The next morning, a Quinjet glided silently over the Middle Eastern desert.
Inside the cabin, a middle-aged man pointed out the window, voice grim."The area below is the last confirmed location where Tony Stark went missing. Due to the political complications in this region, we can't deploy large-scale search teams. Everything must be covert. This operation must remain low-profile."
Daniel nodded reassuringly."Relax, Village Chief. I'm the definition of low-profile."
"I'll repeat this again: I'm Coulson. Agent Coulson. I am not anyone's 'Village Chief.'"
Daniel waved him off. "Don't pretend. You're the Novice Village Chief. I can literally see the title floating above your head."
"…"
Coulson reflexively touched his bald head, his expression sinking into pure resignation.
He had read Daniel's file. He knew exactly what kind of "problem child" he had been assigned.
Daniel—S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy's most outstanding graduate of the year—had demonstrated superhuman ability and flawless execution since joining S.H.I.E.L.D. two months ago.
No matter how impossible the mission, he completed it alone.No backup.No retreat plan.No failures.
In sixty days, he had completed 48 missions, all with a spotless 100% success rate.
Even Coulson—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s infamous "Model Worker"—was utterly eclipsed. Daniel was promptly promoted to Level 5 Agent, the fastest promotion in S.H.I.E.L.D. history.
But Daniel had… issues.
Serious issues.
During one infiltration op, he wiped out nearly an entire armed base—close to one hundred soldiers.No survivors.Not even the two guard dogs.
The moment news reached headquarters, Nick Fury locked the entire incident under top-level clearance.
A hundred dead soldiers? That was the casualty count of a small war.
This was S.H.I.E.L.D., not HYDRA.
And when Fury furiously confronted Daniel afterward, Daniel's expression didn't even twitch.
"There were no witnesses and no alarms. Isn't that the perfect infiltration?"
…In a twisted way, it was.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psychological assessment was blunt: Daniel potentially suffered from an extreme form of delusional disorder.
To him, the entire world was a massive virtual game.Everyone else was just an NPC.And he was the sole player.
Under normal circumstances, someone this dangerous would be blacklisted and monitored 24/7.
But Nick Fury didn't do that.
Because what CEO fires the guy single-handedly carrying the company's KPI?
So Fury simply turned a blind eye.
(Not that he could really "turn both eyes" anyway.)
And if the Director wasn't complaining, Coulson certainly wasn't going to.
"If you have no issues with the plan, I'll notify the pilot to find a safe landing—"
"No need."
Daniel casually waved, stepped forward, and pressed the cabin door release.
Coulson's soul nearly left his body.
"Wait—WAIT! We're hundreds of meters up! You don't have a parach—"
"WOOHOO! TAKEOFF!"
Before Coulson could finish, Daniel threw his arms wide open and yeeted himself out of the Quinjet.
Coulson froze in place, staring at the open hatch.
The desert wind swallowed Daniel whole.
Sand roared past Daniel's ears.
Falling from several hundred meters, the air tore at his clothes. The ground rapidly expanded below him—sharp rocks, rolling dunes, all rushing up to meet him.
Daniel showed zero fear.
He flipped midair, arms spread, then folded them across his chest as he descended toward certain death.
Three.
Two.
One—
BOOM!
A massive haystack materialized out of thin air beneath him. Daniel plunged straight into it, grass scattering in every direction.
He popped out casually, brushing himself off.
Skill: Leap of FaithEffect: When falling from great heights, a haystack will automatically spawn beneath the user. Grants complete immunity to fall damage.Comment:Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
Useless? Perhaps.Cool? Absolutely.
Now, whenever he stood somewhere high… he always wanted to jump.
Daniel scanned the desert—just endless dunes in all directions.
But this wasn't a problem.
"System, track mission target."
Mission Target 'Tony Stark' has been marked.
A golden light appeared on Daniel's minimap.
"Nice. Not too far." He took off running.
Dozens of minutes later
Daniel arrived at the edge of a rocky valley. Below lay a small fortified camp with sandbag bunkers, barbed wire, crates labeled Stark Industries, and missile debris scattered everywhere.
At least forty militants patrolled the area.
The mission target's golden marker pulsed from within a deep cave at the back of the camp—heavily guarded.
Daniel clicked his tongue.
"Front door's out. Gotta take a different route."
Inside the cave
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Metal echoed through the dim cavern.
Tony Stark was hammering away—not the prison boss, but the future Iron Man himself.
Kidnapped three months ago, threatened daily, forced to build a missile.
But Tony Stark had never followed orders in his life.
Under the guise of "missile construction," he requested tools and materials. With Dr. Yinsen's help, he secretly built a metal suit strong enough to break out.
Placing a heated faceplate on the table, Tony exhaled."We're almost done. Just assembly and power-up left."
"We have to hurry," he added in a low voice. "They're getting suspicious."
"I'll handle the rest," Yinsen nodded.
Tony smirked. "Good. When things start, you hide in the corner. I'll clear the outside and come back for you."
He hadn't slept properly in days, and it showed.But hardship had matured him.And he made a private vow:
If he survived this, Tony Stark would forever quit gambling.
They began assembling the bulky armor.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Then—
A strange sound echoed beneath their feet.
Digging.
Both men froze.
Before they could react—
The ground just two meters away vanished, replaced by a perfect one-meter-wide square hole.
A head popped out.
Eyes locked onto Tony.
"Found you!"