The desert nights were especially cold. Subzero temperatures seemed to bore through flesh and seep into the bones. Even with the windows shut tight and the heater on, the chill kept creeping into the car.
Frank rested with his eyes closed, wrapped in a sleeping bag.
Hong Fei's eyes glimmered faintly red as he drove swiftly through the darkness before dawn.
Across the open wilderness, aside from nocturnal animals hunting for prey, there were almost no signs of any other living activity.
That made Hong Fei's tracking much easier.
As he drove onto a nearly straight road, Hong Fei continuously analyzed every trace of Qi before him.
After a long while, he spotted a cluster of yellow particles by the roadside.
In the game, that usually represented the droppings left behind by some creature.
Locking onto that trace, Hong Fei sharply turned the wheel. The vehicle charged off the road like a beast, plunging into terrain littered with weeds and gravel.
The violent jolting woke Frank. Seeing Hong Fei's excited expression, he could not help asking, "Found them?"
"Most likely." Hong Fei nodded lightly.
Ahead of the vehicle, rows of footprints stood out with perfect clarity.
After crossing a low hill, Hong Fei drove the vehicle into a field of massive rocks and slowly brought it to a stop.
"That should be close enough. They should be nearby. You set up concealment; I'll go find them."
Frank nodded at once. Their division of labor was clear. He had once served in the Marine Corps, making him ideal for concealment work. Since Hong Fei excelled at tracking, he was naturally the best choice for locating people.
After getting out of the car, Hong Fei did not deliberately bring a rifle, nor did he put on a helmet. He already had a dagger and a pistol holstered along the side of his right leg.
Climbing onto a rocky outcrop, he saw that the glowing footprints ahead had suddenly multiplied. That meant the enemy had been frequently active here.
He bent low and lightened his steps as he continued forward along the footprints. Soon, Hong Fei discovered a red figure lying prone amid a patch of shrubs.
Without activating the Shinigami Eye, it would have been difficult to spot the person in the dim light unless he had used an infrared thermal imager.
Hong Fei lay flat on the ground and continued observing with all his focus. Before long, he found another five enemies scattered around the area. Connecting their positions into an arc and then locating its center, he found a bare rocky hill.
Hong Fei did not dare let down his guard. He stared intently at the mountain without blinking, and sure enough, he eventually caught sight of a fleeting figure.
The red body had merely shifted slightly before vanishing again as though it had turned invisible.
A cave!
Hong Fei immediately understood.
This was a bit troublesome. Since the enemy had chosen a cave as their hideout, it would be difficult for Hong Fei to quickly determine their exact numbers. Judging from the six sentries stationed around the perimeter, he estimated that there were probably around twenty people gathered inside the cave.
After memorizing the location, Hong Fei slowly crawled backward. Only after retreating dozens of meters did he rise and sprint away.
When he returned to the vehicle, Frank had already set up a concealed shelter. Seeing Hong Fei come back, he asked, "Did you find them?"
"Yeah." Hong Fei truthfully told him what he had discovered.
Frank held a tablet and looked over the map. "You said they'll definitely attack that arms dealer. Then the best place for them to launch the attack would be the highway over two hundred meters from their position. There are scattered bushes, rock piles, and a small hill there—enough cover to hide in. It's also the end of a straight stretch of highway, where people are more likely to lower their guard."
Hong Fei nodded and humbly asked, "You're right. So where should we set our trap?"
Frank raised an eyebrow. "If you really want to save that arms dealer, then we should wipe out these armed men right now. There's a Mortar in the vehicle. I'm confident I can bury them directly inside that cave."
Hong Fei immediately shook his head.
"No, no. If we kill them now, who can prove they were definitely going to attack the convoy tomorrow? If someone refuses to admit it, wouldn't we go from saving someone to kidnapping someone?"
Frank looked somewhat stunned, his expression seeming to say: Isn't that exactly what we're doing?
Hong Fei smacked his lips. There was simply no way to explain this.
The key was that if Tony had not been blown up by one of his own weapons and had not faced the threat of death from shrapnel lodged in his body, would he still have the motivation to develop a reactor? Without a reactor, what would Hong Fei even want with Tony?
Was he supposed to ask him for an autograph?
What kind of international joke was that?
After pondering for several seconds, Hong Fei added, "We'll stick to the original plan. We aren't bodyguards. There's no need to clear the road for him. We'll show ourselves after these armed men make their move."
Frank had no objection. Or rather, he had already guessed Hong Fei would make that decision. Pointing at the map, he said, "Then our ambush point will be here."
Hong Fei glanced at it before turning to look at the cliff behind them.
"This area has the clearest field of view. It's less than five hundred meters in a straight line from where they're likely to strike, and they probably won't pass through this area when they launch their attack, so the chance of exposure is extremely low. As long as we take this position, whether we use artillery or snipers, we can make sure they have nowhere to hide."
"Excellent. We'll do it that way!"
The two of them each slung a sniper rifle over their backs, then worked together to carry the Mortar and shells to the mountaintop. Seeing that there was still plenty of time, Frank took the initiative and said, "You drove for most of the night. Get some rest. I'll keep watch."
Hong Fei did not stand on ceremony. He climbed into his sleeping bag and put on an eye mask.
The moon set and the sun rose, and the temperature began climbing rapidly. Hong Fei was soon awakened by the heat.
He crawled out of the sleeping bag and saw Frank sitting on the ground, carefully wiping his scope.
"Looking at you, aren't you afraid they'll just attack us directly?"
Without changing his expression, Frank said, "They've already gone over there and set up their ambush. Twenty-four people. They planted mines on the road. They have machine guns, rocket launchers, and even a missile vehicle."
"So diligent?" Hong Fei raised his binoculars and scanned the surroundings. Activating the Shinigami Eye, he immediately found them several hundred meters away. The twenty-four men were hidden at varying distances along one side of the road, leaving no visible trace. Their missile vehicle was parked at the foot of a hill a kilometer away, perfectly concealed by several intersecting ridges.
Frank's brows rose slightly. "It looks like they aren't planning a kidnapping. They're planning to silence someone permanently."
Of course they were. Obadiah did not want Tony to make it back alive. But these armed men had failed to kill the absurdly lucky Tony at first and had instead recognized him. They immediately used that as leverage to demand more payment from Obadiah. On the other hand, adhering to the principle of making full use of resources, they forced Tony to build the Jericho Missile that had recently caused such a huge commotion.
Who could have expected that before they ever saw the Jericho Missile, Tony would build the Mark I Armor and send them to meet Marx instead?
"You're right. They really are here to kill someone. But they don't know their target is Tony Stark, the weapons inventor. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't be willing to do it."
"Then aren't you afraid he'll actually die? Wouldn't everything you've done be for nothing?"
Hong Fei smiled. "Of course he'll die. Just not this time, I think."
It was a risk he had to take. If Tony really died, Hong Fei would accept it. He would treat it as paying money to witness a hero who fell before he could rise. It would hurt a little, but the ticket price would not be too much of a loss.
Hong Fei had thought it through carefully.
After all, he could not just run up to Tony and say he would make sure Tony did not die while also making sure Tony got blown up by a missile.
That would be idiotic.
Even if he stepped in to remove Tony's immediate danger, then found some way to make Tony rack his brain and build a miniature reactor, Tony still would not simply hand that reactor over to Hong Fei. Worse, it would take too long, and the odds of unforeseen events occurring would skyrocket. It was far too inefficient!
So, waiting until he was attacked and then directly snatching him away was the best option.
At two in the afternoon, Hong Fei was chewing on dry rations when his ears suddenly twitched. He immediately set down the food and grabbed his binoculars.
After sweeping his gaze into the distance, he said, "They're here!"
Frank looked over as well and immediately saw three Armored Vehicles speeding toward them one after another from the distance.
Before you continue