With the basic concept and design blueprints, Tony's work progressed very smoothly, with almost no interruptions, and he quickly completed the internal facilities of the iron armor.
Propulsion Systems, transmission Systems, and a series of other components were all manufactured systematically and openly placed under the cameras. Tony wasn't worried at all about these things he made being discovered by others, because he was almost certain that, with the professional knowledge of these Terrorists, they would 100% not understand what he was actually building.
Of course, the Terrorists couldn't understand these things; anyone who could understand them wouldn't be doing such a dangerous job. Although the shrewd Bearded Man would occasionally come to the monitor and watch for a while, professional knowledge has little to do with shrewdness.
He only understood that Tony was manufacturing things, and had even created two items that looked high-end, much like the internal components of missiles. Besides these, he didn't discover anything else.
However, Tony Stark's blatant actions also served another purpose: his diligent work gradually made these Terrorists lower their guard. They even thought Tony had resigned himself to his fate and was trying to use this method to gain his freedom.
Many people harbored such thoughts, and with this mindset, they began to relax their surveillance of Tony. This allowed Tony to spend more time manufacturing the iron armor, rather than on pretense.
But a paper cannot wrap fire, and Tony's increasingly audacious behavior eventually made these Terrorists notice something amiss. And this anomaly was discovered by the leader of this terrorist organization, the Bald Man.
Originally, with his professional Terrorist level, he probably wouldn't have noticed anything. But perhaps fate thought Tony was too comfortable and deliberately increased the difficulty. It just so happened that the appearance of the exoskeleton drive device Tony was experimenting with was seen by this Bald Man.
Even if the Bald Man leader was stupid, he wouldn't think a missile would need this kind of drive device. He immediately called his subordinates and rushed into Tony's laboratory.
At this time, in the cave laboratory, Tony was still studying an ignition System when he suddenly heard shouts and calls from outside the door.
Tony, not understanding what these Terrorists were saying, looked at Yin Sen, only to find that Yin Sen had already stood up in a panic, holding his hands over his head.
"Quick, do as I do, their leader is here to inspect."
"What, that Bearded Man?" Tony was still surprised when he saw a group of people approaching. The Bearded Man he remembered giving orders was now like a wagging hunting dog following his Master, trailing behind a Bald Man.
And from his appearance, it was clear that this Bald Man was the one who truly held authority here, the leader Yin Sen spoke of.
The Bald Man leader looked at Tony and Yin Sen, who were already standing, and gave an order to his subordinates. Soon, his subordinates found a section of an exoskeleton device among the parts Tony had manufactured. This section had been disassembled by Tony into two components with only one movable joint, so it was hard to imagine its specific function when held. If he hadn't seen Tony experimenting with it initially, he wouldn't have known what it was for.
"Tony Stark, can you tell me what this is?" The Bald Man leader spoke in English, and it was precisely because he spoke English that Tony was startled. He was already somewhat glad he hadn't said anything carelessly to Yin Sen just now.
"It's a robotic arm, you know, the thing that adjusts the angle and direction when the missile launches." Lying through his teeth was already Tony's innate talent; without even a thousandth of a second, he fabricated an explanation.
"Why is it different from the Jericho missile I saw?" The Bald Man leader was very suspicious. He stared intently at Tony with sharp, Hawk-like eyes, trying to discern something different from his expression. But Tony's acting talent was also top-notch. He appeared utterly innocent, so innocent that the Bald Man leader couldn't detect a single hint of abnormality.
"You have to understand, the conditions here can't compare to a factory's standards. I can only try my best to simplify it."
"Then what about this?" Saying this, he picked up the arc reactor from the table.
"A controllable power regulation device. You know how terrible the voltage is here; I need a stable energy source to supply the laboratory, especially for precise tasks."
The Bald Man leader gently put down the item in his hand. His gaze swept back and forth across Tony's face several times, and he began to speak in a slow, deliberate tone.
"Many years ago, bows and sharp blades were the most advanced weapons in the World. The Mongols conquered almost the entire World with them. But now, these things can't even stop my warriors. So I understood a truth: only the most advanced weapons are the most real and reliable power in this World. And most of these weapons come from you, Tony Stark. Seriously, I need to thank you, because with your weapons, I have achieved what I have today."
"But your actions don't show any gratitude towards me!" Tony sneered, despising the posturing of these Terrorists from the bottom of his heart.
"I'm truly sorry, I may have seemed too eager. So eager that it might have caused you to misunderstand. Because to me, you are very important. Controlling Tony Stark means controlling the World's discourse, doesn't it?"
The Bald Man leader explained, then ignored Tony. He knew Tony looked down on people like him, but how could he, in turn, respect a fellow like Tony? He valued Tony, but only for his ability to create weapons. To him, Tony was merely a machine. And how would a person care what a machine thinks?
However, when a machine isn't working well, it still needs some 'beating'. The Bald Man leader thought this, and he acted on it. But his target for 'beating' was Yin Sen.
"What exactly is Tony Stark making?" He asked Yin Sen in Persian.
Yin Sen lowered his head and replied in Persian.
"He's making a Jericho missile."
"You're lying to me. I'll give you one more chance. Tell me, what exactly is he making?"
"A Jericho missile, he's really making a Jericho missile!" Yin Sen was trembling all over, but he still stuck to his statement. This answer clearly did not satisfy the Bald Man leader.
He waved his hand, and two subordinates immediately came forward to restrain Yin Sen, pinning him to the iron anvil Tony used for welding. At the same time, he clamped out a glowing red hot metal from the furnace used for melting casings, and slowly brought it closer to Yin Sen.
"What I hate most is when someone lies to me, even if there's only a tiny possibility. I won't let that person go, and right now I highly suspect you!"
Yin Sen watched helplessly as the glowing hot metal block slowly approached his face, the heat emanating from it even curling the hair on his face. He was terrified, trembling all over. But he clenched his teeth tightly, not saying another word.
At this moment, Tony really couldn't stand it anymore. Although he couldn't understand Yin Sen's conversation, he knew Yin Sen was enduring this torture because he was covering for him. He couldn't let Yin Sen be humiliated like this because of him, so he had to step forward.
"Listen, I don't care who you are. But if you want the Jericho missile, you'd better not hurt him."
He waved his hand to stop the Bald Man leader's action and spoke in a threatening tone.
And this indeed hit his soft spot.
"Is he important?"
"If you can't get me a controllable precision robotic arm worth over twenty million, then he is irreplaceable." Tony declared confidently; even at such a time, he didn't forget to display his talent. And this statement clearly made the Bald Man leader hesitate.
He thought for a moment, then put down the pliers in his hand. He walked over to Tony.
"I'll give you one more day. After one day, I want to see the Jericho missile. If not, you won't be able to save this Doctor's life."
With that, the Bald Man leader took his subordinates and left. Tony silently helped Yin Sen up. He looked at the sweating Yin Sen, sighed, and said,
"Sorry, pal. I got you into this!"
"It's not your fault, they're just a bunch of madmen. You don't have to pay for their madness!" Yin Sen smiled and comforted Tony. He wasn't angry with Tony because of this, because to him, the ones who truly deserved to be hated were these Terrorists, not a comrade in the same trench.
Seeing Yin Sen's nonchalant demeanor, Tony suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He rarely experienced such remorse, but now he truly felt that he had let his friend down.
He looked at the iron armor parts piled together, which only he could distinguish. Then he looked at Yin Sen, disheveled and still panting. Tony made a decision.
"Yin Sen, listen. We're starting tomorrow. This is for you." Saying this, Tony fastened a watch onto Yin Sen's wrist.
"pal, I haven't even had a chance to repay you yet?" Yin Sen looked at Tony's actions in confusion. He didn't understand why Tony would put a watch on him at this moment.
"Listen, Yin Sen. This thing is..." Tony didn't explain the contents, but instead took his hand and pressed it onto the still glowing red metal.
The glowing red metal should theoretically burn his skin, causing him immense pain. But now Yin Sen felt no such sensation. A fine layer of plasma flickered on his palm, and the hot metal was subconsciously clutched in his hand, but the sensation from his skin was only a warmth.
"This is?" Yin Sen was somewhat incredulous, unable to believe that Tony would give him this life-saving item. He looked up, staring at Tony in surprise, and asked, "What about you?"
"Hurry up, I can still rely on it!" Tony gestured towards a pile of junk in the corner, and only the two of them knew what that truly meant.
They began to seize every minute and every second, and what they didn't know was that above them, there was another person quietly watching them. That person was also waiting, waiting for tomorrow to arrive.