Chapter 1038: How Much Does This Suit Cost?
At the party, he learned that someone in the company had been selling weapons to terrorists behind his back.
He added a weapon system to the Mark 3 and took down the terrorists.
He evaded U.S. military jets in the sky, engaging in a thrilling reverse chase.
Ambushed by the bald villain, he struggled to the basement to retrieve backup power.
He put on the armor and had an intense hand-to-hand fight with the bald antagonist.
At the press conference, he admitted he was Iron Man.
He debuted as Iron Man at the Stark Industries Expo, drawing worldwide attention.
He appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, sparring with senators, military representatives, and other arms dealers.
He discovered he had palladium poisoning, with the toxicity in his blood rising steadily.
While racing, he was attacked by Ivan Vanko and defeated his opponent with a new suit.
Using his father’s leftover notes, he invented a new element to solve the palladium poisoning and found a new power source for the suit.
At the Hammer Industries Expo, he engaged in fierce aerial combat with Ivan’s Iron Soldier drones, culminating in a chase and a joint effort with Colonel James Rhodes in the War Machine armor to destroy the giant robot Ivan had created.
At a ceremony in Washington, Tony specifically asked the senator who had previously harassed him to present the award.
“Mr. Stark, thank you for your outstanding performance. You deserve this.”
The senator stood beside Tony with a forced smile for a photo, while Tony raised his right hand in a victory sign.
*Click*—the moment was frozen in time.
Tony Stark’s smile and victory gesture were forever captured in that photo, along with the medal on his chest.
The photo was placed in Stark’s workshop, and Zhang Zhibin’s gaze lingered on it. At the same time, amid an exhilarating rock soundtrack, the game’s credits began to roll.
Beyond a long list of motion capture actors and voice actors, what stood out was the subsequent series of production credits:
Scene Construction: Jarvis
Model Construction: Jarvis
Special Effects: Jarvis
Motion Capture Planning: Jarvis, Qian Kun
AI Construction: Jarvis, Chen Mo
…
Seeing this long string of “Jarvis,” Zhang Zhibin couldn’t help but feel speechless. Was this an Easter egg or a prank?
And that wasn’t all, because in the motion capture actor list, there was also:
Jarvis—Portraying—Jarvis
“Alright, looks like Chen Mo buried an Easter egg here. Is this supposed to surprise us? Is AI about to completely replace humans? Even game development is being taken over by AI? I’m really supposed to be scared by this?”
Zhang Zhibin grumbled as he climbed out of the game pod.
He checked his watch; over six hours had passed since he entered the Matrix game pod. He had completely lost track of time while playing.
He had to admit, the immersion in *Iron Man* was incredible!
Especially those key battles—whether it was taking on a horde of terrorists alone, fighting off the swarm of Hammer Industries Iron Soldier drones over the city, or evading F-22 fighters at high altitude—all of it had pumped his adrenaline, making his heart race.
But it wasn’t just the combat sequences that were impressive; the life simulation segments were equally captivating. Being the center of attention at the party, spending money freely, trading barbs with the Senate, developing the new Mark 3 armor… While these weren’t as thrilling as the intense fights, they still gave Zhang Zhibin an extraordinary sense of novelty.
Zhang Zhibin found Chen Mo in the rest area of the Matrix game pod experience zone, fiddling with a figure. It was a 1/4 scale Iron Man Mark 3 figurine, made of metal, with every finger joint fully posable.
Chen Mo was intently posing the Iron Man figure according to a photo beside him, shaping it into that classic landing stance.
Seeing Zhang Zhibin come out, Chen Mo asked, “Hungry? Let’s grab a bite at the themed restaurant. My treat.”
Zhang Zhibin sat down on the nearby sofa and opened the can of cola that had been sitting out for over six hours. “A bit hungry, but I’m more curious about one thing: if I buy the *Iron Man* game, can I get a set of Iron Man armor delivered to the beachfront mansion?”
Chen Mo smiled. “Of course not. The estimated cost of the Iron Man suit in the story is 1.6 billion dollars. Converted at a 1000:1 luxury car ratio, the price in *Oasis* would be… Well, you can do the math yourself.”
Zhang Zhibin: “…Alright, I’ll skip the math. Just say you don’t want to sell it.”
Chen Mo chuckled. “But think about it—a 1.6-billion-dollar suit that you can wear and trash freely in the game, and the game itself only costs 1,280 yuan. Isn’t that a steal?”
Zhang Zhibin’s face darkened. “You can’t calculate it that way! If that’s the logic, why not make a sci-fi game with a fleet of interstellar motherships for me to wreck? I’d be making even more.”
Chen Mo nodded. “Exactly. That’s why I don’t make sci-fi games—I’d lose too much.”
Zhang Zhibin: “…Can that thing really be worth 1.6 billion dollars? I thought two or three million would be about right.”
“Two or three million dollars?” Chen Mo squinted. “That would barely cover six life-sized Mark 3 armor models.”
Zhang Zhibin glanced at the Iron Man figure in Chen Mo’s hands. “Or maybe include a figure like this with the game purchase. That wouldn’t be bad.”
Chen Mo didn’t even look up. “Not happening.”
Zhang Zhibin: “Why?”
Chen Mo kept playing with the model in his hands. “Do you know how much a 1/4 scale Iron Man figure like this costs?”
Zhang Zhibin thought for a moment. “Hmm… Five hundred yuan?”
Chen Mo gave him a friendly smile. “Multiply by ten.”
Zhang Zhibin nearly jumped up in shock. “Are you kidding? Five thousand yuan?”
“Calm down. Don’t let poverty limit your imagination.” Chen Mo finally finished posing the Iron Man figure. “This is the alloy version. The 1/4 scale costs 4,600 yuan, and the 1/6 scale costs 3,500 yuan. There’s also a life-sized version for 70,000 yuan. All in RMB.”
Zhang Zhibin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Good thing it’s in RMB. If it were dollars, that would be insane. Wait—didn’t you just say that two million dollars could only make six life-sized Mark 3 suits? Now it’s 70,000 RMB per set?”
Chen Mo explained, “The 70,000 RMB version is a life-sized figure. At best, the chest, eyes, hands, and feet light up. It can be posed, but it’s not wearable, and most parts can’t be disassembled. The 300,000-dollar version is wearable, though you can barely walk a couple of steps in it without a power assist system. It’s made with top-tier materials and craftsmanship, good enough for use in movies, and every piece can be taken apart and reassembled.”
Zhang Zhibin’s mouth twitched. “That expensive? Would any idiot actually buy it?”
Chen Mo smiled warmly. “Hello, yes, they do. Thank you for your support of Thunder Entertainment.”
Zhang Zhibin was silent for a long moment. “Alright, let’s just talk about what we’re eating.”