Nightclub, Mouse, Iron Man!!!

"Captain, we really can't wait any longer!"

"How much time has already passed?"

Carter 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? Tony's a tough bastard."

Without going through some trials, how could Iron Man ever be born?

He scooped up a large spoonful of dessert and stuffed it into his mouth, saying indistinctly, "Besides, aren't we keeping watch?"

"Keeping watch?"

Carter stopped 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 yawned lazily. "I know. He's in a cave."

"What?" Carter 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, those rats—don't think I didn't see them!!!"

"What exactly have you been doing behind my back?"

Yu Xian smiled mysteriously. "Don't worry about that. Tonight, I'll take you somewhere nice to relax."

[Detected that the host feels pleased teasing a subordinate. Pleasure Points +50]

Night fell, and the Middle East's most famous nightclub, Desert Rose, blazed with lights.

Yu Xian dragged a thoroughly unwilling Catalina into the nightclub, where deafening music immediately engulfed them.

On the dance floor, men and women from every country swayed their bodies to the beat as lights flickered across them.

"Captain! We're here on a mission!"

Carter had no choice but 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 wound up too tight!"

Carter hesitated for a moment before accepting the glass and taking a small sip.

The burning warmth of alcohol spread from her throat through her entire body, and her shoulders unconsciously relaxed.

"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 an assignment from me, not from that bald egghead.

Carter nodded dubiously and took another sip.

After several drinks, a blush rose on her cheeks, and her gaze grew hazy.

Carter began to sway gently with the music, her blonde hair glittering beneath the lights.

Under the effects of alcohol, Catalina shed her usual reserve and revealed a side of herself no one knew.

Her long, fair legs formed perfect curves beneath her tight jeans, swaying lightly with the music.

Her waist was slender and supple, every twist carrying an exquisite sense of rhythm.

"I didn't expect you to be such a good dancer."

The corners of Yu Xian's lips lifted slightly.

It seemed his transformation plan had been rather effective.

Carter rolled her eyes at him. "I was in the dance club back in college."

Yu Xian smiled and shook his head. While Catalina was distracted, he quietly took a small piece of cheese from his pocket and placed it on the floor.

A gray mouse quickly darted out and carried off 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 mouse replied.

"How's the progress?"

"Squeak! (It's almost done, but those bad people keep pressuring them.)"

Yu Xian nodded, signaling that the little fellow could leave.

He gently swirled the wineglass in his hand, red wine spinning endlessly within it.

"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 a metal plate 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 almost out of time, Yinsen."

"We have to hurry."

"Tony, if we get out, what do you plan to do?"

Tony stopped working and looked up at Yinsen. "Change Stark Industries' direction. I'm shutting down the weapons division."

Boom!

Just then, the cave's iron door was violently shoved open.

Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, stood in the doorway, his sinister gaze sweeping over the entire dungeon.

"Stark! How's the progress?"

Raza demanded sharply, "When will my Jericho Missile be finished?"

Tony rose casually and wiped the grease from his hands.

"Missiles take time. It's almost done, just wait a little longer!!!"

Raza sneered and had his men grab Yinsen, dragging him before Tony.

"Perhaps you need a little extra motivation?"

He pulled a glowing red coal from the furnace and held it in front of Yinsen, staring at him darkly.

"Why do you disappoint me?"

"I let you live, and this is how you repay me?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I'll find 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 argue, then stepped forward beneath the guns of the Ten Rings members and said to Raza, "I need him!"

Raza silently looked at the two of them. "Have my missile assembled by tomorrow!!!"

He then left with his men.

The iron door shut again, and the sound of chains echoed through the cave.

Tony and Yinsen exchanged a glance, silently picked up their welding torches, and continued their work.

As sparks flew, the rough form of the Mark I Armor gradually took shape.

In a corner neither of them noticed, a gray mouse watched their every move without blinking.

Back at the Desert Rose nightclub.

Carter had danced herself tired and was resting by the bar.

Yu Xian walked over and handed her a glass of water.

"How is it? Feeling better?"

Carter accepted the glass and took small sips. "Much better. But I'm still worried about Tony."

"Don't worry. He'll make a move soon."

Carter looked at him in confusion. "How do you know?"

Yu Xian smiled but did not answer.

He merely patted the girl's shoulder. "Have some patience. Wait a little longer, just a little longer!"

Carter wanted to say something but ultimately 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'll be the first time."

Carter could not help laughing. "You're truly beyond saving."

[Detected that the host feels pleased coaxing a subordinate. Pleasure Points +100]