The massive poseidon was like a steel island floating on the sea. Within its hull, a small, sleek deep-sea submersible was being slowly lowered into the deep blue water by a giant mechanical arm.
It was called the explorer.
A top-tier vehicle custom-made by Stark Industries for deep-sea scientific research, it could theoretically withstand the terrifying pressure of any trench on Earth.
The interior of the submarine was not spacious, filled with a cold metallic texture and holographic screens flickering with a faint blue light. Besides Tony and Lin Huai, there were two engineers and a pilot, their faces carrying the confidence and composure of professionals.
"Sir, the explorer has separated from the mothership. All systems self-check normal."
"Diving depth: three hundred meters. Life support systems are functioning well."
Tony Stark held a cup of coffee, leaning leisurely back in his seat. Through the special glass porthole, he watched the schools of fish disturbed by the lights with great interest.
"How does it feel, Mr. consultant? This is your first time experiencing Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, isn't it? Much more exciting than flying."
Lin Huai simply looked calmly at the deepening Darkness outside the porthole and did not answer.
His gaze seemingly unintentionally swept across the profile of the sonar engineer named Bob.
The night before departure, Lin Huai had performed one last divination for this voyage.
The revelation given by the gray mist was clear:
"When the depth reaches two thousand meters, a fatal gunshot will ring out amidst the silence of steel."
He hadn't told Tony.
Because the divination results also showed that the risk of speaking out beforehand was much greater than letting it happen on schedule.
He only needed to be a qualified announcer when the "script" played out.
"Diving depth: one thousand five hundred meters."
"Sir," Jarvis's voice echoed within the sub, "We are about to enter a region of strong geomagnetic anomalies. Navigation systems are expected to face severe interference."
"Minor issue." Tony waved his hand dismissively. "We have backup—"
Zzt—!
Before he could finish, a sharp sound of electrical static rang out abruptly!
All the holographic screens inside the sub flickered wildly in an instant, as countless lines of garbled code and static covered the clear nautical charts.
A piercing alarm blared throughout the entire submarine!
"Warning! Warning! Main navigation system connection lost!"
"Sonar detector signal distorted!"
"All electronic equipment has failed!"
Jarvis's voice was completely swallowed by a sea of noisy static.
the explorer had turned into a completely isolated iron coffin.
"Damn it! Maintain hover!" the pilot shouted in panic, frantically operating the most primitive mechanical equipment.
Amidst the chaos, no one noticed a cold flash of resolve in the eyes of Bob, the sonar engineer.
His hand quietly reached toward a modified hidden compartment beneath the console.
There, a suppressed SIG Sauer P226 was hidden.
His fingertips had already touched the cold grip of the gun.
Just then.
A voice, calm to the point of being cold, was not loud, yet it struck everyone's eardrums like an ice hammer.
"Mr. Stark."
It was Lin Huai.
He hadn't moved from the start; his gaze remained locked on Bob.
Everyone's movements froze.
"I would like to remind you of something."
Lin Huai looked at Tony, even carrying a faint, non-committal smile on his lips, as if mentioning a trivial matter.
"The Mr. Bob to your left is currently preparing to pull a suppressed, German-made SIG Sauer P226 pistol from beneath the console with his right hand."
"There are twelve rounds in the magazine. I believe the first target should be the back of your head."
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The interior of the sub fell into a dead silence, as if even the alarm had been muted.
The shock on Tony Stark's face lasted only a tenth of a second before being replaced by a cold, grim intensity capable of freezing steel.
He didn't even turn his head, but stared fixedly at Bob through the reflection of the now-black holographic screen in front of him.
And Bob's face had instantly turned paler than a corpse's!
His hand, poised to draw the gun, was frozen in mid-air, not daring to move!
How was this possible?!
"How did he know?"
Lin Huai continued to stare at him. "Don't worry, it's not mind-reading."
Bang!
A powerful survival instinct overwhelmed his fear. Bob's psychological defenses completely collapsed, and he lunged to draw the gun in a final struggle!
But he was facing Happy, who had already moved to his side!
Before he could raise his wrist, Happy's fist, as large as a clay pot, came whistling through the air and slammed hard into his face!
Crack!
The crisp sound of bone shattering echoed.
Bob slumped down like a puddle of mud, but the excruciating pain of his broken nose kept him from losing consciousness. He could only twitch on the floor like a fish out of water.
The P226 pistol hit the metal floor with a 'clatter.'
Only heavy breathing remained inside the submarine.
Bob lay on the cold floor, his mind a total blank, left with nothing but endless despair and agony.
He didn't beg Tony for mercy; he only muttered unconsciously in his pain, like self-hypnosis or a prayer.
"Mr. Stark, I don't regret doing this. He said if I did it, Lily would be cured. Whether I succeed or fail, I'll die here anyway..."
Tony Stark slowly stood up and looked down at him from above.
There was no rage on his face, not even any extra expression, only an extreme impatience from having seen through all the tricks.
As if brushing a speck of dust off his suit, he casually tossed out a sentence.
"A word of advice, Bob."
"Next time you make a deal with someone, you'd better ask clearly what the terms for 'breach of contract' and 'failure' are."
A cold curve formed at the corner of Tony's mouth, his tone sounding as if he were evaluating a failed business proposal.
"What do you think the payment for a loser would be?"
In an instant.
Bob's muttering stopped abruptly.
He froze, and in those despairing eyes, his pupils dilated to the extreme in an instant.
That's right.
He failed.
The deal was void.
He thought of his daughter Lily's pale, smiling face on the hospital bed.
That "follow-up cost" was his daughter's life!
Not only had he failed to save her, but through his failure, he had personally snuffed out his daughter's last chance at life!
This self-deduced conclusion was like a red-hot dagger stabbing into his heart, completely crushing all his hope and reason!
"No... NO!!!"
Bob didn't let out a cry, but a mournful wail like a dying Beast!
As if gone mad, he suddenly lunged forward, death-gripping Tony's pant leg, roaring through tears and snot.
"Mr. Stark! Please! Save Lily! My daughter... she'll die!!"
"I have dirt on him! I'll tell you everything! As long as you promise to save my daughter, I'll tell you everything!"
Driven by the instinct to survive, he roared it all out:
"He wanted to kill you back in Afghanistan! He's the one who's always been in contact with the Ten Rings Gang!"
Tony Stark listened silently, the expression on his face unchanging from beginning to end, though the frost in the depths of his eyes had solidified into something tangible.
He gently kicked away Bob's hand from his pant leg with his foot, as if it were some repulsive piece of trash.
Then, he turned around and spoke his first words since the crisis began to the Fortune Teller who had remained silent.
His gaze was extremely complex, but the scrutiny was gone, replaced by a new kind of recognition, as if seeing an equal.
"Lin, I owe you one."
"Go catch the octopus you want first. Finish your business."
He paused, his eyes staring intently at Lin Huai, a fire and killing intent capable of melting steel burning within them.
"And then—"
"Tell me how to take down that old bastard."