Saving Private Stark!

He could swear that he never had trypophobia before, but now... if he managed to survive this, he would definitely see a psychologist to check if he had developed it. The psychological shadow this scene cast would accompany him for the rest of his life.

In the Foundation's sub-base command room:

"Report, President! We have locked onto SCP-307's exact location; it's time to act!" Dr. A167 said excitedly as he stared at the screen in front of him.

"It's all thanks to that terrorist leader; he actually gathered people together, along with those armed squads that intruded into the camp. These two waves of bait were perfect; without their sacrifice, it would have been difficult to lure out SCP-307, that insidious predator."

Dr. A167 was very excited and pleased. His words showed that he didn't consider the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Ten Rings members who had become bait as anything significant.

Containment of SCPs often involved sacrifices; the fact that no Foundation members were lost was already fortunate. Moreover, the deaths of these people had nothing to do with the Foundation, so Dr. A167 felt no guilt at all.

Natasha, who had been standing silently beside Ethan, discreetly glanced at the slight smile at the corner of Ethan's mouth. She couldn't help but wonder if all of this had been planned by Ethan.

"Could it be that we've been exposed? If so, could this all be a deliberate act by him? Did he purposely let Coulson send out the information, deliberately using Tony Stark as bait to lure S.H.I.E.L.D. into a trap?"

Natasha's mind was filled with suspicions, but without any evidence, she could only keep her thoughts to herself.

With the success of the plan, Ethan was in a very good mood. He immediately ordered:

"Send SCP-307's location to 6547. Order them to act immediately, rescue the survivors, and then proceed with the containment!"

...

In the cave, Tony manipulated the Iron Man suit, crushing the creeping vines beneath his feet. With one shoulder carrying the unconscious Ethan and the other carrying the equally unconscious Sharon Carter, he struggled to move towards the cave entrance.

Tony noticed that the suit's movement was becoming slower and slower. The unending assault of the vines was rapidly depleting the suit's energy reserves.

"Is this it...?"

"No! If I really do that, I'd rather die here!"

Tony shook his head vigorously.

He had one last resort: he could activate the flight mode and forcefully escape. But doing so would mean abandoning the two people on his shoulders.

Proud as Stark was, how could he ever abandon his friends and family to save himself?

Just three turns away from the exit, the Iron Man suit finally lost all power. The suit's lights flickered off, and Tony, now completely trapped inside, looked on in despair as the vines crept closer from the depths of the cave.

"Becoming plant food... What a lousy way to go."

Tony lamented bitterly.

Not long ago, he had witnessed firsthand the feeding process of those purple vines.

Tony swore he would never forget the disgusting sight for the rest of his life.

Yellow mucus oozing from every orifice of the body...

The thought of dying in such a manner made Tony shudder in fear.

Trapped within the suit, awaiting death, Tony suddenly furrowed his brow.

"Hmm? Why is it getting colder?"

"Is this what it feels like before death? Does the body gradually cool down...?"

In his daze, Tony vaguely saw a few blurry figures.

They were dressed in armor-plated uniforms, with steel gas masks on their heads, and wielded strange weapons that emitted cold air...

At the forefront, Coulson, seeing Tony inside the suit and the two people on his shoulders, excitedly shouted into the communication channel: "They're here! They're just unconscious; get in here and help!"

May stepped forward, checking them briefly, and said, "I'll take the two people off his shoulders first. As for the guy inside the Iron Man suit, see if you can open it up; this thing is way too heavy for us to carry."

6547 nodded and responded in a low voice, "Do as she says. We need to retreat immediately! The freezing units can't hold off SCP-307 for long."

At this moment, 6547 had no time to scold the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for overstepping their bounds. He simply nodded to a nearby C-Class combat member.

After a bit of fumbling and tapping, the Foundation member finally managed to open the Iron Man suit and dragged the unconscious Tony out.