Socially Dead Tony Stark

Dr. Ethan went solo, transforming into a lone gunslinger. Gripping an AK, he charged into the cave. To draw the terrorists' attention and buy Tony Stark time, Dr. Ethan fired as he advanced.

The enormous gunshots echoed through the cave, and the terrorists temporarily didn't dare approach Dr. Ethan.

After all, everyone only had one life. It was their own, and once it was gone, everything was over. Thus, despite Dr. Ethan's rampage, not a single terrorist dared to step forward and stop him. The quality of the terrorists was obvious.

Even so, unfamiliar with the terrain, Dr. Ethan was gradually driven back by the terrorists, and his area of movement continued to shrink.

The intense gunfire from the terrorist base also attracted the attention of the US Military special forces and the Tyrant Support Squad, who had been preparing to attack.

A group of professional commanders was caught off guard by the sudden situation, but with the arrow on the bowstring, they had no choice but to fire.

The assault force quickly launched its attack according to the original plan. Under the cover of the Tyrant Support Squad, the special forces rapidly entered the base and began a one-sided massacre.

The terrorists, practically all armed with AKs, were utterly helpless before the Tyrants' overwhelming firepower. Whenever the blue-glowing Gatling guns roared, the terrorists present immediately scattered in all directions. Everyone scrambled to leave, afraid of becoming an innocent soul beneath the Gatling fire.

The few terrorists who picked up heavy weapons were blown apart by the rocket launchers the Tyrants carried with them. The scene was truly like wolves charging into a flock of sheep. The battle began advancing toward the planned outcome with overwhelming speed.

Inside the cave, Tony Stark listened to the gunfire outside and unconsciously swallowed. Was Dr. Ethan really that fierce? He'd made the commotion of an entire reinforced platoon all by himself.

Why were the explosions so loud? Had Yinsen blown up an ammunition depot?

Everyone understood the principle that a wise man did not stand beneath a dangerous wall, but Chen Changsheng still appeared at the scene. The level of danger here was utterly insignificant to Chen Changsheng.

It was worth mentioning that Colonel Rhodes had actually come to the front line of the assault with the rescue force. At first, Rhodes had thought that charging into the terrorists' lair for his close friend would move the US Military soldiers, and becoming America's most touching hero would be easy.

But he had never expected the Tyrant Support Squad to be so fierce. They were completely suppressing the terrorists.

The special forces behind the Tyrants barely had any chance to fire. As long as a terrorist entered a Tyrant's field of vision, a burst of bullets immediately tore through them, leaving severed limbs everywhere and filling the area with screams.

Even Colonel Rhodes, who prided himself on having seen plenty of major battles, fell silent. The battle-hardened special forces soldiers, meanwhile, began worrying about their futures. It seemed the future battlefields were going to be a little too dangerous...

Protected by the special forces, Chen Changsheng and Colonel Rhodes slowly advanced deeper into the terrorists' cave. Because there were too many side passages, their group grew smaller and smaller as they went.

In the end, only Chen Changsheng and Colonel Rhodes remained together. Colonel Rhodes was fully armed and carried an M16 rifle. In terms of equipment, he looked extremely professional.

Chen Changsheng, on the other hand, wore a black hooded baseball jacket without even a bulletproof vest. The only remotely offensive weapon in his hands was a small pistol.

Fortunately, the Tyrants had already broken through ahead of them, and most of the terrorists had been cleared out. Chen Changsheng and Rhodes didn't see a single terrorist along the way.

All around them came the special forces soldiers' reports of "secure." Chen Changsheng and Rhodes gradually relaxed their vigilance. Terrorists were called terrorists because they were always few in number and were not accepted by the majority.

Under the Tyrants' slaughter, the terrorists inside the cave had probably been completely wiped out.

As the gunfire drew closer, Tony Stark grew anxious. The continuous Gatling fire was not a weapon Dr. Ethan could carry.

Just as Tony Stark was becoming unbearably anxious and glancing toward the entrance again and again, a soft ding attracted his attention.

Following the sound, Tony Stark saw that the program for his armor had finished transmitting.

A delighted smile immediately spread across Tony Stark's face. Tony felt that his hunting hour had arrived.

Tony Stark had always been confident in the weapons he designed and researched. This was the confidence of a genius, and the confidence of a weapons tycoon.

Once the transmission was complete, the armor began activating. Amid the clanking sounds, Tony Stark twisted his body a few times, quickly adapting to his new equipment.

Fully prepared, Tony Stark drove the armor out of the cave where he had been staying. He happened to see a figure even taller than himself in armor. Without time to think, Tony Stark instinctively punched it.

With the armor's enhancement, a punch from Tony Stark would have been enough to break an ordinary person's bones. Yet when that punch struck the tall figure, it didn't make the slightest difference.

Tony Stark felt as if his powerful punch had landed in wet mud. Aside from the soft sensation at the start, there was nothing else.

The instant the tall figure was attacked by Tony Stark, it began fighting back. The distance was too close to use firearms, and besides, the Tyrant was carrying a Gatling gun on its back.

The Tyrant swung its sandbag-sized fist at Tony Stark. As a playboy, Tony Stark naturally couldn't withstand it. Besides, Tony had only recently recovered his health.

As Tony Stark and the tall figure engaged in close combat, the people following behind quickly launched an attack.

A burst of bullets sprayed toward Tony Stark, striking his armor with a constant clang and leaving the Iron Man Armor on the verge of falling apart.

In the chaos, Tony Stark failed to notice that every bullet had struck only his armor, while the figure beside him hadn't been hit even once. If Tony had realized it, he definitely would have cursed.

Tony Stark, clad in the Mark I Iron Man Armor, was easily beaten by the tall figure's combination of punches and left utterly unable to fight back.

The Iron Man Armor's shock absorption was not very good at this point. It could even be said that it had none at all. After being hammered relentlessly, Tony Stark felt as if dozens of burly men had taken turns beating him. Every inch of his body was unbearably sore.

Fortunately, the armor's protective ability was still decent. Even after such brutal treatment, Tony Stark inside it hadn't suffered overly serious injuries. At most, he had a swollen and battered face.

Feeling the impact of fists against his armor and hearing the bullets clanging against it, Tony Stark felt that escape was hopeless.

The tremendous force of the bullets also made it impossible for Tony Stark to stand steadily. In the end, he begged through the armor, "Okay, okay, I surrender! Stop hitting me! It hurts like hell..."

Hearing the plea from the person in the strange armor, Colonel Rhodes, the special forces commander who had just arrived, felt that the voice sounded familiar. But the enemy had surrendered, so Rhodes looked toward Chen Changsheng and signaled for him to make the Tyrant stop.

Chen Changsheng looked at the crude Mark I. It was practically an iron can. Seeing that Tony Stark inside was about to be beaten to death, he immediately ordered the Tyrant, who was pummeling Tony Stark, to stop.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

"?? English." Dazed from the beating, Tony Stark found the English voice incredibly familiar and comforting. It was as if he had heard heavenly music.

Ever since arriving in this cave, he had heard no one speak English apart from Dr. Ethan. The terrorists all spoke languages he couldn't understand, and they didn't pay him any attention.

The terrorists had always spoken in local dialects. Their incomprehensible chatter made communication with Tony Stark impossible. If Dr. Ethan hadn't been a local, Tony Stark might have been shot hundreds of times already for his occasional sarcasm.

Now that he heard a familiar language, Tony Stark instantly felt like crying tears of joy.

He silently reached up and removed the Iron Man Armor helmet from his head, then muttered, "Okay, okay, stop hitting me. I surrender..."

At that moment, Tony Stark was still planning to endure the humiliation for now and settle accounts with these terrorists later. He had no idea that after removing his helmet, he was about to experience the first truly socially mortifying moment of his life...

After removing his helmet, Tony Stark finally had time to clearly examine the terrorists before him.

The first thing he saw was the full appearance of the tall figure that had just beaten him. It was a giant wearing a gas mask and a US Military uniform. More importantly, it had a camouflage coffin strapped to its back.

Even Tony Stark, whose tongue was notoriously sharp, was left speechless by the bizarre outfit. Carrying a coffin onto the battlefield—what kind of operation was that?

Behind the giant were several other similarly huge figures. The only person who looked familiar to Tony was a Black man in a US Military uniform hiding behind the tall figure.

Looking at that familiar Black face, Tony Stark's expression became complicated. Could this guy be Rhodey?

Just as Tony Stark was afraid to acknowledge him, another familiar Chinese face appeared beside Colonel Rhodes. It was Chen Changsheng.

Unfortunately, Chen Changsheng was also holding a camera that was still running, and its lens was pointed directly at Tony Stark...

The scene became awkward for a moment. Even the joy of having survived failed to stir any emotion in Tony Stark's heart.

Looking at Rhodes and Chen Changsheng's strange expressions as they struggled to hold back their laughter, Tony hesitated before saying dryly, "You aren't going to tell anyone about this, are you?"

Chen Changsheng and Rhodes answered with unrestrained laughter. The Tyrants behind Colonel Rhodes and Chen Changsheng, however, continued standing guard without the slightest reaction.

Having received his answer, Tony Stark despairingly closed his eyes, put his helmet back on, and quickly ran past Chen Changsheng.

As he passed Chen Changsheng, he casually smashed the camera onto the ground. This time, he had truly destroyed the evidence.

Tony felt that he needed to vent. Otherwise, he might die of embarrassment...

The targets of Tony's venting were the terrorists inside this cave.

When Tony Stark drove his armor out of the cave, ready to go on a killing spree, he discovered that all the terrorists had already been captured or killed by the US Military. In a camp of several hundred people, he couldn't find a single person left for him to vent on.

The only thing left outside the cave for Tony Stark to vent his anger on was the mountain of weapons. The initials of Stark Industries were stamped on them, making Tony Stark even more furious. In the end, he set the whole pile ablaze.

Amid the flames released by the explosions, Tony Stark activated the armor's propulsion mode and flew into the sky.

Tony Stark felt that he shouldn't appear here again. He never wanted to return. This place was truly heartbreaking.

Tony Stark's ascent into the sky drew startled cries from the US Military soldiers present.

Tony Stark was still quite famous in the eyes of most Americans in this world. Watching a legendary figure with their own eyes made these ordinary people feel honored.

Unfortunately, Tony Stark couldn't stay cool for more than three seconds. After flying only a short distance, the armor ran out of power, and he began falling toward the ground.

As sparks flickered across the armor, Tony glided headfirst into the desert.

With the sand dune rapidly approaching, Tony Stark's mind became strangely calm. Destroy me. I'm tired...

Meanwhile, Dr. Ethan, who had been fighting the terrorists inside the cave, had also lost his life.

Dr. Ethan had been shot more than once during the battle. Judging from the amount of blood he had lost, Chen Changsheng felt that there should be enough bullets inside him to weigh a pound.

Chen Changsheng had wanted to save Dr. Ethan, but it was too late for anything now. Even if Chen Changsheng preserved his body, it would probably only be a soulless shell.

Actually, Chen Changsheng was somewhat worried. If Dr. Ethan didn't die, might something else happen? For example, Iron Man might never appear, and Tony might remain a playboy. How would things continue after that?

After receiving a report from the soldiers outside that Tony Stark had flown away from the terrorist base in a strange armor before losing control and crashing, Colonel Rhodes hurriedly led a group of people to search for Tony Stark.

Colonel Rhodes wanted to curse. He was furious at his best friend's irresponsible behavior.

Rhodes prayed that Tony hadn't been killed by the fall. If he had survived the terrorists only to die by his own weapon, that would truly be the greatest joke in the world. The US Military's operation might become a laughingstock as well.

Fortunately, on his first powered flight, Tony Stark hadn't dared fly too high. His injuries weren't severe, and he had only been knocked unconscious.

Chen Changsheng, however, had no chance to see Tony again. The socially dead Tony Stark had already taken his private jet back to New York City for treatment.

Chen Changsheng also promptly notified his stock manager, preparing to sell off a batch of shares at a high price once Tony Stark appeared in public and make a small profit. When Tony announced the closure of the weapons division, he would begin buying Stark Industries stock back at a low price and officially start harvesting the leeks.

With one move in and one move out, Chen Changsheng felt that he was going to make a fortune. As the saying went, even the best inside information couldn't compare to taking part personally.