The warriors of the Ten Rings saw hope of winning the great holy war.
Their leader told them that the man locked up inside the cave would soon make a Jericho missile for them.
At first they did not believe it, but from the moment they learned that man's last name was Stark, the warriors were full of ambition.
Because the best weapons in their hands all came from one place, Stark Industries.
"Stark will make more weapons for us!", the leader said.
Listening to the leader, the warriors seemed to see themselves showing off everywhere once they had the Jericho missile.
"My god, that's Jericho. A missile even more powerful than Scud!"
Just as they were dreaming, a little pile of munitions in the corner suddenly exploded out of nowhere.
The small captain cursed as he led his team rushing out of the cave, only to see the grunts outside shouting in fear, "ENEMY ATTACK!"
Rat-tat-tata!
They always fired first and asked questions later, which was the Ten Rings' habit.
But when the magazine was emptied, they still did not see any enemy in sight.
"Damn it! The leader kept repeating not to smoke next to the munitions pile! These idiots just wouldn't listen, they deserved to be blown up~"
After confirming there were no enemies, the small captain cursed again.
Suddenly, a flash of cold light with unstoppable force pierced through the small captain's body.
In less than a second, his expression did not even have time to change before his body was pierced by a titanium flying knife, then torn apart by immense force, instantly becoming a cloud of blood in the air.
The bandits on the slope only felt a strong wind sweep through the valley, coming fast and leaving fast. When the dust settled, this place had already become a purgatory.
"Urgh~"
Even the terrorists who were used to bloody scenes were still shocked into dry heaving by what they saw.
When the discomfort gradually faded and reason returned, they wiped away the tears that had run out from retching, and finally saw the enemy, a masked man wearing a blood red suit.
"This, could it be that Iblis has come personally to reap lives?"
The members of the Ten Rings looked at the noble and eerie figure before them and all treated him as the most terrifying demon from the Quran.
Even when a playing card flew into view, pierced into their bodies, and went straight through their hearts, they still had only one question in their minds, 'Demons… play cards?'
Leaving aside the outside of the valley, Corin was elegantly reaping the lives of the terrorists.
———
At the Ten Rings' temporary stronghold, deep inside the cave—
Tony Stark, wearing heavy armor, still could not move.
He and Dr. Yinsen had worked together, barely sleeping, to create this battle armor that could help him break through. Right now it was at the crucial moment of activation.
He stared anxiously at the progress bar on the computer screen.
"Damn it! Hurry, a little faster!"
Tony's heart burned with anxiety as his eyes stayed fixed on the computer monitor not far away.
The cell door had already been blown open, and a large group of terrorists were rushing over.
Dr. Yinsen had already charged out to buy him time, and Tony could only shout helplessly, "Follow the plan… follow the plan! Yinsen!"
Dr. Yinsen ran while firing the machine gun clumsily at the cave ceiling, not aiming at anyone, even if the targets were terrorists.
He was a scholar, not a killer.
His kindness at the core of his nature meant that even when he picked up a weapon, it was only to buy time for his companion, not to kill. Even though his family had all died in war, even though he hated war.
After turning a corner, Dr. Yinsen froze. A dozen terrorists were aiming all kinds of machine guns at him.
———
The scene shifted to the computer screen on the table inside the cell, the progress bar finally changing from 99 percent to 100 percent.
In the dark space, the mechanical operating sound rang briefly, then faded into silence.
Another small captain led several team members to the cell entrance. Seeing the two dead companions on the ground who had been blown up, he cautiously backed up a few steps.
He gave his subordinate a "go in and check" look, while he himself quietly took another step back.
The team member tightened his grip on his machine gun and slowly stepped into the cell to test things out.
All he saw were the materials and tools the leader had provided for the prisoner to build the missile. There was no sign of anything unusual.
Just then, a glow lit up behind his head, the arc reactor on Tony's chest.
It is worth mentioning that when Tony Stark was kidnapped, a Stark Industries bomb exploded in front of him and several pieces of shrapnel entered his chest. It was only because Dr. Yinsen made an electromagnet and placed it on his chest that the shrapnel did not enter his heart.
Luckily Dr. Yinsen removed the shrapnel in time, once again saving Tony's life.
Later, the genius Tony used 1960s Cold War nuclear technology available in the cell to convert the electromagnetic device on his chest into the arc reactor.
The terrorist instinctively turned around. A huge blurry shadow sent the team member flying more than ten meters with one punch, slamming him straight into the opposite wall.
The people outside the cell did not see clearly what happened. They only saw their companion suddenly fly across to the other side.
They opened fire without hesitation.
RAT-TAT-TAT!
Half a meter of fire burst from the muzzle as bullets poured wildly through the entrance into the cell until everything inside became a wreck. Only then did they stop firing.
Several pairs of curious eyes strained to look into the dim cell, when suddenly a tall figure flashed out from inside.
The light on its chest was so bright they could not make anything out. They could only vaguely make out a large figure with a metallic sheen.
'A machin…e man?'
While they were stunned, Tony moved.
With the special sounds of mechanical operation, he swung his arm and sent the two men in front of him flying.
Empowered by the armor, the force of the movement was immense. The two team members' internal organs ruptured, and they had more breath going out than coming in.
The small captain reacted quickly and fired a burst directly at the robot's torso.
But the sparks flashing and the ricocheting bullets made him instantly realize that this thing was bulletproof.
Before he could turn around to run, Tony, wearing the armor, sent him into dreamland with a metal fist.
Tony operated the armor and walked toward the exit. Enemies along the way kept firing at him, bullets sparking off the armor in streaks.
Tony, unharmed, knocked them out one by one, then kicked open the iron door in front of him. He finally reached the cave entrance and dodged a missile thanks to Dr. Yinsen's reminder.
Then he mounted a missile onto the device on his left forearm, flipped the switch, and sent one back to them.
After the massive explosion, there were no enemies left inside the cave.
Looking at the bullet ridden Dr. Yinsen before him, Tony's eyes reddened as he tried to persuade him to leave with him, to follow the plan.
But clearly his injuries would not allow it.
Until Dr. Yinsen weakly said, "My family is gone. I'm going to see them now, Stark…"
"It's fine, this is the ending I want…"
Only then did Tony realize that Dr. Yinsen had long prepared himself to sacrifice his life.
The funny thing was that he himself had always clung to the escape plan.
The plan was not foolproof. If not for Dr. Yinsen's desperate cover, he might have already died in the hail of bullets.
"Tony... what use is a high IQ? Aren't you just a cold, plan following STEM guy? How many kind people have to give their lives for you?"
He sighed, then gave a bitter smile, "Thank you for saving my life."
"Then cherish your life. Don't waste it," After s
aying that, Dr. Yinsen peacefully closed his eyes.
At this moment, the man wearing the first generation Iron Man armor, named Tony Stark, was furious.
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