"Sir, there is actually no need to save me..."
Looking at the mysterious man beside him, Dr. Ho Yinsen shook his head.
His parents, wife, and daughter had all lost their lives at the hands of terrorists. Now, he had long lost the will to live.
The reason why he hadn't committed suicide to join his relatives earlier was simply because he thought he might be able to save one more person, so he held on.
Now, those who should be saved had been saved.
It was time for him… to meet his family.
From the moment he rushed out of the cave with his rifle, he was determined to die.
It was the man in front of him who saved him from the deadly hail of bullets.
Thank you very much, but it wasn't necessary.
"Your thoughts have nothing to do with me. I just suddenly wanted to save you, so I saved you."
Turning to look at Yinsen, who had already given up his will, Ethan still had a smile on his face, and his tone was full of indifference.
This was just a small attempt.
There was no clear purpose.
What Yinsen thought was none of his business.
He just wanted to do it, so he did.
Very simple.
"..."
Yinsen was a little stunned, then smiled casually. "But I still want to say thank you."
"Do you need me for anything, sir?"
If this broken body could still do something meaningful, Yinsen would not refuse.
"No~" Ethan shook his head slightly.
"That's it~" Yinsen nodded silently, and then said: "Then, goodbye, sir~"
No questions about his name or origin, just a simple farewell.
Obviously, he intended to take this secret with him.
Ethan turned his head slightly and said quietly: "Do you need me to take you back to Gumila?"
"Thank you, sir, for your kindness..."
Yinsen shook his head. "To me, it's the same everywhere."
The small town of Gumila was originally his hometown.
But now it had been destroyed by terrorists and had become one of their lairs.
He didn't want to cause any more trouble for this kind gentleman.
"Then let's just say goodbye."
Ethan nodded, sighing in his heart, and his figure gradually disappeared.
An adult with a mature mind, a clear will to die, and no worries.
There was no way to persuade him to come back.
For Yinsen, death was relief.
As he said, his parents, wife, and daughter were all waiting for him.
Living was more painful than death.
Ethan's sudden disappearance did not surprise Yinsen—after all, he had just experienced it personally.
He simply took one last look in the direction Stark had gone, pushed up his glasses, turned his head, and walked toward the distance alone, gradually disappearing into the yellow sand.
---
It didn't take Ethan much time to get from Afghanistan to the Empire State Building in New York.
After returning to his own floor, the first thing he did was take a shower.
Although there was no sand or dust on his body, there was still a faint smell of blood.
This was a bit annoying for him, as he also had an extraordinary sense of smell.
After washing up, he walked out of the bathroom with a bath towel around his waist.
A drop of water that hadn't been wiped away slid down the sturdy lines of his torso, tracing a delicate arc.
He turned over and lay down on the lounge chair in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
He took out a mobile phone, a little teasing smile on his lips, and clicked to call back.
"Hey, Mr. Stane, I have the latest news here, and I'm honored to share it with you as soon as possible."
"I heard that people from the military have found Mr. Stark. Have you received the news?"
In all of Stark Industries, the person who least wanted Tony to come back safely was Obadiah Stane on the other side of the phone.
After all, he was the one who planned Tony's murder.
It was a pity… the terrorists had been greedy. Not only had they demanded a higher price, they had also forced Tony to help them manufacture Jericho missiles, so they could profit twice.
The result was not what Stane had expected.
It had even allowed Tony to create the Mark 1 and escape from the tiger's mouth.
"..."
There was silence on the other end of the phone, but the heavy breathing gave something away.
"It seems that Mr. Stane is very happy, so I won't interrupt you too much. Goodbye."
Without waiting for the other party to respond, Ethan hung up the phone with a satisfied smile.
Want to grab the little money that belongs to him…?
Then how could he not play Stane to death?
"I hope you can play with me for a little longer, Mr. Stane. Don't die too early."
Throwing the phone aside, Ethan lay down on the recliner with a comfortable look on his face.
"Comfortable~"
In fact, he was a time traveler.
Not long ago.
He still remembered that at the time, he had been packing his luggage, preparing to take the last flight home.
But for unknown reasons, the moment he stepped out of his room, he found himself inside the towering Empire State Building.
At the same time, his memory filled with a preliminary understanding of this world, and he discovered that he had a legal identity here.
A small shareholder of Stark Industries, with no more than 2%.
It was magical.
But he hadn't been happy.
Because this was Marvel.
Although it was just the MCU, not the comics.
After all, the latter was naturally more dangerous than the former.
But to him, it made little difference. Both were extremely dangerous.
When Ethan first landed here, his first thought had been to quickly book a flight back to his homeland…
There, most troubles could be avoided.
Except for the Snap ten years later—which would require luck—and a few disasters that shook the entire world or universe, most dangers couldn't touch him.
He could have lived as a rich man in peace.
But in the end, he chose to stay.
Not surprising.
As a time traveler, how could he not have a golden finger?
Naturally, he had one.
A mysterious progress bar.
It had no intelligence, could not speak, and offered no guidance.
The only thing he knew was that every time the progress bar reached 100%, he received a reward.
The rewards were random and unpredictable.
Whether there was a way to increase the progress bar or influence the rewards was still unknown.
He had gone to Afghanistan today to see if disturbing the so-called "plot" would make the progress bar grow.
But the result had been disappointing.
The bar didn't move at all.
It still advanced only 1% each day, with no change.
Maybe his interference had been too small…
But that was a problem for later.
His very first reward, when he arrived, had been a gene: the fighting spirit of Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha from Super Seminary.
---
[Super Soldier · Fighting Buddha]
Created by the Kamigawa Civilization's top god, Teacher Wu, from a piece of monkey hair of unknown origin, enhanced through super genetic technology.
A super warrior who slept in myth, designed to protect the Shenzhou Continent.
Origin: Unknown. Limit: Unknown. Reason for Awakening: Unknown.
[Current Gene Version: Fighting Buddha + Kamigawa Beast Body]
Immune to conventional thermal weapon attacks.
Ignores nuclear strikes.
Resistant to advanced conceptual rewrites.
Resistant to massive solar flares.
Vulnerable only to supernova explosions or specialized god-killing weapons.
[Equipped Dark Plane Combat Engines:]
Duplication
Immobilization
Energy Burst
Blazing Eyes
Three Heads and Six Arms
Heaven-and-Earth Expansion
Star-Shifting Movement
…and more to be unlocked.
[Current Equipment:]
Celestial Staff
Dark Alloy Armor
Somersault Cloud
---
This was the main reason why Ethan dared to remain in New York.
Anything tied to the Monkey King was never simple.
With this power, as long as he didn't provoke the wrong enemies—like the gods themselves—self-protection was guaranteed.
For survival, it was enough.
---