Tearing Mark Apart

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Yinsen, trapped and unable to go home by five people, heard the knocking and instantly let out a long sigh of relief. Forcing a smile, he stood up from the Arctic Geography Study Group, which was in the middle of a heated discussion, and hurried over to open the door.

He really had no idea where his boss had found such a bunch of formidable people. At first, he could still lead the entire group in knowledge learning, but before long, the learning progress of these five—who could all read ten lines at a glance, never forget what they read, and draw inferences from one instance—had surpassed his grasp. That was fine, since learning knows no order and those who understand are teachers. Even though he couldn't keep up with everyone's progress, sitting here still let him pick up plenty of legitimate knowledge...

But as they sat there, the group's vibe suddenly shifted: things like "Based on the geological structure, I can shatter ten meters of ice with one punch, what about you?" and "From the analysis of ocean currents, is it faster to swim from the US to the Arctic or take a boat?" and "Next month's global air currents are pretty stable, I think flying there would definitely be faster than taking a plane." The key point was that at the end of every discussion, they'd seriously ask him, "What do you think, Teacher Yinsen?"

!!!

I think while sitting here!

How could someone as ordinary as me possibly participate in topics like these!?

Yinsen walked toward the shop door with a grin plastered on his face, while a torrent of curses raged in his mind. He had already decided that if Yuri assigned him any more teaching tasks in the future, he wouldn't accept them!

Absolutely not!

Peering through the peephole of the locked shop door, he saw the quiet street empty of anyone. Yinsen frowned. Could it be some night owl or junkie bored enough to knock for fun? He was about to turn back and bid the five farewell to clock out, when two narrow, elongated eyes glowing with an ethereal white light and a sharply angular red-and-gold metal helmet filled his entire view through the peephole.

"Holy shit!"

Yinsen stumbled backward in fright, about to trip over a table leg and fall, when Cheetah appeared behind him like a ghost and gently steadied him. At the same time, the other four, who had been discussing moments ago, also came to the shop door. Among them, Kate sniffed lightly, a look of disdain and contempt immediately crossing her face. She waved a hand dismissively and said, "Open the door. It's someone bringing money to the boss."

By then, Yinsen had finally calmed down. His earlier lapse was only because Tony had appeared so suddenly. Once he was composed, who would be scared by someone hiding inside a metal can?

He thanked Cheetah, who was still supporting his back, then fished out the keys from the front desk and unlocked the door. The five of them nonchalantly turned back and resumed their discussion. Watching them leave so decisively, Yinsen hesitated for a moment, called out "You can come in now" to the door, and then hurriedly chased after the five monsters who made him feel so utterly inferior.

Alright, he was still a bit scared.

"Click."

The security door was shoved open abruptly, and a red-and-gold figure slipped into the small shop like a thief, quickly shutting the door behind him. Tony let out a soft breath inside his armor, turning around as he complained, "What took you so long today, Yuri? Did you overwork yourself so much you had to lean on the wall to get downstairs?"

The not-so-loud discussions on the first floor of the shop paused instantly. The loyal Mutant five stood up in unison, glaring at the red-and-gold armor frozen in place. Among them, Vanax released a powerful aura as she approached Tony, asking discontentedly, "Are you questioning the boss's strength, foolish mortal?"

The AI Jarvis, built into the armor, spoke up at the right moment: "Mr. Stark, based on preliminary scans, aside from Mr. Yinsen, the other five individuals present—like Miss Kate, whom you recently marked for high priority—have no traceable records on the internet. It is estimated with eighty percent probability that they possess abilities comparable to Miss Kate's. Immediate retreat is advised!"

"Why aren't you answering!"

Vanax accelerated and flashed in front of Tony, her five slender fingers forming claws aimed at the armor's head. Before the armor could initiate an automatic defense, she was already N steps ahead, clamping down on Tony's faceplate. The tips of her fingers instantly transformed into sharp, razor-like claws, effortlessly leaving five shallow dents in the alloy that even bullets couldn't penetrate.

Only then did the armor's arms grab Vanax's arm. Tony, jolted back to his senses by the immense danger, heard Jarvis continuously reporting the damage to the faceplate. In just a few seconds, it went from "surface indentations" to "connecting gear damage at seventy percent"!

Tony felt as if he were gripping not an arm, but an iron rod harder than Captain America's shield. Even with the hydraulic actuators and thrusters at his fingers and arms running at overload, he couldn't budge it an inch.

"Yinsen!"

"Help me!"

Yinsen, shielded behind Shack and the other three, heard the familiar voice and asked softly in disbelief, "Tony?"

Wires sparking with electricity protruded from the connection between the faceplate and the helmet. Before Tony could answer, Vanax let out a light shout, suddenly exerted force at her wrist, and tore the entire faceplate off. Then, using her other free hand, she grabbed the armor's arm, still pushing with all its strength, twisted it, and ripped off the thruster that was spewing flames.

"Clang!"

Vanax kicked Tony away with one foot. The heavy steel armor collided with the security door, producing a loud noise. A series of mysterious golden patterns emerged, instantly dissipating the impact transmitted to the door.

"Wait! Wait!"

Seeing Vanax about to continue, Yinsen quickly squeezed out from behind the four: "Vanax, Tony and Yuri are very close friends. Besides, didn't you hear Kate say he's here to bring money... Maybe we should wait for Yuri to come down."

Vanax glanced at Tony struggling to get up from the ground, then turned to the arms-crossed, wall-leaning civet cat Kate for confirmation. Seeing her nod, Vanax clicked her tongue, looking rather unsatisfied as she muttered under her breath, "I thought I'd get a fight."

"Where's Yuri?"

Tony, one hand clutching his kicked stomach and the other bracing against the wall, struggled to his feet. He walked over to the front desk, leaning on it, his gaze dodging past the five who had returned to their discussion, landing on Yinsen hurrying over. He took a deep breath, the muscles pulling at nerves causing pain that made his handsome face twitch unnaturally: "I want to discuss compensation for employee assault."

"I don't think that's necessary."

A golden life energy flew down from the stairwell, precisely hitting the pained, stomach-clutching Tony. The five, who had barely sat down after their brief discussion, all stood up again. They looked at the handsome man slowly descending to the first floor. His aura had grown significantly stronger than before. Vanax, who had just torn off the faceplate, showed a hint of fervor in her eyes, lowering her head and speaking in a respectful tone alongside the others: "Boss!"

Yuri nodded at them, tossing a metal ball the size of a ping-pong ball up and down in his hand. He smiled slightly at Tony: "Because you're not injured at all."