The following morning, New York was bathed in sunshine. There was no smoke of war, no out-of-control Extremis, and the city was free from the shadow of its past crisis.
The group drove to Dr. Wu's private cardiac surgery medical center, which had tight security and equipment far exceeding that of public hospitals, making it capable of handling Tony's highly complex open-heart surgery.
The final comprehensive preoperative imaging examination concluded, and the internal structure of Tony's chest cavity was clearly displayed on the holographic screen. Dr. Wu pointed to the image and gave the final preoperative assessment in front of everyone, thus finalizing the key setting for the entire book:
" Mr. Stark, I have reviewed all your lesion data again. Your chest cavity only contains metal shrapnel from years ago, which has caused long-term compression damage to the myocardium due to adhesions. There are no additional biochemical erosion lesions."
"Today's surgery only requires removing the old shrapnel embedded in the myocardium, removing the Arc Reactor' you've relied on for so long, and repairing the myocardial tissue damaged by the instruments. The surgical procedure is clear and controllable, with no risk of sudden changes during or after the operation."
As soon as those words were spoken, the biggest weight that had been hanging over Tony's heart finally lifted.
All his previous fears stemmed from the trauma of the surgery itself, the helplessness of lying on the operating table again and completely losing control of his body, and were firmly linked to the psychological trauma left by the cave years ago.
Now that it has been confirmed that there is only a simple metallic foreign object in his body, without any unknown hidden dangers, from now on, as long as he successfully completes the surgery, he will be able to completely return to being a healthy ordinary person.
"Very good." Tony took a deep breath, the last trace of gloom in his eyes disappearing, his tone utterly calm. "Let's begin the surgery."
Pepper gripped his wrist tightly, her eyes filled with worry and expectation; Yinsen stood by, nodding calmly, ready to enter the operating room at any moment to assist with emergency medical care; Natasha stood guard outside the entire hospital building, shielding it from all external signals and prying eyes, isolating it from all external interference.
Lynn stood alone in the sterile observation room of the operating room, looking down at the entire operating table through a layer of bulletproof glass.
He kept his promise and did not physically interfere with the surgical procedure. Instead, he silently laid out an invisible magical barrier that enveloped the entire operating room: stabilizing Tony's vital signs during the operation, isolating him from any sudden medical accidents, and preventing any possibility of massive bleeding or cardiac arrest during the operation.
The scalpel cuts through the skin and flesh, opens the chest, separates the adhered blood vessels, peels away the metal shrapnel embedded in the myocardium, and smoothly pulls out the Arc Reactor from the chest...
The entire surgery proceeded smoothly and efficiently.
The entire surgery proceeded smoothly and steadily, with no unexpected abnormalities. As the preoperative examination indicated, the lesion in Tony's body was single and clear, and this surgery was simply a high-difficulty, but risk-controlled, open-chest procedure to remove the foreign object.
Two hours later.
With a series of steady, low beeps from the instruments, the surgery was successfully completed.
Dr. Wu personally placed two items on a sterile tray: a pair of old, rusty, and sharp-edged shrapnel pieces, and a faintly glowing, fully functional Arc Reactor.
"Surgery successful." Dr. Wu removed his mask, let out a long sigh of relief, looked at Lynn in the observation room, and then at the crowd waiting outside the door. " Mr. Stark's chest cavity has been completely cleared of foreign objects, the damage has been repaired, and there are no abnormal residues in his body. From now on, he will no longer need to rely on the reactor to sustain his life and has fully recovered to a normal human state."
Outside the door, Pepper's eyes instantly reddened, and she covered her mouth, letting out a sigh of relief.
Yinsen's brow relaxed, and he felt genuinely relieved for Tony.
Lynn looked at Tony, who was sleeping peacefully on the operating table with his chest wound perfectly stitched up, and gently withdrew the magic barrier.
The shackles that had plagued Tony for years were finally removed.
He bid farewell to the Arc Reactor that had been with him for many years. For the rest of his life, he would no longer be reminded of his death countdown by the blue light in his chest day and night, and he was completely free from the physical shackles that had plagued him for years.
The operating room doors slowly opened to both sides, and a faint smell of disinfectant wafted out.
Pepper could no longer contain her emotions. Her eyes reddened, and she rushed to the door, her gaze immediately falling on the hospital bed that was being gently wheeled out by the medical staff.
The anesthesia had not completely worn off; Tony's eyes were still lightly closed, and his face remained pale from the surgery.
Without the Arc Reactor or metal shrapnel, he was now just an ordinary, healthy person.
Yinsen strode forward and skillfully checked Tony's post-operative vital signs. The electrocardiogram showed a steady beat, and all indicators, including heart rate and blood pressure, had returned to normal. Tony's tense expression completely relaxed, and a genuine smile spread across his face.
"Everything is fine," Yinsen said softly, both to Pepper and to himself. "He's finally completely free."
Inside the observation room, Lynn slowly withdrew the invisible magical barrier surrounding him, and the faint light at his fingertips dissipated.
Looking at Tony, who was being wheeled out onto the hospital bed and was now completely free of his shackles and sleeping peacefully, Lynn gave a faint smile.
Iron Man, who was always racing against death and always had a time bomb hanging over his chest, finally no longer had to confront Death at every turn.
For the next week, everyone stayed at the medical center to help Tony recover after his surgery.
Shedding his armor, the crisis, and all his heroic identities, Tony enjoyed a rare period of leisurely and peaceful recuperation. No more working through the night to develop armor, no more facing formidable enemies, no more constantly on guard against sudden lesions within his body. He simply spent his days resting peacefully, chatting with Pepper about everyday life, and occasionally discussing the future operational plans for the charity hospital and school with Yinsen.
After the suture removal and follow-up examination, Dr. Wu repeatedly confirmed that Tony's cardiopulmonary function had fully recovered and that there were no sequelae after the surgery, and fully approved his discharge for recuperation. Tony immediately made a decision.
A private trip without armor, mission, or destination.
He wanted to take everyone who had accompanied him through the darkness, through his inner demons, and through life and death with him, away from the hustle and bustle of New York, to completely empty his mind and body.
A private jet takes off, leaving behind the concrete jungle of New York City, and flies to a quiet, secluded seaside island.
The island has a mild climate, gentle sea breeze, endless blue sea and sky, clean and soft beaches. There are no special agent missions, no armor alarms, no enemies that may attack at any time, only leisurely time flowing by.
During the day, people either sat by the sea chatting and enjoying the sea breeze, or strolled along the coastline to relax. Ivan, unusually, let go of his obsession with machinery, quietly enjoying the sea breeze and completely letting go of past hatred; Yinsen enjoyed a rare moment of leisure, setting aside his medical skills and conflicts, sitting quietly reading a book, healing all his past weariness.
Tony had completely shed his former impatience and arrogance, no longer constantly on edge. Occasionally, he would lower his head and gently stroke his smooth chest, his eyes filled with relief. He used to rely on his armor for protection and the reactor to sustain his life, but now he realized that living without relying on anything external was the most reassuring thing.
Most of the time, Lynn simply observed quietly, sitting on the rocks by the sea, enjoying the breeze as he watched the group around him relax and unhurried, not interfering in anything, just savoring this rare peaceful daily life. He was used to endless wars and future turmoil, and this peaceful, uneventful daily life was equally rare.
Natasha remained taciturn, but she had also let down her guard as a secret agent, no longer constantly watching for danger. Occasionally, she would accept drinks offered by others and sit quietly to the side watching the sea, her sharp edge softening completely.
As the sun sets, the evening glow spreads across the entire sea, and the orange-red light spills across the surface, creating a shimmering, incredibly gentle scene.
The group sat side by side on the beach, no one speaking, yet there was no awkwardness. Having faced life and death together countless times, their silent companionship spoke volumes.
In the midst of this peaceful moment, Natasha's encrypted satellite phone, tucked into her pocket, suddenly rang with a special ringtone unique to S.H.I.E.L.D.., breaking the brief silence. The Electro was none other than Nick Fury.