Stark sat on the edge of the bed, trying to use the small mirror to observe what was on his chest.
In this dangerous situation, with something like porridge cooking in the pot, Ethan continued to whistle.
He leisurely put the extracted shrapnel into a small glass bottle and handed it to Tony.
He even told Stark, "There are many people like this in our village. We call them the living dead because the shrapnel will enter their vital organs in just one week!"
Even with these words, Stark, who was confused about the situation, did not hear the sadness in the words.
"What's this?"
"An electromagnet! Connected to the car's battery, it stops shrapnel from entering your heart! Hmm."
Stark's brain raced frantically, analyzing everything around him as he fastened the chest of his dirty shirt.
Ethan was wearing a full suit with a classic and neat bow tie, and even a little bit of a handkerchief was exposed from his left pocket. In this dim cave, compared with the disheveled Tony, he seemed like a person from two different worlds.
But it taught Tony to look at the surveillance camera in a dangerous situation and say, "That's right, smile."
This relaxed state even made Stark suspect that the man in front of him was sent by the people who kidnapped him.
"We met at the Bern Technology Conference in Switzerland in 1999."
"I don't remember."
"You definitely don't remember, but if I drank as much as you, I wouldn't even be able to stand up, let alone a speech on integrated circuits!" Ethan always had a faint smile on his face, which brought Stark a little peace of mind.
Before he could finish his words, he heard shouting at the door, and Ethan instantly became nervous.
He quickly came to Stark's side, pulled up the nervous Tony with both hands, and said soothingly, "Just follow me, just follow me!"
The bearded deputy chief came in with several armed minions.
Through Ethan's translation, we learned that their purpose was to let Stark manufacture the Jericho missile that had just been tested.
Stark refused, but was pushed headfirst into a bucket of water beside him. He held his breath and choked on the water, and some water splashed onto the electromagnet on his chest, causing a small short circuit.
Tony Stark, a genius scientist who became famous at a young age and a billionaire, has never been treated like this.
I repeatedly put my head under the water, feeling as if I were dying. Suddenly, Pepper Potts's voice came into my mind, "Tony!"
Ethan felt very sorry for what was happening, but he was helpless as he couldn't even protect himself.
Stark felt unprecedented humiliation and shame when he had no strength left in his body but still had to hold on to the car battery to save his life.
"I have to carry this bulky battery to keep myself alive!"
Afterwards, he was pulled out of the cave in a sack and looked at the heavy weapons, missiles, rockets, bombs, etc. scattered all over the place. All the weapons were printed with the logo of "Made by Stark Company".
Even the guns in their hands are all made by Stark Corporation.
The short, fat, bearded Afghan deputy leader said to Tony with a hint of pride, "What do you think?" (Ethan translated throughout)
"You have a lot of weapons I made!"
"We have all the materials to build a Jericho missile. List the list!"
He continued, "Start making it right away. When you finish, I will let you go!" After saying that, he stretched out a hand to signal.
Tony now only wanted to survive. After hearing the last sentence translated by Ethan, he put his hand on it and clasped it tightly.
He smiled at the bearded man but said in English, "He won't!"
Ethan also looked at the deputy leader with a smile on his face and replied, "Yes,
He won't!"
Seeing the two people's smiles, the bearded man also laughed.
...
Tony and Ethan were the only ones left in the cave, with a bonfire burning in the middle for lighting and warmth.
Stark stared at the burning flames with lifeless eyes, recalling the good times before he came here. He was wrapped in a worn and dirty blanket and sat there shivering.
Ethan looked at Tony and said, "I know your people are definitely looking for you, Stark! But they will never find you in this deep mountain!"
He squatted down and looked Tony in the eyes, "You just saw it, those are your inheritance, Stark!"
Stark didn't react and just sat there motionless.
"Your life's work is in the hands of these murderers. Do you think you're going to give up?" The voice gradually became heavier. "Is this the great Tony Stark's final act of defiance?"
Ethan finally stared at Tony and said loudly, "Or are you going to do something!!"
Countless images were flashing through Stark's mind: Pepper's smiling face, his old car, and Obie's voice.
The countless models he had slept with, the last cup of coffee Pepper handed him, the small model he gave to Pepper, the electromagnet on his chest, the giant reactor in the company, and the last glimpse of the sun he saw at the entrance of the cave.
Recalling the last smile on Pepper's face when he gave her the model, his gaze gradually shifted from her face to the small model in her hand.
His hands moved unconsciously, and he recalled the shape of the model. It was as if a three-dimensional image of the model appeared in his mind, gradually breaking down into parts, as if colliding with the idea buried deep in his mind.
A strange light flashed in Stark's eyes, and an idea that he had forgotten for a long time popped up in his mind again.
"Okay, let's get to work!" Stark stood up again.
Ethan saw that Stark had regained his fighting spirit, and there seemed to be a hint of relief in his eyes, and he slowly smiled.
...
A day later, all the necessary equipment was delivered into the cave. Under the bright lights, the simple cave finally looked somewhat presentable.
Stark carefully disassembled the warhead of a missile and took out the detonator inside.
Ethan came over and said, "It would be more efficient if I could help you with the preparations."
Stark acted as if he didn't hear anything. He took out a thin piece of metal from the device with tweezers and threw the rest behind him.
"What's this?"
"This is metallic palladium, 0.15 grams, at least 1.6 grams is needed, so, you go and dismantle the other eleven?" Stark said to Ethan.
Although Ethan didn't understand, he still followed Tony's instructions and a smile appeared on his face again.
Finally, the palladium metal needs to be melted in a crucible, poured into a mold, and condensed into shape. This crucial step can only be completed by Ethan because Stark is burdened by the battery in his chest.
Ethan picked up the crucible with a pair of tongs and slowly walked towards the mold. Stark, holding a battery, emphasized, "Be careful, be careful, we only have one chance!"
"Don't worry, my hands are very steady, otherwise how do you think you would survive!" Ethan smiled easily and poured the liquid palladium into the mold steadily and slowly.
"What's your name?" Stark looked at Ethan and finally asked this question.
"Call me Ethan!" Ethan continued to pour the palladium.
"Ethan, nice to meet you!" Stark glanced at Ethan and finally expressed his approval.
"Nice to meet you too!" Ethan smiled happily.
Soon, a small circle of palladium metal appeared in Stark's hand.
...
Three days later, a small, frustum-shaped mechanical device appeared on the table. When it was powered on, it was fully activated and emitted a bright blue-white light.
This caused the voltage of the surrounding circuits to become unstable, and the lights began to flicker. Stark looked at the small model, with only its existence in his eyes, and his lips trembled slightly.
Ethan came to the side and said, "Doesn't this look like a Jericho missile?"
"This is a miniature arc oscillation reactor. I have a big one in my hometown, which provides power to my factory." Stark touched it gently.
"This should stop the shrapnel from entering my heart!"
"How is its power generation capacity?"
"If I'm not wrong in my calculations, it's generally true. Three billion joules per second!"
"That's enough for you to live fifty times!" Ethan sighed.
"Yes, or enough for a big guy to use for fifteen minutes!" Stark said calmly as he thought about the plan in his mind.
"How did you think of compressing it so small?" Ethan asked as he looked at the reactor.
But it suddenly brought Stark's thoughts back to the past few days. He took the reactor in his hands and began to caress it inch by inch. "Ethan, the day before I came to Afghanistan, a child gave me a model!"
"What model?"
"That's it!" Stark held up the reactor in front of him. "It's very similar to this one, but more sophisticated. The funny thing is, I didn't think of this at the time!"
"So strange?" Ethan didn't expect it to be like this.
"If I could go back, I would definitely find that child, definitely!!"