Chapter 133: The Impact Brought by Iron Man (Fourth Update – Please Subscribe)

Taking advantage of the fact that Hu Yifei and the others weren’t paying attention, Xiao Xie swiftly changed into the Iron Man suit and, appearing as Iron Man, rushed to save the passengers on the bus. With both hands, he lifted the bus, flew it back onto the elevated highway, and gently set it down. Xiao Xie surveyed the stunned crowd around him; beneath the iron mask, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He raised his right hand in a military salute, then two jets of flame burst from his feet, propelling him skyward, slicing through the clouds and vanishing in the distance, leaving behind only a dashing silhouette.

“My god, Iron Man really exists in this world!”

“We survived!”

“Quick, save the people!”

The traffic police nearby were the first to react, rushing into the bus and rescuing the injured passengers. Among the onlookers, a few who acted fast were grateful to have captured Iron Man on their phones, and soon these videos were uploaded online.

“Mr. Zeng, was that really Iron Man just now?” Lü Ziqiao still couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

“Ha! I always said if Iron Man’s real, then the Transformers must exist too. Autobots, transform!” Lu Zhanbo, whose thinking always differed from the norm, immediately accepted the reality of Iron Man.

“So what if there’s Iron Man? If we don’t get to the TV station on time, my television dream will be shattered!” Zeng Xiaoxian complained helplessly from the side. Earlier, he’d received a call from Lisa; if he couldn’t arrive promptly, he’d be replaced as a guest by Sister Chrysanthemum, who could spin three hundred hula-hoops.

After the shock of Iron Man’s sudden appearance, Lü Ziqiao’s gaze inadvertently fell on a beautiful woman sitting in a white Mini Cooper, and his eyes lit up.

“Usually, beauties driving Mini Coopers just zip past me, but today I finally caught one in the wild!” Lü Ziqiao exclaimed, preparing to get out.

Zeng Xiaoxian hurriedly stopped him, shouting, “Oh! I’m really sorry to interrupt your date, but your closest roommate’s seat is literally on fire! Do you think it’s appropriate to flirt with a beauty right now?!”

Lü Ziqiao was silent for a moment. Zeng Xiaoxian thought he felt guilty and was about to comfort him, but Lü Ziqiao’s next words nearly made him spit blood.

“What’s inappropriate about it?”

“Ah! Are you so starved for human contact you want to find a girlfriend at a time like this?” Zeng Xiaoxian felt he’d placed his trust in the wrong person.

“You don’t understand, Mr. Zeng! I’ve tried dating in building elevators, on the summit of Changbai Mountain, in hot springs in Hokkaido, even in unfinished public restrooms. But dating on a traffic-jammed elevated highway? This is a first for me. I feel like my life is finally complete!” With that, Lü Ziqiao strode off toward the beautiful woman without looking back.

“Hey! Hey!” Zeng Xiaoxian watched Lü Ziqiao leave, furious, and shouted, “Next time I’ll arrange your date in a slaughterhouse freezer! Opportunities like that abound!”

“Mr. Zeng, take it easy! Master said…”

“Shut up!” Zeng Xiaoxian immediately cut off Lu Zhanbo, wondering if there was a single normal person around him. Good heavens!

“Beep beep!”

“Mr. Zeng, looks like you’re in trouble. Need some help?” Xiao Xie honked the horn, riding a white electric scooter, and asked Zeng Xiaoxian.

“Finally, someone reliable! Xiao Xie, my savior—God will bless you.” Zeng Xiaoxian thanked him profusely, took the electric scooter, and sped off toward the TV station.

“Xiao Xie, didn’t you go ahead with Yifei and the others?” Guan Gu asked, seeing Xiao Xie approach from behind on the scooter.

“I saw Mr. Zeng was pitiful and went to find him a scooter.” After leaving in the Iron Man suit, Xiao Xie had circled back, retrieved a scooter from his storage space to use as an alibi.

“I see,” Guan Gu nodded, accepting the explanation without suspicion.

“Xiao Xie, did you see Iron Man just now?” Lu Zhanbo asked excitedly.

“I did, but I didn’t get a picture—what a shame!” Xiao Xie feigned regret.

“No worries, I took some photos. I’ll send them to you later,” Lu Zhanbo said with a smile.

“Thanks!”

“You’re welcome. Too bad I didn’t get to talk to Iron Man; otherwise, I could have asked if he knows Optimus Prime,” Lu Zhanbo shook his head, a bit disappointed.

Xiao Xie’s mouth twitched. How could he possibly know Optimus Prime? Even the real Iron Man wouldn’t know a Transformer!

Thanks to Iron Man’s intervention, the traffic jam didn’t last long. In less than three hours, the road was cleared, unlike those TV dramas where it’s blocked from morning till night. Xiao Xie, seeing Hu Yifei and the others still thrilled after witnessing Iron Man, greeted them and then drove off the elevated highway toward the TV station.

The next morning, the internet exploded. Someone had uploaded the video of Iron Man’s rescue, and though many first assumed it was fake, the footage was quickly validated by witnesses—among them the traffic police who were present. News of Iron Man’s appearance rocketed to the top of every trending search list.

“Never thought I’d live to see the day—a wild Iron Man appears!”

“The sky boomed, Iron Man made a dazzling entrance—blinding my titanium alloy dog eyes! So bright, so bright!”

“Second floor’s always got the jokers.”

“Did you notice Iron Man saluted? Based on my meticulous analysis, this Iron Man must be the latest single-soldier combat weapon developed by our military. His appearance brings glory to our nation!”

“Well said, upstairs!”

“Just quietly asking—wasn’t Iron Man an American superhero?”

“Get lost, Iron Man belongs to us.”

“Exactly, Iron Man is ours.”

Meanwhile, in a military base in Beijing, a group of officers was holding a meeting.

“What are your thoughts on the sudden appearance of Iron Man?”

“One thing’s clear—this Iron Man wasn’t developed by our military, nor is he likely from any other country. The most probable explanation is that he was privately built.”

“Agreed. Our primary goal now is to find this Iron Man. If he can create such a suit, his technology is far beyond ours. If we can acquire it, our military strength will be greatly enhanced.”

“Excellent. We must locate this Iron Man. At the same time, we need to guard against foreign spies. This exoskeleton single-soldier system must not leak out—especially not to America or Japan.”

“Seconded!”

“Seconded!”

As China took action, leaders of other nations, after watching the Iron Man rescue video, quickly convened their own secret meetings. In an instant, undercurrents surged, and spies from all over rushed into China.

Xiao Xie paid little attention to all this. Arnold had already deleted any surveillance footage that might expose his true identity. Though Xiao Xie wasn’t afraid of being discovered, he knew that exposure would bring endless trouble—something he despised.

He watched his rising points of admiration thanks to Iron Man’s rescue and felt elated. Indeed, quietly amassing wealth was the best feeling.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed, and the three TV dramas produced by Xiao Xie’s company officially began filming.

Many people believe shooting a drama is simply filming the script from start to finish, but it’s not like that at all. Instead, several production crews shoot different segments simultaneously, later editing them into a complete series. That’s why, in some shows, you’ll see sudden changes—for example, on the wedding night, a candle burned halfway is suddenly whole again a second later. These scenes weren’t filmed consecutively; sometimes it took over ten attempts to get a successful shot.