Chapter 6

"Whether you believe it or not, I can assure you that Tony Stark is still alive, although his physical condition may not be very good. He is indeed still alive. If you can just be patient for a while, about ten days or so, Tony Stark will be back by your side." Without caring about Pepper's thoughts, Zhou Chao stood up, walked towards the nearby trash can, and said in a calm voice.

"How do you know he's still alive?" Pepper asked instinctively.

"Because I know." Zhou Chao, who had thrown the oil paper ball into the trash can, turned to look at Pepper and smiled.

"Do you know where he's being held?" Pepper quickened her pace to catch up with Zhou Chao and continued to ask.

"In a cave, but I don't know exactly where." Zhou Chao sighed.

"Can't your 'Enlightenment' help?" Pepper said, her voice full of disappointment.

"'Enlightenment' is not omnipotent." Zhou Chao smiled bitterly.

What he called 'Enlightenment' was just a facade he had put up to reveal the plot and paint himself in a good light, to make his actions smoother. It wasn't that he, Zhou Chao, really had the ability to predict the future. Therefore, he also didn't know the exact location of the secret cave where the Ten Rings had imprisoned Tony, as it wasn't specifically mentioned in the movie. However, he couldn't tell Pepper this, so he continued to weave lies.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll leave first. I have something to do later." Zhou Chao then asked.

This wasn't an excuse. To avoid being homeless again after running out of money, Zhou Chao had found a temporary job as a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant in New York City the day after leaving Tony Stark's villa, earning $8 per hour to support himself.

"No, nothing else." Pepper shook her head.

"Then I'll go." Zhou Chao nodded slightly and said softly. But then he suddenly paused, turned around, and looked at Pepper seriously. "By the way, remember not to tell anyone about me, anyone at all."

"Okay." Pepper frowned but agreed.

Zhou Chao then left the public square without further delay, quickly disappearing from Pepper's sight.

"Who was that guy?" Harold Hogan, a white man in a black suit with a slightly plump figure, asked Pepper, who was somewhat lost in thought.

"A strange guy." Pepper, coming back to her senses, shook her head and said, then walked back to the car and got in, instructing, "Let's go back."

"Bang!"

The car door closed, and the car slowly drove out of the public square, disappearing down the street.

...

The subsequent events unfolded as usual. Because Zhou Chao didn't know the location of the terrorist base, Tony continued to be held captive and, as in the original story, used the opportunity to build the 'Jericho' missile to create the first miniaturized arc reactor with the help of another captive, Yinsen, using palladium from the missile to maintain his life. Under Yinsen's assistance, Tony also constructed the first Iron Man suit from the missile's shell.

However, the terrorists, who had been waiting for the 'Jericho' missile, finally lost patience and decided to punish Tony and Yinsen. Of course, they wouldn't kill them immediately because they hadn't yet obtained what they wanted, so Tony was still relatively safe.

But at this moment, the event that would significantly change Tony Stark's worldview occurred. Yinsen suddenly left Tony, who was working on the final adjustments of the Iron Man suit, and took the terrorists' weapons, using himself as a decoy to buy Tony time. As expected, Yinsen, a doctor and a part-time electronics scientist who had never been a warrior, was quickly killed by the experienced terrorists.

Thanks to Yinsen's sacrifice, Tony successfully activated the initial version of the Iron Man suit and, with a burst of power, killed many of the terrorists in the cave, escaped, and was eventually found and rescued by U.S. troops searching the desert.

"Recently, Tony Stark, the chairman of Stark Industries International and a famous genius scientist, was safely escorted back to New York by the U.S. military and subsequently held an emergency press conference, announcing the formal closure of all military-related operations of Stark Industries International..."

In the alley behind the kitchen, a formal news broadcast from an old radio drifted into the kitchen and reached Zhou Chao, who was washing dishes.

"Phew, he's finally back." Zhou Chao, who was washing dishes, paused, took a deep breath, and then pulled his hands out of the basin, took off his rubber gloves, and threw them into the basin. He stood up from the small stool, turned into the kitchen, and found the boss who was serving customers.

"Boss, I want to quit. Please settle my wages," Zhou Chao said.

"Everything was fine, why are you quitting suddenly?" the boss asked in surprise.

"Too tiring." Zhou Chao answered casually.

The boss tried to persuade him for a while, but seeing that Zhou Chao was determined to quit, he didn't say anything more. He roughly calculated the hours Zhou Chao had worked and paid him.

Not bad, no deductions.

It's important to note that Zhou Chao was working illegally, with no legal protection, so his wages were usually deducted to some extent. The amount deducted depended on the boss's greed. If he encountered a particularly greedy boss, he might not get paid at all, but Zhou Chao was lucky to have a decent boss.

After receiving his wages, Zhou Chao left the restaurant, hailed a passing taxi, and headed to Tony Stark's villa at 110010 Malibu.

About forty minutes later, Zhou Chao was once again at Tony Stark's front door, pressing the doorbell.

"Hello." Jarvis greeted as usual.

"It's me, Zhou Chao. I want to see Mr. Tony Stark." Zhou Chao said.

The moment he finished speaking, there was a "ding" sound, and the door opened automatically. Zhou Chao didn't hesitate and walked into the villa.

A short while later, Zhou Chao appeared in the villa's grand living room, where he saw Tony Stark, one arm in a sling and with several bruises on his face.

"Mr. Zhou, it's great to see you." Tony opened his only good arm and hugged Zhou Chao.

"Um, nice to see you too." Zhou Chao, feeling uncomfortable, looked at the overly enthusiastic Tony.

"Relax, my friend." Tony, noticing Zhou Chao's discomfort, let go and stepped back, smiling. "Would you like something to drink? Tea? Or alcohol?"

"Water." Zhou Chao smiled awkwardly.

"Um... okay, water." Tony, also taken aback by Zhou Chao's request, shrugged and walked to the bar, picked up a glass, and poured a glass of cold water for Zhou Chao, then handed it to him.

"Thanks." Zhou Chao took the glass, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.

Then, an awkward silence fell between them. Zhou Chao, feeling uncomfortable, cleared his throat and broke the silence. "How does it feel?"

As he spoke, Zhou Chao looked at Tony's chest, and Tony immediately understood what he meant.

"Feels pretty good. You foresaw this too?" Tony blinked and nodded, then asked.

"I saw some of it, but it's not a good picture." Zhou Chao thought for a moment and said.

"Mind telling me more? Of course, if there's a problem, just forget it." Tony asked with some anticipation. Surprisingly, he had learned to be considerate and didn't mock Zhou Chao as he had the first time they met.

"..., in the future, when you overuse it, the heavy water solution inside will leak and spread through your circulatory system, causing severe palladium poisoning." Zhou Chao paused for a moment, pointed to Tony's chest, and said softly.