After the first day of rest, Tony could not stop thinking about one thing: how to escape this place.
That nightmarish moment when he was dragged into the cave kept replaying in his mind. But then something unexpected came to him. He remembered the strange gift Jason Kin had given him back in New York, a small idol card.
At the time, Tony had not believed a single word Jason said. He had laughed it off, even mocked it in private. Tony Stark was not the kind of man who believed in gods. He didn't even believe in the God most people prayed to, so why in the world would he put his faith in some obscure deity Jason claimed to represent? It was absurd, ridiculous even.
But now, locked away in this hellhole, his outlook had changed.
Jason had warned him that a great disaster was coming, and now here he was, kidnapped by a group of armed fanatics. Jason had been right. That made Tony stop and think. If Jason had truly predicted this, then maybe the idol card had been given to him for this very moment. Perhaps it really could help him escape.
Unfortunately, there was a problem.
The idol card had been taken from him the day he was captured. From his careful observations, Tony had realized that the card was not destroyed. Instead, it was sitting casually on a metal cabinet just outside his cell.
If he could break out of this prison, the first thing he would do was snatch that card back. It might be his one chance at survival.
But how was he supposed to break out of a heavily guarded cell? That was the question that had haunted him for days.
Tony Stark was not the type to despair. He was a genius inventor, a man who built solutions where none existed. It took him only a few days of thinking, sketching in the dirt, and scavenging scraps from the weapons around him to come up with a plan.
He would build.
From dismantled missiles, he extracted rare elements, then used them to craft a miniature arc reactor. That reactor would serve as the heart of something far greater, a prototype power armor suit that existed in his mind long before this day.
Once the suit was complete, it would give him the strength to smash through his prison, fight his way to the surface, and reclaim his freedom. If the idol card could help, good. If it could not, then the armor would. Either way, he would survive.
That was Tony Stark's plan.
Days turned into nights. With Dr. Ho Yinsen's steady hands and sharp mind assisting him, the rough pieces of armor finally began to take shape. The suit was crude, bulky, nothing compared to the sleek vision Tony had always dreamed of, but it was strong. Strong enough to give them a fighting chance.
By now, the plan was halfway complete. All that was left was the final assembly. Once he climbed inside, their desperate escape could begin.
"Let's start," Yinsen said quietly, giving Tony a small, calm smile.
Tony nodded, his face pale and exhausted from sleepless nights and his lingering wounds. "Let's do this."
Piece by piece, with Yinsen's help, Tony strapped the armored plates onto his body. The helmet, rough but menacing, sat waiting on the workbench like a silent promise.
"Go through the route one more time," Yinsen urged.
The cave they were trapped in was like a labyrinth, filled with countless twists and dead ends. Without absolute precision, they would never reach the exit in time. Worse, the arc reactor in Tony's chest could not last forever. Every second counted.
Tony forced himself to focus. "Forty-one steps straight ahead, then turn left at the gate…" He continued quickly, outlining every twist and turn until he reached the exit.
When he finished, he looked straight at Yinsen with rare intensity.
"I'll draw their fire," Tony said firmly. "You grab the idol card. We split up. If I make it back in time, I'll use it myself. If not, then you do the prayer. Phils told me it could save us, and if he said it, then I believe it will."
Yinsen frowned. "That wasn't the deal. You're supposed to head straight for the exit. Don't look back. I'll handle the card."
Tony's jaw tightened. "Listen to me. I know it sounds crazy. I know it doesn't make sense to a man of science like you. But Phils has never been wrong about this. He saw this coming. That card is important. You have to trust me."
Yinsen's eyes softened. He had lived long enough to know desperation when he saw it. To him, the idea of some divine intervention was nothing more than superstition. He was a scientist. He believed in physics, not miracles. But the fire in Tony's eyes was real.
"Tony," Yinsen said gently, "we agreed you would run straight for the gate. I'll grab the card."
Tony shook his head, his voice suddenly pleading. "Doctor, please. You saved my life. Without you, I would already be dead. Do you really think I could just abandon you, walk out of here, and never look back? I can't. I won't. Please… trust me, just this once. Believe in me."
There was silence for a moment. Then Yinsen smiled faintly. "All right. I understand. I'll get the card."
Relief flickered in Tony's expression. He nodded firmly. "Good. Then it's settled. We stick to the plan."
"Yes, we stick to the plan," Yinsen agreed with a small nod.
Just as they sealed the last piece of armor in place, the sound of heavy boots echoed through the cave. The warlord who commanded the base had grown suspicious. Watching the monitors, he had noticed strange activity in their workshop.
The sound of fists pounding against the iron door suddenly filled the chamber. Harsh voices shouted in a language Tony did not understand, their tone sharp and angry.
The two men froze.
"They're on to us," Tony whispered urgently. "Say something back, quick."
"I don't speak their language," Yinsen said, panic creeping into his voice.
"Then just yell something! Anything!" Tony hissed.
Yinsen swallowed hard, then shouted something in return, a meaningless jumble of syllables meant to sound convincing.
For a heartbeat, silence hung outside the door. Then came the metallic screech of locks being undone. The door began to open.
Tony's heart pounded. The timing was ruined. Their plan was collapsing before it even began.
But there was no going back now.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting with power stone, or join my Patreon for new chapters ahead of the webnovel.
Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations