"Ever since I started building this iron armor, I've been thinking about one question. If it were me, what Materials would I use to make the best work, and then I thought of your nanometal."
"High strength, high resistance, and the ability to freely compress in volume. It's definitely the best shell Materials. I can think of this point, so there's no reason you, the original Master, wouldn't think of this point. You're not an honest pal. I thought about everyone who could possibly be involved. And only your current identity is the most likely!"
Tony pulled off his jacket and put it over his head. In this scorching desert, he could only use this method to keep himself somewhat cool, even if that coolness wasn't very comfortable.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you? But how did you guess that it was me who saved you just now?" Zhou Yi smiled. He wasn't surprised that Tony could guess the identity of the Dawn Knight. Before, he just hadn't thought in that direction, but once he started to suspect, he would naturally find the true answer. So he was curious as to why Tony thought he was the one who made the move just now.
With just the ability to hover, it wouldn't be easy to find the source by mere conjecture. There were too many people in this World with that ability; it was impossible to pinpoint one person based solely on that power.
"pal, are you crazy? I disappeared in Rhodey's territory. As a friend, wouldn't Rhodey notify you? And wouldn't you come to save me? What did you think I set all that Fire for? It was to give you idiots a location!"
Seeing the naked contempt in Tony's eyes, Zhou Yi laughed. This was the Tony Stark he was familiar with. However, he wouldn't let Tony take advantage of him easily, so he immediately retorted.
"Sorry, Tony. You guessed one thing wrong?"
"What?"
"Pepper was the one who told me about you. You know, she cried really hard." Zhou Yi shrugged, which made Tony's heart leap.
The playboy now looked like a little boy in his first love. He awkwardly scratched his face, his expression full of words he wanted to say but couldn't. But in the end, he still asked.
"Is she okay?"
"You shouldn't ask me that question!" Zhou Yi emphasized. He wasn't a women's confidant, getting involved in every situation. Many people knew Tony's feelings for Pepper, and if he were to dote on Pepper at this moment, he would probably be despised by many.
"Come on, you and Pepper are friends, aren't you?"
"Only friends. And you know, I've been looking for you in this desert all this time. How would I have time to care about Pepper? Besides, for Pepper, finding you is the most important thing, isn't it?"
The two men began a fierce verbal sparring match over a woman, so much so that they forgot about the presence of another person beside them.
Originally, with Yin Sen's personality, he wouldn't have cared much about being ignored. But the current situation was that his body couldn't afford for him to be neglected any longer. So he had to step in to interrupt the two of them in their loving scene.
"Gentlemen, as much as I hate to interrupt you. But I need medical attention now, and it must be soon."
Seeing Yin Sen say such words with a pale face, Tony immediately asked worriedly.
"You're hurt? Yin Sen!"
"Internal bleeding, but it's not very serious." Before Yin Sen could speak, Zhou Yi spoke first. This surprised Yin Sen; he nodded with a strange expression, seemingly wondering why the Dawn Knight knew about his injuries.
"Don't worry, it's not a problem." Zhou Yi naturally wouldn't give him any explanation. He just stretched out his hand and activated the power of Sun's Grace. The golden light instantly made Yin Sen's body recover, and incidentally, also adjusted Tony's physical condition.
However, Zhou Yi was very restrained. He only improved their bodies. He didn't give them the power of eternal youth. This was a big secret, and he wouldn't expose it unless absolutely necessary.
"What happened to me?" As the light faded, Yin Sen was the first to react.
As a Doctor, his understanding of the body was incomparable to Tony's. He knew very well what his body was like now, and to verify the feeling in his body, he pressed hard on his ribs.
The solid touch clearly told him that everything had returned to its most perfect state. And this was the most incredible thing to him.
"My God, this is truly seeing a ghost. I mean, this is simply a miracle. I'm actually fine, not a single problem. How is this possible?"
Yin Sen spoke incoherently, and his reverence for the Dawn Knight grew even stronger. In his cognition, the only one with this ability was Jesus. Although the Dawn Knight was not Jesus, how much did he differ from Jesus Christ?
Unlike Yin Sen's reverence, Tony was merely curious. As his closest friend, it was impossible for him to have any feelings for Zhou Yi beyond friendship, and that wasn't his style. So he just asked very strangely.
"How do you have this ability? Are you a Mutant?"
"Is that important?" Zhou Yi retorted. And this retort immediately earned him a White eye from Tony.
"Come on, I just want to know the answer. Don't be so sensitive, okay? What does it have to do with me whether you're a Mutant or not? I'm not a Politician who rose to power by ostracizing Mutants!"
This answer warmed Zhou Yi's heart. He knew that when it came to racial differences, Tony had already made his choice. Whether he was a Mutant or not, what Tony cared more about was Zhou Yi's identity as a friend. And that was enough for Zhou Yi.
"Alright, I should confess. I'm not a Mutant, I'm a naturally mutated Superpower user. However, my sister is!" This was the first time he had confessed his family situation to Tony. Before this, Tony had never known the specific identity of Zhou Yi's sister; he only knew that Zhou Yi had a sister, but he didn't know what she looked like or where she lived.
Hearing Zhou Yi's explanation, Tony once again scoffed disdainfully.
"Only a narrow-minded person like you would be so wary of me. Do you think I would care about a Mutant's identity? Damn it, I'm Tony Stark!"
"No, what I'm worried about is my sister's safety. And precisely because you are Tony Stark, the playboy I know who has harmed countless girls, that's why I'm preventing you from meeting Charisse!"
"Is your sister very beautiful?"
"Shut up, never ask that question, Tony!" Guarding against Tony was more important than guarding against a flood; that was Zhou Yi's true mentality.
The two were still chatting when the sound of a helicopter already came from the horizon. Zhou Yi glanced there and said to Tony.
"Rhodey's here, I should go too!"
"What, you don't want Rhodey to see you?" Tony asked with raised eyebrows. He was very unaccustomed to such secretive behavior.
"I just don't want to make things difficult for him. You should know, he's still a soldier after all. So it's best if my identity isn't exposed to him!"
Listening to Zhou Yi's explanation, Tony pouted.
"Whatever you say, that's your problem, not mine. Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut!"
Getting the answer he wanted, Zhou Yi smiled. He disappeared silently from the spot. Tony knew he was no longer there.
The distant plane gradually flew over and began to slowly descend in front of Tony.
Before the plane even landed, Rhodey had already jumped out of the cabin.
He hugged Tony tightly and said in a very emotional tone.
"It's good to see you, pal!"
"You too, Rhodey. But please do me a favor, get me back to the U.S. quickly. I really don't want to stay in this desert for another moment."
Before Tony even returned, the entire news industry had already begun to operate frantically. The Stark son, who had returned safely, immediately reclaimed his throne as a media Nova. Almost all media outlets turned their attention to him.
There was no other way; Tony's story was simply too legendary. He was abducted by Terrorists while under the protection of the U.S. Military, and then miraculously fought his way back from the Terrorists. This dramatic plot development alone caused a thrilling rise and fall in Stark Enterprises' stock.
However, Tony didn't care about the stock issue at all right now; those were things for the shareholders to worry about. His entire focus was on the little secretary standing by the car door, crying and laughing at him.
Having dismissed the Doctor arranged by the Military, Tony walked straight to Pepper's side. Looking at the slender woman, he thought for a moment, and finally managed to blurt out this sentence.
"You cried? Were you worried about me?"
"No, these are tears of joy." Pepper was too embarrassed to flirt with Tony in public, so she immediately wiped her tears and explained to him. "I'm just happy that since you're back, I don't have to worry about losing my job."
"Is that so? Then it's my turn to be sad." Tony blinked and began to mercilessly betray his friend. "That guy Zhou Yi told me that you cried very hard. I was very touched at first, thinking you were worried about me."
"Has Zhou Yi contacted you? Has he found the Dawn Knight? Did he save you?" Pepper asked repeatedly, and her eager questioning made Tony throw a little tantrum.
"I didn't know you were a fan too. Yes, I met the Dawn Knight, but he wasn't very useful. At most, he just helped a little; I escaped on my own. Yin Sen can testify to this!"
"Yin Sen?" Pepper asked curiously, and Tony then appropriately introduced Yin Sen, who had been acting as an extra behind him.
"This is Yin Sen, my cellmate. He helped me escape that hellhole, and it has nothing to do with that muscle-brained Dawn Knight."
"Tony!" Pepper gave him an exasperated White eye. But she didn't expect Tony to shamelessly get into the car and loudly instruct Hogan, his driver and bodyguard.
"Let's go, pal. All I want to do right now is eat a cheeseburger, and!"
"Tony, I think you should go to the hospital for a check-up." Seeing Tony's usual recklessness, Pepper said to him with a straight face.
"No! Something more important needs to be done." Tony's expression was actually more serious than hers at this moment. "Tell the media, I'm holding a press conference!"
"A press conference?"
"That's right, a press conference!"