Chapter 61

PS: Today is Qixi, wishing everyone a happy holiday! Kisses!

The cave where Tony was held had undergone significant changes. Unlike the previous darkness, due to the manufacturing of the Jericho missile, the cave now contained many more devices, and most importantly, the brightness inside had noticeably improved. Manufacturing missiles in a poorly lit cave, where it was pitch black, would be no different from working with your eyes closed. In such an environment, fiddling with missiles would be a death sentence!

The bright light benefited Tony and his two companions, but it also made the surveillance footage clearer for the armed militants outside. In the movie, because Tony and Yin Sen were constantly under surveillance, the construction of Mark I was severely hindered. The prolonged time and the militants' suspicion almost led to the failure of the plan. Bai Xiaofei naturally wouldn't let such a situation happen.

The time-traveling device in Bai Xiaofei's neural system core was a biological chip-type AI, which deserved the title of "AI" for a reason. Although its functions were limited by the conditions, it was still quite easy to deal with a rudimentary surveillance system.

From the perspective of the armed militants' surveillance, Bai Xiaofei, Tony, and Yin Sen appeared to be completely submissive, obediently and honestly manufacturing the Jericho missile according to their demands. In reality, Bai Xiaofei was vigorously swinging a hammer, working hard to create the "Sturdy Magic Pattern" for Mark I, Yin Sen was making molds, and Tony was incessantly talking to Bai Xiaofei.

"Xiao Bai, is this intricate and elaborate pattern the so-called magic pattern?" Tony said with a look of surprise: "What is the function of this magic pattern? What is its working principle? What is the power source? And... does it have a central control system? How will I be able to control them with ease in the future?"

"This is the Levitation Magic Pattern. Its function is as its name suggests, to make objects levitate. The working principle cannot be explained, just like you can't explain why triangles are more stable than other shapes. You just need to know its characteristics. Once Mark I is completed, I will draw a master control magic pattern system. Then you just need to..."

After a few days of interaction, Tony had completely overcome his psychological trauma and returned to his former carefree and unrestrained playboy and genius inventor personality. He was utterly amazed by Bai Xiaofei's magic pattern system and constantly asked questions, which were as annoying as a fly buzzing around Bai Xiaofei's ear.

Bai Xiaofei was quite helpless about this. If it were anyone else, he would have given them a good whack to make them fall asleep and go bother the Duke of Zhou. But for Tony, Bai Xiaofei could only endure it and patiently explain the types and usage of the magic pattern system. He thought to himself, "Tony, you can ask all you want now, but once we escape this damned cave and get back to your place, I will definitely return the favor tenfold, a hundredfold! Hehe... I hope you won't be driven crazy by me then!"

...

Without the interference of surveillance and with Bai Xiaofei's help and the magical power of the magic patterns, the construction of Mark I went very smoothly.

Compared to the Mark I in the movie, the tech-magic hybrid version of Mark I was even more powerful!

First, the appearance was much more impressive, not only larger and more imposing, but also not as low-tech as in the movie, which only had a flame thrower and two mini-missiles. The new version of Mark I, Bai Xiaofei added many offensive magic patterns, such as wind spikes, fireballs, sound waves, etc., making Mark I's combat power off the charts!

Moreover, considering the rudimentary nature of Mark I and the exposure of its power core, Bai Xiaofei used the power of magic patterns to give Mark I extremely agile speed, formidable strength, long-lasting flight capability, and most importantly, a sturdy and durable characteristic, significantly enhancing its combat ability, making it far superior to the version in the movie!

Due to Bai Xiaofei's intervention, Tony's talents were better utilized, and Mark I could have been even more advanced and equipped with more high-tech weapon systems. However, considering that Mark I might be recovered and reused by the big boss Obadiah Stane, Bai Xiaofei prevented Tony from further development.

Bai Xiaofei's reasoning was simple: "Tony, I think Mark I is already capable of helping us escape. Don't think about adding more weapon systems. Focus on completing the final information planning system and power transmission to avoid any unexpected incidents!"

Tony thought about it and agreed. The current Mark I's combat power already far exceeded his expectations. Using it to escape from here was entirely possible, and there was no need to add unnecessary high-tech weapons. These ideas and concepts could be calmly designed after escaping and returning home, without taking unnecessary risks in this damned cave!

Tony was a smart man and understood the principle of "delay leads to change." After hearing Bai Xiaofei's words, he immediately abandoned his original plan and focused on the final energy transfer, testing, and system planning for Mark I. He was also tired of this damned cave and the days of captivity, eager to use Mark I to break out and escape.

...

With Mark I nearing completion, the day of the breakout was approaching.

Yin Sen was very excited, bustling around Tony, placing all his hopes on him. Bai Xiaofei, on the other hand, was thinking about how to increase Tony's goodwill during the escape.

Among the four tasks issued by the system, the most difficult for Bai Xiaofei was not rescuing people or killing the boss, but how to obtain the Iron Man suit!

After this kidnapping incident, Tony's worldview had changed significantly.

The harm and suffering caused by war weapons to the weak had left a deep impression on Tony. After returning to the United States, Tony would undoubtedly announce the permanent closure of Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing, as in the movie. The destructive power of the Iron Man suit was even greater than those weapons, and Tony would strictly control it, never allowing it to become a weapon for others.

In "Iron Man 2," Tony explicitly stated in a congressional hearing that only he would use the Iron Man suit. Even his close friend Colonel Rhodes only received a suit under the assumption that Tony was certain to die from palladium poisoning.

Bai Xiaofei and Tony's relationship, though very close, having studied together and about to fight together, did not mean that Tony would completely trust Bai Xiaofei and give him an Iron Man suit. After all, Bai Xiaofei was Chinese, not American, and the principle of "non-kin, different heart" was something Tony could not ignore!

The only way to make Tony completely trust and willingly give him an Iron Man suit was for Tony to truly recognize Bai Xiaofei's character, just as he did with Colonel Rhodes. In the movie, even after developing a new element to eliminate palladium poisoning, Tony did not reclaim the suit he had given to Rhodes but continued to let him use it, upgrading and maintaining it, because he truly recognized Rhodes!

How could Bai Xiaofei make Tony truly recognize him?

Bai Xiaofei believed that in the minds of Americans, who value individual heroism, and even in the eyes of most people, nothing was more worthy of respect and recognition than self-sacrifice and saving lives.

Bai Xiaofei began to carefully plan.

Whether it would succeed or not depended on Bai Xiaofei's acting skills and whether Tony would give him the chance!

The system planning and power transmission for Mark I began.

"Come on!"

"Yin Sen, can't you make it faster?"

Tony was completely enclosed in Mark I, watching the progress bar of the system planning and power transmission on the laptop screen, anxiously waiting and constantly urging.

"Tony, I'm doing my best!"

Yin Sen was also anxious but helpless: "Mark I's power requirements are too large, and this laptop's configuration is too low. This is already the fastest speed with CPU overclocking!"

Bai Xiaofei's eyes gleamed, thinking, "This is the moment!"

Then, he activated his AI.

Sss...

In the armed militants' surveillance room, the screen, which had been showing Tony and his companions busily manufacturing the Jericho missile, suddenly changed to a live feed of Tony in the cave, wearing Mark I.

"Oh shit!"

"What are they doing? What is that armor?"

"Idiot! Who cares what it is, it's not the Jericho missile. Quickly report the situation to the boss and send people to check!"

"..."

The armed militants, upon discovering the abnormal situation in the cave, immediately took action.

Two unfortunate men came to open the door but were blown away by a rudimentary trigger bomb that Tony had prepared in advance, along with the door, and were clearly not going to survive.

In the surveillance room, everything was seen in real-time. The leader of the base, a bald man, was also present. Seeing his two subordinates killed and the armor on Tony, he immediately knew that they were trying to resist and escape. Enraged, he quickly sent people to intercept them with force.

The bald man thought for a moment. Most of his subordinates were amateurs, and even with heavy weapons, their combat power was limited. From the appearance of the armor on Tony, it seemed very powerful, and his subordinates might not be a match for Tony. He quickly picked up the radio and called his most elite troops to rush over, and he also grabbed a heavy weapon, a grenade launcher, and headed toward the cave.

...

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