But her worry was unnecessary, because Ivan Vanko had long since become one of Zodhis's subordinates and had no chance to make an appearance at all.
That dark red race car was slicing through the track at a speed that had already shattered every record in the sport's history.
The filming drones could only capture a blurred silhouette of the car. Fucking drifting through corners at high speed in an F1 car—can you believe it?
I don't know if Mr. Newton's coffin lid is rattling right now, but witnessing a sight like this was, without a doubt, insanely thrilling for any racing fan.
"Damn it, where the hell is Zod? Did that guy actually install a reactor in his car? How hasn't it fallen apart yet!"
Tony was dumbfounded. He had already floored the accelerator, but he still couldn't keep up.
"Sir, Mr. Zod is about to lap you. Projected to complete the third lap in forty seconds."
"What? What did you just say? Didn't the second lap just start? Isn't this my lap?!"
Tony felt like he was about to get slapped in the face.
"Sir, Mr. Zod's race car has undergone varying degrees of change from the chassis to the engine and the fuel. I am temporarily unable to calculate its composition. Data is being recorded, but analysis will require a considerable amount of time."
"What?"
"Could he have covered the race car in nano-armor?!"
"Sir, Mr. Zod just passed you!"
"Shut up, JARVIS! That soul-tearing sound—I already heard it!" They had arrived at the circuit together and gotten into their cars at the same time. When exactly had Zod modified his car?
Listening to JARVIS's assessment, Tony felt a nausea akin to eating a hamburger six months past its expiration date. The difference in speed was on a completely different level. No matter how hard Tony stomped on the accelerator, he couldn't close the gap by even a fraction.
"Tell me, JARVIS. Is Zod still alive?"
Tony refused to believe Zod was unharmed under that kind of acceleration.
"Mr. Zodhis's vital signs are all normal."
JARVIS replied.
"Shit!!!"
"Did you hear that?! Shit!!!"
"Sir, cursing like that is useless. Mr. Zodhis is already two kilometers ahead of you."
"This is unscientific! He's never driven an F1 car before. How can he go so fast? Even Schumacher couldn't go that fast!"
But the tragedy was, at the very beginning, Tony had deliberately chosen to start ahead of Zodhis, precisely so that, as he had declared, Zodhis wouldn't even see his taillights.
"So why did it turn into him overtaking me right from the start, and now not even one lap in, he's already two kilometers ahead of me?"
"I can't even see his taillights!!!"
"Sir, cursing like that is also useless. Mr. Zodhis is already two kilometers ahead of you."
"Stop repeating that! You already said that once, JARVIS!"
"Understood, sir."
But no matter what he did now, it was useless. Although Tony had pushed the speed to the limit and had even nearly flown off the track on a corner, he still couldn't see Zodhis's car at the end of any straight.
"What the hell did that guy do to the car?"
Tony was full of doubt. Even a Fire Seed Reactor couldn't be this formidable. This was beyond imagination.
"This completely violates the laws of physics! I know that engine inside and out—I'm the one who developed it. How can he go that fast? This is still the first lap! This just isn't physics!"
"Sir, please concentrate on driving. Mr. Zodhis is now three kilometers ahead and about to complete the first lap."
"What!"
Tony felt like everything was playing a joke on him today.
"Correct, sir. Mr. Zodhis is about to complete the first lap."
"Shit!"
Hearing JARVIS repeat the information, Tony Stark could only roar another curse, then floor the accelerator and try to speed up as much as possible to give chase.
Asking him to admit defeat? Not a chance!
All around the circuit, the spectators were electrified by the sudden appearance of a super-fast, record-shattering race car.
"Now this is F1 racing!"
"He's practically flying right above the ground!"
"Going that fast and still having that much grip—what the hell is that car made of!"
Zodhis had used electromagnetic force to enhance the race car, allowing it to maintain a speed of three hundred kilometers per hour through the corners.
As for why it didn't take off? Ridiculous. As if a mere three hundred kilometers per hour could make it fly?
In the end, naturally, Zodhis left a trail of dust and won the championship.
He set a world record in F1 racing that would probably never be surpassed. It would likely take a maglev race car to ever break Zodhis's record.
The Monaco government had already prepared the award ceremony, but both Zodhis and Tony Stark clearly couldn't be bothered to accept any trophy or give interviews.
If Tony Stark had been the champion, he would have been more than happy to bask in the spotlight. The problem was, he wasn't. He was the runner-up, lapped several times, having completely become Zodhis's pace car.
To the point that after getting out of his car, he immediately went to inspect Zodhis's race car. The result: everything about the car checked out perfectly normal. It was still the original car.
"Has the gap in our technology really grown this big?"
Tony Stark couldn't help doubting.
After all, any clear-eyed person could tell that kind of speed wasn't something an F1 car should be capable of. If Zodhis hadn't tampered with it, Tony Stark would give away New Energy for free.
The only explanation was that Zodhis's current technology had completely left him behind by an immeasurable distance.
Just thinking about that made Tony Stark's emotions complicated.
All this time, he had refused to admit defeat and chased after Zodhis. Zodhis's Dark Knight armor was nano-armor, so he immediately followed suit, forgetting to eat or sleep, and produced nano-armor himself.
The whole world thought he was the only genius who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Zodhis. But don't forget: Zodhis was very young. Much younger than him.
If Tony Stark had married early, Zodhis could practically be his son's generation.
For the first time, he had the feeling that he had actually grown old.
Coupled with the palladium poisoning, he felt somewhat powerless in everything. He had even handed his company over to Pepper.
Although Zodhis's new element reactor might be his hope for staying alive, the proud Tony Stark never voiced it.
Even if it seemed incredibly foolish.
As a result, the next day, Tony Stark received a report from Pepper.
"Umbrella Corporation wants to start a cooperation with us related to the new element reactor. Tony, so you actually used the F1 race yesterday to discuss business with Zodhis!"
Pepper said, pleasantly surprised.
/-\
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