Chapter 8

Watching Qin Li suddenly disappear in front of him, Tony Stark walked back to his workstation, quickly speaking with Ethan about the situation while speeding up the extraction of the palladium. As for the communicator, he had already hidden it. Everything was set, waiting for the day his plan would come to fruition.

Back at the hotel, Qin Li was wondering why the instant transport potion hadn't had the desired effect earlier—it was because he had turned it off. After all, he was secretly rescuing someone, not showing off.

When Qin Li suddenly returned, Coulson, carrying a laptop, asked, "Father Li, has the tracker been placed on Tony Stark yet? I don't see anything on this end."

"Oh, plans changed. It seems Tony Stark has his own ideas. But don't worry, I gave him a communicator. If there's a problem or he wants to leave, he'll contact us. Right now, it's our Afghan vacation time. Sure, it's chaotic here, but with me around, we can still have some fun," Qin Li casually shrugged as he dropped his unnecessary things.

"Father Li, that's not the plan! We need to organize a rescue right away. We can't guarantee Stark's safety with the kidnappers. What if he doesn't manage to press your communicator button in time?" Coulson said seriously.

"This is Tony Stark's personal decision, and I respect it. I can tell this is a life-changing choice. Trust me, Coulson," Qin Li said, now more serious.

"But..." Coulson hesitated.

"No buts. This is how it is. You can talk to your director about it. One black egg can't turn everything upside down, can it?" Qin Li firmly declared.

Coulson shut up. He didn't argue with Qin Li's unflattering nickname for Director Fury. After all, he was facing Qin Li, who was almost revered as a god. Besides, Qin Li was taking all the blame, so what could a small agent like him do? Life was like that—if you can't resist, just enjoy it.

Seeing that Coulson had stopped pressing the matter, Qin Li smiled contentedly and patted his shoulder. "I'm doing this for your own good. Think about it. You set a flag before leaving. I'm saving you."

Coulson smiled wryly, "Then I truly thank you, Father Li."

While Qin Li enjoyed his time sightseeing in Afghanistan, Tony Stark's plan gradually took shape. During a test the previous day, he had been discovered, nearly costing Ethan his life. In return, Tony had to promise to finish the Jericho missile in three days or Ethan would be sent to meet God on the spot.

As the final day arrived, Tony had assembled the Mark I armor in the monitoring blind spot. He was about to finish the programming and debugging when the leader of the bandits noticed something was wrong and immediately called a halt to Tony's actions. But Tony and Ethan ignored him, continuing to input the program and adjust the machine.

"Damn it!" the bandit leader cursed, then immediately ordered his men to monitor Tony and Ethan closely.

With the debugging done, the armor was only a power source away from activation. But with the sound of the bandits' angry shouting getting closer, time was running out. Ethan lifted his head from the computer and said, "Damn it, we're running out of time. I'll buy some time." He grabbed an AK-47 off the table and made a move toward the door.

"Ethan, wait! Do you remember the guy who suddenly appeared that day? He gave me a communicator. I taped it under the desk. Now it's time to call him for help!" Tony Stark called out while watching the data load slowly.

"The communicator! The communicator!" Ethan mumbled, crawling under the desk and frantically groping for it. "Oh! Found it!" Remarkably, under pressure, Ethan's strength seemed limitless. Tony had attached the communicator with three layers of tape, and Ethan nearly flipped the table to get it out. He quickly pressed the button, which had only one option.

As soon as the button was pressed, Qin Li sensed it. Looking toward Coulson across the pool, he said, "Tony Stark has sent the signal. If you see the tracker's signal on the computer, the rescue can begin."

"Got it, Father Li. I'll get ready," Coulson replied, his voice filled with excitement. After nearly half a month, the operation was finally ready to begin; otherwise, the director might have cut the funding.

With Qin Li's arrival, both Tony and Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. After all, more help meant more strength. Tony quickly explained the situation and asked Qin Li to help stall for more time.

Looking at the mech in front of him, Qin Li couldn't help but praise, "I have to say, Tony Stark, you really are a genius!" (Imagine Li Yunlong's expression here.)

Tony's face darkened. "Alright, Li, in addition to being a genius, I'm also a billionaire. When I get out of here, I'll give you a tip."

"Bullshit! You're good at everything except for running your mouth. Maybe you should get that sewn shut," Qin Li retorted, annoyed by Tony's bad attitude.

"Alright, guys! Our job now is to get out alive. Once the outside issue is sorted, we can continue bickering," Ethan intervened, trying to keep things on track, though he found it odd.

"Just do whatever you need with the adjustments. I don't understand this high-tech stuff," Qin Li shrugged and said to Tony and Ethan. He then moved behind the iron door, adding, "I'll keep watch over you guys. Oh, and I almost forgot this." Qin Li tapped his forehead, nearly forgetting to pull out Coulson's tracker. He quickly placed it in a spot.

With the footsteps getting closer, Qin Li raised his hand, and a small ball of light appeared. Hearing the sound of the bandits preparing to open the door, Qin Li quietly muttered, "Holy Light Shard~" The light ball slowly floated forward, growing from the size of a baseball to a basketball, eventually expanding to a 2-meter-diameter ball of light. Though slow, nothing in its path could stop it, as it melted everything in its way. The iron door melted, and the bandit opening it was caught off guard, his hand disappearing. He howled in pain, clutching his arm.

But the light ball moved so slowly that the bandits were able to retreat to a safe distance. The bullets they fired passed right through it, but the ball kept on moving calmly. The bandits weren't sure what to do, but since the leader hadn't given an order, they hesitated. Just then, Qin Li waved his hand, and a cross of Holy Light appeared in front of the ball, crashing into it like a baseball hit by a bat. The ball's speed instantly increased! The bandits didn't have time to react. When the light ball hit, they vanished. Those who thought they had escaped were proven wrong as the ball collapsed, like a black hole at its center. The Holy Light was sucked in, and the black hole exploded, creating several smaller light balls that triggered a secondary explosion, wiping out the rest of the bandits. The cave trembled violently.

Turning back, Qin Li shouted, "Tony Stark, how much longer? I've caused quite a commotion, and this cave doesn't seem like it will hold up!"

"It's ready! You and Ethan stand behind me!" Tony Stark said, activating the Mark I armor. Qin Li followed behind with Ethan, watching as Tony used the armor to cut a path through the enemies. Thanks to Qin Li's earlier light ball, Tony's armor didn't get stuck on walls, and the way was clear.

As they advanced, Tony recalled the route. "Take 16 steps, then turn right... Yes! Turn right again after 33 steps!" Following his directions, they made it out of the cave. As Tony's mech shot out twin jets of fire to ignite enemies and equipment, he grabbed Qin Li and Ethan, and with a single burst of the mech's foot thrusters, the three flew into the air. Just moments after escaping the cave, a massive explosion occurred.

Looking down at the explosion, Tony Stark sighed in relief. "Good thing I calculated it right, or we..."

Before he could finish, a flash of electricity sparked, and the thrusters smoked. "Damn it!" Tony's face darkened. He quickly repositioned Qin Li and Ethan, and adjusted the mech to head toward a desert slope.

A perfect glide down, and they made it safely to the ground. Tony Stark and Ethan, exhausted, lay in the hot desert sand, breathing in the air of freedom.