Qin Xiao's challenge was childish, like a kindergarten child sticking out their bottom and saying, "Come and hit me! Come on!"
But this worked wonders on Killian. Perhaps the cold wind that blew on him alone on the rooftop more than a decade ago completely blew away his composure, or perhaps the heat of the Extremis Virus made him hot-tempered.
In short, seeing Qin Xiao and Tony's challenge on TV almost caused Killian to lose control of his temperature, melting a table and three chairs in one go before calming down a bit.
Not far from him, Erik Seven, the man who took Natasha and Pepper Potts away from the China Grand Theatre, was nonchalantly chewing gum.
"You don't need to get so angry. If you're unhappy with those clowns' boastful words, I can teach them a lesson for you. I'm also very interested to see if that so-called Qin Xiao, whose body can stop bullets, can stop my hands."
Erik Seven's hands turned into a lava-like liquid, and he licked his lips as he spoke.
After upgrading his flames, Qin Xiao obtained the Space Stone. He basically didn't use the power of his flames outside the home, firstly because the power wasn't strong enough, and later because he hadn't had many opportunities to use them.
Therefore, Killian and his group's assessment of Qin Xiao's combat strength is still based on the time of the Wakanda campaign.
"You can't go. Our plan has only just begun. We must take down the Iron Patriot. Everything is for the final plan. Send someone else first!"
Killian stared blankly at the monitor on the wall, which showed Natasha and Pepper Potts tied to an experimental chair.
Happy couldn't speak yet; he could only move his eyes and two fingers. But he still managed to hold the pen and write the name Killian on a piece of paper with difficulty.
"Investigate this person's entire background!"
Qin Xiao handed the paper with Killian's name on it to Agent Hill.
" Tony, I think you could take off your armor first. It feels awkward talking to you like this. I swear, Natasha and Pepper will be fine, trust me!"
"I know! They'll all be fine, but right now... right now I feel like I can't breathe when I take off my armor!"
Qin Xiao glanced at Tony, who was completely encased in armor.
"While I know your air circulation system is excellent, if you find it easier to breathe inside the armor, then let's not argue about this..."
Just as Qin Xiao was about to calm Tony down, JARVIS's voice rang out.
" Mr. Stark, someone came to the company looking for you. You know, Happy and Miss Potts weren't there, so the company executives activated the emergency button. I saw it; it was a girl, and by your standards, she's quite pretty!"
"I'm not in the mood to meet any girls right now, JARVIS. Tell her to leave. If she doesn't want to, have the company security escort her out. We can arrange a car for her."
Given Tony's impressive track record in the past, Stark Industries would occasionally see women he had once had a one-night stand with coming to Tony.
Some claimed to be Tony's girlfriends, while others even claimed to be pregnant with Tony's child.
Previously, Pepper Potts and Happy handled things themselves, but now that neither of them is around, and the company's higher-ups can't contact Tony and don't dare to make decisions on their own, they initiated emergency procedures and contacted JARVIS.
Two minutes later, JARVIS's voice rang out again.
" Mr. Stark, I'm afraid you'll have to meet this girl. She says she has news of Miss Potts!"
Qin Xiao and Tony exchanged a glance.
Ten seconds later, in a meeting room at Stark Industries.
" Maya Hansen? I hope what you told JARVIS is true. Don't tell me there's a twelve-year-old boy waiting for me in the car outside."
In the movie, Tony initially pretended to be confused, but now that Pepper Potts wasn't around, Tony immediately called out the girl's name.
Unlike his other one-night stands, Tony was deeply impressed by this girl's passion for science and her imagination.
"I'm surprised you remember me. I'm not kidding, Tony. Do you remember Killian?"
Killian, Tony had heard that name more than once recently.
Maya Hansen began talking about Killian, starting from that night more than ten years ago, and about the fake terrorist " The Mandarin," including the human experiments Killian had conducted.
"Our project used to be funded by the military, but it was so unreliable, often resulting in self-destruction, that the military stopped it. Killian approached Miss Potts about investing, but she refused!"
"So this was an act of retaliation, just because Pepper rejected his investment offer?"
Tony said, somewhat incredulously.
"No, actually it's because the Extremis Virus is just too unstable. Remember that exploding plant? From plant to human, all because you casually wrote me a formula, so..."
Maya Hansen pointed at Tony's head and made a helpless expression.
"So they thought I could solve the instability problem and kidnap Pepper?"
Tony suddenly felt like he'd been screwed over; it turned out he was the one who started all of this.
The so-called terrorists were the poor scientist he had forgotten on the rooftop years ago, and their core technology and weapons were based on a formula he had casually written down.
"That's right, but the incident at the China Grand Theatre was an accident. A retired soldier who had undergone human experimentation with us self-destructed there. Your girlfriends happened to be there, so it was a natural way to take them away."
Maya Hansen spoke faster and faster, sounding somewhat anxious.
"One last question: Why should I believe you? You've worked for Killian, you've worked together on a project for over ten years, why are you choosing to tell me all this now?"
Tony asked, puzzled.
"Because my original intention was to use it for the regeneration of severed limbs, not to create those terrifying biological weapons that turn people into unkillable monsters that can turn into lava and even self-destruct. Killian wants to use it to build an army, and that's not what I want!"
Maya Hansen shook her head and said.
"You have to trust me, we don't have much time left. I'm not sure if he's had anyone following me. We need to find a safe place quickly, and then figure out what to do next."
Maya Hansen became even more anxious.
"You have no idea how terrifying those who have succeeded are. They can completely ignore damage. Even if you cut off their hands and feet, they can regenerate immediately and even emit temperatures of three thousand degrees!"