Tony Stark

Tony Stark had been captured for three months before he built the Mark I.

So here was the question.

The mastermind, Bald Uncle—Obadiah Stane—rose to power more than a month after Iron Man went missing.

That meant there were still nearly two months before Iron Man's Mark I came into being.

If he rescued him now...

Would Iron Man still exist?

Jiang Rui's thoughts were simple, anyway...

What the hell does it have to do with me?

With a splat, Jiang Rui landed on the ground and swiftly turned into a puddle of flowing water, searching for where Tony was being held.

Then he spotted a cave high up, at the deepest part of the base.

Not bad.

Impressive.

The entire base was arranged in a long line around that cave. Anyone who didn't know better would think their leader lived in there.

Jiang Rui felt a little pain in the balls, even though he did not have any.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a little sad...

Forget it, forget it.

He had no idea whether their leader had already demanded that Tony make weapons.

He should hurry up and find Stark.

"Achoo." Tony Stark leaned against a table, fiddling with a piece of iron.

In the shadows, a certain Slime watched him.

The current Tony had shed his frivolity and become much more composed.

After fiddling with the iron sheet for a while and sorting through the messy materials, Tony yawned.

Then a crisp voice echoed through the cave, startling both men.

"Going to rest?"

"Who's there?" ×2

Jiang Rui stepped out from the corner. As he approached, he stared unblinkingly at Stark.

This was a legendary figure—

There was no doubt about it.

He vaguely remembered that his favorite Marvel character was not Iron Man. Maybe it was Spider-Man, maybe Doctor Strange...

But it definitely was not Stark.

Marvel had no single protagonist. Heroes of every kind gathered together to form a vast universe.

Yet Iron Man, a superhero who had been controversial from the very beginning, with both fans and haters,

Had eventually become someone no one could bring themselves to curse anymore.

"I am Iron Man."

Tens of thousands were moved to tears, and the entire world mourned him.

"Oh, a little one. How did you get in here?" Tony's slightly exaggerated, frivolous tone interrupted Jiang Rui's thoughts.

"Hello, Tony Stark." Jiang Rui tried his best to sound polite. "I'm Rimuru, Rimuru Tempest."

"I was entrusted by Colonel Ross and Ms. Pepper to protect you."

"Huh?" Tony Stark's eyes widened. "You? Protect me? God, they actually found some wet-behind-the-ears blue-haired girl to protect me?"

(ー`ー)

"Listen, little one." Tony Stark raised a brow. "You're, well, a promising little beauty. If you grew up just a little more, a little more, maybe I'd be interested in you."

(-＂-怒)

"So now, before they find you, get out of here. Tell Pepper to give me a little more time. I've already found a way out."

(艹皿艹)

"Of course, have them send some people to help me. Oh, this damned place—no red wine, no beautiful women. Oh, little one, naturally you don't count as a woman yet. At most, you're a girl."

ヽ(#`Д)┌┛〃

Jiang Rui finally snapped. He kicked him, adding a little electric current for good measure.

"I'd heard Tony Stark's taunting skills were unrivaled!" Kick!

"A playboy, huh!" Stomp!

"Arrogant, conceited, shameless bastard, huh!" Stomp!

"Now that I've seen you today..." Stomp!

"You really live up to your reputation!" Stomp, stomp, stomp!

Jiang Rui kept talking as he stomped until Yinsen could no longer watch and pulled him away.

"Cough, cough." Tony Stark braced himself against the table and slowly climbed up... "Fine, fine. Maybe I shouldn't have flirted with you, but little one, this place really is dangerous."

"You plan to escape with this stuff?" Jiang Rui pointed at the pile of steel parts on the table and some weapon materials supplied by the terrorist organization.

"Of course. What else could I use?" Tony looked proud. "Give me enough time, and this pile of junk will become a revolutionary weapon in my hands. I, Tony Stark, am a genius!"

Fine. The Iron Man in my mind really wasn't this **!!

But that made sense. Tony only began to settle into a more mature image by the time of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Before that, how much had he gone through?

Jiang Rui sighed and imitated Tony Stark's tone.

"Fine then, great genius Mr. Tony Stark, could you tell me exactly how long 'enough time' is—"

Silence—

How was he supposed to know how long? He only wanted this girl to leave quickly because he feared she would be put in danger, just as suddenly as she had appeared.

Then she could call for help.

But with his personality, he could never say that because of his pride. Yet he also disdained lying by saying something like, "Very soon."

"We only have one week." Jiang Rui looked Tony in the eyes and spoke seriously. "Maybe even less."

"Another organization will soon invade this place, and nearly all of them are... superhumans. If they decide to die together with us..." A ball of water appeared in Jiang Rui's hand, demonstrating his ability. "Of course, I'll protect you, but I still hope you'll have the ability to protect yourself."

"Because protecting a useless person is way too hard."

"I'm not useless!" Tony Stark retorted, staring at the water ball.

"Fine, Stark, you're not useless." Jiang Rui dismissed the water ball indifferently.

"It's Stark." Tony Stark corrected him again, then asked curiously, "What was that? Magic?"

"Uh, calling it magic wouldn't be wrong..." Jiang Rui rubbed his head. Come to think of it, Stark did not seem to be a materialist. In a parallel universe, he had even become the Sorcerer Supreme...

He really was a genius.

But the end of both magic and science was truth. From that perspective, people talented in magic were probably quite good at scientific research too...

So poor students were poor students no matter where they went.

Come to think of it, Doctor Strange was also a top student!

He had several doctoral degrees.

The first Ant-Man was a doctor too.

The Fantastic Four were doctors as well.

Tsk, tsk. Thinking about it, poor students could only rely on mutation, huh?

But Hulk and Spider-Man, emmmmmm...

Sure enough, poor students as a species, tsk!

Jiang Rui shook his head. Forget it. Life was hard enough; no need to expose it.

"Actually, with Tony's abilities, making the weapon he wants isn't difficult. What takes time is dismantling and shaping these weapons."

Seeing that the two had finished arguing, Yinsen explained. At the same time, he curiously examined this person who looked like a little girl on the outside.

She was pretty childish on the inside too, Yinsen thought. That sulky stomping just now had been full of girlishness...

Jiang Rui: I'm not! I didn't! Don't make things up!!

"I see." Jiang Rui nodded. No wonder he made a head in two months, then finished the entire set overnight...

"Then I can help!"

"You understand this stuff?" Tony asked in surprise.

Jiang Rui tilted his head and consulted Great Sage.

"Can activate All Things to acquire all technology in this world."

Then forget it. He had no interest in an Iron Man suit, mainly because he was a Slime...

He was already tough enough. Adding a suit would only become a restriction.

So he nodded and answered honestly,

"I can understand it, but there's no need."

"..." Tony suddenly felt as though he had encountered his nemesis. "Then how will you help?"

"I can be your processing plant." Jiang Rui casually picked up an iron sheet and a chunk of steel. Black mist swirled around them.

After a while, a pile of iron sheets appeared in his hands.

"This is magic too?!" Yinsen and Tony were shocked!

"Yeah." Jiang Rui nodded. "The name of this magic is—"

"3D Printer!"