Now that Rimuru had been released after serving his sentence, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad. He was happy to be free, with no one watching over him, but sad that he was completely undocumented here and didn't even know where to go. Had he just landed himself in a wilderness survival situation?
At Kamar-Taj, he'd learned that the current year was still 2008, but he didn't know whether Tony had become Iron Man yet. If he hadn't, Rimuru could still hitch a ride.
First, let's open a portal to New York. Honestly, Ancient One, couldn't you have just sent me straight to the New York Sanctum? Now I have to open a portal myself. I don't know this place at all-what if I open it inside someone's house?
The portal opened, and when he stepped through, he found himself standing on someone's rooftop. See? See? There's the problem. Luckily, nobody around saw me, and luckily, I'm in human form, although that's no damn use.
Let me take a good look at this disaster-prone city.
Huh?
Through Universal Sense, he detected a missing-person notice playing in Times Square not far away. It was actually for Tony, which meant Tony was still in the cave.
Nice~ That's great. Tony, wait for me! The Marvel Universe brawl is about to get rolling, and I'm going to be the first one aboard.
System, send me to the valley where Tony is.
System: "What the hell are you talking about? Do I have that function? Besides, I don't know the exact location either."
Come on, you're a system. You can't do this, you don't have that-what use are you to me?
Great Sage, do you have a way?
Answer: 1. Intelligence search: The missing-person notice in Times Square shows that Tony Stark is missing. It can be inferred that the media have reported his disappearance in the mountains near Afghanistan. Recommend accessing local networks or news systems to obtain coordinates. 2. Magical assistance: Kamar-Taj's portals require a clear "image" of the destination or a "spatial connection." If you have come into contact with Tony's clothing, technology, or other remnants, you can try tracking magic. 3. Backup plans: Contact S.H.I.E.L.D.: Use magic to create an anomalous incident and attract Phil Coulson's attention. Watch Stark Tower: Wait for Pepper Potts or Obadiah to make a move, then trace them back. Leverage the Ancient One: If the sorcerer tacitly permits your actions, the New York Sanctum's collection may contain a record of a "technique for locating key nodes of destiny."
Uh~ Great Sage is more reliable, but these plans are either too conservative or too radical. I've only just arrived in this world, so it's better to keep a low profile.
I remember Tony was in a valley with a pile of weapons in it. With those features, it shouldn't be hard to find from the air, right?
Damn! This place is fucking hard to find. I've been searching for a whole two weeks. If Great Sage hadn't been helping, I'd have worked myself to death.
If this system were even a little reliable, I wouldn't have had to search for so long. What a useless system.
System: ?
"What the hell are you talking about? I told you ages ago to try some other methods. You were the one who was stubborn as a mule and insisted on using the dumbest way to search. It's not like I didn't try to talk you out of it."
How is that the same? I've been looking for so long already. If I go back and use other methods now, what happens to all the effort I've put in? Do I just count myself unlucky?
Whatever. After all this time, I finally found it. I wonder how Tony's doing now. I'd better hurry in and take a look. What if I delay a few more days and he gets out on his own?
He swallowed a small insect, activated Mimicry, and headed into the cave. Before he reached the end, he heard a clatter of footsteps and instinctively shrank into a corner, afraid they would spot him.
After they clattered inside, he meant to follow them, but suddenly remembered that he was the Cute King now. What was he afraid of? Taking out a few terrorists would be a piece of cake.
He squeezed through a gap and heard them jabbering away in some language he couldn't understand.
Oh, oh, so it's already reached the part where they force Tony to finish the missile as soon as possible. I really did come at the right time.
These terrorists are really something. Couldn't you just compare the parts he made with the blueprints? With that kind of intelligence, they're still acting so cocky.
After they left, Rimuru retreated into a blind spot in the surveillance and changed back, first into his slime form and then into his human form. The two men had just been through an interrogation and were still on edge, so this gave them quite a fright.
The two were even more nervous than before, because they had been discussing their plans for tomorrow. They were at the final critical moment; surely they couldn't get stuck here right before the finish line.
Tony raised both hands and tried to look friendly, but the cold sweat running down his forehead betrayed his nervousness. "Hey, girl, are you another victim the terrorists kidnapped?"
That made Rimuru laugh. Tony looked so different from Iron Man on the screen, and even his voice trembled as he asked.
Tony and Yinsen exchanged a glance. The little girl in front of them was really a bit strange. Had the terrorists secretly hidden her there to spy on them? But that didn't make sense either. There had been quite a few people here just now, but how could they have missed such a conspicuous little girl?
"Tony Stark, relax. You don't need to be so nervous. I wasn't brought here by the terrorists, and I'm a boy, got it?" Rimuru decided to try to reassure the two men. They still had to build the armor tonight, and he wanted to watch too.
"Okay, okay, you're a boy, you're a boy. Then could you sit over there and not move? The two of us still have things to do." Tony tried to reassure Rimuru.
Never mind saying he was a boy-even if he said his gender was a Walmart shopping bag or an attack helicopter, Tony would have to go along with him right now.
Rimuru was a little speechless as he watched Tony trying to reassure him like he was coaxing a child. I'm trying to reassure you, and you're trying to reassure me? Is this a nesting doll or what?
"You're not making a missile right now. You're actually making armor, right?"
With that one sentence from Rimuru, it was as if space froze and time stood still. Even the terrorists watching outside thought the screen had frozen.
In that instant, Yinsen's face went pale. Tony already had a chest wound, and he almost failed to recover from the shock. He could barely stand. Looking at the mischievous grin on Rimuru's face, Tony understood!
This brat needs to be taught a lesson!
Since the child knew what they were making and hadn't called the terrorists over, that proved he at least wasn't working with them. Now they needed to hurry up with the forging.
After Rimuru's antics, the tense atmosphere actually relaxed, and Tony was even in the mood to crack dirty jokes.
Rimuru quietly watched him and the other man rush to finish, stepping forward to help from time to time. After all, Yinsen wasn't a specialist in this field. Rimuru wasn't either, but he had Great Sage. It only took a glance for Great Sage to immediately figure out what needed to be done next.
Tony programmed the armor while Yinsen prepared the parts. The two were working at a frantic pace, something the movie hadn't shown.