Though Tony Stark was full of questions and wanted to turn back to check on the "soccer kid," the voice in his earpiece quickly pulled his attention back to the battlefield.
"Stark, we need your support on Sixth Avenue! Another alien troop carrier just showed up over there!"
"Got it. I'm on my way!"
Responding promptly to Clint Barton's call, Tony pivoted and flew toward Sixth Avenue without hesitation.
But the comms didn't go silent. Seeing that he'd moved out, Clint followed up with another question:
"By the way, what was that glowing projectile just now? Some new weapon on your suit? Looked pretty powerful!"
"Hey~ Robin Hood, how about you focus on your battlefield instead of playing analyst?"
Tony casually brushed off the question, deliberately avoiding a direct answer.
Not because he wanted to take credit for the attack—he wasn't that petty.
But that "pencil-case kid" clearly looked young. Tony didn't want to drag him into this war, not if he could help it.
Especially since Barton was also a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. The last thing Tony wanted was to feed the intel machine.
…
Back in the ruined apartment.
Watching Iron Man blast away, Luka wasn't surprised. With the entire Manhattan under siege by Chitauri forces, Tony Stark, as a top-tier combatant, couldn't spare much time to look into a bystander's little "oddities."
What interested Luka more than Stark's departure was the freshly synthesized [Power-Enhancing Sneakers] on his feet.
He turned the knob off at his ankle and tested his now-normal right leg.
No injuries. No soreness. Not even a hint of muscle fatigue from the kick that sent a football flying like a meteor.
Definitely a science-defying device… Classic Conan gear. A true "scene-stealer" from every detective movie special.
Not only did the shoe enhance striking power while protecting the leg—
By all rights, Luka's left leg (not enhanced) shouldn't have been able to balance and absorb the recoil of that kick.
And yet, it felt like a perfectly normal soccer shot.
Even more ridiculous? Luka wasn't a soccer player. He'd have a hard time hitting a target from 10 meters, let alone nailing something hundreds of meters away.
Which reminded him of the item description from earlier:
"Huge power without injury. Perfect accuracy. Non-lethal."
Come to think of it, no matter how hard Conan kicks things, he only ever knocks people out—never kills them.
Gotta pay more attention to those item descriptions.
Unfortunately, once an item was synthesized, Luka could no longer view its details—unless he found a new "core component" to examine.
Shaking off those thoughts, Luka glanced outside to assess the battlefield, then turned back toward his mother.
He'd planned to discuss whether they should hide in the reinforced storage room or evacuate—especially since they weren't on the ground floor. If another Leviathan crashed into the building, even the strongest shelter might not help.
But when he turned around, he saw Jina lying unconscious on the floor, her futuristic pistol beside her.
He rushed to her side and checked her vitals.
Breathing steady. Pulse normal. No visible head trauma. Neck seems fine.
Peeling her eyelid back, he confirmed her pupils still responded to light.
Just unconscious, it seemed. Luka exhaled in relief.
Thank goodness...
He'd just been thinking how lucky he was to have both parents in this new life. If she'd died from one stray blast, he might have questioned whether he was cursed.
But given his past life… maybe he should just focus on keeping the living alive.
Recalling the body's memories, he quickly found the household's medical kit.
Fortunately, it was mostly intact, and he began bandaging her up.
Despite his efforts—including pain-based stimuli and safe wake-up techniques—Jina remained unconscious.
Luka didn't know what else to do.
His limited first-aid training couldn't diagnose the cause, and there was no hope of external help in this chaos. It was safer to wait things out and hope for rescue.
If memory serves, the Chitauri invasion doesn't last long. Whether we get medical help in time… depends on luck.
He shook his head.
After doing all he could, he finally remembered—the prototype gun Jina had used had also emitted the distinctive white glow of a "core component."
He retrieved the weapon, and a faint blue interface immediately popped up:
[Enforcer Handgun – Base Model]
[Psycho-Pass World 1/5]
[Manufacturer: Sibyl System]
[Core Component: Ion Constraint Handgun]
[Synthesis Materials: 1 micro speaker, 1 micro camera, 1 network connection chip, 1 micro projection unit, 30cm cyan LED strip]
[Item Description: A versatile, multi-mode law enforcement handgun. Features include: non-lethal tranquilization mode, lethal elimination mode, and destructive decomposer mode. When linked to the Sibyl System, the gun supports voice interaction, user recognition, enemy scanning, and retina-projected assistance.]
[Note: Without a Sibyl System connection, some functions will be temporarily unavailable. But hey—maybe that's good news for you~]