return

Days passed one by one.

Tony in the cave had already gotten rid of that damned car battery, replacing it with a miniature Arc Reactor that output 3 billion joules of energy per second, successfully sustaining his life.

At the same time, the first generation Mark armor was nearing completion.

Quietly completing all this under the surveillance of terrorists—describing Tony as bold and meticulous would be the most modest of compliments.

This iron suit, which looked quite crude and rough on the outside, actually had its main body assembled from disassembled Jericho missile parts.

It was a bit ugly, but its defensive capabilities were quite guaranteed; ordinary caliber weapons could only leave a few scratches on it.

However, the patience of the Ten Rings was also reaching its breaking point.

These people weren't fools, nor were they judges; they didn't need to care about evidence when doing things—a mere suspicion was enough.

So many days had passed, yet Tony hadn't even produced a finished product. This didn't make sense; there was definitely something fishy going on.

All that banging and clanging every day—could it be they were just playing around?

Tony could naturally sense the impatience and threat in the eyes of these terrorists. He was ready to take action today, even though the Mark I was not yet fully completed.

However, just as everything was ready, intense gunfire rang out from outside the cave, with wails and roars mixed together.

"What's going on?"

Tony looked inquiringly at Yinsen beside him; he was the only one present who could understand their language.

"The army found this place! We're saved!!"

Yinsen listened intently for a moment and said with a joyful expression.

"Wait... quickly, help me put on the armor."

Tony was also delighted to hear this, but he immediately realized the situation was bad.

If these terrorists couldn't hold off the military, they might turn around and come for him.

Yinsen understood as he saw Tony's tense and urgent look.

No words were needed; the two had lived, eaten, and slept together in this cave for so long, and had built the Arc Reactor and the suit together. They had long since developed a high level of tacit understanding and quickly sprang into action.

Putting on the Mark I suit was quite a tedious process that required Yinsen's assistance. During this time, the transmission and activation of the suit's internal software system also needed to be completed.

Yinsen watched the progress bar on the computer screen, feeling anxious and uneasy because the gunfire outside was getting closer. He gritted his teeth, determined to buy some time for Tony.

"What are you doing? Stick to the plan, Yinsen!"

Tony saw through Yinsen's thoughts, but trapped inside the iron suit, he couldn't stop him.

Just then, a familiar shout rang out.

"Tony? Are you in there?"

"James?!"

Tony was overjoyed and responded loudly.

A series of footsteps approached, and a fully armed James arrived with a group of soldiers.

Seeing Tony trapped in the iron can, James's originally excited and joyful expression became a bit strange.

He stepped forward, tapped the metal, and asked in confusion.

"Is this some kind of new Middle Eastern torture? What on earth did they do to you?"

"Don't guess blindly. This is an iron suit I made. If you had come three minutes later, I would have fought my way out of here wearing it."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Tony's face; after all, he did look a bit distressed at the moment, with only his head able to turn.

He said as he tried to get out of the Mark I. Yinsen saw his intention and quickly stepped in to help.

After some effort, Tony finally climbed out of the Mark I completely. He bumped around during the process, let out a few small cries of pain, patted the dust off himself, and was already thinking about how to improve the next generation of the iron suit.

Aside from anything else, he at least needed to make it easier to put on; it couldn't keep pinching his crotch like this.

"With this? Are you serious?"

Seeing Tony looking a bit disheveled but otherwise fine, the anxiety and trepidation James had felt these past few days vanished instantly, and he even felt like teasing him.

"I'll let you see it in the future."

Tony rolled his eyes at James and continued asking.

"By the way, how did you find this place?"

To be honest, Tony hadn't expected the military to find him from the start. Having collaborated with these people for so many years, didn't he know their level?

Not to mention it was in this chaotic region of the Middle East.

"Thanks to this thing."

James pulled out Tony's Skippy smart pistol.

After attacking Tony, the Ten Rings people picked up Skippy next to him. Thinking it was something good, they took it back with them. However, they couldn't unlock it to fire, so they just tossed it into the armory.

The result, as one could imagine, was that the signal it emitted guided James to this place.

"So that's how it is."

Tony thought for a moment and figured out what had happened. He took Skippy into his hand, feeling a sense of gratitude toward Chen Nuo in his heart.

One could only imagine what danger Tony and Yinsen would have faced if James hadn't arrived in time.

He hadn't read the script in advance, so how could he have known he would actually successfully escape using the Mark I? This was nothing short of a life-saving favor.

"Fingerprint unlock successful. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Skippy's voice rang out.

"I want to eat two cheeseburgers right now."

"One moment, searching for the nearest burger joint for you."

Tony couldn't help but smile; that flavor of artificial idiocy was just right.

"This gun can talk?!"

Yinsen grew interested and asked curiously.

"Forget about that, just get us out of here quickly."

"What about this thing?"

Tony glanced at the Mark I behind him. Taking it with them was definitely unrealistic as it was too heavy, but leaving it here for the Ten Rings wouldn't do either. That left only one choice.

"Blow it up."

James gave a look to the soldier beside him, who then pulled out a grenade.

A moment later, the Mark I was scattered into a heap of parts and fragments.

Under the escort of James and the others, Tony left the cave and bathed in the sunlight for the first time in a long while.

To rescue Tony, the military had deployed the maximum force they could mobilize, giving the Ten Rings no chance to counterattack and wiping out all the terrorists at the base in one go.

The so-called terrorists appeared too powerless when facing a regular army head-on.

James helped Tony onto the armed helicopter.

The soldiers originally planned to put Yinsen on another helicopter, but Tony stopped them and told Yinsen not to leave his side.

Tony knew the military's nature, and Yinsen's identity was somewhat sensitive. If he let him out of his sight, there was no telling what might happen to him.

How could the military miss such a great opportunity to promote themselves? Soon, the news of Tony's rescue was spreading across all major media outlets.

Now some media outlets were going to be embarrassed; they had already published Tony's obituaries.

But being in the media industry, they had long since lost their shame; they would definitely latch onto any trending topic.

Obadiah also finally learned the fact that he had been deceived by the Ten Rings. He dialed the previous contact number and began cursing loudly, using every dirty word he had ever learned.

Could terrorists really be so untrustworthy?

Probably realizing they were in the wrong, the Ten Rings people didn't talk back and even said there would be a big gift. Only then did Obadiah manage to control his emotions and think about what to do next... Inside a hotel suite.

"Go pick up Tony? Forget it, we haven't solved the trouble that is Obadiah yet."

Chen Nuo stood on the balcony, speaking to Pepper on the other end of the phone.

"You're right."

Pepper calmed down a bit upon hearing this. The news of Tony's safe return had made her too excited, so much so that she almost forgot things hadn't completely ended yet.

Just as she was about to chat more with Chen Nuo, she heard an unfamiliar female voice from the phone.

"Honey, who are you talking to?"

Chen Nuo looked back at the beauty who had just come out of the bathroom and gestured for her to wait a moment.

"Nuo, I thought you were single?"

"I am single."

"Then who was that person who just called you 'honey'?"

"Let me think, is her name Jessie or Mary?"

Chen Nuo was a bit unsure; maybe it was neither of those names.

"..."

Pepper's breath hitched; she smelled a familiar scent of a scumbag.

No wonder Tony was his idol; it turned out both of them were of the same ilk. She had even been considering introducing a girlfriend to Chen Nuo earlier.

Thinking about it now, she definitely shouldn't let this guy ruin her friends' lives.

"Let Tony handle Obadiah himself; this is between the uncle and nephew."

Chen Nuo offered a reminder. Regardless, Obadiah had watched Tony grow up, and the feelings between them were complex; it was better for outsiders not to interfere.

"I understand."

Pepper naturally understood this logic, but anything involving Tony made her lose her composure.

"Let's leave it at that for now; I have things to handle on my end."

Chen Nuo said as he hung up the phone and pressed down onto the graceful body on the bed.

Once he put his pants back on, he would naturally leave behind his past low-level interests and become a noble person, but since he wasn't wearing pants yet, why care so much?

He had already said Tony was his idol.

So Chen Nuo definitely had to study hard and learn from him.

This year definitely wouldn't work; there wasn't enough time. But next year, he had to collect all twelve cover girls... The transport plane carrying Tony arrived at the New York airport on time the next day.

Pepper and Happy had been waiting there for Tony's return for a long time.

The military transport plane taxied for a distance on the runway before stopping, and the hatch slowly opened.

Tony, who had been sitting in a wheelchair, gritted his teeth upon seeing Pepper and stood up, pretending everything was fine.

Being very conscious of his personal image, he had specially showered and changed into a neat, clean suit before getting on the plane.

If his face hadn't looked a bit weak, one would have thought Tony had just returned from a vacation in the Middle East; there wasn't a hint of the despondency or pain that should follow torture and imprisonment.

Yinsen had also been invited by Tony and flew to New York with him.

With the power of Stark Industries Group, solving Yinsen's identity and housing issues was easy; even by America immigration standards, he was considered a talent.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Tony got into the car picking him up and was about to speak with Pepper, but she interrupted him first.

"I have a few recordings here; I think you need to listen to them first."

Looking at the serious Pepper, Tony could only temporarily suppress his craving for a cheeseburger and took the earphones she handed over. As the familiar voice rang out, his expression gradually became solemn and grim.

Afterward, Tony still had Pepper prepare a press conference, but he was no longer in the mood for a cheeseburger.

Not long after, the breaking news following Tony's return was his decision to close the weapons division of Stark Industries Group.

No matter how the outside world discussed it, there were wails among the group's employees as they watched the live broadcast.

One had to know that the weapons division was currently the most important economic pillar of Stark Industries Group.

The world's largest military-industrial group was no longer selling weapons?

Then what would they sell?

Even Pepper couldn't figure out Tony's thoughts at this moment.

Could it be because he had suffered too much of a physical and mental blow?

Sitting in a chair below the stage, Chen Nuo had guessed some of Tony's thoughts; he wouldn't allow the weapons he created to violate his own philosophy.

The trip to the Middle East had proven that even Tony couldn't completely control the flow of weapons from Stark Industries Group.

And another important reason Tony was determined to close the weapons division was that he had found another tool to practice his philosophy, and this time he could ensure his creation was absolutely under his control.

After the press conference ended.

Obadiah found Tony alone. No matter how much anger and impatience he suppressed in his heart, he could still control the expression on his face.

Looking at this elder who had supported him until now, Tony didn't want to believe anything he heard in the recordings, but on the way there, he had already had Jarvis verify them; the recordings were indeed authentic.

Thinking about everything that had happened, Tony had to admit that he had never truly recognized Obadiah's true face.

But now was not the time to deal with Obadiah. Recordings alone couldn't convict him, and the company couldn't withstand such a major upheaval right now. Tony still needed to stabilize him.

"Are you listening to me? Tony, we are weapons manufacturers, we always have been. If we close the weapons division, what do we do? Make baby bottles?"

Obadiah urged.

Tony's personality was one of the reasons he was determined to kill him.

He was just too difficult to influence.

He had outlasted Howard; was he going to have to outlast Tony too?

Damn it, that would require me to be at least fifty years younger.

Tony didn't answer; he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the miniature Arc Reactor on his chest.

Obadiah's eyes lit up instantly, clearly recognizing what it was.

He hadn't expected that Arc Reactor technology, which hadn't seen a breakthrough in thirty years, would have such a breakthrough in Tony's hands.

At this moment, Obadiah suddenly felt a bit fortunate that he had let Tony escape alive; otherwise, wouldn't he have missed out on the energy technology that could change the world's structure?

"Listen, Tony, we're on the same team, understand? As long as we work together, nothing can stop us, just like it was with you and your father."

"I understand..."

Tony looked at Obadiah right in front of him and responded while suppressing the emotions churning inside him.