The stone room was dark and damp.
The air was thick with the stench of engine oil, rust, and an indescribable smell of mildew.
A dim, yellow incandescent bulb hung overhead, the current occasionally buzzing with static sound as if it might give up the ghost at any moment.
Leo Vance squinted slightly.
*Pain.*
Every inch of his body throbbed.
If he had to describe it, it felt as though he had been beaten up by ten giant men yesterday and then run over by a truck today.
Of course, the reality wasn’t much better, considering he had just survived a missile attack.
Let alone an ordinary human, even reinforced concrete would crack under that kind of treatment.
Still, truth be told, his current condition was better than expected.
Batman’s far-beyond-average physical traits were likely at work.
Leo Vance didn’t get up immediately.
Instead, he kept his eyes closed and continued observing his surroundings.
This was a habit brought on by Batman’s abilities.
In any unfamiliar environment, the first priority wasn’t action, but gathering information—including sound sources, footstep counts, and exit locations.
Within seconds, his brain had automatically completed a quick analysis: *A cave.
Limited space.
At least a dozen people active.
Diesel smell in the air—generating equipment nearby.
Substantial weaponry.
And…
someone is watching him.*
Leo Vance opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a familiar face: messy beard, pale skin, yet still wearing that expression as if the whole world owed him money.
Tony Stark.
Tony was sitting not far away, a crude electromagnetic device attached to his chest.
Seeing Leo Vance wake up, Tony raised an eyebrow.
“Oh.
You’re finally awake.”
Leo Vance paused for a second.
Leaning against the wall, Tony looked at him.
“Seriously, I thought you were dead.
When the bomb blew, you were even closer to that vehicle than I was.”
Leo Vance moved his body slightly and offered a dry smile.
“I guess I’m just tough to kill.”
Tony nodded.
“I can tell.
Surviving an explosion like that…
your luck is better than ninety-nine percent of people out there.”
Saying this, Tony looked down at his chest, his expression dampening slightly.
Leo Vance knew that Tony was only now truly realizing the gravity of the situation.
He wasn’t the Iron Man from the films yet.
Right now, he was just an arms dealer abducted by terrorists—a man who had barely escaped death.
“Your chest…” Leo Vance feigned a look of confusion.
Tony glanced at it and sighed.
“Long story short, someone didn’t want me dead.
So they hooked me up to a portable battery.”
The corner of Leo Vance’s mouth twitched.
“A portable battery?”
Tony shrugged.
“Sounds high-tech, doesn’t it?
In reality, it’s just a car battery.”
Leo Vance almost snorted.
Tony’s ability to roast his own condition was truly unmatched.
Just then, a voice came from the side: “His condition is worse than it looks.”
A middle-aged man walked over.
It was Ho Yinsen.
Tony saw him and nodded.
“Thanks for saving me.”
Ho Yinsen shook his head.
“I merely did what I could.”
Leo Vance looked at Ho Yinsen, feeling a stir in his heart.
This man was the one who changed Tony’s life.
Without Ho Yinsen, there would be no Iron Man, no Avengers, and no Marvel universe as we knew it.
In a sense, he was more important than many superheroes.
Ho Yinsen noticed Leo Vance’s gaze and smiled.
“Hello.
I’m Ho Yinsen.”
Leo Vance nodded.
“Lin Yue.” Pausing for a second, he added, “United States Army.”
Ho Yinsen nodded without asking further.
Everyone here had a story, and most of those stories weren’t pleasant.
Tony looked at Leo Vance and suddenly asked, “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
Leo Vance was taken aback.
“Thanking you?”
Tony pointed to himself.
“Of course.
If I hadn’t been in that vehicle, you wouldn’t have been blown up.”
Leo Vance fell silent for two seconds.
“Mr.
Stark, isn’t your logic for gratitude a bit bizarre?”
Tony gave it serious thought.
“It does sound weird when you put it like that.
Let me rephrase: if it weren’t for me, you’d probably still be drinking coffee at the safe base.”
Leo Vance nodded.
“And then?”
Tony spread his hands.
“And then I’d still be blown up.”
Leo Vance: “…”
He had to admit, that logic was somehow slightly reasonable.
While the three were talking, footsteps sounded outside the cave—heavy, chaotic, accompanied by the clatter of weapons.
Leo Vance’s expression altered subtly.
They were here.
The Ten Rings.
Several armed insurgents walked into the cave.
The leader held a photograph, glanced at Tony, and dropped a chest onto the ground.
The chest opened, revealing a pile of missile components inside.
The smile on Tony’s face slowly faded.
He recognized it: the Jericho missile.
His masterpiece—and the very thing these people wanted.
The Ten Rings member pointed at the components.
“Make it.”
Tony looked down at the parts, then looked back up at the man.
Fear didn’t show on his face; instead, a familiar smirking grin broke out.
Leo Vance’s heart stirred.
Here it was—the classic Tony Stark expression.
Whenever he started feeling like things were going to hell, he usually acted like nothing was wrong at all first.
Tony pointed at the parts on the ground.
“You want me to build a Jericho missile?”
The insurgent nodded.
Tony went silent for two seconds, then asked earnestly, “Sure.
But there’s one tiny problem.”
The Ten Rings insurgent stared at him.
Tony held out his hands.
“Do you have an instruction manual?”
The air fell dead quiet.
Leo Vance almost burst out laughing.
Classic Tony.
Even while kidnapped, he didn’t forget to mock his captors’ lack of professionalism.
The armed insurgent clearly didn’t get the joke.
Or rather…
he got it, but he didn’t appreciate it.
In the next second, the butt of a rifle slammed hard into the wall right beside Tony, sending stone fragments flying.
The smile on Tony’s face stiffened.
Then he muttered under his breath, “Fine.
Guess you don’t just lack a manual—you lack a sense of humor too.”
Leo Vance lowered his head, silently rating Tony in his mind: *Stubbornness level: Max.
Will to survive: Present, but frequently overridden by his big mouth.*