It's common knowledge in this world: every player is a walking armory.
When it comes to raw firepower, Daniel feared absolutely no one.
He flashed a crooked grin at the stunned terrorists and squeezed the trigger without hesitation.
The six barrels spun up with a menacing, rising whine.
The bald leader's eyes shrank to pinpricks. "Fall back! Get the hell ou—!"
BRRRRRRT—!!!
The sentence died in his throat as the metal storm arrived.
Six thousand rounds per minute turned the night into a blender of tracer light and screaming lead. Terrorists caught in the open were erased mid-step, shredded into red mist and tumbling chunks.
A few tried to return fire. They lasted half a second before the wall of bullets folded them like cheap lawn chairs, leaving behind steaming brass and silence.
Daniel swept the glowing blue barrels left and right, Eye of Death active, painting red X's on anything that moved—or hid. Cover meant nothing; concrete, crates, and bodies all turned to confetti.
Before the minigun, everyone was equally dead.
Then the roar cut off.
The handful of survivors peeked out, hope flaring—ammo change, maybe?
Daniel calmly slipped on a pair of aviators. "Sorry, forgot the cool factor. My bad. Continuing."
"You son of a—"
BRRRRRRT—!!!
Minutes later, the valley was quiet again. No red dots on the map.
Even the bald boss—supposed mini-boss—lay in pieces, kindly donating 100 EXP.
"That's it?" Daniel muttered, disappointed. He lowered the still-smoking Gatling and tapped Tony's helmet. "Yo, Stark. Still alive?"
The faceplate flipped up. Tony stared like he'd seen God and the devil share a beer. "Who the hell are you?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Name's Daniel."
"…Agent," Tony repeated flatly.
Yeah, sure. One guy with a Gatling just deleted an entire terrorist cell. Totally normal agent behavior.
"Tony, you okay?" Yinsen jogged over.
"Peachy. Battery's dead, though. Help me out of this tin can."
With Yinsen's help, Tony shed the crude Mark I. The arc reactor glowed bright in his chest like a tiny blue sun.
Daniel's eyes sparkled. "Dude. Cyberpunk heart. You taking orders? Install one in me and I'll pay whatever."
"Not for sale," Tony said, wondering why everyone he met lately was insane.
Then he remembered something important. "Daniel—do me a solid. Blow up every Stark Industries weapon in this camp. I don't want a single bullet left for these bastards."
[NPC Tony Stark has issued side quest: Destroy Weapons]
[Objective: Eliminate all Stark Industries weaponry in the terrorist camp]
[Reward: 500 EXP, Tony Stark Favorability +10]
Easy money.
"On it." Daniel pulled a remote bomb from thin air and slapped it onto a crate containing six brand-new Jericho missiles.
Tony recognized them instantly. One of those could flatten a mountain. Six would delete a county.
Tony's face went the color of old milk. "RUN!"
He grabbed Yinsen and sprinted.
BOOM.
A pillar of fire punched a thousand feet into the sky. The shockwave rolled over the desert like a tidal wave of heat.
Tony and Yinsen lay sprawled a safe distance away, coughing, hearts hammering.
Daniel strolled up behind them, untouched, not even breathing hard.
"You absolute psycho!" Tony wheezed. "You trying to kill us?"
Daniel blinked. "Huh?"
"That bomb—you set the timer way too short!"
Daniel held up the detonator and wiggled it. "Remote trigger. I pressed it after we were clear."
Tony & Yinsen: "…"
Say that first next time, you maniac!
A few minutes later, a Quinjet descended in a storm of dust.
Agent Coulson stepped out, looked at the mushroom cloud still rising in the distance, then at Daniel.
"I thought we agreed on low profile."
"I was super low profile," Daniel said sincerely.
Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose and moved on to Tony, offering a polite handshake instead. "Mr. Stark, Agent Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. Here to bring you home."
Tony shook the hand gratefully. Finally, a normal agent. If they were all like Daniel, the agency needed a name change—Strategic Lunatic Intervention, maybe.
While the two talked, Daniel's system chimed.
[Main Quest "The Birth of Iron Man" completed!]
[Rewards: 10,000 EXP, Equipment: 'Frying Pan' (indestructible, blocks bullets front and back), Golden Desert Eagle (pure bling), Skill: Breathing Regen (5% HP/sec after 10s out of combat), Item: Bowtie Voice Changer (Loli or onee-san voice on demand)]
Daniel stared at the list, jaw dropped.
Ten thousand EXP plus actual useful—okay, mostly useful—gear from one quest?
All those months grinding trash dailies for a handful of C4 and pocket lint…
He clutched his chest dramatically. "Coulson… tell Fury I'm not coming back yet."
Coulson: "???"