That Man Had Some Seriously Thick Skin

Wu Yanzu called Ashley again.

"Ashley, I need you to activate the Hurricane Protocol."

"Sir?" Ashley froze for a moment on the other end of the line.

"Wake up every 'friend' we have planted at CNN, Fox, and Reuters. I don't care what excuse they use. I don't care whether they claim a fuel leak or a high-altitude bird migration—I need at least ten news helicopters filling the airspace east of Florida within the next hour."

Ten thousand meters above Florida.

Wu Yanzu hovered in the stratosphere, weaving through sparse clouds.

He was not wearing his flashy uniform. Instead, he had changed into a stealth flight suit specially made by Vought, one that was nearly invisible to radar.

High-sensitivity tactical earpieces were tucked into his ears.

"Ashley," he murmured into the communicator, as calmly as if he were ordering a meal, "are the cameras in position?"

"Sir," Ashley's voice came from the command center in Vought Tower, carrying a tremor of excitement, "thirteen news helicopters have entered the edge of the target airspace under the pretext of 'extreme weather coverage.' They are equipped with top-of-the-line telephoto lenses. Whenever you say the word, we can go live worldwide within five seconds."

"Good."

"Also," Ashley added, "our 'friend' at S.H.I.E.L.D. just sent final confirmation. President Matthew Ellis's Air Force One will enter your interception point in three minutes. War Machine... really is aboard."

"Of course he is." Wu Yanzu chuckled.

"Sir, target spotted," Ashley said.

Wu Yanzu's X-Ray Vision had already pierced the clouds, locking onto the iconic Boeing 747 dozens of kilometers away.

"Received. Track my position. Go live in twenty minutes." Wu Yanzu shut off the communicator.

Like a shooting star, he silently streaked across the sky, trailing far behind Air Force One.

One hour earlier, the Iron Patriot armor had landed steadily in front of the runway of Air Force One.

Naturally, Rhodey was not inside. It was Killian's capable assistant, Eric Savan.

President Ellis, who knew nothing of the truth, personally saluted him. "Colonel Rhodey, with you here, I feel like this is the safest place in America."

Eric Savan said nothing from inside the armor, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

The Secret Service agents were completely unsuspecting and let him board the plane.

Soon afterward, the aircraft climbed to cruising altitude.

Savan glanced at the clock aboard the plane and headed toward the presidential conference room.

The agents on the plane had lowered their guard as well. Seeing Iron Patriot approach, some were even getting ready to take selfies.

Caught entirely off guard, they were shoved into a compartment by Savan. He pressed his crimson-red palm against the compartment's lock and seams, instantly welding the alloy door shut!

Savan then strode toward the conference room in the middle of the cabin.

President Matthew Ellis and his senior advisers were holding a meeting.

One of the president's personal bodyguards looked at him suspiciously, and Savan sent him to his death without hesitation.

"Rhodey?! Have you lost your mind?!" an aide roared.

The Secret Service agents immediately drew their weapons and returned fire. They were the best of the best.

But the bullets only threw up a string of meaningless sparks against Iron Patriot's armor.

Savan moved cleanly and efficiently. Within three minutes, the conference room had been cleared.

The scene was a mess. Only the pale-faced president and his deputy remained, hiding beneath the table and trembling.

As the table was flipped over and the deputy was executed, President Ellis himself showed some backbone. He snatched up a pistol dropped by an agent and aimed it at Savan.

Bang!

Savan grabbed him and slammed him against the cabin wall.

"Ah—!"

Savan opened the armor's helmet, revealing his cold, ruthless face.

This was not Rhodey. President Ellis sucked in a sharp breath.

"If you've got the guts, kill me!" Ellis forced himself to sound tough.

"Don't rush, Mr. President. Your stage isn't here." Savan sneered.

Giving the president no chance to resist, he roughly dragged Matthew Ellis over and forcibly stuffed him into the empty cavity inside the Iron Patriot armor.

Bang! The armor sealed shut.

Savan swiftly set the coordinates on the control panel on his arm.

Whoosh—!

The Iron Patriot armor carrying the president automatically detached from Air Force One and vanished into the sky.

"Goodbye, Mr. President."

Just like that, the president was successfully abducted.

Savan remained in the cabin, locking the remaining officials and crew members in the rear of the plane while preparing to parachute out himself.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse outside the window.

His entire body suddenly tensed!

A figure.

A black figure bathed in sunlight, silently hovering outside the cabin. Separated by three layers of glass, he stared at Savan expressionlessly...

"That face... Homelander?!"

Savan froze. Fuck, why was he here?!

Azu slowly gave him a smile that showed eight teeth.

"Damn it, this is fucking perfect."

Outside the window, Wu Yanzu had witnessed everything.

His X-Ray Vision had seen it all clearly.

The president had been stuffed into a can and flown away.

"Nicely done, darling." A standard smile appeared on Wu Yanzu's face. He suddenly tore off his stealth flight suit, revealing the blue bodysuit and star-spangled uniform beneath.

Whoosh—!!!

He became a streak of light and, before Savan's astonished eyes, smashed through three layers of alloy partitions before hovering in the center of the cabin.

Bathed in crackling electrical sparks, his star-spangled cape whipped wildly behind him.

"Sorry to interrupt." Wu Yanzu's voice drowned out the howling wind. "But the in-flight service on this plane looks terrible."

For a moment, Savan did not know how to react. He had not expected the biggest wildcard to appear here.

"You motherfucker..."

"Shh." Wu Yanzu raised one finger. "Where did the president go?"

"Ha!" Savan laughed. "Guess. You think you won? You're too late, hero!"

Savan's body began to glow as he pushed the Extremis Virus to its limits.

Like a walking human furnace, he charged at Wu Yanzu.

"Go find him in hell!!"

He threw a punch at Wu Yanzu's face, his fist carrying heat hot enough to melt steel.

He was going to burn a hole through this "blond sweetheart's" head!

Wu Yanzu did not move.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

Savan's fist landed squarely on Wu Yanzu's face.

"..."

The smile on Savan's face froze.

His fist was smoking, but that face... was completely unscathed.

"That's it?" Wu Yanzu spoke slowly. "Your body temperature... around three thousand degrees? Nice effort, but it isn't enough."

"No... impossible..." Savan felt a flicker of fear. This man's skin was far too thick...