"Ever since I started building this suit of armor, I've been thinking about one question. If it were me, what material would I use to create the best possible work? And then I thought of your nanometal."
"High strength, high resistance, and freely compressible volume. It's the perfect outer shell material. If even I could think of this, there's no way you—the original owner—wouldn't have thought of it. You're not exactly an honest guy. I went through everyone it could possibly be, and only your current identity had the highest probability!"
Tony pulled off his coat and draped it over his head. In the blazing desert sun, this was the only way he could maintain even a little coolness—though it wasn't very effective.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Zhou Yi smiled, not at all surprised that Tony had figured out the identity of the Dawn Knight. Before, Tony simply hadn't thought in that direction, but once suspicion arose, the answer naturally followed. What Zhou Yi was curious about, however, was why Tony believed it had been him who saved him just now.
Floating in the air alone wasn't enough to identify someone. There were far too many people in this world with that ability—it was impossible to pinpoint one individual based solely on that.
"Buddy, is there something wrong with your brain? I disappeared in Rhodey's territory. As a friend, would he not inform you? And would you not come to save me? What do you think I lit that huge fire for? It was to give you idiots a signal!"
Seeing the blatant disdain in Tony's eyes, Zhou Yi laughed. This was the Tony Stark he knew. But he wasn't about to let Tony have the upper hand so easily, and immediately countered.
"Sorry, Tony. You got one thing wrong."
"What?"
"It was Pepper who told me about you. And you should know—she cried pretty badly."
Zhou Yi shrugged, but his words made Tony's heart tighten instantly.
The playboy now looked like a boy experiencing his first love. He awkwardly scratched his face, hesitating, but eventually asked:
"Is she… doing okay?"
"That's not something you should be asking me," Zhou Yi emphasized. He wasn't some emotional consultant who could get involved in everything. Everyone knew Tony's feelings for Pepper—if Zhou Yi started fussing over her, it would only invite ridicule.
"Come on, you and Pepper are friends too, aren't you?"
"Friends, yes—and only that. Besides, I've been searching this desert for you the whole time. When would I have had the time to worry about Pepper? And for her, finding you is what matters most, isn't it?"
The two men began a heated verbal exchange over a woman, completely forgetting there was a third person present.
Under normal circumstances, Yinsen wouldn't have minded being ignored. But his current condition didn't allow it. Internal bleeding could be fatal—he was a doctor and understood this clearly. So he had no choice but to interrupt their "affectionate" conversation.
"Gentlemen, I hate to interrupt, but I need treatment—and urgently."
Seeing Yinsen's pale face, Tony immediately grew concerned.
"You're injured? Yinsen!"
"Internal bleeding, but not severe," Zhou Yi answered before Yinsen could speak. This surprised Yinsen, who nodded strangely, wondering how the Dawn Knight knew his condition.
"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
Zhou Yi didn't explain. He simply raised his hand and activated the power of the Sun's Blessing. Golden light instantly enveloped Yinsen, restoring his condition, and even adjusted Tony's physical state along the way.
However, Zhou Yi was restrained. He only healed them—he did not grant them the power of eternal youth. That was a great secret, one he would not reveal unless absolutely necessary.
"What… what just happened?" As the light faded, Yinsen was the first to react. As a doctor, his understanding of the body far exceeded Tony's. He pressed firmly against his ribs to confirm what he felt.
The solid sensation told him everything had returned to perfect condition.
And that was what shocked him the most.
"My God… this is unbelievable. This is a miracle. I'm completely healed—there's nothing wrong at all. How is this possible?"
Yinsen spoke incoherently, his awe toward the Dawn Knight growing deeper. In his understanding, only Jesus possessed such power. Though the Dawn Knight wasn't Jesus, how much difference was there, really?
Unlike Yinsen's reverence, Tony was simply curious.
As Zhou Yi's closest friend, he wouldn't develop anything beyond friendship—nor was that his style. So he asked plainly:
"How do you have this kind of ability? Are you a mutant?"
"Does that matter?" Zhou Yi countered.
That response immediately earned him a glare.
"Come on, I'm just asking. Don't be so sensitive, okay? Whether you're a mutant or not has nothing to do with me. I'm not some politician who rises by discriminating against mutants!"
That answer warmed Zhou Yi's heart. He knew that when it came to differences like this, Tony had already made his choice. Whether he was a mutant or not didn't matter—what mattered was that he was his friend.
And that was enough.
"Alright, I'll come clean. I'm not a mutant. I'm a naturally evolved superpowered human. But… my younger sister is."
This was the first time Zhou Yi had revealed his family situation to Tony. Before this, Tony only knew he had a sister—nothing about her appearance or life.
Hearing this, Tony snorted in disdain.
"Only someone as paranoid as you would guard against me like this. Do you really think I care about whether someone's a mutant? For God's sake—I'm Tony Stark!"
"No, I'm worried about my sister's safety. And precisely because you're Tony Stark—the playboy who's ruined countless girls—I have to keep you away from Sharis!"
"Is your sister beautiful?"
"Shut up. Never ask that question, Tony!"
The two continued bickering as the sound of a helicopter approached from the horizon. Zhou Yi glanced over and said:
"Rhodey's here. I should go."
"What, you don't want him to see what you look like?" Tony raised an eyebrow, clearly uncomfortable with the secrecy.
"I just don't want to make things difficult for him. You know—he's still a soldier. It's better if this identity of mine isn't exposed to him."
Hearing this, Tony shrugged.
"Suit yourself. That's your problem, not mine. Don't worry—I'll keep my mouth shut."
Satisfied, Zhou Yi smiled and vanished silently.
Tony knew he was gone.
In the distance, the helicopter drew closer and slowly landed before him. Before it even touched down, Rhodey jumped out and pulled Tony into a tight embrace.
"Good to see you, buddy."
"Same here, Rhodey. But do me a favor—get me back to the U.S. as soon as possible. I don't want to spend another second in this desert."
Even before Tony returned, the media had already gone into a frenzy.
The safe return of the Stark heir instantly restored him to his status as a media superstar. Nearly every outlet focused its attention on him.
It was unavoidable—his story was simply too legendary. Kidnapped by terrorists under U.S. military protection, then miraculously escaping from their hands—the twists and turns alone had sent Stark Industries' stock into a wild rollercoaster.
But Tony didn't care about the stock at all. That was for the shareholders to worry about.
His attention was entirely on the woman standing by the car door, smiling through tears—his assistant.
After dismissing the military doctor, Tony walked straight up to Pepper. Looking at her thinner figure, he hesitated, then finally said:
"You cried? Were you worried about me?"
"No, these are tears of excitement." Pepper quickly wiped her eyes, unwilling to flirt in public. "I'm just happy you're back. Now I don't have to worry about losing my job."
"Really? Then I'm the one who should be sad." Tony blinked and shamelessly sold out his friend. "Zhou Yi told me you cried pretty badly. I was touched—I thought you were worried about me."
"Zhou Yi contacted you? Did he find the Dawn Knight? Was it him who saved you?"
Pepper's rapid questions triggered Tony's petty jealousy.
"I didn't know you were a fan. Yes, I met the Dawn Knight, but he wasn't that useful. Just helped a little. I escaped on my own—Yinsen can testify to that!"
"Yinsen?" Pepper asked curiously.
Tony introduced the man behind him.
"This is Yinsen, my fellow prisoner. He helped me escape that hellhole—unlike that muscle-headed Dawn Knight."
"Tony!" Pepper glared at him.
But Tony had already slipped into the car and called out to his driver and bodyguard, Happy:
"Let's go, guys. The thing I want most right now is a cheeseburger—and—"
"Tony, I think you should go to the hospital for a check-up," Pepper interrupted sternly.
"No! There's something more important." Tony's expression suddenly became even more serious than hers.
"Tell the media—I'm holding a press conference."
"A press conference?"
"That's right. A press conference."
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition
" Marvel: Plundering Multiverse Technology Starting (18+) "
" Superman in the Marvel Hero "
" Sentry of American Comics World "
" Marvel: My Wife Is Hela "
" Marvel: Married Black Widow at the Start "
" DC Universe: The Days of Being a Mage God "
" Marvel Universe: I Pick Up Attributes "
" Marvel: The Black Hand Covers the Sky "
" A Certain Marvel Legend's Life "
" Marvel: FBI Bureau First Mission Persuading Harley Quinn "
" Marvel: Godhood Cultivation System "
" Marvel: Sign In at the Start to Obtain Megatron "
" Marvel: Starting as the Prince of Asgard "
" Marvel: Omniscient and Omnipotent — Growing Stronger by Watching Battles "
" Marvel: Cultivating Swallowed Star Techniques, Shocking the Avengers "
" Master of Souls in the Marvel Universe "
" Marvel: The Supernova "
many more are available 120+
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)