"Are you really going to just sit here and wait to die? Is this the final curtain call for the arrogant Tony Stark? Don't you want to do something?"
"I want to do something! But I don't know how to build a suit of armor!" Tony Stark said, his face filled with utter despair.
Tony Stark—inventor, genius, patriot, and the heir of the legendary weapons developer Howard Stark.
His brilliance had stunned the world from a young age.
At four years old, he designed his first circuit board. At six, he built a V8 engine.
At seventeen, he graduated top of his class from MIT.
At twenty-one, he became CEO of Stark Industries, developing intelligent weapons, advanced robotics, and satellite targeting systems, securing Stark Industries' dominance in the defense world.
But the Tony Stark now was different.
He was a transmigrator—someone who had just gotten off work, lay in bed scrolling on his phone, and then mysteriously died in his sleep… only to wake up as Tony Stark.
Yinsen didn't understand what Tony meant, but he continued encouraging him.
"Tony, pull yourself together. Do something. Otherwise, they'll kill us."
"Do something? What can I do? What the hell can I do? I was just playing a game! How did I end up transmigrating?
And of all people, I had to become Tony Stark! If I'd come a day earlier, I could've at least talked to that beautiful reporter.
But no—before I could enjoy anything, I got torture, interrogation, and waterboarding!
I didn't enjoy a single benefit, but I suffered all the pain!"
Tony became more and more agitated as he spoke.
He suddenly stood up—only to yank the wires connected to the electromagnet embedded in his chest, which was powered by a car battery.
"Ah—damn, that hurts! That hurts!"
The pain forced him to collapse to the ground.
Yinsen didn't fully understand Tony's rapid outburst—especially since Tony had unconsciously switched into Chinese—but seeing Tony finally show emotion was encouraging. It was better than his earlier silence.
"Tony," Yinsen said gently, "think of something. I know the military is searching for you, but they'll have a hard time finding this place. Are you really going to wait here for death?"
As the pain in his chest eased, Tony gradually calmed down. He began sorting through the memories in his mind—Tony Stark's memories.
There were too many.
It only confirmed how terrifyingly brilliant Tony Stark truly was.
The problem was… he couldn't understand any of it.
It felt like falling asleep during a college calculus lecture, then waking up to see the entire blackboard filled with formulas. He could recognize every symbol—but none of it made sense.
Still…
Those twelve cover models in Stark's memories…
Now that was something he could understand.
Their figures. Their skills. Their enthusiasm.
Compared to incomprehensible formulas, those vivid memories were far easier to appreciate.
Tony's eyes unfocused as he drifted off into those dazzling recollections.
"Did he lose his mind?" Yinsen muttered worriedly, patting Tony's head. "Hey, Tony!"
Tony snapped back to reality.
Now wasn't the time for that.
First, he had to figure out how to survive.
"What should we do?" Tony asked sincerely, his eyes clear as he looked at Yinsen.
Yinsen froze.
Wasn't that supposed to be your job? You're Tony Stark. Genius. Inventor.
Still, Yinsen had thought about escape before.
"They want you to build the Jericho missile," Yinsen said carefully. "Maybe while building it, we can secretly make a signal transmitter to contact the military."
"Not a bad idea," Tony said seriously. "Can you build one?"
"I can build a transmitter," Yinsen replied, assuming Tony meant assisting him. "But I don't know how to securely contact the military or send the right message."
"Then we need another idea," Tony said firmly.
Yinsen hesitated, then suggested, "What if we secretly build weapons… and fight our way out?"
Tony nodded slowly.
"Good idea. Can you build powered armor?"
"Powered armor? You mean wearable mechanical armor?" Yinsen frowned, recalling something like that from science fiction.
"Yes. Can you?"
Yinsen shook his head.
"I have several doctorates, but mechanical design isn't my specialty."
Tony sighed, stood up, and lifted the heavy car battery connected to his chest. He began pacing aimlessly around the cave, muttering under his breath.
"If I don't build the missile, we die. If I do build it, we die. Can't build a transmitter. Can't build armor. Why is my transmigration this miserable? Don't I at least get a system? Right—a system!"
He suddenly shouted into the empty cave.
"System! Come out! Anything is fine! Sign-in system, exchange system, lottery system! I'll even take a mysterious old mentor!"
After yelling himself hoarse, nothing happened.
Tony's shoulders slumped.
No system.
This really was a dead end.
Maybe he should just lie down and reminisce about Tony Stark's glamorous past.
"Damn it! F—!"
Finally, Tony snapped.
He began smashing everything in sight.
The crude metal bed frame—kicked over.
The makeshift workbench—flipped.
The broken stool—sent flying.
And then—
A magnificent treasure chest.
He froze.
"…Wait."
Tony rubbed his eyes hard.
Then he turned to Yinsen, who was staring at him like he'd gone insane.
"Do you see that chest?"
Yinsen nodded.
"Of course. That's my chest. I keep my clothes in it."
"That's impossible…" Tony muttered. "I've seen this before."
He lowered his voice.
"In a game."
"What material is your chest made of?" Tony asked.
Yinsen frowned, now fully convinced Tony might be mentally unstable.
"It's made of wood. I put it together myself. There's a Stark Industries logo on it—it used to store grenades."
Tony slowly exhaled.
What Yinsen saw… was not what he saw.
In Tony's vision, the chest was golden, decorated with intricate patterns and embedded gemstones. It emitted a soft glow. Above it floated a clear icon—a symbol unmistakably marking it as loot.
This…
This had to be his cheat ability.
Just as he suspected—gamers had good luck.
Although, according to the game's rules, opening a chest wouldn't necessarily solve his immediate survival problem. At best, it would give him resources over time.
Still…
He had to open it.
Tony walked straight toward the radiant treasure chest.
The moment his hand touched it, a notification appeared before his eyes.
[System activated]
[Chest opened]
[Obtained items: T-Virus Sample ▪︎ T-Virus Enhancement Serum ▪︎ T-Virus Antibody]