Although Crossbones Brock Rumlow was currently under Chen Mo, he didn't know that Chen Mo was their Hydra's supreme leader—the god all Hydra members believed in!
When Tony Stark heard "Special Forces," his figure couldn't help but pause. After examining Brock Rumlow again, he gently shook his head, then started walking. Amid mechanical "clang clang" sounds, he passed between the three and walked toward the cave entrance.
Standing at the cave entrance, Tony Stark discovered the terrorists outside had basically been eliminated. Only sporadic gunfire remained in the distance. Obviously these terrorists were no match for the rescue force—they'd soon be completely eliminated.
Although he didn't know exactly how much armed force was in this terrorist base, just what Tony Stark had seen before was nearly a hundred people. And so many fully armed terrorists equipped with advanced weapons produced by Stark Industries had been eliminated so quickly by the rescue force.
"Looks like you deployed a large force to rescue me. Too bad you came late."
"Please take Dr. Yinsen out. I'll go ahead."
All the terrorists had been taken out by the force that came to rescue him. The Iron Man suit he'd worked so hard to manufacture had no use. This left Tony Stark somewhat resentful. However, given they'd rescued Dr. Yinsen, Tony's heart actually held some gratitude. Of course, with his arrogant personality he couldn't easily thank these two who'd just been pointing guns at him, especially since he'd already manufactured the Iron Man suit, had self-protection ability and didn't need rescuing.
After Tony Stark finished, he activated an external switch on his arm.
Powerful flaming airstreams immediately jetted from below the Iron Man suit's feet, propelling the heavy suit rapidly into the air and flying toward the distance.
"Woohoo!!!"
Flying at high speed through the air in the Iron Man suit, Tony Stark couldn't help but shout excitedly.
This high-speed flight feeling was much more thrilling than driving a sports car!
Although he couldn't engage in combat and display the Iron Man suit's powerful fighting capabilities—having that feeling of a fully charged strike hitting empty air—this flexible high-speed flight ability still excited Tony Stark tremendously, making him feel his invention was quite impressive.
Before the cave, Agent Phil Coulson and Brock Rumlow exchanged somewhat helpless glances, deeply speechless at Tony Stark's unconventional behavior.
Dr. Yinsen beside them, seeing their expressions didn't look too good, quickly asked.
"There were over a hundred terrorists in this base. How many did you deploy this time?"
Hearing this, Agent Phil Coulson looked at Dr. Yinsen.
"Three."
"Th-three?"
Dr. Yinsen suspected he'd misheard. First he looked at Agent Phil Coulson, then turned to Brock Rumlow beside him. Two were here. Three minus two equals one—meaning only one person outside?
Seeing both nod simultaneously, clearly he hadn't misheard, Dr. Yinsen couldn't help but feel dazed. That intense gunfire outside was actually one person exchanging fire with over a hundred terrorists? And he'd won?
Dr. Yinsen indicated his imagination was limited. He really couldn't imagine what kind of scene that was. Even the Iron Man suit Tony manufactured couldn't single-handedly take down over a hundred fully armed terrorists.
In the film, Tony Stark had also been suppressed by machine guns, the leg transmission tracks broken. He'd only successfully escaped the terrorist base using the flight function. As for those terrorists, most were killed by ammunition explosions, and many survived—they weren't completely wiped out.
Just as Yinsen was in a daze, a tall, slender figure walked in from outside the cave.
He wore the same black tactical gear as Brock Rumlow, but his exposed head, neck and hands were all covered by a layer of pitch-black steel armor, with only a pair of sharp eyes showing.
Moreover, Yinsen noticed a section of silver sword hilt protruded from behind his shoulder. Both thighs were also equipped with holsters, with two black pistols inserted in them.
"Commander!"
Seeing Chen Mo enter, both Agent Phil Coulson and his partner felt somewhat guilty.
"Tony Stark just left on his own."
After the three reached near the valley, Chen Mo had made combat deployments in advance. He'd pin down the numerous terrorists outside while the two quickly penetrated the cave imprisoning Tony Stark to rescue him.
Now Chen Mo had smoothly dealt with the terrorists outside, but they hadn't completed their mission—only rescuing Dr. Yinsen who was also imprisoned by terrorists. As for Tony Stark, he'd flown away in the Iron Man armor he'd manufactured.
"I saw."
Chen Mo's low voice came from beneath the steel mask.
"What do we do next?"
Brock Rumlow looked at Chen Mo and asked.
Their rescue target Tony Stark had already left on his own wearing his Iron Man suit. Their rescue seemed rather meaningless.
From the flight speed of that Iron Man suit just seen, he'd probably reach the base before long—likely returning before them.
"Call two helicopters over."
Chen Mo turned to Agent Phil Coulson and ordered.
Phil Coulson quickly contacted the base. A few minutes later, two helicopters landed in an open area in the valley.
"You two take him back to base first. I'll go pick up Tony Stark."
After Chen Mo finished, he walked toward one aircraft.
"That idiot flew in the wrong direction."
...
Flying freely through the sky in the Mark I Iron Man suit, Tony Stark hadn't discovered at all he was flying the wrong direction. He was still completely immersed in the thrilling flight experience, unable to extricate himself.
Until the thrusters under the suit's feet suddenly died after several muffled sounds. The Iron Man suit, having lost power, began rapidly falling toward the ground. Tony Stark's originally excited mood instantly transformed to terror.
Mark I was after all cobbled together using crude equipment and materials. Its performance wasn't stable. After flying slightly longer, the thrusters directly broke down.
The Iron Man suit originally flying forward at high speed instantly lost power, like a stone someone had thrown, slanting down toward the desert below.
Amid Tony Stark's shrill screams, the Iron Man suit rapidly fell from the air, plunging headfirst into the desert. The tremendous impact force instantly caused the already not-very-sturdy suit to disintegrate. Parts and steel plates flew everywhere. Tony Stark himself was buried halfway in the sand.
Fortunately when the thrusters died, his flight altitude wasn't too high, and below happened to be desert, buffering much of the impact. Plus with the Iron Man suit's protection, although Tony Stark looked extremely bedraggled, he'd miraculously suffered no injuries, surviving this dangerous "crash" unscathed.
With great effort, Tony Stark finally crawled out from the sand that had completely buried his lower body.
Looking up and around, everything visible was endless desert. Rolling yellow sand dunes completely surrounded him. A deep sense of confusion and helplessness surged up. He didn't know what to do.
After taking off earlier, his mind had been completely immersed in flight's thrill, paying no attention to direction. He didn't know where this was, didn't know what direction Bagram Air Base was, didn't even know the direction back to the terrorist base. The vast boundless desert left him not knowing which way to go.
But obviously waiting here wasn't a solution either. Finally, he could only randomly pick a direction and begin his journey to escape the desert.
Desert daytime temperatures were very high. Tony Stark's clothes were soaked with sweat after walking a short time. Streams of sweat continuously flowed down his face and neck. Massive sweating-induced dehydration made him feel incredibly thirsty. His lips began turning pale and cracked.
The overhead sun poured down powerful heat energy. Intense blinding sunlight—the sand under his feet baked scalding hot, the surrounding air hot and dry. The vicious sunlight shining on his body made Tony Stark feel his skin would be burned. His brain was baked dizzy and confused, seeming about to cook.
Even wrapping his shirt around his head and neck brought no relief whatsoever. But the desire to survive still made him continue forward.
Just escaped from terrorist hands, yet lost in the boundless desert—here was even more dangerous than the terrorist base. Without food and fresh water, in this extremely hot harsh environment he couldn't hold out long.
Seeing he was about to kill himself through his own arrogance, Tony Stark's heart was extremely regretful. If he'd known, he should have obediently left with the rescue force. Had to court death.
In his dazed state, not knowing how long he'd walked, Tony Stark only felt his body growing weaker and weaker while unbearably hungry and thirsty. Waves of intense hunger came from his stomach. His throat was so dry it seemed about to burst into flames.
Continuous trekking left his body exhausted. Each step seemed to use all his strength. He was completely spent, about to reach his body's limit.
Just when he was about to give up, a faint rumbling sound came from the sky behind him. Soon he saw a helicopter roaring from the distance, flying overhead.
Tony Stark excitedly waved his arms at the helicopter. As his spirit relaxed, he could no longer hold on. His knees weakened and he knelt in the yellow sand.
Finally saved!
The helicopter landed not far before Tony Stark. A tall young man in black tactical gear with a cold, stern face walked down from the helicopter, approaching the kneeling Tony Stark.
Looking up at the young man standing before him extending a hand, Tony Stark reached out and grasped his slender, powerful palm. Then a great force came, pulling him up from the ground.
"Who are you?"
Tony Stark asked weakly.
Chen Mo looked at Tony Stark before him, who resembled Howard somewhat and showed a face full of gratitude, and said seriously.
"I'm your father."