Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4364 - 3457: Midnight Sons (19)

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Stark led the group to his mecha warehouse. Here, there's equipment that will be useful today.

The latest series of mecha is named "Space Explorer," abbreviated as SE. The current model in use is the latest SE-26.

There's another series, which corresponds to it, called "Star Guardians," abbreviated as SG. Currently developed to the 8th generation, the latest is SG-08.

The Space Explorer series of mecha is an engineering mecha, specifically built to handle various complex environments in the cosmos and meet construction conditions in such environments. It can use both regular and magic energy, possessing functions for sustaining life, exploration, construction, and mining.

Star Guardians, on the other hand, belong to combat mecha but are specifically designed for fighting in space. They have the most advanced human energy absorption and conversion system. In short, they can acquire energy in various cosmic environments and use it for combat. The weapons equipped are diverse as well. However, this type of mecha cannot use magic energy, only regular energy.

Stark opened a large door to the mecha bay and introduced his new mecha to the group. He said, "Both types of mecha are commercial products that can be widely deployed. Currently, the largest customer is China. Australia and Europe have also made purchases."

Shiller looked at the mecha in the first bay. Since it's a commercial product, Shiller had seen ads for this mecha on short video apps before. The actual thing looked even more magnificent than it did in the advertisements.

These two machines resemble a Gundam more than an Iron Man Suit. From the outside, they're massive iron robots, bearing little resemblance to human form.

"Are these unmanned mecha?" Miles asked.

"Exactly." Stark nodded and said, "After all, not everyone has the skill to operate a battlesuit..."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir." JARVIS said.

Stark rolled his eyes subtly and ignored him, continuing, "The environment in space is complex and full of dangers. Unmanned mecha would be a better choice. We can't expect every valuable engineering talent to have plenty of time to train for space activities. It's better to let robots handle that."

"Of course, the robots use a neuro-control system. The pilot only needs to stay in a safe neuro-control cabin, and the mecha can mimic the pilot's various actions down to perfect precision. Current customer feedback is quite positive."

"Have they been put into use?" Miles asked again.

"Yes, they are indeed the main force in the maintenance of the Pluto and Neptune Star Ports. The orders are significant, making them a leading product of this generation from Stark Technology. I have two prototype units left here, and today we're taking them to Jupiter."

Miles walked up to the mecha and looked up at the tall robot, showing a bit of envy. Stark patted him on the shoulder and said, "Keep it up, kid. Once this mission is over, I'll give you a big toy, guaranteed to be cooler than this. And you, Peter..."

"I don't want one." Peter replied, "Both of my homes are already filled to the brim with Spider-Man gear, I really have nowhere to put it."

"Isn't that perfect? Let them see the achievements of this universe's Iron Man." Stark said proudly, "They'll definitely think I'm the best Iron Man in the universe."

Peter shrugged and said, "They'll scream for three days, then have the entire apartment building's tenants complain about me. But... alright, you are indeed the best Iron Man in the universe."

Stark took the mecha out of the warehouse. Shiller originally thought they would fly directly into outer space, but it turned out to be far more complicated than that.

Shiller hadn't left Earth using non-teleportation methods for a long time. He somewhat wanted to try flying again.

However, evidently, with the dawn of the space exploration era, all procedures have become standardized. Now, any flying unit must submit an application, wait for approval, and then reach the near-Earth orbit at the designated speed and time; unauthorized flying is prohibited.

The range of flying units includes not only rockets, aircraft, and flying shuttles but also Superheroes. Even Captain Marvel, who returned this time, first flew near Earth, waited for the Space Station tower dispatch, and then descended to the ground from the designated point.

Moreover, attempting to reach near-Earth orbit through magical means is also quite troublesome. One must enter the Space Station via a teleportation portal from the ground, then depart from the Space Station; opening a portal in the near-Earth range at will is not allowed.

Entering the Space Station demands strict inspection of people and items, with size and energy level requirements. Machines that are too large or have excessively high energy levels are not permitted to enter. Engineering equipment must also be disassembled and brought in as parts, then reassembled.

While JARVIS was sending the application to the Space Station, Stark said, "Every regulation is backed by lessons of blood. We cannot afford another Space Station fall incident."

Yet, as the head of the Solar System development plan, Stark does have some privileges. His application for lift-off was quickly approved, and the location and pathway granted were the closest and fastest.

Shiller actually didn't want things to be so cumbersome. Being the Moon God, Khonsu, he could directly teleport to the Moon. However, he suddenly remembered that China had quite a few lunar rovers broadcasting live on the Moon. He didn't want to make a sudden appearance on camera, so he had to go with Stark.

The lift-off location was a military airport around New York. The trio and their mecha flew over there together.

Peter still wasn't very adept at flying, so Shiller and Stark had to wait for him to catch up. After reaching the location, Shiller was the first to land, with Stark following closely.

But they waited on the ground for a long time, and Peter still hadn't landed. Stark looked up and shouted, "Spider-Man! Spider-Man, what's going on? Get down here!"

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"I don't know how to land!" Peter shouted, "Should I just cut off the energy?!"

"No!!" Stark yelled urgently, "Don't cut off the energy!"

"But I'll just keep floating..."

Stark covered his forehead and said, "Remember what you once told me? Magic is the art of the mind! Quickly forget any aerodynamic knowledge you have in your head!!"

"I can't forget! If I dive down, I need a buffer force to counteract gravity..."

Shiller couldn't stand it anymore. He flew up again, with a swish of his cape, and brought Peter down.

Peter exhaled in relief and said, "Thanks."

Stark, while walking toward the target location, said, "Didn't I say I'm the most professional mage in the team?"

The trio arrived at the predetermined location. Stark first positioned the mecha properly, then turned to the two and said, "Follow me during the flight. There's no turning during the flight. If you accidentally hit another aircraft, it's over."

"Also, the flight speed must never exceed Mach 10, keeping it around Mach 8 is best. During the flight, don't use teleportation, even short-range ones. Don't speed up or slow down abruptly. The principle is very much like driving."

Peter nodded, but he seemed a little tense. Stark said, "Just stick close to me. My battlesuit precisely controls the speed. As long as you don't surpass me, you won't overspeed."

The mecha and the Iron Armor charged simultaneously. With a slight "hum," Iron Man took off first. The initial speed was slow, seemingly waiting for the two to catch up. Once Shiller and Peter were airborne, he accelerated steadily.

Peter seemed fascinated by this rocket-style flight method, constantly looking around. Stark had to remind him in the headset, "Are you this distracted when you drive?"

"Uh, sorry. It's just this feels amazing. Though I've built rockets, it's my first time actually being one."

Stark didn't criticize but said, "Once you do more flying yourself, it won't feel special anymore. Now, China's strict on flight safety regulation; if you fly off course, they might shoot you down."

Peter immediately turtled his neck, refocused on the flight, and diligently adjusted his body posture to avoid straying off the predetermined path.

Gradually accelerating to the extreme speed, the magic enhancement made the flyers feel no discomfort. Shiller felt nothing as well, except at the moment of breaking through the atmosphere, he sensed a slight relaxation of all his internal energy.

After breaking through the atmosphere, Stark slowed down and marked the Space Station according to JARVIS's location.

"Where are we going now?" Peter asked, "Are we flying straight to Jupiter?"

"Earth to Jupiter is 500 million miles apart. By the time we get there, Roxxon's plot would have succeeded." Stark said, "We need to borrow a spaceship from the Space Station first. The Escort Ship we acquired from the Kree has now become a regular cruise ship. You can think of it as a bus within the Solar System."

"We need to catch the next available bus ship to Jupiter's moon, where there's a temporary post and research station. If we want to approach Jupiter's main body, we need to take a special small ship."

"But since we're on a secret investigation, we can skip the last step. If possible, we could set up a small temporary base on Europa."

"Where is Roxxon's mining base set up?" Peter asked.

"If nothing goes wrong, it should be on Io." Stark guessed, "Io has active geological activities, high thermal and energy levels. The underground heat can provide plenty of energy for various mining equipment. If it were me, I would choose there."

"But the technology they use differs from Earth." Peter reminded, "They might not need Io's thermal energy. Perhaps we should also check Ganymede or Europa."

Stark nodded, then turned to look at Shiller. Shiller said, "You two decide."

In truth, Shiller wasn't sure where Roxxon's mining base was precisely established. Because the comics merely mentioned mining on Jupiter without specific panels, one couldn't see how Jupiter was mined.

Considering the current situation, it shouldn't be destructive mining; the scale of mining should not be large enough to set up large mining equipment on Jupiter's main body, or it would have been detected by humanity.

Therefore, the only possibility is establishing a mining outpost on the moon and dispatching mining ships to extract resources, which are then brought back for storage or transportation.

Mining ships are generally small, negligible compared to Jupiter's vastness. Furthermore, the mining sites and flight paths are uncertain; unless one constantly monitors Jupiter, it's hard to discover them. This behavior indeed feels sneaky.

According to what Shiller learned from Xu Shang-Chi, China might be aiming to set up stable, large-scale mining equipment on Jupiter rather than using mining ships for extraction.

The setup period for large equipment will inevitably be long; even with current technology, it would take at least 3-5 years. Throughout this period, engineering personnel would be active around Jupiter frequently; Roxxon's sneaky mining activities wouldn't remain hidden.

Logically speaking, celestial bodies in the Solar System are humanity's shared assets; no specific celestial body exclusively belongs to anyone. If you have the ability, you can mine. Current technology levels prevent destructive mining, posing no impact on others. All are part of the human race; whoever mines, the benefits end up shared.

Therefore, Roxxon could entirely choose to let China develop its area, while they continue theirs. It shouldn't matter what technology is used; having alien technology is their advantage. Based on Shiller's understanding, China probably wouldn't intensely inquire further. Jupiter is enormous; one side for everyone, no impact on one another.

However, Roxxon took the initiative to act first, which looks like they're guilty. Moreover, they adopted such aggressive actions, directly targeting the locals.

Roxxon's boss couldn't be foolish enough to think he could monopolize Jupiter, right?

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