Yinsen was utterly confused. He was in a cave deep in the mountain a second ago, but his surrounding transformed into a desert in the blink of an eye. A voice spoke in his ear, "Dr. Yinsen, please stay here. I will bring Mr. Stark back."
Yinsen turned to look at the source of the voice, but he found nothing other than sand. He was alone. Yinsen was an atheist that believed in science, but he couldn't help wondering if he had met a ghost.
Nevertheless, Yinsen listened to the voice's instruction and stayed put, waiting for the voice to return.
Yinsen suddenly heard gunshots not long after the voice disappeared. It seemed that there was a firefight not far from his location. Yinsen was anxious, but he patiently waited.
"Hello, Doctor Yinsen. I must apologize for bringing you here without your consent; I was in a hurry. You can call me Li Yue. Nice to meet you," Li Yue introduced himself and offered his right hand to Yinsen, which Yinsen immediately accepted.
"Hello, Mr. Li Yue; nice to meet you too. Can you please explain to me what just happened? How did I suddenly appear here, and how did you disappear and reappear?" Yinsen spoke quickly with disbelief in his voice, still shocked by Li Yue's sudden appearance.
"It was just my ability; please do not be alarmed. I admire your convictions, doctor. I am not someone capable of such selfless actions."
Li Yue didn't think that he would be able to give up his life in the same situation. His respect and admiration for Yinsen had increased.
"I was simply doing what I must. That aside, Mr. Li Yue, are you not with Mr. Stark?" Yinsen asked out of curiosity when he noticed that Li Yue had returned alone. Li Yue had been able to bring Yinsen out here, so the young man should've been able to bring Tony Stark over as well. Yet Li Yue had returned alone, which made Yinsen a little worried.
"Do not worry, Mr. Yinsen. Mr. Stark is simply doing what he must do. He should be finished soon," Li Yue comforted Yinsen.
"Look, I think that is him!" An explosion suddenly echoed through the desert. Li Yue immediately turned to the source. Sure enough, a figure shot out to the sky with flames trailing from its feet.
Yinsen followed Li Yue's gaze and saw the burning figure in the sky with astonishment.
"I guess it wasn't an exaggeration to call Mr. Stark the genius of the century. I still can't believe he created such mighty armor in a cave." Yinsen couldn't help but feel a little worried about this development. Tony Stark had created a powerful armor with relatively rudimentary technology. Yinsen couldn't imagine what would happen if Tony Stark could mass-produce an advanced version of this weapon and sell them.
The figure in the sky was obviously Tony, clad in his Mark I armor. He was very excited right now; he had discovered the true joy of flight.
Airplanes were invented to fulfill humanity's dream to fly in the sky. But sitting in a plane was vastly different than true and free flight. Tony felt that he was an actual genius when he realized what his armor could achieve.
But his excitement was short-lived. The flames under his feet were extinguished, depriving his armor of propulsion. He began to free-fall: he probably wouldn't die from this speed and altitude, but he might be permanently disabled.
Tony couldn't help but close his eyes, waiting for the impact.
Li Yue sighed when he saw Tony plummeting from the sky in his direction. The current Tony was the embodiment of the fleeting nature of beauty and glory.
Li Yue ended up having to teleport to Tony's side and carried the genius billionaire across the sky several times to arrest their falling speed before landing in the desert.
Tony plopped himself down on the sand. His Mark I armor was barely holding together, its pieces scattered all over the place.
"Not bad!" Tony took off the remnant of the helmet from his face and threw it on the ground while rubbing his sore butt.
"Not bad? If not for Mr. Li Yue, you would have fallen to your death," Yinsen couldn't help but retort as he helped Tony stand up.
Tony stood up with some difficulty, even with Yinsen's help. He then smiled at Li Yue from the bottom of his heart. "Thank you, Li Yue. You have saved my life once again."
"You don't have to be so formal, Tony. We are friends; we should help each other, right?" Li Yue smiled.
"Yeah—I declare that from now on, Li Yue is my friend. You should be honored that someone like me considers you a friend," Tony declared their friendship with thick narcissism as usual, saying outright that merely being a friend with the great Tony Stark should be a source of pride.
Then again, this is Tony Stark. He was definitely worth every bit of narcissism that he displayed. Countless people would no doubt be overjoyed to be his friends, but there was only a handful that could get his approval.
"Yes, I am indeed extremely lucky to befriend the great Tony Stark. I must've expended several lifetimes' worth of luck for this moment!" Li Yue replied helplessly. He was actually quite infuriated by this attitude; his fists were itching to punch Tony in the face.
Li Yue turned to Yinsen. "Has he always been so narcissistic? How did you endure the past three months with him without beating him up?"
"Indeed, Li Yue. Mr. Stark has always been narcissistic. If I hadn't been such a patient person, I would have beaten him to a pulp," To everyone's surprise, Yinsen cracked a joke. He had always been a serious person, but his mood greatly relaxed after escaping the perilous cave. He even felt happy that he could joke around with Li Yue and Tony.
"Ahaha..." Li Yue and Yinsen laughed at each other.
Tony also felt happiness in his heart when he saw Li Yue and Yinsen laugh, despite the joke being at his expense. He had friends now; he was no longer the man who owned everything but had nothing.
This kidnapping also revealed the purpose of Tony's life to him. He could bring so much more than just war to the world.
Tony made a silent promise in his heart while looking at Li Yue and Yinsen. He then joined them in their laughter.
"Growl..." Tony's stomach suddenly cried out in the middle of their laughter, which turned his mood rather awkward.
"Haha, it seems that the great Tony Stark isn't immune to hunger," Li Yue teased.
Li Yue decided to bring the two some food and water. He didn't want to bring them back to the United States directly, though; it would expose his ability, and Li Yue felt that he still had to hide it.
"Alright, enough with the jokes. I'll bring you something to eat," Li Yue said when he saw Tony's embarrassed face. Yinsen simply laughed.
"Get me some cheese—!" Tony shouted one last time, but Li Yue disappeared before he could finish his sentence. He had no idea if Li Yue heard him or not.
Li Yue returned after ten minutes. He couldn't use his power in a crowded place, so he had to take roundabout routes to buy the food.
Tony no longer cared about manners and etiquette when he saw the two bags in Li Yue's hands. He immediately rushed to snatch the bag and open it. To his surprise, Li Yue had brought him his favorite cheeseburger. Tony quickly wolfed it down.
Li Yue quietly watched Tony and Yinsen eat their food. The terrorists obviously fed them during their time in custody, but it wouldn't be anything more than the bare minimum to fill their stomachs.
"Burp, I never thought soda could be so delicious. Burp! When I go back, I will replace all the wine on the fridge with this stuff, Burp," Tony struggled to speak as he burped continuously from America's signature carbonated drink. He rubbed his bulging stomach.
"I spent hundreds of dollars on these; you better reimburse me back home, Tony," Li Yue commented, a little jealous of Tony's wealth.
"Don't worry, no need to sweat about it. When we get back, you can pick whichever of my villas and sports cars that you want."
Curses. Tony was too obscenely rich to even care.
Suddenly, a faint but regular sound came in the distance. Li Yue realized that this must be the military helicopter sent to find Tony. He said to Tony and Yinsen, "I must return. I hope that you will keep my power secret; I don't want it to be exposed just yet."
"No problem. We'll keep all your secrets," Tony and Yinsen nodded at Li Yue.
Li Yue then disappeared, carrying the trash from the food that Tony and Yinsen had just eaten.
Leading the team in the military helicopter was Colonel Rhodes. He briefly looked over the changed Tony before saying, "How was your fun jeep? You ride with me next time."
Tony and Yinsen didn't talk much while Rhodes ushered them to the helicopter.
Tony Stark had returned after being missing for three months. The news spread like wildfire across the world.