A Message

Eric instinctively reached for his gun, then turned, fired, and emptied the magazine.

But a tremendous force came from his shoulder, and Eric was horrified to find that he couldn't move his body at all. He could only struggle to twist his neck and look behind him.

"Good. I admire strong warriors. You can survive and help me pass on a message to those behind you."

Before Eric could even process what the other person meant by "you can live," he understood from their actions.

Xu Wenwu waved his arm, and rings flew back from all directions. Eric then realized that not only had the guy in the white suit survived, but his men had also been protected by the rings and somehow ended up far away.

But before Eric could figure it out, the ring started up again and flew toward Eric's comrades.

This time, the ring didn't use any power; it hit Eric's comrade directly. The man was thrown several meters away as if he had been hit by a truck, his sternum caved in, and he was almost dead upon landing.

"No!" Eric shouted in anguish, trying to break free and fight Xu Wenwu to the death.

But that wasn't all. After spinning once in the air, the ring flew straight toward the location of the two electronics experts, followed by a huge explosion.

"Damn it!" Eric struggled desperately to break free, but under Xu Wenwu's control, he couldn't escape no matter what he did.

"Alright, the ants have all been cleaned up. Remember to tell the people behind you that this matter ends here. Don't try to test my limits again, and don't bother me."

As he spoke, he untied Eric. Eric immediately drew his pistol and emptied the magazine.

Bang, bang, bang—gunshots rang out, but the expected scene did not occur; the bullets remained suspended in mid-air.

Eric then got a clear look at the other person: he had an Asian face, was wearing a white suit, and despite the recent attacks by grenades and missiles, his suit was still spotless.

"You still haven't realized the difference between us. You should feel lucky. I need someone to relay a message, but I think as long as the person relaying the message has any breath left, that should be enough."

After saying that, Xu Wenwu waved his arm, and the floating ring shot directly at Eric. This time it wasn't a truck, but a car that was equivalent to 60 miles per hour, which knocked Eric flying.

Eric heard cracking sounds and guessed that many bones in his body had broken before he passed out.

Five days later, Tony received a message from the Middle East.

"Happy, you mean that Eric was captured by the US military, and now they want me to pay ransom for him?"

Happy explained helplessly, "Eric said he was testing a new weapon for Stark Industries when he was attacked by unknown assailants. Now the US military has treated Eric, and they are asking Stark Industries if they had this operation. If so, they might consider releasing him depending on the circumstances."

"It depends on what? It all depends on how much I donate," Tony said irritably. According to Tony's memory, Stark Industries had a history of such incidents. Many of its salesmen in the Middle East were arrested for various reasons, but in the end, they were all brought back by paying money.

After complaining, Tony was also a little curious: how did Eric end up crashing? In a way, he was a main character in the story; not only did he crash, but he was also caught by the US military.

As Tony pondered the problem, Happy added, "The U.S. military that contacted you also said that Eric asked them to pass on a message to you."

"What are you talking about? He's not some Japanese Yellow Army soldier." Tony quipped before realizing Happy didn't understand his joke.

Happy didn't seem to care and continued to talk about the information he had received.

"He's probably afraid Stark Industries won't take care of him, which is normal; the CIA often does that. But he said he saw the people behind the Ten Rings Gang, and they asked him to pass on a message, but I don't know if that's true or not."

"Uh, why do we have to relay the message a second time? Can't the other party just make a phone call?" Tony was speechless. Eric wasn't even a Yellow Army soldier anymore; he'd become a traitor.

"Let's find a way to get him out. I'm also curious about what he wants to say to me, and who the so-called Ten Rings Gang is behind." Although Tony said this, someone who looked exactly like Tony Leung had already appeared in his mind.

Happy reminded him, "Perhaps it won't cost any money. Have you forgotten Colonel Rhodes?"

"Yes, I still have Rhodes as a good friend. Okay, I'll call Rhodes. Happy, you can go back now."

Seeing that Tony was telling him to leave, Happy quickly added, "There's one more thing. Did you book an appointment with Agent Coulson?"

"Coulson? Oh, right, I remember now, I think I had an appointment. What's up?" Tony had indeed forgotten about Coulson. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't part of his plans, and he had so many things to do every day. Although he delegated the important matters to others, training his telekinesis and engaging in friendly conversations with women took up time.

He also had to take time to connect with Pepper and lay the groundwork for achieving his goals, which was more interesting than communicating with S.H.I.E.L.D. or Coulson.

Happy wasn't surprised by Tony's performance; it was normal—Coulson didn't have an amazing bust or a pretty face, so how could Tony possibly remember her?

"He has been waiting for you at the company recently. Since he has official identification, we can't refuse him. Ms. Pepper suggested that you contact him or have the company file a complaint against him to stop harassing you. But that probably won't work, as they can just send someone else."

"No need for that. I'll see when I have time to meet with them." Tony had a somewhat good impression of Coulson in the movie; after all, he was a positive character, so there was no harm in meeting him.

However, it's best to keep your contact with Coulson to a minimum. Avoid contact with Black Egg or anything like that. That guy is ruthless inside and out, and he might have something up his sleeve to use against you.

However, since he is no longer Iron Man, he probably won't be invited to join the Avengers or be on Black Egg's watchlist.

"Okay, when should we meet?" Happy asked casually. He had been driven crazy by Coulson these past few days. These agents were really patient, always waiting outside the company. And after they found out he was Tony's bodyguard, they would come and ask him whenever they couldn't see Pepper.

Don't their agents have to go to work? Oh right, blocking Tony is his job.

Thinking about it that way, this job isn't bad. If I never see Tony again, I can do this job for the rest of my life.

Just as Happy was lost in thought, Tony pondered for a moment and said, "Doesn't he come to the company every day? I'll go to the company one of these days, tell him to wait for me."

Now that I've finally become the client, I need to test the sincerity of the service provider.

"Okay, I'll tell him." Happy said with a hint of helplessness. It seemed he would have to endure Coulson's harassment for a while longer. Why was it so hard to slack off at work?

After Happy left, Tony had Jarvis call Rhodes.

"Hey Rod, how have you been lately? Want to come to my party sometime?"

Rhodey had initially thought Tony had something important to discuss, but upon hearing this, he could only conclude that Tony was indeed the best he could be; when it came to developing weapons, he truly had nothing of substance to do.

"No, Tony, I won't be attending your parties. I'm in charge of security at the base right now, so I can't drink."

"Really? You said the same thing on the plane last time, but we didn't have much fun in the end, did we?"

Upon hearing Tony's words, Rhodes' face darkened even more, and he quickly explained, "It's different. That time I was just... just..."

Rhodes tried his best to find an excuse, but it was clear that there was no way to deny it.

Seeing this, Tony stopped joking with Rhodes and explained, "It was only to protect my safety and keep me from running around that he sacrificed himself to hug the two flight attendants with me."

"Yes." Rod breathed a sigh of relief. Although the reason was a bit unreasonable, that's how everyone did it, and no one questioned it further.

"Okay, enough joking around. Help me get someone out of the US military base in the Middle East."