"Stark."
Ethan's voice rang out, and he pushed up his glasses, unable to hide his excitement. "I think… we might actually be saved."
"Yes, that's right, I think so too."
Tony Stark nodded in agreement.
But even so…
Tony Stark didn't just leave rashly, as Zhou Cheng had suggested.
Quite the opposite.
Tony Stark turned back around and focused his gaze on Zhou Cheng.
Nothing else mattered.
Tony Stark needed to figure out exactly what the situation was.
If those Ten Rings terrorists really had been wiped out, then they could afford to waste a little time here.
But if that wasn't the case, rushing out blindly would be even more dangerous.
So, Tony Stark needed to understand this.
"You don't look like you're with the Military."
Tony Stark sized up Zhou Cheng, then made his basic assessment. "Independent Contractor? Mercenary?"
In Tony Stark's opinion, those were the only two possibilities.
The key question was, why was this person wearing casual clothes?
No Tactical Suit, no Bulletproof Helmet, no Tactical Boots, and not even any weapons!
Moreover.
This person's clothes were ragged and riddled with holes.
It looked like they'd been hit by countless bullets.
Tony Stark saw it clearly; this person wasn't even wearing a Bulletproof Vest!
If those were really bullet holes, how was this person still alive?
But if they weren't bullet holes, what were those holes from?
Non-mainstream clothing?
Furthermore.
This person was actually wearing a mask.
A mask that looked incredibly out of place, even absurd.
Tony Stark was somewhat puzzled.
Why would a well-trained special forces operative wear such a mask on a mission this dangerous?
So… What's the deal with this guy?
Even someone like Tony Stark was momentarily baffled.
"Who I am doesn't matter."
Zhou Cheng deliberately lowered his voice. "What matters, Stark, is that you're lucky. Someone is willing to pay a high price to save you."
Although he didn't directly answer, it was the same as answering Tony Stark's question.
He was indeed hired by someone to rescue him.
Mercenaries and independent contractors – they're really just two sides of the same coin.
"See? Told you," Ethan said, shrugging and clearly pleased. "I owe you one, you know, for saving me."
"So… you really came to save me?"
Even now, Tony Stark seemed a bit unsure, despite it all seeming so obvious.
The diary hadn't said anything like this!
Zhou Cheng, however, didn't bother to clear up the confusion. He simply began to stroll around the cave, his gaze sweeping back and forth.
He was searching for something.
"Looking for something?"
"Of course, the blueprints for the Original Mark Armor."
"Even though the billion-dollar commission is a done deal, since I'm here, there's no need to pass up something so valuable, right? It's just a side benefit anyway."
"Here!"
The layout inside the cave wasn't complicated, and Zhou Cheng quickly spotted the blueprints on a cabinet.
Without hesitation, he picked them up.
"Hey!"
Tony Stark immediately moved to stop Zhou Cheng. "That's mine."
"Not anymore!"
Zhou Cheng didn't pay any attention to Tony Stark.
He unceremoniously put the blueprints away, stuffing them into his somewhat tattered pocket.
Tony Stark: "..."
Are you sure you're here to rescue me?
Instead of first checking and confirming the condition of his rescue target, he just went ahead and started scavenging for things?
What kind of Independent Contractor, what kind of Mercenary is this?
Are you here to save a person or to save blueprints?
"Wait a minute!"
Tony Stark, who had been complaining up to this point, suddenly froze, as he vaguely sensed something.
The guy in front of him entered the cave and immediately started searching, grabbing the blueprints as soon as he found them.
He moved without hesitation, completing the task in one swift motion.
It seemed… as if he already knew the blueprints were here!
But the problem was precisely that.
Apart from him, Tony, and Ethan, no one else knew about these blueprints.
Not even the Ten Rings!
In this situation, the masked man's behavior seemed highly suspicious.
Why?
Why would the other party know there were blueprints inside the cave?
Or perhaps…
He wasn't looking for the blueprints, but something else, and just happened to find the blueprints?
But why did he stop immediately after finding them!
Something wasn't right!
No matter how he thought about it, something was off.
"Could it be…"
After much thought, Tony Stark could only arrive at one possibility.
Could it be.
That masked guy, was he the diary's owner, Zhou Cheng?
After all, besides him and Ethan, he was the only one who still knew about the blueprints! The other party had also mentioned in the diary that he wanted to get the blueprints!
This… damn it, the diary's owner, Zhou Cheng, is here!? No way? Didn't the other guy not know the exact location of the cave? A multitude of questions surged into his mind at once, making Tony Stark's gaze towards Zhou Cheng become increasingly strange.
"Alright, let's go!"
However, Zhou Cheng didn't notice the look in Tony Stark's eyes.
Having found the blueprints, Zhou Cheng, in a great mood, casually greeted Tony Stark and Ethan before beginning to leave as if nothing had happened.
"Wait!"
Tony Stark instinctively called out from behind.
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Cheng turned around and gave Tony Stark a strange look.
"Do you know what blueprints you have?"
Tony Stark stared intently at Zhou Cheng, his words full of meaning.
"Looks like something good, anyway!"
Zhou Cheng naturally couldn't admit it and just brushed him off with a casual reply.
"Of course."
He knew his actions raised suspicions, and this answer wouldn't dispel Tony Stark's doubts, but he didn't care.
After all, Tony Stark didn't know who he was, right?
The playboy could think whatever he wanted.
However, what Zhou Cheng didn't know was that Tony Stark had actually intended to ask about the Diary, not the blueprints!
It was just that he changed his words at the last moment.
Because Tony Stark suddenly realized something important.
The Diary's owner, Zhou Cheng, apparently didn't know that Tony Stark could also see it, which was why he was so unreservedly "spoiling" things on it.
But what if the other side knew all this?
------------------------
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