Leo didn't give Tony a chance to back out or regret it.
"Alright then," he said casually. "Once you're back in the New York, you'll fulfill your promise to me."
Leo shot Tony a meaningful glance — and Tony, being no fool, instantly understood what that meant.
When you're under someone else's roof, you lower your head.
He could only grit his teeth and nod. "Alright, I'll fulfill it when I get back."
Leo grinned. "Great, happy cooperation!"
Inside, Leo was laughing hysterically. One billion dollars! Something he'd only ever dreamed about — now practically handed to him on a silver platter.
"System," he said smugly in his head, "you should thank your ancestors eight generations back for this!"
[Ding! The Destroyer System is unique and has no ancestors.]
Leo rolled his eyes. "Wow, what a boring system. Can't even banter properly."
Tony crossed his arms. "Fine, happy cooperation. I'll admit you saved my life — even though I totally could've handled those terrorists in another day or two."
Leo chuckled. Sure, keep telling yourself that, Stark.
Tony extended his hand for a shake — the picture of magnanimity. Leo took it, but with a hidden goal of his own.
[Ding! Plot character detected: Tony Stark, Iron Man. Do you wish to perform a draw? Cost: 20,000 points.]
"Draw!" Leo said without hesitation.
[Ding. Drawing in progress. Please wait… Congratulations, host! You've obtained: Mini Arc Reactor Technology. Would you like to extract it?]
Leo's eyes lit up. Holy crap, that's huge!
He hadn't drawn Tony's intelligence, but that didn't matter. He wasn't planning to walk the tech-genius path anyway. This tech could help him build a future force of his own.
In the end, physical power ruled everything.
"Extract!"
[Ding. Extracting... Extraction complete. Mini Arc Reactor Technology has been stored in the system space.]
The sound faded, but one particular detail made Leo freeze.
"Wait, what the hell, System? You have a system space? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've been lugging around this stupid backpack like an idiot!"
In this desert heat, carrying a bag was torture! All this time, he could've been using system storage!
[Ding. The host did not ask. The Destroyer System does not act on its own.]
Leo's mouth twitched. "Unbelievable. A system that passes the buck. Great."
He sighed. "Forget it. Better late than never."
His inner conversation took place in his mind — no time passed in the outside world.
When he came back to his senses, Tony was still standing there.
Leo smiled mysteriously. "You mean that rusty iron box in the cave?"
Tony's face darkened instantly. "What rusty box?! That's my Iron Man armor!"
He paused, blinking. "Wait—how the hell do you know about that?"
The color drained from his face. "Impossible! That's top secret! Did Yinsen tell you?!"
Yinsen, startled, waved his hands frantically. "Tony, I swear I didn't say anything!"
Tony's eyes widened. "Then how—"
He froze, his mind racing. "Oh my God… you can predict the future, can't you?"
Tony started tugging at his messy hair, pacing like a paranoid genius who'd seen a ghost.
Leo just smiled and stayed silent. Knowing the past and future — that was his biggest golden finger.
Playing the prophet once in a while wasn't a bad thing. It built mystique. Power often came from perception.
Leo clasped his hands together solemnly. "Let's go. As the Buddha says, it cannot be spoken. Infinite Heavenly Venerate — this place is no good."
Tony blinked. "What the hell does that even mean?"
Yinsen shrugged helplessly. "Just… go with it."
They quickly followed Leo out of the cave, not daring to stay another second. They'd ask later. Right now, survival mattered more.
Driving across the desert for the first time, Leo had to admit — these modified off-road vehicles were beasts.
The engine roared like a lion, and dust clouds exploded behind them like smoke bombs.
Somewhere miles away, a soldier adjusted his binoculars.
"Colonel Rhodes, sir, there's a dust plume fifteen clicks out — looks like a speeding off-road vehicle. Could be Stark."
James Rhodes squinted at the horizon. "Get the recovery team moving. Now."
Meanwhile, inside the roaring vehicle, Tony was losing his mind — in a good way.
Blasting heavy metal music, he stood up through the sunroof, shouting like a man reborn.
"WOOOH! FREEDOM! The freedom I want!"
"I want ten cheeseburgers! TEN!"
He hadn't eaten one in months. Just the thought made him emotional.
Curry rice. Every damn day. If I see curry again, I'll shoot myself.
Crunch. Crunch.
Leo was quietly chewing on a piece of ice he'd conjured.
Tony stopped mid-dance. His eyes locked on the ice cube. "Wait… is that ice?"
He gulped audibly. "Can I… maybe… have a piece?"
Leo looked at him with an evil grin. "Sure. One million dollars per cube."
Tony froze. "One million?! For ice? Do I look like an idiot?"
A moment of silence.
"…I'll take two."
Leo almost burst out laughing. The great Tony Stark, ladies and gentlemen.
He handed over two ice cubes with mock ceremony. "Pleasure doing business, Mr. Billionaire."
Tony took them eagerly and bit down.
Crunch! Crunch!
"God, that's amazing! Two more!"
Soon, the sound of crunching ice filled the car. Yinsen chewed slowly, trying not to choke on the absurdity of it all.
Leo leaned back, grinning. Extorting money from Tony Stark — now this is living.
Just as the laughter echoed through the vehicle, a new sound cut through the noise.
Thump-thump-thump!
The rhythmic roar of helicopter blades.
Leo squinted at the sky. "Well… looks like the welcome party's here."