"Ethan, you are just flesh and blood. Trust the great Tony Stark! He and his armor can get you and the Longguo Boy out of here!" Tony kept his voice as low as possible, but his excitement and arrogance were obvious.
Ethan pushed his glasses up, his worry still evident. "Tony, I trust your armor and I trust you, but it's too dangerous."
Saying that, he pointed to the Mark I Arc Reactor on his chest. "I'm worried about it."
Tony looked down, frowning slightly. "Don't worry, this little guy is the culmination of my life's work."
Ethan was not reassured by Tony's words, and Tony felt Ethan was being overly worried.
"If they discover us before the armor starts, we might all die."
Ethan voiced his other concern again.
Tony stopped talking. The armor's startup procedure was indeed a big problem. Recently, these procedures had been handled by the Longguo Boy—Chen Tian. Although the three of them had discussed it and felt the procedure was perfect,
the time to build the armor was too short, and no one had tested it. Furthermore, to prevent the Terrorists from discovering their intentions, all the parts were custom-made, and even the procedure hadn't been tested.
Chen Tian only realized this after listening to their conversation.
This scene was not in the movie, but now this was the real World. Perhaps in the original World, the two had also discussed it this way.
And Ethan's sacrifice was precisely because the armor's startup procedure was too slow, causing him to rush out and buy time for Tony's armor to activate.
Chen Tian approached the two, first patting Ethan on the shoulder.
Ethan looked at Chen Tian, puzzled.
Chen Tian grinned: "Ethan, even if you don't trust me, you have to trust yourself and Tony. The startup procedure has been verified by you and him."
Then, turning to Tony, "I believe the genius Tony Stark wouldn't make a rookie mistake, right?"
Tony raised an eyebrow, a characteristic narcissistic smile playing on his lips: "Longguo Boy, you finally said something insightful."
He turned and walked to the workbench, dramatically unfolding the crumpled design blueprint. "Look at this! How could a work by the greatest genius in history, Tony Stark, have a rookie mistake?"
Chen Tian suppressed the urge to roll his eyes: "Yes, yes, Tony Stark never makes mistakes."
"Hey!" Tony suddenly turned, a finger almost poking Chen Tian's nose. "Don't talk to me in that tone you use to coax children, Longguo Boy."
"Tsk, aren't you always calling me 'Longguo Boy'?" Chen Tian pouted. "By the way, do you even remember our names?"
Ethan pushed up his glasses, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes behind the lenses: "Alright, gentlemen, we don't have time—"
Tony was about to say something else when Chen Tian suddenly interrupted him in a low voice.
"Gentlemen, have you heard of 'feigning a direct attack while making a diversion'?"
Tony and Ethan exchanged glances. Neither of them quite understood what it meant, but Tony folded his arms proudly, looking as if he knew everything.
"What is that?" Ethan looked at Tony and knew he didn't know, but he wouldn't ask, so he spoke for both of them.
Chen Tian chuckled: "That's an ancient saying from Longguo. Our current approach reflects this saying."
"On the surface, we are building missiles for those damn guys, but we are preparing for our escape plan."
Tony and Ethan both nodded, but neither understood why Chen Tian brought up that saying, what was its meaning? However, neither spoke, as they could see Chen Tian had more to say.
"Although our plan is nearing completion, we need to ensure its perfect execution. So," Chen Tian looked at Tony.
"Tony, we need you to work a little harder."
Tony's lips curved: "Tell me, Longguo Boy, what do you need me to do?"
Chen Tian sighed helplessly: "Stop calling me Longguo Boy." With that, Chen Tian stood up and walked towards the workbench, and Ethan followed Chen Tian to the workbench.
Chen Tian looked at the scattered parts on the workbench. "Tony, can you use these things to make a few more bombs?"
Tony squinted, scanning the scattered parts on the workbench, his fingers unconsciously tapping the metal surface. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers: "Ha! This scrap metal is enough to make three 'Stark Special Edition Welcome Bombs'." He picked up a discarded car battery. "This can be made into a trigger device..."
Ethan pushed up his glasses worriedly: "Tony, wouldn't an explosion in an enclosed space..."
"Relax, my Doctor." Tony was already skillfully disassembling parts. "I'll set up directional blasting to ensure the Impact goes towards the cave entrance—" He suddenly paused, turning to stare at Chen Tian. "Wait, Longguo Boy, what do you need bombs for? We already have an escape plan."
A glint of cunning flashed in Chen Tian's eyes. He lowered his voice and explained: "We need to create a chain trap. The first bomb is installed on the door. When the guards break in—" He made an explosion gesture, "boom! This will give us at least a 30-second window."
Chen Tian smirked: "Then, taking advantage of the chaos, we'll bury the other two bombs outside our door! After 30 seconds, the ambush of the two bombs can buy us some more time."
Chen Tian pointed to the armor. "I believe three bombs are enough to make them wary of whether we have more bombs, and we can perfectly activate the armor. If only two are detonated, we can completely dig out the remaining one after the armor is deployed and throw it out like a grenade."
After hearing Chen Tian's plan, Tony's eyes gradually lit up. He stroked the stubble on his chin, a playful smile playing on his lips: "Longguo Boy, I'm starting to suspect you've been in special forces." He turned and began rummaging through the pile of parts. "Chain explosion traps... I like this idea!"
Ethan's eyes behind his lenses sparkled with surprise and admiration: "This plan is indeed more secure than simply relying on the armor. The deterrent power of three bombs will make the enemy misjudge, thinking we have more ambushes."
"Not only that," Tony was already skillfully disassembling the car battery, "we can also make a fake detonator." He picked up a worn-out radio. "We can modify this into a remote receiver, making the enemy think we can detonate the entire cave at any time!"
Chen Tian nodded: "Yes, this is psychological warfare. Because we have Tony, the genius weapons manufacturing expert, they will be afraid, not knowing how many bombs Tony has made."
Ethan then poured cold Water on them: "But... they have heavy weapons. What if they disregard everything and just blow up the cave?"
Tony and Chen Tian exchanged smiles. Tony again folded his arms, lifting his chin towards Chen Tian, gesturing for Chen Tian to speak.
Chen Tian shrugged, "Ethan, have you forgotten? All of this is for Tony's armor to start smoothly. Our plan hasn't changed; we're just adding a small plan to ensure the armor's escape plan."
Ethan then remembered he had fallen into a misconception again, slapped his forehead, and laughed, "Yes, yes, my mind has been a bit sluggish lately."
Chen Tian looked around, lowering his voice as he continued: "The bald guy gave us a deadline of the day after tomorrow, but they definitely won't expect us to act early."
He quietly pointed a metal rod at the small window on the big iron door where the three were imprisoned. "Although we don't know what time it is now, based on their patrol intervals, we can definitely determine when it's day and when it's night."
"We can assemble the armor during their longest patrol interval."
Tony suddenly snapped his fingers: "Brilliant! Those idiots will definitely think we're working overtime to make bombs for them."
He rubbed his hands excitedly, "Then, while they're sound asleep, we'll give them a big surprise!"
The three further refined the plan, then buried themselves in checking the armor. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion; success or failure depended on tomorrow night.
On the sixth day, only the faint sound of metal clashing remained in the cave.
Chen Tian, using the sparks from welding, glanced at the small window on the iron door—the guard hadn't come for a patrol in two hours.
"Now's the time." Tony kept his voice low, but his movements were astonishingly fast. He pulled out the core components of the armor from a pile of missile parts as if by magic. "Ethan, help me secure the chest plate."
Ethan's hands trembled slightly, but his movements remained precise. He carefully connected the Arc Reactor to the armor's energy system, and the blue light was particularly noticeable in the dim cave.
"Startup program check." Chen Tian crouched in front of the computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. Lines of code flashed across the screen, and his brows furrowed tighter. "Tony, there's a problem with the hydraulic control of the left leg joint."
Tony cursed, tearing off the newly installed armor plate: "Damn it, this bearing is the wrong size!" He grabbed a file and started modifying the part, metal shavings flying in the sparks.
Ethan suddenly raised a finger: "Shh—" Footsteps came from a distance. The three instantly froze. Chen Tian quickly switched the computer screen, Tony pretended to be welding a missile casing, and Ethan picked up a notebook and pretended to record data.
The guard yawned and pushed open the small window on the large door, the flashlight beam sweeping across the workbench: "Still not done?"
"Almost there." Tony didn't even look up, deliberately making the welding torch emit a dazzling blue light. "If you interrupt a genius at work again, don't blame me if the missile backfires tomorrow."
The guard sullenly retreated. Once the footsteps faded, Tony immediately dropped his pretense: "How much time do we have left?"
Chen Tian glanced at the homemade Water clock: "It'll be daylight in at most four hours." He turned to the computer, "The program is fixed, but it needs to be recalibrated."
"Then hurry!" Tony's forehead was covered in sweat, and the light from the Arc Reactor on his chest flickered.
Ethan gave him a worried glance but said nothing, only silently handing him tools.
The three coordinated like precise instruments. Tony assembled the main frame, Ethan was responsible for the electrical connections, and Chen Tian continuously debugged the control program.
Time flowed by second by second, and the temperature in the cave seemed to rise with the tense atmosphere.
"Last step." Tony panted, holding up the armor helmet. "Longguo Boy, is the program ready?"
"Call me Chen Tian!" Chen Tian corrected him through gritted teeth, his hands not stopping. "Just one more line of code... Done!" He wiped his sweat. "Theoretically, it can complete a cold start in 12 seconds."
Ethan suddenly pressed Tony's arm: "Wait!" He pointed to the armor's ankle. "This hydraulic hose is connected backward!"
Tony gasped, quickly disassembling and reassembling it. Chen Tian watched the Water level in the Water clock steadily drop, his heart pounding as if it would burst from his chest.
"Finished!" Tony finally straightened up, the armor gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the Firelight. He looked at his two companions, a rare serious expression on his face: "Ready, guys?"
Chen Tian checked the detonator, and Ethan tied the medical kit to his waist. The three exchanged smiles and high-fived in the dim light.
Tony slipped into the armor. As Chen Tian fastened the last bolt for him, loud shouts and the sound of weapons being cocked suddenly came from outside.
"We've been discovered!" Ethan's face went White.
No sooner had Ethan finished speaking than violent knocking and angry shouts came from outside the door.
Chen Tian decisively pressed the detonator. A deafening explosion erupted from the large door, shaking the entire cave. Debris fell from the ceiling, and a piercing alarm blared.
"Start the program! Now!" Chen Tian shouted as he pressed the switch, then, holding the remaining two bombs, handed them to Ethan, and the two quickly rushed out the door.
They didn't go far, burying the bombs right outside the door, then quickly retreating behind the door.
Soon after the two hid on either side of the large door, two explosions sounded from outside. It seemed the rushing Terrorists had stepped on the bombs they buried.
At the same time, the armor was activated. Ethan and Chen Tian hastily unchained the armor.
Tony's confident voice came from inside the armor: "Ha, guys! Follow me! Let Tony the hero lead you back to the light of day!"
Tony's armor made a dull metallic clanging sound as he strode out of the stone chamber with steady steps.
Chen Tian and Ethan followed closely, and the three were surprised to find—the entire cave passage was empty.
"Strange..." Tony's voice came through the armor, with a metallic echo. "Where did those lunatics go?"
Chen Tian vigilantly looked around. The torches on the cave walls were still burning. With such a commotion just now, it was impossible for the Terrorists not to react.
Chen Tian said in a low voice, "Tony, watch out for an ambush."
The three cautiously advanced along the main passage. Tony's armor seemed particularly cumbersome in the narrow cave, its metal casing occasionally scraping against the rock walls, emitting a harsh sound.
"Knock, knock, knock....."
Several sounds of objects hitting the cave wall suddenly rang out.
"Get down!" Tony's voice came from the armor. He quickly turned, using the armor to shield Chen Tian and Ethan.
Several grenades exploded in the narrow passage, the Impact painfully rattling the three's eardrums.
Shrapnel and dust flew everywhere, and Tony's armor casing was scratched with several marks from the fragments.
"Damn it!" Tony's voice came from behind the faceplate. "They're ambushing us at the cave entrance!"
Tony's words were confirmed. A dozen Terrorists, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the grenades, rushed out from around the corner, sweeping at the three with their AKs.
Tony's armor emitted a harsh metallic clanging sound amidst the hail of bullets. Bullets pounded against the rough armor like a downpour, sending up a series of sparks. He quickly turned, using his back armor to form a steel barrier for Ethan and Chen Tian.
"Hide behind me!" Tony's voice came through the armor, with a metallic hum unique to it.
He raised his right arm, and a small Rocket bomb popped up from his arm guard. Due to the Mark-1's simplicity, the Rocket could only be aimed by eye.
But amidst the countless bullets, Tony couldn't see clearly at all and could only fire the Rocket based on feeling.
"Boom!"
Luckily, the Rocket exploded in the crowd, blowing up a dozen Terrorists directly, and the gunfire immediately ceased.
"Ha, Lucky! A genius's luck is never bad!" Tony laughed excitedly when he saw his Rocket succeed.
"Tony! Get out of the way!" Chen Tian's voice suddenly rang out, and Tony quickly moved to the side.
An RPG Rocket grazed his armor and exploded at the end of the cave passage.
"FK! How dare you ambush a hero?!" Tony was furious, but cold sweat also ran down his forehead. If not for Chen Tian's warning, this crude armor might not have been able to withstand a Rocket attack.
Tony angrily walked towards the Terrorist who shot the RPG at him. That Terrorist quickly dropped the launcher and ran around the corner.
Tony pursued relentlessly, abruptly braking at the corner, his metal boot soles scraping against the rock with a harsh sound.
Standing at the cave entrance, a dozen Terrorists had set up heavy machine guns on the ground, and several others were aiming RPGs at him.
"Whoa..." Tony's voice in the armor became dry. "This isn't good."