Rehearsing in Front of the Mirror Every Night

Tony took Lu Qi back on his private jet. Of course, he had not invited Lu Qi; Lu Qi had quietly hidden aboard the plane.

The flight attendant, who moonlighted as a dancer, prepared Tony's in-flight meal in the kitchen, making a few extra portions to send to the captain as well.

She took one meal to Tony, then turned and returned to the kitchen.

"Why is one missing? Did I make too few?" The flight attendant was a little puzzled, but she did not dwell on it and planned to make another portion.

A shadow quietly slipped past her legs and circled the spacious cabin a few times. Sure enough, Tony never shortchanged himself when it came to material comforts.

A huge television, luxury speakers, an adjustable stripper pole, and a pretty flight attendant.

Lu Qi made a round of the cabin but did not see Tony. He peeked farther inside and found Tony chatting with the female reporter he had brought along—while holding her in his arms.

Not wanting to get styes, Lu Qi returned to the cabin and took a nap. His handheld console was out of battery anyway, so there was nothing to play.

They flew back to California, where Tony's mansion, Freedom City, was located.

10880 Malibu Port, ZIP code 90265.

Happy drove Tony and the female reporter back to the mansion. Tony led the reporter inside, preparing to do an interview in the villa.

"Happy, remember to bring in the luggage."

Happy gave him a thumbs-up and began moving the luggage. When he opened the trunk, a shadow slipped out.

"Hm?" Happy seemed to have seen something, but the night was too dark for him to make it out.

Lu Qi looked at the mansion before him.

In Iron Man 1, this mansion had caught the attention of countless people.

Its incredible design, all kinds of high-tech equipment, and a small base where he could freely do whatever he liked—it practically hit every man right in the sweet spot.

Lu Qi slipped into the mansion. Tony had probably taken the female reporter to rehearse those lines he practiced in front of the mirror every day, so Lu Qi wandered around the other areas.

Since the villa had an intelligent butler like JARVIS, Lu Qi did not dare let his guard down and stayed in the shadows the entire time.

After making a full circuit of the villa, Lu Qi truly felt that it perfectly suited his tastes.

It would be even better if that piano were replaced with a game console.

Still, this villa would be blasted to pieces by three helicopters during the events of Iron Man 3. Lu Qi shook his head regretfully.

The map had already been unlocked. With no interest in watching Tony battle the female reporter, Lu Qi ran outside the villa, drew a portal straight back to his little home in New York, set an alarm for four in the morning, and prepared to sleep after watching some ads.

Because the Shadow Ninjas lost their ability to turn into shadows once they moved beyond a certain distance from him, even keeping a portal open constantly would not work. So he could not leave ninjas over there to monitor Tony. JARVIS was no pushover.

For now, that range was twenty meters. It had started at five meters, so it had already quadrupled.

Planning to head over early tomorrow, Lu Qi replenished the Shadow Ninjas to three hundred, saved some energy for himself, and went straight to sleep.

The next day, the alarm woke him up. Lu Qi simply drew a circle and went to wait inside Tony's plane, staying in a corner.

Rhodey arrived around ten to wait there, but no one knew how much longer Tony would take.

Lu Qi watched Rhodey stand there like a wife waiting for her husband for four hours. He even had lunch during that time.

Lu Qi shook his head. Tony, you had really destroyed too much of Rhodey's gentleness.

At two in the afternoon, Tony finally arrived at the airport.

After chatting with Rhodey for a few moments, Tony brought him onto the plane.

Watching Rhodey get led astray by Tony in just a few words and launch into an improvised rap, Lu Qi could only wonder if this was some Black talent. He was clearly just talking along with the music, yet Lu Qi inexplicably felt that Rhodey was rapping.

The plane did not arrive in that chaotic country until the next day. Tony partied all night, then emerged from the cabin the next morning looking perfectly put together.

To keep from losing Tony's location later, Lu Qi followed them the whole way. He watched Tony finish his business deal and climb into his beloved Humvee.

After exchanging just a few words with the soldiers in the vehicle, Tony quickly got along with them, chatting with them happily.

Even Lu Qi had to admit that Tony was easy to get along with when he was not being sharp-tongued. His emotional intelligence was high too. But the score between Lu Qi and Tony was currently one to one. Until a winner was decided, there was no way they would speak to each other like this.

Just as Tony was taking pictures with the soldiers, a missile flew in and blasted the vehicle in front of them to pieces.

"Enemy on the left!" the female driver shouted. She unbuckled her seat belt, grabbed her gun, and rushed out of the Humvee, only to be gunned down immediately.

Lu Qi hid in the corner and shook his head speechlessly. Enemy on your left, and you still dared to jump out from the driver's seat? If you did not die, who would?

Seeing this, the soldier in the passenger seat told the soldier beside Tony to protect him, then pulled back the bolt on his gun and ran out.

After successfully taking two steps, he was brought down by a sniper. The bullet pierced his body, shattered the glass, and flew into the cabin.

Tony felt himself get hit and cried out in pain, but his bulletproof vest protected him well.

Seeing two comrades fall, the young soldier beside him got fired up. He cursed, opened the car door, and jumped out—a classic case of brothers rushing in one after another to save their grandfather, without even throwing a smoke grenade.

"Wait, give me the gun!" Tony roared at him, but the soldier turned back and shouted, "Stay inside!" He took two steps outside before a grenade blew him away.

Steel pellets pierced through the Humvee's body, making the dim interior bright.

Tony, lucky enough not to be hit, came back to his senses. Seeing the craters in the vehicle's body, he ran out in panic.

He ran through the chaotic battlefield to hide behind a rock, then took out a satellite phone to call Rhodey for help. But the next second, a missile landed beside Tony.

Tony saw the Stark Industries lettering on it, and his heart jolted. Then he stood up, trying to get away.

But the next second, the missile exploded and blasted Tony away.

From the corner, Lu Qi watched the unconscious Tony get taken away by a group of terrorists, then silently followed them.

This journey would leave the world with one fewer arms dealer and one more superhero.