When Tony Stark reached the speed of sound, he felt as though he had almost hit his limit. Going any faster would not only put immense strain on his body, but even with J.A.R.V.I.S.'s assistance, the speed was simply too much for his average physical condition to handle.
This was also one of the reasons why many modern fighters were slowing down: there was no need to go faster.
As Tony Stark continued to chase after Luo Chen, he could feel just how extraordinary Luo Chen's physical abilities were.
To achieve twice the speed of sound with just a human body—this took an abnormal level of physical strength.
"His physical condition can't be measured!" Tony Stark thought, chasing after him but realizing he couldn't even spot the taillights anymore.
"Based on his speed, we can infer the strength of his body, but clearly, he's still flying effortlessly," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded. "This means our current calculations don't even begin to account for his true capabilities."
J.A.R.V.I.S. paused before adding, "From what we know, this is definitely beyond human limits."
"That's not news to me!" Tony Stark muttered in frustration. "According to Luo Chen, humans flying is 'reasonable,' but I still can't wrap my head around it."
It was absurd! How could normal humans fly?
"If we compare him to Captain America, does his physical strength rival Cap's?" Tony Stark asked.
"From today's data and Captain America's physical examination results, Luo Chen's physical condition is far superior and cannot be compared," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "Even if Luo Chen doesn't exert himself to the fullest, he still has at least double Captain America's physical capacity."
"How did he do it? He's just an average man!" Tony Stark said in disbelief.
Captain America's physical strength was already extraordinary. Tony had obtained the data from other sources—nothing secret, just Captain America's physical test results, which were available to various agencies.
Captain America represented the peak of normal human potential. Others, like the Hulk, were obviously not human, and their abilities weren't within the realm of comparison.
"If I didn't know for sure that no one had created a super soldier serum recently, I'd almost think he'd been injected with it!" Tony Stark said, incredulous. "But no, it's nothing like the serum."
"Could his powers be related to his time travel?" Tony mused.
"Sir, there's no direct evidence linking his powers to time travel," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded. "However, given that he seems to know the direction of the entire series of events, it's possible that he knows how to acquire certain abilities."
J.A.R.V.I.S. continued, "In this world, there are many ways people can acquire superpowers, beyond just your armor, sir. There's also Spider-Man, Spider-Woman… Their abilities appear to be directly related to spiders."
Tony Stark quickly understood the implication: Luo Chen had probably acquired the powers of other superheroes, or even supervillains.
As the saying goes, the rich rely on technology, and the poor rely on mutation. There are always people whose strength doesn't come from money or technology.
Tony began to suspect that Luo Chen had tapped into such abilities, but he had kept his sources a secret—never revealing how he'd gained his powers.
Now, Tony Stark couldn't help but feel a surge of envy and jealousy. He was just an ordinary man, and even when designing the Mark armor, he had to ensure that his body could handle its capabilities. Meanwhile, Luo Chen could fly at twice the speed of sound without armor, without wings—just pure physical ability.
And this wasn't even his top speed. How could Tony not feel envious and jealous?
"But something's off with his clothes!" Tony Stark suddenly realized.
Luo Chen's speed had already exceeded twice the speed of sound. Normally, if his clothes weren't specially designed, they'd have been incinerated by the air friction at such speeds.
Only specially made fabrics could withstand the intense heat generated by high-speed flight. Ordinary clothes wouldn't stand a chance, and Luo Chen would have to be naked after a short time.
But there he was, wearing normal clothes, seemingly unaffected by the high-speed friction.
"Analyzing..." J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "According to the analysis, the most probable explanation is that Luo Chen's body has formed something like a force field, which shields him from air friction."
"It seems that not only does Luo Chen possess superhuman physical abilities and the power of flight, but he may also have some sort of energy field around him, providing additional protection," Tony Stark speculated.
He still didn't know exactly what kind of field was around Luo Chen. It might be a type of psychokinetic force field, one that could even withstand gunfire.
Breaking through this kind of field would be incredibly difficult, and that didn't even account for Luo Chen's already formidable body.
No one knew where he had acquired this power. All that was clear was that Luo Chen was extraordinarily strong now.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., make sure to record all of Luo Chen's super abilities in his file and analyze them," Tony ordered.
"Understood, the record has been completed," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied immediately. "However, sir, I must warn you that you've been flying at supersonic speeds for quite a while, and the engine is beginning to overheat.
If you continue, you have one minute before your energy reserves reach critical levels, and the engine may burn out. At that point, the situation could become very dangerous."
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