Leo Vance fished two thin strips of metal from the seam of his trousers and gave them a subtle flick.
When Ho Yinsen realized what they were, he fell silent.
Tony, on the other hand, let out a nonplussed click of his tongue.
“I spent all day wondering how you were pulling so much off right under the guards’ noses.
Turns out you even know how to pick locks.”
“It’s how I stay alive.”
Late that night, once the stone room had fallen completely quiet, Leo Vance picked the lock using the wire.
He didn’t leave through the door.
Instead, he slipped out through the ventilation shaft.
Step one: Reconnaissance of the main hall’s night layout.
He crawled up onto the rocky ledge overlooking the main hall and peered down.
Details that were obscured during the day were now clearly visible.
The wall behind the workbench was actually a partition thrown together with wooden boards and corrugated iron, hollow on the inside.
In the back-left corner of the hall sat a small supply room; though locked during the day, it was only secured with an old-fashioned padlock.
He committed both details to memory before creeping farther down the ventilation shaft, all the way to the deepest part of the cave system.
There lay an abandoned passage sealed with rusty sheet metal, held together by corroded iron nails.
Using his folding knife, he pried out six of the nails and pushed the metal sheet back just enough to create a slim opening.
Dry, sandy wind rushed inside.
Confirming that the exit was viable, he pulled the metal back into position, leaving only the tiniest crack.
Step two: Gather materials from around the main hall.
Along the outer perimeter of the main hall lay a scrap pile filled with random odds and ends: half a roll of solder, a small bundle of iron wire, a few used welding rods, and a damaged insulated glove.
Leo Vance stashed these items in batches midway through the ventilation shaft, hiding them in a secluded hollow.
If Tony ran low on supplies, these would serve as backups.
By the time he finished and returned to the stone room, dawn was approaching.
A system prompt flared silently before his eyes.
[Action conforms to character logic.]
[Completion: 15% -> 16%.]
Leo Vance glanced at it and closed his eyes.
***
When daylight broke, guards escorted him back to the main hall.
Tony was already seated at the workbench, the mountain of missile debris piled high before him.
The guards stood far off near the entrance, watching passively.
Seeing Leo Vance enter, Tony stretched lazily and spoke in a casual drawl.
“Hey, come over here and help me hold this plate.”
Leo Vance walked over, crouched down, and took the steel plate Tony handed him.
At the same time, his eyes swept under the workbench.
The items he had hidden in the ventilation shaft the previous night had already been transferred by Tony into the bottom compartment of the toolbox through some unknown maneuver.
The insulated glove.
The solder.
The iron wire.
All in place.
Leo Vance remained silent, keeping a firm grip on the steel plate.
Tony bent over to weld, sending bright showers of sparks flying.
He resumed his usual ramblings about the “structural nuances of the Jericho missile” to keep himself entertained.
However, the welding points didn’t align with his verbal commentary.
After watching for a few moments, Leo Vance understood: under the pretense of welding the “missile casing,” Tony was actually reinforcing a hidden support frame.
“Add two more millimeters of solder at that tack point,” Leo Vance said softly.
Tony’s welding torch paused briefly before he swiftly tacked two extra spots at the indicated location.
“You know how to weld?” Tony asked under his breath.
“I’ve read a few manuals.”
Tony: “…”
“You didn’t mention you’d read manuals.”
“You didn’t ask.”
Tony went silent for two seconds before whispering as he welded, “When we get out of here, I suggest you jump ship straight to Stark Industries.
I’ll pay you an engineer’s salary.”
“We’ll see.”
For three consecutive days, this strange team maintained that exact rhythm.
By day, Leo Vance assisted Tony in the main hall, passing tools and playing the part of an honest, obedient prisoner.
Tony used the excuse of “building a missile” to weld copper tubes, wiring, and magnetic cores piece by piece into a cohesive mechanism.
Whenever guards approached to inspect their progress, Tony would conceal the half-finished assembly beneath a steel plate and casually fiddle with a random piece of missile debris.
The guards couldn’t tell the difference.
Ho Yinsen was tasked with processing missile parts on the other side, generating a steady workload to ensure the guards believed “progress was on schedule.”
By night, Leo Vance slipped out of the stone room to clear the escape route, collect materials, and map out the guards’ rotation patterns.
***
By the evening of the third day, when Tony was marched back into the stone room, his expression was far graver than before.
“They’re holding an inspection tomorrow.”
Leo Vance opened his eyes.
“An inspection for what?”
“A ‘guidance system prototype’ that can fit into the missile body.” Tony paused.
“I’ve assembled a hollow shell.
The circuit board is real, but the core module is fake.
It’ll light up when plugged in, but it can’t guide a damn thing.”
“Can you fool them?”
“If their technical guys are just looking at remote photos, yes.
But if they insist on an on-site power test…
it’ll blow our cover in three minutes flat.”
Three minutes.
Leo Vance calculated the timeline in his head.
“How much longer do you need for your ‘other project’?” Leo Vance asked.
Tony looked up at him.
“I can finish the assembly tonight.
But once I put it on, it needs time to preheat.
At least ninety seconds.”
Ninety seconds.
Completely exposed, unable to move.
“Tomorrow, proceed with the inspection prep as they demand,” Leo Vance said.
“I’ll create a distraction outside.
The moment you hear an explosion, power it up.”
Tony hesitated slightly.
“What about you?
Which way are you getting out?”
“There’s an abandoned passage at the deepest end of the cave leading to the back mountain.
I’ve cleared it out over the last few nights.”
Tony remained quiet for a moment.
“How many people can fit through that path?”
“Three.”
Tony glanced at him and didn’t press further.
But Leo Vance noticed his fingers lightly tapping against his knee, looking as though a massive weight had been lifted from his chest.
“I’m going to the main hall tomorrow too,” Ho Yinsen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
Both men turned to look at him simultaneously.
Ho Yinsen offered a gentle smile, his voice soft yet unwavering.
“If both of you are acting in the main hall, staying behind here will only make me a liability.
If I follow you, even if I can’t offer much help, at least I won’t drag you down.”
Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Leo Vance cut in.
“Alright.”
Leo Vance looked at Ho Yinsen and nodded.
“Tomorrow, stick close to Tony.
Don’t get separated.
I’ll draw the pursuers in the opposite direction.”
Ho Yinsen froze for a second.
“Then you—” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
“I’ll take the abandoned passage,” Leo Vance said.
“Once you two clear the main entrance, run northeast down the slope.
About a kilometer away, there’s a low-lying basin where you can hide temporarily.
I’ll rendezvous with you there.”
Ho Yinsen’s lips quivered slightly after listening.
Ultimately, he uttered just two words: “Be careful.”
Leo Vance did not reply.
Right then, a system notification flared in the darkness.
[Character Completion: 18% -> 20%.]
[Milestone Evaluation: Executed actions across four consecutive nights without major errors.
Information gathering complete.
Ample contingency plans prepared.]
[20% Milestone Reward Issued: Batman Basic Equipment Set (Trial Version Adaptation).]
Leo Vance’s eyelids twitched slightly.
In the next second, a faint blue light flickered at the edge of his vision, and an item manifest unfolded silently within his mind:
[Batarangs × 6.
Specially treated edges, suitable for throwing or melee parrying.
Curved trajectory calibrated for basic use.]
[Grapple Gun (Basic Type) × 1.
15-meter cable length, 120 kg weight capacity limit.
Suitable for urban structures and rocky terrain.]
[Smoke Grenades × 4.
Effective coverage radius approximately 5 meters per unit, lasting 7 to 10 seconds.
Optimized formula, suitable for enclosed and open environments.]
[Stun Grenades × 2.
Brief blinding effect, approximately 2 to 3 seconds.]
[Basic Batsuit × 1.
Bulletproof fiber weave, lightweight design covering the torso and primary joints.
Equipped with matching cape possessing basic gliding functionality—capable of deploying to reduce descent speed and alter direction mid-air.
Pairs with Grapple Gun for rapid tactical maneuvering.]
Leo Vance’s gaze lingered on the final entry for half a second.
A gliding cape.
He tested the mental command to “equip.” A cool sensation touched his fingertips, and a silver Batarang appeared in his palm.
Next came the suit, its lightweight fiber texture adhering closely to his skin.
The cape attached seamlessly between his shoulder blades, its presence undeniable and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
He tested recalling it.
The gear disappeared, returning to his system space.
A grapple gun paired with a gliding cape—when passing over that eight-meter rock ledge above the main hall tomorrow, he could glide straight toward the exit, cutting down his original route time by at least ten seconds.
The suit provided basic ballistic protection, ensuring he wouldn’t be taken out by a stray bullet.
The Batarangs could disrupt pursuers, sever ropes, or briefly suppress enemy fire.
Leo Vance integrated the new equipment into tomorrow’s operational plan, rapidly coming to a clean conclusion: the probability of all three surviving had just jumped significantly higher.
The system panel flickered one last time:
[Item Notice: Trial version equipment automatically replenishes once daily.
Single replenishment limit is subject to the stated quantity in the manifest.]
Leo Vance closed his eyes.
In those final hours before dawn, no one in the stone room spoke another word.
Tony was asleep, his breathing somewhat steadier than over the past couple of days.
Ho Yinsen rested against the wall with his eyes closed, his fingers no longer nervously clutching his hem.
Leo Vance did not sleep.
He kept his eyes open, reviewing every detail in his head: the Batarangs, the Grapple Gun, the smoke grenades, the stun grenades, the suit and cape, the spare wire, the coordinates for the abandoned passage exit, and the location of the rendezvous point.
Then, he closed his eyes.
Daybreak was near.
Three people, one rendezvous point.
Tomorrow, no one would be left behind.