From that day on, Yadan and Lisa talked every single day.
Though a wall separated them, they still chatted happily.
Yadan was a wonderful listener, and Lisa finally had someone she could confide in without reservation.
They tried many times to peek at each other through the small hole in the rock, but unfortunately, they never managed to see each other’s faces clearly.
During their long time together, Lisa never once asked Yadan his name.
She always called him Uncle Stone…
She never treated him as a fellow hostage imprisoned here with her.
In her heart, she always thought of Yadan as a spirit in the stone cave who listened to others’ hearts, a guardian angel sent from heaven.
But in Yadan’s heart, wasn’t he thinking the exact same thing?
In this abyss filled with pain, the two found solace and became each other’s support.
If only things could just go on like this forever.
Unfortunately, this was hell…
Darkness would eventually devour the light.
“Uncle Stone, do you have a beard?” Lisa asked curiously.
Yadan stroked his clean-shaven chin and said, “No, I don’t. Why?”
“Lisa loves beards,” she said, her voice filled with childlike innocence.
“Daddy has one. It’s soft and feels nice to touch.” Perhaps she was missing her father.
Yadan had seen that scientist.
He did have a full, bushy beard… but Yadan loathed that man.
He hated him.
He hated the scientist for being so useless.
Why couldn’t he have been more useful?
Why couldn’t he have been of more value?
Why couldn’t he have survived longer?
The moment the scientist’s last shred of utility had been squeezed dry, he was kicked aside like a piece of discarded trash.
And his family… they were treated the same…
Everything was over.
Just outside that iron door, everything had ended…
That day, Yadan finally saw Lisa’s face clearly—a lovely little girl with a tender, sweet face… lying there, covered in blood, just outside the door.
The distance between them had become a single door.
Yadan could only lie flat on the ground, staring through the small meal slot, watching as the flower of Lisa’s life slowly withered away.
“What a pity,” he thought.
“I grew this long beard just for you to see, but I never got the chance…”
Hatred suddenly surged within Yadan’s heart.
*Where was his power?
Where had all that strength gone?*
As the hatred erupted from his core, the emotions he had long since lost came rushing back like a torrential spring, swirling into a chaotic mess within his heart.
*His heart ached so much.*
With trembling hands, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the candy Lisa had given him.
He had never brought himself to eat it, but now, desperate to numb the agony, Yadan forced himself to swallow the sweetest candy he had ever tasted, tears streaming down his face.
*But why had it turned so bitter?* The bitterness was so intense it felt like a knife twisting in his heart.
Yadan ground the candy between his teeth, crushing it slowly.
A trickle of blood escaped his lips.
Yet, his eyes burned redder than the blood—red with the hatred in his soul, red with the emotions he had once discarded.
Within Yadan’s heart, a beast named Wrath had returned.
It tore through the void, shredding the fabric of space as it dragged his long-lost emotions back from the abyss, one by one.
It twisted a portion of his emotions into a ball like trash and tossed it aside, then stuffed the rest—the hatred, the despair, the malice—into its own belly, transforming itself into a monster.
Finally, it forged a cage for itself and locked itself inside…
It needed to wait.
From that day on, every minute of every hour, Yadan confined himself to a small corner, tirelessly tracing the path to power.
Like a vengeful spirit, he greedily absorbed the stray energy floating in the air at all times.
And today!
The Day of Revenge had finally arrived!
Yadan would have his revenge.
He would sacrifice it with blood, with death…
*BAM!*
“Ow, that hurts! Ugh…”
Yadan collapsed to the ground, blood spilling uncontrollably from his mouth.
“Oh god, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!” he gasped feebly.
From the dust-choked corridor, the Bald Man emerged, flanked by his men and wielding a rocket launcher.
“So this is why I didn’t kill you? What magnificent power,” the Bald Man said, his eyes gleaming with greed as he stared at Yadan.
*Tony Stark?*
Compared to this power, he was nothing to be feared!
*This power should be mine!*
Yadan struggled, a smile spreading across his blood-streaked face as a ball of fire slowly coalesced beside him.
*Clap.
Clap.
Clap.*
The Bald Man stared at the fireball in awe, clapping his hands.
“Perhaps you did something to me in the past, but now, this power will belong to me.” He grinned maliciously, his laughter echoing through the air.
He finally understood why he had suddenly started kidnapping people for human experiments four years ago.
It was all because of this man—this *interesting* man!
As the fireball grew larger, one of the Bald Man’s subordinates raised a rocket launcher, preparing to fire another shell at Yadan.
But the Bald Man stopped him.
He needed Yadan alive!
Just as the Bald Man was gloating, a burst of fire shot out from the smoke deep within the corridor, exploding beside them.
The Bald Man and his men were instantly engulfed in flames, and the resulting rockfall buried them alive.
*Clang!
Clang!
Clang!*
Tony, encased in his iron armor, carried Ethan out of the corridor.
“Yadan, Yadan! Are you okay, Yadan?” Ethan knelt before Yadan, supporting his body as he spoke, while Tony stood guard nearby, scanning their surroundings.
Yadan lay weakly on the ground, each breath drawing in blood.
“No, no, no, Yadan, you’re going to be fine, Yadan, we have to go, Yadan!” Ethan’s eyes welled with tears, his voice choking as he spoke.
“No!” Hearing Ethan’s sobs, Tony quickly turned around and crouched down to look at Yadan, his face filled with panic.
“Yadan, come with us, Ethan, help him up, we have a plan, we have to stick to the plan! We all have to get out of here alive!”
“Nothing ever goes according to plan… Tony… you can’t make everything go according to plan. Go on, leave me. I was born alone, and I should die alone…” Yadan said with a bitter smile.
“No, that’s not true, Yadan, you’re not going to die, we’re family, me, you, Ethan, we’re all family! Do you understand, Yadan?” Tony said, his eyes reddening.
“That’s right, Yadan! We’re family, my family is all dead, they’ve been dead for a long time, now, we’re the only family we have, you can survive this, Yadan!” Ethan roared.
“No… stop wasting your time… family… stop wasting your time… live…” Yadan whispered, his voice a mere rasp, before his head slowly lolled forward.
“No! No! Yadan!” Ethan cried out, clutching Yadan’s body tightly, but the form in his arms was already lifeless.
*Have I lost another family member?*
Staring at Ethan, who held Yadan’s corpse in his arms, Tony felt a sudden, hollow numbness wash over him.
During their three months in the cave, the three of them had become as close as family.
And in Yadan, Tony had seen a reflection of himself.
Yadan shouldn’t have died like this…
He died protecting Tony and Ethan!
A seed that had long been planted in Tony’s heart suddenly broke through the soil.
New, different thoughts began to swarm his mind, but he needed time to process them.
“Ethan, let’s go… We have to get out of here alive. This… this was Yadan’s last wish.” Tony reached out to comfort Ethan, but his gaze fell upon the hard steel and cold weapons on his own arm, and he found he couldn’t bring himself to extend his hand.
“Let’s go, Ethan!”
“Let’s go.”
(End of Chapter)