Chapter 173: Collecting the Reward
"Mhm." Tony stood up and said, "Let them see what Iron Man truly is!"
"Sir, urgent intelligence: Colonel Rhodes sent a message saying he has been captured by those terrorists. They are currently preparing to extract him from the Iron Patriot armor and require emergency assistance," Jarvis received the message.
Tony frowned slightly, then said, "Perfect, I can go find them at their headquarters."
Once Tony knew the enemy's location, he wasted no time and quickly stood up.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The repaired and improved Mark 42 quickly attached itself to his body. Just as the faceplate was about to cover him, "Wait! I don't need the Prodigal Son." Tony quickly said.
"..." Jarvis had no choice but to recall the Prodigal Son (Mark 42), and dressed Tony in the Mark 33 armor instead.
"Alright, time to settle the score!" The eyes of Tony's armor glowed, and he shot upwards. Jarvis, independently controlling the Mark 42 Prodigal Son, followed closely behind.
Meanwhile, a screen here was showing a video of a group of Black Shadow Ninjas shooting laser beams in Germany.
On top of the Avengers Tower, a Black Shadow Ninja silently watched Stark leave, then waved its hand behind it. Black Shadow Ninjas emerged one by one. Stark was finally gone, and it was time for them to retrieve the reward their Master had won.
In the Air
"Sir, I've detected multiple black-clad individuals infiltrating the Avengers Tower," Jarvis informed Tony, having spotted the infiltrating Black Shadow Ninjas via the Tower's surveillance.
"Ignore them." Tony roughly knew what they were doing. He wasn't lacking anything anyway, so they could take whatever they wanted.
"Understood." Jarvis immediately fell silent. He had intended to tell Mr. Stark that the black-clad figures were targeting his armor, but since the sir said that, he wouldn't speak out of turn.
The man and the AI quickly headed toward the coordinates sent by Rhodes.
At the Ten Rings Base
Rhodes watched silently from within the Iron Patriot armor as the men heated his suit, saying, "Are they planning to use me as a barbecue?"
"Is it done yet?" a man with a braid on his head and a long goatee on his chin asked impatiently.
"Almost," replied a bald man standing nearby.
The Mandarin nonchalantly twisted the rings on his fingers, then observed them through a ray of sunlight shining in, asking, "Is that trash Killian dead?"
"Yes, my lord. Currently, there is still no news of him," the bald man said in a very humble tone.
"What a useless piece of trash. I put on a show with him for so long, and he died before the finale!" The Mandarin angrily slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair, then looked at the Iron Patriot armor in front of him and said, "Get out of the way, you pieces of trash!"
In an instant, the five Extremis soldiers quickly backed away, lowering their heads.
Rhodes swallowed inside the Iron Patriot. This person must be the big boss; he felt very different.
The Mandarin twisted the ring on his right ring finger, and then, Crack! Crack! Crack! The Iron Patriot armor in front of him quickly fell apart, revealing Rhodes inside.
As soon as Rhodes landed on the ground, the bald strongman grabbed him with one hand and gave him a slight smile.
"Where did you buy that ring?" Rhodes felt like his end might be near.
"Hmph~ Don't worry, you won't die yet. You still have to help me finish a game," The Mandarin said, patting Rhodes' face with a smile, then waved his hand. The bald strongman immediately took Rhodes away.
"How are the biological warriors coming along?" The Mandarin asked.
Fillimous (likely the name of the bald man) replied, "Everything is normal. We have currently cultivated thirty warriors, ready to serve you at any time."
"That's not enough. What I need is quality, not quantity." The Mandarin blew on his fingers and said, "Look at the previous ones, where are they now? Heh, they were casually taken out by someone."
"I understand, but with our current technology, we cannot achieve the fusion of genes and the Extremis virus, and we also lack extremely crucial test subjects," Fillimous said. They were also attempting to combine genes and the Extremis virus, but they lacked the Black Shadow Ninja's technology.
"Lacking a test subject?" The Mandarin showed a cruel smile. "Aren't you one?"
"I... I remember now! Stark's girlfriend, Pepper, just fused with the Extremis virus recently! We can use her to try!" Fillimous instantly felt he was too clever, turning the Mandarin's attention toward Pepper.
"No, no, no~" The Mandarin shook his head. "It still has to be you. I still have a use for Pepper, but I have no use for you."
"Give me three more days, my lord!" Fillimous fearfully knelt on the ground, begging for the Mandarin's mercy.
"Three days? Heh, alright~ I'll give it to you." The Mandarin poked Fillimous' forehead with his finger, then stepped onto Fillimous' back with his foot, saying: "Don't disappoint me again. You know the consequences."
"Yes!" Fillimous pressed his head against the floor, wishing he could disappear into the ground.
The Mandarin withdrew his foot, walked toward the door, and said as he went, "Assemble this pile of scrap metal and then invite our president over."
"Yes, my lord!" Fillimous immediately sprang into action.
Above the Base
"Sir, Colonel Rhodes' last known location is here," Jarvis said.
Tony looked down at the estate below. Through the armor, he clearly saw the terrorist guards armed with guns.
"I have a feeling Pepper is here too." Tony's eyes narrowed; he was very worried about Pepper's safety.
"Should we rush in now, sir?" Jarvis asked.
Tony shook his head and said, "I haven't figured out their exact locations yet. Let's infiltrate first."
With that, Tony flew toward the estate, slowly landed in an uninhabited corner, and stepped out of the armor. He clapped his hands gently, then spread them open. The armor's forearm units immediately flew to his hands. He had come in a hurry and hadn't brought any weapons, so he had to temporarily use the armor's palms as weapons.
"Jarvis, monitor the situation outside and keep me informed. I'm going in first to find their locations." As soon as Tony finished speaking, he turned around and came face-to-face with a terrorist holding an assault rifle.
"You..." The terrorist didn't finish his sentence.
Tony reacted quickly, raising his right hand and firing a bolt of electricity, stunning the terrorist. This was a good way to neutralize the enemy without making noise.
"One less hot mess to deal with." Tony stepped over the terrorist and continued forward.
"Sir, four people are approaching twenty meters directly ahead," Jarvis, from the sky, transmitted information to Stark using a god's-eye view.
Tony paused, then turned into a corner. He gestured with his hands in mid-air, controlling the Mark 33 to attach itself to the unconscious terrorist, dragging him away. The four terrorists left the area, laughing and chatting.
"I hope you'll still be laughing later." Tony thought, he would definitely blow this place up after rescuing Pepper and the others.
Tony continued to advance. With Jarvis's assistance, everything was smooth and unimpeded, and he successfully infiltrated the interior of the estate.
\🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!