It's just that it still needs a little more time; now is not the time.
He shook his head gently, his tone flat but carrying an unquestionable power: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go. There shouldn't be anything here worth you lingering for, right?"
Tony immediately walked to his side, his movements a bit hurried, nearly stumbling.
Mavuika reached out to steady him. When his fingers touched his arm, he could feel the abnormally high heat beneath his skin; the fever caused by the infection hadn't subsided yet.
"Are you kidding me!" Tony said, leaning on his arm to steady himself.
"I don't want to stay here for even one more second. This place isn't even as good as the bathroom in my Manhattan apartment. At least my bathroom has a massage bathtub and a champagne fridge..."
Ethan, who had been unable to figure out the situation, finally found an opportunity to speak. He stood by the workbench, his eyes moving back and forth between Mavuika and Tony, his face full of confusion and shock. He tugged on Tony's sleeve and asked urgently in a lowered voice.
"Tony, who is this? How did he get in? Are you going out? The outside is full of Ten Rings Gang members; it's too dangerous! I just heard explosions; they might have already..."
"Ethan." Tony interrupted him, pulling Mavuika to turn towards this "cellmate" of three days.
"I forgot to introduce you. This is Mavuika, my friend, the one I told you about before. Mavuika, this is Ethan, my 'cellmate.' If it weren't for him these past three days, I might already be dead."
Ethan remembered what Tony had said before, that a friend would come to save him.
Ethan had thought it was just a delusion; he hadn't expected that there really was such a person, and that he had actually come?
Ethan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Tony interrupted him.
"Alright Ethan, don't worry. Since this individual has already appeared here, it means there shouldn't be anyone left outside."
"No one left?" Ethan didn't understand: "What do you mean? There are at least twenty people outside, fully armed. How is it possible..."
How could this delicate-looking individual have taken care of so many armed Ten Rings Gang members? It was simply impossible!
But if that wasn't the case, then there was no way to explain how he got in. Moreover, even after such a huge commotion, he hadn't seen a single member of the Ten Rings Gang appear.
Could it be... A terrifying conjecture formed in his mind.
"They..." Ethan's voice trembled: "Those Terrorists..."
"Won't come to bother us again." Mavuika said simply, his tone as if he were saying "the weather is nice."
Tony didn't explain much, just smiled and shook his head, grabbed Ethan's hand, and walked towards the dungeon exit.
"Don't ask so much. You'll know once you get out. Let's go, let's leave this hellhole quickly. Right now, I just want to take a good shower, have a good meal, and get some sleep."
Ethan wanted to say something more, but was forcibly pulled by Tony, stepping out of the dungeon step by step.
His heart was filled with doubt and trepidation, but also a glimmer of anticipation. He didn't know what was waiting for them outside, didn't know if what Tony said was true, didn't know what kind of powerful strength this mysterious individual possessed, but he could feel that the hope of them escaping this place was right before his eyes.
Ethan took a deep breath and followed along voluntarily.
The three of them walked out of the dungeon and stepped into the valley under the moonlight.
The first thing Ethan saw was the original location of the camp, and now there was nothing there.
No tents, no vehicles, no people.
Only a mirror-smooth, vitrified ground, reflecting an eerie, unnatural luster under the moonlight.
The air still held the scorched smell after the high temperature caused everything to Vaporize, but there wasn't even a trace of blood or a single fragment.
More than twenty fully armed people, just like that... disappeared.
Ethan felt his legs go weak; he steadied himself against the rock wall and took deep breaths.
Tony also saw that vitrified ground. He was silent for a few seconds, then turned to look at Mavuika.
"You know, I used to always say you were 'too violent,' but that was a joke." His voice was very soft.
"But now I'm a bit serious. This is a bit... exaggerated, Mavuika."
Mavuika glanced at him, his tone relaxed: "Is it? It's fine, isn't it?"
"..." Tony looked at Mavuika, a bit speechless: "Everyone says I'm too flashy and don't know how to keep a low profile. Now it seems that compared to you, I'm still quite lacking."
He paused, then looked at Ethan: "Are you okay, Ethan?"
Ethan shook his head, then nodded, and finally took a deep breath: "I... I'm fine, just... need some time."
Mavuika looked up at the night sky: "I'll take you out of here. Hold on to me."
He extended his hands. Tony immediately grabbed his right arm, and Ethan hesitated for a moment before grabbing his left arm.
The next second, golden-red Fire rose from beneath Mavuika's feet, gently enveloping the three of them.
In the flames, Mavuika said softly: "Get ready, the speed might be a little fast."
Then, they ascended.
A pure ascent that violated all physical laws, as if being held up by an invisible giant hand, flying towards the starry sky.
Ethan closed his eyes tightly, his fingers turning white from the force.
Tony, however, kept his eyes open, watching the valley below get smaller and smaller, watching that vitrified ground gradually turn into a faint speck of light under the moonlight.
He remembered many things: the shock of learning Mavuika's identity for the first time sixteen years ago, the strange friendship they had shared over the years, and the time he had asked him half-jokingly: "If you are so powerful, why stay on Earth and pretend to be an ordinary person?"
Mavuika had answered at the time: "Because it's interesting, Tony. A long life needs some novelty."
He looked at Mavuika's profile; he was focused on controlling their flight, his long golden-red hair fluttering in the night wind, his amber eyes reflecting the desert below and the stars above.
At this moment, Tony Stark, the man who had always believed only in science and logic, the genius who thought all supernatural phenomena could be explained by science, understood for the first time the true meaning of the word "deity."
It wasn't worship, it wasn't fear, but... gratitude.
"Thank you, Mavuika." He said softly.
Mavuika turned his head and gave him a faint smile.
"You're welcome, Tony. After all, you still have to help me fix my motorcycle for many years to come."
As soon as these words were out, the sentiment Tony had painstakingly cultivated was completely broken. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly: "Do you really have to bring this up at a time like this?"
"What's wrong? Can't I? This is something you promised me yourself. You wouldn't want to go back on your word, would you?"
Tony said loudly and irritably: "Rest assured, I, Tony Stark, never go back on my word!"