Tony Stark felt as if he had been dreaming. He found himself in a dark place, a beam of light shining down on him. People in the darkness surrounded him, murmuring something he couldn't understand. In front of him stood a camera.
Then... Everything came onto his scene. People—he didn't know who—bent over his chest, performing... some kind of experiment?
"Ugh..."
Tony Stark let out a painful groan and suddenly opened his eyes.
He felt terrible.
Breathing was difficult.
There was something in his nasal cavity.
What was that?
Tony reached up and pulled.
A long IV tube was yanked out of his nostril.
Where was he?
Tony looked around in confusion. In the dim light of... a cave, a man in a suit was shaving in front of a cracked mirror.
Tony wanted to grab the cup on the table to defend himself, but a tugging sensation stopped him as he turned.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that," Yinsen said, looking at Tony Stark through the mirror.
Tony turned his head and saw a metal box on the table beside him. Two wires were connected to the box, and the wires led to... he followed the lines—his own body!
His chest was tightly wrapped in bandages, and the two wires disappeared beneath them.
Tony patted his chest with his palm. The sound was dull, the sensation strange. Frantically, he tore open the bandages, revealing a circular metal plate. The wires... were connected to it.
Tony Stark breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling. He felt fear and confusion.
.....
Yinsen stood by a fire, whistling leisurely as he stirred a pot of... some kind of paste with a dirty spoon in an equally grimy metal basin.
"Raiden, dinner's ready!" Yinsen called out, still whistling.
From a dark corner came the sound of rustling, and a figure emerged from the shadows.
Well, how to describe this figure?
Compared to Yinsen, who kept himself neat and tidy, this guy was... "hairy." He looked like a version of Aquaman who had overdosed on beard-growing hormones. His face was completely obscured by a thick beard and wild hair, and the smell was... intense.
"Raiden, maybe you should... trim your beard a bit. And maybe take a shower when you get the chance," Yinsen said hesitantly, handing the food to Raiden, his tone fearful.
Raiden stroked his beard, patted Yinsen on the shoulder, and said, "When we get out of here, I'll shave it off. Maybe I can even sell it for some money. As for a shower, I have a feeling I'll get to enjoy one soon enough."
Raiden hand left a few even darker handprints on Yinsen black suit.
Yinsen chuckled self-deprecatingly. Out of here? Leave this place? Better to just eat more.
After spending two days together, Raiden and Yinsen had surprisingly become good friends—each other's only friend.
Tony eyes shifted from the small mirror in his hand to the two men in front of him. He asked,
"What did you do to me?"
"We saved you," Raiden chimed in, answering before anyone else could. He scooped up some food from his bowl with his spoon, blew on it, and then, with a smile peeking through his thick hair, put it into his mouth.
"So delicious!" Raiden exclaimed before quietly walking away to a corner.
"That's right, we saved you. I did my best to remove the shrapnel, but there's still a lot left. They'll make their way to your heart membrane, and then... well, you know," Yinsen said helplessly. He put down his spoon, walked over, and picked up a glass bottle.
"Want to see this?" Yinsen shook the small fragments inside the bottle. "A souvenir. Take a look." He tossed the bottle to Tony.
Tony caught the bottle expressionlessly. In the dim light, he could see a few larger pieces of shrapnel and many smaller ones inside the grimy bottle.
"Your condition... it's quite common. At least in our village, we call people like you the 'living dead.' In about a week, the shrapnel will reach your vital organs, and then... well, you'll know the outcome," Yinsen continued, speaking almost to himself. Tony gaze shifted away from the bottle, his expression grave.
"What's this?" Tony asked, touching his chest.
"An electromagnet. It's used to power our batteries... but it can also stop the shrapnel in your body from reaching your heart. It was his idea," Yinsen said, nodding toward Raiden.
Tony zipped up his jacket and looked in Raiden direction... and at the camera above Raiden head.
Yinsen glanced over, then turned back to Tony with a smile. "That's right. Smile!"
Tony remained silent. The cave fell into stillness, broken only by the sound of Raiden chewing his food.
'Fuck! How does he manage to make that much sound so loud?'
Though Yinsen still understood that Raiden was an extremely dangerous individual, the friendliness Raiden had shown him had eased his tension.
Moreover, living in this place for so long, the loneliness and fear in his heart had quickly made Yinsen feel a sense of camaraderie with Raiden. After all, no matter how "unique" Raiden might be, here they shared the same identity—prisoners.
"We've met before, remember? At the tech summit in Bern," Yinsen broke the silence.
"No, I don't," Tony replied, glancing at Raiden. 'What is this guy eating? Is it really that good? Suddenly, I'm starving.'
"Of course you don't. If I'd drank that much, I wouldn't even be able to stand, let alone explain integrated circuits," Yinsen said, handing Tony another portion of food before starting to prepare the last serving for himself.
Tony took the food, took a bite, and asked, "Where is this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, noises came from the entrance.
Footsteps, the sound of a door opening, and voices—a rough, unfamiliar language.
"Quick, quick, put the food down, stand up, stand up!" Yinsen hurried over, taking the bowl from Tony hands.
"Raiden, Raiden, come here! If you don't, you'll get beaten again. Hurry!" After dealing with Tony, Yinsen immediately called out to Raiden.
"Here they come," Raiden said calmly, putting down the food in his hand and walking over.
"Follow my lead!" Yinsen turned his head and said to Tony, "Quick, raise your hands! Raiden, you too, raise your hands!"
Tony, bewildered, followed Yinsen instructions, but Raiden remained unhurried and unmoved.
At that moment, the door opened.
Several armed guards walked in, with a bearded, overweight man in the middle.
"That's my gun... How did they get it?!" Tony immediately recognized the firearms as those manufactured by his company. He whispered to Yinsen.
"Did you understand? Just follow my lead, and you too, Raiden, raise your hands! Fuck!" Yinsen said harshly.
As Yinsen spoke, the man in the middle smiled and spread his arms, babbling some incomprehensible language. What the hell is he saying? Apart from Yinsen, Raiden and Tony couldn't understand a word.
The man gestured with his hands, speaking passionately as he stepped forward, with the armed guards closely following behind.
After he finished speaking, the man nodded at Yinsen.
Yinsen quickly translated for Tony, "He says, welcome, Tony Stark, the most infamous murderer in American history."
The man continued speaking, and Yinsen translated again, "He says he's honored and hopes you'll help him build a missile—the Jericho missile you demonstrated."
With that, the man handed a piece of paper to Yinsen. Yinsen lowered one hand from his head, took the paper, and opened it to reveal a photo. He held it up to Tony eyes and said,
"This one."
Tony glanced down at the photo, then looked up at the man, his eyes flickering. The man smile gradually faded as Tony didnt even hesitate.
"I refuse," Tony said coldly, staring at the man.
"Damn, so Tony Stark really is this brave," Raiden remarked, patting Yinsen shoulder. But Yinsen wasn't as relaxed as Raiden, his body stiffened, and he kept his head down, not daring to respond to Raiden.
Tony answer was a terrible one—for himself, for Yinsen, and for Raiden.
The man turned to Yinsen, wanting to know Tony response.
After hearing Yinsen translation, the man sneered, shook his head, and waved his hand. Two men stepped forward and dragged Tony away.
The man then prepared to leave but glanced back at Raiden. He grabbed the pistol from his waist and smashed the butt of the gun into Raiden face. He then ordered his men to take Raiden and Yinsen away as well.