Realizing that the terrorists had discovered them, Dr. Ethan began to panic.
"Tony, are you okay?! They've noticed something's wrong!" Dr. Ethan said anxiously.
Tony Stark quickly replied, "I'm fine. It's done! Ethan, help me put on the armor!"
Without hesitation, Ethan rushed forward to assist him with the suit.
Getting the wearable armor on was just the first step. Without power, it was useless.
"It'll take five minutes for the suit to complete its power-up. We need to hurry!" Dr. Ethan said, glancing anxiously at the door, keeping an eye out for any terrorists trying to break in.
His body trembled with nervousness.
Although Tony Stark was equally anxious, he tried to reassure Ethan. "Don't worry. We rigged a bomb outside the door. If they force their way in, they'll trigger it. That should buy us some time."
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"Didn't you trigger the bomb mechanism when you came in? Luke?" Tony Stark asked skeptically.
Luke fell silent.
After all, he hadn't entered through the main entrance, so he hadn't triggered the mechanism.
But before he could explain, a loud explosion shattered the tranquility of the cave.
The terrorists had broken down the door!
The good news was that the first terrorist who entered was swiftly dealt with.
The bad news was that this would inevitably alert the remaining terrorists, and they were running out of time.
"Tony, please stop with the questions right now! We need to buy more time for the armor to activate!" Dr. Ethan complained, his anxiety peaking.
Before Tony Stark could respond, Dr. Ethan turned to Luke. "Can you help us?!"
"What do you need me to do?" Luke asked, a sinking feeling growing in his chest.
Sure enough, Ethan's next words confirmed his fears: "Can you help us hold them off for a bit? We need your help!"
Luke was stunned.
What on earth?!
You want me, a typical college student, to hold off terrorists armed with machine guns?!
To be honest, Luke felt he might not be able to manage that.
But if the armor couldn't activate, he knew only death awaited him.
Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly agreed, "Okay... what do you need me to do?!"
"We're going to fight those terrorists!" Dr. Ethan declared, determination gleaming in his eyes.
Compared to Ethan's resolve, Luke felt considerably weaker.
"Then... let's go..." Luke replied weakly, and the two cautiously stepped out of the cave.
As Luke emerged, he saw the door had been blown apart, with bodies missing limbs scattered across the ground.
If he hadn't steeled himself mentally, he might have vomited.
Dr. Ethan seemed to have acclimated to the chaos, walking forward calmly. He picked up a usable gun from one of the bodies and handed it to Luke.
"Here, this should come in handy! Just... protect yourself," Ethan reminded him kindly.
Luke said nothing.
Though he feigned calmness, panic swirled within him.
Looking at the gun in his hand, he internally sighed, "How on earth do you use this thing? I know a little about guns, but I've never actually fired one!"
Before he could figure it out, the terrorists charged into the cave.
Hearing footsteps and shouts nearby, Dr. Ethan tensed and prepared to rush out. As he did, he said to Luke, "They're coming! I'll take them down! You cover me!"
Luke quickly halted him. "Don't go out yet!"
Ethan hesitated, his voice urgent. "If we don't go out now, we'll be dead when they come in!"
Luke explained, "The entrance to the cave is small and easy to defend but hard to attack. We should stay here and wait for them."
Though Ethan appeared brave, he was a scientist and had never witnessed anything like this before his capture.
Like Luke, he had never used a gun, let alone faced such a situation.
They both pretended to be calm, but internally, they were panicking.
Perhaps convinced by Luke's reasoning and experience, Ethan agreed to wait by the door with him.
After a while, they spotted three or four terrorists armed with machine guns rushing toward them.
The cave was so narrow that there was barely any room to hide. Luke knew if the terrorists saw them and fired first, they would be in serious danger.
So as soon as he spotted the terrorists, he shouted, "Shoot!"
Without waiting for Ethan to react, he fired wildly at the incoming terrorists.
To be honest, Luke had never thought he would hit anyone with his gun.
This was his first time using one, and he wasn't even good at aiming.
Moreover, the cave was dimly lit, making it even harder to hit a target.
But to his surprise, after firing a few shots, he heard a series of screams echoing in the cave. All the terrorists fell to the ground, lifeless.
In an instant, Luke was stunned.
Did he actually hit them?!
Just as he pondered this, Ethan shouted excitedly, "What marksmanship! You took them all out before I even had a chance to react?! Your aim is incredible! You must have had professional training, right?!"
Luke didn't answer but silently thought, "Actually, this is my first time using a gun."
To be honest, even he was baffled.
How could he hit the target four times in a row under such difficult conditions?
Who would believe this if he weren't a professional?
Even Luke couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that he had a natural talent for shooting?!
But he had little time to dwell on this thought, as a second group of terrorists stormed into the cave.
While he didn't know how many were coming this time, the sound of their footsteps indicated there were clearly more than before.
This made Luke panic even more.
After all, no matter how talented he was, this was still his first time firing a gun. Facing so many terrorists... could he really survive?!
"How long until the armor powers up?!" Luke couldn't help but ask, desperately wishing for Tony Stark to come to their rescue.
"It'll probably take another minute!" Ethan replied.
A minute?!
By the time it activated, he might already be dead!
For the first time, Luke felt that one minute was an eternity.
Relying on Tony Stark seemed impossible. For now, he had to depend on himself.
"There's no other choice. We'll have to fight. When you see someone, shoot, but don't hesitate!" Luke warned.
He held his breath, gripping the gun tightly.
As the footsteps grew closer, his grip on the weapon tightened.
At this point, he was so nervous he didn't dare to breathe, staring ahead in fear of missing anything.
When he finally spotted the terrorists in his line of sight, Luke opened fire without a second thought.
Simultaneously, the terrorists noticed him and began firing back.
Dududududududududu——
The gunfire echoed throughout the cave, with bullets flying chaotically in the dim light.
In truth, Luke didn't believe he had any chance of winning.
He felt that as a time traveler, he had landed in a pretty bad situation.
So, during the exchange, he kept his eyes nearly closed the entire time.
It wasn't until he fired his last bullet that he finally stopped.
But at that moment, he was astonished to find that he was still alive?!
Luke opened his eyes in disbelief.
It was one thing to be alive, but he was utterly dumbfounded at the sight before him.
Not far away, a group of terrorists lay sprawled in various positions, seemingly out of commission.
Could it be that he had taken down all these terrorists?!
He turned to Dr. Ethan, seeking confirmation, but the expression on Ethan's face was even more exhilarating than his own.
After examining him for a moment, Dr. Ethan asked, "So many people shot at you, and you... weren't injured at all?!"
Injured?!
Luke quickly checked himself and replied after a moment, "No."
Dr. Ethan: "..."
Unbelievable!!
Dr. Ethan had clearly witnessed the chaotic gunfight.
Seven or eight terrorists had engaged Luke in a firefight!
Yet somehow, they were all down, and Luke hadn't even suffered a scratch?!
Dr. Ethan himself had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the leg. How was Luke completely unscathed?!
This was utterly unscientific!!