Chapter: 6

"Afghanistan, Bagram Air Base."

"General, hello."

"Hello, Mr. Stark." The general shook Tony's outstretched hand and said, "I'm looking forward to your weapon demonstration today."

"Thank you."

In a desolate testing ground, Tony wore the silver-gray slim-fit suit tailored for him by Mark. He wore a pair of tea-colored gold-framed sunglasses and gave a serious speech before the weapon demonstration.

"Fear or respect, which is better? In my opinion, both are excessive, aren't they?

Therefore, I humbly present the flagship product of Stark Industries, the Freedom series, a missile system that incorporates our patented impact technology.

People often say the best weapon is the one that doesn't need to be used, but I respectfully disagree. I prefer weapons that you only need to use once. My father did it this way, my country did it this way, and so far, it has been very successful.

Find an excuse, launch this thing, and I guarantee you the bad guys won't want to crawl out of their holes again."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tony waved his hand to the artillery battery, signaling to launch the missile.

Whoosh—

As a missile swiftly ascended, heading towards the predetermined targets in the range behind Tony, it suddenly disintegrated and split into dozens of smaller missiles when it approached the target.

"For reference, this is our Jericho missile!"

Along with Tony's words, a violent shockwave erupted after delivering a devastating blow to the targets several kilometers away. The strong airflow even blew off the hats of the soldiers present.

The demonstration was incredibly successful, and the objective of this trip had been achieved. Tony approached a large metal crate and took out pre-prepared glasses and champagne. "For every deal over 500 million dollars, I'll give one of these as a gift. Here's to peace." Tony raised his glass in a toast and drank it all in one go.

At this moment, the triumphant Tony was unaware that a conspiracy against him was brewing in the shadows. With the deal sealed, an excited Tony chose not to board the specially prepared armored vehicle but instead got into a regular military car, finding it as a bit of amusement on the otherwise boring journey.

His good friend Colonel Rhodes didn't persuade him otherwise and let Tony indulge in his quirks. "I'll be right behind you to protect you. I'll meet you at the base."

"Alright, see you at the base. Brave soldiers, let's head to our destination!"

Inside the car, feeling the engine roar as the military vehicle raced across the sandy terrain, the bumpy road tested the limits of the tires and suspension. Tony felt his blood boiling with excitement and passion.

"Hey, young man, do you have a girlfriend?" Tony suddenly asked a young soldier, fully armed and with a handsome appearance, sitting beside him.

"Not yet, sir!" The young man, evidently not a seasoned soldier who had been in the military for years, straightened his posture and replied loudly.

"Alright, relax, buddy. I'm just having a chat with you guys. And I'm not your commanding officer, after all. The journey is long and boring, we have to find some amusement for ourselves." As he spoke, Tony unbuttoned his suit jacket and took off his tie from around his neck. "It's really hot in the desert!"

"Uh, Mr. Stark..." A soldier mustered up the courage and probed, "I heard that you've been in bed with the cover girl from last year's Maxim magazine for all twelve months. Is that true?"

This seasoned soldier was clearly more experienced than the young man earlier, bringing up a topic that everyone was interested in.

"Well, that's..."

Boom!

Before the soldiers could hear the answer they were eagerly anticipating, a shell landed in the middle of the convoy, interrupting the words Tony was about to speak.

The vehicle was overturned by the blast, and the soldiers inside the car were all knocked unconscious to varying degrees of injury. Only Tony, who was protected in the middle, miraculously escaped unharmed.

Struggling to climb out of the wreckage, Tony looked at the scene before him and quickly took out his phone to call for help. But before he could make the call, a missile landed next to him.

Boom! Another explosion hit, sending Tony flying. Thanks to the protection of the graphene suit, his torso was not harmed by the blast. However, due to his previous carelessness in unbuttoning his jacket, the explosion's shockwave couldn't protect his heart. Tony's chest was struck by shrapnel, and his life hung by a thread. Before losing consciousness, he saw a clear emblem imprinted on the remnants of the missile that attacked him.

"..." When Tony woke up again, the environment around him had undergone a drastic change.

The surroundings appeared to be a dim and dry cave, and he found himself lying on a folding iron bed. Turning his head, he saw an unfamiliar man, using the faint light to trim his beard.

Feeling something unusual in his chest, Tony struggled to lift his head and looked down at his chest, where he discovered a peculiar device. Two wires extended from it and connected to a battery beside the bed. Without any hesitation, Tony reached out to remove the strange device.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that." The unfamiliar man spoke up, stopping Tony's action.

"What have you done to me?" After managing to calm the turmoil in his heart, Tony calmly posed his question to the stranger.

"What have I done? I saved your life. I managed to remove some shrapnel, but due to their small size and the limitations of this place, there are still some remnants. They could travel with your blood and potentially reach your heart at any moment." Seeing Tony's questioning expression, he picked up a small glass bottle from the nearby table and showed it to Tony. "Do you want to take a look? I have a souvenir here, take a look."

Taking the small bottle, Tony saw the tiny fragments through the faint light.

The stranger continued speaking, "I have seen many people in our village with this kind of injury. We call them 'savers' because a week later, the shrapnel enters vital organs."

"What about this? What is it?" Tony put down the bottle containing the fragments and tapped the metal lump on his chest.

"That's an electromagnet powered by a car battery. It prevents the shrapnel from reaching your heart."

Now Tony regretted not buttoning up that damn button on his suit properly.

"Did you see the suit I was wearing?" he asked.

"Well, it's on that table over there, but don't expect to find anything. If it was left here, it means everything on it has already been scavenged," the man replied.

"No, the suit itself is important. It was a gift from my son." Thinking about Mark and Pepper's saddened expressions upon hearing the news of his attack from thousands of miles away, Tony felt a sense of guilt for not cherishing the important people around him.