Tony Escapes

The Ten Rings Gang's fighters saw hope for winning their great holy war!

Their leader told them that the man locked inside the cave would soon build them a "Jericho Missile"!

At first, they did not believe it, but the moment they learned that the man was named Stark, the fighters were filled with ambition!

After all, the finest weapons in their hands all came from one place—Stark Industries.

"Stark will build more weapons for us!" their leader declared.

As they listened to their leader, the fighters could practically see themselves basking in glory once they possessed Jericho Missiles.

"My God, those are Jericho Missiles... missiles even more powerful than Scuds!"

Just as they were indulging in their dreams, a small pile of munitions in the corner suddenly exploded...

Cursing, a junior leader rushed out of the cave with his men, only to hear the grunts outside shouting in terror:

"Enemy attack!..."

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

Firing off a burst before asking questions was a habit of the Ten Rings Gang.

Yet when their magazines ran dry, they had not spotted a single enemy.

"Damn it! The leader keeps telling them not to smoke beside the ammunition piles! Those idiots never listen. They deserved to be blown to pieces!"

After confirming there were no enemies, the junior leader continued cursing.

Suddenly, a flash of cold light pierced through the junior leader with unstoppable force.

In less than a second, before his expression could even change, his body was pierced by a titanium alloy throwing knife, then torn apart by tremendous force, instantly becoming a cloud of blood mist in the air.

The bandits on the hillside felt only a fierce gust sweeping through the valley, arriving swiftly and vanishing just as fast. When the dust settled, the place had become a living hell.

"Urgh~!"

Even terrorists accustomed to bloody scenes were so shocked by the sight before them that they dry-heaved.

As the discomfort gradually faded and reason returned, they wiped away the tears brought on by vomiting and finally saw the enemy—a masked man dressed in a blood-red suit.

"Could this... be Iblis himself, here to reap lives?"

The Ten Rings Gang members looked at the eerie figure before them and took him for the most terrifying demon described in the Quran.

Even as playing cards flew before their eyes, sank into their bodies, and pierced their hearts, they had only one question in their minds:

Demons... played cards too?

Meanwhile, outside the valley, Su Ming was casually harvesting the terrorists' lives.

At the Ten Rings Gang's temporary base, deep within the cave.

Tony Stark, clad in a heavy suit of armor, was still unable to move.

After he and Dr. Ethan had worked together almost without sleep to build this combat armor that could help him break through the encirclement, it had now reached the critical moment of activation.

He anxiously watched the progress bar on the computer screen.

"Damn it, hurry up, faster..."

Tony was agonized inside, his eyes fixed on the computer monitor not far away.

The cell door had already been blown open, and a large group of terrorists was approaching.

Dr. Ethan had rushed out to buy him time. All Tony could do was shout helplessly:

"Stick to the plan... stick to the plan!!! Ethan~!"

As Dr. Ethan ran, he clumsily fired his machine gun at the cave ceiling above him, aiming at no one—not even the terrorists.

He was a scholar, not a killer!

The kindness in his bones meant that even with a weapon in hand, he sought only to buy time for his companion, not to kill.

Though his family had all died in war, though he hated war.

After rounding a corner, Dr. Ethan froze in place.

More than a dozen terrorists were aiming all kinds of machine guns at him...

Back in the cell, the progress bar on the computer screen atop the table finally changed from 99% to 100%.

In the dark, the sound of machinery operating rang out briefly before falling silent.

Another junior leader brought several men to the entrance of the cell. Seeing the two companions who had been blown to death on the ground, he cautiously took several steps back.

He gave one of his subordinates a look that said, "Go in and check," while discreetly taking another step back himself.

The team member tightened his grip on the machine gun and cautiously stepped into the cell.

Before him were the materials and tools the leader had provided for the prisoner to build missiles. Nothing seemed out of place.

Just then, a fluorescent light shone behind him—that was the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest.

It was worth mentioning that when Tony Stark had been kidnapped, a bomb made by Stark Industries had exploded in front of him. Several fragments had entered his chest, and only because Dr. Ethan had hastily made an electromagnet and placed it against Tony's chest had the fragments been kept from piercing his heart.

Fortunately, Dr. Ethan had removed the shrapnel in time, saving Tony's life once again.

Later, the genius Tony used Cold War-era nuclear weapons technology from the 1960s available in the cell to transform the electromagnetic device on his chest into an Arc Reactor.

The terrorist instinctively turned around. The massive, blurry black shadow sent the team member flying more than ten meters with a single punch, smashing him straight into the opposite wall.

The people outside the cell had no idea what had happened. They only saw their companion suddenly fly to the other side of the cell.

They immediately opened fire!

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

Half-meter tongues of flame spat from the machine guns as bullets poured wildly through the doorway and into the cell. The shooting stopped only after the room had been reduced to a complete mess.

As several curious pairs of eyes strained to see into the dim cell, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the doorway.

The light on his chest dazzled them so badly that they could not see clearly. They could only vaguely make out a large figure with a metallic gleam.

A robot...?

As they stood stunned, Tony moved.

Amid the distinctive sounds of machinery operating, he swung his arms and sent two team members flying with one blow each.

The armor-enhanced strikes were immensely powerful. The two team members' internal organs ruptured, and they were barely breathing...

The junior leader reacted quickly, unloading a burst into the robot's torso.

But the sparks flashing from it and the ricochets flying all around allowed him to instantly reach a conclusion—this damn thing was bulletproof!

Before he could turn and run, Tony, clad in armor, sent him to dreamland with a swing of his iron fist.

Tony operated the Iron Armor toward the exit. Enemies along the way kept firing at him, bullets striking the armor and scattering sparks.

Unharmed, Tony took down one enemy after another with his fists, kicked open the iron door before him, and finally reached the cave entrance. At Dr. Ethan's warning, he swiftly dodged an incoming missile.

He then mounted a missile onto the device on his left forearm, activated the switch, and returned the favor.

After a tremendous roar, no enemies remained in the cave.

Seeing Dr. Ethan covered in bullet holes, Tony's eyes reddened as he tried to persuade him to leave together and stick to the plan~

But his injuries clearly would not allow it.

Only when Dr. Ethan weakly said, "My family is dead. I am going to see them now, Stark...

"It is all right. This is the ending I wanted..."

did Tony realize that Dr. Ethan had long prepared himself to sacrifice his life.

How laughable that he had clung to their original escape plan all this time.

No plan was foolproof. If not for Dr. Ethan's selfless cover, he might have died in the hail of bullets long ago...

"Tony, Tony, what good is being smart? You are still a cold-blooded engineering nerd who only knows how to follow the plan. How many more kind people must give their lives for you?"

With a sigh, he gave a bitter smile:

"Thank you for saving my life."

"Then cherish your life. Do not waste it."

With that, Dr. Ethan peacefully closed his eyes.

At that moment, the man named Tony Stark, clad in the first-generation Iron Armor, was enraged...