Tony Stark's Self-Rescue

After Chen Changsheng calmed Dr. Otto and handled the inquiries from the New York City Government, he heard from the military about Tony Stark's kidnapping in Afghanistan.

It seemed like too many things had been happening recently, one after another, and Chen Changsheng felt he was struggling to keep up.

Umbrella Corporation faced considerable criticism due to the incident with Dr. Otto. After all, with such a large commotion and so many reporters present, it was impossible to keep it a secret.

However, it was also fortunate that Umbrella Corporation's entire revenue came from military orders and the consumption of the wealthy.

If Umbrella Corporation were a publicly traded company, its stock price would likely have plummeted to rock bottom by now. The cautionary tales of Osborn Industries and Stark Industries were still fresh in everyone's minds.

Even so, Umbrella Corporation's cash flow was experiencing some issues. The remaining tens of millions of dollars were a mere drop in the bucket for a company that relied on R&D for profit.

Tony Stark had been kidnapped. As Tony Stark's good friend, Chen Changsheng felt it was his responsibility to rescue him.

But after carefully considering the news, Chen Changsheng seemed to have an idea, a brilliant idea to fleece the capitalists.

It might not be great for Stark Industries, but since Tony Stark was his good friend, he probably wouldn't mind. His uncle, Obadiah, as the second-largest shareholder, might care, but Obadiah wasn't his good friend.

Chen Changsheng felt at ease and completely open about this.

Stark Industries' stock price had already plummeted, which was a fact. What Chen Changsheng wanted to do was to profit handsomely from the recent volatility in Stark Industries' stock. He wanted to multiply his tens of millions several times over.

Once Tony Stark returned and stabilized the situation, Chen Changsheng planned to exit. After all, profiting from his friend's misfortune wasn't exactly honorable.

He still had many things to help Tony Stark with in the future. Chen Changsheng felt it wasn't unreasonable to ask for some compensation in advance, especially since the main losses from Stark's situation were being borne by retail investors.

That's right, Chen Changsheng planned to invest his remaining funds in the stock market and use the recent news about Tony Stark to harvest some "leeks" (a metaphor for unsuspecting investors) and earn enough money. This would allow him to accumulate some working capital for Dr. Otto's experiments later on.

This was also for the progress of humanity, wasn't it? If nuclear fusion could truly be researched, wouldn't humanity take off? Chen Changsheng continuously brainwashed himself, making himself believe that these actions weren't stabbing his friend in the back.

There are no secrets that can be kept forever. Not long after Chen Changsheng invested a large sum of his capital into the stock market and began short-selling, the news of Tony Stark's kidnapping spread like wildfire, and Stark Industries' stock began to fluctuate wildly.

The soul of Stark Industries, the genius inventor and playboy Tony Stark, had an accident in Afghanistan and his whereabouts were unknown. This was indeed a captivating headline.

All sorts of capital, along with Stark Industries' shareholders and retail investors, frantically sold off their shares. The plummeting stock price made even Obadiah feel uncomfortable, as he was second only to Tony Stark in terms of his stake in this stock market fluctuation.

Chen Changsheng invested all his US dollars into the stock market, buying up Stark Industries' shares on the market without limit. At the same time, many speculators were doing the same thing as Chen Changsheng. However, these people didn't have Chen Changsheng's insider information, and their ultimate fate was uncertain.

After all, Chen Changsheng was currently at the scene of the military's rescue operation. The military's primary reason for contacting Chen Changsheng first was also due to their own intentions. The Tyrant's formidable firepower during the Lizard People incident had made the military incredibly envious.

Although General Ross had already obtained a batch of Tyrants from Chen Changsheng, once they were in Ross's hands, there was no way they would come out. General Ross had a strong background and held real power, so the military brass couldn't do anything about him. Thus, their attention turned back to Umbrella Corporation.

The military wanted to transfer the latest batch of Tyrants to Afghanistan to eliminate the terrorists. This batch of Tyrants would rely on Chen Changsheng. After all, when it came to high-end weapons, it was a seller's market. Even if the customer was God, the military had to humbly request Chen Changsheng to speed up production.

Of course, some Tyrants originally belonged to the military, and the military had already paid for them. Chen Changsheng naturally had no reason to object. However, the military's Tyrants and nutrient pods were still under construction. Even if Chen Changsheng delivered the Tyrants on time, the military wouldn't be able to maintain their normal operation for an extended period. This would require technical support from Umbrella.

Umbrella Corporation had been farsighted and had researched mobile nutrient pods early on. This time, they could be directly airlifted to Afghanistan using planes.

With Chen Changsheng's permission, the military breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this rescue mission was an assault. If they relied on ordinary soldiers, they didn't know how many casualties there would be. Tyrants were better – stable and reliable, and there was no compensation to pay if they were destroyed.

Furthermore, a batch of the equipment boxes developed by Dr. Otto had already been produced. Chen Changsheng would bring all of them this time. Since they were going to be showcased, they naturally had to be presented in their best state.

The military spent a considerable amount on "skin" fees. Chen Changsheng also very practically added more colors to the coffins behind the Tyrants, making their exteriors more futuristic.

With their sci-fi appearance and blue and white color scheme, they looked even more American.

Chen Changsheng also had some personal ulterior motives for this mission to Afghanistan.

The terrorists who kidnapped Tony Stark were not ordinary terrorists. They were a group of terrorists from the distant East, the legendary Ten Rings.

Legend spoke of ten rings possessing various abilities, and a leader with extraordinary power and a long lifespan. Although Chen Changsheng was very tempted by the Ten Rings, he fundamentally did not want to have anything to do with these strange people.

Therefore, Chen Changsheng completely removed all traces of association with Umbrella Corporation from the Tyrants sent to Afghanistan. Even their equipment consisted of standard US military firearms, and their paint jobs were typical of the US military.

If there were any trouble later, they should look for the US military, not Umbrella Corporation.

Even with America's strength, it took considerable effort to locate the base of the terrorists who kidnapped Tony Stark.

The main reason was that the terrorists had rescued Tony Stark, and it took Tony a considerable amount of time to recover from his injuries. During that period, the terrorists remained holed up in their caves.

Finally, after the opening of the dollar and the threat of force, the US military obtained Tony Stark's exact location.

Subsequently, a plan was formulated to rescue Tony Stark.

As the technical support representative for Umbrella Corporation, Chen Changsheng participated in the entire process, thus knowing the course of events like the back of his hand.

If you can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author, perhaps the name has changed!

Of course, this was also intentional on Chen Changsheng's part, as a technician shouldn't normally be involved in the planning process.

However, in order to harvest the stock market, Chen Changsheng shamelessly obtained some insider information. But what insider information could compare to personally participating?

At this moment, Tony Stark, deep in the mountains of Afghanistan, was in a dark cave, working on his Arc Reactor. Tony Stark could no longer bear the weight of a huge battery hanging from his chest.

Who would have thought that not long ago, he, Tony Stark, was drinking fine wine in the bustling metropolis of New York, surrounded by beautiful models, enjoying the ultimate life?

But a simple weapons demonstration had led him into the hands of a group of terrorists.

The money he earned wasn't enough to make up for this suffering...

Initially, Tony Stark was arrogant, believing that since the terrorists had kidnapped him, they must have wanted something from him.

Whether it was for money or something else, he would be fearless and could negotiate.

However, after being beaten up, Tony Stark became a little clearer-headed. After all, the terrorists had truly resorted to violence, and the pain was real.

The reason Tony Stark was still alive at this moment was partly thanks to Dr. Ethan's timely rescue, and partly thanks to the new rapid recovery serum Chen Changsheng had given him before leaving.

At that time, a shell painted with the Stark Industries logo landed near Tony Stark. The violent explosion had turned his latest bulletproof vest into a sieve.

Blood poured from Tony Stark like a faucet; within a minute, he had collapsed, unconscious.

If not for the recovery serum Chen Changsheng had given him beforehand, Stark would have already kicked the bucket.

It was precisely because Tony Stark absorbed the recovery serum from Chen Changsheng that he was able to survive Dr. Ethan's surgery.

After all, Dr. Ethan had cut open Stark's chest, slice by slice, and the process of removing shrapnel was quite perilous.

Perhaps it was due to absorbing the serum, but the injuries that would normally take over a year to heal were almost completely recovered in such a short time. If it weren't for a piece of shrapnel still lodged in Tony Stark's heart, he would likely be up and about already.

Being in the terrorists' stronghold, facing a life-or-death crisis at all times, made Tony Stark's mind exceptionally clear. Ideas he'd never had before surfaced one after another, and concepts for various weapons emerged endlessly.

This was also the fault of the terrorists, who insisted Tony Stark manufacture Jericho missiles… which led Tony to constantly think of creating weapons to wipe these terrorists out.

With a clear mind, anything was possible. Miniaturizing the Arc Reactor, something Tony Stark would never have considered before. It was his father's masterpiece, and the Arc Reactor had already reached its peak development.

But in this terrifying place, Tony Stark miraculously created a small Arc Reactor, replacing the bulky, old battery.

Of course, Tony Stark didn't just create the small Arc Reactor in those few months. In a corner of the cave, amidst a pile of scattered parts, lay his latest escape weapon: the Mark I Iron Man Armor.

Building an Iron Man suit with his own hands—geniuses truly were beyond ordinary imagination. If Chen Changsheng had this ability, he probably wouldn't want that bug nest, it's quite ugly.

The terrorists had been feeding Tony Stark for months for nothing, and their patience was wearing thin.

They provided whatever Tony Stark asked for, but still had nothing to show for it, making them feel like Tony Stark was toying with them.

The terrorist leader decided to teach Tony Stark another lesson and, at the same time, set a deadline for him, to let Tony Stark understand why terrorists are terrorists.

According to Tony Stark's plan, his armor would be completed in a few more days, and then he could wear his armor to slaughter all the terrorists. Therefore, Tony Stark and Ethan had been exceptionally leisurely lately, even playing a few games of chess happily at times.

Tony Stark won another round against Ethan and was about to mock his friend gleefully when the terrorist leader stormed into the cave with his men.

With a wave of his hand, two subordinates dragged Dr. Ethan aside and pinned him firmly to the ground.

The incident happened too suddenly, and Tony Stark couldn't react immediately. But seeing the dark muzzle pressed against Ethan's head, Tony Stark forced himself to calm down, his voice as steady as possible, and said, "What are you doing? Let him go. I need his help."

The terrorist leader was direct, telling Tony his plan: he had to complete the Jericho missile within three days, or he would die.

To appease the terrorists and save Dr. Ethan, Tony Stark could only agree to their demands. Tony Stark knew the terrorists weren't joking; after all, killing someone was hardly a big deal to them.

After the terrorists left the cave, Stark realized this was no tourist spot and that leaving as soon as possible was the best course of action.

As for building the Jericho missile in three days, that was nonsense; he, Tony Stark, hadn't even started.

In the following days, Tony Stark accelerated the manufacturing of his Iron Man armor. Just two days later, Tony Stark completed the nearly finished Iron Man armor.

Following the plan, Tony Stark began importing the program into the Iron Man armor, but the cave's limited conditions and the old computer made the program writing process extremely slow.

Tony Stark and Ethan's prolonged absence from the surveillance cameras also drew the terrorists' attention, and soon someone came to investigate what they were up to.

The terrorist who came to check the situation accidentally triggered a trap set by Tony and Ethan. The huge explosion attracted more terrorists.

At this point, Tony Stark's Iron Man armor program was not yet fully imported, but if the two of them stayed there any longer, they would be torn to shreds.

To give Tony Stark a chance to escape the terrorists' lair, Dr. Ethan resolutely picked up a rifle from the ground and charged into the cave, intending to buy Stark some time.