Tony Stark.
A famous playboy, genius, and billionaire. A pioneer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's a character full of personality—both praised and criticized.
However, in the movie universe, Iron Man truly lives up to the title of "hero."
When Leon watched the movies, he felt deeply affected by Tony's death.
What man could resist the glowing chest piece and the laser-shooting iron armor?
So, for whatever reason, Leon could not refuse S.H.I.E.L.D.'s request.
He agreed immediately. That very night, Leon boarded a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane and flew to the location where Tony was in trouble.
In the movies, it seemed like S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't rescue Tony back then—though it's possible their efforts were behind the scenes.
After all, Tony Stark's father, Howard, was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D., so the organization naturally had a fondness for Tony.
Plus, S.H.I.E.L.D. held shares in Stark's arms company.
As a money-making genius, Fury would never sit idly by and not attempt a rescue.
Moreover, the legacy left by Howard could really only be perfectly inherited by Tony.
...
The plane landed in a desolate desert area. At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s large aerospace aircraft already had some resemblance to the later mobile S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
Thinking of random things, Leon casually walked down the stairs.
"This is the place?"
Reaching the last location of Tony's phone signal, Leon looked at the craters on the ground and thought, "Obadiah really didn't intend for Tony to make it back alive!"
But this also indirectly showed that Tony truly had the main character aura of the movie world—surviving a missile blast right in front of him and even getting saved with a car battery!
"According to our intel..." Coulson nodded and began briefing Leon.
Leon wasn't in a hurry at all. After all, even if he didn't come, Tony would have made it back safe and sound.
So, the question is: If Leon arrived before Tony hammered out the Mark I armor, would he rescue Tony right away?
Of course not!
It would be utterly pointless and harmful. Leon was not going to do that.
In summary, Leon came here this time just to hang around and take credit.
He didn't interrupt Coulson's report, waited for him to finish, nodded, and then used three hand gestures to create five clones of himself. Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone around, they flew off in a chaotic mess.
...
Sand, still more sand.
In this area, besides sand, it seemed like there was nothing else. Although Leon's stamina far exceeded that of an ordinary person, he wasn't immune to extreme weather conditions. In this regard, both Captain America and Black Widow, and even Hawkeye, were much stronger than him.
Let's not even mention Captain America. He survived 70-plus years of freezing, while Leon's pet turtle turned into an ice lump after just one night outside.
Can you even compare?
Black Widow and Hawkeye have also been through this, wearing the same combat suit whether on the equator or in the polar regions.
And then there was Leon, foolishly wearing a black trench coat with a mask!
But, of course, a wise man has his... cheats!
**[Reine-Pédauque White Wine]**
Effect: Provides a cool feeling for a certain period after drinking.
Grade: White
Quality: Excellent
Note: Refreshing to the core, uplifting to the soul!
That's why having an all-around logistics team that doesn't demand a salary is so important!
After drinking the white wine, Leon felt a lot better, but his clones were just too noisy.
"Hey bro, what's the good stuff you're drinking?"
"Eat alone and you'll get...!"
"Are you stupid? If he's messed up, we'd be messed up too!"
"This isn't fair! Why don't I get any cold drink, but I can't escape the mess-up! I object!"
"Stop it, guys. It hasn't happened yet, right? Why are you protesting like you're from France?"
"Oh? Why would you say that, brother?"
"Well, I meant you're always protesting for no reason."
"Ding! Today, success by law!"
"Who's got a joke about 'Suka Blyat' so we can farm some achievements?"
"That's hard. By rights, if I know it, you guys should know it too!"
"I protest! I want a cold drink too!"
"Why are you still here? Main body! Stop flying around and get rid of this fool upstairs!"
"..."
...
Leon didn't dare say a word, flying ahead quietly. Who would have thought that Leon, who's always charming and slick with his words in public, would be so scared of his own shadow clones that he wouldn't dare say a word in private!
"And there are only four of them... What if one day I end up with dozens or hundreds, like the Prince of Talk no Jutsu?"
The thought of it already gave him a headache.
If it weren't for training his skill proficiency, Leon definitely wouldn't dare to let these four out.
After flying for over an hour, the five, transformed into "Xuan Bees," finally saw something other than sand.
Barren desert.
"Should be around here. Let's split up and search. If anyone finds those people, dissolve on your own."
This is another use of shadow clones. When scouting ahead, the clone can dissolve itself when it encounters a problem, and the main body receives the memory of the clone. Perfect.
Each clone shared Leon's exact personality and character, so when it came to serious matters, they were very clear-headed.
Without any communication, the "Xuan Bees" immediately flew away from Leon, who landed in the center. He found a shaded spot and waited quietly for news from his clones.
...
In a simple cave, amidst a crude, hacked-out environment, one could see the pinnacle of human industrial technology scattered around.
This cave filled with missiles was, of course, where Tony Stark was held.
Before this incident, Tony Stark never knew what role he played in human society. He had never hated the weapons produced by his company as much as he did today.
He considered himself a genius—which was a widely acknowledged fact—and the weapons produced by Stark Industries were always top of the market, thanks to Tony's brilliant mind.
But now, it was precisely because of the weapons designed by his genius mind that he was nearly killed and left clinging to life with a car battery.
And because of his remarkable ability to create weapons, he was imprisoned here, forced to design weapons for those who had hurt him.
But he was Tony Stark.
A genius of industrial design and manufacturing! He had a bunch of university diplomas and was an ultimate DIY master with level 8 skills in machining and welding!
"You want a weapon? I'll make one and show you..."
Determined, Tony and the bald, bespectacled man who performed surgery to save his life began their first missile dismantling operation.
...
While the two geniuses in the cave hammered away at iron, Leon had been napping under a rock outside.
The same thought persisted: rushing in to save Tony now would only result in rescuing a detestable playboy. Leon wasn't about to go asking for trouble.
However, the bald, bespectacled man—Yinsen—was someone Leon was determined to save.
He was a man worthy of respect.
At the end of *Avengers: Endgame*, when Iron Man Tony Stark snapped his fingers and sacrificed his life to save half of the universe, no matter his past, at that moment, everyone had to admit that he was a true hero.
So, when did the annoying playboy transform into a hero?
Right here, in this cave.
More precisely, when Yinsen, his newly made friend, died in front of him.
Yinsen was the savior of the playboy Tony Stark and the one who single-handedly turned him into Iron Man.
At the end of their plan, to buy time for Tony to power up his suit, the frail, balding, bespectacled man grabbed a gun and charged out.
That image probably stayed in Tony's heart forever, never to fade.
"I've always planned it this way."
Yinsen said to Tony as he was dying. It was this sentence that woke up a confused, directionless Tony Stark.
"You have everything, yet you have nothing."
This line Yinsen had told Tony earlier was a reflection of Tony's first half of life.
And in his final moments, Yinsen held Tony Stark's hand and said, "Don't waste your life!"
Tony truly spent his second half of life, as his friend advised, always fighting for the weak!
Tony Stark is a superhero to humanity; Yinsen is a superhero to Iron Man.
How could Leon not save such a gentleman, a sage, a respectable man?
...
Two days later, just as Leon knew from the storyline, to buy time for Tony's Mark I armor to start up, Yinsen shouted courageously and charged out.
No matter how anxious Tony felt, all he could do was watch Yinsen run out alone, drawing enemy fire to buy him time.
Finally, the armor started, and Tony couldn't wait to dash out in it.
His calculation wasn't wrong. In the narrow corridors of the cave, his iron suit was unstoppable against enemy guns. In fact, he didn't even need to attack himself—his enemies were accidentally shooting each other due to ricochets, losing several men.
Finally, Tony found Yinsen, already shot several times, lying on a pile of goods.
"My family is gone... I'm going to see them now... I have no... I have no regrets."
Yinsen said weak