Countless thoughts ran through his mind, only to fade away in the end.
The Mandarin came back to his senses, killing intent flickering in his eyes.
"And then?"
"They were held for two months, but escaped yesterday. They also destroyed this base while they were at it, correct?"
The intelligence officer hurriedly lowered his head and continued his report.
"Yes, sir. Our hidden surveillance technology revealed that Tony Stark built a suit of heavy armor from scrap parts in the cave, and burned most of the supplies with a flamethrower. But the strangest thing was Luca Stark."
A trace of fear appeared on the intelligence officer's face, as though he were imagining the scene.
"Our informants on the perimeter reported that Luca Stark had completely changed into another person. He had inhuman strength and could send a fully armed pickup truck flying with his bare hands."
"He could also fire some kind of energy beam from both hands. He flattened almost all of the base's outer defenses single-handedly."
Hearing this, The Mandarin frowned even more deeply.
Flipping a car with his bare hands? Firing energy beams?
That sounded much like those superpowered monsters S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent out back then.
Those obviously inhuman guys were always so annoying.
Sure enough, how could Howard Stark's sons be ordinary rich young masters?
They had to be hiding some unknown, mysterious power.
The Mandarin took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
What was done was done. Getting angry now would accomplish nothing.
As their leader, he had to make the right decision.
"Sir, it was our negligence. We failed to notice Benjamin acting on his own in time. I'm very sorry, sir. Please punish me."
Seeing that The Mandarin said nothing, the intelligence officer quickly dropped to one knee in the sand and admitted his fault.
The Mandarin couldn't be bothered to say anything more and waved a hand dismissively.
"Forget it. Get up."
"Benjamin had only himself to blame for getting killed. His head was full of salad dressing, and he just had to provoke the Stark Family."
"He was asking for death!"
"Even if he hadn't been blown up yesterday, I would have broken his neck myself."
The Mandarin glanced at the still-smoking ruins, his gaze calm once more.
"It was just one branch. So what if it was destroyed? As long as our core forces remain, I can build ten more bases like it whenever I want."
"But don't think I'm someone you can mess with. I'll remember this. It's not time for us to go to all-out war with S.H.I.E.L.D. yet."
The Mandarin raised his right hand and pointed into the distance.
"Everyone, listen up! Return to headquarters immediately. Once we're back, speed up the work in the research lab! Focus all your efforts on those stones!"
As he spoke, a fanatical light appeared in The Mandarin's eyes.
"Those stones are our true trump card. Once we unravel their secrets and master the energy inside them, the Stark Family and S.H.I.E.L.D. will all be reduced to ashes beneath our feet!"
"Our plan must be completed before S.H.I.E.L.D. can react! Is that understood?!"
"Understood, sir!!"
More than twenty subordinates answered in unison.
The group immediately turned around and climbed into several off-road vehicles parked behind the dunes.
The Mandarin took one last look at the ruins.
Then he opened the door and climbed into the off-road vehicle at the front.
The convoy's engines roared, kicking up clouds of yellow sand as it quickly disappeared beyond the edge of the desert.
Silence returned, broken only by the howl of wind through the ruins.
About ten minutes after The Mandarin and his men left,
something strange suddenly happened in the cloudless sky.
A dazzling meteor abruptly appeared on the horizon.
Trailing a long tail, it hurtled down toward the ruins.
Normally, a meteor falling to Earth would produce a tremendous sonic boom, followed by a violent explosion and impact when it hit the ground.
Strangely, however, this meteor was unusually quiet.
There was no deafening roar, nor any dazzling blaze.
Instead, it landed soundlessly in a deep crater at the very center of the ruined base.
At the bottom of the crater struck by the meteor,
something that looked like a charred meteorite lay quietly.
Suddenly, the surface of the meteorite began to change.
It was something resembling a liquid.
In one part of the crater amid the base's ruins, something began to wriggle incessantly.
The next second, a viscous substance resembling black asphalt seeped out of the meteorite.
As though alive, the mass of black asphalt spread rapidly across the ground and gathered together.
It devoured the surrounding sand and soil, absorbing moisture from the air.
Soon, the black asphalt gathered into the outline of a human figure.
The figure stood at the bottom of the crater, its body still writhing and changing shape.
It began rapidly forming bones, muscles, blood vessels, and finally skin and hair.
The process of constructing the body looked exceptionally bizarre, like a living person being rapidly molded out of clay.
In less than a minute, the black figure had completely taken on human form.
A naked, powerfully built man stood quietly amid the ruins.
If The Mandarin were still here, he would have been utterly shocked.
From every angle, this man looked exactly like Benjamin, the former leader of the base!
But this bald man was him, and yet he wasn't.
The bald man's eyes had turned cold and mechanical, without a trace of human emotion.
His gaze was like a machine, scanning his surroundings.
Then he slowly raised his right hand.
A slit suddenly opened in his palm, and a futuristic-looking communicator squeezed out of his flesh.
The bald man took the communicator and pressed a few buttons.
A faint blue light appeared on it.
Soon, a voice came from the other end.
"Aruru, what's the situation? Did you land safely?"
As it turned out, this guy's name was Aruru.
Aruru opened his mouth and reported into the communicator in stilted speech.
"Sir, I have arrived safely on Earth. Body reconstruction complete. I encountered no resistance. The surrounding area is secure."
"Good," the voice on the other end of the communicator continued.
"This covert operation must proceed."
"Do not attract the attention of those superheroes or special organizations. Follow the plan, lie low, and find a suitable target. Do not delay our plan!"
"Go on, the goddess will protect you!"
"Understood, sir," Aruru replied expressionlessly.
Then the blue light on the communicator went out, and the connection ended.
Aruru pressed the communicator back into his palm, and the skin healed instantly.
He then turned his head toward a pile of charred remains nearby.
There lay the burned remains of the real bald leader, Benjamin.
Although burned beyond recognition, some brain tissue and cells remained.
Aruru walked over to the remains and crouched down.
His right hand suddenly turned into a mass of black substance again, covering the remains.
As the substance wriggled, Aruru began absorbing the biological information and memories left in the corpse.
This was an innate ability of his race.
As long as even a tiny number of brain cells remained, they could read a dead person's memories from when they were alive.
As the absorption continued, countless images began flashing through Aruru's cold, mechanical eyes.
They were Benjamin's memories.
Aruru saw how Benjamin had built the base, traded weapons, and kidnapped the Stark brothers.
Finally, the images froze on the massive explosion that had occurred yesterday.
In those memories, he saw Luca's and Tony's faces clearly.
The memory reading was complete.
Aruru withdrew his right hand, and the black substance turned back into a human arm.
Then he slowly stood up and moved his body around.
A stiff, twisted smile suddenly curled the corners of his mouth.
He had found perfect prey, a target possessing vast, unknown energy.
If he could devour that person, he might be able to complete his mission on Earth quickly.
"Stark, is it?"
Aruru looked at the distant sky and muttered to himself in a strange tone.
The next second, he bent his legs slightly and pushed off the ground.
"Boom!"
A huge crater instantly appeared in the sand beneath his feet.
Aruru shot into the sky, whipping up a gust of wind.
He adjusted his direction in midair, then turned into a streak of black light.
He flew toward the far side of the ocean.
Sunlight shone on the ruins once more, as though nothing had happened there.