"What the f—!?"
Tony and Ethan's hearts nearly stopped from the sudden turn of events.
Especially Tony, who hadn't slept for two days to meet the deadline, was almost knocked unconscious by the fright.
Under their astonished gazes, Du Mu nimbly climbed out of the pit, brushed the dust off his body, and casually slung a pixelated pickaxe over his shoulder.
[Item: Diamond Pickaxe]
[Effect: Greatly increases mining efficiency, can quickly collect/destroy most minerals and rocks]
[Comment: If only Shawshank had this pickaxe, he would have saved at least 27 years of detours]
"Who are you!?"
Tony was the first to recover, his eyes warily fixed on this unknown individual.
Du Mu grinned: "You must be Tony Stark, I'm here to rescue you."
"Are you sent by the Military?"
"No, I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, this is my business card."
Tony took the card and looked at it.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Senior Agent Du Mu.
"?"
"Uh, my apologies, wrong one."
Du Mu very naturally took back the card, then pulled out a large handful of various business cards from his pocket.
Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, New York Police Department, Federal Tax Bureau…
Tony: (눈_눈)
"Found it."
Du Mu finally found the right card and handed it over.
Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, Senior Agent Du Mu.
Tony looked at the long, cumbersome agency name, feeling like it was something a novel author made up to pad the word count.
He looked at Du Mu suspiciously: "How many people did your Strategic Homeland… send?"
Du Mu smiled confidently: "Just me."
"???"
Tony's face darkened.
This guy isn't here to play games with me, is he?
Du Mu paid no attention to Tony's reaction, his gaze already firmly fixed on the crude steel armor on the other man's body.
[Mark I Armor (Bound to Tony Stark)]
[Description: A powered armor suit crafted by Tony entirely by hand in the cave using scrap materials, requires a large amount of energy to operate.]
"Good stuff!"
Du Mu's eyes lit up.
No man can resist the allure of armor, and he was no exception; this was the ultimate romance for a man!
It was a shame it was bound to Tony, a main story character, otherwise he could try to see if it could be dropped.
Du Mu sighed regretfully.
He had already verified that the NPCs in this game did not have a refresh mechanism.
Once an NPC died, they would disappear permanently and never reappear, and related quests would also become invalid.
Therefore, it was better to avoid harming main story characters as much as possible.
However, he could try it in New Game+.
Du Mu mused to himself.
Tony felt a shiver run down his spine from Du Mu's eager yet dangerous gaze. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden clamor came from outside the cave!
Tony's expression changed abruptly, and he quickly looked at the monitor in the corner.
Clearly, the Terrorists had already detected their situation and were heading their way.
"They're coming! Hurry up!"
Tony ignored Du Mu and shouted at Ethan.
Not long after, Terrorists had already arrived outside the cave, banging on the iron door and shouting in an incomprehensible language.
"Bang—!"
The moment the Terrorists forced open the iron door, a deafening explosion roared!
The bombs Tony and Ethan had set up at the entrance detonated, and several charred bodies lay on the ground, enveloped in smoke and debris.
Before the two could even catch their breath, more dense footsteps rapidly approached from a distance!
"Damn it!"
Tony was consumed with anxiety; these Terrorists were coming much faster than expected.
"Ethan, activate the power system immediately!"
"But the armor isn't calibrated yet…"
"We don't have time for that! Hurry!"
Tony knew the risks of forcibly activating the steel armor were immense, but he had no choice.
If he didn't activate it soon, once the Terrorists rushed in, they might not even have a chance to resist!
Ethan gritted his teeth and, under Tony's command, activated the power system, and the progress bar on the computer screen began to slowly advance.
Outside the cave, the roars and footsteps of the Terrorists grew closer.
"It's too late!"
Ethan took a deep breath, grabbed the rifle beside a body, his eyes filled with unwavering determination: "I'll hold them off!"
With that, he rushed out of the cave without hesitation.
"Ethan! Come back! Stick to the plan!"
Tony shouted anxiously, but Ethan's figure had already disappeared into the cave entrance.
Crack, crack…
Just at this tragic and tense moment, an untimely sound rang out.
Du Mu was seen cracking melon seeds he had pulled out from somewhere, watching the scene of separation and death with great relish.
"The cutscene is pretty good, it's just the plot is a bit cliché."
Du Mu spat out a melon seed shell and commented.
Based on his extensive experience immersed in countless game plots, this NPC named Ethan was highly likely to be sacrificed.
Wait, why does this plot progression feel a bit familiar?
Du Mu suddenly realized something was wrong and looked at Tony suspiciously.
Speaking of which, crafting a powered armor by hand from scrap materials in a cave, such a setting itself was unscientific, practically a blatant cheat.
Plus the plot of sacrificing a companion.
This kind of treatment only seems to be for protagonists, right?
"System, don't tell me the protagonist is this guy with the goatee, and I'm just a passing camera."
[Please rest assured, Player, this game has no preset protagonist. The system will not interfere with any of your decisions. Players are free to participate in the plot.]
[Becoming a protagonist, supporting character, or passerby is entirely up to the Player's choice.]
"That's good then."
Du Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't want to be some mobile camera, just falling asleep every day.
Tony watched Du Mu leisurely cracking melon seeds, and his lungs were about to explode with anger.
They were risking their lives here, and this guy was cracking melon seeds and watching the show!?
But then he thought, this guy claims to be an Agent, so he should have some combat power, right?
Tony, holding onto a last shred of hope, urgently shouted at Du Mu: "Hey, Agent! Quickly help me stop Ethan! Don't let him do something stupid!"
Ethan, a defenseless scientist, facing a group of vicious Terrorists, his outcome was predictable.
He's a dead man, brother!
Hearing Tony's words, Du Mu scoffed: "Heh, who do you think you are? I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. If you tell me to do something and I do it, wouldn't I lose face?"
[NPC Tony Stark has issued you a new quest]
[Quest: Save Ethan]
[Objective: Ensure Ethan survives]
[Reward: 1000 Experience Points, Tony Stark Affection +20, Random Rare Quality Item *1]
"But then again, as a good citizen, how can I stand by and watch someone die? Don't worry, this quest is on me!"
The disdain on Du Mu's face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of righteous indignation.
The speed of this change in expression left Tony dumbfounded.
As for integrity?
Du Mu implied, do game players even have such a thing?