Chapter 7 – Back to New York
After pulling Tony—who still looked dazed—free from the stone wall, Blake finally explained things to the two of them.
"My name is Blake. I came here to save you."
Dr. Yinsen nodded, then turned to Tony and said, "When I ran out earlier with the weapon… the guards outside were all already killed by him."
As he spoke, Dr. Yinsen stole a quiet glance at Blake. His voice naturally dropped lower.
Even so, Tony showed no sign of surprise at all.
Casual and brimming with energy, he slung an arm around Blake's shoulders and said, "Thanks, kid. But I've got to admit… your strength is absolutely ridiculous. The armor we painstakingly built together was destroyed by a single punch from you."
Before Blake could respond, Tony immediately added, "Once we're back in New York, drinks are on me!"
Seeing the familiar grin of a man who clearly felt he'd found a kindred spirit, Blake simply raised a hand and replied,
"I appreciate it. But we should get out of here first. I'm seriously sick of the sand in Afghanistan…"
Hearing that, Tony and Dr. Yinsen exchanged glances, then nodded enthusiastically.
They had just escaped death itself. How could they possibly stay calm?
As the three of them walked out from the deepest part of the cave, Blake briefly turned his head and glanced at the Iron Man armor embedded in the rock wall.
Tony, who couldn't wait to go home, didn't spare even a single look at the shattered armor.
Blake didn't bother reminding him either.
After all, everyone in this place had already been wiped out by him. Even if some antagonist somehow managed to recover a sample of the armor later and create an imitation…
What did Blake care?
In the end, it would still be crushed with a single punch.
Though, admittedly, Tony Stark might run into a bit of trouble because of it.
— — —
Once they left the cave and confirmed that the valley was completely deserted, there was no longer any need to stay cautious.
Blake led the two of them to a jeep that was still usable. After gathering enough water and food, they continued on their way.
Tony took the driver's seat and began steering the vehicle, casually driving the three of them out of the valley.
— — —
"Tony, Dr. Yinsen, I'll take you somewhere safe," Blake said from the back seat, his tone honest and relaxed. "But I also want you to keep my existence a secret. You've probably realized by now that I wield power far beyond normal humans."
"I don't really like being the center of attention. The reason I came to Afghanistan to save you… is because I want to be friends with both of you."
"The knowledge and expertise you possess could help me create a lot of interesting things…"
"And by the way, after seeing how you survived inside that cave, I think you both have amazing personalities. They almost… rival my own. I'm confident we can become good friends."
"Oh my God! Blake, as long as you don't ask me to build a nuclear weapon, I'm in," Tony replied, half-joking, half-serious.
Dr. Yinsen, sitting beside him, nodded in agreement.
"Haha… Relax! Definitely not weapons. I'll explain the details once we're back in New York. But… when that time comes, my identity might surprise you, Tony," Blake said with a teasing smile.
"Oh yeah? Fine. I'll be looking forward to it," Tony replied, sounding skeptical but still laid-back.
As the owner of Stark Industries—a massive industrial giant in a capitalist nation like the United States—Tony certainly had the right to that attitude.
— — —
After driving through the desert all day, just as the jeep's fuel was nearly depleted, Blake used his Infinity Perception System to spot a Black Hawk helicopter that was about to pass through the air above them.
It was an active unit belonging to the U.S. military. Since Tony's disappearance, the number of helicopters deployed across Afghanistan had increased to over two hundred, all solely to search for him.
Blake informed Tony and Yinsen, then vanished right before their eyes.
Watching Blake disappear in front of him, Tony was utterly stunned.
Was that some kind of magic?
But Blake didn't look like a magician…
Could it be that he vanished simply because he was moving so fast that the human eye couldn't track him?
In theory, the human visual reaction limit sits at around one-sixtieth of a second. And with the sandstorm raging in this area, the effective line of sight was only about twenty meters.
That meant if Blake disappeared purely due to speed, he would have to be moving at a minimum of 1,200 meters per second…
Three and a half times the speed of sound?
Could that still be considered human?
— — —
While Tony was lost in thought, Dr. Yinsen reached into the back seat and took out several red smoke flares.
"Hey, Tony… help me light these. The weather isn't great today. If we don't set off more flares, the helicopter might not be able to see us through the sandstorm."
"Oh, right," Tony replied, taking the flares from Yinsen.
Then he asked curiously, "Yinsen, how do you think… Blake knew a helicopter would be flying over us?"
Hearing that, Dr. Yinsen—who always valued rational thinking—suddenly recalled how Blake had sent Tony flying with a single punch while he was wearing the armor.
With a serious expression, he answered,
"Tony, have you ever seen a human who could release dozens of tons of force with one punch? And I believe… that still wasn't his full strength."
"Maybe he's an alien, a robot, a genetically engineered human, or… a mutant. But one thing's for sure—he's not an ordinary human. With our current level of science, how could we possibly explain someone like that?"
Tony merely shrugged and replied casually, "I don't care what he is. All I know is… I like guys like Blake."
— — —
From afar, Blake watched as the Black Hawk helicopter picked up Tony and Yinsen, then continued on its journey toward the airport in Iran, where it had originated.
The following afternoon, Blake arrived back in New York City aboard a civilian flight.
Meanwhile, Tony and Yinsen—who had returned to New York earlier that morning via military aircraft—kept their promise to Blake. They told no one about his existence or involvement.
To the public, Tony only explained that he had managed to escape with Dr. Yinsen's help, offering no further details.
And just like in the original story, Tony held a press conference that afternoon. Moved by the realization that the weapons developed by Stark Industries had caused suffering among civilians, he officially announced:
The indefinite shutdown of all military weapons development projects at Stark Industries.
As a result, Stark Industries' stock price plummeted instantly.
— — —
At the very same time, a certain someone who had just exited New York Airport glanced at a notification from a financial news app on his phone…
And smiled faintly, the corner of his lips lifting ever so slightly.
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