Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 693: The Third Day

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Regardless of the difficulties, the rescue operation could finally proceed with clear objectives.

Rescue teams no longer had to dig randomly and hope for luck.

They no longer had to rely solely on New York City's limited number of search-and-rescue dogs.

Nor did they have to depend entirely on shouting into the ruins and waiting for someone to answer.

Very quickly, rescue resources were reorganized.

Locations identified by the technological detection systems became the highest-priority targets.

Only the teams accompanied by rescue dogs continued conducting broad searches throughout the rubble field, ensuring that no survivors missed by the sensors were overlooked.

Unfortunately...

Most of the bodies recovered near the surface were exactly what one would expect.

Corpses.

Body parts.

Victims buried when the upper floors collapsed.

Only those kinds of remains tended to be found at relatively shallow depths.

---

Joseph Pfeifer—the experienced fire chief who had arrived at the World Trade Center almost immediately and now served as the senior fire-service commander—proposed a different strategy.

Rather than focusing on isolated signals, he suggested prioritizing deeper locations where large clusters of people appeared to be gathered.

Those individuals might have been sheltering in basements or lower floors.

If they had survived the collapse without being crushed by concrete, they could have ended up trapped inside survivable voids within the debris.

The problem was that these locations were buried extremely deep.

Rescuing them would be extraordinarily difficult.

This wasn't a simple matter of identifying a location and digging a straight tunnel toward it.

The rubble consisted of countless concrete fragments of varying sizes piled atop one another.

Removing the wrong piece could trigger a domino effect.

In the worst case, it could cause secondary collapses.

Furthermore, many basement and lower-level areas clearly still contained open spaces.

If rescuers could connect those surviving voids together, they might reach victims far faster than by excavating from above.

Trying to remove all the debris covering a target location was simply unrealistic.

Clearing the ruins completely might take weeks—or even months.

Anyone trapped beneath the rubble would never survive that long without food and water.

---

As a result, senior personnel from both the fire and police services—people with extensive disaster-response experience—began discussing possible rescue strategies.

At that point, technology specialists like Henry and Tony Stark, who had already been working nonstop for an entire day, could only stand nearby and listen.

Of course, Tony Stark was Tony Stark.

A man seemingly born to be the center of attention wasn't particularly comfortable being ignored.

Even after remaining awake for a full day, he still appeared energetic.

Without his expertise and stamina, the police department's technological command center probably wouldn't have reached its current level of sophistication even after a week of work.

Compared to everyone else, however, Tony had only gone one day without sleep.

Henry Brown had gone two.

He hadn't even closed his eyes once.

Two straight days of intense mental labor had finally reached a point where he could spare a little attention elsewhere.

Still, the discussion taking place now involved fields outside Tony Stark's expertise.

That much was undeniable.

Fortunately, Tony possessed one valuable quality:

When he didn't know something, he generally kept quiet and listened.

That practicality was one of the traits that made him such a formidable engineer.

So instead of interrupting, he turned his attention toward Stark Industries' multifunctional tactical platform and began thinking about what else technology might contribute.

---

Suddenly, he asked the man beside him:

"Do you think it's possible to use Hollywood Kid's physics engine to calculate an optimal excavation route?"

The idea was so creative that even Henry was impressed.

Unfortunately...

"I never thought about applying a visual-effects physics engine to disaster rescue."

Henry rubbed his chin.

"It's actually a great idea.

"But we can't do it."

Tony frowned.

"Why not?

"Data transfer limitations?

"If I use satellite communications, connecting to the supercomputers on the West Coast shouldn't be a problem."

Henry shook his head.

"I believe you could solve the connection issue.

"But as one of the developers behind Hollywood Kid's physics engine, let me tell you something.

"If you want accurate simulation results, you need accurate inputs."

He continued:

"That means every piece of concrete has to be treated as an individual object.

"We'd need correct dimensions.

"Correct shape.

"Correct weight.

"Only then could we realistically simulate the consequences of excavating a particular tunnel or removing a specific chunk of debris."

The more uncertain the inputs became, the less reliable the simulation results would be.

"This isn't simply digging a tunnel through a mountain and calculating earth displacement.

"The excavation itself introduces countless variables."

Henry gestured toward the ruins.

"Right now we're already pushing our capabilities to the limit just mapping the debris field and identifying internal voids.

"And even then we can't guarantee that the model perfectly matches reality."

He pointed toward the tactical display.

"Now imagine trying to input billions of individual objects.

"Some are plain concrete.

"Some contain rebar.

"Others are sections of structural steel.

"You can't estimate their weight using volume alone.

"How do you classify all of that accurately?

"And even if you somehow could, excavation introduces new variables every minute.

"Different digging methods create different outcomes."

Henry shrugged.

"Maybe if we had enough time, we'd solve those problems.

"But time is exactly what we don't have.

"The people trapped beneath the rubble can't sit down there patiently while we spend weeks solving technical challenges one at a time."

---

Tony couldn't argue.

The explanation was solid.

And when discussing engineering and scientific problems, Tony Stark wasn't the type who argued simply for the sake of arguing.

He knew Henry was right.

That was precisely what made the situation so frustrating.

People needed help.

They were right there.

And despite all his intelligence, there was still so little he could do.

His genius mind immediately began searching through every possible option, trying to identify another card he could play.

Then the sound of Justin Hammer grandstanding for reporters drifted into the command tent.

Tony's mood somehow worsened.

The man had finally quieted down during the night—presumably because he had gone to sleep.

Now that daylight had returned, he was energetic again.

Part of the reason was simple.

Hammer Industries kept delivering supplies in waves.

Every shipment created another opportunity for publicity.

Stark Industries was doing exactly the same thing.

The difference was that Tony Stark had no interest in performing for cameras.

Because Justin occupied so much media attention, many other companies providing assistance received virtually no coverage.

Their executives hadn't come in person.

No flashy speeches were being made.

No photographers were invited.

Only volunteers quietly unloaded supplies and carried them into storage areas where they could be distributed as needed.

Listening to Hammer's endless noise, Tony found himself regretting one thing.

Why had he brought an airtight tent...

Instead of one with proper soundproofing?

---

Just as Tony was trying to figure out how to solve his latest headache, a disturbance erupted outside.

"What now?"

There wasn't any obvious loud noise.

Yet powerful gusts suddenly battered the command tent.

The fabric snapped and fluttered violently.

Already irritated, Tony immediately headed outside with the intention of yelling at someone.

Wearing his respirator, he stepped out of the tent.

Then he stopped.

Hovering nearby was a dark gray aircraft descending vertically.

Its general silhouette resembled an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane.

The tremendous wind pressure came from its engines.

Yet despite its size, the aircraft produced remarkably little noise.

That alone captured Tony Stark's attention.

A machine capable of generating that much thrust without the expected roar of a jet engine...

Now that was interesting.

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