The minor leader fired his gun wildly into the air, venting his excitement. Once satisfied, he watched his subordinates head into the cave to find Dr. Ho Yinsen, then immediately ordered the others to drag Tony Stark off the vehicle.
"Be gentle with him! He's our cash cow!" The leader kicked a clumsy subordinate aside and directed the others to carry the half-dead Tony into the cave.
Upon receiving the news, Ho Yinsen rushed to the makeshift operating room they had prepared.
The cave lacked the conditions for a sterile room or a proper operating table. When Ho Yinsen saw the state Tony was in, he was utterly shocked, unable to fathom what these terrorists had been thinking.
If they didn't want the hostage to die, why had they wounded him so severely? Judging by the injuries, it looked like he'd been hit by an anti-personnel rocket at close range.
Tony's bulletproof vest had been removed, revealing a bare chest riddled with tiny wounds—typical of fragmentation damage. By some stroke of divine providence, the fragments that pierced the vest hadn't hit any major organs, so he wouldn't die immediately.
However, his time was running out. Tiny pieces of shrapnel had pierced his blood vessels and were moving through his body with the blood flow. They could return to his heart at any moment, which would be an instant death sentence.
Fortunately, Ho Yinsen was no longer the man he used to be. Possessing the mystical energy known as internal power and combining it with the powerful sword techniques he had honed in the game, he was certain his surgical skills were now miles ahead of his former self.
"Scalpel!" Ho Yinsen reached out. After two seconds of silence with no tool appearing, he looked up and glared at the gloved Ten Rings member beside him. "Give me the scalpel!"
The lackey looked confused. Wasn't this balding middle-aged man named Ho Yinsen a total coward before? Why did he suddenly have the guts to speak to him like that?
He was about to teach Ho Yinsen a lesson when he met the doctor's eyes. He instantly shuddered; his intuition told him this man wasn't someone to provoke. He backed down and obediently handed Ho Yinsen the boiled scalpel.
*Slice, slice, slice...*
Ho Yinsen instinctively channeled his internal power and sword techniques. The scalpel moved as if guided by a god, instantly opening Tony's chest cavity. He accurately located the shrapnel lodged inside. With the tweezers, he plucked them out one by one, and in less than two minutes, he had cleared every fragment outside the blood vessels.
The fragments inside the vessels were trickier. With Ho Yinsen's current level, he couldn't clear them yet. If his internal power were a step higher, he might have been able to force them out directly.
Out of options, Ho Yinsen installed an electromagnet in Tony's chest, powered by a car battery. The magnetic field held the shrapnel firmly against the vessel walls, preventing them from moving with the blood flow.
Events unfolded much like the original story. Before the treated Tony could even regain his bearings, he was subjected to repeated abuse by the Ten Rings and forced to film a provocative video for the US military.
Kidnapping Tony was a deal between the Ten Rings' leadership and a certain high-ranking individual. However, the gang members at this outpost had their own ideas. They had recently watched a demonstration of Tony's weaponry and were lusting after the Jericho Missile seen in the video, so they intended to force Tony to build it for them.
Tony naturally wouldn't agree. The gang members immediately resorted to brutal torture. The agonizing ordeal didn't break him; instead, a plan for escape began to brew in his mind. During the torture, the magnet connected to the battery on his chest got wet. The resulting short circuit caused Tony to shake violently, but the electrical stimulus sparked an inspiration in his brain.
He was going to build a suit of iron armor!
But he needed the help of the doctor named Ho Yinsen; he couldn't do it alone.
Three days later, inside the cave.
Tony, who had seemingly compromised, was granted temporary better treatment and moved into Ho Yinsen's quarters. Carrying the car battery, he found Ho Yinsen at a forge. After watching for a while, he whispered, "I have a plan."
Ho Yinsen turned back, his eyes filled with confusion.
Tony glanced at the surveillance camera and whispered, "I plan to get out of here, but I need your help."
After spending these few days together, Tony was certain Ho Yinsen would help him.
But the expected reaction didn't come. Ho Yinsen patted Tony's shoulder and whispered back, "You can't escape in your current state. Besides, I have a plan too."
Tony blinked. "You have a plan too?"
"Of course." Ho Yinsen sneered. His experiences in the virtual world had transformed him at his core. Already brave, he now possessed a streak of ruthlessness. "I'm going to build a suit of armor. Once it's finished, this den of devils will meet its end."
Tony's lip twitched. He felt like Ho Yinsen wasn't quite right in the head.
To be honest, he had noticed the armor parts in Ho Yinsen's room since day one, but he had assumed they were just handicrafts Ho Yinsen made to pass the time. Who would have thought Ho Yinsen actually intended to rely on them to escape?
"Listen, Doctor," Tony advised kindly. "I'm not sure how long you've been locked up, but it's the twenty-first century out there, not the Middle Ages. Armor is obsolete."
It was precisely for that reason that Ho Yinsen dared to forge the armor openly. The Ten Rings members didn't take it seriously at all, thinking it was just a hobby.
Seeing Ho Yinsen continue to hammer away, Tony tried to persuade him again. "This armor is too heavy. A normal person couldn't even put it on, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to move. You'd just be a sitting duck. However, I can make some modern modifications for you, if you'll cover for me."
Ho Yinsen finally looked up, his eyes meeting Tony's. "You? Modern modifications?"
"Of course! You haven't realized who I am yet?" Tony's eyes widened as if he were looking at a primitive. The world-famous Tony Stark hadn't been recognized; this guy really was living under a rock.
Ho Yinsen had been entirely immersed in the virtual reality game lately. Every day, he spent his time quietly cultivating his internal power and forging armor. He hadn't paid any attention to Tony's identity. In his eyes, Tony was just a high-value hostage the Ten Rings had snatched.
Now that he looked closer, the man's face did indeed look familiar. He felt like he'd seen him somewhere before—maybe at an academic conference.
At that moment, Tony reached out and turned on a nearby television. Once it powered on, it automatically skipped to a news channel. As Tony expected, it was broadcasting news about him.
Less than a week had passed since the attack, and the media weren't about to let go of such a hot topic.
On the screen, a female anchor said with tearful eyes and a somber voice, "The search and rescue teams have been divided into three groups, venturing deep into the desert to find Tony Stark. Unfortunately, no news has been received so far..."
"According to expert analysis, this was a premeditated and organized terrorist attack. Currently, three terrorist groups have claimed responsibility. Relevant departments have intervened to investigate the truth..."
"Stark Industries' stock has plummeted to an all-time low. The situation is not optimistic. Let us take another look at Mr. Tony Stark's brilliant achievements..."
When the host reached that part, Tony stepped aside and guided Ho Yinsen to the TV so he could properly admire his legacy. "Mr. Stark was able to build a circuit board by himself at the age of four, a twin-cam engine at six, and graduated from MIT as valedictorian at seventeen..."
"After succeeding as the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony Stark created a vast array of superior weapons and developed smart devices, achieving significant results in fields such as armaments, energy, and medicine. He has graced the cover of Time magazine multiple times and is a leader in the new era of weapons and energy..."
When the anchor mentioned weapons and smart devices, Ho Yinsen suddenly had an epiphany. The bedraggled Tony before him merged with the memory of the spirited man he had seen on stage.
"So it's you, Tony Stark." Ho Yinsen stood up and shook Tony's hand. "I've heard your speeches before. To be honest, they were quite impressive."
A proud smile appeared on Tony's face. "Really? Which part was the most impressive?"
"The part about the Playboy cover girls," Ho Yinsen said bluntly, asking the question he'd been curious about for years. "Did you really sleep with all of those cover girls?"
"Uh... theoretically, I'm missing one." The embarrassment flashed and vanished as Tony quickly adjusted his posture, puffing out his chest. "But the December girl was a twin, so in terms of sheer numbers, the claim is actually correct."
"Alright, you're pretty impressive then." Ho Yinsen complimented him before lowering his head to continue hammering the armor. The breastplate, heated glowing red by the furnace, slowly took shape under the heavy, rhythmic blows.
A martial artist who cultivated internal power couldn't withstand bullets, but the power granted him immense strength. While heavy armor might crush an ordinary person, it was just right for Ho Yinsen, who possessed internal power.
Tony was a bit speechless at Ho Yinsen's actions, but since he needed help, he patiently said, "How about this? Your armor is almost finished anyway. I'll help you finish your armor first, and then you help me build the one I've designed. We'll have two backup plans."
Ho Yinsen thought for a moment and nodded. "Fine."
Tony let out a long sigh of relief. "Is it a deal?"
"It's a deal!"
After Tony outwardly agreed to build the Jericho Missile for the Ten Rings, the leader quickly ordered his men to bring in a large batch of Stark Industries missiles to use as raw materials.
Tony fell silent as he looked at the pile of weapons manufactured by his own company. The irony was biting; his own weapons were the reason he was now forced to cling to life via a car battery.
But those days would soon be over. Tony had already mapped out his escape plan, waiting for him and Ho Yinsen to execute it step-by-step.
While helping Ho Yinsen with his armor, Tony also used the missile components to hand-forge an Arc Reactor. It worked well—at the very least, he could walk freely from now on without having to carry that ridiculous car battery everywhere.
Another three days passed, and the armor Ho Yinsen had designed was finally complete. The massive suit looked like it would flatten anyone who tried to wear it. Tony looked at Ho Yinsen's lean frame and shook his head secretly.
As a doctor with a Ph.D., he really shouldn't be meddling in mechanics; it was a total waste of time.
But that was fine. Once Ho Yinsen realized he couldn't even lift a single breastplate, he would be fully committed to helping build the Iron Man suit.
Tony had scattered his own design blueprints across the workbench. He was taking advantage of the fact that the Ten Rings members' literacy was near zero; they certainly couldn't understand his drawings, so he had nothing to fear.
Since they still needed him to build the missile, they wouldn't kill him.
"Yinsen, how does it feel? Did the armor meet your design standards? Want to try it on and see?" Tony sat on a stool and sipped some hot water, his tone light as if he were waiting to watch Ho Yinsen make a fool of himself.
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