By pure coincidence, Yuri was standing right above the tunnel where Tony was being held. The moment he sensed gunfire beneath his feet, he hurried to the spot directly above the entrance and tossed two grenades inside without giving the enemy a fair chance.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Screams rang out right on cue. Yuri glanced at the Fake Ten Rings Gang members sprawled outside the tunnel, then shouted to the captain, who was peeking out nearby, "My dear Captain, as you can see, there's been a tiny hitch in the plan."
"You take care of the ones outside. I'll handle the rats inside. We're running out of time!"
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
The captain raised his gun and shot a thug who was preparing to make a desperate last stand, responding to the newly devised Plan B with action.
Seeing that, Yuri said no more. He got into position, faced the opening, and jumped down.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat..."
The machine guns swept across the passage in a crisscrossing barrage, cutting down the enemies who couldn't dodge in time.
Yuri advanced slowly but steadily, not worried in the least that his target might be killed first. As long as the gunmen had even a shred of sense, they wouldn't kill their only bargaining chip.
"Clang, clang, clang...!"
Bullets struck the steel door. The heavy iron door that had once held Tony and Yinsen prisoner had now become the last barrier protecting the surviving members of the Fake Ten Rings Gang.
Yuri released the trigger. The machine gun's barrel assembly gradually slowed to a stop. Behind him came hurried footsteps and the captain's ragged breathing.
"Oh my God!"
After checking Yuri over to make sure he wasn't hurt, the captain pinched his exposed skin. Only after confirming it was warm and flesh-and-blood did he lean against the passage wall, his face full of disbelief. "I must've been blind to believe you were a college sophomore working a summer job, Yuri. You're actually a robot, aren't you? Like the Terminator?"
"I wish."
Yuri tapped the thick steel door with the muzzle of his machine gun and continued helplessly, "Then I'd be able to understand what they're jabbering about."
"Hey! Hey!"
After successfully catching the leader of the Ten Rings Gang's attention, Tony gestured with his mouth toward Yinsen, who was bleeding profusely but still clinging to life.
His mischievous mustache twitched twice. The man cursed by knowledge awkwardly tried out the Afghan language he'd crammed in the past few days. "I don't know if my pronunciation is right, but you can probably understand what I'm saying."
"The guys outside are definitely here to rescue me. If you want to live, you'd better make sure my friend and I stay alive."
"Jibber-jabber, jibber-jabber!"
Tony shrugged helplessly. "As you can see, you brute, I can't understand a word you're saying. If you don't save Yinsen, the two of us will only be able to talk at you."
The gang leader glared at him fiercely, then waved for his men to bring medical supplies and treat Yinsen.
"Phew..."
Tony let out a long breath and nodded toward the door. "If you don't mind, I can negotiate with them for you."
The gang leader hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Tony by the back of the neck and slammed his face hard against the cold metal door.
"This isn't very comfortable!"
Tony was just trying to find a more comfortable position when he saw a rifle pressed against the back of his head. His mustache twitched twice on its own. He shrugged in resignation. "All right, then. This works."
The captain saw part of a face squeezed into the peephole and cautiously leaned closer. "Mr. Tony Stark?"
"Yes! That's right!"
Tony exposed his eyes. When he saw that only two people were standing in the narrow passage, his eyebrows twitched. "Sorry, can I ask how many people you have here?"
The captain glanced at Yuri, who was sharpening a knife as if nothing were happening, and spread his hands rather awkwardly. "As you can see, we're all elites."
"Oh my God!"
Tony rolled his eyes, feeling as though all hope for the future had vanished.
The captain hurried to add, "Mr. Stark, before the operation, we gave the US military our location. They'll be here in five minutes at most."
Tony blinked, then rapidly listed the positions of everyone inside the room. At the end, he added, "There's also a wounded man who's lost too much blood. I don't think he'll last another five minutes."
"My dear elites, if you can get my friend and me out of the clutches of these thugs before he dies, you'll receive an extra ten million dollars and Tony Stark's friendship, on top of the compensation you're already owed."
"Well, my two elite rescuers?"
The captain wanted to refuse as soon as he heard that. They'd already found Tony Stark and stood to earn a million dollars each. That was enough to live happily in the United States for a long time.
Rescuing Tony would earn them an additional twenty million dollars, but if the operation failed, Tony probably wouldn't die. He and Yuri, however, would definitely be riddled with bullets by the cornered gunmen.
"Mr. Stark, the best thing would be to wait for the US military to arrive..."
"I'm in!"
The captain stared in disbelief at Yuri, who had already taken off his ammunition belt and machine gun, wrapped his head, and picked up two small daggers. "Fuck you, Yuri! Have you gone crazy over money?"
Yuri tucked the daggers into the back of his waistband and patted the captain's shoulder to reassure him. Then he strolled over to the iron door, calmly took out his phone, and snapped a photo of Tony through the gap.
After making sure Tony had seen the photo in his album, Yuri handed the phone to the captain and threatened him with a smirk. "If you try to welch on the deal, I'll post this photo online."
"Oh, you really are a bad boy."
Tony rolled his eyes and tilted his head. "So I'm supposed to take care of these thugs now, so you don't get shot to pieces the moment you come in, okay?"
"Okay."
After Yuri nodded, he walked over to the captain. Looking at the masked man's serious expression as he carefully checked his gear, Yuri suddenly realized he still didn't know the man's name!
"Uh, Captain..."
"Shut up, kid!"
The captain looked up and glared at him. "You've got me about to meet God!"
Yuri chuckled and patted his shoulder again. "All right, my poor Captain. You can't expect me to keep calling you Captain when we get to heaven, can you?"
"What the fuck?"
The captain looked up again, confusion filling his one visible eye. "Didn't I tell you my name?"
Yuri shrugged. "If I remember right, you didn't."
The man grunted a couple of times, finished adjusting his gear, and stood up. He removed his left glove, slapped his thigh hard a few times, then held out his hand to Yuri. "Max Specter. I'm glad to meet God with you!"
Yuri froze for a moment, then took off his glove and clasped Max's hand tightly, smiling. "You definitely won't meet God. Your soul belongs to the moon."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Max bumped his shoulder hard and clapped him firmly on the back. "Stay alive, you little bastard. When we get back to the States, I'll introduce you to a bunch of hot girls."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The thugs inside fired a few shots at the iron door to make some noise, signaling the two men to open it and come in. Yuri shrugged and let Max stand in front of him without complaint.
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