It had to be said that Tony Stark truly was a genius.
Even in such harsh conditions, he had still successfully created that Small Arc Reactor.
Just as it had played out in the plot of Iron Man 1.
Of course, because of Fang Mo's appearance as an unpredictable factor, Stark was not trying to build the MK1 Armor and escape in it as he had in the original story.
Naturally, Yinsen had not died because of that.
However, after witnessing the terrorists' atrocities firsthand, a seed of change had already been planted in Stark's heart. It was only a matter of time before it blossomed and bore fruit.
For example, right now.
The three of them had originally agreed to leave this place immediately.
But after leaving the cave, Stark suddenly changed his mind.
He saw countless weapons and missiles piled throughout the valley, every one of them marked with the name Stark Industries, and it made him feel miserable.
So he could not help saying to the other two, "Can you wait for me a moment? I think I may have forgotten something important. I need to take care of it."
"What is it?"
Yinsen asked in confusion.
"I have to destroy these weapons." Stark's expression was complicated. "I... all right, honestly, I never imagined these weapons would end up in terrorists' hands. I thought they would bring peace to the world, but it seems I was wrong."
"The weapons themselves are not at fault, Stark."
Yinsen tried to comfort him.
"I know, but I can't escape my own conscience." Stark shook his head. "You know? Even those terrorists were mocking me. They said Tony Stark was the most terrifying murderous maniac in the world."
"All right, then what are you planning to do?"
Yinsen asked.
"Give me some time."
Stark explained, "I can make a Delayed Detonation Device to make sure these weapons do not fall into the hands of other terrorists..."
For a genius who could build an Arc Reactor with his bare hands, Stark finished the detonator almost with his eyes closed. Not long after the three left the valley, a deafening explosion rang out across the desert, and blinding flames nearly dyed half the sky red.
Across the boundless desert, there was nothing but scorching yellow sand aside from a few cacti.
That monotonous color stretched all the way to the edge of their vision. The blazing Sun had driven the temperature to terrible heights, and even the air had turned into visible waves of heat.
Before long, Tony and Yinsen began showing signs of dehydration and even seemed on the verge of heatstroke.
Yet Fang Mo, by contrast, looked as leisurely as though he were strolling through a forest in the early morning, without the slightest trace of discomfort on his face.
He even somehow pulled out several large cucumbers and used them to replenish their water.
As Stark and Yinsen chewed the crisp, juicy cucumbers, surprise and envy rose in their hearts. Fang Mo seemed to be full of mysteries; the more they interacted with him, the more they sensed how miraculous and extraordinary he was.
As for Fang Mo himself.
He had actually realized it back when they first encountered the terrorists.
Steve, the other half of Fang Mo's soul, had shared all of Steve's traits with him.
By now, Fang Mo's body had been completely digitized.
When he had clashed with the terrorists earlier, a bullet had gone straight through his skull. Yet all it did was leave a small hole, which was quickly refreshed away.
As everyone knew, Steve had no thirst mechanic. As long as his hunger bar was full, he could run briskly through snowfields or deserts alike. He felt neither cold nor heat and never grew tired. Even if he suffered near-fatal injuries, he could recover completely within seconds.
After inheriting those traits, Fang Mo had practically become a monster through and through.
It was precisely because of Fang Mo's help that Yinsen and Stark had managed to hold on. As the sound of helicopters drew closer and closer, the two of them excitedly waved their hands.
The helicopter quickly spotted them on the ground and slowly descended nearby.
The moment the cabin door opened, a brawny dark-skinned soldier rushed out. Fang Mo recognized him at once. This was Tony Stark's best friend and the future War Machine, Colonel Rhodes.
"Was the Happy Jeep ride comfortable?"
Upon seeing Stark, Colonel Rhodes visibly relaxed and teased him with a smile.
Stark said nothing, merely showing a relieved smile.
"Next time, ride with me, all right?" Colonel Rhodes patted Stark on the shoulder, and then the two shared a deep embrace, their brotherhood plain to see.
"These two are...?"
Only after greeting Stark did Colonel Rhodes notice Fang Mo and Yinsen beside him.
"Hello, my name is Yinsen."
Yinsen smiled and extended a hand. "I am a surgeon."
"And you?"
Colonel Rhodes shook Yinsen's hand, then turned his gaze toward Fang Mo.
"A man was trapped in the desert for five years. When discovered, he was wearing Diamond Armor worth hundreds of millions and claimed to be an MC player." Compared to the honest Yinsen, Fang Mo's introduction was clearly much less serious.
"What?"
Colonel Rhodes froze.
"I am Fang Mo, merely a Stand User passing by," Fang Mo said again.
"..."
Rhodey said nothing, but instinctively became wary, his right hand unconsciously moving to the gun at his waist.
"Hey, Rhodey, don't be so tense."
Stark naturally noticed it too. After spending some time together, his attitude toward Fang Mo had softened somewhat. Fang Mo's abilities might be strange and powerful, and he often gave Stark trouble with his words, but he did not seem like some irredeemably evil person. At most, he was a little crazy. "They both saved my life. We agreed to return to the United States together."
"Is that so?"
Only after hearing Stark say that did Colonel Rhodes slowly lower his guard.
Though his heart was full of questions, he knew this was not the right time to ask them. So he waved a hand and beckoned the three of them aboard the helicopter first.
The helicopter soon took off. Of course, it did not fly directly back to New York, instead heading for the nearest military base. The journey was still far too long, so they transferred to a military transport plane.
Not long afterward, the transport plane arrived at a military base in New York.
The cabin door slowly opened. Pepper Potts, who had received the news long ago, and Happy, the butler, were already waiting there.
"Your eyes seem a little red."
After changing into a clean suit at the military base, Stark's air of swagger had clearly returned. He slowly walked toward his little secretary. "Let me guess, don't tell me you shed tears for your long-missing boss?"
"Because I'm happy."
Potts's eyes were red, but she smiled. "I finally don't have to look for a new job."
"Oh, right."
Stark raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Your vacation is over."
After their brief exchange, Stark introduced Yinsen and Fang Mo to Potts. Then they got into the car, and at Stark's instruction, Happy floored the accelerator and drove straight to the nearest burger shop.
After eating and drinking their fill, Stark immediately held a press conference.
No matter the country, reporters were always the fastest species alive. Especially for a press conference held by Tony Stark, the richest man in the world, they would never miss it.
And Stark did not disappoint them.
He dropped a bombshell: Stark Industries' weapons division would be shut down.
In an instant, the whole of society seemed to tremble. Shareholders erupted in fury, all kinds of news flooded in, and every level of Stark Company was immediately thrown into chaos.
Yet Stark, the man responsible for all of it, did not care in the slightest.
After settling Yinsen and Fang Mo in, he plunged straight into his laboratory and did not emerge.
As for Fang Mo.
He did not go disturb Stark.
Having read the original story, Fang Mo knew Stark had not gone mad. He merely wanted to seize that fleeting spark of inspiration in his mind. After all, now that he had a Small Arc Reactor, could Iron Armor really be far away?
Besides, setting Stark aside, Fang Mo himself also needed some time to run experiments.
It could not be helped. Fang Mo had only just entered the Marvel world, and many of his Stand-in ability traits had not yet been tested. Rather than suffer losses in a future crisis because he did not understand those traits, he might as well test them thoroughly now.
Combining his earlier experiences with a series of detailed tests.
Fang Mo finally gained a complete understanding of his Stand-in ability.
First came strength.
Fang Mo discovered that his physical strength was terrifying. Killing someone with a single punch would not be a problem at all.
Fang Mo guessed it was because he shared life with his Stand. Since his body had already been digitized, it had naturally surpassed human limits. Steve could smash apart a tree trunk a meter wide with his bare hands, so why could he not do the same?
Aside from becoming stronger, Fang Mo discovered something else.
Likely because of the Moving Mod, Fang Mo's Stand moved extremely nimbly in the real world, nothing like its stiff, rigid movements in the game. It could even spin the Iron Sword in a flourish while suspended in midair.
Of course, aside from all this good news, Fang Mo also discovered a very serious problem.
Steve could not gather resources in the real world.
Back in the cave, Fang Mo had tried making Steve mine the rocks. Sure enough, a cubic meter of rock disappeared from the wall, but he found no dropped items.
Still unwilling to give up, Fang Mo dug up a Cactus along the way, but the result was the same.
A section of the Cactus had indeed vanished, but it dropped nothing.
Fortunately, the blocks Steve had brought from the MC world were not restricted by this. They could not only be placed freely, but also mined back up again, which made Fang Mo breathe a little easier.
Aside from the traits mentioned above.
Fang Mo also discovered another trait that fascinated him greatly.
He controlled Steve to take an apple from his inventory and hand it to him.
The apple in Steve's hand still retained MC's distinctive pixel-art style, but when Fang Mo reached out and touched it, there was a flash of white light. The pixelated apple instantly became a real red apple.
This process was irreversible.
Fang Mo tried to stuff the apple back into Steve's hands, but failed.
"I see..."
After some research and comparison, Fang Mo nodded subconsciously. "Items from the MC world can be converted into items in the real world, but not the other way around... So this is a one-way circulation rule?"
As he thought, Fang Mo suddenly noticed the Ender Hand in Steve's inventory, and an idea immediately struck him. "Then if something that does not exist in this world at all is converted..."
"What will it become?"
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