

After scanning the area, he picked up the pistol he had forgotten beside him, and a pale blue panel immediately appeared above the weapon.

[Dominion Pistol · Basic Model]

[Psychometer World 1/5]

[Manufacturer: Sybil]

[Core Component: Ion Constrained Pistol]

[Synthesis Materials: 1 Miniature Speaker, 1 Miniature Camera, 1 Network Connection Chip, 1 Set of Miniature Projection Equipment, 30 cm Cyan LED Strip]

[Item Description: An exceptionally versatile police transformation pistol. Features three modes: non-lethal anesthetic, lethal elimination, and destructive disintegrator. When connected to the Sybil system, it offers voice interaction, user recognition, enemy scanning, retinal projection assistance, and other functions.]

[Friendly Reminder: Without connection to the Sybil system, some functions will be temporarily unavailable. However, this might actually be good news for you~]