4: Solving the consequences

"Well, I told you to stay away from Afghanistan, didn't I? Whose idea was it to demonstrate weapons here? Heh, now look at that beard you always use to show off, it's grown into a mess."

"You're not much better. I didn't know my brother had a habit of flaunting himself without a shirt. Don't tell me you are this desperate for some attention." Tony never lost a verbal battle.

Or rather, he enjoyed bickering with Lyon.

How to put it, it made him feel different, a sense of family.

After all, in this world, Lyon was his only relative.

"And next time, you might consider changing your angle of criticism. A spaceship in outer space hearing my voice? Haha, that's not funny. Have you already forgotten that sound can't travel in a vacuum, just half a year after graduation?"

Tony indicated that with his scientific knowledge, he could see through Lyon's lie in a second.

"So, what accident brought you here early? Or did Pepper contact you? Hmm, Pepper... is she alright?"

"No, she didn't contact me. Maybe she didn't want me to know the bad news that you were attacked and in grave danger when I was stuck in space for the next 1.5 years?" Lyon shook his head.

He explained, "But I did hear your voice on the spaceship—you called my name, so I heard it. This is my newly awakened ability."

Tony opened his mouth: "Your ability is really unscientific... Sound is produced by vibrations, and the propagation limit of such vibrations is usually not too far, let alone in the vacuum of space..."

"It's really like that. This time I've awakened quite a few unscientific abilities, and I'll need you to test them for me again later," Lyon said while observing Tony.

He could see the shrapnel lodged in the arterial valves near Tony's chest.

Sighing, he said, "Tony, you don't look too good. Those terrorists must have tortured you quite a bit."

Frowning, he continued, "Shrapnel embedded in the arteries around the heart can only be temporarily delayed with magnetic force. It's like a sharp knife hanging over your head at any moment... Those damn bastards!"

Tony was stunned for a moment. He saw the cold look in Lyon's eyes, felt a bit moved, and his lips quivered. Finally, he shook his head.

"This little injury is nothing. But your timing is perfect. I was just about to initiate the breakout plan tomorrow. Now, we can fight our way out directly without worrying about Yinsen's safety."

"Oh! Right, Yinsen!" Tony suddenly slapped his forehead and stood up, realizing that Yinsen had been quiet for a while. "Yinsen, are you okay? You're... ah, there you are!"

Tony showed a slightly embarrassed smile.

A slightly balding middle-aged man, wearing a vest and looking quite like an engineer, was quietly standing next to them.

It turned out Yinsen had been nearby the whole time.

However, Tony's attention had been entirely focused on Lyon, and he had overlooked Yinsen.

Yinsen spread his hands. "I haven't slept. In fact, I came over just as this gentleman descended from the top of the cave."

Tony nodded awkwardly, then laughed for a few seconds before introducing Lyon by pulling him by the shoulder.

"Yinsen, this is my brother Lyon Stark. Lyon, this is Yinsen, my... friend. He saved my life." Tony introduced them to each other.

The two shook hands and greeted each other.

Lyon knew Yinsen was a good person. "I didn't expect Tony to make a friend even in a cave. You must have been taking care of him all this time, otherwise, with his injuries, surviving would have been difficult."

"Ah, no, I actually just..." Yinsen shook his head.

Lyon raised his hand to stop him. "No need for modest words, Yinsen. You saved Tony, so that makes you my friend too."

"Now, what we need to do is fight our way out and send those guys outside to where they belong," Lyon said with a calm expression, though his eyes were filled with fierce rage.

"Maybe we should come up with a plan first? Those guys have quite the firepower," Yinsen hesitated slightly.

"A plan? No! Now that Lyon is here! We don't need a plan!" Tony interjected happily.

He proudly walked over to the armor he had built.

Tony patted the armor. "Look, Lyon, this is my masterpiece from the past few months. Even if you hadn't come today, Yinsen and I would have definitely taken down those guys tomorrow!"

Lyon looked at Tony showing off his creation like a child with a new toy and shook his head helplessly.

"Save your little toy for later. I'll go in front, and you just follow me," he said succinctly. "I haven't been basking in the sun for the past six months for nothing."

"Toy? Unbelievable, Lyon. I know your academic performance was average, so you might not understand the greatness of this armor," Tony couldn't accept his masterpiece being called a toy. "So, before you make uninformed comments, you might want to stay silent and watch me demonstrate its excellence!"

Lyon placed his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, maybe your little toy is indeed impressive, but I need to tell you, I flew here directly from the spaceship wearing these pants."

Tony's eyes widened.

He flew here from space with just his bare body?

And the pants Lyon was wearing, which looked like they hadn't been washed in ages, didn't have a single scratch?

Tony knew exactly what that implied.

"What? You, you..." Tony was at a loss for words.

It was over; now his armor really seemed like a toy in comparison.

"So, just follow behind me," Lyon said with a smile.

"But there's one more thing to handle first," he added, glancing at Tony's chest. "We need to take care of your problem."

"Problem?" Tony didn't understand at first.

But Lyon had already taken action.

Without a single movement, he placed his right hand on Tony's shoulder. His left hand momentarily blurred.

Then Tony felt a sudden tightness in his chest. The intense pain that was about to hit his heart suddenly dissipated.

"One, two, three... quite a few fragments. Tony, surviving with such injuries really shows your tenacity," Lyon commented.

"What are you saying..." Tony instinctively touched his chest.

When he looked up again..

He saw Lyon holding out his hand, with a dozen tiny shrapnel fragments lying quietly in his palm.

"Here, I just removed the shrapnel from your chest. Keep these fragments as a reminder of the great upheaval you faced at almost forty, and how it finally made you grow up and learn to take responsibility."

Lyon handed the shrapnel to Tony and turned towards the sealed cave door.

In less than a microsecond,

He had used a biofield to stabilize the shrapnel inside Tony,

Then made tiny incisions on Tony's chest with his left fingertip and attracted the shrapnel to his tips by biofield, quickly extracting all the fragments.

Afterward, he used heat vision to stop the bleeding and heal the wounds.

The entire process was smooth as silk, swift as lightning yet calm as water.

Tony didn't even notice any changes in the scene before him.

When he finally realized it, he touched his chest; the arc reactor was still there, but his clothes now had a dozen new holes.

"This! This!" Tony's gaze shifted between Lyon's palm and his own chest, speechless once again.

Today, Lyon had given him too many shocks.

So much so that he didn't even refute the recent comment about finally growing up.

"Let's go. It's time to leave." Lyon led the way.

After all, the terrorists should have woken up by the 'earthquake' right?

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