At the same time, thousands of kilometers away, dozens of heavily armed soldiers were looking for something in the desolate desert.
They were all searching with shovels, digging out many metal parts and carrying them to the pickup trucks one by one.
One of them, scratching something in the sand, saw a little seedling.
One minute later, the part was finally pulled out, still covered in sand.
Held high, the sand was blown away by the wind, revealing the steel mask of Mark One.
A bald man with sunglasses turned around, and it was clear that the right side of his head and his ears had severe burns. He was the bald boss from the cave.
...
Another week later, Los Angeles ushered in a wave of tourism.
Among the tourists, John Li brought Aunt Jenny and Uncle George to visit.
"John, as usual, do you have any plans for the next three days?" Uncle George asked, touching John's head.
"Let's go to Universal Studios and Disneyland first, then how about going to Malibu to see the sea?"
George glanced at Jenny, "Okay, let's go. The first stop, Disneyland!"
John hugged George, and the three of them ran out happily. Even the tourists nearby laughed when they saw them.
...
"Sir, it was detected that John and his parents arrived at Los Angeles International Airport three minutes ago," Jarvis's voice suddenly announced.
Tony, who was working on making the leg part of Mark II, paused.
"John? How did he come to Los Angeles? Jarvis, please report their itinerary to me."
"Okay, sir. I found out on the internet that they booked a theme hotel next to Disney Park."
Tony was no longer distracted. He picked up the soldering pen and continued his work. It had just begun.
...
Two days later, John and Aunt Jenny enjoyed two fun-filled days in Los Angeles.
They visited the Walk of Fame at Universal Studios Hollywood, Disney's Princess Castle, and went to the Chinese Theater to watch an expensive movie.
On the third day, Uncle George rented a car to drive to Malibu to see the beach.
Of course, this was a request made by John, and Aunt Jenny generally would not refuse his requests.
"Mr. Stark, according to surveillance, John and his family rented a black Buick from Mike's car rental agency and are driving towards Malibu!"
Tony was quickly assembling the second leg part. With previous experience, this part might be completed today.
Hearing the news, he put aside his work and stood up. "Jarvis, use satellite positioning to track them. I think he must be coming to see me."
"Yes, sir. Their current position is..."
The monitoring picture appeared on the screen, showing a flat map. The distance between the two points was shortening, now 21 km apart.
Tony looked at the car under surveillance and arched his nose slightly. "Jarvis, do you think he knows this place?"
"Sir, the location here has never been announced online. Only a few people know it, and John has no chance to access this information. He only has a 2% chance of finding it."
"No, he will find it. We can make a bet!" Tony said, looking at the monitor in a daze.
"Jarvis, once he finds it, let him in. I want to ask him something."
"Okay, Mr. Stark."
Within half an hour, John found the place using the navigation on his mobile phone.
"No. 10880, Malibu Street!"
Uncle George, who was driving, looked at John in confusion. "John, what is this address? It looks like a big manor around here."
"Here!" John saw the locked gate and thought about going down to ring the doorbell.
But before the car approached, the gate opened under Jarvis's control.
"Oh! Looks like he knows we are coming!" John said happily upon seeing this.
Jenny and George still couldn't figure it out. "Hey, John, whose home is this?"
As they drove through the gate, there were still a few hundred meters to the large building in the distance. George looked a little panicked.
"Stark, Tony Stark. This is his house. Not many people know about it. Hehe, we got in. I thought we might need another method," John said, looking at the white mansion.
"Tony Stark? John, when did you get in touch with him? Did you keep in contact after Las Vegas?" Jenny seemed a little angry, not wanting John to know Stark.
"Aunt Jenny, it's okay. Trust me!" John said as he looked at the house getting closer.
George didn't know what to say, so he parked the car at the gate, feeling a little lost.
...
Five minutes ago.
"Mr. Stark, John and his family have clearly arrived and are about to enter the gate!"
"Okay, okay. I knew it. Jarvis, I won another round!" Tony put down his work, stretched, and said.
"Yes, you are always so unexpected."
"No, John is unexpected. Let's go and see what he wants with me," Tony put on his jacket and went out.
John, George, and Jenny got out of the car and looked at the gate, waiting for someone to appear.
As expected, within a minute, the door of the house opened and Tony, wearing a black casual jacket, walked out.
Seeing John, Tony walked up and patted John on the shoulder, bent over, and whispered in his ear, "I thought you would come alone. Why did you bring your parents?"
"Please, I'm only eleven years old. Do you think they would let me come alone?"
"You don't act like an eleven-year-old!" Tony muttered and stood up to face Jenny and George.
"Hey, are you John's parents? Welcome to my home. Come in and take a look!"
Entering the hall, there was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, or glass wall, outside, with the most beautiful sea view. Even without lights, the room was still well-lit.
"Mr. Stark, sorry, I want to ask, how do you and John know each other?" George stepped forward cautiously.
"Oh, we met in Las Vegas. John is very smart, isn't he?" Tony said with a smile.
"Well, uncle and aunt, you guys play here first. I'll go chat with him!" John said.
"Yes, you can go to the beach here. It's only a five-minute walk!" Tony couldn't wait to walk away.
The two went to another room. The smile on Tony's face disappeared instantly, and he looked at John calmly. "Tell me, what do you want to do?"