Chapter 7

"In fact, we met at the Berne Technology Conference."

"I don't remember."

"You definitely wouldn't. If I were as drunk as you were back then, I'd have passed out, let alone given a speech about integrated circuits."

"Where are we?" Tony asked the question that was foremost in his mind.

"Quick, stand up!" Before he could answer Tony's question, he noticed someone approaching outside the cave door and immediately urged Tony to get up. "Follow me and raise your hands."

Tony hadn't figured out the situation yet, so he could only follow along. But when he saw the weapons in the hands of the incoming terrorists, he couldn't stay calm anymore. "Those are all guns I made! How did they get them!?"

"Didn't you understand what I said? Follow me."

The person who seemed to be the leader of the terrorists saw Tony awake and spoke a lot in a language Tony hadn't heard before.

Seeing this, the strange man next to Tony translated, "He says he welcomes you, Tony Stark, the biggest executioner in American history. He is honored to meet you and hopes you can build that missile for him—the Jericho missile."

The leader took out a clear photo and showed it to Tony.

Knowing their intent, Tony was stunned. He was severely injured by Stark Industries' weapons, which the terrorists had somehow acquired. Now, he was being forced to work for them. Tony realized someone must have betrayed him, and it was hard to believe that as the soul of Stark Industries, he was sold out.

"I won't do it!" Tony, never one to be easily intimidated, naturally wasn't moved by a few threats.

Following the leader's command, they used force to show Tony their sincerity.

After being tortured, Tony was brought outside the cave by the terrorists. There, he saw a massive stockpile of weapons capable of destroying a small city. The words "Stark Industries" printed on each weapon were glaringly obvious.

"What do you think?" the strange man continued to act as the leader's interpreter.

"You have a lot of weapons I made."

"He says he has all the parts to make Jericho missiles. He wants you to make a list of materials for him and start right away. Once it's done, they'll let you go."

Tony feigned agreement, shaking the leader's hand. "Sure."

The strange man nodded, "Yes."

...

In the critical moments that followed, Tony, encouraged by the strange man, decided to create hope and escape. He finally learned the name of his savior—Yinsen. He also learned the name of the terrorist group that kidnapped him: the Ten Rings.

Exploiting the terrorists' desire for Jericho missiles, Tony got a rudimentary but usable studio. He had plenty of materials to work with. "How can I escape? It's up to you, Tony Stark, genius. There are still people waiting for you at home! Yinsen, come help me."

Encouraging themselves, Tony and Yinsen began their plans.

Tony first used high-purity palladium to create an Arc Reactor for himself, which could generate 3 gigajoules of energy per second, enough to power the electromagnet in his chest and free him from the battery, allowing him to move freely.

"It can power you for lifetimes!" Yinsen exclaimed.

"Or run something big for 50 minutes." Tony handed Yinsen a set of drawings.

Yinsen asked, "What is this?"

Tony revealed the secret weapon he planned to use to escape. "Fold the drawings and look."

"Wow! It's wonderful." When all the drawings overlapped, Yinsen saw a mighty suit of armor.

"I call it Mark One. It's named after my son. His genius ideas inspired me."

"He will be as great as you in the future."

"No, he'll be even more amazing than me!"

...

The plan progressed smoothly. With Tony and Yinsen's efforts, Mark One's parts were built. However, they forgot they were in a lion's den, and the Ten Rings were watching their every move.

As Mark One's components increased, the monitors realized what they were doing was far from building a Jericho missile. The leader gave them a deadline—complete the Jericho missile by the next day.

Time was running out, and that night was destined to be sleepless. Despite the tension, they didn't panic. After completing all the armor parts, the plan reached a critical juncture.

"How is it? Can you move?" Yinsen asked as he helped Tony into the armor.

"No problem. I've never felt better!"

Suddenly, Yinsen frowned, hearing footsteps outside the door.

"Yinsen, Stark! Where are you? Come out!" A terrorist's voice came from outside, anxious.

"They've found us, Tony! What should we do?"

"Stall them. Say something to buy time."

"But they speak Hungarian."

"Then say this."

"But I can't."

"Well then, what can you say?"

Yinsen thought and began responding in the language he often used with the Ten Rings leader.

It was useless. The terrorists decided to check inside.

Quickly unlocking the door, they opened it, only to be met with an explosion trap.

Boom!

The fiery blast devoured the two terrorists.

The explosion alarmed the entire Ten Rings base. "Catch them!"

With the explosion delay, Yinsen helped Tony load the Mark 1 control system. However, the approaching footsteps outside made Yinsen anxious. "They're coming!"

"Don't worry, we'll make it."

"We need more time." Suddenly, Yinsen made a decision. "I'll buy you some time."

Seeing Yinsen rush to the door, Tony tried to stop him. "Yinsen! Stick to the plan!"

But Yinsen wasn't swayed and kept walking.

"Wait! At least take my suit!"

"Do you mean for me to die decently?" Yinsen felt a bit amused by Tony's words.

"No, remember I told you this was a gift from my son?"

"Yes, I remember."

"He's a genius, even if he's not an adult yet. This suit uses a new nanomaterial he invented. It will protect you."

"He'll be greater than you. He knows how to replace destruction with protection." Yinsen put on the suit and walked out of the room resolutely.

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