Night passed in the blink of an eye.
When the sun rose the next day, Colonel Rhodes and his convoy followed the signal into the camp of the Ten Rings.
Cough, cough!
Colonel Rhodes coughed while waving away the yellow sand before him, gazing at the desolate camp with a hint of vigilance in his expression.
Fully armed soldiers stepped forward in succession to lead the way, holding firearms with cautious expressions.
Meanwhile, inside the camp, Tony and Doctor Yinsen heard the vehicles outside and immediately walked out of their tent, having slept not a wink all night.
Soon, both sides met within the camp.
"Shit, Tony, you're safe. That's great."
Seeing Tony, the cautious Colonel Rhodes immediately stepped forward with a delighted expression.
The fifty fully armed soldiers dispersed to secure the perimeter, and none of them noticed anything unusual.
Only Doctor Yinsen, who had been following Tony, turned pale.
He remembered that last night the camp had been littered with corpses, blood flowing everywhere-a complete carnage ground.
Yet now, it was gone. Everything was gone.
The camp was spotless; forget corpses, even the stench of blood was entirely absent.
How could this be possible!
At this thought, Doctor Yinsen looked toward Tony's back with a measure of terror.
What sort of secret was hidden within this man?
Just as he stood there in a daze, Colonel Rhodes noticed him lingering behind Tony, gave him a head-to-toe inspection, and asked softly, "Tony, who is he?"
"A poor soul just like me."
"Oh."
Rhodes grunted in response, clearly unconvinced by Tony's explanation.
He did not press the matter further, however, instead asking how Tony had managed to escape.
To this question, Tony had no particularly good explanation and could only offer a vague reply: "Last night, the terrorists here evacuated for some reason. I don't know why either."
With that, Tony shrugged helplessly, entirely projecting the demeanor of someone who knew absolutely nothing.
"Is that so? Well, that truly is God's grace. Let's go, let's get out of here first."
Colonel Rhodes gave Tony a long, suspicious look filled with doubt, but because of his friendship with Tony, he chose not to probe further and had no way to get to the bottom of it, leaving him no choice but to drop the matter.
Regardless, the fact that Tony was unharmed was the best possible news.
Without delay, the group boarded the vehicles.
Due to a sleepless night, Tony and Doctor Yinsen fell asleep shortly after getting into the car.
Tony still cradled that massive battery in his arms, drawing continuous sideways glances from Colonel Rhodes along the way.
Two hours later, Tony finally returned to the United States military camp, and the tension in his mind at last eased.
As a country where capital reigned supreme, Tony and the United States government were in a phase of friendly cooperation, so Tony had no fear that the United States government would act against him.
Without lingering long at the camp, Tony and Doctor Yinsen soon boarded a military helicopter and headed toward New York.
As for Colonel Rhodes, because of his mission, he had to stay behind for a while and did not accompany them.
After sending Tony off, Rhodes also transmitted the news of Tony's rescue back to the United States, which included the bizarre aspects of the entire incident.
As a friend, he would not proactively pry into the secrets Tony concealed.
As a professional soldier, however, he would not ignore the suspicious points that had surfaced in this affair.
To begin with, the terrorist forces had gone to such great lengths to capture Tony, only to hurriedly retreat and leave Tony stranded in the desert; no matter how one looked at it, it made no sense.
Tony remained completely unaware of Rhodes's actions.
After a three-hour journey, he finally returned from the uninhabited desert to bustling Manhattan.
Once the aircraft touched down, Pepper Potts and the others received word almost immediately and rushed to the military district.
Back in Manhattan, Tony no longer feared the threat Obadiah posed, and naturally had no need to continue concealing his whereabouts.
At the entrance of the military district, the moment Tony walked out with Doctor Yinsen, he spotted a line of luxury cars parked outside.
A large crowd of bodyguards in suits stood respectfully to the side, led by a tall, beautiful career woman in a professional skirt suit.
As he looked at her, relevant information immediately surfaced in Tony's mind: Virginia Potts.
His predecessor's capable assistant, as well as the later object of his affections-commonly known as Pepper.
With a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Tony strode forward, and Potts quickly hurried to meet him.
Without a moment's hesitation, Tony pulled Potts into his arms and planted a deep kiss.
The sudden action left Potts stunned; although she was thrilled by Tony's safe return, kissing passionately right out in public was still somewhat beyond her expectations.
Yet once she recovered, she did not refuse, instead responding with even greater fervor.
She had always harbored feelings for Tony, only maintaining a distance because of his reckless lifestyle.
After the ordeal of Tony's disappearance, however, any prior reserve had long since vanished, and now, yielding to Tony's initiative, she responded without a trace of shyness.
The surrounding onlookers watched this scene, offered quiet coughs one after another, and quickly averted their gazes. They certainly dared not meddle in the big boss's affairs.
After a good while, Tony finally released Potts, smiled, and waved his hand. "Let's go home."
With that, he pulled Potts, who was snuggled in his arms, into the car.
Naturally, Yinsen could not share a vehicle with the two of them and had to ride with the bodyguards.
Inside the car, Potts had already composed herself, regaining the image of a strong career woman as she reported on the state of Stark Industries during the period of Tony's disappearance.
Had this been the old Stark, he likely would have grown impatient long ago, but now Tony listened quietly without interrupting her words.
Among them, two points were most critical.
First was Tony's disappearance, which had caused the stock of Stark Industries to plunge by nearly twenty percent.
Second was Obadiah, who during this time had won over a number of shareholders and seized even greater power within Stark Industries, coming dangerously close to replacing Tony altogether.
When Potts finished her report, Tony spoke up. "There's no need to worry about the falling stock."
"Now that I'm back, the stock will naturally rise again."
"As for Obadiah, my good uncle certainly went to great lengths, but since I'm back, he won't have a chance."
"Gather evidence against him and call a shareholders' meeting; I'm going to kick him out."
At these words, Potts's expression shifted. "This... Obadiah is the second-largest shareholder after all, and he holds half the authority of the group. If you want to move against him, I'm afraid the entire corporation will be shaken."
"You've only just returned, and the group needs stability. Shouldn't we wait a bit?"
Potts's advice was entirely reasonable; as the number-two figure in the corporation, attempting to oust Obadiah was a move that would affect the whole body by a single hair.
Had this been a peaceful world, Tony would certainly have plotted slowly, but this was Marvel-Tony had no time to waste on such petty internal maneuvering.
With a wave of his hand, he cut off Potts's words. "The matter is settled. We'll cut through this like a hot knife through butter!"
"As for the turmoil in the group, as long as I am still here, the corporation cannot fall!"
As for that fellow Obadiah, Tony had already sentenced him to death in his own mind.
Hell was the only choice for him.
The composure and confidence on Tony's face left Potts somewhat entranced.
She found that Tony had changed since this return; while he had been a genius before, he was merely a playboy.
Now, however, he possessed an overbearing aura that made him even more captivating than before.
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