Tony's Arrogance

After seeing off the dark-faced Nick Fury, Wang Bert called Frank. "Can you fly a helicopter? You can? Great. I'm going to the Middle East for a trip. Pack up and come with me!"

After hanging up, Wang Bert summoned Mercury and ordered, "Use all our remaining funds to short Stark Industries!"

Mercury was puzzled. "Blood God, aren't you going to save Tony Stark?"

"Just do it!"

Wang Bert said, "By the way, did you finish looking into what I asked?"

"I did!"

Mercury said, "Obadiah Stane has two sons. If he dies unexpectedly, his shares in Stark Industries will be jointly inherited by those two sons!

"Obadiah Stane's two sons are both useless. All they know is eating, drinking, and having fun. Obadiah Stane looks down on them, and their father-son relationship is terrible!"

"Set them up and get leverage on them, then make them rack up massive debts!"

Wang Bert said, "Make sure that after Obadiah Stane dies, they transfer his shares to us!"

Mercury was stunned. "That's a small matter, but Blood God, Obadiah Stane is going to die? Isn't Tony Stark the one in danger?"

"If I'm going, what danger could he possibly be in?"

Wang Bert smiled and rose to head for the Middle East. Come to think of it, if his Blood Clan identity were not so awkward, he really could buy Stark Industries. Of course, getting Tony to work for him was impossible! How could Tony Stark possibly work for someone else? Not in this lifetime!

In a dim cave somewhere in the Middle East, a bearded, ragged Tony Stark stared blankly at the glowing Arc Reactor in his chest. How had he, the dream lover of every beautiful woman in America, fallen so low? About a month earlier, after Tony had reached a one-billion-dollar deal with the military for Jericho Missiles, he boarded the Happy Jeep back to base. Along the way, he laughed and chatted with several soldiers, enjoying their admiration.

Then a missile came down and severely wounded him. What depressed him even more was that the missile had been manufactured by Stark Industries!

When Tony woke up, he found that he had been kidnapped by a group of Terrorists. There was a huge hole in his chest, containing an electromagnet powered by a car battery. It could not have looked any more low-rent!

The problem was that he could not go without it. Without the electromagnet, the missile fragments in his blood would flow into his heart and take his life!

After that, the Terrorists demanded that Tony build them Jericho Missiles. Naturally, Tony refused, only to have his head shoved into a water tank. Having never suffered so much in his life, Tony could only compromise for the time being!

It was only a temporary compromise. Tony Stark was not someone who would admit defeat! With the help of Dr. Yinsen, who was also a prisoner, Tony Stark used the materials the Terrorists had sent over to create a Miniature Arc Reactor. He then used it to replace the electromagnet and battery, instantly raising the whole setup to another level.

This Arc Reactor was no ordinary thing. It was a cold fusion reactor created by Tony's father Howard and Anton Vanko. However, their finished product had been an enormous reactor with little practical significance.

Stark Industries had spent decades trying to shrink the Arc Reactor but had never succeeded. Yet Tony Stark had accomplished it in this cave with a pile of scraps. That was genius—the peerless kind of genius capable of changing the world! The Arc Reactor could release three billion joules of energy per second. Tony had not built it merely to replace the electromagnet; he had a grand plan! Two more days and it'll be finished. Then you'll know that a peerless genius cannot be humiliated—especially not a peerless genius adored by countless beauties and worth billions!

Tony gritted his teeth. At that moment, he caught sight of the pool beside him trembling from the corner of his eye. He turned to look, then froze. What the hell was this?

The water in the pool had actually formed a line of English words: "Tony, I'm Bert Wang, more charming and richer than you!"

Tony could not help rubbing his eyes. When he saw that the words were still there, he was utterly shocked. What the hell was this? Why had the water suddenly turned into words? And what did it mean, more charming and richer than me? Did someone like that even exist in this world?

"Bert Wang, that annoying kid with x-ray vision?"

Tony secretly glanced at the monitor and found that his body was blocking its view of the pool. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking for a moment, he asked in an extremely low voice, "You cheating brat?"

The water rippled and formed another line of words: "You're the one who cheated! And you actually set a trap for me in the mask patent, then sold the silicone and batteries at such ridiculous prices?"

"I only said I'd give you the Patent for the mask!"

Tony was rather pleased. He could now basically confirm that the kid really was controlling the water! Still, how was that kid both capable of x-ray vision and water manipulation? That was way too unscientific. The water changed again: "No more nonsense. Someone asked me to save you. Tomorrow, I can bring an army here. Make sure you protect yourself!"

"Save me?"

Tony paused. If the other party had said he was coming to save him a few days ago, Tony would have been overjoyed. But now, his plan was almost complete. He did not need anyone to save him at all!

Tony did not want to owe anyone a favor, much less wait pitifully like a refugee for someone to rescue him—especially someone he disliked!

"No need. I can escape on my own!"

Tony rejected him outright. He was an arrogant little brat—Wang Bert's words! The water changed again: "!?"

"Just wait outside and cover my escape."

After thinking it over, Tony still left himself a little room to maneuver. The symbol on the water vanished at once, and Tony immediately understood what it meant: "Can't be bothered with you!"

That guy really is annoying!

Tony secretly gritted his teeth. Dr. Yinsen, beside him, heard the sound and could not help turning to ask, "Tony, what's wrong?"

Tony said excitedly, "Nothing, Yinsen. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be out of here soon."

"I hope so!"

Yinsen said. However, an unexpected development immediately occurred—the parts they had made looked nothing like a Jericho Missile. Raza, the Terrorists' leader, noticed this. He brought men in to threaten and coax them, then gave them until tomorrow to produce the missile. Otherwise, they would be sent straight to hell!

Tony looked miserable, but he could not bring himself to ask Wang Bert for help. He could only work overtime with Yinsen, striving to finish his armor by tomorrow!

That was right—armor. Iron Man's first suit of armor, Mark I!

On a hill near the base, Wang Bert sat in an armed helicopter and sneered. You just had to show off. Having fun now?

"That Raza is wearing a Ten Rings Gang ring. Does that mean the Mandarin really exists in this world?"

Wang Bert narrowed his eyes. In the movies, the Mandarin was an actor, but in the comics, the Mandarin was real. He was also Iron Man's greatest enemy, possessing ten powerful rings and commanding most of the Terrorists in the Middle East! Forget it. I probably won't run into the Mandarin. I'll leave as soon as I save Tony! I have no interest in helping Tony deal with his mortal enemy!

Wang Bert thought to himself. Frank, who was piloting ahead, asked, "What's the situation? Did you find that billionaire?"

"Found him. It seems he has his own escape plan and doesn't want me to save him!"

Wang Bert said. He was the Blood God and could control blood. Since most of blood was water, he could also control a little water. However, it was not very powerful; at most, he could make a few words appear like before!

The reason he could hear Tony speak was because Tony had his blood inside him. The moment he arrived here, the two connected. Wang Bert knew everything that had happened to Tony during this time!

"What an willful guy. So what do we do?"

Frank said disdainfully. He clearly did not think much of Tony Stark, though Stark Industries' products were indeed useful!

"What does it have to do with us whether he wants saving or not?"

Wang Bert said, "Contact Colonel Rhodes and have him bring people over. We'll act tomorrow and try to get back as soon as possible. I hate this place. It's too sunny, and there aren't any beautiful women."

"I served here for ten years and still hate it!"

Frank laughed. He then picked up the phone to contact Colonel Rhodes. Rhodey was very surprised. They had really found him? Earlier, he had only been trying his luck.

Rhodey hurriedly said, "I'll bring people over immediately. Whatever you do, don't alert the enemy!"

"When I was killing Terrorists on the Frontlines, you were still hammering nails in logistics!"

Frank hung up disdainfully. Rhodey was speechless, but he could not afford to offend Frank, a super soldier king. He could only put down the phone and head out to organize a rescue team, hoping to get there as soon as possible!...

The next day, after pulling an all-nighter, Tony Stark finally completed his armor. He put on the leather suit and had Dr. Yinsen help attach the armor piece by piece.

Everything went smoothly at first, but the Terrorists soon noticed that the two men could not be seen on the monitor—they were hiding behind wooden boards. They immediately sent people over to investigate.

Looking at the nervous Yinsen, Tony smiled. "Don't worry, there's no problem. We just need to activate the power system now!"

Yinsen, drenched in sweat, asked, "How do we activate it?"

"Press F11 first..."

Yinsen operated the computer as Tony instructed. A progress bar soon appeared, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around to help Tony tighten the screws, but at that moment, the door was smashed open. The bomb tied to it exploded with a boom, killing several Terrorists on the spot!

"There's no time, there's no time!"

Yinsen glanced at the doorway, put down the wrench, and said to Tony, "Tony, I'll go out and buy you some time!"

"No need! We have time, stick to the plan!"

Tony shouted urgently, but Yinsen did not listen. He picked up a gun dropped by a Terrorist and rushed out. He did not know how to shoot, so he simply fired wildly. Fortunately, the terrain was narrow, and the Terrorists were frightened into retreating again and again! "Yinsen!"

Tony shouted anxiously, feeling regret for the first time. If he had known, he would have waited for someone to rescue them. If Yinsen died, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life! Would Yinsen die? Under normal circumstances, of course he would. In fact, before long, after running out of bullets, he was shot full of holes by the Terrorists!

"Is this finally the end?"

Yinsen fell to the ground, but he felt no fear. All he felt was relief, because his family had long since been killed by the Terrorists.

Just as Yinsen gradually sank into darkness, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind. "Do you want to know the meaning of life? Uh, sorry, wrong line. A good person like you shouldn't die!"

Yinsen passed out before he could make sense of it. No one knew that all the bullets he had been struck by were lodged in his muscles! Wang Bert, in the helicopter, smiled faintly. He had transferred some of his blood into Yinsen long ago. A good person like him should not die! After the Terrorists "killed" Yinsen, they immediately rushed inside to find Tony. At that moment, the lights suddenly went out. All the power had been diverted to activate Mark I! Next came Tony's time to shine. Furious, he emerged in the crude, rugged Mark I. The Terrorists could not stop him at all. He slaughtered them until they scattered in defeat, leaving corpses everywhere! "Yinsen!"

Looking at Yinsen lying in a pool of blood, Tony felt both rage and guilt. Roaring furiously, he charged out of the cave, only to be greeted by countless bullets that clanged loudly against his armor!

Tony was utterly fearless, because the bullets could not pierce his armor and all bounced away. He raised both arms, activating the flamethrowers as blazing fire burst toward both sides!

The Terrorists were instantly burned and wailed miserably. Their leader Raza panicked. A few dead Terrorists did not matter—he could always recruit more—but all their weapons were piled outside. If they caught fire, that would be a real disaster! Incidentally, all those weapons had been made by Stark Industries! Seeing that guns could not deal with Tony, Raza gritted his teeth, pulled out a bottle of Red Potion, and drank it in one gulp!

As soon as the potion entered his stomach, Raza's muscles immediately swelled somewhat. Feeling filled with power, he drew a scimitar and swiftly rushed in front of Mark I from the side. With one slash, he severed the air hose on Mark I's right side!

"So fast?"

Tony was somewhat shocked. He hurriedly aimed the left-side flames at Raza, but Raza nimbly circled behind Tony to the left side and slashed again, destroying all of Tony's flamethrowers!

Tony had not received combat training at this point. Foolishly, he controlled the armor to ram Raza, but Raza easily dodged. Then Raza crouched and stabbed his scimitar into a gap in Tony's left leg connector. With a snap, Tony dropped to one knee!

Mark I was far too crude. The connecting sections had no armor protection, allowing Raza to strike easily!

Seeing Raza succeed, the Terrorists cheered. Raza pressed his advantage, picking up the scimitar from the ground and repeatedly striking at the gaps in Tony's armor. Tony hurriedly fought back, but the cumbersome armor could not stop the agile Raza. He was slashed several times in quick succession. Fortunately, the leather protected him, and he did not suffer any serious injuries! "Damn it, the materials are too poor!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Tony prepared to blow up the arsenal and flee. Mark I could fly, after all. At that moment, a helicopter suddenly flew out from behind the mountain. Immediately afterward, a figure leaped down from the sky and landed on one knee with a bang, kicking up a cloud of dust! A perfect Super Hero landing—except it was a little rough on the knees!