Chapter 6: I won, you're the slowest!
As soon as the words fell.
The two brothers instantly sprang into action, starting to cooperate to clean up the remaining Terrorists in the camp.
Luca's side was completely a personal show of dimension-reduction strikes.
He was floating in mid-air, moving at extreme speed.
Instead of using large-area energy cannons, he tapped his hands repeatedly, and beams of blue light the size of fingertips harvested the lives of the enemies.
Some enemies trying to hide behind rocks or jeeps were pierced straight through, along with their cover.
"Ten! I've taken out ten!" Luca reported his count from the sky.
Over on Tony's side, it was pure aesthetics of violence.
He strode with heavy steps, recklessly charging into the crowd.
Bullets clanged loudly as they hit him.
He walked up to an enemy, swung his thick arm, and directly smashed the person flying over a dozen meters away.
Then, flames spewed from his arms, turning everyone trying to surround him into burning Fire torches.
"Twelve! I have twelve! You're too slow, Luca, did you fly too high and get oxygen-deprived?!" Tony shouted back while swinging his iron fists.
"That's falsified data! I saw with my own eyes that a few of them were scared off by you and fell to their deaths, how does that count as a kill? I already have fifteen!" Luca exposed him mercilessly.
While mowing down the enemies like grass, the two of them kept bantering back and forth.
Just a few minutes later.
The camp quieted down.
Burning tents and tattered tents were everywhere.
Aside from the two brothers, not a single standing Terrorist could be seen anymore.
Tony's armor was also spewing black smoke.
The flamethrower's fuel had completely run out, several joints of the mecha were stuck, and walking produced a harsh frictional sound.
Luca flew over from the sky, but did not land on the ground.
He purposely stopped in mid-air one meter above the ground, maintaining a direct eye-level perspective with Tony, who was wearing the tall armor.
Are you kidding, he certainly didn't want to tilt his head up to talk to his arrogant older brother.
"I won. You're the slowest." Luca crossed his arms and looked at Tony smugly.
"There are still two who ran into the ravine to the west, whom you missed."
Tony was someone who absolutely refused to admit defeat.
He opened his faceplate and came up with a high-sounding excuse.
"Then you're wrong."
"I slowed down because I had to turn back to confirm Ethan's safety. If not for that, I would have left you far behind long ago. I won. Get ready to quit drinking for a month."
Luca rolled his eyes.
"Tony, your skin is practically thicker than this scrap iron."
The two glared at each other relentlessly, and then laughed at the same time.
Tony gazed at his younger brother close at hand, his eyes filled with curiosity and exploration.
"So, do you have time to tell me now? What on earth happened after you were taken away by them? How did you turn into this ghostly appearance? Not only can you fly, but you can also fire that kind of blue... energy cannon?"
Tony asked in a rapid-fire manner.
Luca hated showing his weakness in front of others the most.
He would definitely never tell Tony what he had experienced.
Thus, he began to put up a stubborn front.
"Bro, this is the charm of biology."
"You forge iron in a cave every day, while I became the Chief Executive Officer of the Base."
"You certainly don't know, these guys hollowed out the mountain and built a very luxurious high-tech laboratory."
"I studied Dad's super soldier data from back in the day there, improved it along the way, and turned it into a serum that could only be injected by me."
Luca began to explain his self-rescue plan to Tony.
"I pumped the serum into my body, and then intentionally pretended the experiment failed. And that White idiot leader sent me to the edge of the cliff to be executed by firing squad. Then, I came into contact with the Sun light. Sunlight is the key to activating genes. It's that simple."
Luca spread his hands, as if talking about a trivial matter.
"How is it? Isn't this plan much more clever than you smelling sweat odors and hammering sheet metal in the dark every day?"
Tony quietly listened to Luca's description.
But he wasn't stupid.
Even though Luca spoke lightly of it, he could guess.
In these past two months, Luca must have gone through dangerous tests of life and death.
If the plan had gone wrong by a single step, Luca would be a corpse at the bottom of the cliff right now.
Tony suddenly stepped forward two paces.
He extended those heavy and thick arms and pulled Luca into a hug.
Because he was wearing the armor, Tony's movements appeared very clumsy.
This hug looked extremely comical.
An iron man spewing black smoke holding a human in a white lab coat.
Luca was just about to continue chatting smoothly when he was suddenly interrupted, and he froze for a moment.
But he didn't struggle.
"It's good that you're fine."
Tony's tone was somewhat hoarse, no longer the frivolous tone.
"Your self-rescue plan... is very good. Although it's not as perfect as my armor, fortunately, you've come out."
Hearing these words.
A wave of emotion welled up in Luca's heart.
He and Tony were each other's closest family.
And this bond of relying on each other was something nobody else could replace.
Luca patted the back of the armor and chuckled lightly.
"That goes without saying. I am a Stark, after all. How could a small scene like this possibly take my life?"
Tony loosened his arms and wore a smile as well.
"That's right. We are Starks."
Just as the two brothers were enjoying this rare tender moment.
A somewhat awkward voice came from the pile of rubble behind them.
"Alright, Mr. Starks. Please forgive me for interrupting your deep brotherly affection. However, shouldn't we walk out of this place first before celebrating?"
The two turned around to look.
It was Ethan.
Only after seeing that the gunfire and explosions outside had stopped did he carefully walk out from behind the cover.
Seeing that Ethan was safe and sound, Tony immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he didn't say it out loud, in his heart he was actually very grateful to this Doctor who had saved his life.
Ethan walked up to the two of them and greeted Luca, his eyes still holding some lingering shock.
"Long time no see, Luca. It looks like you no longer need assistance. You are more dangerous than anyone here right now."
Luca also descended from mid-air and shook hands with Ethan.
"Long time no see, Ethan. Thank you for taking care of this terribly-tempered mustache in the cave. When we get back to New York, I'll arrange the best medical laboratory for you."
"Damn it, who are you calling a mustache!" Tony immediately retorted.
Ethan smiled, and then his expression became serious.
"Thanks. But we must leave here immediately to seek rescue. With such a big commotion just now, if people from their other strongholds rush over, we'll be in trouble."
Tony also complained with deep agreement, then tapped his iron shell.
"Ethan is right. Hurry up and leave this ghost place. My energy is almost exhausted, it's stuffy and hot inside, my clothes are soaked through, it's simply like a steamer. I can't wait to eat a cheeseburger."
Hearing that the two were ready to leave.
Luca nodded in agreement.
But he suddenly turned around, casting his gaze deep into the mountain, which was the direction of the internal Base he had just escaped from.
"We do need to leave. But before that, there is still one thing we haven't done."
Tony was stunned and asked in puzzlement.
"What is it? Could it be that you left some souvenir inside?"
Luca's gaze became incomparably cold and fierce.
"I'rather going to enter the Base in the mountain and deal with the remaining guys. Most importantly..."
Luca paused for a moment and turned his head to look at Tony.
"Tony, our kidnapping this time was definitely not an accident."
"They grasped our whereabouts in advance, and even knew where we were going to demonstrate weapons."
"I'm going to look at their database and try to see if I can find information on who exactly ordered our kidnapping. No matter who the other party is, they must not be let off."
Hearing these words.
Tony put away his flippant appearance, and his gaze also became serious.
Yes.
If the mastermind behind the scenes couldn't be ferreted out, even if they returned to New York, they would still remain in danger.
"You're right." Tony's muffled voice came out from inside the faceplate.
"We indeed need to find those guys. The Stark Family doesn't have the habit of swallowing losses in silence."
Chapter 7: This is called intellectual property protection! Understand?
The subsequent action plan was quickly finalized.
Luca and Tony led Ethan towards the hidden Base inside the mountains.
At this moment, the energy of Tony's armor was almost depleted.
The miniature reactor located on the chest also emitted an increasingly dim light.
Every time Tony took a step, the joints of the armor would emit bursts of click-clack sounds.
Now not only was movement very sluggish, but the gears in the thigh area had also begun to jam.
"Tony, is this piece of junk of yours really a cross-era weapon? I think even the old men in the nursing home walk faster than you."
Seeing Tony's comical appearance of stopping at every step, Luca mercilessly mocked him.
Tony rolled his eyes, panting heavily as he retorted.
"Shut up! This is called the oppressive feeling of heavy armor! I am doing this to save energy, understand? This is a genius tactical arrangement."
Luca shook his head helplessly and smiled.
He really couldn't watch anymore; if they kept walking this slowly, it would be dark by the time they reached the Base.
He walked straight forward and grabbed an armor plate on the back of the armor's neck.
"What are you doing? Let me go! I'm warning you, don't touch my artwork!" Tony shouted.
Luca couldn't be bothered to pay attention to his protest, and his arm applied a little force.
The next second.
They left the ground and hovered in mid-air.
Then, he carried Tony and flew rapidly towards the depths of the tunnel.
Ethan watched in dumbfounded amazement from behind, and hurriedly jogged to keep up.
In mid-air, Tony's limbs hung in the air, and the heavy armor swung back and forth.
"Damn it! Luca! Put me down! You make me look like a turtle like this!" Tony protested loudly, feeling that he was losing face.
Luca smiled very happily.
"Bro, you should thank me. I am helping you save your pitiful energy."
Tony gritted his teeth and stubbornly retorted.
"Nonsense! I don't need your help at all, I'm just helping you test the flight load-bearing limit! This is precious data, you should pay me a testing fee!"
"Alright, after returning to New York, I'll treat you to a cup of coffee as a testing fee."
Luca smiled and replied, taking a turn along the tunnel and officially entering the internal Base deep inside the cave.
As soon as they entered the interior, both Tony and Ethan were stunned.
They originally thought that this group of Terrorists would at most build a few rooms in the cave and get a few broken tables.
But the scene before them completely exceeded their expectations.
These damned guys actually hollowed out the entire interior of the mountain!
Inside was a huge annular space, not only paved with flat ground, but also with a large number of ventilation pipes and independent generator sets.
There were also several sterile laboratories filled with precision instruments.
A large number of screens flickered with dim blue light on the walls.
"A bunch of idiots eating sand in the Middle East desert actually made such a large high-tech Base?"
After Tony was put back on the ground, seeing the surrounding equipment, he couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
Ethan was also shocked.
"No wonder they can get so many advanced weapons, this is simply a small underground military factory."
Luca stood aside with a relaxed expression.
"Welcome to my nightmare, bro. Now you know how I spent the past two months, right?"
"These bastards not only have complete equipment, but also a leader with severe mysophobia. And I need to research this and that for them every day."
Luca pointed to a lit laboratory in the distance, his tone full of annoyance.
"What's most infuriating is that the food here is terrible! Every day is unpalatable food, not even a decent steak. This is simply an insult to me."
Tony quietly listened to Luca's complaint.
Although he knew Luca was using a joking tone to conceal past pain, the anger in his heart still couldn't help but surge upward.
"Don't worry, Luca. After today, nothing will be left of this place." Tony said coldly, closing his face mask again.
The three continued to walk towards the control room deep inside the Base.
Along the way, the alarm sound had resounded throughout the Base.
Along the way, remaining Terrorists soldiers continuously rushed out from various passageway openings, attempting to block them.
But these soldiers had no threat level at all in front of Luca and Tony.
Tony walked at the very front.
Although there wasn't much energy left in the armor, relying on its hard shell, he charged forward blindly.
Encountering soldiers shooting, he raised his fist and smashed them and their guns away with one punch.
Luca's side appeared quite relaxed and leisurely.
With a casual wave of his hand, blue-white energy beams flew out from his palms, subsequently directly vaporizing the enemies hiding behind cover.
During this process, Luca was also constantly experiencing the changes in his body.
He found that using energy projection was becoming smoother and smoother now.
This was a very wonderful feeling.
It was also an instinct naturally possessed after awakening his ability.
No need to chant spells, no need to charge up power, it was as simple as breathing.
As long as he thought about it in his mind, he could feel the energy inside his body flowing rapidly along his blood vessels, finally gathering in his eyes or palms.
Feeling that the energy should come out from here, he just did it.
Everything seemed so natural and smooth.
Soon.
The soldiers rushing out along this way were all resolved cleanly by the two brothers like cutting melons and vegetables.
The interior of the Base was filled with a burnt smell everywhere.
They went unimpeded all the way, arriving directly in front of the office door of the general person in charge at the deepest part of the Base.
Tony raised his foot and kicked the big door flying.
Inside the office.
A bald man in a suit was standing sweating profusely in front of a safe.
Holding a stack of hard drives in his hands, he was preparing to run away from the secret escape tunnel behind the desk.
This person was the highest leader of this Base, and also that mysophobic bald guy.
Hearing the loud noise of the door being kicked open, the Bald Leader trembled all over, and the hard drives in his hand dropped all over the floor.
He turned his head and looked at the three people blocking the doorway.
Damn it, how come these guys are so fast?!
"Yo, isn't this the great Officer? Where are you planning to go? Bringing so many hard drives, are you going to open an internet cafe in the desert?"
Seeing this bald guy, Luca couldn't help laughing.
He swaggered into the office, found a sofa to sit down, and crossed his legs.
The Bald Leader stared fixedly at Luca, his eyes filled with unwillingness and resentment.
"Damn Stark! We experimented for two months without success! When on earth did you inject the perfect serum? You cunning bastard, you used the laboratory!"
Hearing the bald man's words, Luca sneered disdainfully.
"To correct you on one point, idiot. All of this is because your scientists are too stupid."
"They can't even understand the blueprints, and wouldn't research anything even after another hundred years. Besides, it was out of my great mercy that I helped you rewrite the core formula."
Luca spread his hands with a matter-of-fact look.
"Since it's a formula calculated by me, of course I should be the first to enjoy it. This is not called exploitation, but intellectual property protection."
Chapter 8 Damn it, how did I become as bad as Luca?!
Seeing the Bald Leader's frantic and exasperated appearance, Tony joined in with the mockery.
"Luca, why are you talking about intellectual property rights with an idiot who can't even keep his hair? With his brain capacity, he probably can't even figure out calculus. Looking at him, he looks more like a cleaning Captain responsible for washing toilets."
Standing in the back, Ethan watched as the brothers took turns cursing each other into a bloody mess.
Suddenly feeling somewhat redundant.
Thus, he awkwardly scratched his head and asked in a low voice.
"Um... do you need me to say a few words too? I actually know a little bit of cursing in Arabic."
The Bald Leader was infuriated by them.
Moreover, all his subordinates were dead, and the escape route was blocked off by this group of people, leaving him with no way out.
His eyes turned frantic.
He quickly pulled a test tube out of his pocket, filled with turbid green liquid.
Then, his other hand pulled out a red remote control.
"This is the serum you left on the laboratory bench earlier! I secretly hid it!"
The Bald Leader raised that tube of green liquid and roared at Luca.
Then, he lifted the remote control in his hand, a ferocious smile appearing on his face.
"And don't you get smug! This is the Base's backup defense measure! As long as I press this button, the high explosives buried in the mountain will detonate instantly! By then, the entire mountain will collapse, and everyone will die here together!"
The Bald Leader looked at Luca, his tone filled with morbid confidence.
"You think only you can become a Superman? As long as I inject this serum, I will also possess god-like power! By then, I will tear you two arrogant Starks to pieces with my own hands!"
Hearing these words, Ethan took a step back in fright.
If the explosives really detonated, they would definitely be buried alive here.
Tony and Luca also furrowed their brows.
However, Luca did not panic much.
He was now entirely confident that within the single second the bald man pressed the button, he could use a laser to directly cut off the other's palm.
But Tony beside him was somewhat puzzled.
Tony turned his head to look at Luca and asked in a low voice.
"Hey, Luca. Didn't you tell me outside earlier that this serum's genetic lock only matched your DNA alone and could only be injected by yourself? If someone else injected it, their genes would directly collapse. So what is going on here?"
Seeing them whispering to each other, the Bald Leader over there thought they were scared and started mocking them loudly.
"Hahahaha! Scared, aren't you! You two egotists! Always with this condescending attitude! Today, I am going to shatter the Stark Family's myth! Let you know what true power is!"
Looking at the bald man's smug and stupid look, Luca suddenly smiled.
This guy took the discarded serum he deliberately left on the bench and wanted to inject it to become a Superman?
How did this IQ manage to become the leader of the Terrorists?
To make the bald man believe even more that this tube of waste liquid was a treasure, Luca rolled his eyes and decided to tease this idiot.
The next second.
Luca suddenly stood up from the sofa, his face instantly switching to a terrified and frightened expression.
He reached out his hand, as if wanting to stop the other party.
"No! You can't inject that! That is my most perfect painstaking effort! If you inject it, you will gain an invulnerable body and heaven-destroying and earth-shattering power!"
"I beg you, put the serum down, we can talk things over nicely! I'll give you money, is one hundred million U.S. dollars enough?!"
Luca's tone was even trembling, and his acting was so realistic, as if he was deathly afraid of the other becoming an invincible God of War.
Seeing his younger brother's exaggerated acting skills, Tony was dumbfounded.
Since when could Luca act?
But this exaggerated body language and tearful lines were simply faker than the male lead in a Hollywood bad movie!
But very quickly, Tony reacted.
How was Luca scared? He was clearly deliberately provoking the other party!
He was deathly afraid that the other party wouldn't inject the serum!!
Tony felt immensely shocked.
He had always felt that he was already dark-bellied enough.
But seeing his brother's operation today, it felt as if it had opened the door to a new World for him.
This guy Luca was too lazy to even lift a hand, directly relying on acting skills to make the enemy commit suicide?
Tony, who always liked to crush enemies with high technology, suddenly developed a trace of interest in this feeling of backstabbing people.
And the Bald Leader opposite saw Luca's panicked appearance, and the doubts in his heart were also dispelled along with it.
He felt even more that this serum was simply the perfect divine medicine!
"One hundred million U.S. dollars? Save it to spend in hell! Once I gain power, the entire Stark Industries will be mine!"
The Bald Leader laughed arrogantly.
The next second.
He quickly pulled off the cap of the test tube, directly jammed the thick needle into his neck, and pushed all the turbid waste liquid in.
Seeing that the other party finally injected it.
The terrified expression on Luca's face instantly vanished.
"Ah, he finally took the bait." Luca said softly.
Tony also stared closely at the bald man, wanting to see what would happen next.
The result was obvious.
Just as the Bald Leader pulled out the needle, the ecstatic expression on his face froze.
He didn't feel any powerful force surging; instead, he felt a ball of Fire burning frantically inside his body.
"Ah!!!"
The Bald Leader let out a miserable, shrill scream.
The remote control in his hand dropped to the ground, and both hands tightly gripped his neck.
Following closely, a terrifying scene occurred.
The Bald Leader's body began to swell violently, as if countless bugs were scurrying around beneath his skin.
His eyes instantly filled with bloodshots, and his eyeballs directly protruded.
Just as Luca had anticipated.
This tube of discarded serum directly destroyed the other's genetic chains, leading to the complete collapse of his genes.
"No! This is impossible! Why is this happening! You lied to me!"
The Bald Leader wailed in agony, his skin beginning to split open and leaking black pus and blood.
In less than five seconds, his bones and muscles completely melted, turning into a pool of foul-smelling rotting flesh.
During this process, Luca coldly watched the other struggle and die in agony.
He would not have a shred of sympathy for such a person.
For an enemy who kidnapped and tortured him, he only felt that the death wasn't miserable enough.
Tony took a deep breath.
He was even more shocked.
Damn it, since when did this kid Luca become so dark-bellied and so cruel?
However... looking at that pool of rotting flesh, why did Tony suddenly feel that this feeling was so satisfying?
Without spending a single bullet, without needing to lift a finger himself, the other party was killed by their own greed.
Shifting his gaze to the remote control on the ground, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Tony's mind.
He thought of the plan to manufacture the mark ii armor after destroying New York.
Should I add a hidden trap system to every single suit of armor in the future?
If an enemy ignorantly put on his armor, attempting to counter-kill him.
Then the armor would not only fail to start, but it would also instantly lock all joints, trapping the enemy inside.
Then, the interior of the armor would immediately release high-concentration poisonous gas, directly wiping out the enemy!
Or directly add a self-detonation program, turning whoever wanted to steal the armor straight into fireworks!
Yes! Just do it like that!
The more Tony thought about it, the more feasible this idea felt, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
To deal with enemies, one should use methods even more ruthless than theirs.
Damn it, how did I become as bad as Luca?!
Chapter 9: Oh, God! You're Still Alive
Luca smiled, stood up, and let out a chuckle.
"Everyone, bear witness. I didn't force him to take the injection. This was his own suicidal behavior, it has nothing to do with me."
Tony and Ethan looked at each other in dismay and didn't say anything.
They began to look around the office, complaining about the country bumpkin leader's taste.
"Look at this painting hanging on the wall, what is this drawn? Is this the Middle East version of the Mona Lisa? This damned taste is simply a desecration of art."
Tony pointed at an oil painting on the wall and complained.
Luca walked over to the open safe and gave it a kick.
"This guy actually put dozens of gold bars in the safe. Such backward aesthetics. Who still stores physical gold nowadays?"
Complaints aside, business still needed to be done.
Tony controlled the armor and walked over to the desk.
But he found that his palms couldn't type on the keyboard at all.
"Damn it, the armor is too bulky."
Tony complained.
Afterward, he pulled a buckle on his chest, and amidst a series of clicking sounds, quickly crawled out of the armor.
Smelling the mixed odors on his body, he wore a look of disgust.
"When I get back to New York, I'm going to soak in the bathtub for a whole day!"
Tony muttered, sat down in the chair in front of the desk, and began typing on the computer.
Luca stood to the side, watching Tony's fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard, and couldn't help laughing.
"Tony, your typing speed is as if you got arthritis. Do you need me to get you some lubricating oil?"
"Shut up, you mutant with only muscles and no brain." Tony retorted without even raising his head.
"I am bypassing their firewall. These idiots actually used the U.S. Military encryption system; it seems there really is a big fish supporting them behind the scenes."
Not long after, a string of green code popped up on the computer screen.
"Done." Tony raised an eyebrow.
He cracked an extremely deeply hidden encrypted offline file.
Tony clicked on the file, and what first popped up inside was a blurry voice call record.
Without thinking much, he casually clicked play.
The recording emitted the accented English of the Bald Leader.
"The money you gave is not enough. I found out that the person captured is not just Tony Stark, their lives are worth more than this price..."
Afterward, a voice processed through a voice changer came from the other end of the phone.
"Kill them according to the original plan, the final payment will be wired to your account. Don't cause any complications."
The recording ended here.
Immediately following, Tony opened another piece of data in the file.
That was a detailed weapon smuggling fund flow statement.
It recorded a large number of transaction transfer records.
Tony traced back all the way along these transfer records, trying to find the source of the funds.
But when the final result was displayed on the screen, Tony's fingers stopped.
The source account of the fund flow was a familiar encrypted logo.
That was the encrypted key exclusively used by the senior management of the Stark Industries board of directors!
Seeing this logo.
The complexions of Tony and Luca instantly turned gloomy.
"F***! These damned bastards!"
Luca put away his grinning appearance, cursed coarsely, and a thinly veiled murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Tony also slammed a fist heavily onto the desk.
"These ungrateful beasts!" Tony cursed through gritted teeth.
Now, everything had come to light.
This was simply not a terrorist attack, nor was it purely for extortion.
This was a long-planned assassination!
It was the senior management inside Stark Industries who wanted the two brothers to die in this uninhabited desert, so they could logically annex the entire Stark Industries!
The two looked at each other and instantly understood each other's thoughts.
"Return to New York." Tony's gaze was as cold as ice.
"Smoke out this damn mole!" Luca clenched his fists, his bones making cracking sounds.
They had a communication and reached a consensus.
No matter which board senior management did it, as long as they are caught by them, they will definitely make him pay the most painful price.
But now, they definitely had to leave this damn ghost place first.
Tony quickly unplugged the data cable from the computer and shoved the hard drive containing the evidence into his pocket.
Afterward, he walked over to the armor, opened some internal hidden cover plates, and pulled out a few wires from inside.
Then, Tony picked up the detonation remote control that the Bald Leader had dropped on the ground just now.
Finally, after some quick modifications, he reconnected it with the explosive circuits inside the Base, setting a timed detonation program.
"I never leave weapons to enemies. Let's go." Tony patted off the dust and stood up.
Luca nodded.
He walked between the two.
Grabbing Ethan's collar with one hand and Tony's shoulder with the other.
"Ready for takeoff, old men?" Luca joked.
The next second.
Carrying the two, Luca smashed through the roof of the office and flew rapidly outward along the Base's ventilation shaft.
Just at the moment they flew out of the mountain.
"Boom!!!"
Accompanied by a heaven-shaking explosion sound.
The entire mountain began to shake violently, flames shot up into the sky, and billowing thick smoke soared straight into the clouds.
The explosives set by Tony had already detonated, simultaneously burying the sins inside beneath the ruins.
In midair.
Carrying the two, Luca felt the fierce wind blowing against his face, and his mood finally relaxed.
Tony couldn't open his eyes due to the wind and loudly complained.
"Hey, Luca! Fly slower! I remember you used to get weak in the knees from fear whenever you went to the amusement park to ride roller coasters. Don't you have a severe fear of heights? How do you dare to fly so high now? Aren't you afraid of pissing your pants?"
Hearing his older brother expose his shortcomings, Luca unceremoniously retorted.
"That was ten years ago! And that wasn't a fear of heights, I just doubted the safety factor of the roller coaster!"
"As for you, Tony! You look like a quail right now. Do you need me to find you a diaper?"
The two bickered relentlessly in the sky, as if the life-and-death crisis just now didn't exist at all.
Ethan's facial skin was deforming from the wind, but hearing the two still exposing each other's past, he helplessly closed his eyes.
Soon.
To avoid being too high-profile in the sky and drawing attention, after flying for a distance with the two, Luca landed on a flat dune.
After landing, Tony took out a satellite phone he had just swiped from the Base out of his pocket.
This was what the Bald Leader used to contact the outside world.
Tony skillfully dialed an encrypted number.
The phone rang twice and was connected.
"I am Rhodes. Who is this?" A tired and serious voice came from the other end of the phone.
"It's me, Tony. Hurry up and pick me up, right now I just want to lie on the sofa and drink a glass of iced martini." Tony said in a relaxed tone.
The other end of the phone was silent for a second, then burst out into ecstatic shouting.
"Tony?! Oh! God, you're still alive! Where on earth are you?!"
"Yes, I'm still alive, and barring any accidents, I'll be alive for the next few decades."
Tony looked up at the Sun's position, reported a rough coordinate, and then hung up the phone directly.
Chapter 10 Burger Dispute
While waiting for Rhodes to bring the rescue team, the temperature in the desert began to rise gradually.
The three of them sat on a sand dune.
Tony rubbed his rumbling stomach, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said,
"When we get back to New York, I must immediately eat two cheeseburgers; that is the true delicacy of the human World."
Luca at the side immediately frowned, wearing an expression of complete disagreement.
"Cheeseburgers? Isn't that junk food meant for kids? Anyone who truly understands life would definitely choose a crispy and juicy chicken burger, plus a little special hot sauce. That is the true enjoyment for the taste buds."
Tony looked at Luca as if he were an alien, and retorted loudly,
"Chicken burger? Are you crazy? Beef is the soul of a burger! Dry and tasteless things like chicken don't deserve to be sandwiched between two slices of bread at all! Has your sense of taste been ruined by those serums?"
"You're the crazy one! Fried chicken cutlets are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, bursting with juices with every bite. Unlike your beef patty, which tastes like chewing on the sole of a shoe!" Luca refused to budge and argued loudly.
"Beef represents high-end ingredients! Only you would eat fried chicken every day!"
"Bullshit! That's because you don't understand the art of spices at all! I bet that back in New York, any passerby would think a chicken burger is a hundred times more delicious than a cheeseburger!"
The two of them argued face-to-face, turning red over a boring question, neither willing to yield to the other.
Ethan on the side couldn't help laughing out loud.
These were the Stark Brothers; even while waiting to die in the desert, they still had to fight for who wins and loses.
Not long after,
the roaring sound of helicopter propellers came from the distant sky.
Two search and rescue helicopters bearing U.S. military insignia flew over quickly, kicking up the dust-filled sky and landing in front of them.
The cabin door opened.
Colonel Rhodes, wearing a military uniform, rushed down with red-rimmed eyes.
At a glance, he saw Tony and Luca sitting on the sand, rushed over without a word, and tightly hugged Tony.
"Great... I knew a guy like you wouldn't die so easily." Rhodes patted Tony's back, his voice somewhat choked up.
However, the scene at this moment looked a bit comical.
Tony was wearing a filthy undershirt, covered in stubble, and was as thin as a skeleton.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a refugee wandering in the desert for half a year.
Meanwhile, Luca, who was standing nearby, now had a robust build and a rosy complexion due to the serum's modification.
Even though his lab coat had a few holes, it still couldn't mask his temperament.
"Hey! Rhodes. Isn't your search and rescue efficiency a bit too slow? I was almost baked into a mummy in the desert."
"I thought you guys would use a helicopter to send over some iced champagne and beauties, but instead you just sent two pitch-black iron lumps."
Rhodes let go of Tony, looked at the glowing-faced Luca, and his mouth twitched slightly.
"Luca, you don't look at all like someone who was kidnapped for two months. Are you sure you weren't throwing a party here?"
Several people smiled, punched each other playfully, and exchanged brief pleasantries.
Tony introduced Ethan's identity to Rhodes, stating that he was the benefactor who saved his life.
Rhodes immediately expressed grand gratitude to Ethan.
Afterwards, several people boarded the helicopter and flew towards the U.S. military Base stationed in the Middle East.
A few hours later,
on a private plane of the Stark Family heading to New York,
Tony and Luca sat on the cabin sofa.
They avoided the entourage and held a secret meeting that belonged exclusively to the Stark Family.
Tony stared at the clouds outside the window, his gaze becoming somewhat complicated and deep.
"Luca." Tony slowly spoke, his tone carrying a trace of fatigue.
"I've decided. As soon as the plane lands, I will immediately hold a press conference and announce that Stark Industries is shutting down its weapons manufacturing division."
Hearing these words,
Luca's hand, which was pouring red wine, paused for a moment.
He raised his head and looked at Tony as if looking at a lunatic.
"Shut down the weapons division? What kind of international joke are you playing?"
Luca frowned, expressing complete incomprehension.
Tony decided to spell out his plan.
"We need to flush out the snake. That mole wants Stark Industries; if I announce the closure of our most profitable weapons division, the stock price will plummet."
"By then, the fellow hiding in the dark will surely be jumping with anxiety, and they will definitely reveal a flaw."
After listening, Luca rolled his eyes directly.
"Tony, was your brain smashed by the rocks in the cave? To catch a mouse, you're going to burn down the whole house?"
"This is completely unnecessary. Only with weapons can we better protect ourselves and drag that mole out. Why must you shut it down?"
Tony sighed.
Actually, his real reason was the Terrorists holding Stark weapons killing people, and the civilians who died under the gun barrels.
"However, Luca. Our weapons have killed many people."
Speaking of this, Tony laughed self-deprecatingly, his smile full of bitterness.
"Don't you think this is ironic?"
"I always thought we were protecting the World. But in reality, even the weapons those Terrorists use against us are weapons we manufactured ourselves!"
"An expert who makes weapons almost got blown to death by his own weapons in the desert. This is the greatest irony to me."
The more Tony spoke, the more emotional he became, falling into deep self-reproach.
After hearing Tony's outpouring,
Luca chose not to comfort him.
Instead, he heavily slammed the wine glass on the table with an expression of disappointment in failing to meet expectations.
"Tony, have you stayed in the cave for too long and contracted some ridiculous Captain America syndrome?!"
Luca stared into Tony's eyes, his tone realistic and merciless.
"What did we make our fortune on? We are arms dealers!"
"Now you suddenly say you want to lay down the butcher's knife?! Do you think that if you close the weapons division, those media and politicians won't continue calling you a warmonger? Don't be naive! Have you forgotten what kind of people we are? We are utterly villainous capitalists, Tony!"
Luca stood up, walked in front of Tony, and began to correct this kind of thinking.
"Since Terrorists use our weapons to fight us, that can only mean one thing: our weapons are not strong enough! Strong enough that others get scared the moment they get their hands on them!"
Luca waved his arms, his eyes fanatical.
"We must understand one thing through this lesson. We must invent even more powerful weapons! Powerful to the extent that no enemy can ever harm us again!"
"However, the future direction of development has changed. We will no longer sell to those idiot armies; we want to strengthen ourselves!"
"To better eliminate enemies, we better build weapons capable of a one-hit kill! As long as anyone dares to show hostility towards us, we will drop lasers directly from the sky to roast them into ash! This is what Stark should be doing!"
Hearing Luca's speech, Tony wore a stunned expression.
However, for some reason,
as he followed Luca's logic and thought about it, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
That's right!
Why should we close the weapons division?!
I was never any good guy who saves the World; I've always been a playboy and a megalomaniac, why should I have such a guilty thought?!
They use my weapons to hit me, then I'll build even stronger and more insanely powerful weapons to hit back!
For example, modify the armor into an iron armor that can fly in the sky!
Having figured this out, the stone in Tony's heart also dropped to the ground, and both his guilt and confusion were swept away.
"You're right, Luca. I was indeed baked dizzy by the desert Sun. I'm so stupid to have actually felt guilty."
Tony stood up abruptly, a confident and arrogant smile returning to his face.
He patted Luca's shoulder.
"Just as you said. Not only will the weapons division not be closed, but I will also invest more funds to research and develop a personal weapon system that only we ourselves can control!"
Luca nodded with satisfaction.
This was the Tony Stark he knew.
Chapter 11 You Don't Need to Persuade Me Anymore, This Matter Is Non-Negotiable
Eventually, the two brothers began to discuss the plan to catch the internal traitor again.
But as soon as this was mentioned, the atmosphere in the cabin became somewhat subtle.
They were both smart people, possessing genius brains that surpassed ordinary people.
Some things, when they decided to catch the internal traitor just now, the answer was actually already on the verge of being revealed.
It was just that no one took the initiative to pierce that layer of window paper just now.
Now the plan was set, and an unavoidable problem ultimately had to be faced.
"Luca." Tony broke the silence.
"Who on earth do you think the high-ranking executive is who sold our itinerary to the Terrorists and spent a huge sum of money to buy our lives?"
Luca turned his head and gazed into Tony's bloodshot eyes.
He knew that Tony actually already had the answer in his heart.
In a business empire, to find the murderer, the simplest logic is: if the victims die, who is the biggest beneficiary?
Luca straightened his body, crossing his hands on his knees.
"Bro, we will know if we figure it out using elimination."
Luca raised one finger.
"First, in the board of directors of Stark Industries, most of them are good-for-nothings who only know how to take dividends. They don't have the guts, nor do they have the ability to bypass the Military's encryption system and leak our itinerary to the Terrorists."
Luca raised his second finger.
"Secondly, the money that bunch of Terrorists want is not a small amount. Being able to mobilize so much funds at will, and using the highest-level encryption keys, there are no more than three such people in the company."
Luca stared at Tony, his gaze becoming sharp.
"Lastly is also the most important point. If we die completely in the desert, Stark Industries' stock price will definitely plummet, but it will soon be fully taken over by one person."
"This person will logically become the supreme ruler of Stark Industries, controlling the supreme power of weapon manufacturing and sales."
Speaking of this, Luca paused for a moment.
The answer had already been revealed.
But that name, stuck in the throats of the two brothers, appeared so heavy.
Obviously, if they died, Obadiah Stane, the uncle who had accompanied them for many years, would be the biggest beneficiary.
This was the fact laid out on the table.
However, both of them were somewhat unwilling to believe this conclusion.
For Luca and Tony, Obadiah was not just a high-ranking executive of the company.
He was Howard Stark, which was their father's best friend.
After their parents passed away in a car accident, it was Obadiah who stabilized the company's situation.
He was the uncle who watched the two brothers grow up, and a true veteran of Stark Industries.
Over the years, no matter how they messed around, no matter how they threw parties every day, Obadiah always cleaned up their messes behind them.
Emotionally, they were unwilling to believe it no matter what.
Uncle Obadiah, who always laughed while patting their shoulders and calling them little geniuses, could be the internal traitor who wanted to skin and debone them.
"Who in their right mind would suspect an uncle who watched them grow up of wanting to kill them?" Luca sighed in his heart.
This was also why.
Luca, who always liked to take direct action, did not choose to directly carry a blade and slaughter his way back to New York to hack people this time, but instead chose to cooperate with Tony to set up a scheme.
Anyway, no matter how hard it was to accept emotionally, Obadiah's suspicion was the greatest.
This was the fact that reason told them.
Tony tightly gripped the water cup, his brow furrowed.
Eventually, he took a deep breath and placed the cup on the table.
"I… I still choose to temporarily trust Uncle Obadiah first."
When Tony said this sentence, his tone appeared hesitant and somewhat lacking in confidence.
He was more like comforting himself.
"Maybe the company's system was hacked by hackers, maybe it's fake accounts made by other competitors. Before getting one hundred percent ironclad evidence, I don't want to suspect him." Tony said with his head lowered.
Seeing his older brother looking like this, Luca didn't speak up to refute him either.
He knew very well that despite Tony usually acting like an arrogant and conceited playboy, deep down he was a person who valued relationships.
Being betrayed by the most trusted elder, this feeling was even more uncomfortable than taking a gunshot to the chest.
Luca didn't feel good in his own heart either.
"Fine." Luca shrugged his shoulders and reached out to pick up the wine glass on the table.
"Then we will wait for the other party to jump out themselves. If it really is him… Tony, don't you stop me when the time comes."
Tony didn't speak, just silently nodded.
The two brothers leaned back onto the sofa and no longer discussed this topic.
Quietness returned to the cabin.
They closed their eyes and rested respectively, but both of their hearts were harboring their own thoughts, churning like raging rivers.
...
More than a dozen hours later.
The airplane steadily landed on the private tarmac of the Los Angeles airport.
The cabin door opened.
The long-lost sea breeze blew in.
Already waiting on the tarmac was Tony's personal bodyguard and driver Happy, as well as the company's senior assistant, Pepper Potts.
Seeing the two brothers walking off the plane one after another, Pepper stepped in high heels and rushed over quickly.
Her eye sockets were red, and tears were swirling in her eye sockets.
Over these past two months, she had borne tremendous pressure.
Everyone thought the Stark Brothers died in the desert, and only she was still bitterly persevering.
"Good god… You guys finally returned. Tony, you look simply like an old man in this state."
Observing the haggard Tony, Pepper felt both heartache and anger.
Tony reached out his hand and gave Pepper a big hug.
"Potts, your tears dirtied my vest. But it doesn't matter, to celebrate me coming back alive, I made a great decision on the plane just now."
Pepper was stunned for a moment, thinking Tony was going to say something touching: "What decision?"
"Immediately prepare two cheese burgers for me. I can swallow an entire cow right now." Tony said with a straight face.
"Wait, I want two chicken burgers!" Luca chimed in.
Tony gritted his teeth and finally compromised helplessly.
"Fine, I am the older brother, I will let him have it. Want two cheese burgers, two chicken burgers!"
Pepper was laughed to anger by them, and helplessly rolled her eyes.
These two guys almost died, and the first thing upon returning was actually eating burgers.
Luca took a deep breath, feeling this breath of freedom.
He turned his head to look at Happy beside him, whose eye sockets were equally excited and red.
"Happy!" Luca shouted loudly.
"I am here, Young Master Luca! Being able to see you safe and sound, I am really so Happy!" Happy quickly stood at attention and wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Put away your tears, Happy! I am now going to hand over to you an important task concerning the life and death of Stark Industries." Luca said with a serious face.
Happy immediately became nervous, thinking it was some confidential operation: "You speak, I guarantee to complete it!"
Luca stepped forward, patted Happy's broad shoulders, and said loudly.
"Immediately go charter the best luxury yacht in Los Angeles for me. Then, go contact Victoria's Secret."
"Tell their person in charge, Lucas Stark is going to host a pool party tonight with only champagne and models to celebrate escaping death!"
"Remember, don't want those shorter than one meter seventy-five in height, don't want those whose figures are not hot enough! I want all the media in Los Angeles to know that I, Lucas Stark, have returned!"
Hearing these words.
Not only was Happy stunned, but Pepper beside them also covered her forehead, letting out a despairing sigh.
"Luca, you just escaped, you need to go do a full body check first, how can you want to throw a party as soon as you come back?" Pepper protested loudly.
Luca spread his hands, showing a self-righteous expression.
"Potts, precisely because I almost died, that's why I must seize the time to enjoy life even more! There isn't even a place to take a bath in Afghanistan, watching those hairy Terrorists every day, my eyes are almost blind. Now I urgently need high-quality beauties to wash my injured soul."
"Moreover, what I am doing is stimulating consumption, making a contribution to the economic development of Los Angeles. You don't need to persuade me anymore, this matter is non-negotiable."
Seeing Luca's brazen and unbothered appearance, Pepper was also speechless.
She knew that trying to use morality to constrain this guy was completely a waste of effort.
As long as he has no morals, you cannot kidnap him morally.