The dim cave.
"Where is this?"
Rimuru, who had reverted to his Slime form, was very confused. According to the original plot, after leaving the cave, he should have reached the surface.
But now, after exiting one cave, he had entered another.
The moment he arrived, Rimuru felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he had gone from a clear river into a muddy puddle; the entire world felt hazy.
It wasn't just the dimness—it was the magicules. They were incredibly sparse here, completely incomparable to the Sealed Cave.
Clang, clang, clang!
A hammering sound echoed through the darkness, and Rimuru followed the noise to find a scruffy-haired, mustached man in a vest, holding a hammer and striking metal repeatedly.
The moment Rimuru saw the mustached man, his Slime eyes turned into two circles.
This man's face was far too familiar.
Even with his poor ability to distinguish Western faces, he could never forget this one—especially the super-iconic "light bulb" glowing on his chest.
Tony Stark? Did I transmigrate into the Marvel Universe?!
Great Sage: "Yes."
Even with the Great Sage's confirmation, Rimuru still felt like he was dreaming.
He had always wanted to experience a two-dimensional world, and he also loved Marvel. He never expected that one moment he would be in the world of Slimes, and the next he would be in a cave in Afghanistan—coincidentally encountering the kidnapped Iron Man.
Before Rimuru could decide what to do, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside.
Using Heat Sense, he clearly detected more than a dozen armed men rushing toward the cave.
Had he been discovered?
Rimuru instinctively hopped into a dark corner, hiding in the shadows—then immediately felt silly.
What am I afraid of? These monsters weren't even enough for me to instantly kill, let alone these weaklings!
But Rimuru was overthinking it.
The bald leader entered the cave, grabbed Ethan, and picked up a glowing red coal with a pair of tongs, pretending he would shove it into Ethan's mouth while interrogating the two of them.
Seeing this, Rimuru felt a sudden wave of "Aqua-level intelligence debuff."
He remembered that in the movie, Tony's test of the Iron Man suit's leg mechanism made the terrorists suspicious, leading to this torture and interrogation scene.
Ethan was tight-lipped, refusing to reveal anything even at the risk of death, which Rimuru found admirable.
It had to be said—Tony's luck, or rather his protagonist halo, was truly overwhelming.
Even while being kidnapped, the scriptwriter intentionally gave him such a powerful helper.
Without Ethan, Tony would have died long ago.
Ethan not only performed life-saving surgery on him, but also acted as a buffer between Tony and the captors, and ultimately became the guide who pushed Tony onto the path of a hero.
At first, when Tony learned he had only one week to live, he was devastated—but Ethan helped him regain his will.
In a way, Ethan was to Iron Man what Uncle Ben was to Spider-Man.
Unfortunately, under the "Will of the Universe," such guides were fated to die.
Seeing the bald terrorist about to shove the burning coal into Ethan's mouth, Tony, in order to save him, was forced to activate his plan early and promised that he would deliver results within twenty-four hours.
Thus, the crisis was temporarily resolved.
Rimuru had only one thought: these terrorists seriously lacked education.
Especially the ones responsible for watching the cave entrance. They held pictures of Jericho missiles and kept comparing them to the parts Tony was assembling.
One stared with wide eyes, saying Tony's creation looked nothing like a missile.
The other joked that maybe it looked like one if you held the picture upside down.
Rimuru: "Ψ(￣∀￣)Ψ"
Because of the time pressure, by late night Tony and Ethan were still hammering away, racing against time to finish the final preparations.
Rimuru quietly moved into a camera blind spot and then transformed into a humanoid form.
Seeing Rimuru suddenly appear, Tony and Ethan jolted in shock.
Both were extremely tense. They were at the most critical stage; any disturbance could cause all their efforts to fail.
And Rimuru's appearance was far too abrupt.
If he didn't look like a harmless little girl instead of a fierce terrorist, their hearts might have leapt out of their chests.
Even so, the atmosphere remained extremely tense. Ethan even swallowed repeatedly, completely bewildered and at a loss for what to do.
The flickering firelight reflected off Rimuru's long blue hair and golden eyes, making them look especially striking—further confirming Tony's guess.
Tony raised his hands slowly, adopting a friendly, harmless posture. "Hey, girl. Were you also kidnapped by these terrorists? Your blue hair is really pretty—are you a mutant? I don't discriminate against mutants. Maybe we can even be friends!"
Tony's words were skillfully crafted, immediately painting Rimuru as a fellow victim.
And he specifically mentioned not being prejudiced against mutants, doing his best to dissolve any hostility.
Of course, if he could win her over, that would be the best outcome. And if not—well, it wasn't like he'd lose anything by trying.
Rimuru shook his head. "Wrong. I'm not a kidnapped victim, and I'm not a mutant. Also, for the record, I am male."
"Male?"
Tony and Ethan both looked Rimuru up and down. They didn't say anything aloud, but their expressions clearly screamed: Are you kidding me?
Even in a dim cave, they weren't blind—they could tell male from female.
But since this strange little girl currently held their lives in her hands, they dared not question him. Appeasement was their only strategy.
"Okay! Okay! Little man, that spot you're in is perfect—the camera can't see you. Can you stay there and play for a while and let Uncle Ethan and I finish our work?" Tony coaxed gently, trying to buy time.
If they could stall long enough to finish the Iron Man suit, they might turn death into life.
Even if this little girl were a hostile mutant, they would at least have some means of resistance.
Unlike now, where they were like helpless children with zero chances of fighting back.
Hearing Tony's words, Rimuru rolled his eyes. Was he being treated like one of those clueless terrorists?
Rimuru spoke bluntly, "You're not building Jericho missiles—you're building an Iron Man suit to escape, right?"
Instantly, sweat beaded on Tony and Ethan's foreheads. The air froze.
Seeing their nervous expressions, Rimuru smiled. Teasing Iron Man was surprisingly fun.
The moment Tony and Ethan saw his smile, they realized they'd been played. Both felt an urge to give Rimuru a good beating.
But right now, they didn't dare. Even if Rimuru slapped their left cheek, they could only offer their right one.
A dragon trapped in shallow waters is mocked by shrimp; a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs. And bratty kids? The worst of all.
Clang, clang, clang!
Ethan continued hammering while Tony tapped away at the computer, writing various programs.
Watching this, Rimuru couldn't help but sigh—Tony truly was one of the biggest hacks in the entire Marvel Universe. His skill set was ridiculous.
Especially during the Extremis arc—Maya Hansen spent more than ten years on it, yet it couldn't compare to Tony's one night of research.
And that was after he and Maya had just finished sleeping together!
Watching Tony's fingers fly across the keyboard, Rimuru became cautious. There were far too many overpowered beings in the Marvel Universe.
He had to be careful.
Lying low and developing quietly was the only safe path forward.