On the Count of Three

Just as Lin Ze had feared, Obadiah's armor was several times larger than Tony's, and the nuclear reactor powering it had been freshly ripped from Tony's chest.

The Mark Armor demanded a great deal of power from its chest-mounted supply. The old reactor was only keeping it running for now, and its energy reserves kept dropping. Tony had to end this quickly.

The agents Potts had brought were no match for Obadiah in his armor. The man blamed all his failures on Potts, attacking the agents without restraint as he advanced. He treated them not just as targets, but as toys.

After dealing with the agents in his way, he burst out of the basement through the ground and demanded from behind Potts:

"Where do you think you're running?!"

This damned woman had cost him everything. He had even considered sparing her life so she could keep working for the company, yet she had dared betray him!

He would repay this suffering twice over!

Potts was already terrified. Her only thought was to get away from this dangerous place, but she could find no way out. All she could do was dodge. She couldn't muster any strength now, not even the slightest bit.

"Ah!"

Obadiah advanced relentlessly. Potts could only scramble backward, but he had already cornered her against a wall.

"I no longer require your services."

He aimed the gun in his hand at his target, its barrels spinning and glowing red with heat.

"Stane!"

Tony came flying in like a meteor and gave Obadiah's head an affectionate bear hug.

Thud!

The impact from above sent them crashing through the ground and a wall, tumbling onto the adjoining road with its constant stream of traffic.

The two hulking masses of steel rolled recklessly into the path of moving cars. Ordinary vehicles were no match for the materials their armor was made of. Several cars struck them and instantly became scrap metal.

"Aaaah!!"

"Help!!"

The cars on the road were moving fast, and hitting the armor caused serious traffic accidents. In an instant, horns, shouts, screams, and wails filled the air.

The two iron men battered each other in the street. Vehicles and pedestrians scattered, their eyes filled with terror.

What the hell were those things?!

Obadiah climbed to his feet, his armor towering like a mountain.

"I love this suit."

He had thrown caution to the wind. Ignoring the people inside, Obadiah grabbed a car stopped in front of him and hoisted it high over his head to attack Tony.

"Aaaaaah!!!!"

The car owner's screams echoed down the road.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Ignoring the innocent people's cries, Obadiah hurled the car and everything inside it toward Tony, including the driver and the shrill screams and cries of agony.

Tony had no choice but to muster all his strength to catch the hurtling vehicle.

The impact sent sparks scraping out from beneath his feet.

His armor gave a piercing screech under the unbearable strain.

"Power remaining: 16%."

Such excessive consumption drained the armor's power like water. Even the display inside his suit briefly distorted.

His armor no longer had enough power to support the car's weight, but the people inside would surely be hurt if he let it drop. He could only struggle to hold on.

Screeeech-

Brakes slammed on.

Beep, beep-

Beep, beep, beep-

Rhodey pounded the horn in frustration, but the car ahead didn't budge an inch. Luckily, he had reacted quickly enough, or he would have rear-ended it.

"Fuck you, up front! Do you even know how to drive?!"

He was on the verge of a breakdown. This little girl named Qiqi was dead set on getting involved in Tony's trouble. She had chopped up five of Tony's luxury cars to force Rhodey to bring her here, then kept urging him to hurry all the way. His head was about to explode.

Now even this normally smooth stretch of road had a problem, as though it was deliberately trying to drive him mad. Rhodey's temper flared.

Oddly enough, the little girl had gone quiet after getting into the car. She sat in the back seat without a word.

Rhodey planned to park far away, somewhere they could see Tony clearly, and tell Qiqi not to run around.

But he was wrong.

Before he could put his plan into action, he saw the drivers ahead screaming and abandoning their cars one after another, as though they had spotted something terrifying.

Sensing something was wrong, Rhodey stopped unbuckling his seat belt. He braced one hand against the seat back, turned the wheel with the other, and hit the accelerator, reversing at speed.

Then something unexpected happened.

Thud!

There was a tremendous crash.

His car jolted and rocked in place.

Rhodey slammed on the brakes and swung the car aside as fast as he could. Then he saw a dark gun barrel in front of him, mounted on the hand of a mechanical suit far larger than Tony's Mark Armor.

"Fuck!"

Rhodey couldn't help swearing.

Obadiah now recognized the people in the car, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

His eyes fixed on the little girl in the back seat, and an evil smile spread across his face.

"Hey, Tony! Here's a present for you!"

Tony had just set down the car he had caught when he heard Obadiah's voice behind him.

"Watch out!!!"

Rhodey hurriedly shouted a warning, but by then, he and the car were already flying through the air.

Boom!

The front of the car slammed into the unprepared red armor.

Tony was sent flying.

The car was badly damaged too, its entire front end twisted beyond recognition. At the moment of impact, the airbag burst out with a whoosh, cushioning Rhodey's head somewhat.

But his body slammed into the glass roof. The glass shattered, and he landed directly on the shards, grimacing in pain.

Yet Rhodey's first instinct wasn't to check his injuries, but to call the name of the girl in the back seat.

"Qiqi!"

"Qiqi, are you all right?!"

Dizzy, Rhodey heard no reply from the girl. He tried to turn around to make sure Qiqi was safe, but even the slightest movement sent waves of excruciating pain through him.

The deformed front end had crushed the driver's seat into a cramped, sealed space.

The broken glass had scraped his chest bloody, and some shards had even pierced his flesh.

Worse still, the car reeked of gasoline. If they didn't get out soon, it could explode.

"Damn it!"

Rhodey tugged desperately at his seat belt. The device meant to save lives had now become an obstacle to his survival.

Then he felt a cool sensation on his face.

A tiny ice crystal melted on the tip of his nose.

Beautiful frost patterns rapidly spread over the spiderweb of shattered glass. His body suddenly felt lighter, and the pain quickly receded.

"Whew."

The breath Rhodey exhaled actually turned into white mist inside the car.

"Do you need... help?"

While he was still dazed, someone tapped on his half-shattered window. Rhodey looked up.

The little girl's fair, delicate face appeared outside. When she saw him looking, she gave him a sweet smile.

For a moment, Rhodey thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Qiqi?"

When had she gotten out?

"This might... hurt a little."

Then Rhodey saw Qiqi raise that icy longsword again, the sword that could cleave a car in two with a casual swing.

Qiqi lined the sword up against the car. Rhodey felt as though that terrifying edge was passing back and forth over his own body.

This kid didn't know her own strength. What if she sliced him in half too?

"Wait, wait, wait!!!"

Breaking into a cold sweat, Rhodey hurriedly called to Qiqi, "I think there's still another way to get me out."

"No time. Don't worry. Qiqi... will be careful."

The little girl gave Rhodey a reassuring look, then raised her sword high:

"Listen to Qiqi... count to three."

"Wait!! What are you going to do?!"

"Three!!!"

It all happened in a flash!

A blue arc of sword light slashed down.

Boom!

An explosion roared in Rhodey's ears.