The helicopters weren’t particularly slow.
Before long, the two helicopters landed not far in front of Jones and Tony.
The next moment, several soldiers rushed out of the helicopters and charged toward the two of them.
“…”
Seeing this, Jones and Tony exchanged a glance before, almost at the exact same time, collapsing onto the sand.
They had both been far too exhausted that day.
Tony had been desperately assembling the Iron Man armor since last night, without even taking a proper rest.
Today, he had worn the armor to destroy the terrorists’ base before spending so long in the desolate desert.
Jones’s experience wasn’t any easier than Tony’s.
He hadn’t rested last night either, and today he had racked his brain to calculate Tony’s escape route so that he could hide in Tony’s former prison.
He had moved all kinds of sturdy objects just to block the explosion’s shockwave, then used his heat vision to dig his way out of the collapsed cave.
Finally, he had traveled a long distance through the desert while matching wits with Tony.
Now that they were finally about to be rescued, both of them relaxed completely and could no longer keep themselves going.
However, compared to Tony, Jones still maintained a high degree of vigilance.
His gaze was fixed on Colonel Rhodes as he ran toward Tony!
He still wasn’t completely at ease with Tony.
Although Tony had made his intentions sound convincing earlier, Colonel Rhodes had arrived now, which meant this was effectively Tony’s home turf.
If Tony changed his mind and decided to take revenge on Jones, Jones would be in serious trouble!
A faint red glow appeared in Jones’s eyes.
He had already decided that if Tony dared to make such a move, he would immediately activate his heat vision and take out Tony and Rhodes first before fighting those soldiers to the death!
…
Under Jones’s watchful gaze, Rhodes didn’t pay any attention to him at all.
He simply ran straight toward Tony.
When Rhodes reached a point not far from Tony and confirmed that Tony appeared to be unharmed, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Looking at Tony’s battered appearance, a smile appeared on Rhodes’s face.
“Still riding around in your happy little Jeep?”
Hearing Rhodes’s words, the corners of Tony’s mouth lifted, but he didn’t say anything.
“Next time, you’re coming with me, okay?”
Seeing Tony’s reaction, Rhodes’s expression became serious.
“These two guys have some serious couple vibes…”
Looking at Tony and Rhodes, the corners of Jones’s mouth lifted as he teased the two of them inwardly.
But when Jones noticed Rhodes’s gaze beginning to shift toward him, his expression immediately became serious again.
“Who is he?”
Rhodes quietly stared at Jones, his eyes filled with one part confusion and nine parts vigilance.
In order to find Tony, Rhodes had previously gathered detailed information about the area, especially intelligence concerning the terrorists operating there.
To be honest, if Jones hadn’t been unarmed and didn’t have the vicious look of a terrorist in his eyes, Rhodes would have classified him as a terrorist based solely on his appearance!
“Him…”
Hearing Rhodes’s question, Tony narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze toward Jones.
A hint of hesitation appeared on his face.
Seeing Tony’s expression, Jones instantly tensed up.
The surrounding soldiers were already holding their guns at the ready.
If they decided to attack, there was absolutely no way Jones could survive.
However…
if Tony dared to betray him, Jones guaranteed that he would at least drag Tony and Rhodes down with him!
Tony said two words before falling silent for quite some time.
By the time Rhodes was almost reaching for the gun on his body, Tony finally spoke.
“If it weren’t for him, I might not be here to see you right now!
You could say he…
saved my life.”
Hearing Tony’s words, Rhodes was slightly stunned before gently nodding.
Although Rhodes could tell from Tony’s words that the situation was probably not that simple, this wasn’t the time to investigate.
Just like Tony, Rhodes felt that even if there was something suspicious about Jones, he couldn’t possibly do anything at a time like this!
Rhodes suddenly shook his head and turned toward the soldiers nearby before shouting, “All right, stop standing around!
Get these two onto the helicopters.
We need to get back to the base immediately!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers who had rushed over with Rhodes shouted in response.
They immediately ran over, two men to each person, and carried Tony and Jones toward the helicopters.
Only then did Jones finally relax.
The faint red glow in his eyes faded away, and Jones slowly closed his eyes.
This day had been far too exhausting.
Jones really wanted to get some proper rest!
….
Life at the U.S.
military base wasn’t particularly free.
At the very least, Jones didn’t even have permission to leave the floor where he was staying.
Aside from that minor frustration, however, the comfortable room and lavish dinner nearly made Jones ecstatic.
Back at the base, he had eaten nothing but meat and meat soup every day, to the point where he was almost sick of it.
Now that he could finally eat fruit, vegetables, and sweet pastries, an inexplicable feeling of happiness rose in Jones’s heart.
Of course…
this kind of life didn’t last very long.
After breakfast the next day, Jones boarded a plane back to America with Tony!