Taking a Photo

As luck would have it, Yuri happened to be standing directly above the tunnel where Tony was being held. Sensing the gunfire beneath his feet, he quickly reached the spot right above the tunnel entrance and, showing no martial honor, tossed two grenades in.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Screams arrived right on schedule. Yuri swept a glance at the Fake Ten Rings gang members sprawled outside the tunnel, then shouted hoarsely at the Captain, who was peeking around not far away: "My dear Captain, as you can see, there's been a slight hiccup in the operation plan."

"You handle the ones outside, I'll deal with the rats inside—time is running out!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

The Captain raised his gun and shot a thug who was about to launch a desperate counterattack, responding to the newly formulated Plan B with action.

Seeing this, Yuri didn't waste any more words. He found the right stance and jumped down, facing the opening.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat..."

Machine guns crossed to lay down a curtain of bullets, cutting enemies who couldn't dodge in time in the narrow corridor in half.

Yuri's pace was slow yet steady, completely unbothered that his target might be killed first—as long as these armed thugs had even a shred of brains, they wouldn't kill their only bargaining chip.

"Clang, clang, clang...!"

Bullets struck the steel door. This heavy iron gate, once used to imprison Tony and Yinsen, had now become the last barrier for the surviving Fake Ten Rings members.

Yuri released the trigger. The machine gun's rotating barrel gradually slowed until it stopped. Behind him came hurried footsteps, along with the Captain's rapid breathing.

"Oh my god!"

After checking up and down to confirm Yuri wasn't injured, the Captain pinched his exposed skin to make sure he felt the warmth of flesh and blood. Then he leaned against the corridor wall, sighing with emotion: "I must have been blind to believe you were a sophomore on summer break. Yuri, you're actually a robot, right? Like the Terminator?"

"I wish that were the case."

Yuri knocked on the thick iron door with the machine gun muzzle, speaking helplessly: "Then I'd be able to understand what the hell they're jabbering about."

"Hey! Hey!"

Having successfully caught the attention of the Ten Rings leader, Tony nudged his chin toward Yinsen, who was bleeding profusely but still hadn't died.

His mischievous mustache twitched twice. The man cursed with knowledge spoke in the Afghan language he'd crammed over the past few days, awkwardly suggesting: "I don't know if my pronunciation is right, but you probably get what I'm saying."

"The guy outside is obviously here to rescue me. If you want to live, you'd better ensure the safety of me and my friend."

"Blah blah blah blah!"

Tony shrugged helplessly: "As you can see, you rude bastard, I have no idea what you're saying. If you don't save Yinsen, the only communication between us will be one-way."

The Gang Leader glared at him fiercely, then waved his hand to order his men to bring medical supplies and treat Yinsen.

"Phew~"

Tony let out a long breath and gestured 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 scruff of the neck and slammed his face hard against the cold door panel.

"This isn't comfortable!"

Tony was about to adjust to a more comfortable position when he felt a rifle pressed against the back of his head. His mustache twitched involuntarily. He resignedly shrugged: "Alright, fine, let's do it this way."

The Captain outside saw a bit of a face squeezed through the observation slot and cautiously approached, asking: "Mr. Tony Stark?"

"Yes! That's right!"

Tony showed his eye, and upon seeing only two people in the narrow corridor, his eyebrows jumped involuntarily: "Sorry, just asking—how many of you are there right now?"

The Captain turned to look at Yuri, who was calmly sharpening his knife, and spread his hands somewhat awkwardly: "As you can see, all elites."

"Oh my god!"

Tony rolled his eyes, feeling like there was no hope for the future.

Seeing this, the Captain quickly added: "Mr. Stark, we reported our position to the US Military before the operation. At most five minutes, and they'll be here."

Tony blinked, then suddenly rattled off the positions of everyone inside the door at lightning speed. Finally, he added: "There's also a wounded man here who's lost too much blood. I doubt he'll last five minutes."

"Dear two elites, if you can get us both out of this hell before he dies, on top of the pay you're owed, you'll get an extra ten million USD and the friendship of Tony Stark."

"What do you say, two elites?"

The Captain wanted to refuse as soon as he heard this. They'd already successfully located Tony Stark, earning a commission of one million USD each—enough to live comfortably in America for a long time.

Saving Tony would indeed net an additional twenty million USD in commission, but if the operation failed, Tony probably wouldn't die, while he and Yuri would definitely be turned into Swiss cheese by these cornered armed thugs.

"Mr. Stark, the best course of action is to wait for the US mili—"

"I agree!"

The Captain stared dumbfounded at Yuri, who had already stripped off his ammunition belt and machine gun, wrapped his head, and tucked two small daggers into his waist: "Fuck you, Yuri! Have you gone crazy from greed?"

Yuri tucked the daggers into his lower back, patted the Captain's shoulder to reassure him, and strolled over to the iron door. Taking his time, he pulled out his phone, aimed it at Tony through the gap in the door, and snapped a picture with a "click."

After making sure Tony saw the photo in the album, he handed the phone to the Captain and grinned mischievously, threatening: "If you try to welch, this photo's going online."

"Oh, you're a real bad boy."

Tony rolled his eyes and tilted his head: "So, I'll go deal with these thugs now, just so you don't get shot to pieces the second you walk in, OK?"

"OK."

Yuri nodded in response and walked up to the Captain. He looked at the masked man, whose face was stern as he carefully checked his gear, and suddenly realized he didn't even know his name!

"Uh, Captain, sir..."

"Shut up, kid!"

The Captain raised his head and shot him a fierce glare. "You've got me meeting God any second now thanks to you!"

Yuri chuckled, patted him on the shoulder, and continued, "Alright, my poor Captain, sir. You can't expect me to keep calling you 'Captain, sir' all the way up in heaven, can you?"

"What the fuck?"

The Captain looked up again, his exposed eyes full of confusion. "Did I not tell you my goddamn name?"

Yuri shrugged. "If I remember right, no, you didn't."

The man grunted a couple of times, straightened his gear, and stood up. He pulled off his left glove, slapped it against his thigh a few times, then extended his hand toward Yuri. "Max Specter. Pleasure to meet God with you!"

Yuri froze for a moment, then took off his own glove and gripped Max's hand tightly, grinning. "You won't be meeting God. Your soul belongs to the moon."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Max slammed his shoulder into Yuri's, then clapped him hard on the back. "Live, you bastard. When we get back to America, I'll introduce you to a bunch of hot girls."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The thugs inside the door fired a few rounds at the iron door, making a racket to signal the two to open it and enter. Yuri shrugged, unconcerned, and let Max step in front of him.