Thud!
The scene Tony had expected, of Li Ang being sent flying by his punch, never happened.
Beneath his faceplate, Tony's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at Li Ang, who had caught his iron fist with one hand.
"What?" Tony's eyes went wide. If his faceplate hadn't held it up, his jaw could have hit the floor.
How was this possible?
According to the blueprints and calculations, that punch could deliver nine hundred pounds of force! Even Tyson would have died from one hit.
Yet this guy hadn't even swayed. Had something gone wrong?
[Tony Stark was shocked. Gained +3,000 Presence] [Yinsen was shocked. Gained +200 Presence]
Three thousand! Li Ang was thrilled. As expected of one of the Marvel Universe's protagonists. A single shock was worth three thousand Presence.
The more Li Ang looked at Tony, the more he liked him. Even after Tony attacked him, he patiently explained, "Calm down. My name is Li Ang. I'm here to get you out."
"Get us out?" Yinsen poked his head out from behind the Mark I and looked at Li Ang's young face.
Yinsen didn't think he looked like the Asians he remembered, but rather like an overseas Chinese, so he asked, "Did the military brass send you?"
"No." Li Ang shook his head and began examining the armor before him.
Its crude welding was rather sloppy overall, making it look more like a rudimentary, half-finished robot. This was the Mark I, the beginning of Iron Man's legend.
He still remembered watching that spinoff series in his previous life, the one called Ironheart that was actually Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
If that black chick had been put in Tony's current situation, she probably would have pissed herself long ago.
Li Ang released his hand, and the Iron Man Armor staggered forward from its momentum.
Tony was in a terrible mood. He had thrown that punch intending to score a knockout, only for the other guy to catch it like it was a joke.
It left him with the frustration of having his technology crushed by a mutation.
Tony inwardly steeled himself. When I get back, I'm building stronger armor!
"If you don't believe me, follow me out."
With that, Li Ang turned and headed out of the cave. Yinsen and Tony exchanged a look and followed, half-convinced.
They had barely entered the passage when they saw corpses strewn across the ground.
Tony lifted his metal faceplate, making no effort to hide his shock as his gaze swept over the bodies. "You did this? All by yourself?"
His gaze swept over the surrounding stone walls. He knew those marks all too well. They were traces left by a high-temperature laser sweeping across them.
Even the rocks had melted, and blood covered the edges of the furrows.
How had he done it? Surely he hadn't shot lasers from his eyes like Superman? That wasn't scientific at all.
If Li Ang had heard those thoughts, he would have laughed out loud.
In the Marvel Universe, Hell and Mephisto actually existed. What was the point of talking about science?
"All right, even if you are here to rescue us, what do you want? Money?"
He's even learned to answer ahead of me! Li Ang leaned against the wall. "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Tony wore an expression that said he had expected as much. "Ha, now we're finally getting to the point."
Everyone in the world bustled about for profit. Li Ang had come to rescue Tony partly for Presence and partly for money.
Yinsen watched Li Ang nervously, tightening his grip on his crowbar. Beside him, Tony waved a hand. "Relax, Yinsen. Since our friend here saved our lives, he has every right to name his terms."
"How about this? I'll give you two hundred million dollars. What do you say?"
Two hundred million dollars?! Li Ang nearly burst with joy when he heard it. As expected of one of Marvel's richest people. He really is generous!
Still, two hundred million dollars was a drop in the bucket for Tony.
Despite his excitement, Li Ang tried to keep his expression calm. "Tony Stark's life is only worth two hundred million? I want five hundred million, plus a promise. If I need your help, you have to help me."
"Wow, you really know how to bargain. Money isn't a problem, but a promise..."
Tony didn't agree right away. His promise, Tony Stark's promise, was worth far more than money could buy.
Before he could answer, the sound of a car engine came from outside.
The sound soon stopped at the cave entrance. Li Ang frowned. More reinforcements?
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's get out first." With that, Li Ang headed toward the entrance.
Excitement flashed in Tony's eyes. The reason he had been holding in his anger was so he could kill a few terrorists. He had never felt so stifled!
His mind made up, Tony followed Li Ang toward the entrance with long strides.
As soon as they stepped out of the cave, a row of dark gun barrels greeted them. The bearded man leading the group shouted angrily, "Kill them!"
Yinsen jumped in fright. Tony hurriedly raised his arm, ready to use his flamethrower.
But Li Ang was still standing in front of them. If he fired, wouldn't he burn Li Ang too?
Even if he was impervious to blades and bullets, what about his clothes? Wouldn't he end up streaking with his junk out?
Before they could shoot, and before Tony could unleash his flames, Li Ang's eyes lit up. With a swift sweep, all dozen or so terrorists froze in place.
Their eyes widened, their guns fell to the ground, and their upper bodies pitched forward while their lower bodies fell backward.
Their upper and lower bodies separated completely, spilling intestines and organs across the ground.
It was very Homelander, and very The Boys.
Li Ang slowly turned around. Tony stared blankly at the carnage on the ground. Now he knew where those marks on the walls had come from.
"Urgh!" Yinsen had never seen anything like it. He immediately ran a short distance away and started vomiting.
"All right, so you really were... going easy on me back there?" Tony's mouth twitched. "What's next? Laser eyes, super strength... don't tell me you can fly us out like Superman too?"
"Correct!" Li Ang made an inviting gesture.
But Tony shook his head. "No, we're driving. I'm... not really used to being carried through the sky. And don't even think about holding me in your arms. I'm not big on close physical contact."
Not big on close physical contact? If it were a supermodel or a gorgeous woman with curves in all the right places, that little quirk would probably be forgotten.
Of course, the same went for Li Ang. Nobody disliked supermodels-or "doing" supermodels.
Li Ang had wanted to save himself the trouble and simply grab the two of them and fly back, but Tony's next words changed his mind.
"I won't make you drive for free. I'll throw in another ten million!"
"Deal!"
Li Ang immediately headed toward the terrorists' jeep. Ten million American bucks for one stint as a driver? Anyone would know which option to choose.
This one had just been driven over. As for the old ones, they had already been flattened into iron pancakes.
Li Ang first put the Mark I in the back of the vehicle. The Mark I had just landed in the cargo bed with a crash.
[Nick Fury became suspicious of you. Gained 3,000 Presence]
He paused. S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered me already?
On second thought, working with S.H.I.E.L.D. now would be too risky. If he got tangled up with the Hydra agents inside it, nothing good would come of it.
He simply drove Tony and Yinsen across the desert to a small border town.
After a short rest, Tony contacted his friend in the military, Colonel Rhodes.
"Back to our earlier topic. What exactly do you want?" Tony drank ice water, slouched in his chair like Ge You.
"Nothing much. I just want you to give me some publicity. How I rescued you, for example." Li Ang shrugged.
Tony Stark's endorsement was very useful. At the very least, how many people around the world would learn about him once the word got out? Wouldn't his Presence rise to a whole new level?
That was why Li Ang had come to rescue him.
And Tony immediately understood what Li Ang was thinking.
He adopted the manner he used in business negotiations. "I owe you my life. That's true."
"But you have to tell me: are you trying to market yourself as a superhero? Or do you have some business plan that needs the Stark name behind it?"
Li Ang folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Everyone has something they pursue. What I'm after is fame."