Iron Man, Your Takeout Has Arrived

Night fell.

Using the darkness as cover, Apocalypse quietly approached the canyon. There were several hundred armed militants in the canyon, weapons piled all over the ground, and a cave inside.

With Apocalypse's strength, hunting down these militants would have been effortless.

But to preserve the original storyline and retain his foresight of the future, there were many things he could not do.

Apocalypse climbed down from the cliff, his fingers hooked like claws as he forcibly drove them into the rock, clinging to the cliff face and crawling like a gecko.

After locating the surveillance wires, Apocalypse cut them and swiftly connected a device in less than a second. From then on, all surveillance footage would pass through that device.

The leader inside saw the surveillance screen flicker before returning to normal, but he did not suspect much.

Out in these barren mountains, getting a surveillance system set up was already pretty good. An occasional minor malfunction was nothing strange.

In movies, endlessly looping a section of footage was common. It was the simplest method, but also the most dangerous; anyone observant enough could easily spot it.

This device, however, could delay the video signal by one second. During that second, the miniature CPU inside could manipulate the surveillance footage however it wanted. Apocalypse had Dr. Stern program it long ago.

As long as no one spotted him in person, Apocalypse could stroll right past the cameras without leaving any trace of himself on the monitors.

The night was cool as water!

The militants gathered outside the cave and lit a bonfire.

Apocalypse drove his hooked fingers into the rock and silently crawled in from above the cave along the cliff face.

The interior had been partitioned off with iron sheets, forming a temporary prison cell.

Apocalypse took out a lock-picking tool and easily opened the primitive lock.

"Creak..."

When he opened the iron door, he saw two people inside.

One was naturally Tony Stark. At that moment, he looked utterly exhausted, his beard unkempt, with a long wire extending from his chest and connecting to a battery on the table.

The other was a typical Middle Eastern man. Though poorly dressed, he appeared refined and gentle. He should have been Yinsen.

During Tony Stark's transformation into Iron Man, Yinsen had the greatest influence on him. With his kindness and his life, he awakened Iron Man's sense of responsibility, allowing him to shoulder the burden of protecting the world.

That was something Tony, who had once only wanted to sleep with more cover girls, could never have imagined.

The two were shocked. They had thought a member of the Ten Rings had entered, but it was actually an Eastern man.

For a moment, three pairs of eyes stared at one another, and no one spoke.

Apocalypse broke the awkward silence. "Ahem... you're Tony Stark, right? My name is Tang Tianqi."

Tony asked cautiously, "Are you here to rescue me? Watch out for the cameras."

Seeing Apocalypse's face, Tony and Yinsen immediately ruled out the possibility that he belonged to the Ten Rings.

The Middle Eastern militants were united by faith and extremely xenophobic. It was impossible for an Eastern man to appear among them.

Apocalypse said, "Don't worry about the cameras. I've already dealt with them. But I'm not here to rescue you. I... deliver takeout."

"What?!"

Tony and Yinsen could not believe what they had heard. Seriously, was he joking? He had come to the Ten Rings' headquarters to deliver takeout?

Tony said, "Did Colonel Rhodes send you? He really has a strange sense of humor."

"I don't know any Colonel Rhodes. I have takeout here. Do you want it or not?"

Apocalypse solemnly opened the backpack strapped to his body and took out several paper boxes. The entire cell was instantly filled with fragrance.

Yinsen cautiously said, "We don't have money. We can't afford takeout."

Apocalypse smiled. "It's fine. You can put it on credit."

But Tony was not as reserved as Yinsen. Things had already come to this; surely no one would poison him to death now, right?

Tony took a paper package. "A cheeseburger? How did you know I like these?"

Cheeseburgers had appeared many times in the movie's plot.

In the plot of Iron Man 1, after Iron Man was rescued, the first thing he did was find a cheeseburger to eat.

Later, after he and Pepper Potts had a daughter, Morgan, he mentioned cheeseburgers to his daughter many times. It was clear how much Iron Man liked them.

Apocalypse was Eastern and did not particularly appreciate cheese, but considering his own country had stinky tofu, it was not strange for foreigners to enjoy similar foods.

On the way here, he had casually bought a few in the city outside the desert.

"Mmm... I've never had such a delicious burger. Which restaurant is this from? Once I get out, I'll definitely buy the place and eat here every day."

Apocalypse merely smiled without saying anything. It was just an ordinary cheeseburger. Tony had been trapped here for half a month, eating mush-like food every day, so naturally it tasted delicious.

It was the same principle as Zhu Yuanzhang eating that so-called "Pearl, Jade, and White Jade Soup" in ancient times.

Apocalypse picked up another paper package and handed it to Yinsen. "Don't be polite. If you don't eat it soon, Tony will eat your share too."

After thinking it over, Yinsen stopped being polite. When he opened it, he found a huge Orleans roast chicken. Its golden color was enticing, and the aroma of chicken instantly filled the entire cell.

Tony immediately felt that the burger in his hand no longer smelled appealing. "You have roast chicken? Save me a drumstick."

Halfway through eating, Tony sighed. "A cup of cola would make this perfect."

In his mind, this mysterious Eastern man had already gone through immense trouble just to bring in two packages of food. Asking for cola as well was truly wishful thinking.

Unexpectedly, Apocalypse reached into his bag and handed over two bottles of cola. "The ice hasn't melted yet. Drink up."

Tony's eyes widened. "I'm starting to believe you really are a takeout delivery guy."

The two devoured the food and quickly left nothing behind. They even crushed the roast chicken bones between their teeth to suck out the flavor.

After eating, Tony leaned comfortably against his stool and said, "That was incredible. I'd gladly pay a million dollars for a meal like that. But if I ate it every day after getting out, it wouldn't feel the same. Let's go."

Tony naturally assumed Apocalypse had come to rescue him. What he had said earlier was merely a joke, and the meal was meant to restore their strength because the escape ahead would be difficult.

To his genius mind, that deduction was perfectly reasonable and logical.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Apocalypse collected the food boxes and said, "A million dollars per meal. You said it yourself. I'll bring more later."

With that, he tightened his backpack against his body, walked out, locked the door again, and vanished into the darkness like a gecko.

"Fuck... he locked the door? What's going on?!" Tony was dumbfounded. Even with the excellent education he had received since childhood, he could not help swearing.

"Take me out! If a million isn't enough, I'll give you a hundred million... a billion... ten billion..."

By then, Apocalypse had long gone. Tony's shouting instead drew over two soldiers.

Soldier A: "Why are you yelling in the middle of the night? Shut up."

Soldier B: "I think I smell roast chicken."

Soldier A: "What kind of nose do you have? Where would roast chicken come from? Huh... it does smell like burgers."

The two soldiers entered the cell and searched it, but found nothing unusual. They left with puzzled expressions.

Leaving behind Tony and Yinsen, who were equally confused.

Yinsen said, "Tony, are you sure that wasn't a friend from the military playing a joke on you?"

Tony shook his head firmly. "He isn't my friend. Rhodey is a soldier, rigid and strict. He would never make a joke like that over a matter of life and death."

After all, if the soldiers had discovered anything unusual or encountered Apocalypse just now, countless bullets would have immediately followed.

Even Tony, reckless as he was, would not dare make such a dangerous joke.

But if it was not a joke, then what exactly did Apocalypse want? Tony racked his brain and still could not figure it out.

He felt like his genius intelligence was no longer enough.

If Apocalypse was delivering takeout for the million-dollar delivery fee, Tony would not believe it even if beaten to death. As long as Apocalypse got him out, he would pay whatever amount he wanted. There was no way Apocalypse did not know that.

Two days later, Apocalypse sneaked in again.

This time, Tony did not rush to eat. He stared Apocalypse in the eyes and asked, "What exactly is your goal? What do you want?"

Apocalypse thought to himself, I want you to become Iron Man. I want your fortune. Unfortunately, he could not say that aloud, so he said, "You'll know once you get out."

Tony angrily said, "Get out? How am I supposed to get out if you won't rescue me?"

"You still haven't thought of a way?"

Apocalypse found it strange. Had Tony not considered building armor yet?

Tony said, "What way could I possibly have? My heart is still hooked up to a huge battery. Even if they let me run, I couldn't get far."

Apocalypse said, "If you can't run, can't you fly?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the materials used to make missiles.

Those materials were what the Ten Rings leader was using to force Tony to build a Jericho Missile.

The Jericho Missile was an extremely terrifying missile made by Stark Industries.

Before the incident, Tony had demonstrated it for the military. A single Jericho Missile could instantly split into dozens of small warheads in midair, covering an entire mountain range. In an instant, the mountains would be blasted into clouds of dust. It was simply a devastating weapon for wiping out groups.

With such a weapon, ordinary armies gathering together would be serving themselves up on a platter. One missile could wipe them out completely.

Tony's eyes lit up at those words. With his intelligence, he instantly sorted through the logic. Missiles could fly, couldn't they?