An armor prototype: Tony's cave ingenuity

The jeep stopped deep inside the shelter. Once the engine shut off, the cabin fell quiet. Tony leaned against the passenger seat, his breathing steadier than before, though his face was still pale. He reached up to touch the wound on his shoulder. A little blood stained his fingertips, but he did not even frown.

"We don't have time to rest," he said. "They'll find us sooner or later. I need to make something we can fight back with."

Ye Mo said nothing. He pushed open the door and jumped out. The mist outside had yet to clear, and the ground was cold and damp, but he was already used to this environment. He went around to the back, opened the trunk, and dug out a tool kit and several metal plates. They had brought these things out of the cave earlier. They were battered, but still usable.

Tony braced himself against the door as he climbed out. His steps were still unsteady, but his gaze never left the parts. Crouching down, he took a small circuit board and a thumb-sized reactor prototype out of his clothes. Scorch marks covered its surface; it had clearly been repaired more than once.

"Can that thing still start?" Ye Mo asked.

"As long as there's enough voltage, it'll hold for three minutes." Tony began taking stock of the materials as he spoke. "Three minutes is enough for me to weld the frame together."

He picked up an alloy casing and examined it closely. The edges were somewhat oxidized, and its internal grain was uneven. "Should be a titanium-tungsten composite layer. In theory, it can withstand high-temperature impacts... should be fine."

No sooner had he spoken than a ding sounded in Ye Mo's head.

[Thermal Vision activated. Scanning environment.]

His vision changed instantly. Under thermal imaging, the metal revealed an anomaly-a hairline fissure ran through its center, with an uneven temperature distribution, like a hidden fracture caused by prolonged pressure.

"Don't use that one." He reached out to stop him. "Something's wrong inside. It'll explode if the pressure goes over eight hundred."

Tony looked up at him. "How do you know?"

"The system told me." Ye Mo pointed at his head. "If you don't believe me, test it."

Tony narrowed his eyes and stayed still. Two seconds later, he placed the metal on a makeshift pressure-testing platform and connected a voltmeter and a vibration meter. The readings began fluctuating as soon as the test started. Less than ten seconds later, a faint crack came from the fissure, and it nearly split open.

Tony froze. When he looked at Ye Mo again, his gaze had changed.

"That 'system' of yours does more than navigation?" he asked.

"More than that." Ye Mo nodded. "But it doesn't explain how. It only gives results."

Tony asked no more questions and tossed the scrap aside. He searched through the other materials again, his movements slow but steady. With every piece he picked up, he first examined its surface structure, then shone a flashlight on its cross section.

Ye Mo stood beside him without moving, his eyes sweeping over every inch of metal. Whenever he spotted an abnormal temperature difference or an internal air bubble, he spoke up.

"This one has impurities."

"Stress is concentrated at that corner."

"That weld was repaired before. It only has sixty percent of its strength left."

At first, Tony hesitated over whether to listen. After all, these judgments sounded far too mysterious. But after three consecutive checks proved completely accurate, he finally stopped and glanced at Ye Mo.

"All right, Mr. X," he said. "From now on, you're my quality inspector."

"My pleasure." The corners of Ye Mo's mouth lifted slightly. "Though I suggest calling this thing 'Tin Can One.' Sounds down-to-earth."

"Once it can fly, I'll call it 'Iron Man,'" Tony said as he dismantled the circuitry.

"Pretty flashy," Ye Mo said. "But it suits you."

Neither said anything more as they bent over their work. Tony handled the main frame design, while Ye Mo screened the materials. Time passed little by little, and the pile of usable parts on the ground grew.

By afternoon, Tony began assembling the chest plate base. This was the core of the entire armor. Only once it took shape could the remaining structure be built onto it. But his hands kept shaking, and the wound hurt so badly that he could barely hold the welding torch steady.

"This won't work." Ye Mo watched him fail to line up the joint twice. "You can't control the angle with your hand."

"I can do it." Tony gritted his teeth. "One more try."

"You're not building this alone now." Ye Mo walked over. "Let me help you watch the melting point."

Tony glanced at him and did not refuse. He steadied the support, holding his position. Ye Mo stood to one side, activated Thermal Vision, and watched the temperature changes at the weld closely.

"The temperature's rising," he said. "Wait a little longer."

The welding torch hovered in the air, sparks spattering from it now and then.

"The temperature is about to peak." Ye Mo's voice grew low. "Get ready... three, two, one-now!"

Tony slammed the switch. Current surged through instantly, and the metal edges melted and pressed together. With a soft sound, they joined without a gap.

It worked.

Tony let go and toppled backward, sitting on the ground and gasping for breath. Sweat ran down his forehead, mixing with grease and smearing his face.

"The First-Generation Mark Armor." He grinned. "Born."

Ye Mo looked down at the crude frame. Burrs still lined the shell's seams, and wires lay exposed, making it look like a half-finished robot. But it did stand, supported on four feet, with a reactor mounting slot left in its chest.

"Can you wear it?" he asked.

"Not yet." Tony shook his head. "No power source, no control system. But it's a start."

He looked up at Ye Mo. "Do you know what's hardest to come by?"

"Not materials?" Ye Mo asked.

"Trust," Tony said. "I never used to let anyone else touch anything I made. Even the simplest screw, I had to tighten it myself. But today, you pointed out problems again and again, and I didn't doubt you. You didn't take the opportunity to mess around, either."

Ye Mo smiled. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would've left you in that cave long ago."

"True." Tony nodded. "So I've figured it out-I'm not doing this alone. You're my partner."

Ye Mo did not respond to that. He bent down, picked up a scrap, and examined it. Thermal Vision was still running, and every object in his view bore a temperature marker. Suddenly, he noticed a tiny red dot at the armor's left arm connection, blinking continuously.

"There's a problem here." He pointed at the joint. "There's a void inside the material. It'll deform under prolonged stress."

Tony leaned closer and inspected it several times with a magnifying glass. Sure enough, he found an almost invisible crack.

"How did you spot that?" he asked.

"The system flagged it," Ye Mo said.

"The system again." Tony chuckled. "But I'm starting to believe. Not in how amazing it is, but that you're not lying to me."

He patted Ye Mo's shoulder. "Once we get back to Los Angeles, I'll set up a lab for you. You can research whatever you want."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Ye Mo put the tools into the bag. "We're still in enemy territory. Someone could interrupt us at any moment."

"I know." Tony leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "But at least now, we have something to fight back with."

In the dim light, the armor prototype stood quietly in the center. Its shell was unpolished and its wiring a mess, but its outline already offered a glimpse of its future form.

Ye Mo went to sit in a corner, took off his glasses, and wiped the lenses. One temple was a little loose, so he found a small screw in the tool kit and tightened it.

Tony opened his eyes and looked at him. "Did you study engineering before?"

"No." Ye Mo put his glasses back on. "But I learn fast now."

"Then what do you want to do later?" Tony asked. "Keep working behind the scenes as tech support? Or do you want to wear a suit yourself?"

Ye Mo did not answer. He looked up at the armor, and the system's notification sounded in his head: [Thermal Vision cooldown complete].

Something suddenly occurred to him.

"Tony," he said, "if you really want to build flying armor, this material alone won't hold up against atmospheric friction."

"I know." Tony smiled. "That's why I'm already thinking about new materials."

"Such as?"

"Vibranium, for example," Tony said. "Or cosmic alloys."

Ye Mo froze.

He still remembered that name. Ulysses Klaue, the human trafficker who sold vibranium. If they really crossed paths in the future, perhaps he could obtain a few fragments at the scene.

But he said none of this and only nodded.

"Then you'll have to survive long enough to find it."

Tony smiled. "With you around, I think my chances are a lot better."

The mist outside thickened, seeping through the gap in the shelter's door. Ye Mo stood, walked over to the armor, and reached out to touch its chest plate.

The metal was icy, but the structure was solid.

He knew this was only a beginning.

The real battle had yet to come.