"What the f—!?"
Tony and Yinsen's hearts almost stopped from the sudden shock.
Tony, especially, hadn't slept in two days. The fright nearly knocked his consciousness out of his skull.
Under their horrified gazes, Daniel nimbly climbed out of the square pit, brushed dirt off his shoulders, and casually rested a pixelated pickaxe over one shoulder.
[Item: Diamond Pickaxe][Effect: Greatly increases mining efficiency; can quickly harvest/destroy most minerals and rocks.][Comment: If Andy Dufresne had this, he would've saved 27 years.]
"Who are you!?" Tony blurted, finally regaining some composure.
Daniel grinned. "You must be Tony Stark. I'm here to pick you up."
"Were you sent by the military?"
"No, I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. Here's my card."
Tony took the offered card.
Federal Bureau of Investigation — Senior Agent Daniel
"?"
"Oops, wrong one."
Daniel snatched it back with practiced ease and reached into his pocket—pulling out a fistful of assorted business cards.
Department of Defense.CIA.New York Police Department.Federal Tax Bureau.
Tony: "…"
"Ah, here we go."He finally handed over the correct one.
Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division — Senior Agent Daniel
Tony stared at the ridiculously long title. It sounded like something a bored author would invent just to increase word count.
He eyed Daniel. "How many people did your… division send?"
Daniel answered proudly, "Just me."
"???"
Tony's face darkened.You cannot be serious.
Daniel, however, ignored Tony completely. His eyes locked onto the crude steel suit beside them.
[Mark I Armor (Bound to Tony Stark)][Description: A powered armor suit hand-built in a cave. Consumes large amounts of energy. Not transferable.]
"Good stuff!"
Daniel's eyes sparkled.
No man could resist the temptation of a suit of powered armor. This was mankind's ultimate romantic fantasy.
A shame it was bound to Tony.If not, Daniel might've tried to see if it could drop as loot.
It was also unfortunate that NPCs in this world did not respawn.
If a main story NPC died, the questline collapsed.So killing Tony would be… inconvenient.
But maybe in the second playthrough…
Daniel filed that thought away.
Tony, unnerved by Daniel's intense gaze, was about to speak when a loud clamor echoed from outside the cave.
His expression changed instantly.
"They're coming!"
He spun toward the security monitor—armed terrorists were rushing toward the cave entrance.
"Get ready!" Tony shouted at Yinsen.
Moments later—
BOOM!
The terrorists forced the iron door open and triggered the bomb Tony and Yinsen had prepared. Smoke filled the air, and charred bodies dropped to the ground.
But more footsteps thundered closer from outside.
"Damn it!"
Tony panicked—they were arriving faster than expected.
"Yinsen! Activate the power system!"
"But it's not fully calibrated—"
"We don't have time! Now!"
Yinsen gritted his teeth and started the power-up sequence. A progress bar crawled across the ancient monitor.
Meanwhile, the shouts and footsteps outside drew nearer.
"No time!"
Yinsen grabbed a rifle from a fallen terrorist, eyes determined.
"I'll hold them off!"
He rushed out without hesitation.
"Yinsen! Stick to the plan!" Tony shouted, voice cracking. But Yinsen was already gone.
As tension filled the cave—
Crunch… crunch…
Daniel sat on a crate, casually munching melon seeds like he was watching a drama.
"This cutscene is nice," he commented. "A bit cliché, though."
Given his experience with countless game plots, Yinsen was clearly a sacrifice flag NPC.
But wait—
This whole plot felt familiar…
Building powered armor in a cave?Sacrificial companion?Main character energy everywhere.
Daniel narrowed his eyes at Tony.
"System… don't tell me this mustached guy is the protagonist, and I'm just a background camera."
[Please rest assured: This game has no pre-set protagonist.][Player decisions fully shape the narrative.]
"Oh good," Daniel sighed in relief.
He had zero interest in being a mobile camera who gets knocked out once per episode.
Tony, meanwhile, looked like he might explode.
They were about to die.And this clown was eating snacks.
Still—Daniel claimed to be an agent. Surely he had some combat ability.
"Hey! Agent Whatever! Go stop Yinsen! Don't let him die!"
The fate of a scientist versus armed terrorists was obvious.
Daniel scoffed. "Why would I follow your orders? I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. I have dignity."
[NPC Tony Stark has issued you a new quest][Quest: Save Yinsen][Objective: Ensure Yinsen survives][Reward: 1000 EXP, Tony Stark Favorability +20, Random Rare Item ×1]
Daniel's expression instantly changed to pure righteousness.
"As a responsible citizen, how can I ignore someone in danger!? Leave it to me!"
Tony: "…"
Integrity?
Daniel thought:
Do game players even have such a thing?