Tony anxiously watched Yinsen charge out of the cave while keeping one eye locked on the loading bar crawling across his screen.
“Come on…” “Come on!” “Hurry up!” The percentage climbed steadily.
Ninety-seven.
Ninety-eight.
Ninety-nine.
Then— 100% The world’s first Iron Man armor— Mark I —officially came online.
Tony lowered the faceplate and turned toward Rowan.
“Stay behind me.” “Follow the plan.” “And be careful.” Rowan nodded.
Then casually threw Mark of the Wild and Rejuvenation onto Tony as well.
“Safety buffs applied.” Several terrorists rushed into the cave.
The interior was almost completely dark.
Moving cautiously, they advanced deeper inside.
Suddenly— A bright light flashed before one terrorist’s eyes.
Then an overwhelming force slammed into him.
The man flew backward.
At the same moment, Rowan noticed something.
The experience bar in his system panel twitched slightly.
First Blood!
The slaughter had begun.
Within the darkness, an iron giant slowly advanced.
Gunfire echoed.
Screams followed.
Then silence.
Then more screams.
“Tsk, tsk.” Rowan followed behind Tony while enjoying the show.
“This horror movie atmosphere is incredible.” Occasionally, a stray bullet struck his shield.
None of them managed to penetrate.
Rowan was feeling extremely confident.
Very confident.
He had skills again.
Life was good.
Mark I bulldozed its way through the cave.
As Tony advanced, he repeatedly shouted Yinsen’s name.
No answer came.
Not until they were nearly outside.
Then he saw him.
Yinsen was lying on the ground.
Covered in blood.
Apparently riddled with bullet wounds.
Tony rushed forward.
Just as he did— “Watch out!” Yinsen suddenly shouted.
Tony instinctively twisted his body.
An RPG rocket flew past him.
A split second later, one of Mark I’s missiles struck the cave ceiling above the bald terrorist leader.
The man screamed as falling rocks buried him beneath a pile of debris.
Tony didn’t even check whether he survived.
He immediately pushed aside the sandbags pinning Yinsen down.
Looking at the blood-covered scientist, sorrow filled his face.
“Come on.” “We need to go.” “Get up.” “We had a plan.” “We’re supposed to follow the plan.” Yinsen smiled weakly.
“I’ve always followed the plan, Stark.” Tony understood exactly what he meant.
Still, he refused to give up.
“Come on.” “You’re going to see your family again.” Yinsen lowered his eyes.
“My family is dead.” “Now I’m going to see them, Stark.” Tony’s heart sank.
His worst suspicion had been confirmed.
“…” After a long silence, Yinsen smiled.
“I hope so.” Tony’s eyes grew red.
“Thank you.” “Thank you for saving me.” Yinsen slowly replied: “Don’t waste your life.” Then his head tilted to one side.
Motionless.
Tony clenched his fists.
Rage exploded inside him.
He turned toward the cave entrance.
He was going to kill every last terrorist in the camp.
Then— Yinsen moved.
“…Huh?” Yinsen slowly tilted his head again.
Then tried it one more time.
“…Still not dead?” The cave fell silent.
Tony stared.
Yinsen stared.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Very awkward.
Yinsen let out a dry laugh.
“Hehe…” “Hehehe…” “I think…” “I can probably survive a little longer.” The silence became even worse.
“Uncle Yinsen!” Thankfully, Rowan appeared at exactly the right moment.
Smiling brightly, he walked out of the darkness.
“You’re going to live for a long time.” “Tony-ge and I still need you.” As he spoke, Rowan casually cast Healing Touch.
A faint green glow appeared.
Warmth flooded Yinsen’s body.
The weakness vanished instantly.
His wounds began healing at visible speed.
Several bullets lodged near the surface of his skin were gradually pushed outward.
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
The bullets fell onto the ground.
Yinsen stared at them.
Then stared at himself.
Then stared at Rowan.
Then stared at himself again.
“This…” “This…” “This…” “Rowan, what did you do?!” “I got shot!” “A lot!” “Why am I fine?!” Rowan smiled innocently.
“It’s one of my special abilities.” “Before you ran out there, I gave you an invisible energy shield.” “The bullets broke through the shield, but they didn’t have enough force left to do serious damage.” “You were probably just nervous.” “And you lost a lot of blood.” “So you thought you were dying.” Yinsen stood there frozen.
Moments ago, he’d accepted death.
He’d said goodbye.
Made peace with everything.
And now…
He wasn’t dead.
Not even close.
For the first time in years, a new thought appeared in his heart.
Perhaps…
Perhaps he shouldn’t be so eager to die.
Perhaps…
He still had things worth doing.
For himself.
For his family.
For the future.
Ahem.
Tony suddenly coughed.
He lowered his faceplate.
“I’ll go deal with the people outside.” “You two stay here.” “Tony-ge!” Rowan immediately cheered.
“Go get them!” “I gave you a shield too!” Then he remembered something.
“Oh right.” With a flick of his hand, he cast Faerie Fire onto Tony.
Tony paused.
Then looked back at Rowan.
A complicated expression flashed across his face.
After several seconds, he silently turned and walked out of the cave.
Outside, the remaining terrorists were already waiting.
A giant steel monster emerged from the cave.
Huge.
Bulky.
Terrifying.
“OPEN FIRE!” Gunfire erupted.
Countless bullets struck Mark I’s armor.
None of them accomplished anything.
Tony raised both arms.
Twin jets of flame exploded outward.
The battlefield instantly transformed into hell.
Terrorists screamed as fire consumed everything around them.
On a nearby hillside, one fighter dragged a heavy machine gun into position and opened fire.
The massive rounds hammered Mark I.
Even Tony staggered under the impact.
Then— One bullet struck the hydraulic system in the armor’s leg.
The mechanism failed instantly.
One leg stopped functioning.
Tony reacted immediately.
He ignited the cave’s ammunition stockpile.
Activated the emergency flight system.
And launched himself skyward.
Moments later— BOOOOOOM!
The entire terrorist base disappeared in a massive explosion.
Fire engulfed everything.
Mark I burst from the inferno like a phoenix.
Then promptly lost control.
And crashed face-first into a sand dune.
Tony lay among the shattered remains of Mark I.
The scorching desert sun beat down upon him.
Yet for the first time in months…
He felt free.
“Finally.” A smile appeared on his face.
“Not bad.” Then he paused.
Something felt strange.
Very strange.
He checked his body.
No injuries.
Not even soreness.
That made no sense.
The armor had absorbed most of the impact, sure.
But there should have been something.
Instead, he felt fantastic.
Better than before he was kidnapped.
Stronger.
Healthier.
More energetic.
“…Rowan?” Tony immediately thought of the mysterious kid.
Then another realization hit him.
“Motherfucker!” He shot upright.
“Rowan and Yinsen are still back there!” Without hesitation, he got to his feet.
He identified the direction of the cave and began walking.
After a while, three figures appeared in the distance.
Two of them were chatting happily.
One of them was Rowan.
The other was Yinsen.
Very much alive.
“Hiiii, Tony-ge!” Rowan waved enthusiastically.
“You were awesome just now!” Tony stopped walking.
For a moment, he simply looked at the smiling teenager.
Then he quietly said: “Thank you, Rowan.” His voice carried genuine emotion.
Rowan waved dismissively.
“No big deal.” “You’ve already saved me several times.” Then he asked: “So what now?” “Which way do we go?” Tony pointed toward the horizon.
“That direction.” “The military is definitely searching for us.” “Let’s head there.” The three began walking.
With Rejuvenation constantly restoring their stamina, the journey felt surprisingly easy.
For the first time in months, everyone seemed relaxed.
After walking for a while, Tony glanced at Yinsen.
“What are you going to do next?” Yinsen thought for a moment.
“I don’t know.” “I should probably go home first.” “Visit my family’s graves.” Tony nodded.
Then said: “Come work for me afterward.” “I need your help.” Yinsen smiled.
“That sounds good.” “I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” “I’ll help.” The conversation continued.
Filled with mutual respect.
Trust.
Friendship.
And enough emotional energy to make Rowan’s skin crawl.
Good lord.
The bromance is overwhelming.
I’m getting goosebumps.
Then Tony suddenly turned toward him.
“Rowan.” “Hm?” “Come with me too.” Tony smiled slightly.
“From now on…” “You’re my little brother.” Rowan froze.
Then a bright grin spread across his face.
“Sounds good, Tony-ge.” “Then I’ll be relying on you from now on.” And just like that— The world’s richest future superhero had unknowingly picked up an extra little brother.