"Captain, we really can't wait any longer!"
"How much time has already passed?!"
Catalina paced back and forth in the hotel room, her blonde hair swaying slightly with her hurried movements.
"Tony Stark has been kidnapped for a full three months!"
"Shouldn't we be doing something?"
Yu Xian lay sprawled on the sofa in the luxury suite, changing TV channels with one hand while holding a bowl of Middle Eastern dessert in the other.
"What's the rush? That guy Tony has a tough life."
Without going through some trials, how could Iron Man be born?
He scooped up a huge spoonful of dessert and stuffed it into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "Besides, aren't we keeping watch?"
"Keeping watch?"
Catalina stopped pacing and looked at Yu Xian, whose entire body had sunk into the sofa. With her hands on her hips, she said, "You call this keeping watch?"
"We don't even know where Tony is!"
Yu Xian swallowed his food and lazily yawned. "I know. He's in a cave."
"What?" Catalina froze. "How do you know that?"
"I knew you were secretly up to something!"
"And when we first came to the Middle East—the birds, the rats—don't think I didn't notice!!!"
"What exactly have you been doing behind my back?"
Yu Xian gave a mysterious smile. "Don't worry about that. Tonight, I'll take you somewhere nice to relax."
[Detected that the host is delighted by teasing a subordinate. Pleasure Points +50]
Night fell, and the Middle East's most famous nightclub, Desert Rose, blazed with lights.
Yu Xian pulled the unwilling Catalina into the nightclub, where deafening music immediately engulfed them.
On the dance floor, men and women from every country twisted their bodies to the rhythm as the lights flickered across them.
"Captain! We're here to carry out a mission!"
Catalina had to lean close to Yu Xian's ear and shout.
"This is part of the mission!"
Yu Xian handed her a cocktail. "Relax, kitty. You're too tense!"
Catalina hesitated for a moment before taking the glass and sipping from it.
The fiery heat of the alcohol spread from her throat through her entire body, and her shoulders relaxed unconsciously.
"Maybe someone here knows something. You can go gather intelligence!"
Yu Xian leaned close to her ear, his warm breath making the blonde girl's ear itch. "That's part of the job too."
Of course, this was the job I assigned you, not the job Nick Fury assigned you.
Catalina nodded dubiously and took another sip.
After several drinks, her cheeks had flushed, and her eyes had grown hazy.
Catalina began gently swaying her body to the music, her blonde hair glittering beneath the lights.
Under the effects of the alcohol, Catalina shed her usual restraint and revealed a side of herself few had ever seen.
Her long, fair legs formed perfect curves beneath her tight jeans, swaying lightly to the music.
Her waist was slender and supple, every twist carrying a beautiful sense of rhythm.
"I didn't expect you to be such a good dancer."
The corners of Yu Xian's mouth lifted slightly.
It seemed his transformation plan had been quite effective.
Catalina rolled her eyes at him. "I was in the dance club in college."
Yu Xian smiled and shook his head. While Catalina was distracted, he quietly pulled a small piece of cheese from his pocket and set it on the floor.
A gray little rat quickly darted out and snatched up the cheese.
"How is it, little guy?"
Yu Xian asked softly as he activated the Whisper-Whisper Fruit's ability.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak! (Tony and that doctor are making a metal man!)" the rat replied.
"How's it progressing?"
"Squeak! (It's almost done, but those bad guys keep pressuring them.)"
Yu Xian nodded, signaling that the little fellow could leave.
He gently swirled the wineglass in his hand, the red liquid spinning endlessly inside.
"To our Iron Man!!!"
Meanwhile, inside a cave somewhere in the Middle East.
Tony Stark was drenched in sweat, the hammer in his hand constantly striking metal plates while the electromagnet on his chest emitted a faint blue glow.
With Dr. Yinsen's help, he had successfully created the Arc Reactor.
"Tony, have some water first!"
Dr. Yinsen handed him a cup of water and said with concern.
Tony took the cup and drained it in one gulp. "We're running out of time, Yinsen."
"We need to hurry."
"Tony, if we get out, what are you going to do?"
Tony stopped working and looked up at Yinsen. "Change Stark Industries' direction. I'm shutting down the weapons division."
Boom!
At that moment, the cave's iron door was violently shoved open.
Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, stood at the entrance, his sinister gaze sweeping across the entire dungeon.
"Stark! How's the progress?"
Raza demanded sharply, "When will my Jericho Missile be finished?"
Tony rose to his feet as though nothing had happened and wiped the grease from his hands.
"Missiles take time. It'll be ready soon, just wait a little longer!!!"
Raza sneered and had his subordinates grab Yinsen, dragging him before Tony.
"Perhaps you need a little extra motivation?"
He picked up a glowing red-hot coal from the furnace and held it before Yinsen, staring at him with a chilling expression.
"Why did you disappoint me?"
"I let you live, and this is how you repay me?"
"Do you think I'm an idiot? I'll figure it out!"
"Come on, open your mouth!"
Seeing this, Tony could not help calling out, "What are you doing?"
Yinsen trembled as he stared at the burning coal before him and shouted, "We're working, we're working!!!"
"He's making the Jericho Missile for you!"
"He's making the Jericho Missile for you!"
Tony watched the two arguing, then stepped forward under the guns of the Ten Rings members and said to Raza, "I need him!"
Raza silently watched the two of them. "Have my missile assembled by tomorrow!!!"
Then he left with his subordinates.
The iron door slammed shut again, and the sound of chains echoed through the cave.
Tony and Yinsen exchanged a glance, silently picked up their welding torches, and resumed their work.
As sparks flew everywhere, the prototype of the Mark I Armor gradually took shape.
In a corner neither of them noticed, a gray rat stared unblinkingly at their every move.
Back at the Desert Rose nightclub.
Catalina was already tired from dancing and sat at the bar to rest.
Yu Xian walked over and handed her a glass of water.
"How is it? Feeling better?"
Catalina took the glass and sipped from it. "Much better. But I'm still worried about Tony."
"Don't worry. He'll make a move soon."
Catalina looked at him doubtfully. "How do you know?"
Yu Xian smiled but did not answer.
He merely patted the girl on the shoulder. "Be patient. Wait a little longer, just a little longer!"
Catalina looked as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only sighed.
She did not know where her captain's confidence came from, but she could only choose to trust him.
"Captain, if something really happens to Tony, the director will chew us out."
Yu Xian shrugged. "Then let him. It's not like it would be the first time."
Catalina could not help laughing. "You're really hopeless."
[Detected that the host is delighted by fooling a subordinate. Pleasure Points +100]
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