Tony's expression instantly became incredibly vivid when he heard Lin Hai's words.
He opened his mouth, wanting to curse Lin Hai out, but then realized that although the things Lin Hai said were painful, they were not entirely impossible.
"You bastard..." Tony gritted his teeth, a vein throbbing at his temple. "I haven't even gone yet, and you're already cursing me not to come back?"
Lin Hai shrugged, his tone still calm. "I'm only stating the facts. A nuke isn't something to joke about. What if it explodes halfway through while you're carrying it into the Portal? What if you can't get back after you fly through?"
Tony fell silent.
He had considered those questions. But by his logic, if he did not go, that nuke would explode over Manhattan. At that point, it would not just be Manhattan suffering—New York as a whole would be devastated.
"I know all that." Tony's voice dropped. "But if I don't go, who will?"
Lin Hai glanced at him, then looked up at the deep-blue Portal in the sky.
An endless stream of Chitauri Flyers still poured out of it. Tony, Thor, Peter, and Harry had woven a net of firepower in the air, but plenty still slipped through. Those Flyers descended into the streets and opened fire on the ground, explosions and screams rising from below.
"You go, and then you don't come back." Lin Hai said. "When something like this happens again, who will handle it?"
Tony's brows drew together.
"Can you guarantee that you'll come back alive?" Lin Hai asked again.
Tony opened his mouth, wanting to say "Of course," but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down. He truly had no way to guarantee what would happen after the nuke entered the Portal. It was completely