He took the keys from the guard and gently opened the iron door.
The first thing he saw was a large workbench made of haphazardly arranged wood. All sorts of tools and metal lay scattered across it.
To think he could build a miniature Arc Reactor and a suit of armor beyond current technology in conditions like these. Iron Man truly lived up to his reputation as a mortal who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods.
Qin Xiao voiced his admiration.
He looked farther into the cave. Two simple cots stood on the far right.
Two people lay on the cots under blankets whose original colors were impossible to make out. One was Doctor Yinsen, who had appeared briefly in the movie.
The other was Tony Stark, who had already become Iron Man. Qin Xiao could see the faint blue glow of the Arc Reactor beneath his blanket.
After all the time they had spent hanging out together, Qin Xiao had developed a certain foundation of friendship with Tony.
Tony Stark, usually so impeccably dressed, now looked like a filthy, disheveled wreck.
With a slight pang of sadness, Qin Xiao gently lifted Tony's blanket.
Smack!
At that slight touch, Tony's eyes flew open, and one hand was already gripping Qin Xiao's wrist.
"Uh, as your coach, should I be praising you for learning so well?"
Tony Stark froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up with delighted surprise.
Qin Xiao had no time to say anything else. He quickly rose and turned around, clamping a hand firmly over Yinsen's mouth just as it was about to open wide.
"Quiet! Don't yell if you want to live. I'm Tony's friend!"
The noise had woken Yinsen, and the guy's first reaction had been to open his mouth and shout. Luckily, Qin Xiao had reacted fast enough.
"God, I never knew seeing you could make me this happy. How did you get here?"
Tony spoke in a low voice, delighted and surprised.
"Would you believe me if I said I came here to wait for the next subway? What do you think? Of course I came to rescue you, buddy. Also, stay away from me. I don't want a hug. Damn it! Tony, you have no idea how bad you smell!"
Wrenching himself out of Tony's embrace, Qin Xiao could not help brushing the dust off himself.
He lowered his voice. "The people outside have been dealt with. Keep your voices down and follow me!"
Just then, Hawkeye's urging voice came through his earpiece.
"Qin, you need to hurry. There's a surveillance room here with a camera pointed right at your location. I've already taken care of one bastard who got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I can't hold out much longer."
"Move, there's no time!"
Qin Xiao urged the two men.
Although Tony wondered who had come with Qin Xiao, he knew this was no time for idle questions.
He stood, went to the workbench to grab a stack of blueprints, and followed Qin Xiao without hesitation.
By the time Qin Xiao brought the two men out, Black Widow had already begun planting small bombs around the area.
After telling Hawkeye to pull out, they climbed up on the side near the cave.
Black Widow surveyed the canyon below, piled high with weapons.
"Go get the car. I'll keep watch here. If they come out, I'll treat them to some free fireworks!"
Black Widow spoke with a small remote detonator in her hand.
With everything so urgent earlier, and in the darkness, Tony had not gotten a clear look at Hawkeye or Black Widow.
Now, hearing Black Widow speak, he got a clear look at her face.
"It's you!"
Apparently, Black Widow had left a deep impression on Tony at the casino.
But Tony wisely refrained from asking any questions just then.
Instead, he addressed Black Widow with a serious expression.
"I want to stay with you. The missiles, rifles, and everything else down there are all Stark Industries weapons. I don't know why they're here, but I want to destroy them myself."
Of everyone there, Qin Xiao understood Tony's current feelings best. Without waiting for anyone else to speak,
he took over the conversation.
"Then it's settled. I'll stay to protect them. Yinsen, go with Agent Barton to get the car!"
Hawkeye glanced at Qin Xiao and Tony without speaking, beckoned to Yinsen, then turned and left.
The three of them found a concealed spot and lay down.
By then, the sky was beginning to brighten.
Qin Xiao looked at the glowing Arc Reactor on Tony's chest and said,
"Nice tattoo. It even lights up. Give me one when we get back!"
Tony gave a bleak smile.
He pulled his clothes down, revealing the reactor underneath.
"This thing is an electromagnet. There's a bunch of tiny shrapnel fragments inside me, moving toward my heart every second. Trust me, you wouldn't like how it feels."
Never mind Black Widow-even Qin Xiao, who knew the whole story, seeing such a large piece of metal embedded in someone's chest,
could not help clicking his tongue.
"At least you won't need to turn on a lamp when you get up to use the bathroom at night!"
Qin Xiao did not know how to comfort him, so he could only pat his shoulder and say that.
He had barely finished speaking when a commotion rose from the camp below.
"Quiet. They've noticed!"
At Black Widow's words, the three fell silent and watched the camp.
A large group of disheveled terrorists emerged from the cave on the left, carrying assorted rifles and shouting in every direction.
Black Widow handed the remote detonator to Tony. "Wait a little. Let a few more of them come out!"
Tony said nothing. He took the detonator and clenched it tightly in his hand.
Clearly, what he had gone through during this time had left him with some psychological scars.
A short while later, a burly bald man stormed out with his men, furious.
Having checked the surveillance footage, he still refused to give up and entered the cave where Tony had been imprisoned again.
It was over a full minute before he emerged, standing at the entrance and loudly issuing some sort of order to the men below.
"Now!"
Black Widow spoke.
Almost the instant she spoke, Tony pressed the detonator's switch hard.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
The small bombs Black Widow had left behind exploded almost simultaneously.
Then they set off the large pile of missiles on the ground, along with grenades, ammunition, and other munitions.
The violent explosions made the ground shake beneath the three of them, even over a hundred meters away.
Countless bullets were propelled by the explosions, scattering through the air in every direction and bursting.
It really did look like a massive fireworks show.
Just then, the sound of a car engine came from behind them.
Hawkeye watched as an off-road vehicle sped over from the distance.
"Get in! The explosions will draw the attention of the local military and government. Let's avoid any unnecessary trouble and get out of here!"
Hawkeye waved to everyone.
Tony took one long look at the place, then turned and followed Qin Xiao into the car.
None of them had noticed the leader, that burly bald man.
The blast wave had hurled him back into the cave the instant the explosions went off.
Although injured, he had at least escaped the direct force of the explosions.
As they left, he was slowly crawling out of the cave, watching the dust left by their departing car.
He reached into his pants and pulled out a satellite phone!