Here's the text extracted from the forty-first and final image:
Gurgle... gurgle...
Tony's head were grabbed and forced into the water. He struggled in agony.
The suffocating sensation of lacking oxygen.
The nauseating feeling of water flooding his nasal passages.
Every second, Tony Stark endured pain he had never experienced in his nearly forty years of life. He was no longer the golden boy; the great Tony Stark. Now, he was just a prisoner, a puppet to be manipulated at will.
Every time he was pulled out of the water, Tony greedily gasped for air, but within three seconds, he was plunged back in.
His eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were all filled with water. Never before had he hated water so much.
Not far away, a bald man watched Tony Stark suffering with a sinister expression, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Behind Tony, Yinsen stood trembling, helplessly watching Tony endure the torment... and there was Raiden, equally powerless.
Raiden intuition had been eerily accurate. His prediction had come true—he was now soaking in another water tank, having held his breath for so long that he hadn't resurfaced yet.
Tony had lost count of how many times he had been forced underwater. Hallucinations began to cloud his vision, and strange sounds echoed in his ears.
A blurry image appeared before him; in that image, someone seemed to be calling his name... It was Pepper, her voice.
At that moment, Tony could clearly feel the electromagnet on his chest, sensing the magnetic force it emitted, firmly holding the shrapnel in his body in place, preventing the fragments from reaching his heart.
In his dazed state, Tony saw himself from a strange perspective, saw the electromagnet, and even what seemed like a mirror? The light in the mirror was glaring, painfully bright. Water, everywhere, Tony foresaw death.
Just as he teetered on the edge of death, Tony was pulled out of the water once more. He struggled, fought with all his might, desperate to survive.
But his struggles were futile. Once again, the buzzy men around him forced him back underwater.
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Meanwhile, Raiden was suffering even more. He was receiving "better" treatment; Tony Stark still held clear value to these people.
But Raiden... Raiden only needed to stay alive.
Yet Raiden embraced the pain. He greedily absorbed every sensation of agony his body endured. He used this near-death suffering to stimulate the faint, uncontrollable power within him, forcing it to activate in self-defense.
And he would remember every trace of that activation, for this was the method he needed—the way to gain power in this unfamiliar world.
Finally, Tony and Raiden were pulled out of the water tanks by the guards. Both were barely alive, their heads wrapped in cloth as the guards dragged them to an unknown destination. Yinsen, pushed and shoved by the guards, followed behind.
Sunlight!
It was sunlight!
The guard yanked the burlap sack off Tony head. The sunlight... it was so blinding, Tony eyes couldn't adjust to the outside light immediately, making him dizzy and disoriented. It took him a while to gradually recover.
As for Raiden... a man who hadn't seen the sun in four years.
The moment the cloth covering his head was removed, holy crap, it was daylight!
Raiden eyes even experienced temporary blindness, but amidst the overwhelming whiteness, he saw it! He saw everything he needed.
He felt the energy, he sensed every part of his body greedily absorbing the free-floating energy in the air and sunlight.
'What the hell, am I some kind of Kryptonian? Or have I turned into a solar-powered being?'
But right now, Raiden just wanted to claim all this energy for himself!
Raiden basked in the sunlight, feeling the abundant energy floating in the air. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and danced around, greedily sucking in the surrounding energy.
One of the guards nearby had an incredulous look on his face. What the hell is this guy doing? Drunk on water? And with that stupid dance... are you insulting us?
The guard immediately taught Raiden a lesson with the butt of his rifle.
He slammed the rifle butt hard into Raiden stomach and said to Yinsen beside him, "Keep this guy in line!"
Yinsen hurried over to support Raiden and whispered, "Raiden! Just behave, will you?"
Raiden spat out some blood, turned to Yinsen with a smile, and waved his hand.
Damn it!
Are all the people in this godforsaken place maxed out in rifle butt smashing skills?
The fat guy in front had already walked down the small slope in front of the cave and was waving at Tony and the others.
The guard behind Tony quickly smashed the rifle butt into Tony shoulder, causing him to stumble. Tony hurriedly hugged the source of his life—the battery connected to the electromagnet in his chest—and followed.
It was only then, as Tony looked around carefully, that he noticed the surrounding hills were filled with these terrorists, and in the middle of the clearing were platoons of weapons and ammunition.
And these weapons, these arms, these missiles... Tony recognized them all too well... They were from Stark Industries. How could they be from Stark Industries?
The fat man turned to face Tony and spoke, while Yinsen translated, "He's asking what you're thinking."
"I'm thinking he has a lot of weapons I made," Tony said calmly.
The fat man circled around Tony, gesturing animatedly with his hands, pointing around, speaking passionately, spit flying everywhere!
Tony could only look at Yinsen, who translated, "He says they have everything they need to build Jericho missiles. They want you to make a list of materials."
As he spoke, the fat man tone rose again, his hands still gesturing wildly.
"He says he wants you to start working immediately. Once you're done, he'll release you... and us," Yinsen said, looking into Tony eyes.
"Not bad," Raiden whispered, clapping softly.
The fat man face broke into a smile as he looked at Tony and extended his hand.
Tony looked at the fat man, shook his head, and said, "No, I won't do it."
Yinsen heard Tony response, turned his head, and exchanged a glance with Raiden. Raiden shrugged and said,
"He's a real man, no wonder he played Sherlock Holmes."
Yinsen didn't catch what Raiden said, but he clearly heard Tony reply. He could only translate Tony exact words to the fat man.
The fat man burst into laughter, shaking his head and waving his hand. The guards pushed and shoved, forcing the three of them back into the cave.
As they were leaving, Raiden turned around and saw a figure on the hillside—a bald man. That person... wasn't he the boss of this place?
What a pity I didn't turn you into my son back then.
Raiden sighed and was about to follow Yinsen and the others back into the cave when he was suddenly stopped by the fat man.
Tony and Yinsen, who were walking ahead, quickly turned back to look at the fat man. Yinsen asked nervously,
"What do you want?"
"Nothing, you two can go back now. But this guy, he's staying," the fat man said with a smile.
Raiden also waved at them and laughed.
"It's nothing, just remember to save me some dinner tonight!"
With that, Tony and Yinsen were escorted into the cave by the guards, while Raiden was taken to meet the boss of this place—the bald man.
"Honestly, I'm really curious why you're still alive. You should be dead. I should have killed you. But why are you still alive? Why is there a voice in my head telling me not to kill you? I almost forgot about you in that cave," the bald man said to Raiden.
"Maybe I was your lover in a past life?" Raiden replied without hesitation.
"Bam!"
The gunstock... truly an indispensable part of a gun. Your gun runs out of bullets, but it must never lack a gunstock. Otherwise, how could you experience the thrill of smashing someone with it?
Watching Raiden head bleed, the bald man turned around and said, "Take him away... get something to bandage him up. Don't let him die."
The power of mind... truly terrifying.
After Raiden was taken away, the bald man stood on the hillside, quietly watching Raiden retreating figure.
It's strange. For some reason, I just don't want this weird guy to die. But why is that?
But I'll find out. Whatever the reason, I'll find it!
I'll find out why I didn't want to kill you. I'll uncover the secret of how you've survived until today. And all of that... will be mine!