Marvel - The Blood God

After seeing off the displeased Nick Fury, Maverick called Frank. "Can you fly a helicopter?"

"Yes," Frank replied.

"Good, that makes things easier. I'm heading to the Middle East for a trip. Pack your gear and come with me."

After hanging up, Maverick called in Mercury and instructed, "Use all our remaining funds to short Stark Industries."

Mercury looked puzzled. "Maverick, aren't you planning to rescue Tony Stark?"

"Just do it," Maverick replied. "By the way, did you find out the information I asked for?"

"I did," Mercury said. "Obadiah Stane has two sons. If he dies unexpectedly, his shares in Stark Industries will be jointly inherited by them. Both of his sons are useless—only interested in indulgence. Obadiah despises them, and their father-son relationship is quite strained."

"Set up a situation to trap them, make them owe a lot of debts," Maverick instructed. "Ensure that after Obadiah Stane dies, they'll transfer his shares to us."

Mercury was stunned. "That's a minor issue, but Maverick, will Obadiah Stane die? Isn't Tony Stark the one in danger?"

"If I'm going, what danger could he be in?" Maverick smiled, getting up to prepare for his trip to the Middle East. If it weren't for the complications of his vampire status, he could have directly bought Stark Industries. Of course, Tony would never agree to work for him.

How could Tony Stark work for someone else? It's impossible in this lifetime.

In a dimly lit cave in the Middle East, Tony Stark, with a scruffy beard and tattered clothes, looked at the glowing Arc Reactor in his chest. He appeared a bit dazed. He, the dream of countless women in America, had fallen to such a low point.

About a month ago, after securing a billion-dollar deal with the military for the Jericho missile, he was happily returning to base in a jeep. Along the way, he joked with several soldiers, enjoying their admiration.

Then, a missile struck, severely injuring him. To make matters worse, the missile was produced by Stark Industries.

When Tony woke up, he found himself captured by a group of terrorists. There was a hole in his chest, and an electromagnet powered by a car battery was keeping shrapnel from entering his heart. It was primitive and pathetic.

The problem was, without this electromagnet, the shrapnel in his blood would reach his heart and kill him.

Later, the terrorists demanded that Tony build a Jericho missile for them. Naturally, Tony refused. As a result, they dunked his head into a pool of water. Tony, who had never been treated so badly, could only temporarily comply.

But it was just a temporary compromise. Tony Stark isn't someone who gives in easily.

With the help of Dr. Yinsen, who was also a captive, Tony used the materials provided by the terrorists to create a small Arc Reactor, replacing the electromagnet and battery. The quality of his setup suddenly improved.

This Arc Reactor wasn't just any device. It was a cold nuclear reactor, originally developed by Tony's father, Howard Stark, and Anton Vanko. However, their version was large and impractical.

Stark Industries had spent decades trying to miniaturize the Arc Reactor without success, and Tony Stark, in a cave with scraps, managed to do it. That's genius—a peerless genius who could change the world.

The Arc Reactor could release three billion joules of energy in one second. Tony didn't just make it to replace the electromagnet; he had a bigger plan.

"It'll be completed in two days. Then they'll see that a genius like me can't be humiliated, especially one who's charmed countless women and owns billions," Tony thought, gritting his teeth.

At that moment, he noticed the pool next to him vibrating and couldn't help but turn his head. He was stunned.

He saw the water in the pool forming a line of words: "Tony, I am Maverick, more charming and richer than you."

Tony rubbed his eyes and found the message still there. He was amazed. How did the water form words, and who claims to be more charming and richer than him? Is there such a person?

"Maverick, that annoying guy with the tricks?" Tony glanced at the monitor and saw he was blocking it; the camera couldn't see the pool. He breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking for a moment, he whispered, "You sneaky kid?"

The water's surface rippled, forming new words: "You're the sneaky one. Also, you tried to scam me with that faulty mask and overpriced batteries?"

"I told you I'd give you the mask patent." Tony smirked. It was clear that Maverick was controlling the water. Speaking of which, the guy could see through things and control water—wasn't that unscientific?

The water changed again: "Enough nonsense. Someone asked me to rescue you. I can bring the army over tomorrow, and you can protect yourself then."

"Rescue me?" Tony was momentarily stunned. If he'd heard this a few days ago, he'd have been ecstatic. But now his plan was almost complete, and he didn't need help.

Tony didn't want to owe favors or be pitied, waiting for someone to rescue him like a helpless victim—especially not from someone he disliked.

"No need. I can escape on my own." Tony refused outright. He was an arrogant man—a trait Maverick often mocked.

The water surface changed again: ".?"

"Just wait outside and pick me up," Tony added after a moment's thought. The words on the water disappeared immediately. Tony realized it meant, "I'm too lazy to bother with you."

"That guy is really annoying." Tony gritted his teeth. Dr. Yinsen heard the noise and turned to ask, "Tony, what's wrong?"

Tony said excitedly, "It's nothing, Yinsen. If all goes well, we can get out of here soon."

"Let's hope so," Yinsen replied, though an accident happened immediately—the parts they were making didn't resemble a Jericho missile at all. The terrorist leader, Raza, noticed and brought men in to threaten them, giving an ultimatum: build the missile by tomorrow or face death.

Tony looked grim but couldn't bring himself to ask Maverick for help. He could only work overtime with Yinsen, trying to finish his armor by tomorrow.

That's right—the armor, Iron Man's first suit, Mark I.

On a hill near the base, Maverick sat in a helicopter, smirking. "See what happens when you're stubborn? Is this fun now?"

"That Raza is wearing a Ten Rings ring. Does that mean the Mandarin actually exists in this world?" Maverick wondered. In the movies, the Mandarin was an actor, but in the comics, he's real—a major enemy of Iron Man who controls Middle Eastern terrorists with ten powerful rings.

"Forget it. I probably won't meet the Mandarin. After rescuing Tony, I'll keep my distance. I'm not interested in helping Tony deal with his enemies," Maverick thought. Frank, who was piloting the helicopter, asked, "What's the situation? Did you find that billionaire?"

"I found him. He seems to have an escape plan and doesn't want me to rescue him," Maverick said. Being a vampire, he could control blood, and since blood contains water, he could control water to some extent—enough to make words appear. He could also hear Tony because of the blood connection.

"He's really willful. So what should we do?" Frank said disdainfully. He clearly didn't like Tony Stark, though Stark Industries' products were useful.

"Whether he wants us to save him or not isn't our concern," Maverick said. "Contact Colonel Rhodes and have him bring his men. We'll act tomorrow and try to return soon. I hate this place—it's too hot, and there are no beautiful women."

"I've served here for ten years, and I still hate it," Frank laughed. He picked up the phone and contacted Colonel Rhodes.

Rhodes was surprised. "You actually found him? I was starting to lose hope."

"I'll bring my men over right away. Don't alert the enemy." Rhodes said urgently.

"When I was taking out terrorists on the front lines, you were pushing papers in logistics." Frank retorted before hanging up, a look of disdain on his face. Rhodes was speechless but couldn't argue with Frank, a legendary soldier. He set about organizing a rescue team immediately.

The next day, Tony Stark, who had stayed up all night, finally finished building his armor. He put on the underlayer, and Dr. Yinsen helped install the armor pieces one by one.

It went smoothly at first, but soon the terrorists noticed they couldn't see the two men on the monitor—they were hiding behind wooden panels—and sent people to investigate.

Seeing Yinsen's nervousness, Tony smiled. "Don't worry, it's okay. Just start the power system now."

A sweating Yinsen asked, "How do I start it?"

"Press F11 first..."

Yinsen operated the computer as Tony instructed, and a progress bar appeared. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to help Tony tighten the screws. At that moment, the door was blasted open; the bombs they'd rigged exploded, killing the terrorists instantly.

"There's no time." Yinsen glanced at the door, put down the wrench, and said to Tony, "I'll go out and buy you some time."

"No need, we have time. Stick to the plan." Tony shouted urgently, but Yinsen didn't listen. He picked up guns dropped by the terrorists and ran out, firing wildly. He didn't know how to shoot properly, but the narrow passage and surprise attack caused the terrorists to retreat in panic.

"Yinsen." Tony shouted anxiously. For the first time, he felt regret. If he'd accepted Maverick's help, Yinsen wouldn't be risking his life. If Yinsen died, Tony would feel guilty forever.

Would Yinsen die? Under normal circumstances, yes. Not long after he ran out of bullets, he was shot multiple times by the terrorists.

"So this is it?" Yinsen fell to the ground, feeling no fear—only relief, as his family had been killed by terrorists long ago.

Just as Yinsen was fading, a voice sounded in his mind: "Do you want to know the meaning of life? Uh, sorry, wrong line. A good person like you shouldn't die."

Yinsen lost consciousness before he could react. Unknown to anyone, the bullets had stopped within his muscles.

In the helicopter, Maverick smiled slightly. He had infused some of his blood into Yinsen earlier. Such a good person shouldn't die.

The terrorists, thinking they'd killed Yinsen, rushed in to find Tony. At that moment, the lights suddenly dimmed—the power was being used to start the Mark I.

Then it was Tony's turn. Filled with anger, he operated the rough Mark I to fight his way out. The terrorists couldn't stop him at all.

"Yinsen." Tony saw Yinsen lying on the ground, covered in blood. He felt a surge of anger and guilt. He roared and rushed out of the cave, only to be met with a hail of bullets.

Tony wasn't afraid; the bullets couldn't penetrate his armor and bounced off harmlessly. He raised his arms, activated the flamethrowers, and flames erupted on both sides.

The terrorists were engulfed in flames, screaming. Their leader, Raza, grew anxious—the deaths of his men didn't matter; he could always recruit more. But the weapons stockpile outside was massive, and if it ignited, things would get messy.

By the way, those weapons were all produced by Stark Industries.

Seeing that guns were useless, Raza gritted his teeth, took out a vial of red liquid from his pocket, and drank it.

As the potion took effect, Raza's muscles swelled slightly. Feeling a surge of power, he grabbed his scimitar, rushed to the side of the Mark I, and slashed down, cutting the gas pipe on its right side.

"So fast?" Tony was surprised and hurriedly aimed the remaining flamethrower at Raza. But Raza nimbly moved behind him to the left, cutting off the other flamethrower.

At this point, Tony had no combat training and clumsily tried to slam into Raza. Raza easily dodged. Then he ducked down, stabbed his scimitar into a gap in Tony's left leg joint, and with a snap, Tony dropped to one knee.

The Mark I was too rudimentary; the joints weren't well protected, making it easy for Raza to exploit.

Seeing Raza's success, the terrorists cheered. Raza pressed the advantage, picking up another blade and attacking the gaps in Tony's armor. Tony tried to fight back, but the cumbersome suit couldn't match Raza's agility. He was struck several times, though the underlayer protected him from serious injury.

"Damn it, the materials are too poor." Realizing the dire situation, Tony decided to detonate the arsenal and escape. The Mark I could fly. At that moment, a helicopter suddenly appeared over the mountain. Then, a figure leaped from the sky, landing on one knee with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A perfect superhero landing—but it really hurts the knees.

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