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Chapter 129: Don't Waste Your Life
"My biggest concern right now is that damned bat will show up and ruin our plans."
At the same time Batman entered Hoffman Island, in a standard American two-story house in Brooklyn, Herman Schultz carefully adjusted his new "Shocker" gauntlets while speaking.
The interior of this American house had completely transformed since Schultz's first visit. Toomes, the house's owner, had dismissed the aproned maid.
The living room's sofas and dining table were all piled into corners. Various electronic equipment and workbenches had replaced them.
Beside Schultz, Adrian Toomes wore an outfit of dark green, a long cape dragging across the floor behind him.
The world-renowned electronics engineer stroked his dark green clothing, appearing quite fond of it.
Seeing Toomes ignore him, Schultz analyzed on his own:
"Documented appearances of Batman during daylight total only two instances. Once at dusk in Queens contacting Norman Osborn, once attacking Kingpin at Oscorp."
"Both times he avoided direct sunlight exposure. The legends claiming he's a vampire aren't unreasonable—he likely fears sunlight intensely."
"We should schedule our operation for high noon."
After speaking, Schultz donned his gauntlets, put on his newly constructed iron-gray suit capable of absorbing impact forces, and stepped into the house's backyard garden.
Violent shockwave sounds erupted. Schultz's Shocker gauntlets sent transparent ripples through the air ahead.
These ripples spread rapidly outward, tearing through the garden ground—creating a massive chasm two meters deep, three meters wide, and dozens of meters long.
"Looks like you're quite satisfied with your new toy." Beside Schultz, Toomes in his emerald combat suit spoke with an ambiguous smile.
"But it's not enough yet," Schultz shook his head. "Toomes, our remaining materials should be sufficient to construct one more suit. We need to find another partner."
Toomes continued watching Schultz with that same ambiguous smile.
"I helped you make the Shocker gauntlets. You helped me make my flight suit. Our transaction is complete."
"You want revenge on Batman, but that guy has nothing to do with me. I won't involve myself in your personal vendetta."
Schultz's face was completely concealed beneath his mask. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he regarded Toomes.
"I'm sorry, Toomes. From the moment you agreed to cooperate with me, you became an ant tied to the same rope as me."
"Once my operation fails, even if I don't reveal anything, Batman will definitely trace his way back to you."
Hearing Schultz's words, Toomes' features immediately scrunched together, making his prominent hooked nose particularly conspicuous.
WHOOSH!
Toomes gripped both sides of his emerald suit's cape and flung them dramatically outward. A pair of wings massive enough to completely envelope his body spread wide.
Drawing inspiration from Schultz's Shocker gauntlets and using shockwaves combined with wing flapping, Toomes rose into the air like a giant bird, looking down at Schultz with an ominous tone.
"You're using me?"
Schultz chuckled, raising one fist toward Toomes.
"Wouldn't call it 'using.' We simply must work together. Otherwise Batman will track us down like a cat scenting fish."
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Toomes circled above the garden, his wings and shockwaves creating air currents that flattened the soft grass stems below.
His face showed conflicting emotions, but he eventually folded his wings and landed on the ground. One hand brushed Schultz's fist aside while the other gripped his shoulder.
"Do you have a suitable candidate for the new partner? Also, I should remind you—remaining materials aren't sufficient for a complete suit. We can only make a sleeveless version."
"Additionally, I'm not an ant tied to a rope like you. I am master of the skies. I am..."
Toomes squeezed Schultz's shoulder. He couldn't immediately think of an intimidating name for his alias.
But Schultz stared at Toomes' hooked nose, slowly producing a word from beneath his mask. "Vulture?"
"Exactly! Vulture!" Toomes gripped Schultz's shoulder again forcefully.
Schultz had now lowered his fist. He knew his goal of using Batman to threaten Toomes had succeeded.
"I think my friend won't refuse. In fact, he'll cooperate quite willingly."
"Who?" Toomes asked.
Schultz removed his mask, looking into "Vulture" Toomes' eyes as he spoke slowly:
"Someone Batman sent to the police station, now imprisoned on Rikers Island alongside Kingpin... Scorpion Mac!"
---
In the Middle Eastern cave.
Tony Stark donned his constructed Mark I armor, relying on heavy plating to charge through the confined space.
"Yinsen! Yinsen!"
Tony Stark shouted loudly, hoping Yinsen—who'd rashly gone out to draw fire—could hear his voice.
After a long moment, Tony found Yinsen at a corner junction, his body riddled with bullet wounds.
"Stark." Yinsen's voice sounded extremely weak.
Tony Stark crouched down, lifting his faceplate with one hand to look at Yinsen, then gripped his shoulders with both hands.
"Quick, we need to go."
Yinsen smiled weakly.
Tony Stark's emotions surged tumultuously. He looked at Yinsen, anguish crossing his face. "We agreed to follow the plan. I'd clear the path ahead, you'd follow behind me."
"This was always my plan, Stark." Yinsen's eyeglasses were shattered. At this moment, he couldn't see Tony Stark's features clearly.
"Come on, I'll carry you out. Your family is outside waiting for you." Tony Stark urged.
He remembered Yinsen mentioning his wife and child. Tony wanted to use them to motivate Yinsen, but Yinsen lay motionless on the ground.
"They're already dead, Stark. I'm going to see them now."
Tony Stark looked at Yinsen, speechless. Outside the cave, sporadic gunfire erupted again—Ten Rings members firing aimlessly.
"Thank you for saving me." Tony Stark's eyes reddened slightly as he looked at Yinsen.
Yinsen used his last bit of strength to produce a smile.
"You weren't saved by me alone. You saved yourself. And that friend you've never met."
"Don't waste your life, Stark."
After speaking those words, Yinsen's breathing stopped completely.
CLANG!
Tony Stark closed Yinsen's eyes with his hand, then forcefully slammed his faceplate shut, clenched his fists, and walked toward the cave entrance.
Outside the cave under the sun, the remaining Ten Rings members constantly swallowed nervously, occasionally firing shots into the pitch-black cave entrance.
They didn't know what had happened inside. They didn't know how furious Tony Stark currently was.
But soon, as heavy footsteps and metallic collision sounds rang out, a silver-gray figure over two meters tall appeared at the cave entrance.
Thud, thud, thud...
The Ten Rings members already stationed here pulled their triggers without hesitation. Bullets poured out without restraint, but every single one was blocked by Tony Stark's steel armor.
As their magazines emptied, before they could reload, Tony Stark pressed a button on his armor. Both arms immediately unleashed roaring flames toward the terrorists.
Tony Stark released all fuel without reservation. Beyond burning these terrorists alive, his primary purpose was destroying the Stark Industries weapons.
Soon, despite Ten Rings members' bullets, the area was engulfed in raging flames.
Just as the gunpowder in those weapons was about to ignite and explode, Tony Stark pressed another button.
Flames erupted from his back and legs, leaving a trail of smoke through the air as the armor carried Tony skyward.
But after only a dozen seconds of flight, the armor lost propulsion and plummeted toward the ground.
THUD!
With a dull impact, the armor shattered into pieces. Tony Stark found half his body buried in the sand.
Tony Stark breathed a sigh of relief. He extracted himself from the armor fragments, recalling the evacuation route Peter had sent.
But at that moment, helicopter rotor sounds approached from afar. Three helicopters slowly landed near Tony Stark.
Tony Stark's heart tightened. He stared in disbelief at the helicopters that clearly weren't military, scrambling somewhat clumsily to escape.
The Ten Rings had acquired Stark weapons. They'd abducted him from a military armored convoy.
Tony Stark didn't doubt those people could obtain a few helicopters.
But Tony couldn't run far before several burly men from the helicopters caught him, carrying him like a small chicken onto one aircraft.
Tony desperately wanted to ask whether these people were terrorists. But as footsteps approached, Silver Sable in her silver-gray combat suit stepped before Tony and shook his hand.
"Your friend Peter sent me to extract you, Mr. Stark."
Hearing that name, Tony's face showed an expression between crying and laughing.
Having experienced the grief of Yinsen's death and the joy of escaping alive, then being startled by these people—now hearing they'd been arranged by his friend Peter —Tony Stark's tightly wound mental state could no longer hold.
His eyes rolled back. He fainted.