Rescue, Luck Sharing

"Go on ahead. Your armor is too crude; you won't be any help. I'll do what I can."

Tony assessed the situation and knew there was no point in staying. He activated the armor's jets, two streams of black smoke billowing from beneath his feet as he shot into the sky amid the explosions.

In the original story, Yinsen had died to save Tony. It seemed Apocalypse's arrival had not changed that plotline.

Apocalypse blocked the falling rocks at the cave entrance and rushed inside.

Yinsen was lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.

Apocalypse swiftly took a bottle of Recovery Potion from the system inventory and poured it into Yinsen's mouth.

He struck Yinsen's back with his palm, and a burst of controlled force shook several bullets out of his body.

A green glow surged forth, and Yinsen was restored to full health!

Yinsen patted his body in disbelief. The bullet holes had vanished completely.

Apocalypse said, "We'll talk once we're out. Stay close to me. Don't wander off."

The danger was not over. The cave was about to collapse, and if they did not escape quickly, Yinsen would be buried alive right after being revived.

Yinsen had no time to thank him. He shielded his head with both hands and followed behind.

Apocalypse walked ahead. Whether it was massive rocks falling from above or stones blocking the ground, he smashed them all with a single punch, reducing them to powder.

Suddenly, a deafening crash rang out. Half the cliff collapsed, completely burying the cave entrance. Tony, still in the air, was frantic.

He could not help regretting telling Apocalypse to save Yinsen. Yinsen had already been hit by several stray bullets and was probably dead by now. Yet, for his own selfish reasons, Tony had asked the "delivery guy" to save him, only to get him buried alive as well.

But Tony could barely save himself now, much less offer any help. He could only watch in despair as the cave entrance vanished beneath the rubble.

Then, a roar suddenly echoed from deep within the cave.

It was as though some ancient beast had awakened.

With a boom, the buried cave was blasted open. Boulders weighing thousands of pounds could not withstand the tremendous force and were hurled dozens of meters away.

The boulders crashed into the Ten Rings members outside, triggering waves of screams.

With three times the Hulk's strength, Apocalypse forcibly punched through the rock layers and walked out.

Outside, the stockpiled weapons were exploding in succession, bathing the canyon in fire. Who knew how many had been crushed to death by the boulders? The Ten Rings were in complete chaos, and no one attacked them at all.

Tucking Yinsen under one arm, Apocalypse made a massive leap toward Tony and left the canyon.

However, he discovered a new problem.

In the original story, Tony could fly only a few dozen meters high before his power ran out and he fell into the desert.

Fortunately, he had not been very high up, or Iron Man would have been killed by the fall.

But now, Tony was still flying upward.

The hastily made armor had no flight stabilization system at all.

In the original story, Iron Man had spent a long time in his laboratory and crashed into plenty of walls before succeeding. Under these crude conditions, it was impossible to make one.

One hundred meters...

Two hundred meters...

Three hundred meters...

Tony flew higher and higher. Then, the black smoke beneath his feet suddenly went out. His power was exhausted.

"Whoa..." Tony muttered inside the armor, sensing that something was wrong.

Yinsen cried, "This is bad! Falling from this height means certain death."

"Ah..."

Tony screamed without caring about his image. Falling from this height would not leave him in much better shape than an egg.

Apocalypse calculated the angle. The sand beneath his feet suddenly exploded, choking Yinsen beside him with a mouthful of sand. When Yinsen opened his eyes again, Apocalypse had already leaped two hundred meters into the air and caught Iron Man securely.

The moment Tony realized he was safe, his unruly nature resurfaced. "Hey... handsome. This is the first time I've ever been held like this. How about foie gras at a French restaurant tonight?"

Apocalypse smiled. "Aren't you afraid Pepper Potts will get jealous?"

Before Tony could answer, Apocalypse suddenly tossed him upward again. Apocalypse could withstand the impact of a two-hundred-meter free fall, but Tony could not. If Apocalypse held him all the way to the ground, Tony would be severely injured even if he survived.

He could only throw Tony upward again just before landing to lessen the force.

"Ah... I'm not afraid..."

After a roller-coaster-like journey through the sky, Tony's legs went weak the instant they landed. Ignoring the scorching sand, he dropped straight down onto the desert.

"Whew... whew... Yinsen, you're alive! That's great."

Tony excitedly hugged Yinsen, then suddenly remembered something. "Wait. You were hit several times just now. How can you possibly be completely fine?"

Yinsen looked at Apocalypse. "He gave me a potion to drink, and I recovered completely."

"Thank you!" Tony put away his carefree expression and said solemnly, "Thank you for saving my life, and thank you even more for saving Yinsen."

"Ding!"

"Iron Man Luck Sharing: 30%."

What the hell? Saving his life and his friend's life only got me 30%? Tony's guard is way too high. Smart people really are hard to deal with, Apocalypse thought helplessly.

Still, Tony could not really be blamed. Apocalypse's appearance had been far too strange. He had delivered takeout for over a month without rescuing Tony.

If not for this accident, Tony did not know how much longer he would have been imprisoned.

"Tell me. What exactly is your purpose? As long as it doesn't go against my conscience, I'll agree to it," Tony said.

"No rush." Apocalypse looked into the distance and spotted planes flying toward them. "Let's leave this dangerous place first."

The Middle East had always been a land of war. Various factions and arms dealers were tangled together like interlocking teeth. Such a huge disturbance had already drawn scouts from many forces.

Apocalypse tucked one man under each arm and, after several enormous leaps, arrived in a city more than a hundred kilometers away.

Along the way, Tony and Yinsen were blasted by the fierce wind until they could not even open their mouths. They could only stare at each other, their eyes filled with shock.

Was this even a human being? One leap covered dozens of kilometers, and he was carrying two people.

And there was that miraculous potion, capable of pulling Yinsen back from the brink of death after he had been shot several times.

With Tony's connections, he had never heard of such a miraculous medicine. Otherwise, when he later suffered from palladium poisoning, he would not have been left with nowhere to turn, relying only on plant-based drinks to ease it.

After reaching a small city over a hundred kilometers away, Apocalypse brought the two of them to a shabby rental room.

Apocalypse said, "I had no special purpose in saving you. But since you want to thank me, I may ask you for something in the future. Of course, I won't force you. If you don't want to, you can refuse."

"Then I refuse right now," Tony said.

"Hahaha..." Apocalypse laughed loudly. He knew Tony was not someone who forgot kindness. "If you truly refuse to give it, I definitely won't force you."

As he spoke, he took out a phone and handed it to Tony. "Call Colonel Rhodes and have him pick you up. I'll take Yinsen away."

"No. Yinsen is my benefactor. I'll bring him to the United States and have him work for my company. I won't trouble you."

"Tony, do you think this kidnapping was an accident?"

Tony stiffened. "Wasn't it?"

"You'll find out, but there's no rush. You've been missing for over a month, and it has already caused an uproar in the United States. Now you've suddenly been rescued, with a man who once worked for terrorists at your side. What do you think will happen? You and I both know Yinsen worked for the Ten Rings under duress, but... will others believe that?"

With Tony's intelligence, a little prompting was all it took.

He had been kidnapped for so long, then suddenly released with a Middle Easterner beside him. The most likely explanation was that he had been coerced.

Stark Industries manufactured weapons for the Department of Defense. As long as there was even the slightest possibility, the Department of Defense could not be at ease.

Not to mention that their rival, Hammer Weapons Company, would certainly stir up trouble.

When that time came, it would not just be Yinsen in danger. Even Tony himself might be at risk.

Tony said, "I'll transfer five million to you. Please make sure Yinsen is safe."

Apocalypse said calmly, "Don't worry. If I didn't intend to protect him, I wouldn't have saved him just now."

Yinsen was an upright and kind man. Even though he lived in a war-torn country and his family had long been killed by terrorists, he still maintained a positive outlook. Rather than blaming fate, he lived earnestly and comforted those around him.

He had a tremendous influence on Tony's personality.

Besides, he was a capable scientist. He had ingeniously used a car battery to keep Tony alive and had helped Tony complete the armor.

Had he been born in a prosperous, powerful nation, he would surely have become a great scientist.

By recruiting him into his team, Apocalypse would not only gain talent but also strengthen his connection with Tony.

Apocalypse said to Yinsen, "Do you want to go home and have a look? Komila Town is nearby."

Yinsen froze. "How do you know I'm from Komila? I've never told you."

"Does it matter how I know? What matters is whether you want to go back and see it."

Tony and Yinsen exchanged a glance, both deeply feeling that the Eastern man before them was far too mysterious. Not only did he possess superhuman abilities, but he also seemed to know everything about them.

Being understood by someone else did not feel pleasant. Even though Apocalypse had saved their lives, Tony's wariness had not diminished.

Yinsen said slowly, "It really isn't important. With your resources, it wouldn't be difficult to find information on a nobody like me. There's no need to go back. I have no attachments there anymore. If I have the ability in the future, I can help the residents of the town. That would at least honor the fact that we came from the same place."

"Then let's go."

Without looking back, Apocalypse took Yinsen with him and shot into the sky.

Tony stood there blankly for a while before finally calling Colonel Rhodes.