Serum Success, Stark's Plea for Help

"Ha, to think that now I'm done in by my own company's weapons." Stark muttered to himself with a self-deprecating laugh, a sharp irony stinging his heart.

As the CEO of Stark Industries, he'd ultimately been sent to his doom by his own creations.

Now he could only cling to life with a battery pack and the electromagnet in his chest, the cold, dark cave and the ring of Ten Commandments Gang members outside the door offering him not a shred of hope.

"Mr. Stark, pull yourself together. The outside world must be in an uproar by now—everyone's looking for you."

"You've seen the weapons the Ten Commandments Gang has. Your life's work is in the hands of these murderers, and now it's about to become your legacy."

"Are you really okay with that?" Yinsen pushed up his glasses, staring at the dejected, slumped Stark in a low, firm voice.

His hometown was still waiting for him, but he knew he didn't have the strength to escape on his own. The only one he could rely on was Tony Stark in front of him.

"Don't you want to do something?"

Tony remained silent, head bowed. Just as Yinsen was about to speak again to spur him on, he finally spoke, his tone bleak.

"What can I do? No matter what I do, they'll kill me." The flat voice betrayed a deep despair. "Even if they don't kill me, I've got at most a week left."

As he finished, he gestured agitatedly at the battery pack cradled in his arms.

The battery only had enough charge to last him less than a week. Once it ran out, the crude electromagnetic device in his chest would lose its magnetism, and the shards still lodged in his body would flow into his heart through his bloodstream.

By nightfall, the cave had grown cold. Yinsen had somehow scrounged up a pile of firewood and lit a campfire in an open space.

Stark wrapped himself in a thin blanket, sitting across from Yinsen. The flickering flames cast shifting, uncertain shadows across both their faces.

"This is a crucial week, isn't it?" Yinsen broke the silence abruptly.

Stark said nothing. The dancing flames reflected in his pupils, and as if a thought had struck him, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Maybe you're right..."

Without delay, he acted on the idea. He called over a member of the Ten Commandments Gang and said he was willing to build them a Jericho Missile—but he needed a computer panel and missile parts.

Hearing that the stubborn Stark had finally agreed, the Ten Commandments Gang leader was ecstatic, greeting him like a long-lost relative and granting all his requests.

Only the computer panel gave him pause, but after Stark explained it was just for calculating the cluster missile's split trajectory, the leader relented.

In this godforsaken place, he didn't think there'd be any signal.

Over the next few days, all of Apple City was still buzzing with news about Stark. But as time passed, many came to believe he was dead.

Meanwhile, in the Brooklyn District, the Russian Gang that had ruled the block was wiped out single-handedly by John—not a single survivor.

The number one assassin, John, who hadn't been seen in a long time, made his move again, sending shockwaves through the underworld.

As for Merlin, he and Gwen went to Osborn Industries every night to research the Lizard Serum. During the day, Merlin headed to the aviation manufacturing plant to adjust the first smart assembly line.

Drawing on his experience in Hell's Kitchen, the first production line for the Stealth Annihilator Attack Helicopter was built in just three days. With materials and parts now in place, the first unit was already in production.

Many components of the Annihilator Attack Helicopter already existed in the real world, so not much extra fabrication was needed—the main challenge was the outer stealth coating technology.

George, meanwhile, was busy tracking down the Lizardman. Though he'd been tipped off by the teacher, he had no time to spare.

For a time, Apple City was in an uproar, yet it had settled into an eerie calm—like a powder keg, ready to blow at any moment.

And everyone's attention was fixed on the news of Stark's disappearance.

Saturday night, Osborn Industries.

Merlin and Gwen stood before the experimental projection table, staring nervously at the yellow genetic sequence data displayed in the hologram.

According to the experiment sequence, this strand of genetic data was the Lizard's Regeneration Gene.

At that moment, stem cells influenced by the gene were rapidly dividing and expanding, forming new cells.

"Let's begin." Merlin nodded as he watched the swiftly dividing gene cell clusters.

Gwen immediately tossed the blue genetic data in front of her into the Lizard's Regeneration Gene sequence.

The moment they made contact, the blue genetic data spread like ink dropped onto white paper, quickly merging into the Regeneration Gene.

Then, under their watchful eyes, the Regeneration Gene sequence trembled violently under the invasion of the blue data.

Beep! A crisp electronic sound rang out, and the Regeneration Gene sequence collapsed like a crumbling bridge.

Seeing this, the tension on both their faces gave way to excitement.

"Ah! Yes! We did it!"

"Merlin, did you see that? We made it! We succeeded!" Gwen's eyes lit up as she shouted in exhilaration.

After nearly a week, staying up late every night, they had finally succeeded.

"Easy, easy... we still need to run more tests. Don't rush." Merlin was excited too, but he'd expected this, so he wasn't as worked up as Gwen.

"Right, right, right—let's test it quickly. Whether we can pull this off depends on tonight." Gwen snapped back to focus and hurried back to the projection table.

In truth, once success was achieved, following the decay rate algorithm, all that remained was repeated experimentation.

Just before dawn, Gwen carefully retrieved the finished Green Serum from the Thermostat.

Merlin, who was about to speak, suddenly felt his phone vibrate.

He pulled out his phone, glanced at the message, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Two blessings at once, it seems."

Afghanistan, inside a cave in the Gobi desert.

Stark now held a palm-sized Computer in his hand. The battery he'd been carrying earlier was discarded somewhere, replaced by a ring of energy radiating a white, hazy glow—White Halo Energy.

Covered in grease and grime, his mental state was a world apart from just a few days ago.

"What are you doing?" Yinsen asked, curiously leaning in.

"A shell of iron isn't enough. I need to find a way to call for backup." Stark glanced at the armor parts made from a Missile Shell and shook his head.

"Call for backup? There's no signal here at all." Yinsen looked puzzled.

"Won't know until we try. Worst case, I just blast my way out in the armor." As he spoke, Stark placed the palm-sized Computer panel on top of a missile, pretending to make adjustments.

"RG003******"