Ten Rings and Mandarin (5200-word chapter, please vote with monthly tickets)

Tony looked at Charlotte Doyle and continued, "You may not know this, but counting yesterday's, there have already been ten explosions during this period, and no bomb casings were left at any of the scenes."

"Either some new technology has appeared that I don't know about, or there may be Ninja support behind them."

"After all, as far as I know, the only ones capable of causing an explosion without leaving any traces are Ninja and Chen Haoran. But obviously, he wouldn't do something like this."

Hearing Tony's words, Charlotte nodded as well. After thinking for a moment, he said, "What you're saying boils down to two issues: the Ten Rings and Ninja."

"Let's talk about the first issue first—the Ten Rings and the Mandarin."

"Tony, do you really have no impression of them?"

Hearing Charlotte's question, Tony said in surprise, "Why?"

"You mean I've had contact with them before?"

Seeing that Tony had no clue at all, Charlotte said, "2008. A cave in Afghanistan."

At Charlotte's hint, Tony's thoughts instantly returned to that time. He had been betrayed by Obadiah, attacked and kidnapped by terrorists, and held in a cave. He also remembered that it was back then that he had built the first-generation Iron Man Armor.

"You're saying the group of Middle Eastern terrorists who kidnapped me back then were the Ten Rings?"

"No, that's not right. I wiped them out at the time."

"Don't tell me they've made a comeback?"

Charlotte explained, "The Ten Rings is an organization that has existed for a very long time. Its earliest origins can be traced back a thousand years."

"From the moment this organization was born, it constantly carried out conquest. Over the centuries, they swept through every corner of the world."

"They lurked in the shadows, subverting regimes and