The rainy season in the desert has come, and a heavy rain has blown away all the vegetation at the entrance of the cave. A faint mist composed of water vapor rises from below the entrance of the cave, giving the ordinary scenery outside the cave a somewhat ethereal mood.
But the people in the cave had no intention of watching. Stark was working next to the lathe. At this time, the small cave was filled with all kinds of industrial equipment.
Three locals walked in carrying a new machine. Stark frowned and looked at the dirt brought in on their rain boots with some dissatisfaction.
Schiller, who was originally following them, took two steps forward, put away his umbrella, and spoke a few words in the local language to the locals. The sturdy guys went outside to find a leaf and wipe their shoes.
They muttered some dissatisfaction, but still carried the equipment to the designated place. Stark carried a large box, handed it to the leader and said: "This is the missile's guidance path jamming equipment. You can use it in your hands."
If important supplies are buried near a base, there is a certain possibility that the missile will deflect."
Schiller translated what Stark said, and the locals spoke a few words quickly. Schiller looked at Stark and asked, "Does this thing have radiation?"
"Everything has radiation." Stark walked back. He seemed to be very used to explaining such simple problems. He said: "If they understand nuclear radiation, I can guarantee that it is not."
"They want to put this thing in the village because their wives and children are there and they don't want to be bombed, so they want to know if this thing will have any effect on pregnant women."
Stark paused for a moment, but he still said: "If you are really worried, I can make a protective shield for you. If you put this thing inside the protective shield, it will be fine."
After the locals took their belongings and left, Schiller asked: "Do the shields really work?"
"It's useless. It's just an ordinary iron shell. It may affect the signal." Stark adjusted the angle of the hammer and said, "Look, the psychologist is not useless. Now I know some psychology."
It’s common sense.”
Schiller looked past Stark and landed on the half-robot buried in a pile of parts and metal pieces in the shadows of the cave. It was Stark's achievement this week.
"Pepper must be looking for me like crazy." Stark stared at the thing in his hand and said, "She must be worried to death."
"And you are not ruthless by staying here. You just want to prove to her and everyone that you no longer need to be saved by others, but to save others."
Stark's hand holding the handle of the hammer was slightly harder. He looked up and saw Schiller standing in front of the rain and fog at the entrance of the cave. The outline was blurred and softened. He said with some sigh: "I never thought about this.
The person who understands me best in the world is a psychiatrist."
"But you should have thought of it earlier. You're the kind of person who thinks all psychiatrists can read minds, right?"
Stark laughed deeply, shook his head slightly and said, "And your performance confirmed my thoughts. I thought you wouldn't..."
"Not what? I won't see that you have suddenly changed as a person. I won't think that you give up the safety at your fingertips and choose to take risks. Or won't you understand that you are willing to give everything to save the world?"
When Stark was in a daze, Schiller had already walked to the opposite side of the experimental table. The bonfire was not lit. The cave was very dark. There was only a faint light at the entrance of the cave. Therefore, when facing the light, Schiller almost turned into a complete human being.
In the black silhouette, Stark couldn't see any of his expressions, but he could imagine it.
Stark cocked his head to the side and said, "A normal person would be all of the above, but luckily you're also a lunatic."
"I can completely understand how shocking what you have done is within normal social standards of judgment, but I understand even more that you actually don't like social standards of judgment."
"So you're just going to say something I'd like to hear?"
"So that you can sign the bill happily."
Stark smiled happily. He hammered the metal part on his hand, adjusted the position and said, "Listen, I will never send the bill to Afghanistan."
"Then this is a free clinic."
"Please, you just said I'm not the one to be saved." Stark complained: "Do you think you are doing community service?"
"What if I have the same reasons as you for staying here?"
Stark was stunned for a moment. He looked up at Schiller. After thinking carefully, he said cautiously: "I thought you didn't want to leave here because you didn't want to go back to the United States."
"I really don't want to go back to the United States."
Stark put down the hammer, rubbed his sore shoulders with his hands, sniffed and said, "You have a good relationship with the locals."
"Because I am a doctor, and people here need doctors very much."
"So you stayed here for the sake of the patients?"
Schiller turned around and leaned against the cave wall next to the experimental table. Stark could only see the undulating profile of his face and the sharp silhouette of his eyelashes like arrows on a bowstring under the full moon.
Schiller stood there in silence, and Stark was also silent, but after about dozens of seconds, he still said: "You want to help the Afghans get their land back and help them drive out the invaders, not because you really
You are very kind, just because you hate America."
"I don't hate any country."
"Okay, let me put it another way. Most of the people you hate have American citizenship."
"Besides, most of them will include you."
Schiller walked towards the entrance of the cave without looking back. Stark looked at his back silently. It wasn't until Schiller opened his umbrella and walked out of the cave that Stark shouted behind him: "You can't really do it."
Mind reading, or you'll know what I'm thinking!"
Stark opened his mouth again, but did not call Schiller's name. He exhaled, as if he was angry, and while knocking the parts in his hand, he said: "Psychologists don't often talk about 'communication is always beneficial'."
On the lips? This quack..."
Suddenly the grass at the entrance of the cave moved, and Stark raised his eyebrows in surprise, thinking that Schiller had changed his mind and was going to come back to quarrel with him.
But the person who appeared at the entrance of the cave turned out to be Eric. When he first entered the cave, he was also shocked by the situation in the cave. After all, the entire cave was now densely packed with various equipment. It looked like
A small factory.
"Tony, what are you doing here?" Eric asked, looking around: "What are these parts used for?"
"Eric, why are you back? It's very dangerous here." Stark walked out from behind the experimental table, looked at Eric and said, "You have to get out of here quickly, they will be back soon."
"Are they referring to the doctor?" Eric looked at Stark and said, "Did he convince you to stay?"
"Do you know Schiller?"
"I only heard his name from the locals." Eric stepped forward and pressed half of Stark's shoulders and said, "Tony, you may have been deceived by him. He is in the same group as the locals.
"
"I know." Stark nodded.
Eric's eyes widened and he repeated: "You know? Then you still stay with him?"
"He saved me."
"He did it for..."
"Whatever he did, he did save me, just like you."
Eric suddenly paused, feeling a little guilty. He was not sure whether Stark was alluding to something, so he changed the topic and said: "Tony, I'm serious, you have to leave with me this time."
Well, I just learned the news from my mercenary colleagues that the government forces are planning a new round of offensive operations against terrorist bases."
"This time is not a trivial incident involving a few missiles. I heard that the U.S. military is putting pressure on the government forces and asking them to start a full-scale operation immediately. The situation will be very dangerous by then."
Eric stared into Stark's eyes and said: "To put it simply, there may be a large-scale war here. Ordinary people without training will not survive at all. If you don't leave, you will definitely die."
Eric took another step forward and then said: "The government forces have secretly blocked several supply routes to the outside world. The trucks will not be able to get out in about three days. My mercenary group is organizing
The last evacuation."
"As long as I take you out from there, we can catch the last flight. At that time, whether we fly back to Wakanda nearby or directly take the Stark Group's special plane back to the United States."
Stark frowned deeply. He looked at Eric and asked, "Why did the U.S. military suddenly put pressure on the government forces?"
Eric tilted his head, then turned back to look at Stark and said, "You know, because of your disappearance."
He pursed his lips and said in a somewhat sad tone: "Now that your death has been basically confirmed in the United States, the situation in the Stark Group is very chaotic and you need to go back and take charge of the overall situation."
"More importantly, if the news of your survival spreads back to the country, then this battle may not need to be fought, and many people will survive as a result."
Stark frowned and pursed his lips, showing a slightly hesitant look. Eric was keenly aware of this emotion, and he went further: "But you know there are people who don't want you to go back. Those people are trying to harm you." The main culprit here."
"What's more, they may just want to use your death to trigger a large-scale war."
"But what's in it for them? Is Afghanistan important to them?" Stark asked.
Eric touched the weapon on his waist like an instinct, looked at Stark and lowered his voice and said: "The whole world is important to them, and their purpose is to make the world chaotic."
Stark narrowed his eyes and said, "Isn't it that people from the Stark Group want to kill me and take control of the company?"
"It's not that simple, Tony." Eric looked back at the cave entrance with a solemn expression. After confirming that there was no movement, he said, "Have you heard of Hydra?"
Stark's eyes widened.
"You may think they are a thing of the past, but when I sneaked into the village yesterday, I heard the man called Dr. Schiller saying 'Long live Hydra' on the other end of the phone outside the house."
"Schiller is Hydra?!"
"boom!"
Violent tremors caused the entire mountain to shake, and the familiar sound of bombers flying over at low altitudes came from outside the cave. Eric rushed to the entrance of the cave, looked up, gritted his teeth and cursed, and said: "The bombing is ahead of schedule, let's go quickly! Tony !”
Stark also came to the cave, but he grabbed Eric and said: "The cave is a natural bunker to avoid bombing. If you go out at this time, you are courting death."
Suddenly, the walkie-talkie on Eric's waist rang. After he pressed the button, an anxious shout came from the other side: "Everyone, return to the team! Everyone, return to the team! They are launching a surprise attack. These pieces of shit are going back on their word. They want to silence them. Hurry... …Well!"
Eric's expression changed, and he immediately realized what happened. The mercenary organization he belonged to was attacked.
Eric turned his head and glanced at Tony again, his hand already on the stun gun, but when he thought that it would be difficult to win with a big living person back to support, he had to stamp his feet, jumped out of the hole, and faced shouted inside.
"Tony, wait until I come back! I will definitely rescue you!"
