: Kuuga in her initial form, strawberry-flavored blood potion

"Ugh—!!!"

A roar that sounded inhuman came from deep within Tony's throat.

The expensive suit that originally covered him exploded, and in its place was a layer of bio-armor covering his entire body.

Its armor was deathly pale, the golden horns on its head had shrunk by half, and its originally scarlet and imposing compound eyes had turned into a dull, murky orange.

Kamen Rider Kuuga - First Form.

Although this body looks like it could fall apart at any moment, it is able to maintain Tony's basic physical characteristics.

"Huff... huff..."

Tony was panting heavily, his white visor opening and closing with each breath, exhaling hot white vapor.

He felt that every bone in his body was protesting with every movement he made.

This is the price of idealism.

Without sufficient conviction and a perfect physique, forced transformation can only result in this incomplete form.

But he survived.

Although it was just a matter of barely surviving.

boom!

The villa's heavy bulletproof glass door was kicked open.

"Tony! I see the entire security system here is offline, didn't you...?"

Colonel Rhodes rushed in, clutching a Glock pistol and sweating profusely.

The next second, his voice caught in his throat.

He had imagined countless scenarios: Tony dying drunk on the sofa, Tony throwing a slut party, or even Tony being kidnapped by bandits.

But he never expected to see this scene.

Under the dim emergency light, a humanoid creature with a pale body and insect-like compound eyes stood hunched over in the center of the living room.

"My God..."

Rhodes' pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively raised his gun, the dark muzzle locking onto the white monster's head.

"Don't move! Put those damn claws up! Where's Tony? Did you eat him?!"

The white monster slowly turned its head, its murky orange compound eyes staring at Rhodes.

"Rhodes..."

"Don't point that thing at me. I'm so fragile right now that I can't even withstand your water gun."

The voice sounded somewhat distorted after being filtered through the mask, but the familiar, irritating tone was unmistakable.

Rhodes's hand trembled, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "Tony?! You...you fell into the bleach vat?"

"This is a very long story."

Before he could finish speaking, Tony felt the last bit of strength he had been holding in burst out of his body.

Idealistic power is ultimately not a perpetual motion machine. In an extremely weakened physical state, the initial form can only be maintained for a few dozen seconds.

wow——

The white light dissipated.

The armor receded like a tide, revealing Tony inside, his face ashen.

He lost his balance and fell forward.

"Tony!"

Rhodes was shocked and slid over to catch Tony before he hit the ground face down.

It felt icy cold to the touch, like holding a piece of pork that had just been taken out of a cold storage.

"Damn it! Hang in there! I need to call an ambulance!"

Rod frantically tried to press on the wound, but was afraid of causing further damage, and his eyes turned red with anxiety.

"Don't...don't bother..."

Tony grabbed Rhodes' wrist with surprising strength. "Hospitals can't save the dead."

"Then you can't just sit here and wait to die! Damn it! Can't you transform? Transform again!"

Rod roared, his voice trembling with tears.

"Out of mana... you big oaf."

Tony forced an awkward smile and reached his trembling hand into the pocket of his tattered trousers.

His fingers touched a cold glass tube.

It was a bottle of potion about the size of a thumb, filled with a bright red liquid that emitted an eerie glow in the dimly lit basement.

[Red Potion (Small): Instantly restores 200 health points and heals moderate physical damage. Note: Although it's strawberry flavored, it shouldn't be drunk as a beverage.]

This was one of the rewards he got from a thousand gashapon capsules, and at the time he mocked it as a cheap, unregulated beverage.

Now, this is the only lifeline.

"Help me open it." Tony's hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even pull the cork off.

Rod snatched the bottle, stared at the oily red liquid inside, and gritted his teeth, saying, "What the hell is this? Ganges water?"

"Are you sure you can drink this? Won't it just send you to meet your maker?"

"If I drink it, I might meet God; if I don't, I'll go see your great-grandmother right now." Tony rolled his eyes, his voice barely audible.

"Fuck!"

Rod cursed, bit off the cork with his teeth, and without thinking twice, shoved the bottle opening into Tony's mouth.

"Swallow it! If you die, I'll carve 'death from counterfeit beverage' on your tombstone!"

grunt.

The red liquid slid down the throat into the stomach.

The expected bitterness did not appear; instead, it had a cheap strawberry flavor.

The next second, Rhodes saw a scene he would never forget in this life and the next.

Tony's originally ashen face visibly regained its color, as if someone had applied a layer of highlighter to his face with a Photoshop pen.

Then, something even more terrifying happened.

Tony's chest wound began to wriggle, and granulation tissue grew wildly, intertwining with each other.

three seconds.

Just three seconds.

Apart from the metal indentation where the reactor was originally installed on his chest, the surrounding wounds had completely disappeared without a trace, leaving not even a scar.

"Cough! Cough!"

Tony sat up straight, coughing repeatedly as he was choked by the energy.

He touched his face, then his chest, feeling the fullness of being revitalized.

Even stronger than before the injury!

"That's... all done?"

"Is this reasonable? What about medicine? What about science? What about Darwin?"

Rod was still holding the empty bottle, frozen in place, his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a light bulb.

"They all have to step back in the face of money."

Tony jumped up from the ground. Although losing the reactor still left him feeling empty in his chest, his physical functions had fully recovered to their peak.

He cracked his neck, making a series of snapping sounds, and a cold, murderous glint flashed in his eyes.

"Obadiah Stan".

"Did he do it?"

Rod snapped out of his daze, his face darkening. "I knew that bald old man wasn't a good person. I saw his car leave when I came in."

"He took my reactor, thinking that would kill me."

Tony walked to the worktable in the basement and restarted Jarvis.

"Jarvis?"

"I'm here, sir. It's so nice to hear your voice again."

The familiar English butler's voice rang out, carrying a subtle hint of satisfaction.

Tony walked up to a glass display case and smashed the glass.

Inside lay a small, experimental version of the arc reactor, which he had prepared for further enhancements after transforming into Kuuga.

Tony grabbed the reactor and pressed it into the hollow of his chest without hesitation.

Click.

The deep blue light shone again, illuminating his resolute and cold face.

Although this thing is still in the experimental stage, for him at this moment, it is enough to just be able to start the Kongwo No. 1.

Tony walked toward the robotic arm platform and opened his arms.

Sizzle—Crack—

The robotic arm swung wildly, precisely snapping together pieces of gold and red alloy armor to cover the entire body.

This time, it's not just a combination of technologies.

Tony took a deep breath and made a slight mental movement.

Sensing its master's overwhelming rage, the Amadam spirit stone at its waist emitted a high-pitched hum.

hum!

A visible red streak of light forced its way into the armor's electrical system, following Tony's neural network.

What was originally a purely technological creation has now come to life.

click!

The final mask is closed.

The white eyelight, which originally represented rationality, flickered twice.

When it lit up again, it was a deep crimson!

"Rhodes".

Tony turned around, his voice deep and metallic.

"Take your tools, let's go and turn that old bastard into scrap metal."

Rhodes looked at the steel figure radiating an aura of destruction before him, a sinister smile spreading across his face, and reloaded the Glock in his hand.

"I'd be happy to oblige."